Human Resources Management in
Canada
Fourteenth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1
The Strategic Role of
Human Resources
Management
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Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
1.1 Define human resources management and
analyze how it relates to the management
process.
1.2 Describe the value of HR expertise to non-HR
managers and entrepreneurs.
1.3 Explain how HRM has changed over recent
years to include a higher-level advisory role.
1.4 Identify tools to help make evidence-based
HRM decisions.
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Learning Outcomes (2 of 2)
1.5 Describe the core HR competencies and
professionalism of the HRM function.
1.6 Discuss the internal and external environmental
factors affecting human resource management
policies and practices, and explain their impact.
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The Strategic Role of Human Resources
Management (1 of 3)
What is an organization?
• A group of people with formally assigned roles who work
together to achieve organization’s goals.
What do managers do?
• Manager accomplishes organization’s goals by managing
•
the efforts of the organization’s people.
Perform management process of planning, organizing,
staffing, leading, and controlling.
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The Strategic Role of Human Resources
Management (2 of 3)
Human Resources Management (HRM):
• Management of people in organizations to drive
•
successful organizational performance and achievement
of organization’s strategic goals.
Responsible for:
– Finding and hiring the best individuals available.
– Developing their talent.
– Creating a productive work environment.
– Continually building and monitoring the human assets.
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The Strategic Role of Human Resources
Management (3 of 3)
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The Strategic Goal of Human
Resources Management (1 of 3)
Strategy and Human Capital:
• Strategic plan:
– How company will match internal strengths and weaknesses
with external opportunities and threats to maintain a
competitive position.
• Strategy:
– Course of action company pursues to achieve its strategic
aims.
• Strategic management:
– The process of identifying and executing the strategic plan.
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The Strategic Goal of Human
Resources Management (2 of 3)
Strategy and Human Capital:
• Human capital is the knowledge, education, training,
skills, and expertise of an organization’s workforce.
– Knowledge-based economy requires acquisition and
development of superior human capital for profitability and
success.
• HR practices contribute to development of embedded
•
knowledge of a firm’s culture, history, processes, and
context.
High performance HR practices have a positive
relationship with productivity and financial performance.
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The Strategic Goal of Human
Resources Management (3 of 3)
Why Is HR Management Important to All Managers?
• Mistakes managers don’t want to make:
– Hire the wrong person for the job.
– Experience high turnover.
– Have employees work below performance expectations.
– Waste time with useless interviews.
– Face discrimination lawsuits.
– Pay unfair salaries relative to peers in the organization.
– Allow lack of training to undermine effectiveness.
– Commit any unfair labour practices.
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The Evolution of HRM (1 of 5)
Brief History of HRM:
• Historically any enterprise required attracting, selecting,
training, and motivating members.
– Personnel tasks were part of every manager’s job.
• In later 1800s labour problems began arising in postIndustrial Revolution factories.
– By 1900 first “hiring offices,” training programs, and factory
schools were set up.
• Union laws in the 1930s expanded role of HR.
• Equity-oriented laws in the 1970s and 1980s made
employers more reliant of personnel management.
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The Evolution of HRM (2 of 5)
Brief History of HRM:
• Globalization in the 1980s made gaining competitive
•
•
edge through engaged employees increasingly
important.
Technological advances in the 1980s and 1990s
resulted in outsourcing many operational HR activities.
Today economic and demographic trends make finding,
hiring, and motivating employees more challenging.
– Role of HR department has evolved to that of helping
organizations achieve strategic objectives.
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The Evolution of HRM (3 of 5)
Shared Responsibility for Talent Management:
• Current trends point to HR and talent management
•
becoming an everyday part of doing business.
Figure 1.2 HR and Senior Manager Roles:
– Highlights core job requirements found in non-HR roles.
 Traditionally limited to HR department.
– Evidence that HR skills permeate throughout the
organization.
– All managers need basics of HR management skills.
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The Evolution of HRM (4 of 5)
The New HR Manager:
• Defends HR plans in measurable terms.
• Understands strategic planning, marketing, production,
•
•
•
•
•
and finance.
Implements organizational changes.
Drives employee engagement.
Redesigns organizational structures and work processes.
Serves as subject-matter expert or in-house consultant.
Needs to have broad-based business knowledge and
skills.
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The Evolution of HRM (5 of 5)
The New HR Manager:
• Firms are changing how they organize the HR function.
• New focus separates employees into segments such as
•
executives, technical employees, and rank-and-file.
Other HR configurations in use today:
– Transactional HR teams.
– Embedded HR teams.
– Relationship managers.
– Centres of expertise.
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Evidence-Based HRM (1 of 4)
Evidence-based HRM:
• Making decisions based on data, facts, analytics, scientific
rigour, critical evaluation, and research.
– Using the best-available evidence in making decisions.
• Measuring the value and impact of human capital and
HRM practices:
– Use metrics to measure activities and results.
 Provide critical information that can be linked to organizational
outcomes such as productivity, market share, and profits.
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Evidence-Based HRM (2 of 4)
Strategic HRM Tools:
• Strategy map summarizes how each department’s
•
performance contributes to achieving the company’s
overall strategic goals.
Balanced scorecard translates organization’s strategy into
comprehensive set of performance measures.
– Financial measures tell results of actions already taken.
– Operational measures drive future performance.
– Balance long-term and short-term actions related to financial
results, customers, business processes, and human capital
management.
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Evidence-Based HRM (3 of 4)
Strategic HRM Tools:
• Digital dashboard presents managers with desktop graphs
and charts, showing a computerized picture of how the
company is doing.
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Evidence-Based HRM (4 of 4)
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (1 of 7)
Characteristics of a Profession:
• Common body of knowledge.
• Benchmarked performance standards.
• Representative professional association.
• External perception as a professional.
• Code of ethics.
• Required training credentials.
• Ongoing skill development.
• Maintenance of professional competence.
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (2 of 7)
Certification:
• Indicates that professional standards have been met.
• Professional HR designation in Canada is changing.
– Ontario has formed its own association.
– New designation in all other jurisdictions:
 Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR)
– Specialized designations recognize expertise in benefits,
recruitment, payroll, employee benefits, management
professionals and certified training and development
professionals.
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (3 of 7)
Table 1.1 HR Associations by Province and
Designation
Jurisdiction
HR Association
Designation
Link
British Columbia and
Yukon
Chartered Professionals in Human Resources
of British Columbia and Yukon (CPHR BC &
Yukon)
CPHR
www.cphrbc.ca
Alberta, Nunavut, and
Northwest Territories
Chartered Professionals in Human Resources
of Alberta (CPHR Alberta)
CPHR
www.cphrab.ca
Saskatchewan
Chartered Professionals in Human Resources
Saskatchewan (CPHR Saskatchewan)
CPHR
www.cphrsk.ca
Manitoba
Chartered Professionals in Human Resources
Manitoba (CPHR Manitoba)
CPHR
www.cphrmb.ca
New Brunswick
Chartered Professionals in Human Resources
New Brunswick (CPHR New Brunswick)
CPHR
www.cphrnb.ca
Nova Scotia
Chartered Professional in Human Resources
Nova Scotia (CPHR Nova Scotia)
CPHR
www.cphrns.ca
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (4 of 7)
Jurisdiction
HR Association
Designation
Link
Prince Edward Island
Chartered Professionals in Human
Resources of Prince Edward Island
Association (CPHR PEI)
CPHR
www.cphrpei.ca/
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Chartered Professionals in Human
Resources Newfoundland and
Labrador (CPHR NL)
CPHR
www.cphrnl.ca
Quebec
L’Ordre des Conseillers en
Ressources Humaines Agréés
CPHR
www.ordrecrha.org
Ontario
Human Resources Professionals
Association (HRPA)
CHRP, CHRL,
CHRE
www.hrpa.ca/
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (5 of 7)
Ethics:
• For HR professionals abiding by code of ethics is a
•
•
requirement to maintain professional status.
Organizational code of ethics provides a guide.
Ethical issues in Canadian organizations today:
– Security of information.
– Employee and client privacy.
– Environmental issues.
– Governance.
– Conflict of interest.
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (6 of 7)
Ethics:
• Failure of ethics programs:
– Lack of leadership.
– Inadequate training.
• Positive outcomes of ethics programs:
– Increased confidence among stakeholders.
– Greater client, customer and employee loyalty.
– Decreased vulnerability to crime.
– Reduced losses to internal theft.
– Increased public trust.
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Growing Professionalism in HRM (7 of 7)
Ethics:
• Social responsibility:
– Balancing organizational commitments to investors,
employees, customers, other businesses, and the
communities in which the firm operates.
– Mountain Equipment Co-op’s (MEC) social responsibility
perspective:
 Examine every aspect of a product’s life cycle.
 Consider resources that go into making and shipping products.
 Aim for satisfaction of employees and customers.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (1 of 14)
Table 1.2 External and Internal Environmental
Influences on HRM
External
Internal
Economic conditions: affect supply and demand for
products, impacting quantity and quality of employees
required and ability to pay/give benefits
Organizational culture: values, beliefs, and
norms of organizational members
Labour market issues: changes to the workforce
composition, including gender, education levels,
experience, as well as protected groups (visible/ethnic
minorities, women, Indigenous, disabled) and generational
differences (traditionalists, baby boomers, Gen
X-ers, Gen Y-ers)
Organizational climate: the atmosphere’s
impact on employee motivation, job
performance, and productivity
Technology: controlling data and privacy
Management practices: organizational
structure and employee empowerment
Government: abiding by provincial and national standards
Globalization: managing the workforce in an intense,
hypercompetitive global economy
Environment: managing sustainability and corporate social
responsibility
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Environmental Influences on HRM (2 of 14)
External Environmental Influences:
• Economic conditions:
– Affect supply and demand.
– Employment levels fluctuate with economy.
– Productivity improvement is essential for long-term success.
 Ratio of outputs (goods and services) to inputs (people, capital,
energy, and materials).
– Decline of the primary, secondary sectors and growth of
tertiary (service) sectors.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (3 of 14)
External Environment Influences:
• Labour market issues:
– Increasing workforce diversity:
 Canada’s workforce is one of the most diverse in the world.
 Includes demographic factors, values and cultural norms.
 In Canada there are four protected employee groups: visible
and ethnic minorities, women, Indigenous, and persons with
disabilities.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (6 of 14)
External Environment Influences:
• Education
– Better-educated labour force has higher expectations.
– Fully utilize talents of employees and provide opportunities
for career growth.
– Marginal literacy skills present a problem.
 Ability to understand and use printed documents is limited.
 Major reason for rejecting entry-level candidates are poor
reading and writing skills.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (7 of 14)
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Environmental Influences on HRM (8 of 14)
Non-standard or Contingent Workers:
• Workers who do not have regular full-time employment
•
status.
Used by companies to provide flexible, on-demand labour.
– Part-time
– Fixed-term
– Temporary
– Home workers
– Standby workers
– Self-employed
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Environmental Influences on HRM (9 of 14)
Technology:
• Digital technologies are driving transfer of functionality
from HR professionals to automation.
– Mobile applications – monitor employee location.
– Gaming – used in training applications.
– Cloud computing – provide real-time feedback.
– Data analytics – applied to problem solving.
– Talent analytics – analyze traits of ideal candidates.
• Increasing use of social media tools to recruit new
employees.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (10 of 14)
Technology:
• Affecting nature of jobs.
– Dispersed workforce.
 Work anywhere.
– Line between work and family time is blurred.
– Concerns about data control, accuracy, right to privacy and
ethics.
– Monitoring of email, voicemail, phone conversations,
computer use.
– Video surveillance of employee behaviour.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (11 of 14)
Government:
• Impact of laws on employer-employee relationship.
– Complicated by federal and ten provincial jurisdictions.
• Globalization:
– Emergence of a single global market.
– Increasing intensity of competition.
– Human resources are a source of competitive advantage.
– HR professionals must become familiar with employment
legislation in other countries.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (12 of 14)
Government:
• Environmental concerns are motivating behaviour of
employees.
– Sustainability
– Climate change
– Global warming
– Pollution
– Carbon footprints
– Extinction of wildlife
– Ecosystem fragility
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Environmental Influences on HRM (13 of 14)
Internal Environment Influences:
• Organizational culture:
– Core values, beliefs, and assumptions that are shared by
members of an organization.
– Conveyed through mission statement, stories, symbols and
ceremonies.




Communicates what organization believes in and stands for.
Provides sense of direction and expected behaviour.
Creates a sense of identity and consistency.
Fosters employee loyalty and commitment.
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Environmental Influences on HRM (14 of 14)
Internal Environment Influences:
• Organizational climate:
– Atmosphere or “internal weather”, and its impact on
employee motivation, job satisfaction and loyalty.
– Examples: open or secretive, rigid of flexible, innovative or
stagnant.
• Management practices:
– Flat structures, cross-functional teams, improved
communication.
– Empowerment provides workers with skills and authority of
make decisions.
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