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Human Resource Management
Human Resource Information Systems
Professor: Robin Watkins
Week 1 Discussions
I. Strategic Partnership - This course focuses on the strategic value that technology has brought to HR and the business. As a result, HR is a strategic partner in companies. How specifically has technology created this strategic partnership? Share an example. What values have resulted from this strategic partnership?
a. Strategic Partnership - Before technology developed into what it is today, most HR Departments kept paper copies of their manpower. Downfall to this is that if the company were to experience an accidental fire then the risk of losing valuable information is highly probable. Another downfall would be that an employee's record can become lost amongst the other paper records. As technology evolved, so did the way HR conducted business. HR not only involves the accountability and maintenance of employee's records but as become "the evolution of HRM as a professional and scientific discipline, as an aid to management, as a political and economic conflict between management and employees, and as a growing movement of employee involvement influenced by developments in industrial/organizational and social psychology" (Kavanagh, 2008, p. 6). Technology has made it easier for HR to locate and find information they need to better understand the needs and requirements of certain jobs. While I was in the U.S. Marines working as an Administrative Clerk; my job revolved around a computer and several problems. In order to update another Marine's record book, I would have to input the data into a program called Unit Diary which would reflect the changes onto the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS). Here is a link to what we in the Administrative/Personnel Clerk world called our "Admin Bible" when it came to updating personnel records:
http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCO%20P1080.40C.pdf
If we didn't process the record entry changes in certain orders, the next day we would have massive Dairy Feedback Reports (DFRs). Basically stating that the entry didn't post and needs to be ran again.
b. RE: HR's Role in Organizational success - This is quite hard to answer because either either "yes" or "no" are acceptable answers. Yes, HR departments are better off with technology because for a company with over 5000 employees; that'll be hundreds if not thousands paperwork. Just imagine the United States Marines trying to keep accountability with the help of the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS). MCTFS will tell you when a Marine has entered active duty, their rank/pay grade, their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), even tells you where that Marine is stationed at. Now imagine if the Marine Corps had to track down a certain Marine to notify him that a family member has passed without the help of MCTFS. They would spend countless hours looking through that Marine's paperwork looking for a duty station or even telephone number. Now in the other hand, I also believe that some HR departments rely too much on technology. What if the power goes down for about a week or two? What will, or how will a HR department function at that point. Below is a link to some helpful tips that HR can take in the event of an emergency.
Human Resource Information Systems
Professor: Robin Watkins
Week 1 Discussions
I. Strategic Partnership - This course focuses on the strategic value that technology has brought to HR and the business. As a result, HR is a strategic partner in companies. How specifically has technology created this strategic partnership? Share an example. What values have resulted from this strategic partnership?
a. Strategic Partnership - Before technology developed into what it is today, most HR Departments kept paper copies of their manpower. Downfall to this is that if the company were to experience an accidental fire then the risk of losing valuable information is highly probable. Another downfall would be that an employee's record can become lost amongst the other paper records. As technology evolved, so did the way HR conducted business. HR not only involves the accountability and maintenance of employee's records but as become "the evolution of HRM as a professional and scientific discipline, as an aid to management, as a political and economic conflict between management and employees, and as a growing movement of employee involvement influenced by developments in industrial/organizational and social psychology" (Kavanagh, 2008, p. 6). Technology has made it easier for HR to locate and find information they need to better understand the needs and requirements of certain jobs. While I was in the U.S. Marines working as an Administrative Clerk; my job revolved around a computer and several problems. In order to update another Marine's record book, I would have to input the data into a program called Unit Diary which would reflect the changes onto the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS). Here is a link to what we in the Administrative/Personnel Clerk world called our "Admin Bible" when it came to updating personnel records:
http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCO%20P1080.40C.pdf
If we didn't process the record entry changes in certain orders, the next day we would have massive Dairy Feedback Reports (DFRs). Basically stating that the entry didn't post and needs to be ran again.
b. RE: HR's Role in Organizational success - This is quite hard to answer because either either "yes" or "no" are acceptable answers. Yes, HR departments are better off with technology because for a company with over 5000 employees; that'll be hundreds if not thousands paperwork. Just imagine the United States Marines trying to keep accountability with the help of the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS). MCTFS will tell you when a Marine has entered active duty, their rank/pay grade, their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), even tells you where that Marine is stationed at. Now imagine if the Marine Corps had to track down a certain Marine to notify him that a family member has passed without the help of MCTFS. They would spend countless hours looking through that Marine's paperwork looking for a duty station or even telephone number. Now in the other hand, I also believe that some HR departments rely too much on technology. What if the power goes down for about a week or two? What will, or how will a HR department function at that point. Below is a link to some helpful tips that HR can take in the event of an emergency.