Lecture 1

What is Human Resource Management?

Manager
● responsible for accomplishing the organisation’s goals, and who does so by managing
the efforts of the organisation’s people.
● All managers share one common element -- work in an organisational setting.

Human resource management

The process of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees, and of attending
to their labour relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns.

Managing entails carrying out these basic functions that represent the management
process:

● Planning
○ Establishing goals, objectives, and standards
○ Developing rules and procedures
○ Developing plans and forecasts
● Organising
○ Tasking each subordinate.
○ Establishing departments
○ Delegating authority
○ Establishing authority and communication channels
○ Coordinating subordinates' work
● Leading
○ Leadership
○ Maintaining morale
○ Motivation
○ Communication
○ Individual and group behaviour
● Controlling.
○ Standards
○ Measurements
○ Comparing actual performance to the benchmarks
○ Taking corrective action as needed
Why Is Human Resource Management Important to All Managers?
● To avoid personnel mistakes
● To improve profits and performance
● You may spend some time as an HR manager
● You may end up as your own human resource manager
● HR for small business

Line and Staff Aspects of Human Resource Management

Authority is the right to make decisions, direct the work of others, and give orders.

Managers usually distinguish between line authority and staff authority.

Line authority traditionally gives managers the right to issue orders to other managers or
employees. Line authority, therefore, creates a superior (order giver)–subordinate (order
receiver) relationship.

Staff authority gives a manager the right to advise other managers or employees which
creates an advisory relationship.

On the organisation chart, managers with line authority are line managers. Those with staff
(advisory) authority are staff managers.

Therefore, human resource managers are usually staff managers. They assist and advise
line managers in areas like recruiting, hiring, and compensation.

Line Managers’ Human Resource Management Responsibilities

1. Placing the right person in the right job
2. Starting new employees in the organisation (orientation)
3. Training employees for jobs that are new to them
4. Improving the job performance of each person
5. Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships
6. Interpreting the company’s policies and procedures
7. Controlling labour costs
8. Developing the abilities of each person
9. Creating and maintaining departmental morale
10. Protecting employees’ health and physical conditions
The Human Resource Department

In small organisations, line managers may carry out all these personnel duties unassisted. But
as the organisation grows, line managers usually need the assistance, specialised knowledge,
and advice of a separate human resource staff. In larger firms, the human resource department
provides such specialised assistance.

Figure 1 shows the human resource management jobs in one organisation

Lecture 2
The Strategic Management Process
It is to look at how managers design strategic and human resource plans, and how they
evaluate the results of their plans.

The Management Planning Process (PDCA – Plan, Do, Check, Adjust):

● Setting objectives,
● Making basic planning forecasts,
● Reviewing alternative courses of action,
● Evaluating which options are best
● Choosing and implementing your plan

Strategy statement
Objective: similar to goal and vision/ what do we want/what does success look like?
Scope: where and what to compete
Advantage: the strengths of the company, e.g. financial capital, technology, talented and loyal
employees

High-performance work system (HPWS)

A set of human resource management policies and practices that promote organisational
effectiveness.

Strategic human resource management

It means formulating and executing human resource policies and practices that produce the
employee competencies and behaviours the company needs to achieve its strategic
objectives. This is also known as the process of strategic HRM alignment. The key process
we can use to develop HR strategy.

Human resource strategies are the specific human resource management policies and
practices managers use to support their strategic goals. You need to revisit the definition of
HRM to see what are the typical HR practices in organisations.

Strategic Management Process

- defined as the process of identifying and executing the organisation’s strategic plan by
matching the company’s capabilities with the demands of the environment.
A Hierarchy of Strategy Statements
a) VISION
Where we are going

b) MISSION
Why we exist

c) VALUES
What we believe in and how we will behave

d) STRATEGY
What our competitive game plan will be
- the BASIC ELEMENTS of a strategy statement (By Collis)
(i) OBJECTIVE
(ii) SCOPE
(iii) ADVANTAGE

Support Strategy: The AMO model

a) P (Performance) = f(A, M, O)
- A Ability
- M Motivation
- O Opportunity

b) HR systems will be most effective when practices enhance AMO

- A: Comprehensive recruitment, rigorous selection, and exhaustive training;
- M: Developmental performance management, competitive compensation, extensive
benefits, promotion, and job security;
- O: Flexible job design, work in teams, employee involvement, and information sharing

Additional explanations of the AMO model

Jiang, K., Lepak, D. P., Hu, J., & Baer, J. C. (2012). How does human resource management
influence organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanisms. Academy
of Management Journal, 55(6), 1264-1294.

Performance = ƒ (Ability, Motivation, Opportunity)

The AMO model is the established starting point by HRM researchers to explain how HRM
affects performance. It suggests that employees perform when they have:

● The ability (A) to perform (They can do the job because they possess the necessary
knowledge, skills, and abilities).
● The motivation (M) to perform (they will do the job because they want to do it or feel
that they must do it).
● The opportunity (O) to perform (their work structure and its environment provides
the necessary support and avenues for expression).

Note that the relationship among the three factors is multiplicative, for instance, if any of
the three factors become zero, the performance will be zero.

Applying the AMO model to the ballerina, she needs to have the knowledge, skill, and ability
to dance, talent itself does not do the magic; in addition, she needs to have the sustained
motivation to learn and practice. As you all know, learning is deliberate reflective practice,
and practice makes perfect; Last, opportunity, she needs a stage to deliver her performance
and an audience who is appreciative of such performance.

Now, you might be wondering: what management should do to induce these three
elements in employees?

I’d like to point you to a landmark study in HRM by Jiang and colleagues in 2012. These
researchers meta-analyzed, more than 100 empirical studies, or more precisely the
equivalent to data from nearly 4000 business units around the world.

They have found the HRM system drawing on the AMO model is positively related to
financial outcomes via human capital and motivation. For example, 1-standard increase of
skill-enhancing HR practices is accompanied w ith 5% increase of financial outcomes;
similarly, as you can see, 1-standard increase of motivation-enhancing HR practices would
lead to 13% increase of financial outcomes.
The HRM system drawing on the AMO model consists of three dimensions:

1.The ability-enhancing dimension, 2. The motivation-enhancing dimension, and 3.The

opportunity-enhancing dimension.

Let’s take a closer look at specific HRM practices that constitute the three dimensions
respectively:

● Ability-enhancing dimension: comprehensive recruitment, rigorous selection, and

exhaustive training.
● Motivation-enhancing: developmental performance management, competitive
compensation, extensive benefits, promotion, and job security.
● Opportunity enhancing flexible job design, work in teams, employee involvement,
and information sharing.

AMO is arguably the most popular framework among HRM researchers to unravel employee
and organisational performance.

Its popularity largely resides in its comprehensiveness and brief ness of HR systems. In
addition, it also specifies the key mediators that links HR with organisational outcomes, i.e,
human capital and employee motivation. Equally, it comes in handy for practitioners to
diagnose and develop employee performance. If you've got an underperformer, you can first
check which element is missing in the performance formula, then identify the right practices
to close the gap.
Three Strategic HR Tools

a) Strategy Map
- A graphical tool that summarises the chain of activities that contribute to a company’s
success, and so shows employees the “bigger picture” of how their performance contributes
to achieving the company’s overall strategic goals.

b) HR Scorecard
- A process for managing employee performance and for aligning all employees with key
objectives, by assigning financial and non-financial goals, monitoring and assessing
performance, and quickly taking corrective action.

c) Digital Dashboard
- An information technology tool that presents the manager with desktop graphs and charts,
so he or she gets a picture of where the company has been and where it’s going, in terms of
each activity in the strategy map.
Lecture 3

Recruitment and selection

The recruitment and selection process is a series of hurdles aimed at selecting the best
candidate for the job and organisation.

Job analysis
The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of
person who should be hired for it.

Job description
A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, &
supervisory responsibilities—one product of a job analysis.

Job specification
A list of a job’s “human requirements,” such as the requisite education/knowledge, skills,
personality etc. (KSAOs)—another product of a job analysis.

Job design
It is about optimising the structure and scheduling of tasks and duties involved in a job.
● To support the four pillars of an organisation (vision, mission, culture, and strategies)
● To improve job satisfaction, to improve throughput, to improve quality, and to reduce
employee problems

O*Net
It is the must-go-to website for anyone who writes job descriptions and job specifications.

Steps in doing a job analysis:

Step 1: Decide how you’ll use the information
Step 2: Review relevant background information
Step 3: Select representative positions
Step 4: Actually analyse the job
Step 5: Verify the job analysis information
Step 6: Develop a job description and job specification

Writing job description & specifications

Step 1: Decide on a plan
Step 2: Develop an organisation chart
Step 3: Use a simplified job analysis questionnaire
Step 4: Obtain list of job duties from O*NET
Step 5: Compile the job’s human requirements form O*NET
Step 6: Finalise the job description
Step 7: Review and update

Job enlargement
This means that a person will do more, different activities in their current job.

Job enrichment
A process that is characterised by adding dimensions to existing jobs to make them more
motivating.

Job rotation
The systematic movement of employees from one job to another within the organisation to
achieve various human resources objectives

Job demands refer to those physical, psychological, social, or organisational aspects of the
job that require sustained physical and/or psychological effort and are therefore associated
with certain physiological and/or psychological costs.

Job resources refer to those physical, psychological, social, or organisational aspects of the
job that are:
(a) functional in achieving work goals;
(b) reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs; or
(c) stimulate personal growth, learning, and development.

Job crafting is defined as the physical and cognitive changes individuals make in their task
or relational boundaries.

Factors to consider for job design

Lecture 4

Interview format
● One-on-one
● Sequential
● Panel
● Mass / Group
Interviews can come in various forms.

By the number of people, interviewees and interviewers involved, we can have

In a one-on-one interview, two people meet alone, and one interviews the other by seeking
oral responses to oral inquiries. Employers tend to schedule these interviews sequentially.

In a sequential (or serial) interview, several persons interview the applicant, in sequence,
one-on-one, and then make their hiring decision.

A panel interview, also known as a board interview, is an interview conducted by a team of

interviewers (usually two to three), who together question each candidate and then combine
their ratings of each candidate’s answers into a final panel score. The panel format enables
interviewers to ask follow-up questions, much as reporters do in press conferences. This may
elicit more meaningful responses than a series of one-on-one interviews.

The mass interview – Here a panel interview several candidates simultaneously. The panel
might pose a problem and then watches to see which candidate takes the lead in formulating
an answer.
Effective interviews include 3types of questions:
● Knowledge-based questions e.g., “How do you do regression analysis…?” “ Do you
know the AMO model in HRM?”
● Behavioural questions (questions about past behaviours. Research has validated this
type of question is a good predictor of future job performance; we use past tense to
formulate the question. They usually start with the phrase “tell me about a time”.
Good answers of behavioural questions are structured by the STARR Model -
Situation > Task > Ability > Results and Reflection)
● Situational questions (hypothetical scenario to assess relevant KSAs, so subjunctive
mood to formulate the questions. They usually start with “what would you do”)
For a professional and friendly interview, warm-up (e.g., Tell me about yourself)/closing
(e.g., Do you have any questions for us )questions are indispensable.

Listening is the No. 1 required skill for interviewers

SOFTEN -the body language of a great listener

Smile, Open posture, Forward, Touch/ Take notes, Eyes, Nodding

For the interviewee, communication is the key to nailing the interview.

3V model of communication
According to Mehrabian, these three (3) elements account differently for our liking for the
person who puts forward a message concerning their feelings:

verbal words account for 7%,

vocal tone of voice accounts for 38%,
visual body language accounts for 55% of the liking.

They are often abbreviated as the "3 Vs" for Verbal, Vocal & Visual.
Selection Process typical process vs Google’s approach

Evaluation and Decision

High predictors of future job performance
● Work sample test
● Mental ability test
● Structured interview

Low predictors of future job performance

● GPA
● Interest
● Years of education
● Age
● Years of work experience
Lecture 5
Workforce Planning
It is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them.

Why? : 4 core functions

● Align workforce with strategic plans
● Identify and plan for internal or external factors
● Discover where are the competences gaps
● Identify shortage and reduction strategy

How?: 5 steps
● SWOT analysis (Strength & Weaknesses - Internal and Opportunities & Threats -
External)
● Data collection (Supply and Demand)
● Data analysis (Trend analysis, Ratio analysis, Internal and external supply, Results)
● Decision and Implementation (What are the gaps? How to solve them?)
● Evaluation (How is the efficiency and effectiveness in solving the gaps?)

Labour shortage solutions:

● Temporary labour
● Existing employees work overtime
● Reduce employee turnover (need more engagement)
● Replace with technology
● Reassign work (job design, optimise work progress)
● Outsource 2

Find the balance between Make (internal supply) and Buy (external supply).

Recruiting is marketing.
● Less cost, less time, high validity
● Employer branding
● Build a candidate pool as big as possible

Employer branding = the process of creating and maintaining your company’s employer
brand- the company's reputation and popularity from a potential employer's perspective.

Recruitment (Where? How?)

● Referrals
● Walk-ins
 ● College recruiting
● Internship
● Employment agency
● Social media
● On-demand recruiting services
● Use technology - Advertising

Recruit a more diverse workforce. (Company Social Responsibility)

● Woman
● Single parents
● Older workers
● Minorities
● Disabled

Internal hiring (to make) VS External Hiring (to buy) Advantages: Finding the Balance
a) Make
- less expensive
- motivating
- training for specific needs (succession planning)

b) Buy
- new ideas
- unique KSAs
- diversity

c) Succession Planning
- is a strategy for developing people who can move up when a key employee leaves

Internal VS External Hiring Disadvantages: Finding the Balance

a) Make
- ripple effect
- internal politics
- lack of fresh ideas

b) Buy
- expensive
- unproven new hire
- hurts moral
Lecture 6
Employee onboarding also known as Organisational Socialisation refers to the mechanism
through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours in
order to become effective organisational members and insiders
- Welcome
- Basic information
- Understanding the organisation
- Socialisation

Employee engagement: Engaged employees as those who are involved in, enthusiastic
about, and committed to their work and workplace (by Gallup).

Work engagement: A positive work-related state of fulfilment that is characterized by

vigour, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli and Bakker).
Work engagement can be measured by three questions:
1. At my work, I feel bursting with energy. (Vigour)
2. I am enthusiastic about my job. (Dedication)
3. I am immersed in my work. (Absorption)

Employee engagement and work engagement can be seen as synonyms.

Structure of Onboarding checklists for managers

1st contact
1st day
1st month
3 months: Milestone for the new hire to engage him/herself with the organisation or engage
in seeking a new job
One year

Motivation and Why Theories

Motivation is at the heart of people management. Motivation is associated with the motives to
move, the process by which an individual’s efforts are energized, directed, and sustained
toward attaining a goal. It is established in the literature that employees who are highly
motivated will not only be happier, healthier, and more productive but also more likely to
deliver better service, products, and innovation. People management practices can only work
when they can evoke employee motivation.

What is the recipe for employee motivation?

Theories are the recipes; they define the ingredients and inform you of the steps. Well, you
might be frowning upon theories because they are assumed to be esoteric and impractical.
However, this is a misconception. Actually, “there’s nothing more practical than good
theories” as Lewin put it. Good theories can provide you with a comprehensive analytical
framework to approach problems in the real world. Your thoughts are certainly valuable and
essential but referring to good theories would broaden your perspective and make your
analysis more informative, in-depth, and logically sound.

With good theories, I mean those that are validated by empirical evidence consistently. With
this criterion, I will exclude the hierarchy of needs by Maslow, two-factor theories by
Herzberg. Both are well-received but rarely supported by empirical studies. This is not to
negate the contributions of such classic theories which paved the way for the extension and
maturation of contemporary theories.

We have many theories on motivation in the literature. I have handpicked three motivation
theories that I think will be relevant and practical for you. In the following topics, I’ll give
you an overview of the theories and outline some practical takeaways for you to apply in your
daily managerial job.

Self-determination theory
SDT articulates a meta-theory for framing motivational studies, a formal theory that defines
intrinsic and varied extrinsic sources of motivation, and a description of the respective roles
of intrinsic and types of extrinsic motivation in cognitive and social development and in
individual differences

Basic Psychological Need Theory (Autonomy, Competence,

and Relatedness; the formula to elicit autonomous motivation)
Do you still remember what photosynthesis is?
It is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen
and energy in the form of sugar.

Similar to this process, the basic psychological need theory posits autonomy, competence and
relatedness are essential and universal psychological needs for human beings. Note, they are
needs are different from wants. Children may not want broccoli on their plates but they need
the fibre and vitamins to grow.

The basic psychological need theory is one of the central mini-theories in self-determination
theories (SDT).

SDT is a macro theory on human motivation and development proposed by psychologists

Deci and Ryan. It argues motivation should be differentiated by quality in addition to
quantity. Broadly, there are two types of motivation, autonomous and controlled motivation,
the former refers to people who would do something out of willingness, interest, and meaning
while the latter means that people do something because they are coerced, threatened, or
fearful of the punishment. Basic psychological need theory spells out the mechanism for
autonomous motivation.

Autonomy refers to the experience of volition and willingness. Competence concerns the
experience of effectiveness and mastery. Relatedness denotes the experience of warmth,
bonding, and care, and is satisfied by connecting to and feeling significant to others.

The takeaway for you is that you need to create an environment that satisfies the three
psychological needs to elicit autonomous motivation.

Managers need to do the following to satisfy the need for autonomy.

Employees can feel autonomous when the tasks are consistent with their genuine interests.
It’s just like you don’t need to pay the children to play. So, managers can consider adding fun
to the job; select employees based on their genuine interests that match with organisations;
manage employees based on their innate strengths.

To give employees a sense of volition, managers can give choices instead of dictating the
decision (the idea is similar to the trick with the children to eat the vegetable, instead of “ you
have to eat the carrots” you can say “ you can choose to eat broccoli or carrots’; acknowledge
employee’s perspectives, encourage them to share their feelings and thoughts, and respond
with compassion; get employees participated in decisions affect them, and avoid controlling
language such as “ you must” “ you have to”, “you are required to” etc.

Last, for employees to feel autonomous, you can build/frame meaning into the tasks: give
rationales, why we are doing what we do?; task significance, why this is important? The
meaning can take over pain, for example, people are willing to give blood despite discomfort.

As for competence, it can refer to the actual level of KSAs or self-efficacy (the extent to
which the employees believe they are competent). Managers can enhance employees’ feeling
of competence by giving structured instructions (clarity); positive and constructive feedback;
providing training and development; encouraging vulnerability sharing to enhance
psychological safety and confidence.

Last, concerning the feeling of relatedness, employees want to have a sense of belonging,
connection, and trust. And a relationship is mutual, involving gives and takes. Gives means
manager can encourage employees to give their time, words, and service to others, which will
give them a sense of belonging by doing a bit to the greater good; “takes” mean managers
need to give so employees can be nurtured by “taking” from the managers and the workplace.
Examples are recognition and appreciation; support; respect; warmth and inclusion.
Lecture 7
The formula of performance
Performance = f(A,M,O)
- Ability: KSAs
- Motivation: the direction, intensity, and duration of behaviours
- Opportunity: organisational support; teamwork; information sharing

Research has shown we can use various HRM practices to enhance these three elements
respectively…. Refer to Jiang et al’s (2012) study…

Performance Management - the continuous process of identifying, measuring, and

developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning their with the
organisation’s goals.

Performance Review/ Appraisal/ Evaluation - evaluating an employee’s current and

current performance relative to his/her performance standards

Performance management is different from performance

review; the latter is part of the former.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the 6 aspects that differ performance management from
performance appraisal.

Let's take a closer look at the differences between performance management and
performance appraisal.

Firstly, performance management is a strategic process that aligns with the

organisation's strategic goals. On the other hand, performance appraisal is an
operational process that primarily focuses on measuring performance and documenting
it.

Secondly, performance management is driven by managers who aim to equip employees

with the right skill set and mindset to achieve the organization's goals. However,
performance appraisal is driven by HR professionals who typically handle the paperwork
associated with performance evaluations.
 Thirdly, performance management is dynamic and considers an employee's past,
present, and future performance. In contrast, performance appraisal mainly focuses on
past performance.

Fourthly, feedback is a crucial tool for employee growth and development. Performance
management emphasizes ongoing feedback throughout the performance management
cycle, usually a year. In contrast, performance appraisal only occurs once a year when
the manager sits down with the employee to provide feedback. This approach can be
lagged and may not allow for timely problem-solving.

Fifthly, performance management focuses on assessing organizational strengths and

linking individuals to organizations. It involves formulating strategies to leverage these
strengths and communicating the big picture to everyone in the organization. On the
other hand, performance appraisal can create a preoccupation with assessing individual
performance, leading to a loss of sight of the organization's big picture.

Finally, performance management revolves around growing and developing employees

to cultivate a strategic business strategy. In contrast, performance appraisal can lead
people to focus on ratings, scores, and rewards associated with the rating, which can
leave growth and development behind..

Design elements of a successful PM system

To design a successful performance management system, certain elements must be taken into
account. Firstly, the system should reflect the organization's overall strategy, with employee
performance clearly linked to the organization's mission and goals. Secondly, top
management buy-in is crucial, with leaders communicating the system's importance
throughout the organization, from top to bottom. Additionally, the system should clearly
differentiate performance and be comprehensive and inclusive, covering all aspects of
employee performance. It should be transparent so that employees understand the system and
the expectations. Finally, the system should include oversight to ensure its effectiveness and
make adjustments as necessary. When these design elements are in place, a performance
management system can contribute to the organization's success and the growth and
development of its employees.
Regenerate response

How: performance management process

performance management process, which is an ongoing process consisting of 5 components:

prerequisites, performance planning, performance execution, performance assessment, and

performance review.

Let's start with the first two steps in this topic and cover the rest in the next topic.

Step 1 is establishing prerequisites, which involves two essential components. Firstly, we need to

know the organisation, particularly the mission and strategic goals, which provide direction for

the organisation. Secondly, we need to know the jobs, including the responsibilities involved and

the KSAs required for an employee to perform the job. These are usually documented in job

descriptions and job specifications based on information collected from job analysis.

Moving onto step 2, planning performance involves a meeting between managers and employees

to discuss and agree on what needs to be done, how to get them done, and includes three

aspects: results, behaviours, and a development plan. Results refer to key accountabilities and

specific objectives for each key accountability, behaviours are the manifestations of employee

competencies, and the development plan describes areas for improvement, goals to be achieved

in each area, and an actionable improvement plan.

Next, in step 3, performance execution, we need to ensure certain success factors are present,

such as employees' commitment to goal achievement, open communication and feedback,

updated achievement and challenges, documented performance data, and ongoing

self-appraisal.

Moving onto step 4, assessing performance involves evaluating how well employees are

performing relative to the agreed behaviour and outcomes in step 2. Managers should involve

employees throughout the performance management process and consider multiple sources of

information, including other stakeholders such as customers and team members.

Finally, step 5, reviewing performance, involves a formal meeting between supervisors and

subordinates to review their assessments. Although ongoing feedback is crucial, the formal

performance review provides a record and reinforces the feedback. This step is often known as

the Achilles' heel of the process, as managers can struggle to give feedback, particularly negative

feedback.

In conclusion, the performance management process is similar to the PDCA cycle and requires

continuous improvement. In the next topics, we'll dive deeper into each step of the process.

Who – Performance Management

a) frontline managers
b) employees
c) HRs
d) customers
e) stakeholders

How: Design elements

a) reflects the organisational strategy
b) employee performance clearly connected with organisational goals and mission
c) top management buy-in
d) top management communicated importance all the way to the front line
e) clearly differentiates performance
f) Comprehensive
g) transparent + employees understand
h) oversight
Lecture 9
Setting SMART goals
Goals are at the heart of coaching. There are many catchy frameworks to set effective goals,
such as FAST, HEART, SMART and other.

Here I’d like to invite you to revisit SMART, not only because it is classic, but also because
there’s a significant body of research unpinning the effectiveness of this method.

SMART is a framework to set effective goals. It is an acronym for five attributes of effective
goals: specific, measurable, agreed-upon, reasonable, and time-bound. There’s variation
regarding the words but regardless of the variation, each attribute of a goal is to make sure
our goals are motivating so that we can take action and reach the goals eventually. Let’s take
a look at each of the attributes with examples.

Specific means we need to specify the goals and translate them into actionable items. For
example, increasing sales is not a specific goal; to make it specific, we can say increase the
online sales in the top three accounts. The more specific, the more likely we’re going to take
action upon it.

Measurable is to quantify the goals and come up with an indicator so that we know we
succeeded in attaining this goal. For the general goal of increasing sales, a measurable goal
can be to increase the sales by 10% compared to the sales in the 1st quarter of last year.

Achievable means we need to set reasonable goals. Managers need to make sure the
employees have the necessary skills, resources, and opportunities to achieve the goals. For
example, increasing the sales in the physic store by 10% during the MCO, is this a
reasonable goal? If we change it to online sales, we also need to make sure the online
platform is in place and employees know how to navigate it.

Relevant means the goals must be relevant to the job and organisation so that the
achievement of the goals can contribute to organizational success.

Last, time-bound, this is rather straightforward. We need to establish a clear and specific
timeline so that we can accomplish the goals accordingly.

Taken together, the SMART framework provides us with a guideline to specify the action
plan of the goals, to make the goals more engaging and motivating.

References
Indeed Editorial Team. 2021.SMART goals ：definition and examples. [online] Available at:
<https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/smart-goals> [Accessed 20
April 2022].
Kwik, J., 2021.Set SMART Goals But Don't Forget The HEART. [online] Available at:
<https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/set-smart-goals-dont-forget-heart-jim-kwik> [Accessed 20
April 2022].
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/smart-goals
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/set-smart-goals-dont-forget-heart-jim-kwik

The limitations of SMART goals and remedies

SMART is a practical framework but there are risks associated with it. I’d like to walk you
through some of the common risks so that you’re aware of them and able to tackle them
while you’re using this framework with your employees.

First, SMART is a tactical tool, so tactical that we may lose sight of the big picture, the
organisational strategy, the mission, and the value. For example, Ford came up with a
SMART goal to keep the cost of a car under USD2000 but this ended up with many defects in
the cars, which is conflicting with their value to produce safe cars. To ease this risk, we can
add another meaning to the R in the SMART, that is to make sure the goals are relevant and
aligned with our mission and value.

Second, the measurable underlines the goals need to be quantitative and results-oriented.
However, not all the goals can be quantified, for example, becoming a compassionate leader.
And if people become obsessed with the results, they may engage in unethical behaviours.
Enron is a tangible example in point. With the M, we need to make sure the “measurable”
are meaningful and moral.

Third, to make achievable goals, the managers and employees tend to set easy goals. The
goal-setting theory suggests effective goals that are challenging as well as specific. Google
encourage Googlers to set ambitious or stretch goals. Even if they fall short of the ambitious
goals in the end, they are exceeding the average goals. What we need to do is to strike the
right balance between achievable and ambitious, we need to stretch our employees out of
their comfort zone but we don’t want to overstretch them into panic zones by setting
unreasonable goals.

Fourth, the relevant goals only underline the need of the organisations. It seems that the
goals are imposed on employees. We know that command and control do not work in the
long run. It is essential to get employees to agree and own their goals. Managers also need
to highlight the meaning and benefits of achieving these goals for the employee. We can add
another A to the SMART model, which is agreed upon, which means the manager needs to
set the goals jointly with the employee. Ask for employees’ opinions and willingness. This is
tapping into the need for autonomy which is essential for intrinsic motivation. A tip is that
goals are effective when people are publically committed to them.

To summarize, we need to make goals meaningful, ambitious, and agreed-upon in addition

to the SMART principle. Final thought, no tool is perfect. The tool serves people, don’t’
become slaves to the tools and apply them rigidly. With goal setting, the most important
thing is to understand the mechanism underlying tools, such as, motivation. We are setting
goals so that they are taking actions to attain the goals and ultimately attain satisfying
performance.

Giving effective feedback

Why are a lot of us willing to pay extra for a personal coach in the gym? One of the reasons
that make the coach valuable is the feedback. Words like “ well-done” “ keep it up”, “ you
are almost there”, and “ Move right a bit”. It sustains and nurtures us along the way.

Feedback is the information employees receive about their performance so that they
know how well they are doing. Feedback generally falls into two categories, positive and
negative feedback. Both kinds of feedback are important to motivate employees. The
positive feedback can reinforce the positive behaviours and the negative feedback is to
correct the negative behaviours.

The Gallup survey reports only 26% of the employees found the feedback they get is helpful.
Here are some tips for giving effective feedback regarding:

CONTENT: Effective feedback is specific, i.e. behaviour-based. For example, instead of just
saying “good job”, we can say “you did a good job speaking with data in the presentation”, “I
like the way you started with questions to grab the audience's attention”, I appreciate that
you spent extra hours revising the report.

For the negative feedback, a typical structure is BIC, behaviours, the impact of such
behaviours, and consequences if such behaviours are not changed. We’ll dive into the
structure of effective negative feedback shortly.

TIME: Effective feedback needs to be given promptly. For positive feedback, employees
would feel appreciated and recognized, which is rather motivating. For negative feedback,
we need to take action to change before the concerns or problems build up and become
unsolvable.

VENUE: We give positive feedback to reinforce the behaviours. We also want other
employees to follow the role model. So we can do this in public. In negative feedback
situations, we need to do it in private and protect the self-esteem of the employees.

Negative feedback is like a shot, it is painful but it is good for our health. Renninger’s lab has
suggested a three-part formula based on their studies of numerous great feedback givers.

Great feedback givers try to start off the conversation by getting begins with a micro yes
from the recipient, e.g. “ Do you have five minutes to talk about the presentation?”, “ I have
some ideas on how to improve the report, can I share them with you”? This will ease the
pain or threat associated with feedback. The yes or no question can give the recipient a
sense of autonomy.
Then, we move on to the data point, which is similar to the points we highlighted in the
content earlier, that is we need to specify the behaviours, verifiable behaviours. For
example,, instead of saying something general such as you are lazy, you can say “ I have
noticed that you were late for three meetings and missed two deliverables”.

Third, we need to specify the impact of the behaviours. For example, “we have lost one key
client because of your delayed report, and the estimated loss is 10K”.

Last, great feedback wraps up the conversation ended with questions and and compassion.
Ask “ how do you think?” “ I know this may sound hard, but I’m sharing this because I care
for you”. “Is there anything I can be of any further help?”.

References
Renninger, L., 2020. The secret to giving great feedback. [online] Available at:
<https://www.ted.com/talks/leeann_renninger_the_secret_to_giving_great_feedback?lang
uage=en> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
Lecture 10
Compensation refers to all forms of financial returns and tangible services and benefits
employees receive as part of an employment relationship.

Pay model

Money->Mix->Messaging
Lecture 11

I. Basic Factors in Determining Pay Rates

– employee compensation refers to all forms of pay or rewards going to employees, which
include direct financial payments and indirect payments.

Direct financial payments include wages, salaries, incentives, commissions, and bonuses.
Indirect payments include financial benefits like employer-paid insurance and vacations.

Major factors determining pay rates include the following but are not limited to them:

A. Aligning Total Rewards with Strategy – the compensation plan should first advance the
firm’s strategic aims – management should produce an aligned reward strategy. This means
creating a compensation package that produces the employee behaviors the firm needs to
achieve its competitive strategy.

B. Equity and Its Impact on Pay Rates – the equity theory of motivation postulates that
people are motivated to maintain a balance between what they perceive as their
contributions and their rewards. External and internal equity are crucial in pay rates. External
equity refers to how pay compares with rates in other organizations. Internal equity refers to
employees viewing their pay as equitable given other pay rates in the organization.
Individual equity refers to the fairness of an individual’s pay as compared with what his/her
coworkers are earning for the same or very similar jobs in the company. Last, procedural
equity refers to the perceived fairness of the processes and procedures used to make
decisions regarding the allocation of pay.

C. Legal Considerations in Compensation – there are many laws that govern compensation.
For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in the US regulates the minimum wage
and requires that overtime be paid at a rate of one and one half times the normal rate of pay
for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Employees are categorized as exempt from the act
or non-exempt from its provisions. Other compensation laws include Davis-Bacon Act,
Walsh-Healey Public Contract Act, and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

II. Job Evaluation Methods

– is a formal and systematic comparision of jobs to determine the work of one job relative to
another. The aim is to determine a job’s relative worth and eventually establish a wage or
salary structure. The basic principle of job evaluation is this: jobs that require greater
qualifications, more responsibilities, and more complex job duties should receive more pay
than jobs with lesser requirements.
A. Compensable Factors – factors that jobs have in common can be used to establish
how the jobs compare to one another. The fundamental, compensable element of a job,
such as skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.
B. Preparing for the Job Evaluation – job evaluation is a judgmental process and
demands close cooperation among supervisors, HR specialists, employees, and union
representatives. The main steps include identifying the need for the job evaluation, getting
cooperation, and then choosing an evaluation committee. The committee then performs the
actual evaluation which consists of three main functions: 1) identifying 10 to 15 key
benchmark jobs, 2) selecting compensable factors, and 3) evaluating the worth.
C. Job Evaluation Methods: Ranking – the simplest job evaluation method ranks each
job relative to all other jobs, usually based on some overall factor like “job difficulty.” There
are several steps in the job ranking method: obtain job information, select and group jobs,
select compensable factors, rank jobs, combine ratings, compare current pay with what
others are paying based on salary survey, and assign a new pay scale.
D. Job Evaluation Methods: Job Classification – this is a simple, widely used method in
which raters categorize jobs into groups; all the jobs in each group are of roughly the same
value for pay purposes. The groups are called classes if they contain similar jobs or grades if
they contain jobs that are similar in difficulty but otherwise different. Also known as job
grading.
E. Job Evaluation Methods: Point Method – it involves identifying several compensable
factors for the jobs, as well as the degree to which each factor is present in each job.
Assume there are five degrees of the compensable factor “responsibility” a job could contain.
Further, assume you assign a different number of points to each degree of each
compensable factor. Once the evaluation committee determines the degree to which each
compensable factor (like “responsibility” and “effort”) is present in the job, the committee can
calculate a total point value for the job by adding up the corresponding points for each factor.
The result is a quantitative point rating for each job.
F. Computerized Job Evaluations – using quantitative job evaluation methods such as
the point method can be time-consuming. Computer-aided job evaluation streamlines this
process. Most computerized systems have two main components: structured questionnaires
and statistical models. These elements allow the computer program to price jobs more or
less automatically by assigning points.