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115196 1 (1981-01-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacuuy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: An litegrated Approach to Human Resource Management Robert Pernick Mr. Pernick is a personnel research psy- chologist with GAO s Office of Organiza- tion and Human Development. Prior to this he spent 3 years as an internal consultant on the agency s Organization Development staff Mr Pemick s current organizational activities include designing career man- agement systems, developing performance appraisal systems, and teaching manage- ment development courses on performance improvement He holds a master's degree in organization behavior from New York Insti- tute of Technology. 71 Editor's Note: GAO has been work- ing to develop and implement an inte- grated human resource management system. Mr. Pernick is with the Research and Analysis Branch of the newly formed Office of Organization and Human Development, which brought together a number of GAO components working in the area The views expressed in the article are his own, and they reflect one approach to an integrated system. GA O's approach, now being developed, will reflect many of the concepts expressed here, but will surely be different from this pro- posed model. In October 1980, GAO began operat- ing an independent personnel system which removed it from most Office of Personnel Management regulations. This independence, combined with a continually expanding congressional mandate, a changing work force, legal constraints on employment practices, and improvements in personnel man- agement technology, gives GAO the responsibility and opportunity to create a human resource management (HRM) system that would help it more effectively manage its employees In looking at these responsibilities and opportunities, this article serves four purposes. First, it gives a back- ground on a variety of personnel man- agement changes that could occur. Second, the article broadly defines the need for and benefits of HRM and sug- gests its relevance to GAO. Third, this introduction to the field gives a context for considering several of GAO's own programs. Finally, the article notes several reasons why an organization needs to establish a comprehensive policy and a systematic approach to HRM. In this latter context the article discusses one integrated system that could enhance GAO's management of human resources in the 1980's. Conmponents of Unman Resource Managenaent In broad terms, human resource management is an attitude and ap- proach of managers toward the effec- tive selection, use and development of people in organizations.' This HRM approach has a two-fold goal: first, to improve employee productivity on a variety of important performance mea- sures such as cost savings, perfor- mance level or rate, timeliness, and accuracy; and second, to enhance the qualitative aspects of the work place- e.g., challenging and interesting work, reasonable control over one's job, and satisfying interpersonal relationships. Improving these qualitative dimensions will benefit the employee and could also have significant organizational payoffs through reduced turnover, absenteeism, tardiness, grievances filed, accident rate. slowdowns, strikes, equipment breakage, and employee theft. HRM has evolved in response to the fundamental changes in our society that are influencing organizational effectiveness These changes have been well documented (see. e.g., HEW Task Force, 1973 O'Toole, 1974; Davis & Cherns, 1975; Herzberg, 1976 Sut- tIe, 1977; Walker, 1980) In brief, these changes include demographics (an agig and expanding work force), higher-educated employees, persistent productivity declines, legal and regu- latory constraints, and changing em- ployee attitudes. Naturally these changes have many organizational and managerial conse- quences. As some workers elect to stay on the job past the traditional retirement age, different managerial strategies are required. The techniques that motivate a 70-year-old employee may not be effective with a 20-year- old. The demand for jobs has greatly increased as baby boom members and women enter the full-time labOr market in record numbers. The work force's education level has risen, and workers tend to be less satisfied with routine employment. In general em- ployees tend to expect more from work Continuing declines in U.S. pro- ductivity reduce the number and tyP0 of employment opportunities and alo5 limit salary potential for those fortu- nate enough to find work. A large body of Federal and State legislation has increasingly defined managerial action (IA NRevewSpring 1

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