1.4 Module Review

1. Do you think an employee's productivity is affected by whether they are satisfied or unsatisfied as an employee? 

Speaking from personal experience, productivity is highly reflective on the satisfaction of the employee. I have noticed that I work harder and more efficiently when I know I’m respected by my co-workers and boss, as I feel more a part of the team and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the task at hand. On the other hand, I’ve been in situations where I’ve felt zero motivation to get anything done because of the negative work environment. On page 54 in the book, it discusses employee attitudes and how the attitude we have toward work can either drive us to work harder and achieve self-worth, or it can do the opposite depending on our environment. If you have a supportive boss who is encouraging, you’re more willing to work really hard on projects. But if you have someone who belittles you, or points out all your wrongdoings, then it can hurt one’s self-esteem. Page 36 discusses productivity and says “managers can influence productivity by the sound application of HRM programs. Once managers evaluate their team and its needs, they can better improve management.

2. In general terms, describe strategic HRM and its importance in the organization.

Strategic HRM is defined in the book as “the development and implementation of human resource processes to facility the achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives”. In other words, it’s the building blocks on how to achieve the objectives of HRM. In my current department at a major university, a director was just hired to replace the position of someone who hadn’t benefited the department much at all. What she discovered was that the department as a whole didn’t have any process or procedure manual. There were no guidelines for rules to follow, so everything has been slowly falling apart. Everyone did what they wanted to do, essentially. This is one example of...