2 Discussion Question
Discussion 1
| HRIS Systems |
In at least 200 words, define HRIS and explain how it differs from e-HRM. Describe a relational database and its importance to HRIS.
Discussion 2
| Planning for Implementation |
Read “Case Study: Vignette Revisited,” and the section titled, “New Information for the Case: Part 1,” from Chapter 3, Summary and Resources.
· Describe the concerns you would discuss with the SVP of HR.
· You realize the project is going to impact a lot of departments and people. Identify the different customers who would be logical members of the implementation team and explain why.
· Think through an HR process; describe the data you would want to collect.
· Describe the pros and cons of investing in computer hardware and housing the network internally or using a cloud based architecture. Why?
CASE STUDY: VIGNETTE REVISITED ________________________________
This case is revisited with some additional information that involves the understanding of the material in this chapter. The additional information will be added to the situation described in the vignette at the beginning of this chapter.
A billion-dollar retailer with more than 4,000 stores finds that it cannot move fast enough to beat the competition. The organization’s senior management arrives at the conclusion that it would be easier to achieve the strategic goals enumerated by the board of directors if the various organizational functions would share information. Shared information would enable them to develop and deploy new actions and tactics more quickly. The CEO and the president have therefore ordered the major functions to immediately update their information systems so that data sharing is possible. The senior vice presidents (SVPs) of accounting and human resources immediately decide that the only solution is to decide jointly on an ERP product. ERP software applications are a set of integrated database applications, or modules, that carry out the most common business functions, including human resources, general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, order management, inventory control, and customer relationship management. To speed the installation along, they will install it using a rapid implementation methodology that a company down the street used. The goal is to have the new systems operational in nine months.
Shortly after this decision is made, the SVP of HR calls you into his office and tells you that you will be management sponsor for this project. You have to decide on everything. You sit back in your nice office and think:
What’s the problem with this scenario? It shouldn’t be difficult to select a vendor and then borrow the methodology from down the street. It worked for them; it should work for us! We’ll call a few vendors in the morning and find out about cost, time frame, and implementation methods. In the meantime, I should find out a little more about how to do this and who will be using it. I remember from my information systems class in college that this is a reasonable first step when it comes to buying software.
What do you think your response would be to this inquiry? Has your response changed now that you have read this chapter? If so, how?
New Information for the Case: Part 1
After some discussions with department heads from all the departments in the organization, you realize that there are a large number of people (stakeholders) who will be affected by the new systems. Furthermore, you come to realize how important HR data really are to these stakeholders. Based on this information, you think, “Wow, there are far more people who could be potentially using this information system than I expected!” The old textbook and the vendor information should provide a lot to think about.
Using the information from the section of this chapter titled “HRIS Customers/Users: Data Importance,” please answer the following questions:
1. Identify some of the customers who would be logical members of the implementation team and explain why.
2. Think through an HR process and sketch out what data are necessary to complete your sample process well. How much history does the organization need to convert to continue functioning?
3. Pick one area of the HR function (e.g., recruiting), and make a list of processes that will need to be mapped and possibly reengineered during this implementation.
| Weekly Lecture |
Week One Lecture
Welcome to HRM400, Human Resource Technology Management. Do not let the name of the course scare you. This is not a highly technical course. You will be learning broad technological concepts and vocabulary, learning enough about different terms so you can have an intelligent conversation with a seasoned pro. No, you will not be an expert, but you will have enough understanding of the different terms to attend a meeting and understand the fundamentals of the discussion. During this lecture, I will define Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), discuss current HRIS trends, provide tips for success, and provide a short list of search terms.
What is HRIS?
First thing I need to clarify is throughout this course I will be discussing Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS). Human resource information systems are “used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute information regarding an organization’s human resources” (Kavanagh, Thite, & Johnson, 2015, p. 591). Please notice that there is nothing in the definition that indicates computers or technology. A human resource information system can be, for example, a paper based record keeping system that uses file cabinets. Human resources information systems do not have to be computerized. Some small businesses may still use paper-based systems for their record keeping. Hey, whatever works for you and your organization. However, for this course, assume we are talking about the use of technological tools and software systems.
HRIS is also known as Human Resource Management System (HRMS). You need to learn these different terms to assist you in researching literature to complete your discussion question responses and assignments. I will provide a list of search terms at the end of this lecture. There is also a very nice glossary at the back of Kavanagh’s (2015) textbook for your reference. If you truly want to be successful in your career, take time to learn the vocabulary.
Current HRIS Trends
Performance management systems are trending away from pure hierarchal structures and including ways to evaluate teams. Presently, holacracy, or self-managed teams are a popular fad management practices within some organizations. So, software designers are creating applications designed to incorporate multiple organizational designs in their performance management packages (Bersin, 2017). If you do not know what holacracy is, I recommend you visit www.holacracy.org
or read Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World, by Brian Robertson (2015).
The article 9 HR Tech Trends for 2017
, by Josh Bersin (2017), discusses nine (9) different HR technological trends. Figure 1, below shows the different trends. These trends include:
1. The Performance Management Revolution,
2. An Explosion in Real-Time Engagement Evaluation,
3. The Rise of People Analytics,
4. Maturation of the Learning Market,
5. A New Landscape for Talent Acquisition,
6. The Growth of Contingent Workforce Management,
7. The Adoption of Team Management Tools,
8. A Wealth of Wellness Apps, and
9. Accelerated Automated HR.
Figure 1. Transformative Technology (Bersin, 2017)
1. The Performance Management Revolution
· Currently, there are more than a dozen companies that offer cloud-based (Links to an external site.) , performance management applications that focus on team performance. These systems are designed to integrate with other enterprise software systems.
1. An Explosion in Real-Time Engagement Evaluation
· Performance software now offers organizations near real-time individual performance feedback called pulse-based feedback systems. These systems are always on, allowing for rapid feedback.
1. The Rise of People Analytics
· These systems offer advanced analytical solutions involving reporting dashboards (Links to an external site.) , predicative analytics (Links to an external site.) , and the ability to identify possible retention issues and promotions that would fit specific individuals, as well as who not to promote to those positions.
1. Maturation of the Learning Market
· Existing legacy software (Links to an external site.) systems (i.e., older HR programs) are being redesigned and updated with revolutionary new releases. New learning management systems (Links to an external site.) are being designed to allow organizational users to enter the system and look for classes that interest them and not just register for assigned courses. The course offerings are data driven per the individual’s needs to encourage participation and enhance individual career development.
1. A New Landscape for Talent Acquisition
· Recruiting software has truly matured over the years. At one point in the early years of recruiting software, they performed as a repository of job applications that were word searchable. Now systems allow users to interact with social media, conduct pre-hire skills assessment, perform background checks, and even psychological testing. Interviewing candidates can also be conducted through the latest software.
1. The Growth of Contingent Workforce Management
· According to Bersin (2017), approximately 40% of today’s workers are employed as contingent workers (Links to an external site.) . Most universities have a large contingent instructor base. Many writers for magazines and websites are freelance (contingent). We live in a gig-based society. Uber uses a contingent workforce. The drivers are paid on a per job basis. Software is available to help manage the large numbers of contingent workers. The new software can assign jobs and monitor performance. Again, think of Uber, you can rate your driver, and your driver can rate the customer.
1. The Adoption of Team Management Tools
· Team management tools help groups collaborate and track their work. These tools have real-time messaging and allow for document sharing and editing. These tools are not strictly HR related. But do help HR professionals do their daily job.
· You have powerful team tools available to you right now. For instance, your student email portal is an advanced online Microsoft cloud-based system. Using your account, you can share and edit files in emails, or directly from OneDrive (Links to an external site.) , a cloud-based storage system. You can create a shared folder in One Drive. Your Microsoft Office 2016 (Links to an external site.) team based tools can also perform other extremely advanced functions. I do hope you are storing all your documents in OneDrive. If your computer crashes, or you lose your phone, all your files are safely stored online. You can retrieve your work at any time, with any internet capable device.
1. A Wealth of Wellness Apps
· Health and wellness apps are expected to become highly integrated into the HR process. Through different inputs and analytical packages, HR will be able to monitor activity, how happy employees are, and even how well they take care of themselves. The outputs will allow HR to make improvements on working conditions, improve productivity, and provide nudges to employees to take better care of themselves, all while helping advance their careers.
1. Accelerated Automated HR
· HR is expected to integrate Artificial Intelligence (Links to an external site.) (AI) into more and more systems as time passes. AI systems such as Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) (Links to an external site.) , Apple’s Siri (Links to an external site.) , and Google’s Google Now (Links to an external site.) voice recognition services could serve as the foundation for HR customer service systems. The Artificial Intelligence systems will streamline HR customer self-service features (Bersin, 2017).
For more information on trends in HRIS, I recommend you read Josh Bersin’s article titled, Transformative Tech, A Disruptive Year Ahead
(2017). The article can be found in the school’s library. The full reference is in the reference section at the bottom of this page. Use the advanced setting for the library’s search engine. Author: Bersin, Title: Transformative Tech, A Disruptive Year Ahead.
Tips for Course Success
During the course, you will not be learning how to use different kinds of available software or even learning their trade names. Rather, you will explore concepts in rather broad terms. Because of the rapidly changing technological environment, you may need to use contemporary sources, such as trade magazines (e.g., Forbes or HR Today), instead of pure scholarly sources or textbooks. Yes, you can even use Google to find the latest trends in HR related technology. I encourage you to let the class know what cool things you learn during your research.
By the time you read this, any technology I recommend may be out of date when you take the course. Such is the rapid nature of change in the HRIS field. Currently, technology is trending away from HR customers having to login to the HR account on their corporate computer, to using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet (Bersin, 2017). By the time this course will come up for rewrite, there will be other new technologies available that are presently unknown.
Search Terms
Below is a list of terms you may find useful in locating research articles for the different discussions and assignments. The HRIS field is in constant flux. There are many different terms that may lead you to concepts you want to further explore for this course. Do not let the wide array of vocabulary discourage you; just embrace and celebrate our constant changing English language as it tries desperately to catch up with emerging technological trends. You are learning about a relatively new field of study, so the terms have not completely settled yet. I highly recommend you create a personal glossary.
· HCM: Human Capital Management, also known as, Talent Management, or Human Resource Management
· HRIS: Human Resource Information Systems, also known as HRMS
· HRM: Human Resource Management
· HRMS: Human Resource Management System, also known as HRIS
· Talent Management, also known as Human Capital Management
Conclusion
During this lecture, I defined HRIS, discussed current trends, provided tips for success, and provided a short list of search terms. As you can see, HRIS is a rapidly evolving discipline. The industry changes too quickly for any single class to keep up. So, I focused on providing you a broad set of concepts and terms. Your job during this course is to read the textbook carefully, then conduct research into contemporary trends, and educate yourself on the topic using the most current information possible. I truly hope you enjoy the course.
End Note
The provided Wikipedia links are for general information overview and not for use as a scholarly reference.
References
Bersin, J. (2017). Transformative tech: A disruptive year ahead. HR Magazine, 62(1), 29-36.
Kavanagh, M. J., Thite, M., & Johnson, R. D. (Eds.). (2015). Human resource information systems: Basics, applications, and future directions (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Robertson, B. J. (2015). Holacracy: The new management system for a rapidly changing world. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
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