A Human Resources Management System Essay

A Human Resources Management System (HRMS) or Human Resources Information System (HRIS), refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin from software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible. A Human Capital Management Solution, Human Resources Management System (HRMS) or Human Resources Information System (HRIS), as it is commonly called is the crossing of HR systems and processes with information technology. The wave of technological advancement has revolutionized each and every space of life today, and HR in its entirety was not left untouched by it. What started off with a simple software to help improve the payroll processing of an organization, or a software to track the employee work timings has grown to become the Human Resources systems that helps improve the process efficiency, reduces the cost and time spent on mundane tasks and at the same time improved the overall experience of the employees and the HR professionals. In short, as the role of Human Resources function evolved, HR technology systems also changed the role they were playing. The function of human resources (HR) departments is administrative and common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Management of â€Å"human capital† progressed to an imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data, which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing specialized human resource management systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before client–server architectures evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to  mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of client–server, application service provider, and software as a service (SaaS) or human resource management systems enabled higher administrative control of such systems. Currently human resource management systems encompass: 1. Payroll 2. Time and attendance 3. Performance appraisal 4. Benefits administration 5. HR management information system 6. Recruiting/Learning management 7. Performance record 8. Employee self-service 9. Scheduling 10. Absence management 11. Analytics The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems. The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions. The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement. The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and  development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to â€Å"read† applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to: produce pay checks and payroll reports; maintain personnel records; pursue talent management. Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. Talent management systems typically encompass: analyzing personnel usage within an organization; identifying potential applicants; recruiting through company-facing listings; recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants. The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the development of a dedicated applicant tracking system, or ‘ATS’, module. The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a â€Å"learning management system† (LMS) if a standalone product, allows HR to track education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMS allow managers to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside performance management and appraisal metrics. The employee self-service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the system. Employees may query their attendance  record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel. The module also lets supervisors approve O.T. requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading the task on HR department. Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management information systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring, job placement, performance appraisals, employee benefit analysis, health, safety and security, while others integrate an outsourced applicant tracking system that encompasses a subset of the above. Assigning Responsibilities Communication between the Employees. The Analytics module enables organizations to extend the value of an HRMS implementation by extracting HR related data for use with other business intelligence platforms. For example, organizations combine HR metrics with other business data to identify trends and anomalies in headcount in order to better predict the impact of employee turnover on future output. Management of Employee Turnover and Employee Retention Employee retention refers to the ability of an organization to retain its employees. Employee retention can be represented by a simple statistic (for example, a retention rate of 80% usually indicates that an organization kept 80% of its employees in a given period). However, many consider employee retention as relating to the efforts by which employers attempt to retain employees in their workforce. In this sense, retention becomes the strategies rather than the outcome. A distinction should be drawn between low performing employees and top performers, and efforts to retain employees should be targeted at valuable, contributing employees. Employee turnover is a symptom of a deeper issue that has not been resolved. These deeper issues may include low employee morale, absence of a clear career path, lack of recognition, poor employee-manager relationships or many other issues. A lack of satisfaction and commitment to the organization can also cause an employee to withdraw and begin looking for other opportunities. Pay does not always play as large a role in inducing turnover as is typically believed. In a business setting, the goal of employers is usually to decrease employee turnover, thereby decreasing training costs, recruitment costs and loss of talent and organisational knowledge. By implementing lessons learned from  key organizational behavior concepts employers can improve retention rates and decrease the associated costs of high turnover. However, this isn’t always the case. Employers can seek â€Å"positive turnover† whereby they aim to maintain only those employees who they consider to be high performers. In human resources context, turnover or staff turnover or labour turnover is the rate at which an employer loses and gains employees. Simple ways to describe it are â€Å"how long employees tend to stay† or â€Å"the rate of traffic through the revolving door†. Turnover is measured for individual companies and for their industry as a whole. If an employer is said to have a high turnover relative to its competitors, it means that employees of that company have a shorter average tenure than those of other companies in the same industry. High turnover may be harmful to a company’s productivity if skilled workers are often leaving and the worker population contains a high percentage of novice workers. Companies also often track turnover internally across departments and divisions or other demographic groups such as turnover of women versus turnover of men. Retention Programs It is important to first pinpoint the root cause of the retention issue before implementing a program to address it. Once identified, a program can be tailored to meet the unique needs of the organization. A variety of programs exist to help increase employee retention. Career Development – It is important for employees to understand their career path within an organization to motivate them to remain in the organization to achieve their personal career goals. Through surveys, discussion and classroom instruction, employees can better understand their goals for personal development. With these developmental goals in mind, organizations can offer tailored career development opportunities to their employees. Executive Coaching – Executive coaching can be used to build competencies in leaders within an organization. Coaching can be useful in times of organizational change, to increase a leader’s effectiveness or to encourage managers to implement coaching techniques with peers and direct reports. The coaching process begins with an assessment of the individual’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. The issues are then prioritized and  interventions are delivered to target key weaknesses. Assistance is then provided to encourage repeated use of newly acquired skills. Motivating Across Generations – Today’s workforce includes a diverse population of employees from multiple generations. As each generation holds different expectations for the workplace, it is important to understand the differences between these generations regarding motivation and engagement. Managers, especially, must understand how to handle the differences among their direct re ports. Orientation and On Boarding – An employee’s perception of an organization takes shape during the first several days on the job. It is in the best interest of both the employee and the organization to impart knowledge about the company quickly and effectively to integrate the new employee into the workforce. By implementing an effective on boarding process, short-term turnover rates will decrease and productivity will increase. Women’s Retention Programs – Programs such as mentoring, leadership development and networking that are geared specifically toward women can help retain top talent and decrease turnover costs. By implementing programs to improve work/life balance, employees can be more engaged and productive while at work. Exit Interview and Separation Management Programs Retention tools and resources Employee Surveys – By surveying employees, organizations can gain insight into the motivation, engagement and satisfaction of their employees. It is important for organizations to understand the perspective of the employee in order to create programs targeting any particular issues that may impact employee retention. Exit Interviews – By including exit interviews in the process of employee separation, organizations can gain valuable insight into the workplace experience. Exit interviews allow the organization to understand the triggers of the employee’s desire to leave as well as the aspects of their work that they enjoyed. The organization can then use this information to make necessary changes to their company to retain top talent. Exit interviews must, however, ask the right questions and elicit honest responses from separating employees to be effective. Employee Retention Consultants – An employee retention consultant can assist organizations in the process of retaining top employees. Consultants can provide expertise on  how to best identify the issues within an organization that are related to turnover. Once identified, a consultant can suggest programs or organizational changes to address these issues and may also assist in the implementation of these programs or changes. Employee retention best practices By focusing on the fundamentals, organizations can go a long way towards building a high-retention workplace. Organizations can start by defining their culture and identifying the types of individuals that would thrive in that environment. Organizations should adhere to the fundamental new hire orientation and on boarding plans. Attracting and recruiting top talent requires time, resources and capital. However, these are all wasted if employees are not positioned to succeed within the company. Research has shown that an employee’s first 10 days are critical because the employee is still adjusting and getting acclimated to the organization. Companies retain good employees by being employers of choice. Recruitment- Presenting applicants with realistic job previews during the recruitment process have a positive effect on retaining new hires. Employers that are transparent about the positive and negative aspects of the job, as well as the challenges and expectations are positionin g themselves to recruit and retain stronger candidates. Selection- There are plethora of selection tools that can help predict job performance and subsequently retention. These include both subjective and objective methods and while organizations are accustomed to using more subjective tools such as interviews, application and resume evaluations, objective methods are increasing in popularity. For example, utilizing biographical data during selection can be an effective technique. Biodata empirically identifies life experiences that differentiate those who stay with an organization and those who quit. Life experiences associated with employees may include tenure on previous jobs, education experiences, and involvement and leadership in related work experiences. Socialization- Socialization practices delivered via a strategic onboarding and assimilation program can help new employees become embedded in the company and thus more likely to stay. Research has shown that socialization practices can help new hires become embedded in the company and thus more likely to stay. These practices include shared and individualized learning  experiences, activities that allow people to get to know one another. Such practices may include providing employees with a role model, mentor or trainer or providing timely and adequate feedback. Training and development- Providing ample training and development opportunities can discourage turnover by keeping employees satisfied and well-positioned for future growth opportunities. In fact, dissatisfaction with potential career development is one of the top three reasons employees (35%) often feel inclined to look elsewhere. if employees are not given opportunities to continually update their skills, they are more likely to leave. Those who receive more training are less likely to quite than those who receive little or no training. Employers that fear providing training will make their employees more marketable and thus increase turnover can offer job specific training, which is less transferable to other contexts. Additi onally, employers can increase retention through development opportunities such as allowing employees to further their education and reimbursing tuition for employees who remain with the company for a specified amount of time. Compensation and rewards- Pay levels and satisfaction are only modest predictors of an employee’s decision to leave the organization; however organizations can lead the market with a strong compensation and reward package as 53% of employees often look elsewhere because of poor compensation and benefits. Organizations can explicitly link rewards to retention (i.e. vacation hours to seniority, offer retention Bonus payments or Employee stock options, or define benefit plan payouts to years of services). Research has shown that defined compensation and rewards as associated with longer tenure. Additionally, organizations can also look to intrinsic rewards such as increased decision-making autonomy. Though this is important, employers should not Effective Leaders- An employee’s relationship with his/her immediately ranking supervisor or manager is equally important to keeping to making an employee feel embedded and valued within the organization. Supervisors need to know how to motivate their employees and reduce cost while building loyalty in their key people. Managers need to reinforce employee productivity and open communication, to coach employees and provide meaningful feedback and inspire employees to work as an effective team. In order to achieve this, organizations need to prepare managers and supervisors to lead and develop effective relationships  with their subordinates. Executive Coaching can help increase an individual’s effectiveness as a leader as well as boast a climate of learning, trust and teamwork in an organization. To encourage supervisors to focus on retention among their teams, organizations can incorporate a retention metric into their organization’s evaluation. Employee Engagement- Employees who are satisfied with their jobs, enjoy their work and the organization, believe their job to be more important, take pride in the company and feel their contributions are impactful are five times less likely to quit than employees who were not engaged. Engaged employees give their companies crucial competitive advantages, including higher productivity and lower employee turnover.

Middle Eastern Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Middle Eastern Politics - Essay Example This is a time for Presidential election-2008. Democratic candidates like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican candidates like Rudy Giuliani and other prominent leaders are in the fray. The general public and political fury against the Republicans concerning United States' military involvement has digressed to a great extent towards the Democrats especially after publication of Carter's book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. In this sense, his workmanship as an author is benefiting opponents of Democrats!!! How it is happening It is anybody's guess. This is a catch 22 situation. Carter is becoming the cause of "making a mountain of a mole". Democrats are being sandwiched real hard from top to bottom and vice versa like butter and ham between two slices of bread. Why Carter's book sees the light of day at this juncture Maybe just to go for a digression and attract voters attention towards Democrats because otherwise Republicans were being seen falling pray to wider criticism from masses and media about their Iraq policy. One wonders whether this trick can really serve its purpose in the ultimate analysis - giving a boost to the popularity of the Democrats in President ial elections. This is a very high risk proposition. Indeed, stakes are also very high and heavy. Carter has made his Damocles' sword hang on Israelis and Jews inasmuch as he has branded them agents of direct policy of Apartheid against Palestine people and land. The powerful Jew community of United States (US) from within and without has started aiming at the Democrats in the form of a planned campaign. It is because Carter's book points nearly throughout its chapters that Israelis are violators of human rights and world peace: Gaza has maintained a population growth rate of 4.7 percent annually, one of the highest in the world, so more than half its people are less than fifteen years old. They are being strangled since the Israeli "withdrawal," surrounded by a separation barrier that is penetrated only by Israeli-controlled checkpoints, with just a single opening (for personnel only) into Egypt's Sinai as their access to the outside world. There have been no moves by Israel to permit transportation by sea or by air. Fishermen are not permitted to leave the harbor, workers are prevented from going to outside jobs, the import or export of food and other goods is severely restricted and often cut off completely, and the police, teachers, nurses, and social workers are deprived of salaries. Per capita income has decreased 40 percent during the last three years, and the poverty rate has reached 70 percent. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has stated that acute malnutrition in Gaza is already on the same scale as that seen in the poorer countries of the Southern Sahara, with more than half of Palestinian families eating only one meal a day. (Carter 176). Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian author supports Carter while reviewing his latest book. He writes: The 39th president of the United States, the most successful Arab-Israeli peace negotiator to date, has braved a storm of criticism, including the insinuation from the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League that his arguments are anti-Semitic. Mr. Carter has tried to mollify critics by suggesting

Market rate of return Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market rate of return - Assignment Example If it is observed that the returns are consistently below the SML line, it will mean that the stock is expected to rise, while if the returns are seen to be consistently above the line, then it will mean that the stock is due for a drop. Graphing the SML for a particular stock requires a stock with a beta that is higher than 1 and this usually outperforms the market, while a beta that is less than 1 implies that it underperforms the market (Shanken, 56). The y-intercept of the SML is equal to risk-free rate. The SML slope is equal to market risk premium and it usually reflects the return trade of a given time. Beta is termed as non-diversifiable or systematic risk. Basing on the generated regression line the equation created is=8.375x-0.166 Going by beta values, the security market line indicates that the relationship between return and risk is linear for the individual securities. For instance, increased return= increased risk. Essentially it indicates what return someone needs to e arn on an investment for it to be worth taking, and this is seen to increase with the investment riskiness. The Security Market Line formula is as below: Required Return = Risk Free Rate + (Beta x [Market Return - Risk Free Rate]) Calculate 95% confidence intervals for the slope and y-intercept. SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.997314 R Square 0.994636 Adjusted R Square 0.992848 Standard Error 0.005276 Observations 5 ANOVA Â   df SS MS F Significance F Regression 1 0.015486 0.015486 556.2975 0.000167 Residual 3 8.35E-05 2.78E-05 Total 4 0.01557 Â   Â   Â   Â   Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept 0.020428 0.004799 4.256403 0.023776 0.005154 0.035702 0.005154 0.035702 X Variable 1 0.118761 0.005035 23.58596 0.000167 0.102737 0.134786 0.102737 0.134786 RESIDUAL OUTPUT Observation Predicted Y Residuals 1 0.04418 0.00582 2 0.079809 -0.00481 3 0.109499 -0.0045 4 0.162942 0.002058 5 0.19857 0.00143 Look up t he current return on one-year Treasury bills/notes as your risk-free rate. Two good sources. In your report, please state your source and the date used. http://fxtrade.oanda.com/analysis/economic-indicators/united-states/rates/yield-curve Date used; November 29, 2013 My risk free rate is 0.05 Given the current risk-free rate, is the regression estimate of your risk-free rate match the actual current risk-free rate? Use confidence intervals to help answer this question. Basing on the confidence interval calculation above, the regression estimate of my risk free rate does not match the actual current risk-free rate because it falls outside the interval or range of 0.10273 and 0.13478 What is the current expected market rate of return (based on your regression)? Basing on my regression, the current expected market rate of return is as below; Using the equation generated from the regression; Y=8.375x-0.166 The current expected market rate of return is equal to X Therefore X=(y+0.166)/8. 375 But we are given Y which is 0.05. The X will now be (0.05+0.166)/8.375=0.02579 Therefore, the current expected market rate of return is 0.02579 Works Cited Shanken, J.On the Estimation of Beta-Pricing Models,"Review of Financial Studies, 5(1), 1{33,1992. Print Shanken, J.,and G.

Declarative Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Declarative Knowledge - Essay Example As Schraw (2001) explains about the individuals who possess a greater quantity of procedural knowledge. He describes them as having the ability to carry out more errands than others. Declarative knowledge refers to the factual information occupied by a person; this type of knowledge can be stated verbally or textually. Declarative knowledge is the most important among the types of knowledge due to the fact that it talks 'about' the thing or process. If a person in unaware of the basic facts about a process or thing he cannot practice it ever. For instance, if you want to measure the weight of a body you must have the knowledge about its measurement tools and units. However, procedural knowledge is the knowledge which tells about carrying out some process. It talks about the 'how' perspective of a process. It tells how to use the formula or a given fact be used in finding something. For e.g. if one knows the formula of speed he cannot use it directly until he knows the process of usin g it. Similarly if one would not know the formula i.e. would not have Declarative knowledge, he would not be able to use procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge at times does not have meaning and are forgotten by the individuals. But at times it is not necessary that this knowledge is forgotten as this type of knowledge is necessary for the individuals.

Yosemite Overcrowding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Yosemite Overcrowding - Essay Example Tourism should exist in such a manner that it will not destroy what it is trying to serve. This is morally right. On the contrast, overcrowding in national parks does not save the park environment. This is morally wrong and leads to pollution, soil erosion, vandalism, deterioration of infrastructure in the park, and promotes global warming in the park. In addition, the pursuit of economic gains by allowing overcrowding, at the expense of environmental preservation is morally wrong. Yosemite National Park is one of the national parks in the U.S. that are faced with great overcrowding. The Yosemite Valley was set aside by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 for preservation (Hayes Web). Since then, people have had the opportunity to enjoy recreation and amenities that have enhanced their experience in Yosemite Valley. However, this privilege faces a threat due to the major problem of overcrowding in the park. Overcrowding is known to have detrimental effects on any park and the environment. In Yosemite Park, there are only 1,100 parking spaces. However, there are more than 8,000 cars that pass through the Yosemite Valley (Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center Web). The large number of people visiting this people puts a strain on the resources in the park. For instance, this has led to degradation of the park air, a lack of parking, and straining on the Merced River (The New York Times Web). There is therefore, need to regulate the public access to the park in order to enhance conservation of the Yosemite Valley. The problem of overcrowding in national parks is a major ethical issue. This is mainly because it is the right of people to visit parks and experience nature. Therefore, stopping people visiting parks in order to avoid overcrowding would be infringing on their rights, which is morally wrong. Nonetheless, it is possible for the management of parks to reach an ethical decision that will ensure that overcrowding in

US National Security Council (NSC) official briefing the National Essay

US National Security Council (NSC) official briefing the National Security Adviser on why rebel groups may take control of parts of Syria - Essay Example outlining the Syrian conflict as that pitting the foreign allies and the government against the groups of insurgents who are mainly against the government (Syrian conflict spills into cyberspace, 2013). Since the end of the World War II, the context of International Relations to the United States has transformed largely. The nation being the world’s superpower has the mandate to maintain this position by asserting its influence on global issues that define the nature of global cohesion. Therefore, the conflict in Syria, as experienced in other nations such as Libya and Iraq, requires the intervention of the United States. Through the National Security Council, the National Security Advisor of the Head of State reviews the situation in Syria, mapping out the possible implications of the ongoing conflict in accordance with the traditional American viewpoint of International Relations (Choi and James, 2014). The Syrian Conflict may encounter the rebels taking control of most parts of the country because certain foreign forces allied to the ISIS rebels continue funding this movement. Due to the barbaric use of chemical weapons by the Syrian leader on the people of that country, many countries have expressed their solidarity against the leader. This unity between the foreign countries and the radicals empowers the rebels through offering them advanced weapons and funds to fight against the oppression endured by the innocent citizens. In response to these actions, the United States Security Council decided that the United States needs to conduct limited attacks against the Syrian leadership. The U.S holds the mantle for being the most democratic state, and believes that it is the obligation of each government to protect their citizens. Therefore, the choice to join the Syrian government in fighting ISIS will be an indication that U.S supports oppression, while the collaboration with rebel forces will insinuate that the U.S is a state that does not recognize the

The little school by Alcia Partnoy preface by Julia Alvarez Essay

The little school by Alcia Partnoy preface by Julia Alvarez - Essay Example "The little school" by Alcia Partnoy preface by Julia Alvarez The history reveals that most of the literature created during imprisonment attains the status of ‘master piece’ and ‘The Little School’ is one of them. Moreover, literary figures with their creative abilities give tough time to dictators even during their brutal regimes and leave everlasting images on history and literature. Deep observation and strong memory is considered an asset of any person. Alicia Partnoy proves in The Little School that she is not short of these qualities. From the first story of the novel, her kidnapping from the house, to the last story, she elaborated each and every detail of the event in artistic manners. She successfully points out the brutal aspects of the Dirty War. By utilizing her power of deep observation, she notices each and every incident during the course of her imprisonment; keeps them in her mind while using astonishing skill of memory and elaborated before readers after her release. â€Å"The guard’s shift was organized in three groups of four guards each† , the sentence shows her deep observation and memory. By giving a surprise to her admirers, she tells exact numbers of security guards in The Little School at different timelines of a day. By drawing a sketch of a security guard she writes, â€Å"Approximately 22 to 23 years old, 6 ft., 154 lbs., straight hairs, brown eyes, white complexion, regular features†