CHAPTER 1

SHORT ANSWER
1. What are four important advantages to firms using an HRIS?
Chọn 4 trong số đống này:
1. Providing a comprehensive information picture as a single, comprehensive database; this
enables organizations to provide structural connectivity across units and activities and
increase the speed of information transactions.
2. Increasing competitiveness by improving HR operations and improving management
processes.
3. Collecting appropriate data and converting them to information and knowledge for
improved timeliness and quality of decision making.
4. Producing a greater number and variety of accurate and real-time HR-related reports.
5. Streamlining and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of HR administrative
functions.
6. Shifting the focus of HR from the processing of transactions to strategic HRM.
7. Reengineering HR processes and functions.
8. Improving employee satisfaction by delivering HR services more quickly and accurately to
them

2. What factors affect the ability of firms to harness the potential of an HRIS?
1. the size of the organization, with large firms generally reaping greater benefits;
2. the amount of top management support and commitment;
3. the availability of resources (time, money, and personnel);
4. the HR philosophy of the company as well as its vision, organizational culture, structure,
and systems;
5. managerial competence in cross-functional decision making, employee involvement, and
coaching; and
6. the ability and motivation of employees in adopting change, such as increased automation
across and between functions.

3. What are the main factors that led to the evolution of Strategic HRM?
1. Contingency perspective and fit
2. Resource - based view of the firm and social capital,
3. HR system components and structure
4. Expanding the scope of HRM beyond the focal organization
5. Achieving HR implementation and execution, by translating the rhetoric into practice,
6. Measuring the outcomes of SHRM by (e.g., balanced scorecard approach)
7. Research methodological issues that stress the importance of evidence based management
8. Adoption and use of HR Metrics
9. Application of “Six Sigma" processes to HRM.

4. What are the three types of HR activities? Define them with examples.
Transactional activities involve day-to-day transactions that have to deal mostly with record
keeping—for example, entering payroll information, employee status changes, and the
administration of employee benefits. Traditional activities involve HR programs such as
planning, recruiting, selection, training, compensation, and performance management. These
activities can have strategic value for the organization if their results or outcomes are
consistent with the strategic goals of the organization. Transformational activities are those
activities that add value to the organization—for example, cultural or organizational change,
structural realignment, strategic redirection, and increasing innovation.

5. What are the desired effects of the implementation of an HRIS on the three types of
HR activities?
One of the major advantages of the design, development, and implementation of an HRIS is
to reduce the amount of time the HR staff have to spend on transactional activities, allowing
the staff to spend more time on traditional and transformational activities.

6. In the organizational model in the book, what is the role of the HRIS?
First, the model is centered on the use of an HRIS as critical to the efficient operation of an
organization. Without an HRIS, the organizational processes would run more slowly and less
efficiently, and this could hurt the competitiveness of an organization in its marketplace.
Second, the HRIS and the HR program evaluation results in terms of HR metrics, and
cost-benefit results (value added and ROI) are in continual interaction. This interaction
should increase the competitiveness of the organization.

7. What are the five general phases of the System Development Life Cycle?
The five general phases of the SDLC are: (1) planning, (2) analysis, (3) design, (4)
implementation, and (5) maintenance.

8. When does the development and implementation of a new HRIS begin?

The HRIS system development process begins when the company first begins to consider
computerizing its HR functions. It is important to document this beginning of the process so
that it can be considered when the system is being evaluated and maintained.

9. What is the critical factor that affects the successful development and
implementation of an HRIS?
The successful design, development, and implementation of an HRIS depend equally on IT
and on HR knowledge, and the cooperation of the professionals in both HR and IT.

10. Describe the distinction between e-HRM and HRIS.

e-HRM reflects a philosophy for the delivery of HR, using information technology,
particularly the Web, as the central component of delivering efficient and effective HR
services. Conversely, as conceptualized in this book, an HRIS is the technology and processes
underlying this new way of conducting Human Resource Management.
Another way of looking at the differences between e-HRM and HRIS is that e-HRM tends to
be more application and/or HR function focused (e.g., e-recruitment and e-training), and an
HRIS is more focused on the systems and technology underlying the design and acquisition
of systems supporting the move to e-HRM.