Jennifer Rider

Week 1: The paradox that intrigued me the most was Strategic and Administrative. I was interested in seeking out more information because I loathe having to spend time doing tasks that, while they are necessary, take time away from my ability to be a strategic business partner. On the other hand, too much technology can take away from the "human" in human resources. It's up to the HR professional to determine what processes should be completed via technology and what shouldn't. Most organizations utilize some type of Human Resource Information System, and it's essential to recognize the cost-benefit. "The Human Resources Information System brings many benefits to the department related to data integration, accuracy, benefits management, recruitment management, but it may also have some disadvantages such as security, cost and the need for an IT specialist to manage the system (Bruce, 2014). Bruce, S. (2014). HRIS: Advantages and disadvantages, available at: ...

 Week 1: As a manager tasked with working with HR, this week's learning really pushed home the value that HR provides as a support function. As a manager, if I hadn't yet been using HR as a value-added support system, I would begin to explore the 6 paradoxes explained in the book and think about how these could be applied to the workplace today. Managers need to start to shift their mindset of how they view the various support functions and think, "How can they add value to my operations?" or "What struggles am I having that HR, or other support functions, can help me strategically overcome. Additionally, I would begin to focus on viewing the organization through the lens of the customer and ask myself, "How can we add value to the customer?". Week 2: As a manager tasked with working with HR, this week, I would start to digest the idea of whether I see my HR department as a "credible activist." First, I would break down the 4 factors and deter...

Week 1: This week the information in Dave Ulrich's HR From the Outside In  really resonated with me. I've always felt Human Resources should be aware of operations, but after reading the questions for the business literacy test (p. 65) I realize I'm not as informed as I should be. Of the 13 questions stated, I only knew the answer to about 4 questions. While I can articulate what  we do, I'm not informed about our market segment (vegetable and fruit processing machinery) or emerging technology in the industry. My organization's niche is our proprietary and innovative machinery, and without innovation, we would lose our competitive advantage. My next thought becomes, how do I find the time to learn more? Each day I'm presented with a litany of problems that need solutions and projects with strict deadlines. How can I incorporate being a strategic practitioner in my daily work? I recognize I have a tendency to get "stuck in the weeds" and forget to think...

Week 1: A book that discusses the history and origin of the Human Resources field.                              Kaufman, Bruce E.. Hired Hands or Human Resources? : Case Studies of HRM Programs and Practices in Early American Industry, Cornell University Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nec-business-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3138095 (Links to an external site.) Created from nec-business-ebooks on 2021-09-08 20:10:27. A book that discusses how to be a true business partner.                                                                Miller, Tony. Human Resources As Business Partner : How to Maximize the Value and Financial Contribution of HR, Business Expert Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentra...

 Week 1: For this week I focused on exploring the  Strategic and Administrative  paradox. I posed a question to learn what value technology may have added to other HR professionals in their day to day work: I explored the "Technology" discussion group in hopes of finding a thread that discussed what technology solutions were implemented and the result. I also focused on the keyword "AI" as this is a current hot topic in the HR profession. Is there such a thing as too much  AI which may prove to be counter productive? For example, an ATS that screens out qualified candidates because they don't included specific keywords? One such post I found discussed the possibility of eliminating positions due to introducing a new AI system: I also found an interesting thread from 2019 that discussed how HR may not be prepared to handle AI in the workplace. One of the responses I found to be very insightful was the following: The comment I keyed in on was " In my experien...