Human Resources Information System in Management of Human Resources Contents 1. 0 Introduction2 2. 0 Case studies one2 2. 1 Description2 2. 2 Advantages3 2. 3 Challenges4 2. 4 Organizational advantage4 3. 0 Case studies two5 3. 1 Description5 3. 2 Advantages5 3. 3 Challenges6 3. 4 Organizational advantage7 4. 0 Conclusion7 5. 0 References8 1. 0 Introduction In today’s corporate world information system has come to play a very critical role in a business. An information system is used to collect, processes, store, analyse, and disseminate information for a specific purpose. Turban, 2004) It includes inputs and outputs, and it processes the inputs by using technology, normally PCs, and produces outputs that are sent to users or to other systems via electronic networks. There are many types of IT Support System, such as Transaction processing system (TPS), Management information system (MIS), Office automation system (OAS), Decision support system (DSS), and Executive support system (ESS). Human resources information system (HRIS) is an important type of Management information system (MIS). It provides routine information for planning, organizing, and controlling operations in human resources areas.
Human resources information system (HRIS) has been developed in Web-based systems from the late 1990s. In recent years, HRIS application systems generally have been moved to intranets and the Web. Many organizations use their Web portals to advertise job openings and conduct online hiring and training. The main functions of HRIS are as following: using the web for recruitment, position inventory, Human resources management (HRM) and salary surveys, employee selection, performance evaluation, training and human resources development, payroll and employees’ records and achieve employee relationship management.
HRIS applications were mainly related to transaction processing systems, and it can be used by the middle level of an organisation. For the Human resources managers, they can use this system to achieve HR management and support higher level manager and top manager to decision business strategies. This report will introduce the advantages and challenges of HRIS through two organization cases which are IBM Company and International Information Products Company LTD (IIPC). From cases, we also can understand that HRIS help organizations to develop different aspects of business in competitive business environment. 2. 0 Case studies one
Description The efficiency of HRIS, the systems can able to produce more effective and faster outcomes than can be done on paper. Some of the main applications of HRIS are as following: Clerical applications, applicant search expenditures, risk management, training management, training experiences, financial planning, turnover analysis, succession planning, human resource planning, accident reporting and prevention and strategic planning. With the many different applications of HRIS, it is difficult to understand how the programs benefit companies without looking at companies that have already benefited from such programs.
IBM is a global organization offering research, software, hardware, IT consulting, business and management consulting, ring and financing. It employs around 340,000 people, speaking 165 languages across 75 countries, and serving clients in 174 countries. (Steven, 2009) IBM’s paperless online enrolment system has been introduced in 1999, and it has proved to be a winner for both the company’s 135,000 active U. S. employees and the company, according to Cathleen Donnelly, senior communications specialist at company headquarters in Armonk, New
York. The company saves $1. 2 million per year on printing and mailing costs alone, Donnelly (Senior Communications Specialist) says, and the employees can take advantage of a variety of technologies to learn about issues, research program information and access decision support tools from their desktop computers. (Heuring, 2002) “Since we began offering online enrolment, we’ve learned that employees want web access,” Donnelly says, so they can log on at home rather than through the company intranet.
So the company has been working to put in place a web-based enrolment system that employees and retirees can access from anywhere (Huering, 2003). 2. 2 Advantages From 1999, IBM began using online enrolment system. It bridged many advantages for IBM Company. Two of important benefits are as following: • For company, by utilizing the flexible-benefits application HRIS has to offer, IBM was able to cut costs. The company can save nearly $1. 2 million per year on printing and mailing costs alone. • For employees, online enrolment system gives employees the freedom to discover their benefits on their own time and pace.
Employees can log in personally and are greeted by name and with important information regarding their benefits enrolment, such as the deadlines and when changes take effect. They automatically get access to health plans that are available to them, and the calculator lets them compare estimated benefit amounts for each plan. Employees can select the health care services which they expect to use in a particular year, estimate expected frequency of use, and calculate potential costs under each plan option. 2. 3 Challenges HRIS can help company to reduce cost and improve the quality of management, but it also needs to face many challenges.
There are two important challenges should be attention by company. • The privacy of employee information is becoming a major issue in these years. With identity theft becoming a common problem, employees are becoming more sensitive about who sees their personal information, and the security it is kept in. By making sure employee information that is kept in the HRIS is relevant to the company and making sure there is limited access (password protection) to such information, companies can make its employees more secure with the safety of their information.
Whether electronic or paper, employee files deserve to be treated with great care. Establishing security and end-user privileges calls for a balance of incorporating, HR policy, system knowledge and day-to-day operations (O’Connell, 1994). • The second challenge for company is that company need to spend too much time to update information and improve information system. As time progresses everything is built bigger and faster and people seem to be always operating in a faster pace, therefore information needs to be received at a faster rate.
If a person or business organization does not get the information in time to make a prompt decision they could lose out on many opportunities. In IBM’s system, company needs to spend enough time to change and renew data and information, because it employs around 340,000 people, speaking 165 languages across 75 countries, and serving clients in 174 countries, and there are too much data need to be inputted. 2. 4 Organizational advantage From the introduction, we can easy to understand that IBM’s paperless online enrolment system can help company achieve Operational Streamlining.
The reasons are that, firstly IBM’s online enrolment system can help employees to log in personally and are greeted by name and with important information regarding their benefits enrolment, such as the deadlines and when changes take effect. Secondly, it can help employees to choose plans which are fit with their requirements, for example employees can select the health care services they expect to use in a particular year, estimate expected frequency of use, and calculate potential costs under each plan option.
In the end, IBM was able to reduce costs and give employees the freedom to discover their benefits on their own time and pace by utilizing the flexible-benefits application HRIS has to offer. 3. 0 Case studies two Description The Human Resources department of any organization are becoming a very central role in not only formulating company policies, but also in streamlining the business process now. How to make a human resource department more effective and efficient? The new technologies are now being introduced on a regular basis so make things much simpler and more modernized.
One of the latest human resource technologies is the introduction of a Human Resources Information System (HRIS); this integrated system is designed to help provide information used in HR decision making such as administration, payroll, recruiting, training, and performance analysis. From next case, we can easy to find its function. International Information Products Company LTD (IIPC) has a friendly relationship with IBM and it produces IBM personal computers in Shenzhen of China. The company is one of Chinese Top-10 exporters. The company’s success is attributed, in part, to its world famous Human resources information system.
It can be operated from October 2001, and this system includes many basic elements, such as employee record management, recruitment, variable pay analysis, performance appraisal, payroll, and management of fringe benefits and absence records. In this system, employees can manage their personal data by their selves and report leaves and absences on the intranet. Using e-kiosks placed in several locations within the plant (for example, the cafeteria), employees who do not have Internet access at work or home can use the system as well. Advantages
Through using Human resources information system, the company achieved intellectual management of human resources. It bridged several benefits for IIPC. • As we know Chinese employee tax and benefit system (for example, health care and social insurance) are very complex, and requiring many computations. IIPC used HRMS and its Global Payroll component, and helped itself to reduce the payroll cycle from eleven days to four days, and to reduce the run time from six hours to two hours, while eliminating errors. • Another advantage is that the system automates labour-intensive HR rocesses such as workforce administration, enable HR staff to concentrate on staffing, training, career planning, rewards and promotions, and other no clerical HR services. All of these data can be collected in the system are used for top managers to decide strategic decision. Challenges When talking about the vast field of Information Systems there is not just one pressing issue, there are three: Accuracy, Usability, and Time. Without the combination of these three factors a business would go under in the matter of months. For IIPC HRMS, it also needs to face some challenges, such as accuracy and usability. For the first one, accuracy of the information is probably the most important of these. The information that employee provide someone with in order to make vital decisions must be precisely accurate. If one piece of data is incorrect it could mean the difference between failure and successful. Another recent instance where inaccurate information caused a catastrophe is with Enron. They falsified financial information causing the company to collapse. If a news station were to give a report that was invalid, they will lose their credibility and respect from the people.
Accuracy is very important when it comes to information that is provided to make decisions of any kind. • Another major issue involving information systems is the information usability. If the business uses software to access the information it has to be easy to use and understand for the end-user as well as the executives. The information needs to be easily accessible from the hardware where it is stored. Also, if the information is generated into a report form of some kind, the report must be made so that it can be interpreted effortlessly in order to make precise decisions.
The information provided should have value to the decisions at hand. Organizational advantage From the introduction of case, we can easy to understand that HRIS can help company achieve Operational Streamlining. It is based on the functions of HRIS. To using this system and Global Payroll component, IIPC can reduce the payroll cycle from 11 days to 4 days, and to reduce the run time from 6 hours to 2 hours, while eliminating errors. Based on Chinese complex tax and benefit system, this function of HRIS is very important for company, and it can help HR manager reduce repeat time.
Another function which is the system automates labour-intensive HR processes such as workforce administration, enable HR staff to concentrate on staffing, training, career planning, rewards and promotions, and other no clerical HR services. It can help HR officer to reduce working time and improve more effective and efficient. Operational Streamlining is one basic requirement of HRIS, because it is also one of the four principal areas of HR. The four principal areas are payroll, time and labour management, employee benefits and HR management.
Operational Streamlining means reduce operative time, and that is the important function of HRIS for IIPC in China. 4. 0 Conclusion From two cases which are IBM and IIPC through using HRIS to develop their organization information management, we can found that in today’s corporate world human resources has come to play a very critical role in a business. The Human Resources department of any organization now enjoys a very central role in not only formulating company policies, but also in streamlining the business process.
Human Resource Information System (HRIS) merges human resource management with information technology to not only simplify the decision making process, but also aid in complex negotiations that fall under the human resource umbrella. The basic advantage of a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is to not only computerize employee records and databases but to maintain an up to date account of the decisions that have been made or that need to be made as part of a human resource management plan.
The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) can achieve the basic function of HRM, such as payroll, time and labour management, employee benefits and HR management. Of course, we can also found the functions and advantages of information systems from the cases of HRIS. Management information system can help organization to improve quality of data and make a decision more economical by using a policy, rule, or a procedure, and that is the theory which we can studied from the two cases. 5. 0 References
James A. (1999), Management Information Systems, Arizona: IrwinMcGraw-Hill. Heuring, L (2003). IBM: Laying Outing Enrollment Options. Retrieved August 12, 2010 from http://www. shrm. org/hrmagazine/articles/0803/0803heuring_paperless. asp [NA], [ND], Advantages of a human resource information system, Retrieved August 13, 2010 from http://www. smallbusinessbible. org/advantages_human_information. html [NA] (2007), Challenges of Information Systems, Retrieved August 13, 2010 from http://www. echeat. com/essay. hp? t=33113 O’Connell, S (1994). Security for HR records – human resources. HR Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2010 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_n9_v39/ai_16309018 Steven, P. B, (2009), Human Resource Information System – HRIS, Retrieved August 13, 2010 from http://ezinearticles. com/? Human-Resource-Information-System—HRIS&id=708751 Turban, E. , McLean, E. and Wetherbe, J. (2004). Transforming Business in the Digital Economy, 4th Edition. Wiley International Edition, New York.
