Question

QUESTIONS FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT & PAYROLL CYCLE Should CPA (& other professional services) firms continue to make employees complete time sheets for billing or other purposes? Why? Why not?

This chapter noted many of the benefits that can arise by integrating the HRM and payroll databases. Nevertheless, many companies maintain separate payroll and HRM information systems. Why integrate them? Why keep them separate?

You are responsible for implementing a new employee performance measurement system that will provide factory supervisors with detailed information about each of their employees on a weekly basis. But you are surprised to learn they do not believe these reports will be useful. They explain that they can already obtain all the information they need to manage their employees simply by walking around & observing the shop floor. How might you tactfully respond?

Answer 1

This chapter noted many of the benefits that can arise by integrating the HRM and payroll databases. Nevertheless, many companies maintain separate payroll and HRM information systems. Why integrate them? Why keep them separate?

Answer:

Payroll and HRM systems are separate in many companies because integration was generally not feasible using early data processing technology. Also, different events generate data and two different professions were interested in using the data. As a result, many companies (and their employees) became accustomed to having payroll data processed by the accounting function and personnel data processed by the human relations function. Now that modern information technology makes integration more feasible, employees in some companies are still likely to resist suggestions for change because they are comfortable with the old way of doing things. In addition, employees within the accounting and personnel functions probably feel some degree of "ownership" of "their" data, and this is taken away when control of these data is transferred to a centralized data base function.

Reasons for integrating the personnel and HRM systems include the following:

·Integration will improve decision-making by providing access to more of the relevant data needed for monitoring employee development.

·It is logical, since both systems are organized around the same entity: the employee.

·It should facilitate the retrieval and utilization of employee data when the data required would otherwise have to be obtained from both data bases.

·It should facilitate the process of updating employee data, since a single update process would replace two separate updating processes.

·It should simplify the development and implementation of more complex compensation schemes, such as flexible benefits or incentive pay.

·Centralizing the administration of employee data under the control of database management software should enhance data security.

·It should minimize or eliminate the cost of storing identical data in two different databases.

·It should minimize or eliminate the confusion that might otherwise arise when two different databases use different data definitions, or report different values, for the same data item.

You are responsible for implementing a new employee performance measurement system that will provide factory supervisors with detailed information about each of their employees on a weekly basis. But you are surprised to learn they do not believe these reports will be useful. They explain that they can already obtain all the information they need to manage their employees simply by walking around & observing the shop floor. How might you tactfully respond?

Answer:

Formal reports on employee performance are not intended to replace direct observation, but to supplement it. Direct observation is important, but a manager cannot observe all employees all the time. It is also difficult to accurately summarize detailed observations across time.

Well-designed reports provide quantitative summary measures of aspects of employee performance that are believed to be important to the achievement of the organization’s goals. Quantitative measures facilitate tracking performance trends over time. These benefits, however, will be difficult for many managers to understand until they have had experience in using such reports.

There are also legal issues at stake. If an employee or former employee brings suit against the employer, supporting documentation may justify the employer’s position.