In yesterday’s Advisor, we endured author Geoffrey James calling HR one of the “5 dumbest management concepts ever.” Today, two more of his dumbest concepts plus an introduction to a unique program for small HR departments
James is a prolific writer and observer of the business scene and is the author of seven books, including Business Wisdom of the Electronic Elite. We found James’s “5 dumbest concepts” on his blog on bnet.com.
Dumb Concept #4: “Empowerment”
Back in the 20th century, there was all kinds of talk about how technology was going to empower people, James notes. Today, however, it’s abundantly clear that technology isn’t empowering employees; it’s empowering management to spy upon employees.
The way this “empowerment” concept plays out in business is the insane idea that new technology is going to make people more innovative, more entrepreneurial, more creative, yada, yada, yada. “Such total BS,” says James. “All those things come from the heart, not from the hand.”
As we go forward, says James, let’s stop talking about technology as “empowerment” and start talking about what really counts: human creativity freed from the limitations imposed by bonehead “leaders” who think they’re managing “human resources.”
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Dumb Concept #5: “Business Warfare”
Many traditional business leaders have a militaristic view of the way the business world works. A glance at the titles of popular business books—Marketing Warfare, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, Guerrilla PR—suggests that we must imitate generals and warlords if we want to be successful managers.
Taking all this to heart, many executives talk as if they were planning the next world war: “This product will do major damage in the marketplace! We’ve armed our sales force. We’ve targeted the right set of customers! The new ad campaign will explode into the territories! This is going to be a major victory! Our troops are ready!”
Ugh, James says. The problem, he says, is that the warfare dogma gets reflected in nearly everything the corporation does. For example:
- Executives assume that victory in business goes to the largest “army” and they’ll build large, complicated departments stuffed full of people and resources.
- Military-minded managers become control freaks. Because they see themselves as generals and officers, they tell people what to do. They think that good employees should shut up and follow orders.
- Executives lose track of what’s needed in the marketplace. Customers are, at best, faceless territory to be “targeted” and “captured” with marketing and sales “campaigns,” and not as living, breathing human beings with opinions, interests, and concerns of their own.
So, going forward, says James, “let’s deep-six the militaristic jingoism and start talking about business in terms of relationships, agreements and profitability.”
Militaristic managers—just one more HR headache. We’re talking about intermittent leave headaches; accommodation headaches; investigation headaches; training, interviewing, and attendance headaches; to name just a few. In HR, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. And in a small department, it’s just that much tougher.
BLR’s Managing an HR Department of One is unique in addressing the special pressures small HR departments face. Here are some of its features:
- Explanation of how HR supports organizational goals. This section explains how to probe for what your top management really wants and how to build credibility in your ability to deliver it.
- Overview of compliance responsibilities, through a really useful, 2-page chart of 23 separate laws that HR needs to comply with. These range from the well-known Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and new healthcare reform legislation to lesser-known, but equally critical, rules such as Executive Order 11246. Also included are examples of federal and state posting requirements. (Proper postings are among the first things a visiting inspector looks for—especially now that the minimum wage has been repeatedly changing.)
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- Training guidelines. No matter the size of your company, expect to conduct training. Some of it is required by law; some of it is just good business sense. Managing an HR Department of One walks you through how to train efficiently and effectively with a minimum of time and money.
- Prewritten forms, policies, and checklists. These are enormous work savers! Managing an HR Department of One has 46 such forms, from job apps and background check sheets to performance appraisals and leave requests, in both paper and on CD. The CD lets you easily customize any form with your company’s name and specifics.
If you’d like a more complete look at what Managing an HR Department of One covers, click the Table of Contents link below. Or, better yet, take a look at the entire program. We’ll send it to you for 30 days’ evaluation in your own office with no obligation to buy. Click here, and we’ll be happy to make the arrangements.