Jim Thompson

Email Jim at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com

By now you know my mantra--spinning the invoice printer. However, all large businesses have one department that does not spin the invoice printer--often known as HR. The most charitable thing I can think of to say about the human resources department is that it has the capability of slowing the checkwriter (when it comes to defending the company against lawsuits and so forth).

In my lifetime, the power of the human resources department has grown tremendously. In my adult lifetime OSHA has come into existence, as well as other laws that protect employees from abusive employers. Don't get me wrong, abusive employers must be restrained.

However, when matters are measured by other than spinning the invoice printer, they become subjective.

Should all employees be treated with respect? Absolutely. Should all employees, once hired, be given every possible chance to excel at their job? Absolutely. Should all laws regarding employment be honored and obeyed? Absolutely.

But here is the rub. Can you define, in measurable terms, what it means to treat an employee with respect? I can't and I don't know any balanced expert resource that can do this. I can ascertain what severe disrespect means, but when it gets up close to the line, I struggle. I suspect respect means no laughter, for laughter can be interpreted as making fun of someone. See how hard this is?

Again, can you define, in measurable terms, how many retraining efforts are the limit on giving every possible chance to employees to excel at their jobs? First, you will need to define what "excel at their job" means. If it is not a case of pushing out so many widgets per hour, it gets fuzzy.

Should all laws regarding employment be honored and obeyed? Certainly. However, there are circumstances where there are more expeditious things to attend at the moment. I was in charge of an ancient powerhouse that looked like it belonged in museum. It was loaded with asbestos. We had a fire under one of the turbine generator sets. I made a decision to actively fight the fire myself; I was as close to it as anyone.

Why did I do that? Because I knew there would be a visit from OSHA. This was a conscious thought while the fire was active. I knew I would get quizzed on this by OSHA. Had I stood back and let other fight the fire, I would have been condemned by OSHA and the union. I was right. The OSHA inspector came in, ready to go to war. Explaining my participation cooled her down. The union left me alone. By the way, this was 38 years ago. None of my health problems have been attributed to asbestos.

Subjectivity is just one subject that makes the HR role tough to execute and tough to measure.

Be safe and we will talk next week.

For a deeper dive, go here.

Study Guide: Human Resources--the Defensive Department

This guide provides a series of questions and a glossary to review and deepen understanding of the provided text, "Human Resources--the Defensive Department," by Jim Thompson.

Quiz: Short-Answer Questions

Instructions: Answer the following questions in two to three sentences, drawing exclusively from the information presented in the source text.

1. What is the author's primary metric for a business department's function, and how does the Human Resources (HR) department relate to this metric?
2. According to the author, how has the power and role of the HR department changed during his lifetime?
3. What is the author's perspective on the difficulty of defining what it means to treat an employee with respect?
4. What two specific challenges does the author identify in measuring whether an employee has been given "every possible chance to excel"?
5. What is the author's stated position on obeying employment laws?
6. Describe the setting of the fire incident that the author recounts.
7. What conscious thought did the author have during the powerhouse fire that influenced his decision to act?
8. Why did the author believe he would have been condemned by OSHA and the union if he had not personally fought the fire?
9. What was the immediate outcome of the author's decision to fight the fire regarding OSHA and the union?
10. What central theme does the author use the fire anecdote to illustrate about the role of HR and management?

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Answer Key

1. The author's primary metric is "spinning the invoice printer," which signifies direct revenue-generating activity. HR is identified as a department that does not perform this function but can contribute defensively by "slowing the checkwriter," such as when defending the company against lawsuits.
2. The power of the HR department has grown tremendously in the author's lifetime. This growth is associated with the creation of agencies like OSHA and other laws designed to protect employees from abusive employers.
3. The author finds it difficult to define respect in measurable terms, stating he cannot do it and knows of no balanced expert who can. He notes that while severe disrespect is clear, the line is hard to define, and innocent actions like laughter could be misinterpreted as making fun of someone.
4. First, one must define the limit on how many retraining efforts are sufficient. Second, one must define what "excel at their job" means, which becomes fuzzy and subjective for roles not measured by simple output, like producing a specific number of widgets per hour.
5. The author states that all laws regarding employment should "absolutely" and "certainly" be honored and obeyed. However, he also notes that there are circumstances where more expeditious matters must be attended to at the moment.
6. The fire occurred in an ancient powerhouse that the author describes as looking like it belonged in a museum. The facility was loaded with asbestos, and the fire was located under one of the turbine generator sets.
7. While the fire was active, the author consciously thought that there would be a visit from OSHA. He knew he would be questioned by OSHA about his actions during the incident.
8. The author believed that had he stood back and let others fight the fire, he would have been condemned by both OSHA and the union. This suggests that as the person in charge, his inaction would have been viewed as a failure of leadership.
9. The author's active participation in fighting the fire "cooled down" the OSHA inspector who arrived ready for a confrontation. The union also "left him alone" following the incident.
10. The anecdote illustrates the challenge of subjectivity and the occasional need to prioritize immediate, expeditious action over strict adherence to protocol. It highlights that real-world situations can be complex and are not always measurable by standard rules, which is a core difficulty in the HR field.

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Essay Questions

Instructions: The following questions are designed to provoke deeper critical thinking about the text's themes. Formulate a comprehensive response to each, using arguments and examples from the source.

1. Analyze the author's framework of "spinning the invoice printer" versus "slowing the checkwriter." How does this dichotomy shape the author's perception of the HR department's value and fundamental purpose within a large business?
2. The author argues that when business matters are measured by criteria other than direct revenue generation, "they become subjective." Discuss this claim using the specific examples of employee respect and job excellence provided in the text.
3. Examine the tension between absolute principles (e.g., "all laws regarding employment be honored and obeyed") and situational pragmatism as illustrated by the powerhouse fire anecdote. What does this story reveal about the author's perspective on leadership and decision-making under pressure?
4. The author explicitly states that "abusive employers must be restrained" and agrees that employment laws should be obeyed. How does this view coexist with his critique of the subjectivity and measurement difficulties inherent in HR's role?
5. Deconstruct the author's argument regarding the difficulty of defining and measuring respect in the workplace. How does the specific example of laughter serve to illustrate the broader challenge that subjectivity poses for managers and HR professionals, according to the text?

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Glossary of Key Terms

Term Definition from Source Context

Spinning the invoice printer The author's mantra for direct, tangible, revenue-generating activity within a business. It is presented as the primary, objective measure of a department's productive contribution.

Slowing the checkwriter The author's description of a defensive, cost-saving function. It is attributed to the HR department's capability to protect the company from financial losses, such as those from lawsuits.

HR (Human Resources) A department within large businesses characterized by the author as one that does not directly generate revenue ("spin the invoice printer") but serves a defensive role. Its functions are described as being difficult to execute and measure due to their subjective nature.

OSHA An acronym for a government agency that came into existence during the author's adult lifetime. It is cited as an example of new laws created to protect employees from abusive employers, contributing to the growth in HR's power.

Subjectivity The quality of being based on personal feelings or interpretations rather than objective facts. The author identifies subjectivity as a central challenge that makes the HR role "tough to execute and tough to measure," particularly in areas like defining respect or job excellence.

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