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Documente Cultură
Table of Contents
Activity 01..........................................................................................2
1.1 Strategic Human Resource Management.................................2
1.2 The importance of Strategic Human Resource Management. . .3
1.3 The Framework of strategic Human Resource Management....4
1.3.1 Harvard Model....................................................................5
1.3.2 Ulrich Model........................................................................8
2.1 Analysing the Strategic Human Resource Process..................11
2.2 The roles in Strategic Human Resource Management............14
2.2.1 The strategic role of HR directors.....................................14
2.2.2 The strategic role of heads of HR functions......................14
2.2.3 The strategic role of HR business partners.......................14
2.2.4 The HR role of line managers...........................................14
2.2.5The strategic contribution of HR advisors or assistants....15
2.3 The development and implementation of human resource
strategies......................................................................................16
Formulating HR strategy............................................................16
Implementing HR strategy.........................................................18
Activity 02........................................................................................19
Activity 03........................................................................................29
Reference.........................................................................................33
Activity 01
1.1 Strategic Human Resource Management
According to Armstrong (2011), when HR strategies become integrated with business
strategies and they support business achievements then the approach to these HR
strategies are called Strategic Human Resource Management. Many others such as
Boxall (1996) described Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) as the
interface between strategic management and Human resource management. Another
definition of SHRM portrays it as a process to link the workforce with the
organisation (Schuler and Jackson, 2007).
Emphasizing on strategic perspective, Baird and Meshoulam (1988) defined SHRM
as practices, strategies and systems that are formed and enacted in needs of the
organisation. Wright and MacMahan (1992) referred the idea to integrate HRM with
strategic management to achieve the goals of the organisation to be Strategic Human
Resource Management.
Strategic Human Resource Management is rather conceptual, depicting the integration
between HR and business strategies. It is a way of looking ahead in the future and
comprehending where HR should be achieving and how to attain those achievements.
It is a concept where personnel in HR act as the members of management team and
continuously support the organisation to achieve the business strategies of that
organisation.
One of the fundamental benefits of strategic human resource management is that aptly
formulated and executed strategic human resource strategy will assist the company to
achieve its objectives. As companys set objectives or targets to achieves, the
employees are the ones that ensure these goals are achieved. Human Resource
Management identifies the key areas of the organisation that need manpower and
HRM carries out the necessary duties and responsibilities to not only fill those gaps,
but to assist the organisation to attain its short-term and long-term goals and
consequently to attain its vision.
Strategic Human Resource management also ensures that appropriate strategies are
undertaken to ensure employees are motivated to achieve greater productivity for the
organisation. HRM takes certain approaches to motivate the employees. Some HR
offers incentives in the form of promotions or bonus pay. This motivates employees to
work hard in order to acquire those promised bonuses and promotions. Some HRM
organise awards to recognise employees for their hard work. Employees are presented
with awards in the form of money as well as other prizes to keep them motivated in
attaining organisational objectives. These awards take place monthly, quarterly or
yearly. This reward system works as a motivational factors for employees to
ultimately increase the productivity of the company.
Employee Influence
Human Resource Flow
Reward Systems
Work Systems.
The activities that fall under these four categories must warrant the focus of the
management whether or not the workforce is unionised and regardless of management
style of the organisation. The focus must also be given in times of organisational rise
as well as decline.
Strategies in these above areas must be formulated and implemented in a way that is
cohesive and cogent. Beer et al. (1984) argued that disjointed policies are the main
reasons for the failure of HR strategies along with uneven combination of past
practices and extemporaneous responses to external changes. They went on to say that
policies in these four areas must satisfy the stakeholders of the organisation, such as
the employees, the customers, the shareholders, the suppliers, the trade unions, the
government etc. Beer et al. (1984) placed employees at the centre of HR system and
they argued that employees are the most important stakeholders and they encouraged
managers to create an environment that will promote employee influence. Figure 1.3.1
shows the HR system they proposed.
This model further recommends managers to follow four Cs when they formulate
HRM policies. These are: Commitment, Competence, Compatibility (Congruence) and
Cost-effectiveness. Therefore, managers must consider how the policies will enhance
the employee commitment, how the organisation will attract, attain and retain the
competent people that are necessary and develop them, how compatibility will be
sustained between management and employees and finally how cost-effectiveness can
be achieved when it comes to employee wages, and salaries and employee turnover
while sustaining employee satisfaction.
The proposed Harvard model categorised as soft Human Resource Model because it
puts attention on the outcomes of employees, their well beings and their commitments
towards the organisation. This model aligns business performance and interests of
shareholders in the same line as the interests of unions and the interests of the
communities. The effectiveness of the organisation is viewed as the long-term
outcome of Human Resource Management. This model encourages employees to be
involved in the organisation as well as employee inputs are considered in
organisational decision-making. This model suggests that formulation of Human
Resource policies would enhance employee influence, however any influence will be
bound by the management philosophy and overall organisational strategy. Figure 1.3.2
illustrates the summary of the discussion.
The figure 2.1.1 illustrates the steps of the proposed model of Strategic Human
Resource Management
Figure 2.1.1: A model of SHRM (source: Naval Personnel Task Force, 2000)
The first three steps are concerned with planning and the later three steps are
concerned with implementation. In traditional strategic management, the planning
was top-down as the changes to the environment were not too frequent. However, in
modern times this has changed.
Strategic planning process became more agile as changes take place much more
frequently than before and changes are incorporated in planning continuously rather
than at a predetermined schedule. Traditionally planning was the reflection of changes
to the environment, however in modern times, companies plan to anticipate changes.
Moreover, top-down planning process has been replaced as inputs from employees at
the front line are considered more vigorously than before. And finally, front line
leadership in contemporary world drives the planning process.
The aftermath of strategic planning is to align the HRM policies and procedures in
order to attain the organisational goals and to determine the quality and quantity of
human resources required.
These remaining three processes are to implement those plans that will generate the
correct set of skills, support the development and performance of the workforce. The
very last process extends a mode that will evaluate and sustain the performance and
core competence of the organisation and the workforce of that organisation.
a) Defining strategic direction
Each organisation has its own mission, vision and objectives. This process aligns the
HR policies in line with those mission, vision, objectives and strategies. A successful
HR strategy will have business goals at the centre of it and successful companies
consider their Human Resource their primary source of competitive advantage. Those
companies are able to design HR policies, design training, development and reward
system in a way that will allow them to achieve the desired targets and objectives.
b) Designing the HRM system
In this stage, focus shifts to designing and selecting the plans, practices and policies of
Human Resources that will support strategic objectives of the organisation.
supportive.
Safeguarding the ethical aspects of Human Resource Management
Assuring that adapted strategic approach to Human Resource activities
complement the core business and adds value
line managers. Purcell et al. (2003) agreed with the above statement, according to
them how policies and practices are implemented are much more important than just
simply formulating them. And line managers are the vital parts in implementing those
policies and practices. They communicate with front line employees and they
influence the employees in a way that will successfully implement those policies and
procedures. Therefore, it is the line managers who bring the HR policies to life.
Activity 02
Note
Employees that are sent to a foreign countries by their employer are known as
expatriates. The country is called host country and the company is known as
parent company.
The Factors that determine the success of expatriates
Activity 03
3.1 & 3.2 A report to discuss the range of HR strategies
and their application in an organisation
HR Strategies
HR strategies generally refer to the aspects of what an organisation intends to do with
its HRM policies and procedures and how integration to overall business strategies
takes place. The strategies reflect intentions that subsequently converted into actions
(Chesters, 2011). These strategies are the collective endeavour of the organisation.
Defining HR strategies, Richardson and Thompson (1999 wrote:
A strategy, whether it is an HR strategy or any other kind of management
strategy must have two key elements: there must be strategic objectives
(ie things the strategy is supposed to achieve), and there must be a plan of
action (ie the means by which it is proposed that the objectives will bemet).
Purcell (2001) emphasizes on the nature of continuity and emerging aspects of
strategy. According to them HR strategies are to be evolved overtime in response to
different changes. Pettigrew and Whipp (1991) argued that, far from being a
straightforward, rational phenomenon, is in fact interpreted by managers according to
their own frame of reference, their particular motivations and information.
Among many researches conducted by the academics, Armstrong and Baron (2002)
and Armstrong and Long (1994) concluded that a varity of HR strategies are practiced
in organisations. Different organisations define and implement different strategies in
order to achieve their goals.
The main three versions of HR strategies are
-
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