Human resources development as input to maximize the strategic investment in human resources

Human resource management is a tactical and rational approach to run an organization and manage its assets.  It includes persons working as joint groups and individuals so as to achieve the organization goals as according to Armstrong and Michael (631-635). He further says that human resource managing entails the managing of employees in an association. Strategic investment in human resources involves the guarantying of employment opportunities by small and medium investment, supporting of development projects and innovativeness. Strategic HR concepts are the management of employees, organization’s manpower and its production rate and level (personnel management in Columbia magazine, 1 of 12). It also involves looking for information precise to the administration of the HR, the profession, or the partnership of leadership teams and the HRM so as to properly plan and run an organization. These features are all interrelated and sometimes taken to be synonymous affecting mainly the administration and the employees. The views of the workers should be taken gravely since they increase the productivity of the organization and the administration should create time to listen to them. Strategic management involves making changes in an organization and involves the transformation of a traditional rational to strategic thinking, planning and learning of stakeholders of a company to maximize production. It also stipulates the strategies on how to get the achievements expected by having a focus to their mission as according to John and Wilkinson (137-161). The main reason for human resource management is to reduce the risks incurred by a company due to poor planning thus a need to formulate these strategies. Considering the HRM is synonymous to personnel management then we can use the expressions of Torrington and Hall who define it as a series of activities which: first enable working people and their employing organizations to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and, secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled (p. 49). This emphasizes why a strategic plan must be formulated to ensure an ideal operation of a company’s activities

Keys to calculated Planning of Human Resource and Execution of the Achievements of a Business

For strategic management of human resources the keys to successful planning in a business implementation include having an active and full managerial support, involving of employees in decision making and systematic organization and planning. A thorough competitive analysis and a widespread perception of its need being advocated will helps in its implementation (Pfeffer (1994) and Pfeffer (1998). Effective communication of the employees and the employers will help to keep them informed of the events and happening of the company. Further putting the mind of people to think strategically and ensuring an employee oriented behavior with high level of trust of among your employees will help to plan successfully with their cooperation. Thriving strategic planning requires commitment of the administration in that they must direct, support, and follow up the strategic scheduling and implementation otherwise the plan will fail. This will increase the positivity and the morale of the employees towards a company’s goals.

Research on Strategic Human Resource Management

Research in this field has contributed to the development of an organization since for the last two decades much attention has been paid to observe the relationship of good human resource management and organization performance. According to Golding (342-357) it has resulted to improved levels of productivity, enhanced competence and eminence. According to Storey (2007, 324-377) it is sometimes referred to as strategic human resource management (SHRM). In this new method they are three principles as stated by Paauwe (1 of 22) the principle of best practice that entails working to your level best, the principle of best fit that doing the job you are qualified for at the right timing for right purposes and resource based view that entails maximizing resources for the company’s advantage. According to Pfeffer (1994) and Pfeffer (1998) that high commitment in this field will bring massive development to the company if the practice of competitive advantage is taken seriously other than first building up profits. He claims that providing security for employment, discerning hiring, widespread training of employees, communication and sharing information, self discipline at work and high pay depending on how much the company has made will promote the fulfillment of a company’s expectations. These are however rated as the best methods of SHRM but according to Becker and Gerhart claim that there is currently no specific way to mange an organization since each of the strategies that work are unique (1996,779-801). Another alternative proposal to the best management practices is the assurance of a consistency of the management practices of the HR and the company’s plans. This will ensure a rhyme between the policies of both the business and the external market Kochan and Barocci, 1 of 54). The use of vertical and horizontal integration has also been on the rise to improve strategic HRM management.

Theories on improving HRM

The first theory proposes the use of an organization lifecycle that helps to stage the policies and practices of the HR. This is contrary to the views of (Dolery and Doty, pp. 802-835) who propose strategic choice of the map ranging to be done in an organization for competitive advantages. In both cases enforcement of a company’s plans will be unremitting and prior planned for. This includes a close scrutiny of the policies and practices of the HR. This theory is however limited for organizations that have a defined strategy for HRM but in essence many of the companies’ strategies are dynamic. Another of the theories is the resource based view (RBV) that according to Prahald and Hamel (1 of 1) who suggest that a company whose resources are heterogeneous has a wide scope of strategies for improving production compared to a homogeneity producing company. He defines the uniqueness of a company as advantageous but claims it is a very difficult strategy to adopt. According to Dave (1996, 1 of 5) the functions of strategized HRM are for administration expertise, employee engagement, creation of good deals with partners which will go along way to improve resources gained in a company.

Strategic human Resource Management Trends

Determining the current and future anticipation of your employees and future recruitment of workforce is an important consideration in any organization. This helps to enhance competence, flexibility and methodological abilities as suggested by Elwood and Trott (1996, pp. 7). The need for consideration of external and internal factors is essential to help in motivating and retaining workers. Factors that are external such as climate and labor marketing, government involvement in industrial development and educational competence for employee are becoming important considerations in improving HRM. Internal factors such as culture and management of organizations are important to monitor development of HR. In modern settings the workforce such as social class, age and gender is slowing fitting with what a company produces affecting issues of job security, insurance and pensions (Cascio, pp475-89). The diversity of the employees where an employer defines his employees’ characteristics is also a prominent trend (Kelly, 1 of 22). The skills and quality of employee is changing and being considered since learned people competent to handle organization operations (Nadler, 1 of 10).

Aims and Objectives

1. Analyze the issue of strategic HRM, its trends and keys on how to achieve it

2. Look for methodologies of improving strategic HRM, how to access them, their problems and mitigations to those problems.

Research Questions

What are the methodologies of improving Strategic HRM?

How can you access them?

What are their draw backs and how can they be mitigated?

Justification

            Currently many organizations are realizing the importance of HRM development in order to improve performance of both workers and economic gain for the organization. The HR department has identified the potential of the personnel and their talents so as to allocate them to departments they fit better. They have also provided a link with their employees by giving them a salary and rewards for hard work in developing the economy and to make the method of payment fair they have introduced numbered criteria on how to pay but these have not been well careered for thus resulting to the closure of many companies (Ripley, 1 of 6) and Guest, 1997, 263-76) The personnel have also bee charged with the mandate to advise top management and consult them if need be but in most cases the HRM makes decisions as an autonomous group then inform employees. Employee engagement is also yet to be real in our organizations (Jackson and Mathis, 2000, 164-169) who say that there has been a complete breakdown of communication between employees and the HRM. According to Price (2003,197 ) the main problem that HRM is experiencing is the new age causing a problem in the right structure of the HR department thus emergence of mismanagement and poor service delivery and the problem of rapid supply of the company’s needs. According to Tsang (1994, 4-12) and Mayer (2002, pp165-75) the major problems facing the HRM are recruitment methods, procedures of dismissal, lack of labor discipline, poor managerial skills and poor recruitment procedures. It is with these problems that new and advanced strategies have to be formulated to ensure that human resources are developed to ensure maximum strategic investment.

Methods to Improve Strategic Human Resource Management

Santiago (2004, pp. 59-64) claims that the three ways to improve thee HRM’s strategic planning is by the implementation of the Vertical, Horizontal and Functional integration strategies in organizations. In the vertical strategy the activities of the HR must dovetail with the organization’s mission and vision. This will improve HR practices by increasing employment security, ensuring transparent recruitment and firing of employees. According to Becker and Huselid (1995, pp. 635-72) it has been successful to curb impunity. It is however accompanied with problems of slow implementation or even not being implemented at all. It also causes a monopoly in decision making by the HR. This can be mitigated by careful monitoring of the HR managers, taking stern measures incase of corruption and implementing employee engagement. The other strategy is horizontal integration that involves a joint decision making in the performance management, giving credit to management so that each decision is made by both the administration and the employees. This has improved the management of intellectual capital which entails the skills and experiences used to generate value (Stewart, 1997 I of 77). Virtues such as: staff motivation, employee satisfaction and leadership should be improved (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997 and Becker et al., 2001). This has increased the problem of problem of nepotism and slow decision making in an organization. The third strategy is the functional integration that employees both skills of horizontal and vertical integration and has proved to be more successful than the other two (Haynes and Fryer, 2000, 240-248). Just like the two it has experienced slow implementation and decision making. These problems can be mitigated by setting of deadlines and ensuring that the deadlines are strictly followed. Employment of competent managers, encouraging transparency and positive altitude to work will encourage strategic operations (Boyatzis, 1982). Prior planning and budgeting for implementation of these strategies since they are costly is essential.

Summary

The issue of human resource management has been discussed many times due to its ability to influence the operation and the outcome of an organization; it entails mostly the engagement of employees in organizational operations so as to enhance communication. It ensure there is no absenteeism at work, motivates workers by paying them on time, rewarding them periodically, offering them with the required tools for their job, job security and insurance incase of an accident. Further human resource management is charged with the mandate to link an organization’s departments and also the outside world. A lot of research has been done on improving HRM in order to ensure sustainable economy in an organization but still more has to be done. The theories proposed for HR are the resource based view and the recycling of policies ensuring competitive advantage. To manage the problems the three strategies of horizontal, vertical a functional integration as ways of improving HRM strategic management and improve resources gained by a company.

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