W2D1 Granth

Strategic Human Resources Management

Week #2 Lecture 2

Strategic Management

This week, we will be focusing on strategic management and its impact on the workforce. What is Strategic Management? Strategic management is the process by which the organizations attempt to determine what needs to be done to achieve corporate objectives and, more important, how these objectives are to be met (Mello, 2015, p. 114). Strategic management goes hand-in-hand with strategic planning, which is done over three-to-five year time period by senior management. Strategic planning is an effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, and what it does. This is accomplished by setting or changing organizational objectives, identifying and obtaining the resources required to meet these objectives, and determining the strategies, programs, and policies needed to accomplish the objectives. Strategic planning is important to an organization because it provides a sense of direction and outlines measurable goals. Strategic planning is a tool that is useful for guiding daily decisions, and also for evaluating progress and changing approaches when moving forward. In order to make the most of strategic planning, businesses should give careful thought to the strategic objectives it outlines, and then back up these goals with realistic, thoroughly researched, quantifiable benchmarks for evaluating results. Like strategic planning, strategic leadership a set of related actions that managers take to increase their company’s performance (Mello, 2015). A strategy provides the organization with a roadmap to help navigate the changing environment in which they operate (Latham and Vineyard, 2005). The strategy development process employed by organizations includes aligning the company’s vision, mission and value with its strategic objectives and short-and long-term action plans and goals. The inclusion of the mission, vision and value statement lays the foundation for the success of the organization. Latham and Vinyard (2008) states strategic planning answers four fundamental questions.

1.     Where are we now?

2.     Where do we want to be?

3.     How do we get there?

4.     How will we know how we are progressing and when we get there? (p. 33)

 

These four fundamental questions ensure the organization will be on the right track for the next five years. A systematic planning process, takes into consideration several key inputs, involves key players, has a defined process, and produces short and long –term objectives to accomplish them (Latham and Vinyard, 2005).

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is in today’s corporate world, the reality of adapting their behavior in foreign cultural interactions is ever increasing. The worldwide name given to this is outsourcing. Many large corporations are sending what is considered as menial work and some of their customer service work outside their companies. More often than not, it is outside the country in which it is based. To accomplish this, corporations will enlist the aid of the host county to familiarize current employees with the culture they are entering. Consequently, the host country will also provide training to its employees as to how the new corporation operates. The upper managers of today’s corporations have studied their predecessors and are willing to take calculated measures to outdo them. To accomplish this, they have traveled extensively and have educated themselves with a working knowledge of global economics and cultural differences. This has enabled them to locate an area that best meets their needs regardless of the country. With careful selection after long and short terms studies of the effect of outsourcing, corporations are willing to invest in the training required by both parties to integrate into each other’s’ realm. To function as a seamless extension of the corporation, the host country will agree to developments, changes in behavior, esthetics, grammatical coaching and various others as required (Bettenhausen & Murnighan, 1991; Feldman, 1984). With the economics as it is, the mentality for many corporations is to keep expense at a minimum and try to maximize on production. This they have found in foreign countries where the locals are willing to work for a fraction of the wages and try to provide more of what the corporation is known for.

Human Resources Functions

Here are some of the functions and a basic description of what each does within an organization.

Recruitment and Selection:

Before seeking internal or external candidates, HR conducts a job analysis for each position to be filled and prepares a job description. The job analysis outlines the personality traits, education and experience required and presents a picture of how the job fits into the organization. Knowing these attributes aids recruiters in finding the best talent for the company (Brunot, 2013).

Payroll and Benefits

Payroll works with your accounting department to ensure that wage deductions and other payroll expenses are paid and properly reported. Your payroll staff should have solid understanding of federal, state and local wage and hour and employment tax laws. The payroll department also conducts internal audits to reduce the risk of fraud and developing alternatives for paying employees without information technology help in the event of a disaster (Green, 2013)

Outsourcing Human Resources Functions

Outsourcing HR functions has become beneficial to many organizations. Many businesses outsource their HR functions because it costs less, and it also allows the HR managers to work on other functions within the business. Outsourcing of some HR functions can make sense for organizations, and can bring a higher profile to HR managers as they assume less operational and more strategic duties (Mello, 2015)

Employee Engagement

In order to employees to be engaged, they must have intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Employees focus on future goals within organizations, and some may include being in a leadership role. Leadership development is an ongoing process that requires continuous learning, strategic planning, and competence. Organizational leadership development efforts focus on employees being engaged actively in learning that aligns with personal experience through classroom education, real-world project applications, mentoring, and skill practice (Mintzberg, 2004). Many organizations offer various mentorship programs in order to develop employees into future leaders. Employees who are selected for such programs, are given the opportunity to shadow his/her mentor, and may also work on special projects. This process is both intrinsic and extrinsic because the employee is engaged, committed and dedicated to growth within the organization.

References

Beer, M., & Spector, B. (1985). Readings in human resource management. New York: The Free Press.

Bettenhausen, K. L., & Murnighan, J. K. (1991). The development of an intragroup norm and the effects of interpersonal and structural challenges. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 20-35.

Brunot, T. (2013). About the function of human resources. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_7736230_function-human-resources.html Feldman, D. C. (1984). The development and enforcement of group norms. Academy of Management Review, 9, 47-53

Green, N. (2013). What are the functions of payroll vs. human resource? Retrieved from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/functions-payroll-vs- human-resource-7956.html

Latham, J., & Vinyard, J (2004). Baldrige user's guide: Organization diagnosis, design, and transformation. New York: Wiley.

Mello, J.A. (2015). Strategic human resource management. (4th Ed). Cengage Learning

Mintzberg, H. (2004). Third-generation management development. Training & Development, 58(3), 28-38.

Molinsky, A. (2007). Cross-Cultural Code-Switching: The Psychological Challenges Of Adapting Behavior In Foreign Cultural Interactions. Academy of Management Review 2007, 32 (2), 622–640. Retrieve from EBSCOhost on 14 May 2007.