Strategic Management of Human Resources - Research Paper Example

? Strategic Management of Human Resources Contents Executive Summary 2 Organizational Issues in Strategic Human Resource Management 3 Establishing HR Systems 3 HR Policy Challenges 4 Creating an Inclusive Working Environment 5 Diversity and Inclusivity 5 The Role of HR Departments in Promoting Diversity and Inclusivity 6 The Changing Role of Line Managers in Human Resource Development 8 Conclusion 8 Recommendations 9 Executive Summary The dynamic business environment of today means that an increasing number of organizations are detaching themselves from traditional HR practices to incorporate strategic human resource management within their HR architecture. The primary aspect of strategic human resource management focuses on the establishment of HR systems and policies that are in alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives. The development and implementation of HR systems is subject to several challenges that are related to the maintenance of employees’ strategic readiness through present business climates. Furthermore, the relationship between line management and HR departments is also becoming integral and diversified as organizations require more accountability and responsibility on the former’s part, this notion however, poses several implications for the business. The aspect of diversity and inclusivity as well as the ethical dimensions attached with the outcomes of endorsing a culture of inclusiveness suggest that organizations must work towards the establishment of effective frameworks that govern work-life policies that encourage inclusivity and also encourage HR managers to adopt the role of being catalysts of change to promote a multicultural workforce within the organization. Organizational Issues in Strategic Human Resource Management Establishing HR Systems The differentiating aspect of strategic management of human resources in comparison with human resource (HR) approaches implemented on an individual basis is the former’s specific concentration towards the establishment of human resource systems (Lepak et al., 2006) that can aid towards the achievement of organizational aims and objectives. In the organization of today, however, the establishment, development and consequent implementation of these systems faces several challenges that hamper the initiatives taken by the HR department to promote strategic readiness in the organization for the effective management of its workforce through the present business climate. Reichers and Schneider (1990) define climate as the workforce’s observation and opinion of practices, policies and processes in the organization that are formally established or informally applied within the business. Lepak et al. (2006) note that organizational climate is a highly critical variable in creating a suitable fit between the nature of the organization and the job performance of employees. Moreover, organizational climate has also been found to be an imperative factor in contributing towards the effectiveness of the organization as a whole (Ostroff et al., 2003). HR Policy Challenges Lepak et al. (2006) argue that in enhancing the strategic readiness to manage its people, an organization must implement effective HR systems that are in turn governed by specific HR policies. These policies include: 1. Concentrating on employee expertise such as skills, education and talent 2. Concentrating on the management of worker motivation 3. Concentrating on providing workers with chances for participation within the organization thereby, promoting employee involvement The selection and implementation of the aforementioned HR systems is faced with certain organizational issues, the first of which is concerned with an accurate assessment of the expertise demanded by an organization in its workers, this view is further cemented by the notion that each HR policy sphere requires specific knowledge scales in order to help an organization to achieve its strategic objectives (Lepak et al., 2006). Furthermore, even the establishment of an HR policy of instilling innovation, creativity and enhancing motivation levels of employees suggests that whether an organization operates an HR system for customer service or a high involvement HR system, the management of employee motivation and its related aspects would are subject to varying situations (Lepak et al., 2006). Therefore, the biggest challenge for an organization is to successfully align its HR systems and HR policies with its strategic objectives (Lepak et al., 2006), such that strategic management of human resources compliments the operations of the business and the current organizational climate. Becker and Huselid (2006) also advocate this perspective by proposing that organizations need to recognize the importance of linking strategy implementation with HR policies in the broader human resource structure of the business, the success of which will decide the level of performance achieved by the organization. Creating an Inclusive Working Environment Diversity and Inclusivity It has been observed that consistent efforts by several organizations in creating an inclusive working environment which welcomes a multicultural and diverse workforce, have failed to garner satisfactory results (Pless and Maak, 2004; Ryan and Kossek, 2008). Certainly, the extensive focus of the management on strategic aspects regarding the establishment of an inclusive and diverse environment at the workplace has shifted employer focus from acknowledging the significance of norms and values in contributing towards the creation of a desirable working environment (Pless and Maak, 2004). For Ryan and Kossek (2008) a critical dimension of the ‘culture of inclusiveness’ is the role of work-life policies in promoting an environment of inclusivity. This view postulates that a truly inclusive workplace environment understands and appreciates the differences of its workforce and aims to integrate workers into decision-making thereby, encouraging employee involvement and participation (Roberson, 2006). The Role of HR Departments in Promoting Diversity and Inclusivity Pless and Maak (2004) note that HR departments need to recognize the importance of values and norms in building an HR framework that appreciates and benefits from a multicultural workforce. The first step that must be taken in doing so is to identify the barriers that are deterring the emergence of a diverse workplace environment. Once the barriers to cultural inclusiveness are identified by HR advisors and managers, Pless and Mark (2004) propose the implementation of a comprehensive transformation process consisting of four steps. Effective application of such a process entails that the HR department must be willing to promote change in the organization by altering the HR architecture and improving it. This involves the ability of HR advisors in being catalysts of change that comes from within the organization. The initiatives taken by HR departments include creating awareness, establishing an organizational vision that endorses diversity, revising obsolete HR ideologies that are no longer applicable to the modern organization and finally introducing a system of Human Relations Management (HRM) that facilitates the entire modification of an organization’s HR architecture (Pless and Mark, 2004). It should be noted that the execution of reformed policies to build an inclusive and diverse workplace environment may come under question from an ethical point of view, specifically because such outcomes need to be based on appropriate and internalized principles that steer the actions of all participants involved (Pless and Mark, 2004). Therefore, HR advisors and departments must actually play the role of being catalysts of change in an organization if the creation of a culture of inclusiveness is to be facilitated. HR managers must also act as monitors specifically when implementing work-life policy in a company, this is important mainly because inclusivity in an organization is a variable which is dependent upon changes in human resource policies (Ryan and Kossek, 2008). This suggests that HR departments at all times must carefully monitor changes in employee performance and outcomes that occur as a consequence of changes in work-life policies. Such outcomes can be identified by assessing indicators such as productivity, job satisfaction, absenteeism and turnover. Furthermore, the role of HR managers and practitioners as supervisors is said to play a major part in resolving work-life conflict to promote inclusivity (Casper and Buffardi, 2004). Therefore, HR managers should focus on managing policies directed towards employees and provide both instrumental and emotional support (Ryan and Kossek, 2008) as this reduces any feelings of exclusions that employees maybe experiencing by demolishing barriers to inclusivity in an organization. The Changing Role of Line Managers in Human Resource Development Siugzdinien (2008) concludes that an increasing focus on transforming human resource management to a strategic approach demands a greater degree of involvement of line managers in the process. This view postulates that line-managers must be held answerable and accountable for the management of an organization’s human resource in a comprehensive manner which is not limited to traditional HR practices that focus on individuals rather than the organization as a whole. McGovern et al. (1997) highlight that while several empirical studies prove that an increased participation of line management in mainstream HR tasks is a possibility, the lack of expertise, education and experience of line managers in comparison with HR managers may reduce the effectiveness of HR policies in achieving their aims and objectives rather than positively contributing towards their enhancement. Conclusion The dynamic business environment of today requires a transformation of traditional HR practices that are concentrated on dealing with specific issues and challenges in an organization by focusing on the implementation of strategic management of human resources which is based upon the development of HR systems (Lepak et al., 2006). HR systems are an integral component of the overall architecture of human resources as it allows the creation of HR policies that are aligned with the strategic objectives of an organization. Another critical challenge faced by HR departments is that of building an inclusive working environment which is dependent upon the promotion of diversity and a multicultural workforce in an organization (Pless and Mark, 2008) as well as the effective management of work-life policies that influence the perception of inclusion of the workers as reflected by variables such as job satisfaction, commitment, productivity and turnover (Ryan and Kossek, 2008). Recommendations According to Lepak et al. (2006) effective HR policies cannot be implemented in isolation from HR systems which postulates that effective HR systems can in fact contribute towards the ultimate success of HR policies. Therefore, strategic management of human resources should benefit from the interdependent nature of the two concepts to enhance the theoretical logic behind the development and effective implementation of successful HR systems that complement an organization’s strategic objectives and are strategically inclined. Batt (2002) proposes that the development of HR systems can be based upon one or a combination of HR policies; this further stems the view that an alignment between HR systems, HR policies and an organization’s strategic objectives is integral to the success of a business. The foremost challenge in creating an inclusive working environment is posed by the barriers which hinder the promotion of diversity or the incorporation of work-life policies within the HR architecture of an organization, these obstacles can range from issues relating to the organizational climate of a business to conflicts in norms and values that may deter the inclusion of diverse workers into the workforce. Ryan and Kossek (2008) suggest that HR advisors need to get involved with the workforce in hopes of understanding their perceptions about inclusion within the organization which change on a consistent basis as a result of amendments in HR policies, therefore, employee monitoring in this regard is not limited to periodic checks but a framework which allows for consistent monitoring of employee perceptions, attitudes and beliefs regarding the organization’s culture of inclusiveness. Moreover, organizations must also focus on planning HR policies related to inclusivity and diversity by evaluating the consequences of their variation. For instance, Ryan and Kossek (2008) argue that HR departments must decide which policies they wish to make negotiable compared to those that are particularistic in nature, Lambert and Waxman (2005) add to this concept by stating that while some policies are particularistic others might simply not be applicable to the organization as they cannot be implemented throughout the business because of various reasons such as requiring the entire system to be revamped thereby, facing opposition from some groups within the organization. BIBLIOGRAPHY B. SCHNEIDER (Ed.), Organizational climate and culture (pp. 5–39). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. BATT, R. (2002). Managing customer services: Human resource practices, quit rates, and sales growth. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 587–597. BECKER, B. E., & HUSELID, M. A. (2006). 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