Positive Impact of HR Practices on Firms Performance - Case Study Example

Table of Contents : 1. Introduction 2. Positive Impact of HR practices on “ firm performance “ i) staff selectivity ii) training aspect iii) motivation aspect iv) compensation aspect 3. Analysis of How HR Practices help companies in achieving goals and objectives. i) staff retention ii) downsizing iii) flexibility form iv) promotion 4. Conclusion 5. Bibliography / Reference HRM Theories that empower Organisations to enhance their Productivity. 1. Introduction : Organisations have learned the hard way the crucial fact that of all the 5 M’s considered as the means of production, viz. Men, Money, Materials, Machinery and Minutes, the factor “ Men “ is unique in the sense that it alone is not subject to the law of diminishing returns. In fact, while the Men become more and more valuable and productive with the passage of years, all the other factors keep depreciating in value. This singles out the human resource factor for special consideration and deep study and research. Such studies have led us to the realization that all human beings are not equally valuable as others but everyone can be suitably trained to become reasonably valuable like others. Untrained individuals can only be considered just as “units of population” whereas trained and skilled individuals could justifiably be called as human resource. While the former is an asset to an organization, the latter invariably constitute the source of innumerable problems. Now the onus rests on the HR managers not only to select the right kind of candidates for various job openings but also to see that already working candidates also are continuously upgraded in their skills so that their contribution to the organizational growth is a continuous affair and not one which rests on chances. While there could be very many factors which influence different kinds of employees, still we could always lay our hands on a few principles which have at least widespread, if not universal, application potential. In this analysis we try to identify such valuable HRM principles which have proven their worth in many organizations under many conditions. Such an exercise would sharpen our insight into many valuable HR practices and equip us with the kind of expertise which would help us handle our manpower in the most efficient way so that the mutual benefit of both the employers and the employees are optimized. 2. Positive Impact of HR practices on firm performance : Considerable studies and research over the past few decades in the arena of HRM has enriched the subject itself with a variety of powerful principles culled from the past experience of various organizations in different world zones. Of the various HRM theories such as, Staffing Selectivity, Influence of Training on Firm Performance, Information Sharing, General Systems Theory, Role Behaviour Theory, Institutional Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, Human Capital Theory, Transformation Cost Economics, Agency Theory, The Resource Based Theory of the Firm, Compensation and Performance Management Systems, Job Security, Employee Participation Systems, Internal Labour Market Theory and Team-based Production Systems, let us take up for analysis and study some of them which are more relevant and/or powerful in delivering results in the present market scenario. a) Staffing Selectivity aspect : The success of every organization is measured by the quantum of business it is able to create and the amount of profit that comes out of it. To accomplish this every employee has to contribute his or her mite in no small way. Any weaker link in the corporate chain can easily undermine the strength of the entire organization and the downfall could be fatal. So it is imperative that Staffing Selectivity plays a crucial role in the success or failure of any organization. Hiring, firing and promotion should all be crucially selective. The right kind of employees should only be selected for every job of the company. Again after selection, in grooming the right candidates for higher responsibilities from among the available employees, careful discrimination is called for. When it comes to firing some employees also, extraordinary caution must be displayed so that there is impartial screening of all employees to identify and, ultimately sack, only such not-so-useful employees. How staffing selectivity impacts the firm’s performance : Examples: 1. The Microsoft Example :For example in the case of the Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates is the driving force for the organisation, and from the beginning of the company he believed in recruiting extremely intelligent staff, favoring intelligence over experience, “his preference for hiring extremely intelligent, not necessarily experienced, new college graduates dated from Microsoft’s start-up days, when he and cofounder Paul Allen recruited the brightest people they knew from school - their ‘smart friends’” (Bartlett 1). Microsoft’s recruitment strategies reflect their philosophy. The importance of hiring the right people is also shown in Microsoft’s ‘n minus 1’ strategy which means less people are employed than are required. This policy reinforces that hiring the right people is more important than hiring just to fill a position.1 (http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/human-resource-management-at-microsoft-228974.html#ixzz0n1rsXFBw Under Creative Commons License: Attribution ) 2. Exxon Mobil : The company employs over 82000 people worldwide, as indicated in ExxonMobil's 2006 Corporate Citizen Report. Rex Tillerson (Chairman and CEO) Overall, I am pleased with our 2009 performance. Cash flow from operations and asset sales was $30 billion. These results are a tribute to the hard work, the diligence and the focus of the more than 80,000 men and women who work on ExxonMobil’s behalf the world over. Mike Dolan (Senior Vice President) : Now, we’ll look at the important area of total workforce efficiency. ExxonMobil has a highly-talented workforce in all of our facilities worldwide. Our unique culture and world-class workforce help to set us apart from competition. In personnel efficiency, we have a 25% advantage versus industry. We achieve this high level of efficiency by utilizing our scale, extensive automation, global processes and by supporting our workforce with high-tech global networks and state-of-the-art computer-based and classroom training.2 (http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100317/EXXON-MOBIL-CORP_8-K/dex991.htm ) “It could not have been done without a long-term approach, selectivity, outstanding people, and a commitment to technology,” Cejka ( a Senior Executive ) said.3 ( www.ogj.com/.../exxonmobil-exploration-strategy-to-pursue-all-quality-opportunities.html ) So inevitably the first step in effective implementation of HRM principles starts with the careful selection of the employees for the company who can either make or mar any organisation, however big or small it might be. b. Training Aspect : Training is the cornerstone of sound management, for it makes employees more effective and productive. It is actively and intimately connected with all the personnel or managerial activities. It is an integral part of the whole management programme, with all its many activities functionally inter-related.4 (Scott, Clothier and Spiegel, Personnel Management.1961.p.422 ) Training is a systematic way of equipping someone with proper inputs of information which makes him more productive by applying the knowledge so gained. Training could make an unskilled labourer into a skilled one, and can even upgrade a skilled labourer into an expert. How Training impacts the firm’s performance : Examples : 1. The Wal Mart Experience : High-tech training, Wal-Mart style: Coleman Peterson leads employee training at the nation's No. 1 retailer.( Shakespeare, Tonia L., 1996 ) Publication: Black Enterprise, Date: Monday, July 1 1996 At Wal-Mart Stores, Ranked No. 4 on the Fortune 500 list in 1995, Peterson oversees a workforce of 635,000 domestically and 40,000 internationally (Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Far East Asia). A programme called Computer Based Learning (CBL) was installed in all Wal-Mart affiliates using multimedia devices (audio, video, text and graphics), a series of training modules impress upon employees their job responsibilities as well as Wal-Mart's company values. Peterson says utilizing CBL enables Wal-Mart to deliver the same content and message to everyone and decreases the level of frustration on the job. The starting point for Wal-Mart's training is embedding in the employee's mind the culture of the company. "Our starting point is culture first, then job content," he says. Peterson believes that by listening to employees and showing that the company appreciates them, employees, in turn, will listen and take care of the customers. 5 (http://www.allbusiness.com/specialty-businesses/minority-owned-businesses/557409-1.html ) 2. The Procter & Gamble Case : P&G adheres to a strict “promote-from-within” culture that relies on superior training systems to develop its future leaders. Within P&G, the responsibility for creating, delivering and tracking a training curriculum that aligns to the company’s core competencies falls to the company’s central learning and development group. P&G’s learning program provides a wide range of learning experiences—from classroom instruction and Web-based training to live distance learning and self-study modules. P&G understands better than most that the path to long-term success is forged through the efforts, talents and skills of its global workforce. More than 90,000 P&G employees have accessed the system. Accenture’s (whose training software was used byP&G), multiyear high-performance workforce study, a comprehensive survey of senior executives in six countries, has revealed a strong correlation between high performance and the priority that organizations place on human capital.6 ( http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/7888E809-108D-4A99-8352-62B6181AD904/0/Accenture_CGS_Procter_and_Gamble_Learning.pdf ) c. Motivation Aspect : Motivation may be defined as “ a force that activates dormant energies and sets in motion the action of people. It is a willingness to expend energy to achieve a goal or reward. It is the function that kindles a burning passion for action among human beings of an organization.” 7 ( Mamoria, C.B., 2000) Motivation can make all the difference between action and inaction or lethargy. With proper motivation, any individual comes up with a better performance and conversely if an individual is not properly motivated either by himself or by others, then his achievement is likely to be definitely poorer than what it would have otherwise been. Motivation has been classified into two categories – positive and negative. Positive motivation includes the four P’s – Praise, Prestige, Promotion and Pay Cheque. It holds the promise of rewards and recognition for the employees. Negative motivation plays on factors like force and fear. It threatens the erring or slow workers with unpleasant consequences like increment/incentive cut, lay-off or demotion. Mostly positive motivators are widely employed by organizations from their employees. However negative motivators also have their own place and relevance with some of the workers and in certain unavoidable situations. Impact of Motivation aspect on firm performance : 1. The Google Example : Creative motivation at Google Inc. ( Posted: Saturday, May 14, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST )( Printed in the Financial Express issue dated 8,May,2010.) Google Inc. is showing one reason why it’s such a wildly successful internet company: It’s using money the way it should be used—to motivate people in a meaningful way. Last month, two teams of Google employees were handed $12 million of free company shares, with more so-called Founders’ Awards planned for other work groups. By giving the stock, the Mountain View, California-based Google is seeking to reward, motivate and retain employees. ‘‘The Founders’ Award is designed to give extraordinary rewards for extraordinary team accomplishments,’’ Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page said in their first letter to shareholders. ‘‘A general rule of thumb is that the team accomplished something that created enormous value for Google.’’ 8 (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/creative-motivation-at-google-inc/135136/ 2. JP Morgan Chase Bank : JP Morgan Chase Bank is one of the best banks of the world. JP Morgan Chase Bank has been serving its clients for more than 160 years. JP Morgan Chase Bank has its presence in 25 states and 11 countries. The total number of employees of the bank is 7470 worldwide.  The current success of JP Morgan Chase Bank is brought by its approach. There are different approaches, on which the bank is relying to provide excellent services to its customers. One of the important approaches of the JP Morgan Chase Bank is to compensate the advisors of the bank based on the performance of the clients. Commission based system is not being followed in the bank. This enhances the motivation of the employees to increase their performance and as a result the overall performance of the bank is increased. 9 ( http://www.hostseeq.com/business/jp-morgan-chase-bank.htm ) d. Compensation Aspect : Compensation may be defined as payment received by an employee from his employer for the performance of certain work or commitment done by the former at the behest or instruction of the former. The commonest form of compensation includes wages, salary, bonuses and tips. Money received as wages or salaries is considered as direct compensation, whereas benefits such as life, health and accident insurances, the employer’s contribution to retirement benefits, leave travel concession, vacation pay or sickness leave pay, are included in indirect compensation. Wages are usually paid on a daily or weekly basis mostly for tasks connected with production and / or maintenance work. Blue – collar workers are paid wages, whereas “Salary “ is normally paid to clerical, administrative and managerial staff, on a weekly or monthly basis. Impact of Compensation aspect on firm performance : 1. Barclays profit tops $18 billion : “ In 2009, we reviewed our remuneration practices. The objective of the review was to ensure that the principle of pay-for-performance that underpins our business continues to be implemented in a way that is consistent with and supportive of delivering returns to shareholders, strengthening the balance sheet, protecting the business franchise and delivering the appropriate management of risk.”- Sir Richard Broadbent, Chairman of the Board Human Resources and Remuneration Committee’s talk about remuneration and compensation.10 (http://group.barclays.com/Sustainability/Responsible-finance/Remuneration ) Barclays, Britain's second-largest bank by market value, ranks as the top earning European bank of last year, with profits up by 92 percent, from 6.1 billion pounds in 2008. Barclays said its board considered its performance last year merited bonuses for top executives.11 (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61F14L20100216 ) 2. Executive insights: Unilever - a very talented company : Unilever, having gone through a major restructuring process in recent years, has emerged stronger and has just won Britain’s Most Admired Companies ( BMAC) for its ability to “attract, retain and develop top talent.” Gary Crouch, Human Resources Director for Unilever UK, has explained the secret of their success in the following words : "We have a long-standing reputation for the quality of our training and development programmes and for producing good, well-rounded business people. We’ve set out our stall. Deliver and you will be rewarded through career development, recognition and/or monetary compensation.”12 (http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1215590 ) 3. Vodafone Project 21 – Delivering a Better Experience for Customers and Employees Alike - Capgemini helps Vodafone to achieve greatly improved customer experience and operational excellence with potential savings in millions. The Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) at Vodafone UK is a leading provider of mobile telephony services to the Business Sector in the UK. Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company delivering an extensive range of services to almost 155 million customers, enjoys a reputation for innovation and operational excellence. To maintain its success, Capgemini was invited to partner with EBU to deliver Project 21, the central pillar of EBU’s strategic plan. Capgemini consultants provided training, coaching, facilitation and support along the way. As a consequence, Vodafone enjoyed dedication, professionalism and strong commitment to change from EBU employees. “ “ “We’re probably going to deliver about £15 million worth of benefits, but more importantly, our customer and employee satisfaction scores have improved and that’s absolutely fantastic,” said Kyle Whitehill, Director, Enterprise Business Unit Vodafone Limited. Vodafone is delighted with early results that have generated quantified financial benefits in the order of £15 million over three years. This alone is a tremendous return on their investment. More importantly, however, Project 21 delivered increases in both EBU’s employee and customer satisfaction scores. This in turn is expected to translate into stronger, more profitable customer relationships.13 ( http://www.at.capgemini.com/m/at/cs/ss_Vodafone_Limited.pdf ) 3. How certain HR practices help companies achieve their goals and objectives : Every organisation has to always be conscious of its short term and long term objectives and must constantly strive to achieve them by motivating their work force to direct their energies towards specified tasks and targets. This constant monitoring to achieve the desired involves the careful application of the following HR practices and a periodical review of the results obtained thereby. a. Staff Retention : Employee Retention Law and Legal Definition. Employees leave a company to get a better job—and for other reasons. It has cost the business money to hire and to train them; over time they have become more and more useful; to replace them will cost money. It frequently happens that the most effective employees have the most enterprise and initiative and also hold the better jobs. They tend also to be among the first to look for greener pastures—and leave a greater hole behind. For these reasons retaining employees is an issue in every business. Retention will work best if the company's values are very clear, supportive of employee aspirations, and implemented to provide both "rewards" and "scope" within the means of the business.14 ( Darnay, ECDI) (http://definitions.uslegal.com/e/employee-retention/) 1. How we do business – Marks & Spencer : Recruitment and retention : We employ around 71,000 people in the UK, 75,000 worldwide. We have one of the lowest employee turnover rates in UK retail, at 27% for customer assistants and 12% for management. Around 40% of our people have been with us for over 5 years and 22% for more than ten years. As we continue to grow our business and invest for the future, it’s more important than ever to keep strengthening our team at every level, from the shop-floor through to management. To attract and retain the best talent in the industry, we have to demonstrate each day that M&S is a good employer, committed to making all our people feel valued and providing them with career opportunities and quality training. We won four major graduate recruitment awards, including the 2008 Times’ ‘Graduate Employer of Choice’ for retail.15 http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/howwedobusiness/our_policies/ourpeople 2. A best-of-breed in staff retention - David Southgate | Apr 29, 2002 Last year, when most companies were laying off 15 to 20 percent of their workforces and announcing hiring freezes, Qualcomm held staff reduction to under 5 percent and actually created 1,500 new jobs. The San Diego wireless telecommunications company, which ranked eighth on Fortune’s 2001 “100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” says the key to avoiding big layoffs is tied to a strong employee-retention program. Last year, that retention effort involved revamping unneeded and duplicate job positions, with internal staff filling half of the 1,500 newly created positions. The $31 billion company’s voluntary turnover rate was 5 percent in 2000, and dropped to 3.9 percent last year. Qualcomm employs 4,767 U.S. workers.16 ( http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-1048261.html ) b. Downsizing : “ In a business enterprise, downsizing is reducing the number of employees on the operating payroll. Some users distinguish downsizing from a layoff , with downsizing intended to be a permanent downscaling and a layoff intended to be a temporary downscaling in which employees may later be rehired. Businesses use several techniques in downsizing, including providing incentives to take early retirement and transfer to subsidiary companies, but the most common technique is to simply terminate the employment of a certain number of people. Rightsizing is downsizing in the belief that an enterprise really should operate with fewer people. Dumbsizing is downsizing ,that in retrospect, failed to achieve the desired effect.”17 (http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci759501,00.html) Enterprises are always seeking to cut costs and optimize resource utilization. Now, in this harsh economic climate, the need is more compelling than ever. This paper highlights potential savings exceeding $5,000,000 per year for each 1,000 employees through the application of Microsoft Unified Communications to your business and IT operations. 18 (Marty Parker and Don Van Doren , 2009) 1. Ailing British Airways details new downsizing effort : The Associated Press reports: British Airways says it is shedding 1,000 fulltime jobs and putting 3,000 more employees on part-time work and reducing size of cabin crews at Heathrow in an effort to get the troubled airline's finances back in order. BA spokesman Paul Marston said Tuesday the company was in "a very serious financial position" and was working hard to turn itself around with an aggressive cost-reduction program. He also announced a companywide freeze on basic pay and said cabin crews operating out of London's Heathrow Airport would be downsized. 19 http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=68500448.blog ) 2. CASE STUDY OF SAMSUNG- TESCO, KOREA ( Korea Institute For International Economic Policy ) In March 1994, after separating out from Samsung group (chaebol), Samsung Corporation entered into retail business. There was little doubt that Samsung Corporation would be very competitive because of its well-recognized management skills and capital. However, when it opened its first three retail stores (Homeplus Taegu, Samsung Plaza Bundang, Samsung Plaza Seoul) in 1997, the financial crisis broke out. Accumulated loss during 1998 was KRW 249 billion (approximately US$200 million) for Samsung . To overcome this unprecedented difficulty, Samsung Corporation began to restructure its business and downsized the organization while searching for the breakthrough strategy. Recognizing that retail business is too attractive to give up, Samsung Corporation decided to seek for foreign investment. At the same time, after successfully establishing its business in Thailand, Tesco PLC was also looking for partner that could provide strong local background as well as capability of creating synergy for Tesco’s regional network. As the need of both parties met, Samsung- Tesco was established in May 1, 1999. Through the merger, and initial investment of US$ 220 million from Tesco PLC, Samsung-Tesco was able to clear out all debts and rehire all of 1,137 workers who were laid off during 1998. The success of this strategy was reflected in Samsung-Tesco gaining the 5th,4th and the 3rd positions respectively in the years 1999. 2000 and 2001.20 ( http://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/356/mann-apecapp4b.pdf ) 3. Royal Dutch Shell. Q4 2009 Earnings Call Transcript : Page 1 out of 10|February 04, 2010 | about: RDS.A February 04, 2010 08:30 am Peter Voser – CEO, RDS “ Transition '09 is one of a series of cost and simplification initiatives underway at Shell. In '09, we announced that 5,000 employees will leave Shell, mostly from management and non-technical functions. These changes, combined with other initiatives, have reduced underlying costs by over $2 billion in 2009. The pace has picked up here, with around $1 billion of cost savings in the fourth quarter, compared to $1 billion in the first nine months of the year.”21 (http://seekingalpha.com/article/186695-royal-dutch-shell-q4-2009-earnings-call-transcript ) c. Flexibility Form of Employment: The concept of Employment Flexibility comprises in addition to the conventional permanent job arrangement, other forms of employee hiring like part time jobs, contract labour and job sharing. Atkinson notes that “there can be four types of flexibility: 1. External numerical flexibility, which refers to the adjustment of the labour intake, or the number of workers from the external market. 2. Internal numerical flexibility, which is achieved by adjusting working hours or schedules of workers already employed within the firm. This includes part-time, flexi time or flexible working hours/ shifts (including night shifts and weekend shifts); 3. Functional flexibility which decides the extent to which employees can be transferred to different activities and tasks within the firm. 4. Financial or wage flexibility in which wage levels are not decided collectively and there are more differences between the wages of workers.22 (“Atkinson, J. and Meager, N. 1986) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_market_flexibility) “ As companies adapt to business cycles and facilitate their needs through the use of labour market flexibility strategies, workers adapt to their life cycles and their needs through it “ 23(Chung, 2006). So the need of the hour is seek for the right balance of flexibility, stability and security to accommodate the organisation’s objectives, and the worker's need for security. 1. Alternative Paths in Today's Business World : ( By Fitz-Horioka, Linda, Publication: Orange County Business Journal Date: Monday, May 2 2005 ) Today, women fill the ranks of the business world and increasingly assume roles at the highest levels of corporate America. In this environment, retaining talented female employees - keeping in close touch with them when they temporarily leave the 9-to-5 paradigm and meeting their needs when they return - becomes all the more vital. Highlighting Ernst & Young's commitment to women's professional development, Sally Anderson, the Office Managing Partner for Ernst & Young in Orange County said, ""Flexibility works. In fact, I believe the flexibility that Ernst & Young provides has allowed us to keep many of our exceptional women performers in the firm." Companies that implement retention practices and foster a flexible culture, however, will help increase career opportunities for generations to come.24 (http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-california-metro-areas/1062609-1.html ) 2. Working With You : Standard Chartered Bank (http://www.privatebank.standardchartered.co.in/html/web/managing-your-wealth/working-with-you/en/index.html?) “ Our aim in managing your investments is to bring you some of the best money managers in the industry. We have full flexibility to look externally for talented investment managers, and using a structured due diligence policy to select those we consider having a robust investment process with strong track records and consistent performance. We also continually evaluate asset managers, markets and products to help ensure your portfolio delivers consistently strong results." 25 3. Mastering the Art of a Flexible Culture : How the Working Mother 100 Best Companies Create a Flexible Culture (Report Author: Sandy Burud, Ph.D., 2009 ) At the Working Mother 100 Best Companies, flex­ible work is officially part of the cultural DNA. It is the “new normal.” Indeed, 95% of 100 Best Companies say it is their standard way of doing business. 94% say it is essential to the business strategy • (more than an accommodation benefiting em­ployees). “The stories of The Procter & Gamble Company, CISCO Systems, IBM, American Express, Citi, Ernst & Young and Deloitte reveal common threads in how flex became part of the culture. As of 2009, a great employment brand requires meeting a new standard. It is not enough to ”offer” flex; flex must be integral to how business is done, as it has become an essential route to results. 26 (http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac49/ac55/Mastering_the_Art_of_a_Flexible_Culture.pdf ) d. Promotion: “ Promotion may be defined as an upward advancement of an employee in an organization to another job, which commands better pay/wages. Better/status, and higher opportunities/challenges, responsibility and authority, better working environment, hours of work and facilities and a higher rank. It is a vertical move in rank and responsibility. Involved in a promotion may be some measure of skill and responsibilities…. Promotions can have a salutary effect on the satisfaction of the promoted person’s needs for esteem, and belonging.” 27 (Mamoria, C.B, 2000. ) 1. The impact of manager promotion programs on store performance: Evidence from 3C chain stores in Taiwan . (Hsuan-Lien Chu and Shuen-Zen Liu, 2008 ) This study investigates how chain store performance is affected by a store manager promotion program that considers inventory management-related indicators such as inventory loss and inventory turnover. The study was conducted using data from the largest 3C (computers, communications, and consumer electronics) chain store company in Taiwan. The case company was very concerned about preventing inventory losses because the losses represented roughly 0.1% of sales and up to 21% of net income in 2005. Believing performance evaluation and reward systems could directly affect employee behavior, in June 2003 the company initiated a store manager promotion program that included inventory management-related performance indicators such as inventory loss and inventory turnover. Our results indicate that average store profitability and efficiency improved after implementing the manager promotion program. This suggests that the program induced store managers to exert greater efforts towards inventory management, and thus improve store performance. 28 http://www.informaworld.com I. Conclusion : A careful analysis and deep study of the foregoing discussion would convince any alert HR Manager or Management student of the imperative need to keep abreast of the latest trends in HRM and to take advantage of these principles and to reap valuable benefits. The present world market scenario leaves very little option other than to conscientiously follow dynamic HR principles or perish ignominiously in the experiment. Smart HR managers would, no doubt, prefer the first course. It must be realized that over the past few decades, the HRM has come to play a very crucial role in corporate governance as well as growth. The organizations’ fortunes are intricately mixed up with the HR manager’s smartness, and any mistake s/he is likely to make is going to cost dearly for all concerned. Of course, there is the other side of the coin, too. If and when HRM is pursued in right earnestness, there is going to be nice rewards for all the stake holders ,with proper recognition and approbation waiting for the concerned HR team. That should surely makes the all the sweating worthwhile. ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Bibliography : References : 1. http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/human-resource-management-at-microsoft-228974.html#ixzz0n1rsXFBw. Under Creative Commons License: Attribution ) 2. (http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100317/EXXON-MOBIL-CORP_8-K/dex991.htm ) Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100317/EXXON-MOBIL-CORP_8-K/dex991.htm#ixzz0nK8IRrBm (EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION ANALYST MEETING MARCH 11, 2010. New York, NY. 9:00 a.m. ET at the New York Stock Exchange Premises. 3. ( www.ogj.com/.../exxonmobil-exploration-strategy-to-pursue-all-quality-opportunities.html ) 4. Scott, Clothier and Spiegel, Personnel Management.1961.p.422 5. http://www.allbusiness.com/specialty-businesses/minority-owned-businesses/557409-1.html 6. http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/7888E809-108D-4A99-8352-62B6181AD904/0/Accenture_CGS_Procter_and_Gamble_Learning.pdf 7. Mamoria, C.B., 2000. Personnel Management, Himalaya Publishing House, India. 8. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/creative-motivation-at-google-inc/135136/ 9. http://www.hostseeq.com/business/jp-morgan-chase-bank.htm ) 10. http://group.barclays.com/Sustainability/Responsible-finance/Remuneration 11. http://group.barclays.com/Sustainability/Responsible-finance/Remuneration 12. http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1215590 13. http://www.at.capgemini.com/m/at/cs/ss_Vodafone_Limited.pdf 14. Darnay, ECDI. (http://definitions.uslegal.com/e/employee-retention/) 15. http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/howwedobusiness/our_policies/ourpeople 16. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-1048261.html 17. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci759501,00.html 18. Marty Parker and Don Van Doren , 2009. (Achieving Cost and Resource Savings with Unified Communications sponsored by Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd Date Published: 01 Aug 2009 Date Posted: 20 Nov 2009. Authors: Marty Parker, Principal, UniComm Consulting, LLC and Don Van Doren , Principal, UniComm Consoluting, LLC 19. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=68500448.blog 20. ( http://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/356/mann-apecapp4b.pdf ) 21. http://seekingalpha.com/article/186695-royal-dutch-shell-q4-2009-earnings-call-transcript 22. Atkinson, J. and Meager, N.1986. Changing Working Patterns: How companies achieve flexibility to meet new needs, Institute of Manpower Studies, National Economic Development Office, London. )( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_market_flexibility) 23. Chung, H (2006) Labour Market Flexibility, for Employers or Employees? A multi-dimensional study of labour market flexibility across European welfare states, Paper presented at the 2006 Annual ESPAnet Conference, Shaping Euoropean Systems of Work and Welfare, 7~9 September, 2006, Bremen.paper link 24. http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-california-metro-areas/1062609-1.html 25. http://www.privatebank.standardchartered.co.in/html/web/managing-your-wealth/working-with-you/en/index.html? 26. Sandy Burud, Ph.D., Chief Strategy Officer, FlexPaths, LLC . Report Author: Sandy Burud, Ph.D., Chief Strategy Officer, FlexPaths, LLC . October 2009 (http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac49/ac55/Mastering_the_Art_of_a_Flexible_Culture.pdf) 27. Mamoria, C.B, 2000. Personnel Management, p.275. Himalaya Publishing House, India. 28. Hsuan-Lien Chu and Shuen-Zen Liu, Department of Accounting, College of Commerce, National Taipei University, Taipei, Taiwan; The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 28, No. 9, November 2008, 1215–1224. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. ( ISSN 0264-2069 print/1743-9507 online, # 2008 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/02642060802217178) http://www.informaworld.com Read More