Allignment of HRM and Business Strategies - Assignment Example

Introduction Strategic Human Resource Management envisages a complete integration of a firm’s business strategy with that of its HR Strategy. Since business strategy is driven by the overall objectives of the firm, it becomes necessary that the human capital of the firm has to be driven towards achievement of these goals. What is also critical however, is the fact that HR strategy must be aligned with that of the overall business strategy so that all aspects of HR are driven by the business considerations.

Ford Motors is one of the companies which have a rich history of success and achievements over the period of time. Being one of the global leaders in automobile market, Ford’s HR need to be aligned with its business strategy or not. This paper will explore as to whether the HR strategy of Ford Motors is aligned with its business strategy or not. HR & Business Strategy of Ford One of the key aspects of the overall HR strategy of Ford is to follow the concept of One Team and pursue one goal.

This clearly outlines as to what is actually being pursued at Ford in terms of aligning its business strategy with that of the HR strategy. Ford considers HR as a vital part of its overall mission to deliver value and improve the lives. Its overall HR strategy therefore fits into its purpose of improve the lives of people through affordable and quality vehicles. However, it still requires a better understanding for further strengthening the alignment of strategy with that of the Business strategy.

How to Improve One of the key aspects to improve is to ensure that HR systems are integrated in a manner which can ensure development of effective coordination between the HR executives and that of the business managers. It is critical that Ford must develop or put in a place strategy wherein regular there exist regular meetings between the HR managers as well as the business managers so that they can reconcile their differences and room for further refinement of HR processes can be achieved for alignment purposes.

(Trivedi, 2014) Apart from this there is a clear need to have an understanding and will of the top level executives to align both the strategies together. What is critical to note that top leadership of Ford must be able to set performance measurement and management standards as per the business requirements such as output per employee, yearend bonuses based upon the overall business achievement as well as other performance measures need to be aligned with the business strategy. HR Job Positions Some of the jobs which are listed on the website of Ford include jobs in finance, Human Resources, purchasing, sustainability and product development.

The career paths are for both the experienced professionals and students and current openings include attorneys, finance analysts, material control supervisor and other related positions. These jobs are offered at various positions within US and other locations where Ford is operating through its manufacturing plants or selling territories. 1 I would prefer to get the job of recruiter in Ford because it allows me to meet with new people and understand what kind of skills and attitudes they bring to the work.

How to design strategies to achieve competitive advantage In order to achieve the competitive advantage, it is important for Ford to actually develop an effective recruitment and performance management system. By recruiting top performers, Ford can actually improve its technically capability specially in research and development. Since, Ford is a technology oriented firm, it therefore must focus on strengthening its human resource base specially in research and development to achieve the competitive advantage.

(Holbeche, 2012) How to Increase diversity In order to increase the diversity within the organization, it is important to first analyze the needs and also evaluate as to whether the organization is actually representing the communities within which it is operating. If organization is actually not representing the communities it is working in, it needs to redefine its recruitment policies in order to improve the diversity within the organization. Apart from this, Ford can actually talk to the local organizations with connections in the community in order to find out the locally available talent.

With effective collaboration with external organizations, diversity can easily be improved by tapping into local talent. (Kearns, 2010) Finally an equal opportunity policy need to be implemented in order to ensure that the organization has a proper framework in place so that diversity is recognized at the organization wide level in more formal manner. Bibliography Holbeche, L. (2012). Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy. London: Routledge. Kearns, P. (2010). HR Strategy: Creating Business Strategy with Human Capital.

London: Routledge. Trivedi, R. H. (2014). Are we committed to teach entrepreneurship in business school?: An empirical analysis of lecturers in India, Singapore and Malaysia. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, , 8 (1), 71 - 81.