Improving Strategic Human Resource Management Practices at the University of Canberra - Case Study Example

Improving Strategic Human Resource Management Practices at the University of Canberra: Implementation Plan Table of Contents Brief Description of the Project Goals The essence of this project is to improve strategic human resource management practices at the University of Canberra. The project seeks to enhance the strategic human resource practices currently in use at the university by implementing specific recommendations and proposals based on the force field analysis model. These changes will realign human resource management practices with the three key strategic objectives of the university. The objectives of the university are as follows: to be a global leader in research, to achieve competitiveness as an institution of higher learning and to achieve international recognition in overall performance. On the other hand, the university has put in place specific measures to manage its human resource management activities. Therefore, the objective of the project is to align specific aspects of human resource management practice at the university with these strategic goals. This way, the strategic human resource management practice at the university will be improved and aligned with the strategic objectives of the university. Implementation The implementation of the project will require the role of the consultants and the management of the university. Each of the parties will play different roles at different times during the course of the project. The roles of both parties are described below. The consultants will play the following roles during the implementation of the project. 1. Do a thorough assessment of the human resource management practices at the university. 2. Do a needs assessment and justification for intervention in the case of the university 3. Develop concrete proposals and steps to be taken to implement the project. 4. Do a thorough review of the specific processes of human resource management activities at the university. 5. Initiate change initiatives in specific units identified within the university’s human resource management team. 6. Manage the process of implementation from the start to the end of the project. 7. Do a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of the change programme within the university at the end of the project time. The management of the university will play the following roles in the course of the project: 1. Sanction the implementation of the entire proposals and recommendations proposed in the plan. 2. Manage the process of initiating and overseeing the implementation activities for the project. 3. Collaborate with the consultants in evaluating the success of the proposed changes to determine the extent to which the university’s strategic human resource management practices have improved to facilitate achievement of the three strategic objectives of the university. Need Justification Background information In general, the university has three key strategic objectives. The first one is to achieve competiveness in the market by attracting top students from Australia and the rest of the world (University of Canberra 2014). Through rebranding, strategic partnerships, enhanced learning and physical expansion, the university seeks to develop courses that will attract the highest number of clients worldwide. The second objective is to become a leading player in the area of globalised research and higher education (University of Canberra 2014). Through partnerships with other leading universities and development of an innovative curriculum, the university seeks to spearhead cultural and global exchanges with other leading research centres in the region. The third objective is to attain global recognition as an upcoming university (University of Canberra 2014). Through quality academic publications, the university seeks to make a mark in the world as a leading centre of academic excellence. It can be seen that the objectives of the organisation are a reflection of the need for organisations to develop strategic objectives. Such strategies, which entail patterns of actions that the management intends to use to achieve the objectives of the organisation, are forward looking in that they define what needs to be achieved and how exactly this will be done (Armstrong 2011, p. 28). On the other hand, the university has had vibrant human resource management practices since its inception back in 1976. In general, human resource management practices entail recruitment, training, remuneration and motivation of employees (Dowling, Festing & Engle 2008, p. 2). To this end, the university has maintained its human resources by applying different skills in human resource management. This has been achieved by developing values and standards which the management refers to when carrying out its human resource management practices. These values and standards are applied in the process of recruitment, training, motivation and remuneration of the employees of the university. Therefore, by applying standards such as merit, fairness and efficiency when recruiting, training, remunerating and motivating members of staff, the management of the university seeks to establish the best practices in the management of the human resource operations of the university. There is a positive relationship between human resource management practices and the overall performance of organisations (Guest, Michie & Sheehan 2003, p. 292; Sims 2002, p. 2). Whereas human resource management is measured in terms of the different practices involved in the process of creating and developing an effective workforce for the organisation, the performance of an organisation within this context is measured in terms of productivity, profitability and general employment indicators (Citoni, Mahy & Rycx 2012, p. 225). Therefore, by effectively using their human resource management operations, organisations can easily increase their performance and build their capacity to achieve their objectives in the market. This aspect has been recognised and applied by many organisations in the form of developing and adopting sound policies which they use to guide their approach to human resource management operations. Currently, the link between organisational performance and human resource management has taken the form of strategic human resource management practices. Theoretically, strategic human resource management entails a distinctive approach to managing the human resources of an organisation with the sole purpose of achieving a competitive advantage in the market (Salaman, Storey & Billsberry 2005, p. 4). Using different techniques, strategic human resource management seeks to deliver a competitive advantage to organisations by developing and strategically deploying a highly capable and committed workforce. Therefore, since the University of Canberra has developed a set of well defined strategic objectives, we shall implement improvements in its human resource management practices as a way of ensuring that the university achieves the said objectives. We shall develop key methodologies, frameworks and recommendations in different ways in which the university can improve its strategic human resource management practices as a way of achieving its three key objectives in the areas of education, research and overall performance. The methodologies and processes are applicable in two key areas: performance management and work systems. Performance management Currently, performance management for both academic and general staff at the university takes place in the form of performance development reviews. This framework seeks to evaluate the performance of the staff in terms of seven key criteria: self-leadership, team orientation, work performance, relationships, leadership, planning and organisational development (University of Canberra 2014). The system contains slight adjustments to take into account the special needs that arise in evaluating the performance of academic staff. In order to make the performance management of the employees at the university fully aligned with the three key strategic objectives of the university, we recommend a performance management framework in the form of strategic goals and specific interventions required for their successful implementation. This framework will ensure that the university, through effective management of the performance of its employees, becomes competitive, makes a mark in the global research environment and achieves a favourable ranking as a young university. Work systems The current state of work systems at the University of Canberra is defined by several characteristics. To begin with, there is a unit within the human resources department of the institution that is tasked with the overall responsibility of job design for the employees. Secondly, the management of the university has designed the work system in such a manner that every single job falls within a specific category. First, there is the casual employment type in which jobs are held at an intermittent period of time or on an hourly basis. Second, there is the contingent continuing type of employment which is characterised by the workers being required to achieve specific targets within a particular time frame before the terms of the employment are revised. Thirdly, there is the fixed employment type under which individuals are deemed employees of the institution for a fixed period of time as stipulated in the contract. All these types of employment arrangements and other characteristics of work systems are applicable to academic and general staff of the university. Traditionally, work systems are defined in terms of three important factors: (1) the specific functions of workers, (2) specific needs of the workers, and (3) different ways in which the jobs within the organisation interface with each other (Evans & Lindsay 2007, p. 285). Further, such work systems are characterised by desirable values such as the level of autonomy that workers enjoy when carrying out their tasks, the presence of a mechanism for feedback among the employees and the extent to which employees are able to identify their duties and gauge their accomplishments as being significant to the entire organisation (Jackson, Schuler & Werner 2008, p. 181). Although all these values and characteristics are evident in the work systems currently in operation at the University of Canberra, we recommend various changes to the entire work system. Such a process will be in line with trends in the current workplace in which organisations are engaging in a complete redesign and reengineering of their work systems. These changes, which are necessitated partly by the impact of information and communication technology on work, take the form of re-designing specific jobs, resources needed and the skills required for different tasks (Mello 2014, p. 247). Implementation Activities The force field analysis model The implementation activities of the project to improve strategic human resource management practices at the University of Canberra will be carried out based on the force field analysis model. Theoretically, force field analysis is an important model of effecting long-term change and solving problems within different organisations and systems (Cummings & Worley 2009, p. 130). This is because the model identifies deep-seated issues that can act as sources of resistance to change programmes initiated within organisations (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols 2011, p. 192). On the other hand, the framework identifies other elements within an organisation which can act in support of the change initiatives. It is the interaction of these two sets of opposing forces that forms the environment in which planned change occurs within organisations. The force field analysis is applied to the situation at the University of Canberra. It can be seen that whereas the planned change of improving strategic human resource practices at the university is done with different elements such as processes, structures and tactics in mind, there is need to take into account hidden elements such as values, beliefs and habits. This is because such hidden elements do drive the behaviour of the workforce and as a result may act as barriers to the process of implementing the planned change (Kaufman et al. 2003, p. 250). When applied to the current situation, the force field analysis diagram for improving strategic human resource management practices at the University of Canberra is represented as follows. Figure 1: Force field analysis diagram for improving strategic human resource management activities at the University of Canberra It is based on this model that the specific activities of implementation of the project are developed. This is done in the sections that follow. Work systems Based on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the situation at the university, we recommend that the institution adopts high performance work systems as a way of re-aligning its work systems and overall human resource operations with its strategic objectives. Also, high performance work systems will be an effective way by which the institution can minimise its internal weaknesses while leveraging on its internal strengths so as to take advantage of any opportunity in the external environment (Snell & Bohlander 2012, p. 704). This is because the approach increases the level of employee engagement, empowerment and satisfaction, thus contributing to overall productivity (DuBrin 2011, p. 255). We shall carry out the following steps as a way of changing the work system at the University of Canberra into a high performance one that will enable the institution to achieve its strategic objectives. 1. Align the basic human resource management operations of the institution with its key strategic objectives. Revise the way functions such as recruitment of staff, training, motivation and performance management are carried out and make them support each other and function in harmony to support the three key strategic objectives of the institution. 2. Re-engineer the entire work systems at the university so that focus is placed on the key business processes of the institution as opposed to individuals jobs. For the institution, key business processes include academic research, innovation and dissemination of knowledge through different methods including teaching. Since the university seeks to transform lives through degrees (University of Canberra 2014), we shall reorganise the work system so that focus is placed on creating and maintaining a teamwork approach for its academic and general staff. By focusing on business processes using a teamwork environment, the university will enhance collaboration among employees thus creating value to the customer. This is a necessary step for the university to accomplish its three strategic objectives. 3. Develop and incorporate self-managed teams in the work flow process. This will be applied to academic and non-academic work environments and will seek to reduce unnecessary layers of leadership as a way of facilitating engagement and knowledge development within the job environment. 4. Retrain employees on the following key areas: problem solving, decision making, collaboration and general skills that are helpful in enhancing engagement and sound decision-making practices within the job environment. Performance management As a way of improving performance management at the University of Canberra, we shall carry out the following steps: 1. Audit of the entire performance management system in use at the university. Theoretically, auditing of a performance management system is a necessary as a way of pinpointing potential areas of weakness that require improvement and strong points that need to be safeguarded (Bhattacharya 2011, p. 291). Specifically, all the components of the framework will be audited to establish to what extent they contribute to the attainment of the key strategic objectives of the frameworks and how tied they are to the overall strategic objectives of the institution. Since the university has different performance and development reviews for the general staff and the academic staff, this auditing will be carried out on each of the different frameworks. The auditing will also be done with reference to the seven basic strategies of a performance management system which are as follows: career, reward, teamwork, culture, measurement, teamwork, competency and leadership (Taticchi 2010, p. 243). 2. We shall also evaluate the entire process of performance management at the university. This will include auditing the procedure and the role of all individuals who are involved in the process of evaluating the performance of both academic and general staff at the university. It is from such a comprehensive evaluation that areas of weaknesses in the entire performance management framework will be pointed out and corrective measures designed, adopted and implemented. 3. After a comprehensive auditing of the performance and development reviews that are currently being used as the primary method of measuring the performance of employees, we shall develop a clear and comprehensive performance management framework that reflects various changes in the external environment. 4. Also, the performance management framework will be revised to ensure that it has all the essential characteristics of a sound system of measuring the performance of employees. Such a system should be completely aligned with the overall strategic objectives of the organisation, involve practices that are focused on meeting the various needs of different stakeholders, and be the key system on which the entire human resource management practices of the organisation are based (Kandula 2006, p. 26). 5. Incorporate issues to do with succession planning and general talent management at all cadres of employment within the human resource management framework of the university. This will be in line with current trends in human resource management practices. Theoretically, employees in the current workplaces are affected by several factors. The effects of these factors shape their career prospects, motivations and overall performance at the place of work (Finney 2008, p. 141). Apart from the need for performance, employees are concerned with other issues such as career development, leadership and overall talent management. These have made them to shift their focus from long-term career commitments with employers to relatively short-term contracts. Additionally, situational factors such as management philosophy, the characteristics of the workforce and laws and social values combine with different interests of the stakeholders to influence the human resource policies that are adopted by organisations (O’Reilly 2009, p. 40). Such factors, which are common in institutions of higher learning, affect the performance management system that is used. Contingency Plans There are several issues which may affect the implementation of the developed plan. These issues, which arise from either the external environment or within the institution itself, may bear both positive and negative influences on the entire project. These are discussed in the sections that follow. Several factors arising from the external environment will affect the process of implementing the project at the University of Canberra. Theoretically, legal developments, the actions of competitors and changes in the labour market have a huge impact on the human resource management practices of organisations (Caruth, Caruth & Pane 2008, p. 12). All these factors may influence the course of the project in different ways. For instance, trends in the labour market will affect the success of talent management initiatives within the project. Also, possible changes in the labour union laws will affect different initiatives under the project. This is because the university will have to ensure that all its human resource activities comply with existing laws and regulations. On the other hand, the project will be affected by several internal factors. For instance, when implementing these changes, the workers’ autonomy, skill variety and flexibility will have a huge impact on the overall success of high work performance systems (Mao, Song & Han 2013, p. 742). This is a factor that will be taken into consideration. Another factor that may hinder the process of implementing the plan is the general fear that employees have of auditing and other activities associated with the project. Theoretically, many organisations experience complacency from their employees as one of the forces of resisting change (Secord 2003, p. 48). Since one of the critical actions of the project will involve auditing the performance management framework of the institution, the plan faces the danger of lack of objectivity and commitment on the part of the employees of the university. Therefore, through effective communication with all stakeholders, we shall ensure that all external and internal factors that may affect the course of the project are effectively managed. This is necessary to ensure that the project is fully implemented. References Armstrong, M 2011, Armstrong’s handbook of strategic human resource management, Kogan Page Publishers, London. Bhattacharya, D K 2011, Performance management systems and strategies, Dorling Kindersley, New Delhi. Cawsey, T F, Deszca, G & Ingols, C 2011, Organizational change: an action- oriented toolkit, Sage Publications, London. Caruth, D L, Caruth, G D & Pane, S S 2008, Staffing the contemporary organization: a guide to planning, recruiting and selecting for human resource professionals, Greenwood Publishing, Westport. Citoni, G, Mahy, B & Rycx, F 2002, ‘Work organization, performance and health: introduction’, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 224–232. Cummings, T G & Worley, C G 2009, Organization development and change, Cengage Learning, New York. DuBrin, A 2011, Essentials of management, Cengage Learning, Mason. Dowling, P J, Festing, M & Engle, A D 2008, International human resource management, Cengage Learning, Boston. Evans, J & Lindsay, W 2007, Managing for quality and performance management, Cengage Learning, New York. Finney, M I 2008, Building high-performance people and organizations, Greenwood Publishing, Westport. Guest, D E, Michie, J, Conway, N & Sheehan, M 2003, ‘Human resource management and corporate performance in the UK’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 291–314. Jackson, S Schuler, R & Werner, S 2008, Managing human resources, Cengage Learning, Mason. Kaufman, R, Oakley-Browne, H, Watkins & Leigh, D 2003, Strategic planning for success: aligning people, performance and payoffs, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Kandula, S R 2006, Performance management: strategies, interventions, drivers, PHI Learning, New Delhi. Mao, N, Song, H & Han, Y 2013, ‘High-performance work systems and influence processes on employees’ attitudes: perspectives from China’, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 34, no. 7, pp. 736–752. Mello, J 2014, Strategic human resource management, Cengage Learning, Stamford. O’Reilly, A 2009, ‘Towards a framework for performance management in a higher education institution’, PhD thesis. Cardiff School of Management, University of Wales, viewed 1 May 2014, Salaman, G., Storey, J & Billsberry, J 2005, ‘Strategic human resource management: defining the field’, viewed 1 May 2014, Secord, H 2003, Implementing best practices in human resource management, CCH Limited, Toronto. Sims, R R 2002, Organizational success through effective human resource management, Greenwood Publishing, New York. Snell, S & Bohlander, G 2012, Managing human resources, Cengage Learning, Mason. Taticchi, P 2010, Business performance measurement and management: new contexts, themes and challenges, Springer, Heidelberg. University of Canberra 2014, ‘Breakthrough: strategic plan 2013–2017’, viewed 3 May 2014, Read More