Human Resource Function - Essay Example

HR Management Assignment Name: Course: Institution: Date: In the global market today, there is a changing and shifting global market landscape. One of the most drastically changing pattern and approach is the competition landscape. One thing for certain is the fact that the competition intensity and vigour have increased and is expected to increase into the future. Thus, through the resource-based view theory, the authors established that it is imperative for the global organisations to consider using the alternative of the intangible assets as a means of developing and creating organisational market competitiveness. One of the key identified intangible competitiveness edges is the HR concept. In this case, an organisational HR workforce presents a key resource base that cannot be easily emulated in an organisation. However, the existing challenge is the manner and process through which to integrate and use the HR function and strategies as a source of organisational competitiveness in the long run period. This essay offers a critical review of the alternative approaches through which organisations can integrate the HR strategies with organisations business strategy in the global market (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). The key evaluated integration approaches include the use of employee training, staffing and talent development, and partnerships development respectively. The essay evaluates the extent to which the application of the above HR strategies supports the application and implementation of an integrated HR workforce in organisations. The first approach through which HR functions can integrate their functions and strategies with the existing business strategies in the market is in the staffing process. In this case, the staffing process includes the process through which an organisation acquires the desired workforce in an organisation. In its primary nature, the HR function is tasked with the responsibilities and duties for attracting and developing a workforce that meets and delivers on the existing organisational needs in the global market. However, the process should not be conducted in isolation. In this regard, the nature and type of employees in the workforce influences the ability through which organisations can actualise and increase their market operations and effectiveness. The integration processes can be achieved through an organisational analysis and evaluation process. In this case, the process includes a job analysis process where the function evaluates the current and expected future organisational skill needs in the market. In this context, such a skills analysis ensures that the HR function develops a skills list and criterion through which the employees can be recruited. In the skills analysis process, the HR function has a number of alternative route and strategies through which it can enhance and support the overall integration process (Simons, 2013). The first approach through which the staffing strategy can be integrated is through an evaluation of the key organisational goals and objectives. As such, this includes the process of evaluating the skills require for such objectives and goals attainment. Once this set of required skills is developed, the HR function could evaluate the extent to which the existing skills set are able to meet the set goals, consequently allowing for the review and analysis of the overall skills gap in the organisation. As such, through such a skills analysis and evaluation process, the HR function is able to focus on recruiting and staffing the functions with the employee skills that are sufficient and able to meet the overall organisational goals in the market. This is a clear illustration that the staffing process can be linked to the organisational strategy through the evaluation of required skills, and ensuring that the set skills are obtained through a proper employee recruitment and selection process (Harmon, 2015). This is fundamental as the identification of the employee required skills and experience levels determine both the recruitment approaches used and the overall selection process applied by the HR function. However, in the development of this strategic integration between HR staffing and the organisational strategies, there is the risk of unclear organisational objectives in the market. In the event that the long-term strategic goals are unclear in an organisation, it becomes hard for the HR function to align their systems with such an unclear guideline. Moreover, the strategic goal change and shift from time to time in an organisation. In this case, it implies that the HR function is required to shift and change their staffing strategies to reflect the change in required skills in the market (Aswathappa, 2013). This makes it an expensive and involving process, where often changes create a lack of integration between the organisational strategic goals and the HR function strategies respectively. The second strategic approach through which the HR function can aligning and integrate its strategies with the organisational strategies is through employee training. This is based on the organisational understanding that not all the required skills in the global market that can be achieved through the recruitment process. In this case, the need to acquire such required skills in attaining organisational objectives is through employee training. In this case, for every organisational function, there are a specific set of skills and expertise. This is mainly influenced by the organisational line of service as well as the existing corporate culture. Thus, as a means of developing the required corporate culture, it is vital that organisational employees have a shared approach and understanding on different global issues. This is hard to achieve process at the recruitment stage. Thus, one of the strategic approaches through which the HR function can support the organisational strategic goals is through training the employees. One of the key training areas would be in the organisational culture. In this case, Benn, Dunphy and Griffiths (2014) noted that in the current highly competitive global market, organisations are faced with the rising need to apply their corporate cultures as a core value for the development of a brand image and serve as a key part of their global brand equity. In this case, such a culture growth, which forms the core part of an organisational strategy, is through the development of a shared employee perspective and orientation. Thus, this underscores the need for the HR function to train the employees. Therefore, through the HR function training of the employees on their existing values and principles, it is able to align its training programme with the organisational needs. This is by ensuring that the employee imparted training values and principles are in line with the projected and desired organisational culture and development strategy values and principle in the long run period (Cummings & Worley, 2014). A second approach through which the HR training programme could be linked to the organisational strategy is training to cover for the skills required in the long run period. In this context, prior to the recruitment of the required skills, the HR function has the responsibility of training the existing workforce to attain the desired skills in the long run period. Thus, this analysis concludes that through the development of a training programme that supplements the existing organisational skills needs and the overall culture values required, the HR function ensures the alignment of its strategic goals with the organisational strategic focus and goals in the market. The third key approach through which the organisations can integrate their HR function to the organisational goals and objectives is through the development of talent development approach. In this case, Sonnenberg, Zijderveld and Brinks (2014) described a talent development approach as the system through which an organisation nurtures its existing workforce. This can be applied to support the existing organisational systems for the need for innovation and development. In the current global market, most organisations result to the use of an innovation approach, where the development and creation of new strategic ideas that exceed the market is imperative. As such, through this approach, the organisations need for innovation and development ideas that offer customer satisfaction by exceeding expectations can be obtained under the development of a talented and well-empowered workforce. In this context, the HR function plays the key role of ensuring that the employees are indicted and provided with the relevant skills. This includes the development of cordial working relationships with the line managers in the various departments. Through such an off-line managers relationships, the HR function is able to impact and monitor the HR workforce operations and development (Dries, 2013). This is especially critical in the nurturing and the development of the required HRM talents for long-term market success. Moreover, it ensures that the process of promoting and rewarding employees is based on the actual attainment of the organisational strategic goals. In summary, the above essay analysis has evidenced that indeed, the HR function plays a critical role in promoting organisational long-term strategic goals and objectives through integration. As such the essay identified three main approaches through which this can be attained. They are through employee staffing, training, and talent development and management respectively. As such, the essay demonstrates that despite the potential for challenges, it is possible to integrate organisational HRM strategies to the organisational strategic goals and objectives both in the short and long run periods respectively. References Aswathappa, K. (2013). Human resource management: Text and cases. London: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability. New York: Routledge. Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2014). Organization development and change. New York: Cengage learning. Dries, N. (2013). The psychology of talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 272-285. Harmon, P. (2015). The scope and evolution of business process management. In Handbook on Business Process Management 1 (pp. 37-80). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Hill, C., Jones, G., & Schilling, M. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. New York: Cengage Learning. Simons, R. (2013). Levers of control: how managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. London: Harvard Business Press. Sonnenberg, M., van Zijderveld, V., & Brinks, M. (2014). The role of talent-perception incongruence in effective talent management. Journal of World Business, 49(2), 272-280. Read More