Human Resource Management Models and Critiques - Case Study Example

SHRM at Holden Ltd Institution Name Course Date of submission Executive Summary Holden Ltd is an automaker company that operates in Australia. Holden Ltd is situated at Port Melbourne, Victoria. This case study deeply analyses SHRM practices in organizational development. The study further examines the connection between SHRM and operation performance of the Holden Ltd. It also identifies a number of HRM challenges to the company that include; effective workforce planning, skill training, shift work, achieving work-life balance for the employees and managing contractors. SHRM has had a large effect on the company's performance, specifically leading to improvement on the quality of human capital and co-relation with business strategy that has been adopted by the company. Table of contents SHRM at Holden Ltd 1 Institution 1 Executive Summary 2 Table of contents 3 Introduction 4 Model of SHRM 5 Hierarchy of SHRM in Holden 6 The control-based model 7 Adoption of SHRM in Centralizing People Management 10 Conclusion 14 Recommendations 15 Introduction This case study focuses on the way strategic transformation improve human resource management process through centralization of operations in Holden Ltd. It intensively investigates the makeover process of the procedures involved in human capital management, as well as, SHRM policies required for the process. After understanding on the factors that transform human capital in to value for the company they work for. SHRM assist in building a working environment and a managerial structure that fits best for all desired SHRM process. This helps to come up with the desired managerial structure that is requisite for Holden Ltd to realize strategic human capital administration objective. To begin with this section discusses SHRM and people management. The case study further provides insight on how Holden Ltd uses centralized management and to understand the complexity in the whole human resource management process. It will further introduce and analyze conflicting opinions of SHRM management. Model of SHRM Aguilera and Denker, (2004) and Taylor (2005) indicate that strategic management emerges as a sequence of numerous activities that follow a feed upon each. In reference to Taylor (2005), the process of strategic management process can be broken into; environmental analysis, mission and goals, strategic formulation, strategy evaluation, and strategy implementation. Taylor (2005 p 65) further indicates that, the initial tread in strategic management sets off with top managers reviewing their position in relation to the presented goals and visions of the company. Company's vision describes its principles and objectives, and it is in the company's raison d'etre. It generally point towards the direction of the leading management. Holden Ltd strategic human resources management formulation entails top managers evaluating the interaction amid strategic dynamics and development of choices that guide the company in meeting the company's goal. The company uses strategic evaluation which is activities that facilitates in comprehending to what extent tangible performance and revolutions go with the preferred performance. Hierarchy of SHRM in Holden Holden Ltd strategic management is multi-divisional and concerns that level to which strategic issues are implemented. The different levels of the strategy include; commercial-level, business-level, functional level. Commercial level depicts the overall direction in provisos of general values towards the development in various business units’ management strategy. These are strategies that establish the type of trade a company wants to establish and the necessary business units acquired. Holden Ltd’s strategy deals with actions as well as, decisions regarding all business units. The main goal of business-level strategy is making the company more aggressive motor vehicle trade. The business-level of strategy addresses any question based on gaining a competitive edge. Even though the business level strategy must be guided by corporate-level strategy (Mason, 2006), it is superseding that business unit management come up with a strategy that is indispensable for own in service situation. The functional-level entails key functional operations in Holden Limited’s business unit. These include; marketing, development and research, manufacturing, HR and finance. The main purpose of this strategy is maximization of resource productivity. It aims at maximizing corporate-level and business-level productivity, HRM practices and policies support Holden Ltd business strategy goals. The control-based model Holden Ltd uses a control-based model in its SHRM implementation. This kind of strategy is based on work place control; it lays more emphasis on managerial performance in directing and monitoring employees’ performances and responsibilities. Holden Ltd management structures and human resource strategy have been techniques and instruments of controlling all aspects of the company's work to secure labor productivity that is high and an analogous level of effectiveness. The company focuses on examining and scheming workers behavior as fundamentals for realizing various SHRM. According to Marchington and Wilkinson (2003), this kind of model traces its roots from Marx's formulation of the capitalist course of labor; it is referred to as “transformation of labor from labor power” (p. 78). To ensure that all the employees exercise their full capacity, it is the obligation of the manager to organize tasks, movement, and space and within which employees operate. However, workers have contradictory interests in relation to job security, rewards, and engagement in both formal (trade unions) and informal ones. In reference to Thompson & McHugh (2002, p. 104), workers own counter management behavior results to control and discipline. Employees’ behavior can be controlled through technical and bureaucratic control method (Bamberger & Meshoulam, 2000). Holden Ltd uses technical control through the use of surveillance cameras. These cameras set the pace of work and monitors employees performance in the administrative center. The company's choice of SHRM has been governed by variations in organizational form, the stability of the labor market, competitive pressure on management and is mediated by interplay of the relationship between the manager and subordinates relations. In keeping with Thompson and McHugh (2002), the differences in SHRM are not random. The authors add these variations reflect two management logics i.e. the logic of direction which is process-based control that focuses on efficiency, and cost containment; the second is logic of indirect outcome-based control. The latter focuses on real results. In the latter, executives tend to adopt process-based controls when they are certain on end of the means relations and the outcome-based when the end of the means is uncertain. These provide inevitable structural tensions between the management and employees. In reference to Taylor (2005), people management entails an assortment of techniques and approaches that are used by company to resource their companies in a manner that can assist the company to meet its goals. It encompasses of numerous management actions that facilitate accomplishment of fundamental groups of personnel and improvement objectives, these include management, performance, recruitment and change management. The objective of staffing involves ensuring the company can call on the services of sufficient staffs to accomplish set objectives. Such staff must connect in an assortment of roles, and be in a position to deliver their duties as required of them for the organization to function effectively. It is after staffing objective that performance objectives are realized. The purpose of a performance objective is effecting all methods used by the employer in order to motivate the employees and boost their will give outstanding performances in their duties. The Holden Ltd's administration process concentrates on managing employment relationships that have been established with the staffs according to the company's regulation and certified ethics. To realize these targets, the management of Holden Ltd should come up with personnel and improvement guiding principles, and an acceptable work procedure along with other documents relating to employment of an individual. These documents include a job description, contracts, and offers letters, weekly expected hours of work, disciplinary warnings and target. These documents apply as guidelines to the work operations. The change of management aspect in group management ascertains that proper acknowledgment is provided to the significance of such changes in the company and its entire management process. Organizational management is fundamentally based on organizations business environment that is subject to continual dynamism. There is a need to align the administrative practices and formation of the company with environmental demand for the preferred work behaviors to be realized. On the other hand, effective management of employees is a momentous change agent that can redress such situations when such need arise. In accordance to Gratton & Ghoshal (2003), SHRM cannot be discussed in a compendious manner without understanding the concept for HRM studies. HRM concerns the human part of enterprise and factors determining employee, employer relationship. HRM cover among other factors, element of work psychology, and management of workers communication, training and impetus, employees relations in conjunction with other settings of work (Hannagan, 2005, 65). Likewise, SHRM entails some part of HRM with an in depth insight on organizations directions. Bratton and Gold (1999) indicates that SHRM entails crafting acquaintance of the changing temperament of employment to build up new HRM policies that engross employees at all levels in the progression of change in order to establish the most effectual work procedure and build teams that have the aptitude to learn and to manage oneself. Jim (2003) further indicates that, SHRM assist managers to understand how to examine and evaluate their organization through: recognizing and explaining the troubles of the organization with the benefit of hindsight, identifying prevailing and preferable set of conducts, restructuring the organization or a part of it in order to improve the process of relationship. To understand how a company's Human resource Strategy interconnects with these aspects help that organization to present strategic map that aid managers and change agent of such organization in their relationship with the workers (Manson, 2006). Adoption of SHRM in Centralizing People Management Holden Ltd has moved from an organization that is the base on independent business units to an organization that is centrally synchronized. The company aims at coalescing resources in an innovative approach and attaining effectiveness. The company has resulted to surrogating its different processes in well-designed areas like HR with a policy umbrella that agrees with putting all human resource under supervision from a central authority. The commission of SHRM has been determining the framework of the unsurpassed practice of the work schedule. This has enabled relation with he structural development, strategic issues, and structural system of the company. It has also assisted Holden Ltd in the provision of consultant assistant that is erected around these items from apex. It includes focusing on managers like regular conferences with the executive team and the CEO. The managers then function as instructors and direct for their subsidiaries. It is their subordinates who in turn facilitate implementation of SHRM policies amid those who report straight to them. At the time SHRM policies are delegated down the social hierarchy of Holden Ltd, they are mat with constraints which in some cases disrupt the original intention. In the process, the company managerial team seeks for solution among the managers. The company has centralized the balancing process of any constraint that may arise through institutionalization and reformation of relationship amid the higher-ranking and their subjects. This has been successful through a wide assortment of management tool that must be functional from the top-down administration. This help to reach the roots of the conflict. Moreover, for any decision such conflicting sets of tools must be traded off against the other. The management tools are geared towards checking on with emotional behaviors; this requires suitable social psychology knowledge. According to Gratton and Ghoshal (2003 p. 45), a successful federalized authority intermixes an array of managerial tools into a dependable management course. Gratton and Ghoshal (2003 p. 45) further state that a company that fails to appropriately apply the tools constantly face complexity in effecting harmonization to its managerial resources, values and processes. Jim (2002) clearly indicates that it is of great importance that SHRM development looks at the business from a pluralistic standpoint. Such a perspective views agreement between ranges of units as a position of stable negotiation. This internal development within Holden Ltd has given direction to proactive change in the organization. The SHRM perspective involves four arguments on issues relating to development of an organization. The first is the interior changes to a business; In reference to Jim (2003), this should be considered relative to major eventual and probable potential event and from advancement in technology in particular, it is supported by contingencies theory. The second conflicting perspective reason is that changes come from the forces in the internal management of more than one group whereby unlike groups seek changes that may optimize their personal interest and resist those that are contrary to their interest. It is that labor process approach. The third argument states that change is driven by clients who are well conversant and whose voracious appetites force organizations to replace goods and services produced in masses with segmented market products. It is the flexible specialization approach. The fourth indicates that organizations are managed by key players i.e. the managers. These managers make decisions that appear to be rational in reality, convincing and fair. However, they are circumscribed by political boundaries (Jim, 2003: 93). The contingency approach lays emphasis on technology and the most critical valuable in any establishment. Holden Ltd's structure relies on the requirements of technology and applies to organizations resources. This are defined as tangible assets, money, people and intangible assets like brand name, relationship among others. In Holden Ltd, issues concerned with staffing and retention aim recruitment of professionals and retention and sending to newly opened branches of high skilled employees in the company's many branches, since they are well acquainted with the operations of the company. This will maintain the company’s central authority and be at per with companies operating unit. The personnel department in Holden Ltd was moved from traditional function to being intensively involved in the implementation of SHRM practices to enhance rapid improvement. There has been much response that has linked the personnel department to the SHRM. The personnel department aims at building employee behaviors that are in line with the strategic objective of the firm. The company has also engaged broader functions like work teams, employment security, performance appraisal, competitive strategy, employee ownership, incentive compensation, and advice on company's structure. These are all embedded in the personnel department routine work. In his work Bower (2001), states that labor process approach challenges assumptions that change is determined by technology. Organizational change is in most cases seen to result from an attempt to control that labor process. Resultantly, management control systems emerge as the direct result of managerial intervention in inevitable contest amid labour on one hand and interest of capital on the other. Even though most research has recognized technology as the main determinant for contingencies approach Sebastianelli and Tamimi (2003) among other researchers from the perspective of the labour process argue that the major determinant is control of workforce. They view technology as a mechanism in this process. Jim (2003) also supports the clam that, new technology is a strategic weapon in the struggle to maximum profit, through de-skilling the job content and attempting to remove control over execution of tasks by workers. The major focus of Holden Ltd is the process of decision making in the company. Strategic choices are made on three major domains; the domain i.e. constraints facing the organization, structure and system, and performance standard – these partly determine the extent of flexibility within the company's economic environment. According to Mason (2006), company's country of origin tends to influence a company's organizational structure and development. Holden Ltd, organization structures and systems of decision making are participative. This system is a core determinant on the nature of SHRM decisions in the company. In the views of Greer (2001), decision making is a process that involves making strategic choices on issues like resource allocation, long-term company objectives, and organizational designs which are normally initiated by dominant “coalition within an organization” or “the power holding group” (Gratton & Ghoshal 2003, 65). They further states that such are group of persons with their interest vested on the direction of company’s strategic decisions. In reference to Michael (2008), a better approach in analyzing the way SHRM adds value to company's performance and concentrating on what constitutes the company's performance must been introduced in the SHRM model. These values include application of professional human resource techniques that will improve employees’ attitude and behaviour to work. Conclusion This case study highlights deep comprehension of SHRM concepts and various variables that are entangled in the deployment of workers management practice in the context of a Holden Ltd company. The key objective is to show how Holden Ltd has established itself through a trickling approach (i.e. top-down) in SHRM in the organization structural hierarchy. As such SHRM chores are delegated downwards the structure of the organization. Some of the limitations attached to SHRM include focus on strategic decision-making, conceptualization of managerial control, and the absence of internal strategies. Established SHRM conceptualizations can be predicted through a rational perspective to managerial decision making, choice and action. However, states that, critical organizational theorists have often challenged this assumption. Recommendations The management of Holden Ltd should acknowledge that coordinating a growing company calls for an expansive central control for it to meet its set objectives. The advantage of a centralized SHRM, according to Cynthia, Schoenfeldt, & James (1999), is that the company schedules its activities independently through coordination of activities and maintained communion of shared decision-making platform. Cynthia et al. (1999) further argues that, this leads to achieving more synergy and identity. In keeping with Cynthia et al., this is achievable through identification of broader roles to the office of the personnel manager like strategic staffing, succession planning and in relation to the position available in the company. In keeping with McCourt & Eldridge (2000), the personnel manager should recognize the benefits attached to centralized HRM and techniques that apply on the process. McCourt & Eldridge (2000), recommended that the processes commences as minute project to try out available methods and demonstrate the benefits accorded to the method in initial stages should be implemented. According to Brewster (2001), it is appropriate to diversify on interventions that try to uproot existing human resource management procedure. There is a great likelihood of employers and managers alienation from such disruptive approach but by taking a step by step approach. In keeping with McCourt & Eldridge (2000), the management should introduce such changes in small increments and the whole process will evolve to a completely efficient process. References Bower L (2001). “Not all merger and acquisition are alike and that matters.” Harvard Business Review. 3(4), 42 – 49. Cynthia ,D., Schoenfeldt, F., & James S. (1999). Human resource management. Leicester: Leicester Business School. Jim G. (2006). SHRM development. London: Sage Publication . Gratton. L. & Ghoshal. S. 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