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There is a need for some serious reflection amoung HR practioners and theorists alike
about what constitutes good Strategic HRM. (Stone, 2010)
What constitutes good Strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) lies in the historical
and contemporary definitions of Human Resource Management and the practice of such
definitions within the work environ. There are four main roles of the Human Resource
Manager, one of them being strategic partner to both management and employee
relationships. (Stone, 2010)
When looking into Stones Letter to the editor (Stone, 2010.pp10) it is easy to see where
the writer is coming from. The utilisation of workers/employees as factors in the production
process has been a long evaluated process which has become in essence relative to the work
environment they are relegated to. The job of the Human Resource Manager has evolved
over time from that of Personnel Manager to Human relations and then to what we term as
Human Resource Manager. The Human Resource Manager is relied heavily upon to predict
and identify positive and negative factors in the workplace, then create and implement
strategies to align job satisfaction and work ethic with the strategic vision of the employer to
create an outcome that benefits both. It is a difficult job for any one person and relies on the
co-operation of all parties involved. The author of the letter to the editor points out that
the inference of Human Resource Management as strategic and vision based creates a type of
reactive management which he terms as management by crisis. (Stone, 2010; pp10)
However if we were to look at the theory and practice of strategic HRM as a whole over time
and in terms of relationship with the other key roles of the HRM we would see that though
some may see these practices and implemented strategies are not only necessary for the
continuation of employment and business growth, but play a key role in the happiness of staff
and the continuation of application and alignment to the vision and core values of the
organisation as a whole. In order to truly understand this concept of Strategic HRM and the
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relationship between the other key roles, we will firstly look into the meaning of Strategic
HRM and then what actually constitutes good Strategic HRM. This way when we move to
examine the relationship between the key roles and relate all this to Puzzled HR Practitioner
and his current views, we will be able to see how everything within the realm of HRM is
interconnected and cannot be discounted in favour of one or the other.
The concept of Strategic HRM has developed over time, more so in the last ten years,
alongside the conceptual changes of Personnel Management to Human Resource
Management. (Rudman, 2010) Because of this defining Strategic HRM can be broad and
implies different things to different companies depending on how involved the HRM is in the
strategic management of the organisation. Broadly speaking, Rudman (2010) describes
Strategic HRM as the integration of business strategy into everyday operation, and the
relationship between manager and employee becoming more horizontal with the employee
becoming more stable in their environment and working more competitively for the goals of
the company. Relationships are made between the organisational goals and the subsequent
aims and changes in the organisations recruitment, development and training, performance
management and employee relations strategies, policies and practices; all belong under the
strategic HRM banner. This in a sense seems an obvious concurrence as the HRM is
responsible for the motivation of the employee while trying to keep both morale and work
output high.
Bartol and Martin (1998) discuss the importance of Strategic HRM as it affects the other key
roles of the HRM process. How can one actively recruit and manage staff without the essence
of the organisation in mind? Training and development all rely on the strategic direction of
the business. There can be no growth without the realisation and implementation of the
vision and strategy of the organisations structure. Puzzled HR Practitioner seems to see this
concept in a negative connotation, yet could it be that he is one of those over worked people
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he talks about and is substituting poor management for strategic management and the over
use of the people in the roles of HRM as a buffer for the confusion. In real terms the
extension of strategic management concepts into practice comes in a form of empowerment
of the staff/employee to take an active interest in the job they are doing. (Stone, 2010)
Puzzled HR Practitioner asks for some serious reflection about what exactly constitutes
good strategic HRM. (Stone, 2010) This can be seen in the integration of the roles of the
HRM and the endeavour of organisations to recruit and develop the thinking performer.
(Francis & Keegan, 2006) The implementation of healthcare and medical plans into the
workplace, aim at keeping staff health and morale at optimum performance levels enabling
employees to take control of their lives within the work environment. These can be
detrimental to staff morale when employees are forced to take part removing that control.
However the fact that many organisations offer these as perks of the job is more likely than
the former. Herein lies the crux of good strategic HRM, the factor of giving employees a
choice and also input into what will make them perform better in effect gives them little
excuse to not perform properly. The use of training, performance management and
development coincide to align the strategic management of the organisational values and
vision, creating a partnership between management and employee which did not occur
previously. The reality of this is that not everyone can be satisfied at all times and the good
strategic HRM will look at ways of alleviating workplace stress for as many employees as
possible, while constantly reviewing the process and the success rate of job performance.
The following chart helps to solidify the necessity of strategic HRM in both management and
employee performance.
Diagram removed
(Source: Rudman, 2010; pp19)
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extra time and effort. This is where the HRM becomes more of a resource management in
outlaying the positives and gains to be made by such training and development in terms of
rewards and better productivity in the workplace. The relegation to change agent occurs
through the very function of co-ordinating such development and reward performance
indicators, evolving current strategies and policies to allow for changes in the staffing
environment. (Caldwell, 2003)
The term administrative expert refers to the re-engineering of HR activities through the use
of technology, rethinking and redesigning processes with the continuous improvement of all
organisational processes This again is integrated throughout the job of HRM. Puzzled HR
Practitioner refers to the continued outsourcing and software related administration, yet one
could really only look at this as a continued delegation of the role of HR administration and
the ever evolving roles involved. A true HRM administrative expert would see the delegation
of such important administration roles as a key development of change and reflect it as
networking and consumer satisfaction is the ultimate result in such a key compromising of
roles. The duality of change agent and administrative expert working together can only bring
about continued relationships and effective performance especially if the roles are delegated
to employees as a result of development and training in such areas. Robbins, Millett,
Cacioppe and Waters-Marsh discuss this as the ever changing role of HRM in organisational
behaviour and management as an eventual necessity in an ever changing employment
environment. One can only hope to advance if they take advantage wholly of the technology,
recruitment process and employee development in front of them. This includes the
outsourcing of administrative roles that can be found to be more cost effective and
employment engaging elsewhere. (Robbins, Millett, Cacioppe & Waters-Marsh, 1998) The
following diagram looks at the implementation through the strategic HRM process and can be
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applicable to the discussion previously through the operational structure of strategy
management.
Diagram removed
(Source: Rudman, R: 2010 pp 16)
To finish we look at Puzzled HR Practitioner and his inference to management confusion in
the whole strategic HRM. Puzzled talks about how people are perceived as just another
production process and how the role of the HRM is blurred into management confusion over
which role the HRM actually takes. The above diagram looks at this relationship as a working
relationship and if we are to look at the research and theory we can see that HRM is not
essentially a part of the management structure although they do have input into what
essentially relays from management to employee. (Rudman, 2010) The development of
organisations as a whole does not rely on the positions of management and employee
respectively, it relies on the integration of management procedures and policies and
employee wants and needs. When an employer can see the employee as more than just a
production process the integration begins. The integration of needs and satisfaction of
employee relations into management process brings about the change agent of HRM and
serves as a catalyst for changes within the organisation as a whole. Any organisation willing
to succeed will bring about any changes possible, and in the current climate it is evidently
possible for such things to happen. If we look at the beliefs and people management of
corporate giants in New Zealand such as The Warehouse, Mad Butcher, and New Zealand
Post, the vision and HRM statements say it all; an example being The New Zealand Post:
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We are a people business and strive to make New Zealand Post a great place to work, and a
great organisation to work with. We recognise and respect the contribution of our people and
as a team aim to maintain the highest standard in all our business dealings operating in
good faith, ethically and responsibly, to build trusting, collaborative and long term
relationships. New Zealand Post
(Source: Rudman, 2010: pp 21)
This statement alone aligns itself with the key competencies and reliability needed to create a
good management structure. Strategy tools can be put in place to ensure the recurring
changes in HRM and strategic management take place, but only when the management as a
whole accept and believe that their human resource is their greatest advantage in
advancement.
In Conclusion, Puzzled must be a part of a very structured and pushy organisation to make the
claims in the Letter to the editor; otherwise the letter must stem from frustration with upper
management. These issues are not an overnight fix but when coupled with theory and
practice, the integration of not only strategic human resource management but the other key
roles of employee champion; change agent and administrative expert; any organisation is
bound to succeed on the level of evolving strategically if nothing else. Theory and practise
can meet on common ground if both management and staff follow the policies and
procedures implemented by the HRM department and with the end goal in mind of consumer
retention and satisfaction.
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References
Bartol, K., & Martin, D. (1998). Management. (3, Ed.) Boston, USA: McGraw Hill Ltd.
Caldwell, R. (2003). The changing roles of personnel managers: Old ambiguities, new
uncertainties.Journal of Management Studies , 983-1004.
Robbins, S., Millet, B., Cacioppe, R., & Marsh, T. W. (1998). Organisational Behaviour(2 ed.).
Australia: Prentice Hall.
(2010). In R. Rudman, Human Management in New Zealand. North Shore, New Zealand:
Pearson.
(2010). Future Challenges for HR Management. In R. Rudman, Human Resources management
in New Zealand. North Shore, New Zealand: Pearson.
(2010). Roles and Responsibilites for HR Management. In R. Rudman, Human Resources
Management in New Zealand. North Shore, New Zealand: Pearson.
(2010). Strategic Human resources Management. In R. Rudman, Human Resources
Management in New Zealand(5 ed.). North Shore, New Zealand: Pearson.
Stone, J. (2010). Managing human resources (3 ed.). Brisbane, Australia: John Wiley.