Strategic Human Resource Management

AKANKSHA SHARMA (20PG003 )

Assignment 1

1. Assume the position of a consultant hired to assess the approach towards

human resources management taken by a client organization. What factors
might you evaluate whether an organization uses a traditional or strategic
approach to managing its human resources?

Ans - Step 1: Identify the decision to be made. You realize that a decision
must be made. You then go through an internal process of trying to define
clearly the nature of the decision you must make. This first step is a very
important one.
Step 2: Gather relevant information. Most decisions require collecting
pertinent information. The real trick in this step is to know what information
is needed, the best sources of this information, and how to go about getting
it. Some information must be sought from within yourself through a process
of self-assessment; other information must be sought from outside yourself-
from books, people, and a variety of other sources. This step, therefore,
involves both internal and external “work”.
Step 3: Identify alternatives. Through the process of collecting information
you will probably identify several possible paths of action, or alternatives.
You may also use your imagination and information to construct new
alternatives. In this step of the decision-making process, you will list all
possible and desirable alternatives.
Step 4: Weigh evidence. In this step, you draw on your information and
emotions to imagine what it would be like if you carried out each of the
alternatives to the end. You must evaluate whether the need identified in
Step 1 would be helped or solved through the use of each alternative. In
going through this difficult internal process, you begin to favor certain
alternatives which appear to have higher potential for reaching your goal.
Eventually you are able to place the alternatives in priority order, based
upon your own value system.
Step 5: Choose among alternatives. Once you have weighed all the
evidence, you are ready to select the alternative which seems to be best
suited to you. You may even choose a combination of alternatives. Your
choice in Step 5 may very likely be the same or similar to the alternative
you placed at the top of your list at the end of Step 4.
Step 6: Take action. You now take some positive action which begins to
implement the alternative you chose in Step 5.
Step 7: Review decision and consequences. In the last step you
experience the results of your decision and evaluate whether or not it has
“solved” the need you identified in Step 1. If it has, you may stay with this
decision for some period of time. If the decision has not resolved the
identified need, you may repeat certain steps of the process in order to
make a new decision. You may, for example, gather more detailed or
somewhat different information or discover additional alternatives on which
to base your decision.

2) Describe HR’s role as a strategic partner in formulating and in executive

strategy.

Ans. HR’s role as a strategic partner in formulating and in executive strategy :-

1. HR’s Role in Formulating Strategy:

Strategy formulation is always preceded by environmental
scanning. Scanning helps in identifying, analysing and balancing
company’s external opportunities and threats and its internal
strengths and weaknesses. HR plays a very important role here.

Formulating plans requires competitive intelligence and HR

management can supply useful information. Details regarding
competitors’ incentive plans, information about pending legislations
like labour laws and opinion survey data from employees that
provide information about customer complaints are some examples.

HR also supplies information regarding the company’s internal

strengths and weaknesses. Some firms even build their strategies
around an HR based competitive advantage. For example, in the
process of automating its factories a firm developed a workforce
that was exceptionally talented and expert in factory automation.
This, in turn, prompted the firm to offer automation services to
other countries.

2. HR’s Role in Implementing Strategy:

Implementation has traditionally been the heart of HR’s strategic
role.

A firm’s functional strategies should support its competitive

strategies. HRM supplies the company with a competent and willing
workforce which is responsible for executing strategies. For
example, Maruti Udyog and Hindustan Motors are manufacturing
cars essentially using identical technology. The secret behind the
popularity of Maruti is its workforce.

HR supports strategy implementation in other ways also. It can help

the firm carry out restructuring and downsizing efforts without
rubbing employees the wrong way e.g. through outpacing
employees, linking rewards to performance, reducing welfare costs
and retraining employees. HR can also initiate systematic efforts to
enhance skill levels of employees so that the firm can compete on
quality.

A well designed strategy can fail if sufficient attention is not paid to

the HR dimension.

HR problems while implementing strategies may arise due to the

following reasons –

i. Disruption of social and political structures.

ii. Failure to match individuals’ aptitude with implementation tasks.

iii. Inadequate top management support for implementation

activities.

To prevent these problems or to solve them, there should be open

communication, matching managers with strategies through
transfers, promotions, job enlargement and job enrichment etc.