Strategic Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management

Introduction

In our present circumstance where stiff competition does not only exist around the next block or the next city and where its material assets like money and facilities have grown more versatile because of advanced technologies , trading in a wider extent has become less complex , but providing human services (direct contact with customers , or in the manufacturing firm its indirect contact with customer ) has become a critical element in terms of quality and reliability . Behind every service that is provided is a competent person providing it , either

by singular exertion or a combination of it . Therefore good organizations must learn to acknowledge its exact sophistication (human and strategy before it can even start to manage it

What is a human resource ? And what is meant by Human Resource Management ? In the Human Resources Glossary , William R . Tracey (2004 defines human resource as The people that occupy and operate an organization . He contrasts it with financial and material resources of an organization . It can also be defined as the organization 's function that deals with issues relating to the people involved in the organization . All these being said , a human resource can be a single person or employee within the organization

Human resource management therefore is , in its simplest definition , a function within an organization that `directs the activities ' of the human resources . Unlike personnel management where the point of emphasis and approach is directed primarily at non-managers , HRM is more focused on the concerns of the managerial staff and the strategies it uses to integrate line management activities (Legge , 1989 as quoted by Armstrong , 2003 . The former represents the hypothetical premise concerning the management of people , while the latter involves the practical concerns surrounding it (Armstrong , 2002 . A more significant definition of HRM is that given by Armstrong (2002 . He defines HRM as a `strategic and logical approach to the management of an organization 's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives

HRM Models

The Matching model (U .S ) This model was formulated by Fombrun et al (1984 as quoted by Marchington , 2005 ) of the Michigan school . It is set to let its human resource conform to the model set by the organization thus attaining its objective . Under this model , strategies and goals are limited to the 4 elements of the human resource cycle , namely selection , development , appraisal and reward . This connection or `match in the HR systems and the organization objective is the main feature of this model . Stakeholders ' interests and other situational factors are not taken into account

The Harvard model (U .S ) This model has 6 basic components , namely

Situational factors (this includes workforce characteristics , management philosophy , etc

Stakeholder interests (which includes compromises and tradeoffs between the owners of the enterprise and its employees and the unions , etc

HRM policy choices (employee influence

HR flow , reward systems and work systems , etc

HR outcomes ( in terms of commitment , competence , cost effectiveness and congruence...