Maximizing HR Performance:

Role of the Line Manager

September 15, 2014

Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. (2012). Strategy, human resource management and performance:
Sharpening line of sight. Human Resource Management Review, 22(1), 43-56.
Resource Based View of the Firm
The Resource-Based View (RBV) approach
Internal resources are more important for a
firm than external factors in achieving and
sustaining competitive advantage
Assets grouped into three categories:
Physical, Human and Organizational
For a resource to be valuable, it must be
either (1) rare, (2) hard to imitate, or (3) not
easily substitutable

Big HRM Questions
How do HRM practices and systems contribute
to strategy formulation and implementation?

What strategic value is created?

Which HRM practices are most useful?

Building Human Capital
SHRM linked to building human capital
Human capital is where the competitive
advantage comes from
HR Practices can help to build human capital,
but it isnt entirely clear as to how that can
happen
How HR Practices affect performance is also
firm, industry and context specific
Building Social Capital
Nature of the relationships among people
internal and external to the firm.
Social relationships and interactions facilitate
the accomplishment of the firms strategic
priorities.
Managers have substantial influence on how
people work and interact. HR practices also
impact social capital.

How Does Human & Social Capital
Impact Performance?
Is it not enough to create HRM practices and
systems that are aligned with strategy
Requires a connection of motivated people
with the strategic objective (both individual
and group)
Model suggests that there are 4 key HRM
areas that will impact performance
Line of Sight Model
P 48

How Do Managers Impact?
HR policies exist on paper. What happens in
practice may be very different: outdated,
poorly understood, poor fit with culture, not
practiced.
One of the main issues is that the
implementation of most HR policies rests with
line managers.

Sikora & Ferris, 2014
Managers & HR Strategy
1. Alignment with HR strategy and business
strategy
2. Alignment across departments HR strategy
and HR implementation
Issues:
Most firms better at executing technical HR
practices (benefits, compensation) than strategic
HR practices (empowerment, teamwork)
Culture and social interactions have large impacts
on effectiveness of HR strategy and policy
Sikora & Ferris, 2014
What we know about managers
Fail to take responsibility for employee development
Dont value interpersonal skills training
Resist employment involvement
View attraction, selection, retention and motivation as
key HR practices
Poor HR implementation efforts impacts employee
attitudes
When managers consistently implement HR practices,
they are more likely to have mutually-reinforcing
impacts on organizational outcomes

Sikora & Ferris, 2014
Managers Perspective

What are some of the reasons that a manager
would not implement HR policies/strategies?

What are some of the barriers for managers?

How Does This Impact Employees?
The HR & Manager Nightmare:

Turnover Intention

Job Performance
Job Satisfaction
Procedural Justice Perceptions
How Does This Impact Managers?
Managers may have competing pressures:
what are the organizational norms and
expectations?
Line managers are often the link between
strategy and practice, but often arent seen as
valued contributors from superiors or
subordinates
Relationship between HR Managers and Line
Managers is key to successful implementation
Three Key Areas
Skills & Knowledge
Empowerment
Motivation

What types of HR practices are included in these
areas?
Combs, Liu, Hall & Ketchen, 2006
The Bottom Line
Increasing the use of HR practices can increase
performance by 20% on average.

The most effective practices are industry specific and
reinforce each other.

There are differences between manufacturing and service
organizations. Both are impacted by skills, knowledge,
motivation and social systems. Service organizations
appear to have greater improvements when the social
system is strong. Manufacturing benefits from skills
improvements and quality control.
Combs, Liu, Hall & Ketchen, 2006
Some Confusing Findings
Performance appraisals, teams, and
information sharing were not found to have
strong impacts on organizational outcomes
(like profit or productivity). Why might that
be?
What does this indicate for a manager? How
would you know if your practices in this area
were impactful?
References
Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. (2012). Strategy, human resource
management and performance: Sharpening line of sight.
Human Resource Management Review, 22(1), 43-56.

Combs, J., Liu, Y., Hall, A., & Ketchen, D. (2006). How much do
highperformance work practices matter? A metaanalysis of
their effects on organizational performance. Personnel
Psychology, 59(3), 501-528.

Sikora, D. M., & Ferris, G. R. (2014). Strategic human resource
practice implementation: The critical role of line
management. Human Resource Management Review, 24(3),
271-281.