STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC HRM SESSION PLAN

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The essence of strategic HRM

Strategic management
The concept of strategy
Critical evaluation of the concept of strategy
Key concepts of strategic HRM
Perspectives on SHRM
Best practice
Best fit
Bundling
HR strategies
Criteria for an effective HR strategy
Formulating HR strategies
Implementing HR strategies

THE ESSENCE OF STRATEGIC HRM

Achieve integration or fit between HR and business
strategies is achieved
Take a longer-term view of where HR should be going
and how to get there
Decide how coherent and mutually supporting HR
strategies should be developed and implemented How
members of HR function should adopt a strategic
approach

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

An approach to management in which:

a broad and long-term view is taken of where the
business is going
activities are managed in ways that ensure this strategic
thrust is maintained

THE CONCEPT OF STRATEGY

Strategy is the approach selected to achieve specified

goals in the future

CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE

CONCEPT OF STRATEGY
The formulation of corporate strategy is often assumed
to be a logical, step-by-step affair
In practice it may not be as rational and linear a process
as some people think

KEY CONCEPTS OF STRATEGIC HRM

The resource-based view
Strategic fit

PERSPECTIVES ON SHRM

The universalistic perspective

The contingency perspective
The configurational perspective

(Delery and Doty, 1996)

BEST PRACTICE
Assumed is that there is a set of best HRM practices that
are universal in the sense that they are best in any
situation
This is questionable

BEST FIT
The best fit approach emphasizes that HR strategies
should be congruent with the context and circumstances
of the organization
Best fit involves vertical integration or alignment between
the organizations business and HR strategies
There are three models: lifecycle, competitive strategy,
and strategic configuration
Often said that best fit is better than best practice but
best fit models can be unrealistic

BUNDLING
Bundling is the development and implementation of
several HR practices together so that they are
interrelated and therefore complement and reinforce
each other

HR STRATEGIES
HR strategies indicate what the organization wants to do
about its human resource management policies and
practices and how they should be integrated with the
business strategy and each other

CRITERIA FOR AN EFFECTIVE HR

STRATEGY
An effective HR strategy is one that works in the sense
that it achieves what it sets out to achieve.

FORMULATING HR STRATEGY
Two approaches (Wright et al, 2004):
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Inside-out
Outside-in

IMPLEMENTING HR STRATEGY
There is no great strategy, only great execution
Lynda Gratton (2000)