hrm introduction copy

7/30/2019 HRM Introduction Copy

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People Management

and PsychologyWeek 1 Introduction to HRM


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Week 1 - Introduction to HRM

Week 2 HR Planning

Week 3 Job Design

Week 4 Recruitment and Selection

Week 5 Performance Management Week 6 -Training

Week 7 - Leadership

Week 8 - Conflict

Week 9 Power Week 10 Review

Course Overview


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No universal definition.

Many academics have written on the subject with no onedefinition agreed.

Storey (1995:5) defines HRM as a distinctive approach toemployment management which seeks to achievecompetitive advantage through the strategic deployment

of a highly committed and capable workforce, using anarray of cultural, structural and personnel techniques

Definitions of HRM


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Features of HRM Models and Theories

There are four main features which emerge in HRM models andtheories

Integration of human resource policies with each other andwith the organisations business plan. HRM is a key instrumentof business strategy, viewing employees as important assets.

Responsibility for managing people moves from personnelspecialists to senior managers. Specialists provide aconsultancy service for line managers.

Employee relations shift away from collective bargaining -dialogue between management and unions. Instead, direct

discussion between management and individual employees isencouraged.

A stress on commitment to the organisation and personalinitiative

* Sisson K. (1990) Introducing the Human Resource Management Journal, Human Resource Management Journal 1(1): 1-11


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HRM Overview

HRM has theoretical roots in the US Business Schools. Historically: A first wave arose with Storeys New Perspectives on HRM

(1989)

The second wave arose in consideration of:

Social and economic context of HR functions

HR and organizational performance

New organizational forms and HR

HR and knowledge management (1990s)

The third wave (current) looks at the strategic implications ofHRM, known as Strategic Human Resource Management(SHRM)

Other debates exist around:

The differences between HRM and personnel management

Employee manipulation


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Factors determining its place in the organisation

Age, Size, Ownership

Trade Union presenceType of Leadership or Management Style

History e.g. Public to private

Organisational Sector (Telecoms, Airline)

Culture of organisation (driven by all of the above)

A Framework for HRM Analysis


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Soft

Commitment, Quality & FlexibilityPartnership

Hard

Resources like any other

Cost EfficiencyDrive for performance

Lean Production

Staff & Management

Soft and Hard HRM may not necessarily be incompatible.

There may be different variants.

Style


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Personnel Mgt HR Mgt

Planning Perspective Reactive

Crisis Mgt input

Proactive

Strategic Planning

People ManagementPerspective

Cost Efficiency

Productivity

Resource rather than cost,

Overall commitment andflexibility,

Increased efficiency

Employee RelationsPerspective

Pluralism directresponsibility of mgt

Unitarism

High Commitment work

practices

Structure Perspective Bureaucraticstructures

Need for change andflexibility

Role Perspective Specialist Function Line ManagerEmpowerment


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What is HRM? (1)

HRM is linked to the management ofhuman capital:

It is linked to a view of the employee as an economic asset

Itcan be described as a strategic approach to managingemployment relations that emphasizes human core competences to

create competitive advantage This is achieved by distinctive employment practices

It draws on organizational psychology (areas of motivation, roleperception etc)

It is linked with employment relations and problematic issues

connected with this, and forms part of sociological studies


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What is HRM? (2)

HRM relates to a workforce that embodies a mix of skills andcapabilities

Commitment and learning are emphasized

HRM links HR functions to OB problems

HRM entails:

An economic contractual relationship (pay/effort bargain)

A legal and social relationship

A psychological contract

HRM is built on the premise that the human capital of theemployee can have strategic importance and value

Hence employment policy is coherent when integrated with strategic policy

Some element of conflict of interest between workers and employersnevertheless remains, and the management of this is down to HR


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OB Theories and HRM Practices


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The Psychological Contract

The psychological contract relates to the two-wayexchange between employee and employer

Rousseau (1995) defines it as:

Individual beliefs, shaped by the organization,regarding terms of an exchange agreement betweenindividuals and their organization...

It is viewed as a lever for individual commitment,motivation and task performance beyond expectedoutcomes...


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HRM Functions

Millward et al (2000) and Ulrich (1997) identify eight keyHRM functions:

Strategic planning the organizations HR needs/forecasts

Staffing

Training and development

Motivation - requires a rewards system

Maintenance - includes health and safety

Managing relationships - participation schemes/collective

agreements Managing change in the workplace

Evaluation procedures to institute and communicate HR Policy


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Theoretical Models of HRM

The following models provide an analytical framework for studyingHRM and a means of linking OB theories to HR

They thereby serves as an heuristic devicerelating to HR policies

The Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna model (1984)

An early model emphasising the interrelatedness of HR activities

The Harvard mode An heuristic devicefor explaining HR practices

Has an analytical base (factors/stakeholders/choices) but links with attitudinalfeatures (commitment/competence)

The Warwick model

Extends the Harvard framework

The five elements of the model are: outer context; inner context, businessstrategy content, HRM context and HRM content

Shows links between HR end environmental factors


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The Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna Model


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The Harvard Model of HRM


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The Warwick

Model of HRM


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Strategic HRM (1)

The call for HRM to link with corporate strategy was strong by thelate 1980s

Strategyisa pattern of decisions/actions undertaken bymanagement hierarchy to accomplish corporate goals. It can be

conducted at The corporate level

The strategic business unit level

The functional grass roots level (Porter, 1980)

Strategic HRM (SHRM) has roots in manpower planning but it isunclear whether it is an outcome or a process


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Strategic HRM (2)

A distinction is possible between upstream and downstreamstrategic decisions (Purcell) and this has informed the SHRMdebate

Three orders of decisions can be identified Upstream or high level corporate decisions are first order

Downstream or structural matters are second order

HR matters are third order

However, strategy in HR decisions can be determined in thecontext of the first order decisions (Purcell, 1989)


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The Matching Model

Another area of debate relates to the fit of HR and businessstrategies

This is called the concept ofintegration, which has three

aspects: Linking HR policies and practices with strategic management

Internalizing the significance of HR with HR managers

Fostering organizational commitment to strategic goals

This is known as the matching model


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A Matching Model of Strategic HRM


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The Resource Based Model

An alternative theory is the resource based model, which linksresource aspects with strategic policy

This is connected with the view of the employee as an asset to becultivated, a feature ofhuman capital

Barney (1991) argues that four characteristics of human capital are important:

Sustaining competitive advantage

Inimitability (of product or service)

Rarity (of core competence)

Non-substitutable product or service


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The Resource Based View of theFirm

The relationship amongresource endowments andsustained competitiveadvantage


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SHRM: Does it work?

SHRM theories work on the premise that a link betweenbusiness and HR strategies will lead to high performance

the HRMperformance link

SHRM is a genre of academic research

Overall, only a minority of workplaces have followed thepremises set out by proponents of SHRM

Some studies have found positive correlations between bundles of

SHRM practices and superior organizational performance However, evidence is not conclusive


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A Model of the HRM--Performance Linkage


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International HRM (1)

A central concern is the transferability of HRM models at a globallevel, because organizations seek to leverage resources at aninternational level in the teeth of fierce competition

This affects patterns of national employment relations. HR practicesaffect:

Global recruitment and selection

Training and reward management at an international level

Recruitment of expatriates

It is necessary to consider aspects of the host country, as theemployment relationship is affected by factors such as:

Cultural/legislative context

National regulatory framework


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A debate has occurred about the distinction betweenInternational HRM (IHRM) and Strategic InternationalHRM (SIHRM):

IHRM is viewed as pro-Western in ethos

SIHRM is viewed as attached to MNCs, connecting IHRM tostrategy

SIHRM contains a tension between global competitiveness orcentralization and issues of local specification of strategy andadjustment to cultural sensitivities

TNCs/MNCs need to achieve a balance between these conflictingforces


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Tensions between SIHRM and IHRM can also be felt inthe following areas:

Recruitment and selection practices and employment regimes

Reward apportionment

Performance appraisal (arguably best performed in the hostcountry)

Transfer of distinctive competences from head office to local level

The International HRM cycle tabulates these kinds ofissues (see the next slide)


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The International HRM Cycle


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Does SIHRM reflect the convergence of HR practices and the interests ofUS capitalism? Answers to this question form part of the convergence-divergence debate

It is argued that TNCs contribute to a homogenous or universalist HRMethos (ie convergence)

On the other hand, there are local practices or rationalities of HRM invarying countries (ie divergence)

It is argued that universalist/individualistAnglo-Saxon HRM cannot easily locate inthe same manner across diverse geographical contexts of TNCs

This said, the idea of an Asian HRM is problematic; but much diversity of practicedoes exist across the world

Overall, some degree of convergence does exist but it is not absolute


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Diagram reflecting the Convergence/Divergence Debate on IHRM


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Paradoxes in HRM

A paradox occurs when managers try to accomplish a goal in amanner contradictory to the very goals the organization seeks toattain

Critics have drawn on the idea of a paradox of consequences deriving from atension between HRMpolicies and practices

For example, tension between a psychological contract and formal practicesor procedures etc

The soft versus hard aspects of HR might be said to express some degree ofambiguity about the aims of HRM

Karen Legge (2005) has exposed the rhetoric of soft or caring HRM asbeing a foil for a managerial agenda

This can be seen at a practical level for instance the tension between shortterm goals (accounting/financial) and longer term investment - for instance instaff training

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