Executive Summary3
Analysis and evaluation of alignment4
Strategic Contribution 5
Personal Credibility 5
HR Delivery Metrics6
Key Performance Measurements6
Action Plan7
HR Mission 9
HR Vision 10
Conclusion11
References 14
Executive Summary
This project report is a Human Resource Strategy for an organization in the power electric industry named Titan Electric, Incorporated. A human resource strategy is a model which begins with research into employment and moves into a framework which articulates the organization's and the human resources department main values. The HR strategic plan consolidates and presents the policies of the department in light of how individual functions operate. It then explains how these functions can be analyzed for indications on performance. Successfully implementing an HR strategy is dependent on how well the delivery of the service is implemented. For this reason a very important aspect of a strategic HR plan would be delivery of service.
Analysis and evaluation of alignment
The Human Resources strategy is one of vital strategies that an organization needs to ensure success, underlying the basis for the entire performance of a corporation. An organization requires many strategies which may range from business aims, financial, marketing, sales, research and development, product innovation, technology and customer relations. Public sector bodies will have different strategies such as environmental and sustainability, community, education, planning, equality in service delivery, health.
The importance of the human part of a firm is more apparent now than in the past. The intangible element that is created by competitive advantage is sourced in the staff and people that make up the organization. The advancement of technology makes it less common that a product with have no substitute. Rather, it is the people who design, deliver and service the product or service which makes an organization truly unique and valuable.
Strategic Contribution
Titan Electric's Strategic Human Resource Plan for 2016 – 2018 sets out the priorities in policy, execution and these set the foundation for the HR Strategy. The Vision, which articulates the Corporation's overall ambition is:- “Titan Electric will build on its success as the leading electrical power engineering firm. It is dedicated towards quality and access to servicing the community in its local neighborhood and worldwide.” In order to support the Vision, the Corporation has the following aims:
• To ensure that Titan Electric is focused on its obligations to all stakeholders.
• To promote and enhance the Corporation as a leading international financial and business hub.
• To provide first class services in the City of Gotham.
• To help combat social deprivation city-wide.
The development of strategies for each function in human resources like such as on resourcing, development, performance management, reward, communications, employee relations, equal opportunities and diversity, work-life balance, and HR service delivery transformation necessarily need to be founded on extensive research on the current state of play in the organization. They also need to take into account the external and internal environment of the organization. This alignment is what affords the plan relevance and specificity to where the organization is, where it wants to get to and the means for achieving that transition. .
Personal Credibility
Human resource (HR) attributions are defined as “causal explanations that employees make regarding management’s motivations for using particular HR practices” (Nishii et al., 2008, p. 507). In other words, HR attributions are employee perceptions of “why” an organization uses particular human resource management practices. Early work in this area has found that these perceptions exert a significant influence on firm performance via their effect on employee attitudes (Nishii et al., 2008). The study of HR attributions represents a “sophisticated” way of examining HR perceptions, as it directs attention to how HR practices are communicated by organizations and interpreted by employees (Guest, 2011, p. 6).
In essence, HR attributions are an employee’s perception of “why” an HR practice is used by an organization. In their seminal work in this area, Nishii and colleagues (2008) describe how employee attitudes and behaviors toward HR practices may depend on how employees interpret the motives behind the HR practices themselves. For instance, an individual could interpret a practice as being in place for employee well-being, or they might instead attribute the practice as being in place for reasons of cost efficiency or employee exploitation. Nishii and colleagues (2008) identified a typology of five HR attributions: employee well-being, service quality, cost reduction, employee exploitation, and union compliance. While employee well-being and service quality were categorized as internal, commitment-focused attributions, cost reduction and employee exploitation were described as internal, control-focused attributions. Union compliance was categorized as an external attribution.
The distinction between external and internal attributions highlights a crucial component of the mechanism via which attributions exert their influence. (Nishii et al., 2008), Internal attributions are associated with HR practices for which the employer was voluntarily responsible—in essence, the employer chose to use these practices. On the other hand, external attributions are associated with practices which the employer was compelled to adopt—these were necessary, and not voluntary. For instance, employee well-being attributions are considered internal because they are seen as a choice, whereas union compliance attributions are seen as external because they are necessary. Conversely, a cost control or exploitation attribution is considered an internal negative attribution, as this implies that the practice is in place less out of concern for employees, and more due to the employer’s own interests. These attributions downwardly influence employee attitudes, as individuals see HR practices as being in place as cost-control mechanisms rather than employee-focused systems (Nishii et al., 2008)
HR Delivery Metrics
Operational responsibilities such as recruitment and selection of personnel, payroll systems, records, oversight of standards and policies, training programs, and award ceremonies are certainly important and should be performed. However, HR professionals are facing the opportunity to be more than just a transaction-based department, in order to become a function with true strategic importance. (Wright et. al. 2007)
Key Performance Measurements.
The evaluative assessment of strategic initiatives is a multi directional task. It embraces the internal monitoring of actual results versus planned outcomes, and the external monitoring of environmental factors. (Wright et. al. 2007) The coordinated effort of balancing this system translates strategy into action and defines the concept of strategy deployment as the alignment of strategy development, organizational performance, performance measurement and control (Wright et. al. 2007) Strategy deployment, strategy development, organizational performance, and performance measurement and control define the strategic management process. (Han et.al. 2015) The strategies and plans that will lead to increased productivity need to rooted in investigatory research and following this on a consideration of those values, and the organization culture that is suited best to meet the needs of customers, suppliers and employees.
Action Plan for Each Functional Area
Developing a human resource strategy for each function such as sourcing, development, performance management, reward, communications, employee relations, safety and absence management, and HR service delivery changes needed to be founded on extensive research on the current state of play in the organization.
Recruiting. To mainstream Equal Opportunities into the culture of the organization. To emphasize the importance of finding people with the best sense of motivation and abilities needed by the organization or at least the motivation and ability to fill the role compettently. A rigorous selection process creates an expectation of high performance in employees from the outset.
Performance management. Strategic objectives for performance management are the following: 1) to embed the performance management framework into the culture of the organization. 2) to maximize presence at work and 3) to eliminate unnecessary absence, and to promote the community wide objective of developing an inclusive and outward looking city.
Training and development. The strategic objective of this unit is to develop a learning organisation enabling people to perform to their full potential through 1) training, 2) developing of a career. (Uysal, 2013) This fits with a strategic objective which is to make sure the Corporation is focused on the needs and requirements of its stakeholders, and the overarching goal of promoting a vibrant and culturally healthy city.
Development strategies are based on activities offering staff the knowledge, skills and aptitudes to do their job to the best of their abilities. These development activities can include learning, education, on-the-job or off-the-job training, coaching, mentoring, project working and can either involve other people or be achieved through self development. There has been a cultural shift in many organizations to encourage employees to take accountability for their own development. The Corporation of Titan Electric has encouraged this through the development of trainings in an online course ware environment. This sophisticated platform provides human resource messaging, as well as access to on boarding materials, policy statements and ho-to and frequently asked questions resources for ease and continuity.
Many jobs and roles for an individual heightens the interest that a person feels for their job, as it allows for some creative input and change in what goes on in the day to day management of such schemes. a change in activity, and even a change in work colleagues all of which can make life more challenging. Multi-skilling is useful for corporations to have added flexibility in their staffing and it is strategically desirable for corporations that are offering their employees employment security. Teams with cross functions are effective for development, to solve problems, to transfer design to manufacturing. They lead to seamless organizational boundaries which enhance productivity
Compensation and benefits. To 1) make sure pay is competitive; 2) to recruit, retain and motivate staff and 3) help to develop a performance culture.
Employee and labor relations. The strategic aim of employee and labor relations function are to 1) To mainstream Equal Opportunities into the culture of the Organization; 2) To attract and retain a diverse staff; 3) To provide management with the tools to improve the work life balance of employees.
Health safety and security. The strategic objective for this functional unit is to 1) be environmentally aware; 2) to integrate social, economic and environmental issues in ways which help to 3) protect and enhance the people of the organization. One main area of strategic objective concerns security policy. A well-formed security policy signals a commitment by the organization to its workforce and is geared towards encouraging a sense of commitment and a willingness to expand greater effort for the organization. Policies like this emphasize the stewardship management has over its organization and their interest.. Financial incentives can help bridge any gaps when the emotional or attitudinal climate of the organization is questioned for its effectiveness.
HR Mission Statement
HR Vision Statement and Objectives
HR's Vision is “Excellent people for an excellent organisation.” Functional HR strategies cover such things as performance management, reward, employee relations, resourcing, training, communications. HR management seeks to align these strategies in a way that suits the demands of the entire organization. This creates a vision that is streamlined and goal directed for the future benefit of the organization in a comprehensive way.
Ideally this should be a common purpose with the vision of the organization that front-line staff would like to work in and that would be condoned by the managers of the organizations at lower levels. To achieve this common vision means that the human resources staff should make serious attitudes about how things are and what they would like changed. Their view needs to be compared with the point of view of the manager to see if they can meet eye to eye. In other words there needs to be an analysis of the culture and to see if changes need to be made.
Conclusion
Typically, strategic actions are linked to known business problems and issues, so being truly strategic means doing something that has a direct impact on the corporate goals and objectives. To change human resources is necessary to use performance measures while also recognizing and rewarding positive behavioral change. In order to identify and track positive outcomes, organizations should use key performance indicators, a balanced scorecard, or other appropriate measures. Strategic planning plays an important role in the change process. In the new global economy, acknowledged Ulrich, many change elements must align in order for organizational plans to be considered strategic. Research has suggested that we need to look at the big picture in order to align strategy with appropriate objectives. However, it is important not to get lost in details. Strategic planning is intended to result in action—action that will ultimately drive change. Creating change is also about productivity and organizational effectiveness, because, after all, the whole purpose of implementing strategic change is to improve business results.
Organizations create competitive advantage by reinventing themselves through new and creative ways of performing more efficiently. An effective methodology should include (a) keeping a focus on people and their performance, (b) tapping into the personal experience of the leader, (c) defining internal customers, and (d) recognizing the need for cooperation between functional units. (Buller & McEvoy, 2012)
HR strategy forms the basis of a integrated program for change covering all the individual HR functional strategies as well as organization development and transformation.(Buller & McEvoy, 2012) Values about human resources for the organization are an important first step in reaching a common approach and vision of the future. (Buller & McEvoy, 2012) After agreement, its sets the framework for development and change and a template for organizational behavior. It follows that people management is crucial to the management of culture and a key aspect of HR strategy. Processes such as performance management and the use of competency frameworks help to change behavior. (Boselie et al., 2009)
However Biggs et. al. (2014) has recognized that the changing employment relationship has impacted on such attitudes, as long term careers are not a sure thing today even in the public sector. Today a commitment strategy will focus on the development of internal communications, education and training programmes, increased involvement and ownership as well as performance compensations to make sure that employees receive feedback on their efforts, receive recognition and feel valued. Trust is created by good managerial behavior such as treating people fairly, equitably and consistently and by developing a mutual understanding of expectations between employer and employees.
References .
Biggs, A., Brough, P., & Barbour, J. P. (2014). Strategic alignment with organizational priorities and work engagement: A multi-wave analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(3), 301–317.
This resource was used in order to better understand the connection between strategic alignment between human resources job tasks and overall company strategy. Biggs, Brough and Barbour conducted a study with the Australian police where they found that
employees who feel their job is in life with overall strategies of the organizaiton show higher work engagement on average over time.
Boselie, P., Brewster, C., Paauwe, J., Boselie, P., Brewster, C., & Paauwe, J. (2009). In search of balance-managing the dualities of HRM: an overview of the issues. Personnel Review, 38(5), 461–471.
This resource was used as a way to gain insight into functional strategy that is most helpful for strategic HRM. The authors of this paper conducted an extensive literature review were they located the most effective strategies and policies that HRM can use to motivate and engage research practitioners in their work at a higher education resource organization.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2012). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
This textbook was used for a reference into the overall purpose, plan and intention
of a strategic human resource plan. It also was referenced in order to gain a more
clear overview of what should optimally be addressed when discussing functional
units in strategically minded human resources planning.
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.
This study was useful as it offers an overview of literature investigating the most effective practices available for human resource strategy. This paper was used to
understand the connection between functional strategy in the different human resource
areas and how they strategically align with the mission, vision and values of an organization.
Guest, D. E. (2011). Human resource management and performance: still searching for some answers. Human Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 3–13.
This resource considered the nuanced differences between paying for performance in
individuals versus teams or groups and how this may affect the overall strategic alignment of human resources with organizational strategic in an organization. Guest
found that organizational values and culture can play a big part in how incumbent
hires may respond to incentive based pay in groups and teams rather than individually
based structures.
Han, J. H., Bartol, K. M., & Kim, S. (2015). Tightening up the performance–pay linkage: Roles of contingent reward leadership and profit-sharing in the cross-level influence of individual pay-for-performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 417.
This resource was consulted for background knowledge and information on the link
between compensation with respect to performance pay and total rewards. In building
a strategic HRM plan, this source was used to emphasize that recruiting and staffing
and organization must not overlook this crucial area in a competitive landscape.
Nishii, L. H., Lepak, D. P., & Schneider, B. (2008). Employee attributions of the “why” of HR practices: Their effects on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 61(3), 503–545.
This resource was useful in order to understand the various attributions that are
considered necessary when forming a job description and profiling candidates
during recruiting. The authors brought to light the importance of finding employees
with the right values and attitudes that will align successfully with an organization, and
how these are often more important than straight skill.
Pfeffer, J. (1994). Competitive advantage through people. California Management Review, 36(2), 9–28.
This resource was used to consider the competitive advantage that human resources
plays in achieving the overall objective of organizational strategy. This was important
for giving a full, broad-based perspective on how strategic alignment works both
in theoretical and practical terms.
Uysal, G. (2013). Dimensions of American SHRM: Human Capital, HR Systems and Firm Performance. Journal of US-China Public Administration, 10(7), 720–726.
This paper was written specifically with a cross-cultural, cross country comparison in
mind, particularly for knowledge transfer of findings to Chinese audiences. What was
helpful was the way it laid out the first principles of human resources and correlated
them into ideas that upper management could digest and understand the crucial
importance of regarding functional HRM in its core strategic light.
Wright, P. M., & Nishii, L. H. (2007). Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. CAHRS Working Paper Series, 468.
This resource helped to outline how employees view human resource practices
and how these might influence job related motivations and overall organizational citizenship. Not only is a strategic HRM plan important from human resources
management side, but it plays a direct impact on the psychological commitments
the workers have towards the organization.
