Strategic Human Resources Management: Where Do We Go From Here - Essay Example

?running head: Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic Human Resource Management Submitted [Pick the Strategic human resource management has been a contemporary concept that highlights importance of human resource managers and executives in today’s robust world. Where HR departments are considered synonymous to administration department handling human capital, the actual role of HR teams is way more penetrating than that. I have gone through many leadership and HR management theories that agree with the fact that an efficient and effective human resource is inevitable for organizational development. This is precisely the reason why we have witnessed a shift from bureaucratic approach from the beginning of 19th century, to humanistic approach. While performing literature reviews and discussion with HR/ HC executives to understand strategic human resource management, I have found that SHRM gives a quantifiable value to contributions made by HR teams and helps them develop HR architecture and workface that aliens well to organizational objectives, giving rise to a competitive advantage. Careful analysis of strategic HRM reveals that human capital management is mandatory for today’s rapidly changing environment. In my view, the pace shown by today’s organizations and enterprises demand a fast-responding HR management teams that can alter the orientation of human capital with reference to organizational goals. This analysis of today’s human resource management practices had made me develop an understanding of this basic concept of strategic HRM. Through literature review and practical observations, I have observed that SHRM gives a new direction to traditional administrative role of HRM. It is about alienating the role and behavior of the workforce in a manner that corresponds to organizational objectives, mission and vision (Vosburgh, 2007). This is precisely the point where the concept of HR business partnership emerges. Going through present theories and thorough discussion with some of HR acquaintances has helped me develop an understanding that HR business partnership needs capital investment which is a sole decision made by organizational leadership. Without knowing the return on investment, it is difficult for management to provide funds for future developments. Here, SHRM emerges as the crutches that today’s weak Human capital managers need. This concept helps HR managers to analyze the value that they can bring to the business like other strategic functions of the organization (Scott-Jackson, 2009). Further discussions with HR executives helped me gain more insight of SHRM theory. In my view, SHRM defines a road map for HR executives via whom they can devise tools for acquiring and retaining suitable human capital that is well-versed with organizational practices and owns suitable skills set inventory. In addition to that, it is also important to ensure that this human capital is provided with necessary extrinsic and intrinsic benefits in order to keep them motivated. Where HRM has core responsibility of above mentioned functions, SHRM moves one step forward by devising frameworks through which HR systems and practices can actually assist organizational leaders in enhancing organizational performance and development. Hence, in my view, SHRM is a tool for gaining a competitive advantage that allows organizational management to achieve its business targets in an effective manner (Becker & Huselid, 2006). This understanding of SHRM function made me perform further analysis of the techniques used or suggested by today’s executives for achieving the objectives of this new regime. In order to gain this understanding, I performed a thorough analysis of various organizational models and live case studies. Through this research, I came to know that the foundation of SHRM is an understanding of the organizational objectives and goals in financial terms (Becker & Huselid, 2006). Once these concrete figures are available, HR executives are required to present HRM model that could assist management achieve its objectives. These techniques cover every aspect of HRM from basic recruitment to training and performance management. However, now the focus is shifted from administrative role to engaging an extrinsic value with every resource and evaluating its strategic role in helping the organization have a competitive advantage. Where earlier practice was to only view the strategic functions as the major stakeholders in organizational management, this shift from HRM to SHRM helps in quantifying the value addition by HR teams and enhancing their role as a business stakeholder. Through literature review, I came to know that resource based view (RBV) has acted as the founding concept for SHRM. RBV helps in attaching quantitative value to the functions of organization which further assists in identifying strategic additions made in organizational performance (Becker & Huselid, 2006). I have also observed that it is not possible for HR executives to devise standard and ideal procedures that can stand fit for all kind of organizations. Every enterprise or corporate entity has its own culture, values and business objectives. These factors in turn, decide the HR architecture that would complement the business goals and vision (Vosburgh, 2007). Therefore, it is important that human capital acquisition and retention strategies correspond to organizational objectives and assist management in achieving them by providing a competitive advantage. Hence, HR architecture of an organization must relate to its overall strategic business practices. In the light of concepts developed about SHRM, I have developed a clearer insight of accountabilities attached to SHRM team. These accountabilities define how HR teams can actually act as business partners like supply chain and production departments. These accountabilities define HR teams to be strategic partners, change agents administrative experts and employee relations experts (Vosburgh, 2007). This evolution from an administrative role to strategic partner helps HR teams embrace the responsibility of developing differentiating capabilities that provide desired competency for achieving competitive advantage. This competitive advantage generated by HR department in the form of effective human capital can only be helpful if it has a certain strategic value, rarity, inimitability, lack of substitution, immobility and appropriateness according to organizational goals (Scott-Jackson, 2009). For SHRM, it is important that strategic implementation is given more importance instead of strategic positioning. Furthermore, HR system is altered as required by other functions of organization. Lastly, strategic jobs in the organizations need investment in employee performance therefore HR teams need to identify those roles and make changes in the systems accordingly (Becker & Huselid, 2006). I have observed that today’s corporate landscape, organization structure and cultures are changing rapidly requiring the HR managers to respond to the challenges and embrace their role as strategic partner. However, it can be viewed that many human capital executives undergo difficulties and barriers while actually asserting their importance as a cornerstone of an organization. Analysis of literature coupled with practical examples had made me understand the fact that this vulnerability is a resultant of inability of quantifying organizational value of HR departments (Ray et al., 2012). Further analysis of HR executives’ limited progress in SHRM made me realize that the where other strategic functions of organizations are able to take part in business operations assertively, HR executives are unable to perform their role by providing HR implications of the decisions taken by line mangers and upper management. As a result, strategic authority travels from HR executives to operational functions putting more administrative burden on HR managers without having any strategic say (Vosburgh, 2007). Furthermore, HR departments are still considered as a support function in an organization having strong sense of risk aversion. Also, inability to introduce strategic innovation in existing functions and relating ROI to overall performance of HR department makes their role even weaker. Therefore, while adopting a role of strategic partner, it is important that HR executives take risks as other business leaders and reshape their systems that would allow them to move away from the administrative role to HR business partnership (Ray et al., 2012). In order to gain an understanding of SHRM, I have performed some literary analysis and discussions with HR executives. This practice helped me get the gist of this contemporary concept and its relevance to today’s organizations. With rapid changes in organizational models, cultures and practices, it is becoming more important that HR managers move away from the support role and take over strategic partnership. This evolution is highly significant as their contribution in developing a workforce that is well-aligned with organizational objectives and functions would help the organization to have a desired competitive advantage. I also found that SHRM gives a quantifiable value to otherwise vague role of HR executives and teams. However, so far SHRM is still in its infancy as HR executives are facing difficulty to assert themselves as business leaders and take necessary risks that comes with the role of strategic partner. References Becker, B.E. & Huselid, M.A. (2006). ‘Strategic Human Resources Management: Where Do We Go From Here?’, Journal of Management, 32(6), pp. 898-925. Ray, R.L., Mitchell, C., Abel, A.L. & Phillips, P. (2012). ‘The State of Human Capital-False Summit’, Retrieved from http://www.google.com.pk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mckinsey.com%2F~%2Fmedia%2FMcKinsey%2Fdotcom%2Fclient_service%2FOrganization%2FPDFs%2FState_of_human_capital_2012.ashx&ei=sPQgUY2pF9GSswbkvYHgCQ&usg=AFQjCNFNRfbGK1M63Ko01uHewPNXF7R2zg&sig2=M35ufQK2Zt5qHPAcnXOPiA&bvm=bv.42553238,d.Yms Scott-Jackson, W.B. (2009). ‘HR is Business: Achieving competitive advantage through strategic talent management’ , Retrieved from http://www.cahrr.org/human-resources-research/material/Strategic%20Capabilities%20ASHRM%20ref.pdf Vosburgh, R.M. (2007). The Evolution of HR: Developing HR as an Internal Consulting Organization, Human Resource Planning, 30(3), pp. 11-23. Read More