Strategic Human Resource Management - Assignment Example

? Strategic Human Resource Management Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction Human resource management is the role within an institution, which emphasizes on recruiting, managing, and offering directives for the staff working within an organization. This function deals with issues of staff management, particularly – over hiring, compensation and performance supervision (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009 p. 89). Other roles of the function include safety wellness, development of the organization, employee motivation, communication, benefits, training and the administration of the functions of the human resources capital available at the organization. The coverage of HRM also extends to a comprehensive approach to the workplace environment and culture, towards enabling the staff of the organization – participate actively and productively, in the overall direction of the organisation and the pursuit towards its goals and objectives. HRM has been shifting from the traditional administrative, personnel and transactional roles, which are often outsourced. The real purpose of HRM in today’s business world is to add value to strategic utilization of staffs, and that staff programs impact on the outcomes of the organization in measurable ways (Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2010, p. 52). This leads to HRM metrics and measurements as well as strategic direction – towards demonstrating value addition. Strategic HRM as housed under the HRM function is designed to aid organizations – to best manage the needs of their employees, while promoting the goals of the company. It focuses around the proactive management of staffs. It involves envisioning and planning ways to meet the needs of the employees effectively – so that they can work towards meeting the needs of the organization in an effective manner. This touches on the ways of doing different roles at the workplace, causing improvement in the areas of employee training and hiring, as well as disciplining and implementing the assessment models adopted. Through doing this, employee retention is high, which reduces the burden of sourcing and training employees (Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2010, p. 76). Literature Review In a rapidly changing and competitive business environment, the measures of outlining the function, role, and the processes of HRM within an uncertain, dynamic environment are a subject of review over decades. In the early 1980s, American Business School professionals published different articles and books in support of HRM concepts and the volatility of the business environment – which present heterogeneity and conflicts (Soderlund & Bredin, 2006, p. 249-251). Due to its many influences and the diverse origins, HRM encompasses central characteristics of importance to organizations: practice, individual, educational theory, industrial relations, practice, social and organizational psychology, and organizational theory (Soderlund & Bredin, 2006, p. 242-265). Till today, there is not any universally accepted definition of HRM and what it covers in every-day business. However, satisfactory definitions define the field as 1) a management responsibility that focuses on managerial functions 2) management philosophy that emphasizes on people treatment and 3) managing the interactions between an organization and its employees (Soderlund & Bredin, 2006). Due to the conflict in the theoretical notion and the hypothetical discrepancy about the definition, the Mathis and Jackson (2011) defintion will be used for this review – as it better explains and covers major areas of the study. According to Mathis and Jackson (2011), it is the philosophy of managing staff resources, based on the understanding that human resources are vital towards the sustenance of business success. An organization creates competive advantage through using its human resources effectively – drawing on their ingenuity and expertise to meet organizational goals and objectives. The funtion of HRM is focused around the recruitment of flexible, capable and devoted staffs, supervising and rewarding their performance and creating key competencies. HR within organizations The HR fucntion is crucial in the conemporary business world, as it imposes high capability management through the use of people resources; enhancing their productivity, customer service, profits, quality control, and growth (Lado & Wilson, 1994, p. 697). Lado and Wilson (1994, p. 697) outlined a number of interconnected roles, processes and activities that are aimed at sourcing, maintaining, and developing the HR activities of the particular organization: planning, recruiting, training, managing performance, rewarding, and career development. The role of HR is to guarantee that the human capital of an organization is utilized to the fullest – to produce the expected results, which match the needs of the organization. Therefore, the idea of empowering staff capabilities is created based on the conception that Human Resource Management is important towards maintaining organizational success and competitive advantage. HR also assists both staffs and the management during the management of change (Torrington, Laura & Taylor, 2004). The challenges of HR include the following: 1) management is required to support performance improvement and corporate performance efforts 2) staffs play a major role towards the expansion of performance improvement efforts 3) the resultant challenge from the previous two is that – employers hold the view that their human resource-base should be highly involved in developing and not implementing the strategic HR plan (Dessler, 2008, p. 87). Discussion of case study The hotel industry is one of the fastest growing industries across the globe, currently. This fast growth has resulted from the global need by people – including tourists and professionals, to use hotel facilities for vacations, board meetings, and trainings: different groups use hotels as venues to conduct business, and this is making the hotel industry more marketable internationally (De Lollis, 2005; Murphy, 2000). The hotel industry has become a multi billion industry with an ever growing enterprise. This is because the hotel entrepreneurs are becoming creative day by day; they have made living in hotels a highly exciting experience for people (De Lollis, 2005). This industry has created different, diverse employment and investment opportunities for different groups. For instance, Investors have created hotels, which show a shift from the earlier dull personas, to offer the amenities available at boutique hotels, with the hope of attracting more customers, especially the younger generations (Knapp, 2005). Modern hotels give customers quality services that are only, ordinarily available at the homes of the very rich. Through this business, investors have generated big business investments, which fetch big profits and wealth within the industry. Further, companies that run these hotels have been established: companies like the Novotel and Franco tour have been founded to manage these hotels and other properties within the tourism sector (Fedele, 2012). Additionally, to offset the competition in the global hotel industry, hotels have created policies aimed at pleasing the customers, and to make them comfortable while using their facilities and service – especially presently and for years to come (Fedele, 2012). Quality management has been employed as a concept that will enable the hotels to run in a successful, profitable manner – as the dynamic changes in the hospitality industry is forcing entrepreneurs into the adoption of new services, customer attraction strategies and service packaging (Rathore, 2006). For this reason, quality management has been employed to ensure that customers are satisfied with the services offered by hotels – which can only be realized through improving the service delivery capacity of the employees of these hotels. For instance, Kim and Oh (2004) identified the examples of positioning – where hotels are promoting their specific service attributes or services, in a way that attracts its customers. For example, hotels position themselves to conference organizers – that they may see them as ideally suited to host conference meetings. Hotels also create competitive advantage through managing demand and supply, either seasonally or after a given period of time. For instance, in the case of successful hotels, constant collection of information on the external environment, competition and future strategies has been a great determinant of success (Kim & Oh, 2004). This management strategy also makes sure that the employees of the hotels manage to work and exploit their abilities in the hospitality sector to fully satisfy the customers. For instance, one strategy used by the cited hotels includes the employment of temporary workers to complement the service delivery potential of permanent staffs, during high demand seasons. These temporary workers are laid off after the hotels hit the low season (Barney & Wright, 1998). This management style has created positive results in the market, for hotels like Franco tour and Best Value Inns, which has added six hotels at Texas in a few months in the year 2012 (Hospitality Net, 2012). The management of these hotels have taken time to employ this strategy of strategically planning and managing its human resources – to create the maximum benefits for their businesses. From the example given, more than six new centres have been created, which shows the potential of effective HR management (Hospitality Net, 2012). In the case of Franco tour, the management led by Mr. Avago has increased the hotel’s holding from one hotel to a chain of hotels at different countries in a just a few years, which is a tremendously significant improvement to the owner’s investment (Thouvard, 2012). This shows how the potential of a competitive HR management base can offer potential for growth, in the current, highly dynamic economic environment. Further, the growth of the hotel, the Franco tour has become a noteworthy foreign exchange earner to the French nation and the French people in general, starting with those that are directly employed by the business (Thouvard, 2012). The growth of the hotel can be attributed – in part – to the founder’s family which has managed to capitalise on the hotel business – and the available resource base. For example, his son has studied hotel management – a field that has helped him oversee the operations of the business as well as its expansion potential. Further, they have helped to create employment opportunities for different people, including those directly employed as part of the HR base and those that supplement the role of the HR base. Complementary beneficiaries include suppliers, who earn from the delivery supplies to the hotels (Thouvard, 2012). Through the effective management of HR capital, businesses are able to create incomes, which lead to the realization of profits, which is passed on to the shareholders of the businesses as dividends. The case of Franco tour and Best Value Inns shows that the benefits earned from the effective management of HR capital are not only realized by the management, but also the employees and external stakeholders like customers, suppliers and shareholders (Barney & Wright, 1998). The company has also realized that the recruiting programme, among other HR programs of the hotel contribute to employee and customer satisfaction, productivity increase, and the development of the hotel’s reputation. Their style is similar to that adopted by the Standard bank, which is one of the fastest expanding banks in coverage – in Asia and Africa (Standard Chartered Bank, 2011). The recruiting process of the bank includes the training of employees. The training is viewed as a joint project between the bank and the employees – thus done according to the training needs of employees. The recruitment process also constitutes a training development scheme, from which prospective management trainees are collected (Standard Chartered Bank, 2011). In the case of Franco tour, their growth in employee-base and capital has involved the employment of staff using the Standard Bank model. This implies that the hotel has remained quite advantaged in the staffs attracted – as trained hotel staffs are welcomed during the recruitment process and non-trained employees are recruited and trained in areas of need. Also, similar to the Standard Bank’s style, the hotel has not left the training program to the HR department alone, as both organizations involve other department in the training of employees (Standard Chartered Bank, 2011). Due to this employee management and training style, the services offered to customers are of optimal quality, and the employees find satisfaction in their work – which greatly contributes to the success of hotels within the competitive industry (Barney & Wright, 1998). Other sources of competitive advantage included in the recruiting, training and development programs include that employees are trained in ways that are reflective of the needs of the continuously changing technology, as these allow for better service delivery to customers (Rathore, 2006; Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2010, p. 103). For example, the training program incorporates the use of IT facilities in the booking-in of hotel customers as well as sourcing for new customers over the internet among other sourcing areas (Rathore, 2006). In the case of these hotels, avenues of creating social and business connections and all forms of attracting customers have been incorporated – including customer entertainment systems (Adams, 2008). Some of the entertainments you will find in these fast-developing hotels include wireless internet services, T.V entertainment at the rooms, ipod docking stations, and computers at the lobby areas. From a survey carried out in 2006, on these service packages, only 15 of hotels charge for these services. Also, most hotels offer complimentary breakfast in the morning – which is a service delivered to attract these customers. From the survey, 59% of developing hotels offered these services (Adams, 2008). However, it is clear that for the hotels to offer all these services and to give the support that may be required by the guests at these hotels, the input of the employees – more than that of the management – is very important, which presents further need for HR management on customer service and relations (Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2010, p. 105). Hotels are also engaging in businesses like curio shops, and massage parlours, which are adopted to ensure that the hotel maximizes its profits and fully exploits the market potential of its customers. For this reason, more specialised training and development is required in these field, thus the need for employee productivity promotion (Barney & Wright, 1998). Others areas of training and development include the management of conference hall services, as meetings are held at these hotels. Following the meetings, the organizations that enjoy these services hire the hotel’s premises for use as well as the employee-base skills. This helps the hotels to maximise their resource, thus offer better returns to the hotel investors (Mathis & Jackson, 2011 p56). At the three star hotels owned by Franco tour, service delivery has also been repackaged to meet the needs of both the economy-class and premium-class customers. This has been done through offering greater value for the money collected from customers. For example quality amenities and services are delivered to all customers – despite their accommodation class (Rathore, 2006). Due to the service delivery needs of the different Franco tour hotels, the management of the hotel has shifted to the intensive training of staffs – as this eases the tasks of the chief executive officer, Mr. Zandac during the oversight of management and the administration of the hotels (Clarke & Chen, 2010, p. 78). In the case of the management structure of the hotel, there is need to revise the approach for the future. This is evident from the ineffective communication style adopted by the hotel – as problems facing employees are reported to Mr. Avaga the founder and not Mr, Zandac the CEO (O’Dea, 2008). This should not be the case, as the incoherent communication style can result in misunderstandings among the members of staff, which could have been avoided. From the expressed communication, there is an implication that the CEO is not able to solve the problems of the company; hence rendering him incapable of his duties. Following the guidance of HR management, this should not be the case, as it will result in disharmony throughout the communication and management structure of the hotel (O’Dea, 2008). Also, the medium of communication should be chosen on the basis of the communication process and the parties involved in the communication channel in question. For example, meetings are effective for the development of strategic HR models and policy development – especially, where it involves both the management and the employees of the hotel (O’Dea, 2008). Further, effective communication allows for utilizing the human resources in every employee – in this case, the CEO, whose input is undermined by the current communication style. Through correcting the issue Mr. Zandac will also feel a sense of input and respect for the development of the staffs, which impacts the productivity of either party within the communication channel (Hoque, 2002, p. 45). In addressing areas that do not reflect effective HR management, the company should standardize how the employees are insured and how the pensions of the employees are handled. That implies that, in the case the employees of the hotel in some areas are insured under private companies, then all the employees of the company should be insured under the given company. This is the case, as it will make it easier for the administration and the HR department to administer their pensions and medical insurance faster and more coherently (Rathore, 2006). The move will also improve the equal treatment of employees, which motivates different employee groups – especially those that feel marginalised, for instance the non-skilled and semiskilled. By doing this, different employee groups will work coherently towards the pursuit of the goals of the hotel. Further, the human resource department may outsource any skills necessary towards the development of the hotel at its different locations (Thouvard, 2012). The different departments that may require the outsourcing of skills include the food and beverage department which works to ensure that the food and drinks served are of high quality. Other areas include the chefs and caterers section; the front office department, which establishes relationships between the hotel and its customers and the house keeping department, which cleans and maintaining the hotel rooms (Fedele, 2012). Other departments that require expertise include the support department, security department and the accounting department among other divisions of the hotels (Mabey, C., Skinner & Clark, 1998, p. 90). The human resource department specifies the administration department and all the functions of this department. This will be done to direct the flow of information from the lowest hierarchy to the management of the hotel, which will in turn ensure that the functions of every department are executed in a respectful manner and that problems are, addressed efficiently (Knowles, 2000). Below is an outlay of how the personnel of the company should be organized. General Manager Personnel Director Personnel Manager Personnel Officer Personnel Research and Development Officer Personnel Department Training Department Maintaining payroll Recruitment Training Welfare Operative training Supervisory training Management Training Training Aids and Equipments In the cases of these hotels, there is need to invest in the career development of the employees of the company, such that about 75% of all middle and senior managers are developed from within the company. This can be realized through the creation of middle and senior managers, to enable employees to access training and development opportunities. Through doing this, employees are motivated, retained and these create a highly productive team that can foster the growth of Franco tour (Torrington, Laura & Taylor, 2004). Since the hotels are in the process of expanding, employees should be offered the opportunity to tour the different countries and to be able to work in different cultures, as this will motivate more employees – especially those interested in travel and culture exchange. This move will also broaden the knowledge and the skills of employees, through exposing them to different staffs – trained under different setting and working within different service delivery settings (Torrington, Laura & Taylor, 2004). Through these efforts, they will be more adopted to managing the hotel business – even during times of change. For example, hotels that have adopted the use of IT and communication facilities in less developing areas are doing better than those stuck with traditional management and communication models (Knapp, 2005). By doing this, the hotels will be monitoring future managers – who are likely to be retained at Franco tour, due to the friendly-employee management and development practices (Knowles, 2000). Towards promoting the welfare of the human resources at the hotels, employees can also be encouraged to join trade unions, which will keep them safe, through protecting their needs. By allowing trade unions into the management of employee welfare, it will be more guarded, since they will feel a sense of job security in their future at the hotels. This will further result in more effective working and openness to raise concerns about their problems at the hotels, without feeling marginalised or fearing victimization (Mabey, Skinner & Clark, 1998, p. 54). This move will also improve the outlook of Franco tour, especially among outsiders and labour rights institutions – as a business that has developed a democratic culture centred on the employees needs. In return, more employees will be retained, since they are guaranteed of their security and the consideration of their needs (Murphy, 2000; Armstrong, 2011, p. 56). References Adams, A., 2008. The Changing Face of Modern Hotels. Ezynearticles. Com Retrieved Oct 23, 2012 from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Changing-Face-of-Modern-Hotels&id=1278273 Armstrong, M., 2011. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London,: Kogan Page Publishers. Barney, J., & Wright, P., 1998. On becoming a strategic partner: The role of human resources in gaining competitive advantage. Human Resource Management, 37, 31-46. Clarke, A., & Chen, W., 2010. International Hospitality Management: Concepts and Cases. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. De Lollis, B., 2005. Hotels loosen their ties for a younger crowd. USA Today, p. 01b. Dessler, G., 2008. Human Resource Management, 11th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Fedele, S., 2012. 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