Strategic HRM: A North American PerspectiveDay 1 – Morning Presentation

Barry Wright PhD

http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~bwright/Or search: Barry Wright home page

Course Format Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

9:30 – 12:45 p.m. 2:00 – 5:15 pm

Format Lecture, Group Work, Presentation /Discussion

Marks Case Write-ups (group) 3 @ 10% = 30% “Company” report (and presentation) 40% Individual “Insight” Journal 30%

Format of Course Lecture, small group discussion, large group

discussion, group work, group presentationsMorning Afternoon

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Lecture 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Group work 3:00 – 3:30 p.m.11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Break 3:30 – 4:00 p.m.11:30 – 12:00 noon Group work 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Presentations 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.12:30 – 12:45 p.m. Wrap-up 5:00 – 5:15 p.m.

Presentations Small group work – groups of 5 or 6 – depends

on number of students in class Given a case / problem and question to answer Typed hand-in (short – 1 or 2 pages) and a

possible in-class presentation summarizing your group’s thoughts

Question and Answer following presentations Marks

A – Outstanding (9-10) B – Very good (7-8) C – Acceptable (5-6) F – Failure (4 or below)

Company Report Your group will choose an organization and do

an assessment of their Strategic HRM practices.

Most information can be found on the internet including company annual reports (with a little searching)

Key to the assignment is to critically assess their SHRM practices Tell me what they are doing by comparing the

company specifically to what we are covering in this course. Make recommendations for change (where needed).

Company Report (3,000 words)

Introduction – provide and overview of the company

Discuss their SHRM practices Draw from the Seven practices and Four R’s

Recommendations Draw from the Seven practices and Four R’s

Conclusion

Insight Journal I want your to personally reflect on the

material covered in the course; generally, reflect on one key point from each lecture (four different entries).

For each entry: discuss one ‘thing’ you found interesting; relate it to something in your work past to

demonstrate your understanding; then discuss how you will draw from this

interesting point to help develop your HR leadership actions in the future.

Length of insight – I would expect at least one-half page per entry but overall you decide how much you will provide.

Class Leadership

Please make a “sign” with your name on it – this will allow me to connect you with your class leadership

Task: the “HR Story” thus far

1. Bring me an “up-to-date” on what SHRM courses and experiences you have had so far. Time – 10 – 15 minutes

Course Outline Monday

Introduction, Past-Present-Future, Seven Practices Recruitment – selective hiring

CASE: Getting Better Applicants Tuesday

Retention – employment security, status reduction, comparatively high compensation

CASE: Howe 2 Ski Rouse – loyalty, commitment – self-managed teams,

decentralized decision making, diversity CASE: Attitude Survey

Wednesday Redevelop – training and development – at all levels Group Presentations

Janusean Thinking

In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions

He looks to the future and the past

Research – deeper you reflect on the past – further you can see into the future

North AmericaThe Old Paradigm

At the start of the 20th century, the North American economy is relatively self-contained and immune from foreign competition

The employment is full-time, long-term, and relatively stable; the typical workplace is a large firm

The corporation is a stable sovereign organization with a clear division of labor

Everyone abides by the “social contract”

The Old Social Contract

Permanence – in the employer-employee relationship, i.e. long-term job security

Entitlements – to a job, a steady pay advancements, and generous benefits

Paternalism – the company is viewed as a ‘family’ by employers and employees

Hierarchy – lines of authority and levels of status are clearly defined; clear division of labor

Human Relations

Following the “Hawthorne experiments,” many managers accepted the basic idea that workers responded not only to economic inducements but also to psychological and social influences

Quality of Work Life (1950s)

Growing disaffection among workers with unchallenging jobs and heavy-handed management prompted managers to rethink the way work was organized and managed

Recessions, deregulation, and mounting foreign competition brought considerable pressures to bear on managers. Management learned that quality, not only cost, was a key to market success.

New initiatives, such as self-managed work teams, increased the value of people to management, (hence the shift from the term “personnel management” to “HRM”) and opened the door to a new conceptualization of how work is organized and the role of HR specialists

TQM, Reengineering, & Globalization (1980s)

Trying to stay competitive, many companies took up Total Quality Management and reengineering.

HR departments became more focused on serving both external and internal customers, lowering costs through process improvements, and facilitating organizational change and organizational learning initiatives

Recent Developments Profit / Customer focus – companies

looked to HR departments to take more long-term, profit oriented perspective; HR is a source of competitive advantage

New Technology – new technology allowed outsourcing of many activities and handling many administrative aspects of HR electronically; firms focus more on “core competencies”

Recent Developments Diversity – HR were asked to reconcile the

social demand that employment practices be open and inclusive with respect to diverse cultures and lifestyles and the need for high-performing, employees

Globalization – Global trade and global capital mobility increased dramatically in the 21st century; labour force contraction in NA

Lessons Learned Profit calls the tune – profit is the invisible

hand that guides and shapes all aspects of company’s HR practices

Strategic – the more that labour issues have the potential for impacting the bottom line, the more that top management will start to look at HR from a strategic perspective

Deregulation – has resulted in declining unionization and wages in industries

Lessons Learned Contingency – HR practices that work well for

one company or in one situation may be an embarrassing failure in another (don’t just follow the leader) – it depends on your organization’s strategy (low cost producer vs. differentiator)

Alignment - management must adopt a holistic, systems view of HR and mix and match HR practices so they interact with each other to maximize overall performance

Human Resources are people – every person wants to be treated with respect and fairness

A New SHRM Model

High Performance Work System Innovative Work Practices High-Engagement Model High-Commitment Model

Two Work SystemsHRM Practices Command & Control High Performance

Internal career opportunities

Hiring mainly from outside the firmVery little use of internal career ladders

Hiring mainly from within the firmExtensive use of well defined career ladders

Training No formal training provided

Extensive formal training provided

Result-oriented appraisals

Performance measured by quantifiable output

Performance measured by behavior-oriented measures

Incentives Mainly extrinsic Extrinsic and intrinsic

Employment securityLittle High Benefits to

outpaced employeesFormal dismissal policies

Participation in decision making

Little High

Job descriptions Jobs are clearly/tightly defined

Jobs are broadly defined

HRM Reality Implications Employers (The 4 R’s)

Recruiting – Get the best Retention – Keep them Rouse - Keep them motivated and

empowered Redeveloping Skills – Keep their

skills current

Task Form teams (5 or 6) Read Pfeffer article (Seven

Practices) Select your Company

Be sure there is lots of information on the company.