Invited Reaction: The Strategic

Value of HRD in Lean Strategy

Implementation

Lyle Yorks, Jody Barto

This study by Meera Alagaraja and Toby Egan provides a case study of a
Lean strategy implementation in which HRD was an integrated part of the
process and offers a model that can give direction for both future research
and strategic advocacy on behalf of HRD practice. The case is actually more
a study of the importance of cross-functional and corporate-SBU
collaboration in implementing strategic business plans than of HRD per se.
The HRD contribution is contextualized in the strategic implementation
process. As such, it offers a comprehensive and contextualized perspective on
the process through which the strategic aspirations of HRD can potentially
be realized in practice. That said, there is a broader story that needs to be
known in order to contextualize and further understand how the study fits
into the broader discussion about SHRD.

This article by Meera Alagaraja and Toby Egan offers an interesting case study
in which HRD and HRM were an integral part of a Lean strategy implementa-
tion in a SBU of a manufacturing company. While their analysis identifies fac-
tors that in this case impacted the implementation of the Lean strategy and
culture either positively or negatively, a primary contribution of this article is
the descriptive grounding of the emergent nature of the relationships that com-
prise or underlie these factors. As such, it offers a comprehensive and contex-
tualized perspective on the process through which the strategic aspirations of
HRD can potentially be realized in practice. There is a broad literature advocat-
ing for and describing both the need for the strategic positioning of HRD and
ways in which HRD practices can and do contribute to strategic organizational com-
petitive positioning and performance (e.g., Clardy, 2007, 2008; Gilley & Maycunich,
1998; Grieves, 2003; Swanson & Holton, 2009; Torraco & Swanson, 1995;
Yorks, 2004; Walton, 1999). However, there are few comprehensive longitudi-
nal analyses of a strategic implementation in which HRD was an integrated
part of the process. This study provides such a lens.
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Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21157 29
30 Yorks, Barto

That said, this article is really more about the importance of top manage-
ment team (TMT) leadership and functional integration and collaboration
across an organization in the implementation of the Lean strategy, than HRD
per se. As reflected in the sequence of the research questions, the HRD contri-
bution is contextualized in the strategic implementation process. Critical
aspects of the process involve leadership actions across the SBU, including the
leadership role of the CEO and executives in the line functions to build rela-
tionships down to the operational level of the organization. Outside of the
formal reporting structure, actions taken by the director of operations to build
relationships and create informal leadership down to the shop floor, as well as
the use of cross-functional collaboration to establish identification with high
quality on the shop floor, also illustrate this process.
This focus does not limit its value to the HRD literature. Alagaraja’s and
Egan’s analysis demonstrates how HRD/HRM contributions, when truly part of
the process, make a key difference to the successful implementation of strategy.
This is supported in literature correlating HR initiatives with organizational per-
formance (e.g., Collins & Clark, 2003; Richard & Johnson, 2001) and of claims
arguing for HRD to have a key voice in strategic planning and implementation.
The article delivers on its promise to document and demonstrate how HRD can
contribute, or through lack of effective action hinder, organizational strategy
implementation. An important subcurrent to the article is the significance of
strategically building effective relationships among members of the executive
team and the need for business acumen on the part of the HRD professional for
establishing credibility with line managers and senior executives.

Is It “Strategic HRD”? That Depends on One’s

Theoretical Lens
While the study illustrates the role HRD can play in the successful implemen-
tation of the Lean strategy from a business planning perspective, what is less
clear is if the process described is strategic HRD as opposed to providing sup-
port to strategic initiatives. There is a long and continuing discussion in the
HRD literature regarding what constitutes strategic HRD with varying defini-
tions and specific criteria (e.g., Garavan, 1991; Gilley & Maycunich, 1998;
Holton & Yamkovenko, 2008; Torraco & Swanson, 1995). Clardy (2008, p.
185), for example, argues, “a ‘strategically’ positioned HRD function does not
make HRD strategic.” Discussing the conceptual uncertainty that leads to con-
fusion between strategy and business planning, he also notes that not all busi-
ness planning is inherently strategic. Clardy asserts that although “it is vital for
HRD activities to support a business plan, doing so does not make HRD stra-
tegic” (p. 185). Defining strategic as contributing to getting an organization a
competitive advantage that allows it to have above-average performance, he
maintains that HRD is strategic when it contributes directly to the organiza-
tion’s competitive position that leads to such performance. From this

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The Strategic Value of HRD in Lean Strategy Implementation 31

perspective we don’t know enough about the competitive position of the SBU
Alagaraja and Egan describe or its performance relative to its competitors to
make a definitive statement regarding the extent to which the implementation
of the Lean strategy business plan resulted in a sustainable, profitable, unique
value proposition in its competitive market space. In Alagaraja and Egan’s
model, “Develop and Sustain a Lean Performance Culture” is the dependent
variable, not the “competitive position and performance of the organization.”
Looking at the article through another strategic HRD lens, human capital
(Holton & Yamkovenko, 2008), the process described involves leveraging
both formal and informal knowledge at levels throughout the organization.
Further, obtaining and/or tapping this knowledge for the Lean strategy was
viewed as investing in strategic assets, rather than as an expense. However, we
don’t know how this process was positioned at the strategic levels of the orga-
nization. While this does not detract from the contribution made by the article
in terms of the role of HRD in contributing to strategic implementation or
transformative organization change, how one conceptually defines SHRD will
no doubt be part of how various scholars will see the model as being inte-
grated into the strategic HRD discourse.
Regardless of the strategic lens one adopts in positioning the paper in the
broader strategic discourse, a takeaway from the article is how HRD needs to
continue to evolve to achieve the aspired to, and needed, integration into
contributing as a strategic business driver, rather than supporter. It is interest-
ing how the findings parallel the way in which talent management has
emerged as a function within many organizations. Overlooking whether the
term talent management itself is a fad or new key role in the organization (Iles,
Preece, & Chuai, 2010), and the fact the role itself is defined differently in
various organizational settings, core aspects of the talent officer role at both
the corporate and SBU levels are reflected in the findings of this article. These
include the blending of traditional HRM activities such as recruiting, perfor-
mance management, engagement, and retention, with learning and develop-
ment activities and organizational development. In addition, coordinating and
working at the corporate and SBU levels of the organization, with the senior
role providing support and coordinating with the SBU, building social capital
across functional lines, and having a business focus are emphasized through-
out the article. The article also draws attention to the limitations of the focus
of talent management in some quarters to developing high potentials solely at
the executive and managerial levels. Instead, talent and retention concerns in
many settings reach down to the shop floor.

A Broader Story That Would Be Interesting to Know

Relative to SHRD
One part of the story that would be interesting to know is what prior events,
HRD/HRM initiatives, and informal building of social capital preceded the

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32 Yorks, Barto

strategic implementation initiative along with the orientation of the CEO.

Alagaraja and Egan refer to SBUs in the company being involved in several
university-industry research consortiums of which the primary researcher was
a member, which provided them with initial access for the research initiative.
One wonders about the nature of these consortiums and how it shaped the
context for the functional coordination and integration of HRD/HRM into
the implementation of the Lean strategy approach. In our experience, most
cases studies of “exemplar” HRD practices directed at organizational transfor-
mation have significant precursors that set the context. The quote they pro-
vide from the president on approving the use of the SBU as a study site—
“the junction of Lean and HR is happening right now in our SBU. If you are
interested in continuing the discussions we would be happy to support the
project”—raises a reader’s curiosity about the president’s experience and lead-
ership in formulating the implementation process for the lean strategy. What,
if any, strategic advocacy practices, involving his or her business acumen and
competencies in selecting and positioning HR and HRD practices in the orga-
nization, were used by senior HR and HRD executives at the corporate level,
in turn building their credibility? The president’s awareness that most HRD
and HRM graduate programs don’t teach competencies for building effective
connections to business objectives (which requires a perspective of building
organization-specific business acumen) adds to this curiosity about the history
and prior experiences leading up to the case. This part of the story would also
clarify how this case fits into the previously mentioned academic discourse
about what constitutes SHRD. Such description is beyond the limitations of
this article, and its absence does not detract from Alagaraja and Egan’s analysis
and conceptual framework. However, much can be learned from the contex-
tual precursors of the case. Given the richness of the case, there is another part
of the story to be told.

Conclusion
In summary, Alagaraja and Egan have provided a very interesting and useful
case study of a Lean strategy implementation in which HRD played a key role.
The study itself provides a valuable example of the importance of cross-
functional and corporate-SBU collaboration in implementing strategic busi-
ness plans. The model derived from the case that informs its interpretation
requires and provides direction for further testing and modification based on
contextual contingences. In this sense, it contributes to HRD research and
scholarship. By highlighting the specifics of the HRD contribution to the pro-
cess the case also provides direction for practice particularly with regard to
engaging in strategic advocacy utilizing business acumen that connects HRD
practices to business objectives. The study also demonstrates the concerns
and needs that are influencing the emergence of the talent management role
in many organizations, a trend with implications for HRD theory and practice.

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The Strategic Value of HRD in Lean Strategy Implementation 33

As many HRD scholars have noted, HRD goes beyond learning per se incor-
porating or collaborating with traditional HRM practices and organizational
development. That said, there is a broader story that needs to be known in
order to contextualize and further understand how the study fits into the
broader discussion about SHRD. This article has implications for the strategy,
HRM, HRD, and talent literatures and future research.

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Lyle Yorks is an associate professor and director of the Adult Education Guided Intensive
Study (AEGIS) doctoral program at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Jody Barto is a doctoral student in adult learning and leadership at Teachers College,
Columbia University and adjunct professor, Petrocelli College of Continuing Studies,
Fairleigh Dickinson University.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq