Chapter 1

Meeting Present
and Emerging
Strategic Human
Resource
Challenges

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Chapter Overview

 Challenges Facing HR Management

 Planning and Implementing Strategic
HR Policies
 Selecting HR Strategies to Increase
Firm Performance
 HR Department and Managers: An
Important Partnership

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Types of Employees

 Manager
 Line Employee
 Staff Employee
 Senior Employee
 Junior Employee
 Exempt Employees
 Nonexempt Employees

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Key HR Challenges for Managers

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Key HR Challenges: Environmental

 Rapid Change
 The Internet Revolution
 Workforce Diversity
 Globalization
 Legislation
 Evolving Work and Family Roles
 Skill Shortages
 Rise of the Service Sector
 Natural Disasters

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Key HR Challenges: Organizational

 Competitive Position
 Decentralization
 Downsizing
 Organizational Restructuring
 Self-Managed Work Teams
 The Growth of Small Businesses
 Organizational Culture
 Technology
 Internal and Data Security
 Outsourcing
 Product Integrity
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Key HR Challenges: Individual

 Matching People and

Organizations
 Ethics and Social
Responsibility
 Productivity
 Empowerment
 Brain Drain
 Job Insecurity

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Strategic HR Policies: Benefits

 Encouraging Proactive Behavior

 Communicating Company Goals
 Stimulating Critical Thinking and
Ongoing Examination of Assumptions
 Identifying Gaps Between Current
Situation and Future Vision
 Encouraging Line Managers’ Participation
 Identifying HR Constraints and
Opportunities
 Creating Common Bonds

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Strategic HR Policies: Challenges
 Maintaining a Competitive Advantage
 Reinforcing Overall Business Strategy
 Avoiding Excessive Concentration on
Day-to-Day Problems
 Develop HR Strategies Suited to Unique
Organizational Features
 Coping with the Environment
 Securing Management Commitment
 Translating the Strategic Plan into Action
 Combining Intended and Emergent
Strategies
 Accommodating Change
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Strategic HR: Choices

 Work Flows
 Staffing
 Employee Separations
 Performance Appraisal
 Training and Career Development
 Compensation
 Employee Rights
 Employee and Labor Relations
 International Management

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Selecting HR Strategies

 To increase firm performance

 HR strategies should fit with other
aspects of the organization

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HR Strategies: Fit with Organizational
Strategies
Corporate Strategies
 Evolutionary
 Steady State
Porter’s Business Unit Strategies
 Cost leadership
 Differentiation
 Focus
Miles and Snow’s Business Strategies
 Defender
 Prospector

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HR Strategies: Fit with Environment

 Degree of Uncertainty
 Magnitude of Change
 Complexity
 Volatility

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HR Strategies: Fit with Organizational
Characteristics

 Production Process
 Firm’s Market Posture
 Firm’s Overall Managerial Philosophy
 Firm’s Organizational Structure
 Firm’s Organizational Culture

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HR Strategies: Fit with Org. Capabilities

 Distinctive Competencies
 Give firm competitive edge

 HR Strategies should
 Help firm exploit its competencies
 Assist the firm to help use its HR skills

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HR and Managers: A Partnership

Role of HR Dept:
 To support manager’s HR
responsibilities
HR Audit:
 Conduct Periodically
 Evaluates how effective firm is at
using human resources
 Often evaluates HR too

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 Summary and Conclusions

 Are many challenges in HRM

 Plan and Implement HR Strategic
 Policies and procedures should be congruent
 Select strategies that increase
performance
 HR department and management are an
important partnership

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Education, Inc. publishing
as Prentice Hall 1-17