HRM 325. Introduction.

HRM/SHRM

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 Aims and Objectives.
At the end of this session you will be able to:
• Define the concepts of HRM and SHRM.
• Discover the relationships between the
internal and external components of the HRM
models.
• Explain 3 founding Models of HRM.
• Appreciate the differences between HRM and
SHRM.
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 HRM Defined.
 Watson (2010: 919, cited in Armstrong 2016,p7): ‘HRM is
the managerial utilisation of the efforts, knowledge,
capabilities and committed behaviours which people
contribute to an authoritatively co-ordinated human
enterprise as part of an employment exchange (or more
temporary contractual arrangement) to carry out work
tasks in a way which enables the enterprise to continue
into the future.’

 Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic,

integrated and coherent approach to the employment,
development and well-being of the people working in
Organizations,
Armstrong, (2016, p7).
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 HRM Defined.
• HRM is a distinctive approach to employment
management which seeks to achieve
competitive advantage through the strategic
deployment of a highly committed and
capable workforce, using an array of cultural,
structural and personnel techniques. Storey,
(2007:7, cited in Beardwell and Thompson,
2014,p4-5)

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 The Goals of HRM.
• Support the organisation to achieve its objectives by
developing and implementing HR strategies that are
integrated wit the business strategy, strategic HRM).
• Contribute to the development of a high commitment
culture.
• Ensure the organisation has the talented, skilled and
engaged people it needs.
• Create a positive Employment Relationship between
management and employees’ and a climate of mutual
trust.
• Encourage the application of an ethical approach to people
management.
Armstrong and Taylor, (2017, p7).

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 HRM and SHRM
One of the characteristics of HRM is that it is
strategic, so what’s the difference between
strategic HRM and HRM?
• An answer to this question was provided by Truss
and Gratton (1994) who wrote that: ‘We should
perhaps regard SHRM as an overarching concept
that links the management and development of
people within the organization to the business as
a whole and its environment, while HRM could be
viewed as an organizing activity that takes place
under this umbrella.’
Armstrong and Taylor, (2017,pp16,17) Armstrong, (2016, p37-38)

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 SHRM Defined.
• Strategic human resource management (SHRM) uses
strategic management approaches to develop and
implement HRM policies and practises.
• It is an approach to managing people that deals with
how the organization’s goals will be achieved through
its human resources by means of HR strategies and
plans that are integrated with business strategies and
plans,
Armstrong, (2016, pp 36-47), Armstrong and Taylor, (2017, pp13-
24)

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 SHRM Defined.
• SHRM is the establishing of principles and the
shaping of practices whereby the human
resources, within an organisation, seen as a
corporate whole, requires to carry out work
tasks that enable it to continue successfully in
to the long-term.
Leopold, Harris, Watson, (2005, p 21).

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 The Aim of SHRM.
• Generate strategic capability by ensuring that
the organization has the skilled, committed
and well-motivated employees it needs to
achieve sustained competitive advantage;
• Achieve fit or integration – fitting or aligning
HR strategies vertically with business
strategies and integrating HR strategies with
one another.
Armstrong, (2016,p 39-40).

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 Characteristics of SHRM.
• Consists of critical goals and means for organising
work and managing people.
• Inevitably affects the firm’s chances of survival
and its relative performance.
• Is made by the whole management structure and
not simply HR specialists, (where they exist).
• Likely to be partly planned and partly emergent in
management behaviour.
• Is easier to define at the business unit level.
• Is more complex in multi-divisional firms and
firms that cross National boundaries.
Boxall and Purcell, ( 2008, p61)

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 Strategic Fit.
The concept of strategic fit is fundamental to SHRM. Schuler
(1992) stated that: ‘Strategic human resource management
is largely about integration and adaptation. Its concern is to
ensure that:
(1) human resources (HR) management is fully integrated
with the strategy and strategic needs of the firm (vertical
fit).
(2) HR policies cohere both across policy areas and across
hierarchies (horizontal fit).
(3) HR practices are adjusted, accepted and used by line
managers and employees is part of their everyday work.’
Armstrong, (2016, pp 36-47), Armstrong and Taylor, (2017, pp13-24)

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 HR Strategy
‘a set of ideas, policies and practices which management adopt to achieve a
people-management objective’
Tyson (1995)

Mainly concerned with:

• Vertical integration or ‘external fit’

• Horizontal integration or ‘internal fit’

‘Improved organisation performance’

Adopted from; Farnham, (2015). Andy Clark. 12
 Hard Approaches, to HRM.
The British debate around HRM focused on the
distinction between “hard” and “soft” models.
Hard HRM
The focus is on the quantitative, calculative and
business-strategic aspects of managing human
resources in as 'rational' a way as for any other
economic factor. Armstrong, (2016, p10), Armstrong and
Taylor, (2017, p6).

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 Soft Approaches to HRM
Soft HRM
• Storey, (2001, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2012, p8),
defines the soft approach as: “HRM is a distinctive approach
to employment management which seeks to achieve
competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of
highly committed and capable workforce using an array of
cultural, structural and personnel techniques”.
• Keenoy, (1997, cited in Armstrong, 2016, p10, Armstrong, 2017, p6), states
that “hard” and “soft” HRM are complementary rather than
mutually exclusive practices”.

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Models of HRM. The Harvard Model of
HRM, (Soft approach).

Beer et al, (1984, in Beardwell and

Thompson, 2014, p10).

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 The Harvard Model of HRM
• Human resource management (HRM) involves
all management decisions and actions that
affect the nature of the relationship between
the organization and its human resources;
• A more comprehensive and strategic
perspective was required to the organization's
human resources.
Armstrong, (2016, p8).

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 The Harvard Model of HRM
The Harvard framework proposes that:
• Many pressures are demanding a broader, more
comprehensive, and more strategic perspective
with regard top the organisation’s human
resources.
• The necessity to adopt a longer-term perspective
in managing people and consideration of people
as a potential asset rather than merely a variable
cost.
Beer et al, (1984, cited in Armstrong and Taylor, 2017, p 5).

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Models of HRM. The Matching Model
of HRM. (hard approach).

Devanna et al, (1984. Adopted from

Beardwell and Thompson, 2014, p9)
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 The Matching model of HRM, (hard
approach, external-fit).
• Emphasises the need for “tight fit” between HR
strategy and the business strategy.
• The model goes on to emphasise the link
between organisational strategy and specific HR
practices, (The Michigan Model), concentrating
on “Vertical” rather than “Horizontal alignment,
• The focus is ensuring a “Match” or “Fit” between
the organisation’s overall goals and the way
people should be managed.
Farnham, (2015, p 180), Beardwell and Thompson, (2014, p 8,9)
Marchington and Wilkinson, (2012, p6).

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 The Matching Model of HRM
• The Matching model indicates that HR systems
and the organisation structure should be
managed in a way that is congruent, (fits),
organisational strategy.
• The Matching model outlines the critical
management task, is to align the formal structure
and human resource systems so that they drive
the strategic objective of the organisation.
Fombrun et al, (1984, cited in Armstrong and Taylor, 2017, p5).

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 The Matching/Michigan/HR resource cycle.
(Hard approach)
Rewards
for
performance

Effective
selection Employee Appraisal
performance

Training
and
development
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 The Matching/Michigan model of
HRM, (hard approach).
• Shows how activities within HRM can be
unified and designed in order to support
organisation's strategy. This model
emphasises the notion of fit.
• Emphasises interrelatedness and coherence of
HR activities, which requires HR strategies
have a tight alignment to the overall strategies
of the business.
Bratton and Gold, (2017, p19).
Torrington, Hall, Taylor, Atkinson, (2014, p52-54).

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 Conclusion.
We have:
• Defined the concepts of HRM and SHRM.
• Explained the founding main Models of HRM.
• Discovered the relationships between the internal
and external components of the HRM models.
• Appreciated the differences between HRM and
SHRM.

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 References.
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2017). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice. 14th ed. London. Kogan Page.
Armstrong, M. (2016). Armstrong’s Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management.
6th ed. London. Kogan Page.
Beardwell and Thompson, (2014). Human Resource Management a contemporary
approach. Harlow. Pearson Education.
Boxall, P. And Purcell, J. (2008). Strategy and Human Resource Management. 2nd ed.
Hampshire. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2017). Human Resource Management Theory and Practice. 6th ed.
London. Palgrave.
Farnham, D. (2015). Human Resource Management in context. Insights, Strategy and
Solutions. 4th ed. London. CIPD.
Leopold, J. Harris, L. Watson, T. (2005). The Strategic Management of Human Resources.
Essex. Pearson Education.
Torrington, D. Hall, L. Taylor, S. Atkinson, C. (2014). Human Resource Management. 9th ed. .
Harlow. Pearson Education

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