THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

INSITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF ADULT EDUCATION

NAME : BANDA ESTHER

COMP NO# : 18052446

COURSE CODE : AED 4411

LECTURER : MR MOONGA

ASSIGNMENT : ONE

DUE DATE : 5TH AUSGUST, 2022.

QUESTION: How do you attain High Performance Organization status through HRM and
HRD?
Many scholars have come on board to understand the relationship between High Performance
Organization status and Human Resource Management and Development. Good management in
every company is linked to the development and operational of the company and high
performance. Strategic integration is necessary to provide congruence and supports in an
organization so as to improve the performance. Human resource management needs to create
strategies in order to identify what the customer needs and to design people and organizational
solutions that help the organization satisfy those customer’s needs. The Human Resource
professionals and organization strategists grapple with many variables that affect the
organizations ability to attain its strategic objectives through developing many approaches to
efficiently and effectively retain human capital. This essay will therefor explain how to attain
High Performance Organization status through HRM and HRD. A summary will be drawn based
on the discussion.

As defined by Armstrong (1988) Human Resource Management is an approach that defines how
the organizations goals will be achieved through people by means of Human Resource strategies
and integrated Human Resource Policies and practices. Human Resource Management can be
regarded as a mindset underpinned by certain concepts rather than a set of techniques. It provides
the foundation for strategic reviews in which analysis of the organizational context and existing
HR practices lead to choices on strategic plans for the development of overall or specific HR
strategies. On the other hand, Baxall and Parcel (2003) defined Human resource development
(HRD) as a collection of training programs for new employees. Its purpose is to help
professionals adjust to their new roles and learn more about the organization and its culture. A
protocol for HRD teaches employees skills they may need for their jobs and grants them access
to resources that can help them succeed.

Baxall and Parcel (2003) opined that Human Resources Management involves the natural
development of intermarriage of the concepts of Human Resource Management and strategic
management. In simpler terms, it concerns the routes or direction which an organization elects to
take in pursuit of its objectives in the light of worker implications. This has become necessary
because in the end, it is people that will execute the strategic plan of the organization and it is

1
imperative for the management to take cognizance of people’s issues while developing the high
performance of the organization.

There are so many ways in which the performance of the organization can be improved. One of
the ways in which there can be High Performance Organization status according to Becker
(1975) is through formulation of organization strategies. An organization strategy is simply a
documented plan on how an organization is setting out to achieve their goals. An organization
contains a number of key principles that outlines how a company will go about attaining these
goals. For example it explains how to deal with the competitor’s look at the needs and
expectations of customers, and the long-term growth and sustainability of their organization.
Hence, the strategies can be used to improve the performance of the organization.

Another way of attaining High Performance Organization status through HRM and HRD is
through setting out desired achievable goals. Indeed, goals are achieved through acquiring of
knowledge of the organization, skills and behavior necessary to implement the strategy,
knowledge of HRM practices necessary to elicit those skills and behaviours and the ability
quickly to develop and implement the desired system of HRM policies. When considering how
to integrate organization and Human Resource strategies it should be remembered that
organization and Human Resource development issues influences each other and in turn
influence corporate and organization unit strategies (Beer, 1994).

Human Management Development can be thought of as a set of decisions about the direction of
an organization. Organizations select strategies in accordance with evaluations they make about
their distinctive competences and the environment in which they wish to compete (Digman,
1990). Implementation of strategy necessitates breaking it down into smaller manageable
components. This process of decomposition occurs as the various functional or divisional units
within the organization and develop responses specific to their activities. Functional units within
an organization establish underlying strategies which provide a foundation that helps to guide
them in the development and implementation of policy (RGS Associate, 2020). Through which
the company attain high performance.

Attaining High Performance Organization status through HRM and HRD can be done through a
range of organization-Human resource. Human Resource strategy focus on the aligning the
strategies with organization strategy. Once the organization strategy has been determined, an HR

2
Strategy is implemented to support the chosen competitive strategy. In this sense, a Human
Resource strategy is concerned with the challenge of matching the philosophy, policies,
programmes, practices and processes; the ‘five’ Ps- in a way that will stimulate and reinforce the
different employee role behaviours appropriate for each competitive strategy (Eze, 2010). This
improves the performance in an organization.
Human Resource Management in multidivisional organizations as what actually determines
Human Resource strategy will be determined by decisions at all three levels of organization
strategy (corporate, organization and functional) and leadership style of local managers to follow
through goals in the context of specific environmental conditions (RGS Associate, 2020). For
performing efficiently a company requires that the organization strategy should be supported by
distinctive capabilities. Business capabilities are built upon efficient combinations of knowledge
abilities and behaviours which can only originate from the employees with other factors,
possessed or controlled by the company. In this way, through the personal competencies that the
employees possess and apply in the execution of their jobs, the organizations human resources
become key strategic factors for gaining and maintaining its competitive advantage. The
knowledge, abilities and behaviours of the employees, and the interactions between them, are the
potential that provides the basis for the formulation and implementation of strategy. Hence,
companies create strategic, technological, financial and organizational value through the
competencies of human resources and attain high performance (HR) (Storey, 1995).
The fundamental aim of strategic human resources management is to generate strategic
capability by ensuring that the organization has the skilled, committed and well-motivated
employees it needs to achieve sustained competitive advantage. Based on this description many
Strategic Human Resources Managements may align their policies of management for usage of
its human as a valuable part of their organization or team to build a sustainable and strong
company crew. In order to grow and attain high performance, nowadays any company attempts
to make its personnel as flexible as possible to adapt to the new market requirements. Many
companies do spend lots of time and effort to create inside their firm the best human resources
management strategies focused on the fast-moving pace of market changes which inescapably
requires its personnel to act as one, and behave as one in order to succeed (Wilison and
Jarzabkowski, 2004).

3
Another way of attaining High Performance Organization is through entrepreneurship. Human
resource units perform an entrepreneurial role, helping to identify and quickly develop crucial
human resources through the rapid movement and alteration of assignment. Key human
resources are brought in from outside as well as developed internally. It is the enactment of an
organization strategy through the development and application of functional strategies within the
various divisions or units, which also determines organizational performance. In other words,
external fit is achieved in part, as a consequence of internal fit, which come through linking
strategic Human Resource Management and organization strategy (Wilison and Jarzabkowski,
2004).

It is imperative to note that when considering how to integrate organization and Human Resource
Management, consider issues influences the two. When HR expands its traditional administrative
role, it can have a significant impact on a development value creation. To properly align HRD
with business strategy, it first needs to be properly organized so that it can play a role in the
strategic planning of the organization. It is human capital that leverages all other areas of an
organization. Therefore, the HR department needs to ensure that the human asset is effectively
aligned with the organization strategy that is chosen by the organization thereby attaining
organizational goals (Armstrong, 2000).

Business leaders must meet the expectations and demands of their workforce if they are to build
and maintain effective employees. Flexible working, culture, and work-life balance are all
essential in managing the expectations of workforces. For organisations to manage dynamic
changes, they must drift away from the traditional traits of a leader and embrace the adaptability
and communication skills needed today (RGS Associate, 2020).

Research supports a culture of organizational learning as a positive influence on innovative

employee behaviors. However, Digman (1990) conclude that work engagement also plays a vital
role in innovative employee behaviors. Such findings support collaboration between the HRM
processes and the HRD activities to support human resource behaviors and skills necessary in an
HPO. The collaboration of HRM and HRD includes a range of development and change
interventions. Innovation, subsequently, is not the sole byproduct of such collaboration.
Attributes of resilience, adaptability, and persistence also emerge and contribute to High
Performance Organization.

4
The most important aspect to improve the performance is that Human Resource Planning (HRP)
is concerned with having the right people, with the right skills, in the right place and at the right
time. This is all because HRP is a strategy for acquiring, developing, integrating, motivating,
compensating and retaining talented human resources and s sharply linked to business strategy.
In fact, Human Resource Planning is considered to be an integral part of corporate planning and
budgeting procedures this is based on the view that human resource costs and forecasts both
affect and are affected by long term corporate plans (Moyo, 2015).

The key aspects of attaining high performance is through human resource planning. It is
systematic and part of a conscious and planned process rather than something that happens by
accident. In simple terms, the plan is done in advance before the resources and this that it does
not happen like an accident. It is a continuous process, because the organization and its
objectives, and the environment in which it operates, keep on changing. The fact that no
organization or society is static, then change is inevitable. The resource requirements will need to
be assessed in both quantitative and qualitative teams. This assessment helps the organization to
have proper planning. The level of resource depend on what the organization can afford and
resource planned for should be at the level required for organizational effectiveness meaning that
there should not be a shortage or surplus. Scholars like Armstrong (2000) have observed that that
human resource planning is the solution to all human resource surpluses and shortages because it
helps to attract and preserve staff in sufficient numbers and with appropriate skills to be able to
operate effectively The most important aspect to note is that Human Resource Planning (HRP) is
concerned with having the right people, with the right skills, in the right place and at the right
time. This is all because HRP is a strategy for acquiring, developing, integrating, motivating,
compensating and retaining talented human resources and s sharply linked to business strategy.
In fact, Human Resource Planning is considered to be an integral part of corporate planning and
budgeting procedures this is based on the view that human resource costs and forecasts both
affect and are affected by long term corporate plans (Moyo, 2015).

In conclusion, Human Resource Management and Development personal build their organization
knowledge, financial skills as well as consulting skills. HR professional and organization leaders
together grapple with many variables that affect the organizations ability to attain its strategic
objectives. Human resource management create organizational change in alignment with the

5
customer drivers and the organization challenges. The professionals need to have a broad
knowledge base to provide them with the information to be idea merchants. They need to
continuously develop their unique database of solutions and willingly share it. Different factors
contributes to how one attain High Performance Organization status through HRM and HRD as
explained above.

REFERENCES

Armstrong, M (1988). Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, London: Kegan

Page.

Armstrong, M. (2000). Strategic Human Resources Management: An Action Guide-3rd Edition.

London: Kogan Page Limited.

Baxall, P. F and Parcel, J (2003). Strategy and Human Resource Management, Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan.

Becker, G. S. (1975). Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special
Reference to Education. New York: Columbia University Press.

Beer, M. (1994). Managing Human Assets, New York: The Free Press.

Digman, L. A (1990). Strategic Management-Concepts, Decisions, Cases, Irwin: Homewood

Press.

Eze, F. O (2010). Human Resource Management Strategy, theory and Applications, Enugu:
Ogbu Printers and Publishers.

Moyo, J. (2015). The Contribution of Human Resources Planning In Public Institutions

Performance: A Case Study of Mlele District Council. Dar es Salaam: The Open
University of Tanzania.

RGS Associate. (2020). Consulting Company Management Consulting Firm That Provides
Consulting Services For Organizationes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Storey, J. (1995). Human Resource Management: A critical Text -1st Edition. New York:
Routledge.

6
Wilison, D. C and Jarzabkowski, P. (2004). Thinking and acting strategically: New Challenges
for interrogating strategy. European management Review, Vol.1, Pp 14-20

Wright, P. M and Snell, S.A. (1998). Towards an Integrative view of Strategic Human Resource
Management, Human Resource Management Review Vol. 1 No 3 Pp 203-225.