Arab Open University

Faculty of Business Studies

B203-B

Business functions in context II

Prepared By Dima Hachem
Human Resource Management
 Chapter 1
The nature of human resource management
HRM:Defining human resource
management, the generic term
The role of the human resource function is explained
by identifying the key objectives to be achieved:
Staffing objectives
Performance objectives
Change-management objectives
Administration objectives

Prepared By Dima Hachem

Staffing objectives
The first role of the human resource function is to
ensure that: the right people, with the right skills to
provide their services when needed are employed.
There is a need to compete with other organizations
by recruiting and keeping the best employees.
This role involves developing employment packages
that are sufficiently attractive to maintain the required
employee skills levels, and when necessary, dispose of
those that do not have any more roles in the
organization.

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Performance objectives
The second role of the human resource function is to ensure
that people are well motivated and committed so as to
maximize their performance in their roles.
Ensure that employees are getting the right training and
development programs in order to excel in their roles.
Raise the level of employee commitment by engaging
employees in developing new ideas.
A key determinant of key competitive performance is a
propensity on the part of the organization’s employees to
demonstrate ‘discretionary effort’, or ‘employee engagement’.
This means that employees choose to go further in the
service of their employer than is strictly required in their
contracts of employment.
Prepared By Dima Hachem
Change-management objectives
HR can play a central role with change management.
Change management could be:
 Structural: requiring re-organization of activities or the
introduction of new people into certain roles, or
Cultural: where attitudes, philosophies or organizational norms
are required to change.
Key activities of change-management are:
Recruitment and/or development of people with the necessary
leadership skills to manage the change,
The employment of change agents to encourage acceptance of
change, and
The construction of reward system that underpins the change
process
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Administrative objectives
This objective facilitates the organization’s smooth
running:
Maintain accurate data on individual employees, a
record of their achievement in terms of performance,
their attendance and training records, their terms of
conditions of employment and their personal details.
Ensure that payment is administered professionally and
lawfully
Manage employee benefits like maternity and paternity
leave, insurance and vacation.

Prepared By Dima Hachem

Activity 1.1
Each of the four types of HR objectives is important and
necessary for organizations in different ways. However,
at certain times one or more can assume greater
importance than the others.

Can you identify types of situations in which each could

become the most significant or urgent?

Prepared By Dima Hachem

 Chapter 3
Strategic human resource management
The link between business and HR strategy
The link between business and HR strategy could be
described in the following model:
The separation model (A)
The fit model (B)
The dialogue model (C )
The holistic model (D)
The HR-driven model (E)

Prepared By Dima Hachem

Figure 3.1 Potential relationships between organisational strategy and HR strategy
The separation model
• The is no relationship between HR strategy and
organizational strategy.
• It is an Old approach 20 years back but still exists
in small organizations.
• Example: Supermarkets

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The fit model
• This model recognizes the importance of people in achieving
the organizational strategy.
• Employees are seen as key in implementation of organizational
strategy, and HR strategy is designed to fit with it.
• An Example of the Fit model: An organization that cascade
their business objectives down from senior management team
through functions, through departments, through team and so
on.

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The dialogue model
• This model takes the relationship one step further, it
recognizes the need of two way communications and
some debates.
• What is demanded in the organization’s strategy may not
be viewed as feasible and alternative possibilities need to
reviewed.

Prepared By Dima Hachem

The holistic model
• In this model, the people of the organization being
recognized as the key competitive advantage rather
than just the way of implementing organizational
strategy.
• HR strategy becomes critical, there can be no strategy
without HR strategy.

Prepared By Dima Hachem

The HR-Driven model
• It places HR strategy in prime position.
• If people are the key to competitive advantage, then we need to build
on our people strengths.
• (Butler,1988/89) identified this model as a shift from HR as the
implementers of strategy to HR as a driving force in the
formulation of the strategy.
• It gives an increasing attention to” human capital” where it is the
collective nature and quality of the people in the organization which
provide the potential for future competitive advantage.

Prepared By Dima Hachem

Business strategies, and associated
employee role behavior and HRM policies
Examples of an organization strategy, linked to
employee behavior and HRM policies.
Suppose your organization’s strategy is:
Innovation
Quality enhancement
Cost reduction
What would the ‘employee role behavior’, and
‘employee policies’ for each strategy are?
Check table 3.1 page 67

Prepared By Dima Hachem