5CHR – Session 3

ciaran.dunne@wiltshire.ac.uk

28.9.17
Summary from last week
• We explored differences between businesses
• We looked deeply at forces and factors that shape the business and
HR agenda
• Looked at different tools for assessing the environment
• Started to look at different strategies (Mintzberg)
• We started looking at the implications for HR
But first…
• Hear from …..Victoria
• Look at strategy in more detail – Mintzberg, integration and models of
HR
• Explore your connection with Ulrichs perspective
• Consider how business performance could be measured
• Sources of data / information to be used in planning
• Hear from within the profession about the year ahead
• Ethics
From the presentations..
What did you learn about…

How external forces impact upon business

Tools for assessing the environment
Levels of internal or external influence
The role of HR
www.bbc.co.uk
 The future of HR – Ulrich - Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57PmDk73u7I

•Focus on HR from the outside in

•Think about Trends – STEEPLE
•Who are the stakeholders?
•What do we focus on? How?
•What is the right organisation for us?
•What does Leadership mean?
•How should HR be set up?
•How integrated are HR practices?
•Invest in competencies
•How to we measure performance?
Your notes
Strategy formulation
• 3 basic types
Rational / Classic

Emergent / Logical incrementalism

Symbolic / Radical
Mintzberg - Different Strategies

Key variables: Complexity and rate of change

Emergent – Govt dept,
hospital, stable, more
Rational Strategy complex , some
stable environment, uncertainty,
hierarchy
management,
appraise factors,
considered, form
goals , direction
1-2 products or
services – low
uncertainty,
understood

Emergent/logical
incrementalism – Radical –– pace of
adjusting along the way change to fast, need to
react to change, low react, opportunistic
complexity, high tech ? Bank ? Day to day is
difficult

Mintzberg model of change and

complexity (Taylor Woodhams – p58-60)
Strategy – Look at Porter again
What are the HR implications?
• Differentiation - Higher quality

• Low cost leadership – products are cheaper

• Focus – Innovative

Critics argue can pursue more than one strategy at

a time

What are the implications to HR?

Think about your organisation? Think about others?

RBV perspective
• Resource Based View of the firm
• It is a little like a SWOT - protect and reinforce competitive advantage
• Valuable
P.63 – Case Study on The
• Rare New College of the
• Hard to replicate Humanities

• Non substitutable
Kotters Model – Steps to forming a strategy

Where does HR offer a service?

Where does it add value?

Clockwise – continuous

How does compare with your

strategies?
Your notes
 HR Strategy
‘a set of ideas, policies and practices which management
adopt to achieve a people-management objective’
Tyson (1995) (Farnham 1.3.5)

Mainly concerned with:

• Vertical integration or ‘external fit’

• Horizontal integration or ‘internal fit’

How would this work for … How does this work in the
• Recruitment? Mintzberg model?
• Reward?

‘Improved organisation performance’

Bath People and Performance model
and AMO - Purcell

CD/PFM/4/2017
Figure 1.3: The Harvard model of HRM
 Best Practice
– Harvard Model
HR policies influenced by stakeholder interests
and
situational factors interacting on them

Six key elements:

• flexibility
• selection processes
• appraisal
• learning and development of core employees
• reward systems
• participation and employee involvement
 Best Practice
– Jeffrey Pfeffer
Putting people first through seven key HR components produces
better organisation performance and higher profits.

The seven key components:

• employment security and internal labour markets
• selective hiring and sophisticated selection
• extensive learning and T&D
• employee involvement, information sharing, worker voice
• self-managed teams/teamworking
• high compensation contingent upon performance
• reduction of status differentials/harmonisation.
Data used for planning / reporting?
• Why do it ?
• What do you use?

• Evidence based reporting and decision making

• Reporting the effectiveness of what? Correlation ? Cause/ Effect?

• 2 types: Quantitative – measurable and unbiased – examples?

Qualitative – narrative, opinion – examples?
P.16 -18

In pairs ?

• What HR reporting occurs in your organisation? Why?

• What analytics do you use / have you stopped using? Why ?
HR Outlook 2016-17 – what is considered
important
• Report on what is important in HR – now & looking ahead

• Costs
• Talent Management
• Organisational flexibility
• Productivity

• What are the business priorities for your organisation?

• What are the strategic / main HR objectives ?
• Summary Image of report
• https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/hr/outlook-reports

JM/5MHR/2/2016
How are the HR objectives aligned with the
business?
• Balanced Scorecard outlining priorities but routine must not be forgotten

JM/5MHR/2/2016
 Influencing the board / Creating value - Podcasts

• https://
www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts/hr-analytics-influence-strategy-through-dat
a
(20 mins)

• https://
www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts/using-metrics-drive-value-through-people
(21mins)
JM/5MHR/2/2016
CIPD Podcast series
Episode 121
• Look ahead to 2017

https://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts/look-ahead-2017

• Leading thinkers from business, HR and L&D give us their views on the events of
2016 and what organisations can and should be doing in the year ahead
Ethics and HRM (p35-38)
• Ethics (life) & Professionalism (CIPD)

• Value : Relationships, Brand, Role Model

• Paradox – Ethics v Business ?

• How are ethics promoted / developed at work ? The impact of Law ?

 Looking forward…
Next week we will consolidate the learning so far

Conclude Metrics and Ethics

Look at your strategies, alignments, issues..

Keeps reading widely

Starting framing your answer to the assignment

We’ll work in groups to form what you think will be a good response

We will look at assignment format and Harvard referencing

Good work so far – see you next week

 The rational approach to strategy
P147 Farnham
Option 1
Analyse
contexts

Vision
Choose
mission Option 2 Implement
option
goals

Analyse
resources
Option 3

JM/5CHR/2/2016
The emergent approach to strategy
P154 Farnham
Analyse
contexts

Vision, Strategy
mission, implementation
goals, by
(flexible) increments

Analyse
resources

JM/5CHR/2/2016
 Strategy and planning

How do the approaches to strategy on the previous slides help or hinder

business planning ?

What role can/should HR have in business planning and responding to change?

Furniture case study

JM/5CHR/2/2016
 Other approaches..

Contingency thinking
Resource based thinking

Case study p61-62

(Woodhams Taylor)

JM/5CHR/2/2016
Figure 1.1: Current Roles in the HR Function
 Outsourcing
sub-contracting HR activities

Benefits:
• less costly than in-house
• access to knowledge and expertise
• access to appropriate facilities

Problems:
• legal implications
• controlling contractor’s performance
• security of organisation information
 Figure 1.2: Possible links between HRM and
business performance
HR effectiveness
Quality of goods
and services

Business
strategy

HR HR Financial
practices outcomes performance

HR
strategy
Productivity

Adapted from Guest et al (2003)

Internal factors – 7S
 Best Practice
– David Guest
Competence, commitment, motivation and effective job design needed
to ensure best organisational outcomes.
Factors leading to high quality outcomes based on high
quality HR policies and practices:
• strategic integration – vertically and horizontally

• commitment which leads to high performance

• structural and functional flexibility

• high quality products and services through high-quality

flexible employees.
 Best Practice
– Jeffrey Pfeffer
Putting people first through seven key HR components produces
better organisation performance and higher profits.

The seven key components:

• employment security and internal labour markets
• selective hiring and sophisticated selection
• extensive learning and T&D
• employee involvement, information sharing, worker voice
• self-managed teams/teamworking
• high compensation contingent upon performance
• reduction of status differentials/harmonisation.
Labour market approach:
Higgs (2004) recommends ‘segmenting’ the labour markets and
positioning yourself strategically.
He noted four strategic choices based on the interplay of two
variables: Reward and Culture.

High Rewards High Rewards

Low Culture High Culture

EMPLOYER OF CASH EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

   
   
EMPLOYER OF CHURN EMPLOYER OF VALUES

Low Reward Low Rewards

Low Culture High Culture
Kotters Model