Why do you think it is important for HR to be a strategic partner to the business?
The strategic focus of the organization on human resource management is explained by the necessity to make the shift from a task-oriented organizational environment to the person-oriented one. Specifically, employees should be regarded as valuable assets of the company that needs to be developed, encouraged, and motivated to create a competitive workplace and enhance the overall performance of an organization. In this respect, Fulner and Genson (2006) stress, “HR has engaged in a strategic initiative aimed at reducing the costs of turnover and low morale resulting from expansion and contraction associated with the business cycle” (n. p.).
The scholars also underscore the importance of demonstrating support of HR strategic direction for delivering value to the product and enhancing company’s credibility and reputation. As soon as employees gain more trust and respect, an HR leader can enhance the strategic positions of an organization in terms of sustaining a competitive advantage over other businesses (Fulner and Genson, 2006). Additionally, introducing employees’ performance is another important strategy that should be implemented in an organization to encourage internal competition and attract promising and talented resources to the workplace.
What benefits do you think the employees derive from this arrangement?
Apart from the evident contribution that strategic HR management contributes to the organization, employees are also provided with a number of beneficial offerings. Due to the fact that transformational leadership places emphasis on human capital, employees’ welfare and development are prioritized in organizations. Hence, HR managers work out specific training programs and assessments to improve their performance and create a healthy climate.
Such an alternative also widens’ employees’ opportunities for self-development and personal growth (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2004). Further, the role of a strategic HR manager is confined to ensuring workplace safety, which, in turn, eliminates all possible hazards and risks that discourage employees from leaving the organization. As a result of these strategies, employees have a great possibility to work in a properly organized and the managed environment in which personal needs and concerns are highly appraised (Mayhew, 2013).
Additionally, recruitment culture is another benefit that employees can enjoy because all applicants are considered with regard to their talents and skills. Providing training schedules, therefore, can significantly foster employees’ competence and motivate them to work more efficiently. Finally, enhancing person-oriented HR management contributes to the development of fruitful employee relations, leading to higher organizational performance.
What do you think are the risks involved (to HR and the organization as a whole) if HR does not make this a priority and instead remains a purely task-oriented department, mostly administrative in nature?
When a company focuses predominantly on accomplishing tasks and assignments and neglects its employees’ needs and concerns, there is a significant threat of impoverishing the organization’s culture and increasing turnover rates. It does not only impose much pressure on employees but also destroys the overall climate within an organization. When employees are non-motivated, the internal processes could also lead to a decline in the organization’s performance (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2004). In case a strategic HR partner neglects the ethical and moral philosophy of an organization, he/she can worsen the image and reputation of the company.
As a result, the company can also lose its competitiveness in the context of the globalization process (Novicevic & Harvey, 2001). Acting in an international environment also implies facing the challenge of cultural diversity, which requires HR leaders to reassess values and norms and develop the organizational culture that would compete with other international organizations. As soon as HR leaders recognize the pitfalls of the task-oriented approach, they will be able to construct a favorable context in which employees will gladly increase the company’s performance.
References
DeCenzo, D. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2004). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. US: Wiley.
Fulner, R., and Genson, S. (2006). HR’s Strategic Parnership with Line Management. Graziadio Business Review. 9(2). Web.
Mayhew, R., (2013). The Strategic Role of Human Resource Managers. Chron. Web.
Novicevic, M. M., & Harvey, M. (2001). The changing role of the corporate HR function in global organizations of the twenty-first century. International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 12(8), 1251-1268.