Strategic Human Resource Management And Development

Effective Strategic HR Planning

Discuss about the Strategic Human Resource Management and Development.

A term that is much used in today’s world concerning the management of the working-lives within an organization is the human resource management. It has been catching the attention of the world ever since the organizations’ started believing their human work force to be significant. Human resource planning is categorized into 3 segments such as staffing, framing of the workforce’s remuneration and structuring the job profile (Fee, 2014). The aim of the essay is to indicate the important role played by human resource management in the projects/ firms.  The purpose of the essay is to trace the significance of human resource planning in complex projects with special consideration to political aspects. The issues that will be addressed are the strategic human resource planning, project management referring to complex projects, political interferences in complex projects, human resource planning (HRP) to deal with such problems, and resource-based view of the enterprises, and others.

The expanded human resource management along with its mobility inferable from more prominent opportunities has evoked crisp difficulties for HRP. The enormous cost owing to turnover as well as the loss occurring from intellectual capital because of the absence of talented working minds has metamorphosed HRP a vital strategic associate. The aggressiveness and competition pertaining to the project now relies upon how adequately and efficiently human resource personnel frame intercessions to hold back existing talented individuals and draw in new talents (Becton and Schraeder, 2009).

Therefore, there is a predominant connection between the strategic human resource management (SHRM) and HRP. It is as if the HRP is the first step which is the accumulation, screening and placing the right kind of employees leading to the second step that is the execution of the planning through strategies. In its part played as a strategic associate, HRP turns into the empowering agent skilled at talent management methodologies thus enabling managers and creating pioneers who form business ethics and values as opposed to attempting to execute procedures, structures, and consistence. The achievement of the endeavour now relies on upon the expertise of the human resource officials to ace the political elements (Festing et al., 2007).

There is a sudden move from the “collectivism to the individualism” as can be witnessed in the current times. The rise of outsourcing of the jobs as well as the “work-from-home” ideas are observed to come up which has made ways to more productivity and earn profits through maximized reliance on these aspects have notably set a new trend in the entire HRP process. Therefore whenever any decisions are taken, the main objective of HRP aims to consider each working mind uniquely rather than putting significance on the collective basis (GhorbanHossein, 2011). There are certain effects that this transformation has imbibed into the HRP system.

HR planning and project management

Collective bargaining has ceased to exist making ways for the personal contracts and recognitions.

Part played by the trade unions have diminished to a considerable low size

Maximized importance upon the contractual workforce or the workers hired on temporary basis rather than the full-time workers

“Personalized pay packages” are offered to the contractual workers as well as the permanent employees rated on the basis of contribution made towards the project or the business enterprise rather than following the prevailing standard pay structures or pay packages connected to productivity (Stuckler et al., 2010)

There are other edges of the political aspects corresponding to the SHRM. Stakeholders’ politics is one that seeks concern. For example, in the complex construction projects, it is the builders, contractors and the suppliers that involve in politics and urge the other stakeholders to hire them. Especially in the complex and the large scale projects, the contractors are considered to form local politics relating to labour and other materials. This makes the owners hire labour from them (Caligiuri and Colakoglu, 2007).

In these instances, the HRP might be such framed that the projects outsource their work to the contractual labourers. This is because it is then that these complex projects would not fall prey to the politics of the system. For instance, contractual workers might be hired in cases of certain jobs that entail risk taking. In case, permanent employees are hired, the business enterprise funding the large scale projects might have to do insurance policies for their permanent workers that might lead to more responsibility and complexities. The HRP pertaining to these large scale projects might implement zigzag communication process among its employees. The SHRM of enterprises might put more emphasis upon the corporate social responsibilities (CSR) in order to cater better rights, safety and security to its workers whether they are contractual or permanent. CSR within the HRP is more like “paying back to the society in the form of social initiatives” (Becton and Schraeder, 2009).

Thus the HRP framed evolves as a strategic associate of the projects or the business associations thereby earning a competitive edge on its respective markets. Again on the other hand, the SHRM can include performance rating of HRP at regular time intervals with the introduction of both open ended and closed questionnaire. Hence, the feedback gets generated regarding the performance of the HRP which can be scrutinized and is exposed to dynamic changes (GhorbanHosseini, 2011). There is also another factor that is perceived employee outcome that reflects the factors such as commitment of the employees to the enterprise/ project, faith in the laws and clause of the company/ project, co-operation and engagement of the employees. The successful HRP is correlated with SHRM and is directly proportional to the CSR and perceived employee outcome (Meredith, 2011).

Political Influences in Complex Projects

Evidently, human resource planning differs from one project to another. There are projects which are termed as rapid renewal projects. These projects are known to replace develop or recommence prevailing infrastructure of the project. Further, in order to restore and recommence the other aspects come into consideration such as the size of the project, engineering complications, administrative and judicial controls, financial planning as well as delivery procedure (Daley, 2012). Nonetheless, every sort of project is complex and seeks differentiated project management method that necessitates efficient and skilful team. Thus, the concept of human resource planning crops in.

Human resource planning refers to the continuous method that calls for sequential planning to attain a business enterprise’s best productivity with the help of the human workforce. The key aim is to place the working lives in the right kind of job profiles thereby bridging the gaps that exist due to human resource shortage or excess. There are 4 main factors that are taken under consideration such as the analysis of the workforce supply, estimating workforce demand, balancing between the demand and the supply of the estimated workforce as well as embracing the objectives and aims of the complex projects and businesses. Nonetheless, the human resource planning required is adaptable and open-ended so that it can confront the short term risks that arise due to staffing thereby adjusting to the changing situations that take place in the long haul (Kerzner, 2013).

Whether the complex project is large in size or small, there are certain aspects and dimensions that the project managers are to put focus on. They are budgeting, planning, technical issues, and environmental scenario. The budgeting includes measuring the extent of work in terms of dollars. Budgeting considers gauges and estimations in regard to the project, instability, possibilities, related expenses, cost drivers and limitations. Planning refers to the project’s schedule driven parts. Technical issues deal with the engineering complications as well as other engineering necessities that are required within the complex projects (Thomas and Mengel, 2008).

 Another aspect that calls for the consideration is the environmental scenario that circumscribes around the external factors which affect the project and its course of progress. The external factors can be the stakeholders, legislative issues, political interferences and so on (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). Thus all these aspects require a skilful team and efficient workforce so that the productivity is enhanced and the project continues.

The following article portrays a total anarchic condition prevailing that has not only upset the daily commute lives of the citizens of Queensland but also created agitation in the government system of the country. This is because the furious passengers have been blaming the government for this mishap. Further, it shows how damaging an ineffective and unskilled HRP can be that possesses the capacity to affect the politics of the country (ABC News, 2016).

The Resource-Based View (RBV) is one the important aspects considered for a successful HRP. Basically, the human employees are looked upon as resources and thus the term resource-based view. Human resource management is incomplete if significance is not rendered to the word “human resources”. The human resources are more like intellectual capital to the enterprise that must be inculcated in HRP and thus in accordance will help the organization to earn its competitive advantage in its respective market. Nonetheless, there are aspects that at times corner the concept of RBV (Barney et al., 2001). One such factor is politics.

Current political changes that have impacted the HRP practices portray the superiority of the market forces as well as the concoction of the protective legislations. Elements influencing HRP changes often signify planning a one of a kind methodology in HR administration. The entire scenario is intricately complicated and hard to assess. They decide the way of working connections and affect both financial and social settings. The political condition of a business organization or any complex project has an immediate bearing upon the political setting on which the HRP and its administration of an association capacitates. The significant drivers of the political atmosphere incorporate the degree of external legislations, type of contracts framed for the job profile, different work enactments as well as certain case laws to give some examples. These variables remain always showing signs of change, and accordingly, the political environment in regards to HRP stays in a consistent fluctuating mode (Inyang and Akaegbu, 2014).

Starting from the 1980s almost all the governments are noted to embrace a “supply side financial matters” as the way to guarantee development and elevating production. The fundamental guideline of supply side financial aspects refers to free running of the market forces. The avocation to such kind of a force rest upon the risks thwarted by globalization as well as a “free-market economy” alongside the acknowledgment that protectionism made ways to bloated organizations that can’t contend at the worldwide level. While viewing it from the HRP setting, this political change proposes the financial conditions of the market supplanting the prevailing predominant welfare-directed methodology as the main consideration overseeing the employee and employer connections (Meredith, 2011).

As a result, more prominent workforce mobility started occurring among the business enterprises. For example, hierarchical duty and dependability unessential, and improving the part of HR capacities like recruitment to be the key functional area. Talent management was given more significance than the performance management to get hold of the key aptitudes of the employees. Though politics played a great role in disintegrating the structure of HRP, it is considering the aspect of RBV and other HRM factors that echo the success of HRP (Govindarajan, 2012). 

Conclusion

The above study portrays the significance of HRP in complex projects with special consideration to the political hindrances that are created while handling and conducting the large scale projects. It is derived that HRP forms an integral part of the complex projects because without effective structuring of the human resource management, the projects will not deliver appropriate productivity. Hindrances and challenges like political considerations and others will always exist but again it depends on the framing of the HRP and incorporation of the clauses, employee contract, pay packages and others (Danilovic and Browning, 2007). Nonetheless, the aim of human resource management rest upon increasing the output of the business enterprise through the implementation of proper talents in the right places. The observer of “Journal of Business Strategy” Edward L. Gubman cited that the framework of the human resource management is based on the aspects of acquisition, improvement and retention of talent thereby connecting the working minds with the right kind of business. He further added that the 3 challenges (staffing, setting remuneration, sketching job profile) as mentioned will never cease to exist (Gubman, 1996).

References

ABC News. (2016). ‘I want answers’: Palaszczuk furious over rail disruptions. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-23/annastacia-palaszczuk-furious-over-queensland-raildisruptions/7957862 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].

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