Strategic human resource management effectiveness and firm performance

This study tests whether strategic human resource management (SHRM) effectiveness significantly affects organizational level outcomes. Using the resource-based view of the firm, this study examines the effective use of human capital on organizational performance. Further, the role that a contextual factor - capital intensity - plays in modelling is explored. Results show that SHRM effectiveness significantly reduces employee turnover and increases overall market performance assessment. However, SHRM effectiveness affected both firm productivity and return on equity only when moderated by capital intensity.     

Strategic human resource management at Praxair

This article describes the human resource management system in place at Praxair. Key emphases of Praxair's HRM infrastructure include (1) competency development and performance‐management processes and (2) team‐based performance systems, which include four levels of measurement: company‐wide, business‐unit, cross‐functional teams within business units, and special‐initiative project teams. Key challenges for the future include (1) prioritization of choices in support of the firm's global growth initiatives, (2) employee development and new talent acquisition, (3) designing more effective methods to anticipate business needs and provide strong, proactive leadership, (4) accelerating leadership development and influencing adequate investment in education and development programs, and (5) designing and implementing effective methods to acquire new talent to support business strategies. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategic human resource management at Lucent

This article describes the HR Management system in place at Lucent Technologies, Inc. Lucent's HR structure is organized around a client service model that focuses on the leaders in the major business units and the movement of as much of the HR infrastructure as possible to these business units. Key emphases include (1) HR operational excellence, (2) compensation and performance management that encourages employees to build a successful future with the firm, as well as to share in that success, and (3) building an operating style and culture that supports Lucent's mission and strategy. Key challenges for the future include (1) organizational renewal in a period of growth, (2) identifying and developing new HR competencies, (3) developing a unique HR structure to support the needs of HR at Bell Labs, and (4) effective labor relations in a rapidly changing industry. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategic human resource management at Quantum

This article describes the HR Management system in place at Quantum. Key emphases of Quantum's HR management infrastructure include: (1) establishment and communication of the firm's mission, vision, and values; (2) team‐based product development and operations teams; (3) behaviorally based structured interview processes; (4) rigorous and comprehensive performance management and incentive compensation processes; (5) highly automated and efficient HR infrastructure “fundamentals”; and (6) well developed soft asset due diligence processes for integrating mergers and acquisitions. Key challenges for the future include (1) managing explosive growth in a global environment, (2) employee development, (3) managing joint ventures and acquisitions, (4) hiring and retaining talent, and (5) expanding competence in change management processes. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategic human resource management and supply chain orientation

Most SHRM research has concentrated on single, focal organizations and on activities taking place within the firm. The purpose of this article is to lay a foundation for studying SHRM in the supply chain. We present a framework which identifies factors that influence whether adopting a supply chain orientation (SCO) is effective, and articulates the contingencies that shape SHRM practices needed to achieve and capitalize on SCO. We make several contributions to the strategic human resource management and supply chain literatures. First, we highlight this neglected area of research. Second, we expand the boundary conditions of strategic human resource management and HR systems from a primarily single firm, intra-organizational focus to one which includes both intra- and inter-organizational relationships. Third, we provide a framework for understanding the links between HR systems, SCO, and strategic outcomes. Fourth, we build upon previous theorizing in strategic human resource management and provide a framework for research in the supply chain context. And finally, we offer propositions for future research, along with a decision making model which has implications for both research and management practice.     

Strategic human resource management at Herman Miller

This article describes the Human Resource Management system in place at Herman Miller, Inc. (HMI). HMI's HR strategy is comprised of three primary goals: (1) building employee capabilities, (2) building employee commitment, and (3) improving the professional capabilities of the HR function itself. Key emphases of HMI's HR management infrastructure include (1) employee competency identification and development, (2) building employee participation, (3) building business literacy, (4) creating a “corporate community” through strong values and a sense of “belonging”, (5) community responsibility and environmental protection, (6) competently delivering the HR “fundamentals”, and (7) developing innovative partnerships with suppliers. Key challenges for the future include (1) change management, (2) clarifying HR's strategic role throughout the firm, and (3) attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategic human resource management and its effects on firm performance: an implementation of the competing values framework

Based on the literature of the competing values framework, this paper develops a new HRM model and attempts to clarify what type of HRM (in terms of the orientation of the function) is linked with various aspects of firm performance. In order to acquire a better view of this much researched issue, three more factors that influence this relationship have been added to the equation: competitive strategy, external environment and organizational size. The empirical research was carried out in Greece among a sample of 104 organizations. The research findings show that when HRM is consistent with the competitive strategy it has significant effects on financial performance. Another important finding is that market performance is positively influenced by HRM flexibility and negatively influenced by HRM control, unless the external environment is complex, when the most successful combination is control-internal orientation.     

Strategic human resource management: a conceptual approach

In this paper conceptual issues associated with strategic human resource management are addressed. The rapidly expanding international interest in strategic human resource management is first highlighted. The article then explores some of the broader issues around the debate on SHRM that can inform thinking at a macro level. Firstly, the progress made towards understanding the meaning of SHRM is analysed, then a brief overview of the major models of SHRM to date is presented. This overview is used to highlight the key variables and interrelationships that need to be included in a model of SHRM, and a more detailed critical analysis of the contribution of the literature in each of these areas follows. A summary of the most important research questions arising out of the literature is followed by a model of the SHRM process, which attempts to remedy the major weaknesses in existing models of SHRM. The ways in which this model may be used as a basis for empirical research are then noted.

Strategic human resource management     

Human resource management strategies in declining industries

The conceptualization presented in this article suggests that top management should take into account the role of the human resource function in formulating and implementing strategic responses to decline. Such responses must be formulated within the context of the skills and knowledge available to the organization and according to the type of environmental conditions encountered. These influences will force the human resource manager to focus on sharpening competencies existing within the organization, consolidating competencies so that only those currently required by the organization are retained, adding new competencies, or replacing existing competencies so that the organization can move to a new domain activity. The emphasis on human resource processes such as recruitment and termination, training and development, and evaluation, reward, and retention for purposes of development and maintenance of the competencies needed to implement strategic responses to decline will vary according to the nature of the environmental conditions encountered.     

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) in Europe after 1992

Comparative studies of Women’s labour market position usually focus on patterns of gender segregation, considered to be the foundation of gender discrimination. Few studies trace the link between gender segregation and gender pay differences in a comparative context, and even fewer seek to identify links between payment structures and practices and the extent and form of gender pay inequality. Yet although the degree and form of gender segregation clearly vary between countries, there is even more likelihood that differences in pay structures and practices will result in differences in gender outcomes. This study explores the gender pay implications of payment structures and payment systems in three European countries, the UK, Italy and Germany. Payment systems are found to be embedded within country-specific employment systems and result in different levels and forms of gender pay equality. They also present different obstacles to the closure of the gender earnings gap. Moreover, the trends within the general wage determination system rather than specific gender pay equity policies are found to have most impact on women’s relative pay position.     

Strategic human resource management: The evolution of the field

This review takes an evolutionary and chronological perspective on the development of strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature. We divide this body of work into seven themes that reflect the directions and trends researchers have taken over approximately thirty years of research. During this time the field took shape, developed rich conceptual foundations, and matured into a domain that has substantial influence on research activities in HR and related management disciplines. We trace how the field has evolved to its current state, articulate many of the major findings and contributions, and discuss how we believe it will evolve in the future. This approach contributes to the field of SHRM by synthesizing work in this domain and by highlighting areas of research focus that have received perhaps enough attention, as well as areas of research focus that, while promising, have remained largely unexamined.     

A hybridism model of differentiated human resource management effectiveness in Chinese context

This paper brings the differentiation perspective of human resource management (HRM) to China's context of economic transition, and constructs a hybridism rationale to explain the distinctive characteristics of Chinese HRM. We respectively discuss the effect mechanisms of commitment-based, control-based, collaboration-based, and contract-based HRM archetypes in China. Then, by comparing the paths of HRM evolution taken by China and the West, we explore the dynamic logics of fit between macroeconomic institutions (economic centralization or laissez-faire) and the organizational tradeoff of hybrid HRM approaches. Ideas for future research and practical implications are discussed.     

Strategic human resource management and inertia in the corporate entrepreneurship of a multinational enterprise

Abstract

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) supports sustained competitive advantage through the continuous exploration and exploitation of new sources of knowledge. With an emphasis on combining knowledge in new configurations, strategic human resource management (HRM) activities are core to these entrepreneurial endeavours. We explore how strategic HRM activities may facilitate and impede CE through a rich, qualitative case study of three local entities within a business unit of a large multinational enterprise facing business stagnation and low levels of corporate entrepreneurship. Responding to a call for more empirical research that probes the subtle and complex interactions between HRM activities and other organisational factors affecting CE, we identify a configuration of inter-dependent factors that mutually reinforce each other and sustain inertia in corporate entrepreneurship. We also make two novel contributions to theory by (1) elaborating the links between organisational process-orientation, strategic HRM and CE; and (2) refining to our current understanding of human competencies for CE.     

Self-renewal of the Japanese firm and the human resource strategy

Traditional “Japanese personnel management” that has long been considered as the key for Japan's competitive success now needs fundamental restructuring in order to meet the challenges of a stagnant economy, matured domestic market, and the rise of NICs (Newly Industrialized Countries) in international markets. The self-renewal of Japanese firms can be achieved by a paradigm shift at the corporate strategy level: from a production orientation to a product orientation. In accordance with this paradigm shift, leading Japanese firms have started reforming their Human Resource Management (HRM) function from a productivity-centered to a creativity-centered one— creative HRM. Creative HRM has three pillars: (1) the creation of the strategic vision through commitment of the employees, (2) an entrepreneurial middle management as a key strategic node, and (3) multi-dimensional personnel management. Creation and realization of the strategic vision through the active commitment of an entrepreneurial middle management is necessary for the self-renewal of the firm. “Japanese Personnel Management” that might have been overadapted to the traditional strategic paradigm is now transforming itself from a “group-centered” personnel administration to an “individual-centered” one. While Western companies have been adopting Japanese “groupism” to reconstruct their production systems, Japanese companies have started introducing Western “individualism” to encourage creative self-transformation. But no system or technique is truly effective without human commitment, and this requires a fundamental paradigm shift for Japanese firms.     

A strategic human resource perspective of firm competitive behavior

Embedded within firms are unique stores of intangible human assets that likely influence the way firms compete. We argue that the human and social capital of a firm, particularly at the upper echelon and board of director (BOD) levels, contribute to the firm's awareness of the competitive environment and its motivation and ability to undertake numerous, complex, and forceful competitive actions. We also suggest that the firm's executive compensation systems moderate the effects of these intangible human assets on firm competitive behavior. By examining how human capital, intra-firm social capital, and executive compensation influence firm competitive behavior, we advance a strategic HRM perspective of firm competitive behavior and outline several implications for future research.     

The effect of human resource management practices on the perceptions of organizational and market performance of the firm

The purpose of our study is to extend the emerging empirical literature on the firm‐level impact of human resource management practices. Results based on a national sample of organizations from private and public sectors in Israel indicate that these practices have a significant impact on both the perceived organizational and market performance of the organization. The single independent variable found to be statistically significant in affecting perceived organizational performance was training practices. In the case of perceived market performance, we found that, in addition to training practices, employee selection practices also significantly affected the perceived market performance.¹ © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

村级企业的人力资源管理

我国村级企业尚处于刚起步状态,主要表现在观念差异,信息滞后和制度不完善等方面。对于如何加强村级企业中的人力资源管理,文章将对这个问题进行初步的探讨。     

村级企业的人力资源管理

我国村级企业尚处于刚起步状态,主要表现在观念差异,信息滞后和制度不完善等方面。对于如何加强村级企业中的人力资源管理,文章将对这个问题进行初步的探讨。     

Shared leadership in enterprise resource planning and human resource management system implementation

Human resource management systems (HRMS) integrate human resource processes and an organization's information systems. An HRMS frequently represents one of the modules of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP). ERPs are information systems that manage the business and consist of integrated software applications such customer relations and supply chain management, manufacturing, finance and human resources. ERP implementation projects frequently have high failure rates; although research has investigated a number of factors for success and failure rates, limited attention has been directed toward the implementation teams, and how to make these more effective. In this paper we argue that shared leadership represents an appropriate approach to improving the functioning of ERP implementation teams. Shared leadership represents a form of team leadership where the team members, rather than only a single team leader, engage in leadership behaviors. While shared leadership has received increased research attention during the past decade, it has not been applied to ERP implementation teams and therefore that is the purpose of this article. Toward this end, we describe issues related to ERP and HRMS implementation, teams, and the concept of shared leadership, review theoretical and empirical literature, present an integrative framework, and describe the application of shared leadership to ERP and HRMS implementation.