Strategic management perspectives on supply chain

In the second decade of the twenty-first century, supply chain management (SCM) practices have gained an increasingly strategic character. The focus has shifted from an operational perspective to a strategic one, and SCM is repeatedly cited in the literature as a strategic management tool with a profound effect on the survival of the organizations. SCM domain is well-supported to be closely linked with a number of strategic management views and theories. This study investigates the main strategic management views and theories relevant to SCM and their interactions. It reveals how they complementarily explain supply chain management characteristics of being customer-driven, process-oriented, global, strategically coupled, complex, dynamic, adaptive, multi-agent, IT-intensive, value creating, collaborative and networked. Based on a comprehensive literature taxonomy, a mapping of the main supply chain characteristics to these management views and theories is provided. A conceptual clustering of different management perspectives is developed, and their interactions are analyzed.

     

Strategic agility and human resource management

This paper serves as an introduction to this special issue on strategic agility and human resource management. The paper starts with a summary review of the current state of the strategic agility literature followed by introduction of the five articles in the special issue. The paper also highlights the implications of the findings for academics and practitioners.     

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 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 Sears

This article describes the HR Management System in place at Sears. Key emphases of Sears' HR management infrastructure include: (1) formulating and communicating a corporate mission, vision, and goals, (2) employee education and development through the Sears University, (3) performance management and incentive compensation systems linked closely to the firm's strategy, (4) validated employee selection systems, and (5) delivering the "HR Basics” very competently. Key challenges for the future include: (1) maintaining momentum in the performance improvement process, (2) identifying barriers to success, and (3) clearly articulating HR's role in the change management process. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategic value of RFID in supply chain management

At present, a gap exists between the actual and potential values of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in industry. In recent years, academic researchers have recognised the importance of closing this gap, but the existing studies have not yet explicitly dealt with competitiveness as the value of RFID. This paper provides insight into the strategic value of RFID by building a theory on how RFID used in supply chain management may create and sustain a competitive advantage. Four propositions are developed based on a theory of organisational learning and the theory of first-mover advantages.     

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 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 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.     

The effect of high-involvement human resource management practices on supply chain resilience and operational performance

Supply chain (SC) resilience is an increasingly important topic for practitioners and academics because it is a competitive weapon for firms to cope with SC disruptive risks. This study examines the impact of high-involvement human resource management practices on SC resilience from the ability-motivation-opportunity perspective. It also examines the relationship between the dimensions of SC resilience and operational performance. Based on data collected from 206 Chinese manufacturers, the proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that employee participation played the most powerful role in improving supplier, customer, and internal resilience. Moreover, employee skills only facilitate internal and customer resilience but have no significant impact on supplier resilience. By contrast, employee incentives do not influence the dimension of SC resilience. It was also found that both internal and customer resilience have positive effects on operational performance, while supplier resilience has no significant effect. The findings contribute to literature and practice.     

Strategic human resource management and MNEs' performance in China

This study tested a perspective of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and compared human resource practices among multinational enterprises (MNEs) in two industries in China. Specifically, empirical data from firms in China's soft-drinks and electronics industries were analysed. The results supported a number of basic assumptions of the SHRM model, such as those regarding the relationship among firm environments, firm strategy, firm human resource practices and firm performance.     

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     

Strategic supply management: The relationship between supply management practices, strategic orientation and their impact on organisational performance

A theoretical model is presented for conceptualising the relationship between the management of supply, strategic orientation at the business-unit level and their proposed link with firm performance. The shortcomings of existing approaches in accounting for the wide variety of purchasing practices in a comprehensive supply management framework are discussed as well their alignment with strategic orientation. The paper concludes by presenting a model and propositions concerning firm-level supply management, strategic orientation and firm performance.     

Strategic human resource management and firm effectiveness in industries experiencing decline

Unstable economic conditions, in conjunction with other external and internal influences, have prompted attempts to understand the nature of organizational decline. While a number of issues have been carefully considered in recent theory and research, little effort has been made to consider the implications of human resource management practices for firms in declining industries. The present study examined human resource practices in three industries that experienced decline, and investigated the relationship of organizational performance with effective human resource management.     

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.     

Overview: Strategic human resource management in five leading firms

This article synthesizes findings from five case studies conducted in firms known to be leaders in the management of people. We drew three broad conclusions:

• 1 The foundation of a value‐added HR function is a business strategy that relies on people as a source of competitive advantage and a management culture that embraces that belief;
• 2 A value‐added HR function will be characterized by operational excellence, a focus on client service for individual employees and managers, and delivery of these services at the lowest possible cost; and
• 3 A value‐added HR function requires HR managers that understand the human capital implications of business problems and can access or modify the HR system to solve those problems.

© 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategic inventory in capacitated supply chain procurement

We study the strategic role of inventory in a sequential two‐period procurement setting, where the supplier's capacity in the first period is limited and the retailer has the option to hold inventory. We compare the equilibrium under a dynamic contract, where the decisions are made at the beginning of each period, and a commitment contract, where the decisions for both periods are made at the beginning of the first period. We show that there is a critical capacity level below which the outcomes under both types of contracts are identical. When the first period capacity is above the critical level, the retailer holds inventory in equilibrium and the inventory is carried due to purely strategic reasons; as capacity increases, so does the strategic role of inventory. The supplier always prefers lower capacity than the retailer, and the difference between supplier‐optimal and supply‐chain optimal capacities, and the corresponding profits, can be significant. Finally, we find that the retailer's flexibility to hold inventory is not always good for the participants or for the channel. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

跨国供应链管理及其解决方案

"中国制造"的成功,把世界带进了中国。"中国制造"的下一步应是"中国创造",把中国带向世界。相信中国企业在跨国供应链管理解决方案的帮助下,能够尽快达成这一目标。