PULE ISAAC MALEFANE

STUDENT # 185568

MBA

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTASSIGNMENT

2015-111 (MBA)

DUE DATE4/10/2015

NUMBER OF PAGES: 11

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22. The Four Siemens Workforce Competencies and Behaviours………………………………………….. 23.4.

1

2

1. INTRODUCTIONBoxall,P (1992) defines Strategic Human Resource Management as “the linking of

human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business

performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation, flexibility and

competitive advantage”. It’s a common knowledge that for business to thrive and

succeed, it needs to have stability in the workplace in order to survive the fierce

competitive environment that wants to clamour for best talent and maintain

competitive edge over other competitors by applying “ a distinctive approach to the

employment which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the structural

deployment of highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural,

structural and personnel techniques” (Salaman, Storey and Billsberry,2005).

Strategic HRM addresses broad organizational issues relating to changes

in structure and culture, organizational effectiveness and performance, matching

resources to future requirements, the development of distinctive capabilities,

knowledge management, and the management of change. It is concerned with both

human capital requirements and the development of process capabilities, that is, the

ability to get things done effectively. Overall, it deals with any major people issues

that affect or are affected by the strategic plans of the organization. As Boxall (1996)

remarks: ‘The critical concerns of HRM, such as choice of executive leadership and

formation of positive patterns of labour relations, are strategic in any firm.

The rationale for strategic HRM is the perceived advantage of having an agreed and

understood basis for developing approaches to people management in the longer

term. It has been suggested by Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall (1990) that

underlying this rationale in a business is the concept of achieving competitive

advantage through HRM.

Strategic HRM supplies a perspective on the way in which critical issues or success

factors related to people can be addressed, and strategic decisions are made that

have a major and long-term impact on the behaviour and success of the

organization. The fundamental aim of strategic HRM is to generate strategic

capability by ensuring that the organization has the skilled, committed and well-

motivated employees it needs to achieve sustained competitive advantage. Its

objective is to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment so that

the business needs of the organization, and the individual and collective needs of its

employees can be met by the development and implementation of coherent and

practical HR policies and programmes. As Dyer and Holder (1988) remark,

2

3

strategic HRM should provide ‘unifying frameworks which are at once

broad, contingency based and integrative’.

The above diagram helps us understand what strategic human resource

management consist of and which are the functions which are required for the

working in the organisation to achieve its strategic goals and objectives.

One of the example of organisation where Strategic Human Resource is

implemented are

GlaxoSmithKline:

“We want GSK to be a place where the best people do their best work.”

This is the objective of the management as far its strategy and human

resource is concerned

This Assignment analysis the four most critical elements of a Strategic Human

Resource Management Model based on Strategy-Oriented Human Resource

System, Recruitment, Organisational Culture and Training and Development.

The assignment will zoom into Siemens Workforce Competencies and Behaviours

and link that to Strategic Human Resource Outcomes and how they contribute to the

company achieving its strategic goals. Furthermore, it will outline on the challenges

of Global Software Solutions recruitment approach and possible interventions that

3

4

can assist the company to retain talent and improve on its organisational outlook in

relation to its culture/lack thereof to attain its goals and sustain its operations.

It will continue to analyse two more case studies in relation to the job analysis

challenge and the generational mix policy at Air Filter Company and how the

company can resolve its impasse between its traditional workers and the younger

generation of employees. It will then conclude by analysing the situation that Van

Agt’s Doors is facing and how it relates to a Training and Development Programme

that is geared towards the company achieving its goals and inculcating a culture of

continuous training for individual employees, foster the culture of team work,

encourage cultural diversity and organisational values and emphasise on the need

for employees to be flexible in their orientation and be versatile for placement abroad.

2. The Four Siemens Workforce Competencies and Behaviours

a. Ability to Learn: Employees at Siemens have demonstrated their ability to

respond positively to training and re-skilling offered by their employer as part

of the company’s strategic approach to remain relevant in the globalising and

competitive environment. That the company has invested so much in the

training and development of its employees has seen it sustain its operations

for over 150 years; responding to the day to day challenges of having to

maintain its niche but also realizing that the world is changing rapidly and new

solutions are required for current situations, and only a trained and re-skilled

workforce can be able to withstand the test and still be relevant in the labour

market.

There is no doubt that their employees are excited to work for the company

as they exude a positive attitude to the company and its clients. Their

employees have become a strategic resource to win the company more

friends and customers as they are always motivated and provide a climate at

the workplace of cordiality and warmth.

b. Teamwork: Siemens uses cross border, cross cultural experiences as a

prerequisite for career advancement as it has deemed it necessary for uniting

and fostering a spirit of togetherness among its employees. This approach

minimizes conflict and unnecessary tension among its employees and

improves performance. The interest of the team and the company supersedes

that of an individual and destructive behaviour is contained.

Because its employees as individuals are highly motivated and happy, they

become role models for new comers in their company as they are able to give

4

5

them a proper induction so that they are converted into being team players

themselves.HR practitioners have also conceded that “a workforce is

necessarily composed of individuals, but a workplace in which the individuals

do not work together in positive ways will never perform to its full potential”

JaggXaxx (eHow Contributor).

c. Mutual Respect: “Diversity has a broader scope than race and gender.Today

offices include people of different ethnicities,ages,income levels,education

and physical abilities,bringing a melting pot of employees together.When

there’s mutual respect of each other’s differences,diversity can be an

asset.However,when poorly managed,diversity can breed resentment and

draw harsh lines between employees” Shala Munroe from Demand Media

Company. This is what Siemens appreciated among its employees that they

are diverse and the company need to use that diversity as strength and as its

asset by initiating activities that are aimed at building openness, transparency

and fairness.

d. Flexibility: Given that Siemens subscribes to the notion that “A living

organisation is a learning organisation”, it therefore means that its employees

are its invaluable asset for the attainment of its goals and improved

performance. The company’s classroom and hands-on apprenticeship

training will contribute towards its employees developing a broader

understanding of the business environment,appreciating the evolving

dynamics within the competitive global space, acquiring a broader

understanding of demographic, societal and cultural trends globally and

adapting to the ever changing nature of the labour relations environment.

Siemens opts for a time consuming method of training that requires patience

and resources. Their programme is well planned as it lives up to its belief that

its employees are their assets that need to be skilled and re-skilled from time

to time to improve their productivity levels. A flexible approach to training and

development will therefore ensure that they retain their staff yet at the same

time they improve on quality through innovation and creative thinking of their

workers.

3. Strategic Human Resource Outcomes for Siemens

5

6

a. Building a competent and skilful employee results in better human resource

reservoir capable of assisting the company to attain its goals and improve on

its productivity, performancemanagement ,product quality and workforce

retention. Siemens approach is appropriate because “change in an

organisation always involves changing the individual and is first focused on

individual development” (Schein, E.H.1979).

b. Improved performance is always a by-product of stable work environment

where individuals feel welcome and supported by their fellow colleagues. It

fosters a level of improved commitment and serves as motivation to play the

part. Siemens has used its training activities effectively to instil a culture of

collectivism that embraces divergent nature of its workforce and advancing its

strategic goal of being a leading global player. That it has found it necessary

to provide continuous training and development to its employees has fructified

the outcome of the study conducted by University Putra of Malaysia which

came to a conclusion that,” with the lack of evaluation, follow up and

continuous learning, attempts to maintain employees’ and motivation towards

their jobs can be ineffective. As such, the impact of these training activities on

team working and change may only be short-term, unless supported by

continuous learning and development”.

c. Siemens as a global and diverse company has responded aptly to the need to

build a workforce that has high regard for diversity both internally and

externally. It has built a dedicated team that understands the organisational

culture that fosters respect for other nationalities, cultures, languages and

outlooks and has used that as its strength and asset to penetrate into other

markets globally whilst sustaining its base. This approach speaks its quest to

being a market leader and developing locally designed solutions for local

challenges and leaving its footprint in those markets globally.

d. Developing a flexible workforce has increased Siemens’ profile and outlook in

that it has been able to dispatch its workforce into areas where it never had a

presence. This has also contributed in its workforce being exposed to other

realities that has presented themselves as opportunities for the company to

align its training and development with its strategic goal and make the

company to manage and retain its talent, maximise their performance and

offer them rewards that will make them not to consider any other employer

but maintain their commitment and loyalty to Siemens.

6

7

4. HRM Systems Policies for Siemens

a. Compensation and Benefit: Siemens regards its workforce as the most

valuable asset for their success and footprint in the global market; therefore,it

should pay attention to the need for a Compensation and Benefit Policy which

will ensure and attracts the best talent, retain such talent and keep it

motivated. Paying its employees well will lead to an improved job satisfaction

and adding non-financial benefits will motivate them further and the company

will be guaranteed low absenteeism and less staff turnover.

b. Labour Relations: This is the bedrock of any HR Strategy as it regulates

relations and also ensures that the company is abreast with different labour

relations legislation in the countries it is operating. It places HR beyond issues

of recruiting, compensation and benefits to respond to the external

environment that regulates how companies should treat its employees and

what recourse do employers have in a situation of conflict, and therefore,

Siemens as a global company will from time to time be affected by the labour

laws of the countries it has presence in.

c. Diversity Management:This is the most critical tool to ensure that Siemens

employees share the company’s vision and are able to embrace and support

their fellow workers within the parameters of stipulated code of conduct and

general behaviour expected of them. That the company operates in different

countries with a huge workforce makes it primarily important for its HR to

apply the principles of Strategic Human Resource Management in managing

diversity and maintaining cohesion of its workforce.

d. Employees Assistance and Wellness Programme: A diverse workforce comes

with challenges of individuals having to adapt and conform to the prevailing

situation and for Siemens to get the best out of its employees; it should

provide emotional and physical support, including psychosocial support to

both the employees and their families. Some employees might suffer due to

cultural shock or anxiety of having to relocate and work in unfamiliar

territories, and that might warrant interventions from mere counselling to

medical assistance.

5. Loopholes and Shortcomings of GSS

a. No Organisational Culture: Employees of the company follow a non-culture of

doing things which can lead to many problems including non-achieving of the

company’s strategic goals and maintenance of staff discipline. The company

7

8

is bound to register short term gains at the expense of long term reputation

which might cost its customers and future business to grow and expand.

b. The casualness of its employees and the laissez-faire management style of

its leadership have dire consequences for co-ordination and planning of the

company activities. The freedom that is given to employees may impact

negatively on staff development which could lead to the company losing

business. The company will forever suffer the consequences of untrained

workforce who have no shared vision of the company.

c. The company lacks experienced workers and is dominated by born-frees who

live life for now and do not care about planning for the future. These are

employees who are qualified but not skilful and less or no experienced to

execute tasks and are likely not to follow any orders or instructions as they

base their understanding of the work to be done more on what they have read

and not what they have experienced. The company’s cohesion and unitywill

always be informed by matured and visionary workforce that has institutional

memory and inculcates a particular culture of doing things and espousing

certain values.” The need to engage with colleagues, collaborate internally

and externally; approach most business decisions in a more humanistic

manner, all require greater experience”.(Gary Chaplin- Executive Head

Hunter)

d. Training and Development is not systematic and cannot be assessed in terms

of its impact as most of the so-called training is done with an assumption that

it will yield the required results. Their approach of “instant results” orientation

runs the risk of new recruits getting overwhelmed with the tasks and

responsibilities leading to them resigning due to pressure to perform. This will

cause the company too many resources to recruit, retain and reward

appropriately their workforce as the company will always face a high staff

turnover leading to it failing to deliver to their customers.

e. The company is likely to attract nice-timers and not performers who are more

interested in the socialising part than deliver on its key performance areas

and meet its strategic goals.

f. The company will always be a high risk to job prospects in that it does not

provide a stable working environment to new recruits and it does not

guarantee job security. The nature of the company discourages teamwork,

promotes self-serving interests and an unhealthy competition among staff

which ultimately will lead to tension and conflict in the company.

8

9

g. The company reputation is bound to suffer due to its failure to maintain

corporate image that speaks to its values and ethics that should be guiding its

employee’s behaviour and how they should relate to their customers.

6. GSS an appealing employer

a. No, GSS is a high risk company that has no defined culture that can guide

new recruits on how to conduct themselves and embrace the vision of the

company. It relies on individual knee-jack reaction to crucial matters affecting

the company as there is no clear line of communication. There is high level of

“management by default” as things are not done in a planned and coordinated

manner but are left to individual discretion with the hope that results will be

what everyone expects.

b. The company’s unity is always at risk as individuals come with their own

behaviours, cultures and different understanding and reaction to different

environments. This becomes a recipe for conflict in any company given that

there is no system of managing diversity and having a culture that is aligned

to the strategic goal of the company.

c. Lack of strategic direction in the company will always contribute to future un-

certainty and un-defined vision and hinders on staff development and re-

skilling to respond to changing circumstances that are as a result of dynamic

competitive business environment.

d. The company’s ad-hoc approach to formalise staff relations and behaviour

has impact on individual’s loyalty and commitment; working under such

conditions demotivates and makes a person feel lost as you lose the sense of

belonging and reserve your best performance.

e. The casual outlook of the company compromises its brand image and identity

which makes competitors to have an edge over it and no one would like to

associate with a company as a client that has no identity. Failure to have a

corporate culture will always result in people doubting the long term future of

the company and be reluctant to invest their money into such a company, and

this does not bode well for the future growth of such a company and its

employees.

7. Possible Solutions for GSS

a. The company needs to develop a recruitment plan that outlines its

organisational needs based on its strategic goals.

9

10

b. The recruitment plan must outlinewhat the job entails and the responsibilities

involved.

c. It needs to define what skills it requires for certain tasks and how relevant are

those tasks to its long term objectives.

d. Outlining of Key Result Areas should be clearly spelt out so that the

assessment that will follow is able to give the employee a sense of whether

they are delivering on the expected outcomes or whether they face certain

challenges that should be factored within the training and development

programme of the company.

e. Over and above all, the company needs to develop a company culture in

order to define for itself what are the values that will make it different from its

competitors; how can it make itself a better place for workers to work in or

aspire to work for and how can it position itself as a delightful and reliable

company for its customers.

8. Alpha Air Filter Company

The company’s approach to manage its human resource is based on an

old/traditional method of HR that is concerned and focused on hiring and

administering the payroll and focussing more on operational issues rather than

reviewing the strategic direction of the company and developing systems that will

ensure future planning and periodic review of performance and job assessment.That

it has been operating with employees who were not willing to share information about

what they were doing for so many years shows that the company lacked visionary

management and was being managed by people who were content with their comfort

zone and not planning for the future growth of the company. It has failed to address

the basic fundamentals of ensuring that there is smooth transition from the old timers

and the new entrants in the company using the old timers as their resource for

maintaining an uninterrupted performance. The following issues should have been

considered in conducting an effective job analysis in introducing new comers in the

company;

8.1. Interviews: The old timers have been with the company for ages and have regarded

themselves as being part of the life company; therefore, involving them in

processes of change in the company through one-on-one interviews would have

given the company management immense wisdom that is priceless to assist the

company management in conducting a solid job analysis. Their experience and the

number of years that they have been doing the job makes them unique in that they

have become the company’s reservoir of knowledge, and thinking that by giving

10

11

them a questionnaire to share their experiences and guide on how to develop a job

description is to deprive the company an invaluable input that requires a more

informal platform for the old timers to volunteer information.

8.1.2. On the Job Training: This is one of the most effective tools in ensuring that

the new comers are well inducted into what the old timers have been doing

for years. The old timers in most instances believe in practically doing things

than formulating theories and developing manuals. The company should have

employed the services of its HR to prepare the old timers in assisting with the

training of new comers much earlier as they knew that they will be going on

retirement, and this the old timers would have done with passion and

excitement as it speaks to their own reputation in leaving a legacy in the

company and imparting knowledge and skill to younger generation.

8.1.3. Keeping of Diaries: The older people like recording things and events and the

company should have used that to gather information on what they do on

daily basis to maintain their passion and assist the company to meet its

targets of orders on the filters it produces. That the company did not have a

well-oiled HR strategy that would have informed it on the strength and

uniqueness of its employees has resulted in the company hiring consultants

at exorbitant fees to conduct and exercise that they could have done

effectively without any costs.

8.1.4. Observation: New comers could have been made to observe the old timers

during their working time of producing filters as part of their induction

exercise, and this would have afforded them an opportunity interact with the

old timers. The observation method allows for the observer to benefit form not

only the work at hand but exposes them to also notice how workers treat each

other, how they relate to one another, how they give support to each other

and also how they complement each other working as a team to achieve a

particular goal. These are things that a questionnaire would not be able to

assist to get out of individuals but is possible if you have a company that has

moved from the traditional HR model to the Strategic Human Resource

Management model that is comprehensive and all-encompassing in making

its employees the mostly appreciated and valued assets.

8.2.1. Ignoring the old timers and writing the job description will be a wrong decision as

it would back-fire in the long run to the company. The job description will be

based on what they assume to be facts and this might have serious implications

for the profitability of the company and the quality of filters it produces.

Experience will never be replaced by money as it is always priceless and the

11

12

company should solicit the inputs of the old timers in order to emerge with a

comprehensive and progressive job description that speaks to the historical

performance of the company and what has sustained it to now leading to its filters

generating a huge demand in the market.

The old timers are the life-line of the company and they should always be given

their space to make inputs, especially on areas of their specialisation and strength.

They are the key stakeholder when it comes to the future planning of the company;

and allowing them to also share their wisdom in what should inform the job

description and the process of job analysis will lead to the company having a

smooth process of transition and maintaining the quality standards that they are

known for in the market.

8.2.2. Kenny should reconcile his differences with the old timers in order to get their co-

operation in participating in the process by proposing that they will be given a role

of being mentors post their retirement so that they do not withhold important

information in the process of job analysis. The company should also consider

offering them shares to be co-owners in the company and be appointed as non-

executive trustees in the company board so that their invaluable experience and

input is not lost. Out of this experience, Kenny must now look into the issue of the

company developing a High Performance Work Plan that will guide the company

on applying integrated Strategic Human resource Management approach that will

not only look at inputs in relation to personnel and outputs in relation to

production but also will be more on employee commitment and satisfaction and

increased performance of the company in terms of its strategic positioning in the

market and accessing other opportunities to increase its footprint.

9. Van Agt’s Doors

9.1. The company’s training process is ad-hoc and unsystematic and is likely to make it

suffer huge losses both in profit and running costs (overheads). Their training process

is not aligned to their broad strategic goal in that there is no dedicated plan that is

driven from management level to empower their employees with the necessary skills to

perform. The training that they offer to their employees seem to have no clearly defined

outcomes; workers seem to be lacking the required skills to perform and at the same

time their own development suffers as they seem to be navigating in darkness.

This process is not working for the company’s good performance in that it has failed to

identify the cause of this continuous problem of their employees not willing to see

12

13

things the way their President sees them.Their training lacks the three fundamental

factors (McKenna and Beech,2014:342-343) of defining the training needs of their

employees, rather than applying a one jacket fits all approach; identifying what training

will be necessary to deal with those needs so that this enhances their performance and

boost their confidence levels and increased morale; Evaluating the training provided to

check if it has brought some change in terms of individual behaviour and performance,

how it has assisted to build a team that pulls in one direction and compliments one

another and also if there has been improvements in the quality of doors produced as

this would see the company meeting its objective of improved performance in the

market and retaining its market share and business.

One of the huge flaws in their process is the collapse of organisational discipline which

is seen by their employees disregarding lawful instructions to do their job in a particular

manner and they decide to ignore such instruction and do what they like. Their problem

is also two fold in that there seem to be no line of communication as the President is

the one issuing instructions on operational matters and that communication seem to be

unclear or not properly communicated to them which has a danger of collapsing the

operational plans of the company.

The company is also suffering from lack of direction and vision and this can be

attributed to failure to have a training and development strategy. The absence of a

training and development strategy impacts negatively on the future of any company as

it demoralises and demotivates employees in that they always do not look forward to

going to work, they choose to be passive and not contribute to any discussion that

seeks to find a solution as they feel that they are not valued by the company,

employees end up using the company resources to seek employment from competing

companies at times sharing with competitors valuable company classified information.

The training and development strategy will assist to ensure that employees of the

company have a sense of where the company wants to go and what it wants to

achieve.It will afford management the opportunity to interact with their employees and

give them feedback on their performance, which is something that will make them more

excited and motivated. It will contribute towards building a complete employee that has

the right attitude, the right skill and the right culture that is linked to the company’s

strategic goals and future success. The strategy would also assist management to give

instructions that employees can easily understand and appreciate the intentions of such

instructions, which is what Sun Tzu in his classic work “The Art of War” cautions

against when he asserted that “giving the team a task that it cannot possibly perform is

called crippling the army”.

13

14

9.2. Improving Training Process

The training process at Van Agt’s Doors needs to be drastically reviewed so that it

becomes systematic and focussed.Their process must now start talking to what is the

vision of the company and what type of employees will it need to achieve its

objectives and goals both in the medium and long term. The company must develop a

training and development plan that will guide its approach on recruitment, training and

rewarding and also assess performance of both individuals and groups. “Proactive

organizations require innovative approaches to identify training and development

needs and implement solutions”. (DAVILL Recruitment SA).The following are key

result areas that their training and development plan should seek to achieve;

9.2.1. Enhance Individual’s skills and knowledge: Training of individuals in the job they

need to perform as well and ensuring that employees are placed in jobs that are

relevant to their understanding and skill is of paramount importance. This will lead

to employees not being unduly under pressure to perform resulting in them

committing a string of errors and compromising quality output. Confident and

motivated employee are key for the company’s success and the company is able

to know what type of resource does it have and how to develop it to being long

term assets that will help the company achieve its long term strategic goals.

Knowing your employees will also help determine appropriate remuneration and

reward as the placement and upward mobility of their employees which will earn

the management of the company much respect including its President.

9.2.2. Value adding: The training and development plan should be integrated within the

broader business plan of the company and add value in the systems and

processes of the company to deliver on efficiency, productivity and financial

viability of the company. The company should improve on its efficiency by

deploying its human and material resources properly and ensure that there is

accountability in all fronts on effort, promise and results. A simple illustration that

Van Agt’s Doors must follow is what The Sergay Group, Ltd on their website

gives on the interconnectedness of training and development and the

organisational strategy and vision below;

14

15

Strategic Training and Development should clearly spell out the Vision of Van Agt’sDoors and follow that with the Objectives and Action Plans of the company.

15