1. Relationship of MR tol Business Strategy

Question 1

Relationship of HR to Objectives and Strategies?

Answer 1

• Relates to the ongoing management of a vital resource and asset – people.
• Creating and managing the effective relationship between management and its employees is very important if an organisation is to gain a competitive advantage in its business environment.
• HR policies and practices must be firmly linked to its strategic orientation, goals, planning and decision-making.
• Ensures right people are recruited, inducted, trained, compensated, motivated and appraised.

Question 2

Key Performance Indicators linked to HRM.?

Answer 2

Profit: HR Managers need to ensure that wages are appropriate and not too expensive.
Training can also be costly, but may provide benefits.

Staff Satisfaction:The recruitment process is costly, so retaining staff that have the required skills and knowledge is essential.
Work/Life balance strategies could assist in attracting and retaining valuable staff.

Efficiency leading to increased productivity: If workers have been properly trained, their efficiency levels should increase.

Competitiveness: If workers are motivated they will work hard, leading to a more competitive organisation.
LSO’s that have a reputation for providing good working conditions, training opportunities and career paths will attract the highest quality applicants when recruiting.
This gives LSO’s a competitive edge.

Question 3

HOW HR supports an organisation’s overall business strategy and objectives?

Answer 3

• Change is ever-present in the modern organisation, whether private corporation or government department. HRM is critical in a changing environment.

• In the language of management handbooks, ‘managing people is managing change’.
For change to be successful, people must understand the need for change and why they need to be part of it.
Without commitment by the personnel of the organisation, change of any sort has very little chance of success.

• Currently there is a trend in large organisations towards outsourcing some of the activities and responsibilities of human resource managers, that is, outside specialists are employed (contracted) to do HR work.
 Outsourcing HR has advantages: services are bought as required and they are provided by specialists and may be more effective than the existing HR arrangements in some organisations.

• However, the extent of outsourcing of HRM is still very limited. Reasons for this include that much of the work requires a thorough understanding of the culture and practices of a particular organisation, and the work is likely to involve personal communication and trust, which is usually only built up over time.

Question 4

HOW HR has to work closely with other departments in a large organisation?

Answer 4

• The main concern of management today is high levels of productivity, that is, more output (product) from a quantity of inputs (costs to an organisation).In the quest for productivity improvements, people are clearly vital inputs or resources.
• Management theory has come to focus on the importance of the human resource—a motivated and skilled staff that complements the organisation’s business strategy.
• In the 2000s, HR is developing from a separate administrative task into a fully integrated function of the organisation. HR is seen as directly serving a company’s strategy and objectives.
• As the contribution of HR to business success has been recognised, HR managers are increasingly involved at the strategic planning level.