Discussion Assignment #1 1- What are some of the ways in which HR becomes a strategic business partner? Requires concurrent strategy formulation HR professionals play a more strategic role, moving from outsider to insider status. HR managers must appreciate marketing, financial, and operational issues. HR Becomes A strategic Business Partner The HR senior management team moves from outsider status to insider status. The implications are not trivial. HR managers must understand the numbers language of business or the outcome expectations of non profit organizations. They must be able to understand analyses presented by marketing, financial, and operational managers. Cost benefit assessments of options within the HR domain will have to be prepared and defended. Entrepreneurial instincts will have to be sharpened as HR managers will be expected to engage in scanning HR capabilities for business opportunities in this two-way approach to strategic HR planning Alternative solutions to problems have to be generated. For example: If the low-cost strategy depends on hiring personnel at minimum wage HR managers have to develop strategies to deal with rapid training and high turnover rates. This option will have to be compared with outsourcing use of robots or even increasing wages to reduce the costs of turnover. The HR manager is no longer the auditor but a partner and problem solver. Linkages between the HR manager and other managers both formal and informal ensure that this partnership role is enacted. Strategic Partnering Human resources professionals recognize the need to play a more strategic role within the organization executive teams expect most of them to be more strategic and to demonstrate added value over the next five years. Some argue that it is because management is not satisfied with HR services in general that people issues belong only to HR and HR can take care of any problems in executing the strategy. Surveys have found that CEOs want HR to be business people first then HR leaders. These attitudes are changing as organizations realize the impact CEOs want HR to be business people first then HR leaders CEOs wish that HR executives would be less concerned with narrow HR policies and processes and focus on answering the question. Do we have the organization design and people to achieve our plan? Becoming More Strategic HR departments are restructuring in order to be able to do the basics right (payroll, safety training, and so on) while enhancing the performance of business units and supporting strategic moves. Traditionally, HR has been organized into functional units (training, compensation, and so on). However, there are some more innovative practices, where the unit is organized according to the services provided. Page 1 of 3
HR departments are restructuring in order to be able to do the basics right while enhancing the performance of business units and supporting strategic moves 2- An economic trend to watch is the increasing price of fuel. Discuss how this has impacted organizations. Can you predict how it will impact working patterns of employees? What policies should the