HRM ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by SAVITHA.B 2012PGP050

Q. Based on my understanding of the discussions, assigned reading and review of the Harvard HRM model what according to me are the learnings for a General Manager? And why? The following are my learnings as a Manager from the readings, discussions in the class and the Harvard HRM model. I have divided my learnings into 3 sub divisions - i.e. from each of the article that I read and from the model. Learning from paper How does Human Resource Management influence Organizational Outcomes? A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Mediating Mechanisms To retain the talented and skilled employees in work, the managers have to employ HR practices to enhance both the employee skills and motivation at work. This in turn will help the company to achieve its operational and financial objectives. The company and the manager must devote more attention to recruitment, selection and training while in the process of enhancing employee skills. For motivating the employees to work, managers must also consider employee appraisal, employee compensation and also job satisfaction. The research has proved that HR practices have an impact on the financial performance of the company. Hence, managers must look to employing HR practices to improve financial performance of the company. The most important learning as a manager from the journal is that there are 3 dimensions of HR system skill enhancing, motivation enhancing and opportunity enhancing HR practices which have a positive impact on the human capital, employee motivation, and voluntary turnover, operational and financial outcomes. This gives a substantial proof to the evolving concept of Strategic HRM wherein the domain of HR aids in contributing to the financial improvement of any organization. Managers should adopt practices such as competitive compensation, extensive benefits, and job security to attract capable employees and retain them in organizations, and practices such as work teams, employee involvement, and flexible job design to provide employees with opportunities to share knowledge and to learn new skills. Factors like leadership and organizational culture also have an important impact on employee motivation. Therefore, managers may consider how these factors can complement the effects of HR practices in enhancing employee motivation.

Learning from HR Practices at Aditya Birla Group: Radical innovation in HR can be brought about by the manager due to phased liberalization that has created a dynamic, turbulent and hypercompetitive business environment precisely why Global Managers are the need of the hour. The manager can sail through competition by innovative HR practices and utilize employee creativity and innovation in alignment with the HR practices. He should enhance HR professionals competencies for better business performance, deriving high contribution from them and not tolerate complacency.

There is a need for employee retention, getting, keeping and growing talent in company and keeping a track of common understanding of mission, clear expectations, compliance, commitment and capability. A good manager needs to know all this. The real manager is the one who has the courage to give the employees freedom to take their own decisions as well as giving importance and significance to the decisions of the employees. As a manager we must also be ready to listen to the employees which was reiterated by Mr. Allen from Mahindra Group. He said how Anand Mahindra would listen to his team during board room meetings and then give his suggestions.

Learnings from HARVARD HR Model

As managers we need to take responsibility for employee inuence, human resource ow, reward systems and work systems, regardless of the size of the organization. Different stakeholders have different interests and, for an organization to be effective, managers need to take these interests into account. Also General Managers need to develop a viewpoint of how they wish to see employees involved in and developed by the enterprise, and of what HRM policies and practices may achieve these goals. We also need to stress on the alignment of competitive strategy and personnel policies and have the mission of setting policies that govern how personnel activities are developed and implemented in mutually enforcing ways. Also longer term perspective should be considered by managers while making HRM policies because short term outcomes are relatively unaffected by HRM policies. Last but not the least, as a Manager we must ensure that the HR policies be developed as a central philosophy or a strategic vision rather than treating HRM as a set of independent activities, each guided by its own practices and traditions.