Brief Answer Paper: Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic Human Resource Management Assignment

Having considered your performance with the Poster Presentation, we would like to give further guidance as to how to tackle this assignment.  The task is given below.

Assessment Task

Using the findings of your formative group work, please produce a report considering the following areas:

1. Using a variety of academic sources critically analyse the environments in which High-tech Co is currently operating taking into consideration their future expansion.

1. Using appropriate concepts and models of Strategic Human Resource Management suggest policies and procedures that the CEO should adopt in order to become an employer of choice and to attract and retain talented employees.  You should consider how they can develop the organisation to attain a workable management structure with an appropriate rewards strategy to attract high calibre candidates.  Consideration should be given to the existing employees’ functions and how these can be incorporated into the business without causing conflict

1. Make recommendations as to how the development of the business and HRM strategic plans can increase the performance of the organisation with particular reference to establishing new approaches or methods of managing the human resources of High Tech Co whilst remaining competitive in their market place.  You should also identify any limitations for the company seeking to expand in such a way including cultural differences along with different working practices and employment legislation between countries
   
   

Brief

What is required of you is to demonstrate that you have an excellent understanding and knowledge of the SHRM literature and can effectively select useful frameworks /models and concepts to help the CEO make a sense of what she need to do in terms of strategic management of people to drive performance.

The assessment should be in report format

Introduction (500 words)

(1)Introduce the case study in few words and (2) identify the key strategic issues faced by the company (3) outline the plan that you need to follow in the development (this should be a summary of the task’s questions)

Development (4,000 words)

(1)  Using a variety of academic sources critically analyse the environments in which High-tech Co is currently operating taking into consideration their future expansion.

Here you need to be clear about environments- it includes both (external and internal).

• What models/frameworks you think are important to do such analysis? 
• How would you apply them?
• How would you critique these models/ concepts/ frameworks? Do research to find out who are the critics of the models.
• What are the implications of your analyses?( these will constitute later your recommendations)

Tips: Avoid using long listed bullet points when using PESTEL or SWOT.  Focus on keys points that have importance to the case study and draw out implications.

Why don’t you use Porter’s five forces to analyse the industry structure and derive the attractiveness of the market and how High Tech Co could organise it business strategy and align it to the SHRM.

Ensure you use literature to define concepts such as: culture, structure, strategy, strategic HRM.

2-Using appropriate concepts and models of Strategic Human Resource Management suggest policies and procedures that the CEO should adopt in order to become an employer of choice and to attract and retain talented employees.  You should consider how they can develop the organisation to attain a workable management structure with an appropriate rewards strategy to attract high calibre candidates.  Consideration should be given to the existing employees’ functions and how these can be incorporated into the business without causing conflict

Be careful in this second question there is a lot in there; and you need to break this in chunks:

• The first phrase sets out a goal of becoming ‘an employer of choice’.  Use literature to explain what this mean.  And understand that this is about Strategic Resourcing of people.  Key words: policies and Procedures

Here again don’t forget to use models/frameworks and concepts.  Follow the four questions about how to apply models as outlined above

• The second phrase sets to test you in terms of organisational structure literature and how structure may drive performance.  How might you reward the high performers (Reward strategy literature is the focus here).

You must use literature, references to support any claim you make.

• The last phrase is concerned with the literature on Employee Relations literature.  Again ensure you use models /frameworks to explicitly demonstrate what needs to be put in place to achieve smooth change.  Change management literature could be used to support this argument. 

3-Make recommendations as to how the development of the business and HRM strategic plans can increase the performance of the organisation with particular reference to establishing new approaches or methods of managing the human resources of High Tech Co whilst remaining competitive in their market place.  You should also identify any limitations for the company seeking to expand in such a way including cultural differences along with different working practices and employment legislation between countries

You must be careful not to include new ideas here.  Your recommendations should be linked to the implications you draw out of your analysis.

• The first phrase set to challenge you to demonstrate that your analyses above to make sense in linking the Business and HRM strategy plans.  This is a detailed ‘how to’ approach.
• The next phrase is about the limitations. Again yes because you have use the literature on employee relations and change management above, you are now in the right place to outline the limitations.

Conclusion (500 words)

Here you need to deduce from everything else you say above what position you want the CEO to follow with sound logical approach.

Do not introduce new ideas here.  Make sure that your conclusion grabs the attention of the CEO.

References, you must use references that are credible, reliable, and from academic sources (e.g. published academic textbooks, articles from academic peer-reviewed journals)

Make sure that all cited references are listed in the references list in appropriate and standardised formats.

Good luck!