Introduction
During the recent years, the traditional discussion of the human resource management (HRM) policies was changed with the accentuation of the strategic human resource management (SHRM) as the way to overcome the possible challenges and to respond to the contemporary trends of the developed global business.
The researchers and economists state that the orientation to the strategic human resource management is advantageous, and it contributes to the company’s progress within the industry. However, it is important to focus on the differences between the traditional human resource management and strategic human resource management as the more innovative approach.
According to Davidson, HR professionals should “bring their specialist HR functions more closely into alignment with corporate objectives and strategies” (Davidson as cited in Stone 2011, p. 36). This idea reflects the main function of SHRM which is to implement and use HR practices and policies effectively in order to achieve the definite organizational goals.
Thus, the aim of the paper is to discuss the particular features of SHRM in relation to such concepts as the correlation between HR and strategic goals, sustainability, competitive advantage, corporate planning and performance which reflect the definite aspects of the company’s progress.
To discuss all the mentioned aspects, it is important to concentrate on the specifics of SHRM, on the methods to make the shift from HRM to SHRM, on the role of HR in the company’s development, and on the possible barriers to complete the task.
The Particular Features of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) in Comparison with Human Resource Management (HRM)
Today, the accents in the business world are made on the globalization processes and a number of integration strategies. From this point, the concept of strategic HRM is more appropriate to be used to compete effectively within any industry.
It is not enough to discuss human resources independently within the company, and SHRM is oriented to integrating HR policies and to the realization of the definite organizational goals with the help of HR. The concept of SHRM was developed because of the necessity to respond to the changes in the approaches to the organizational performance and evaluation of HR.
It was found that the short-term goals and actions used for HRM were ineffective to correlate with the determined company’s goals which could be discussed as more general in character (Brandenburg, Haas & Byrom 2006). That is why, the long-term strategic goals were accentuated with references to the developed HRM policies.
Thus, many HR practices and policies can be effectively used to contribute to the organizational performance and the general effectiveness of the work when they are discussed in relation to the company’s strategies and goals (Lado 2000). The development and implementation of SHRM policies and practices within the firm depends on some factors.
It is necessary to use the possibilities of HR such as knowledge and skills appropriately, for the company’s further progress and for completing the organizational objectives. From this perspective, HR management systems can contribute much to the organization’s development and form the company’s competitive advantage.
The competitive advantage of using human resources effectively is in managing the costs and these resources appropriately and in gaining more benefits from integrating the human resources and the developed strategic policies within the company.
Brandenburg, Haas, and Byrom pay attention to the fact that the competitive advantage can be achieved only “with effective systems of human resource management practices” (Brandenburg, Haas, & Byrom 2006, p. 89)
. Thus, the HR management is important to achieve the definite level of the corporate performance according to the developed business strategy. That is why, human resources can be discussed as the only way to implement the definite firm’s competitive strategy effectively (Brandenburg, Haas, & Byrom 2006, p. 89).
It is possible to explain Davidson’s statement with references to the main idea of SHRM. Thus, HR professionals are not independent in their activities, and it is more advantageous for the organization when HR professionals also focus on the larger perspective. In this situation, their vision can be discussed as a strategic one.
HR professionals should play the significant role in developing and implementing definite strategies to complete the company’s goals. HR strategies should not be focused only on completing the narrow goals fixed within the department (Brewster 1999, p. 46).
According to Becton and Schraeder, “the importance of the need for a ‘fit’ between HR strategy and the overall business strategy cannot be over emphasized” (Becton & Schraeder 2009, p. 14). The traditional functions of HR professionals should be rethought from the point of their strategic importance.
Thus, the principles of SHRM are based on the fact that such functions as the employees’ recruitment, selection, and training should be determined by the company’s strategic goals. All the HR programs and practices used in the company can be discussed as more effective when they are correlated with the larger strategic plans of the whole organization.
SHRM can be considered by many HR professionals as a challenging approach because the main accents are made on the results of the activities and certain practices.
If HRM policies traditionally work within the definite department, SHRM policies are developed to combine the efforts of the representatives of several departments within the firm in order to present the definite positive results as the outcomes of the strategic planning and strategic approach to the work organization (Kazmi & Ahmad 2001).
Becton and Schraeder state that “HR must place more emphasis on results and work to understand how internal decisions and actions affect the bottom line” (Becton & Schraeder 2009, p. 15). In this case, the orientation of HR professionals and the staff to the completion of the definite tasks and strategic goals is more important for the company than the accentuation of the process itself.
The Shift from HRM to SHRM
To start the implementation of the principle of SHRM within the company, it is important to determine such significant factors as the orientation to the human resources with references to their skills, knowledge, and commitment; the necessity of new approaches to monitoring and managing the work of the human resources; the integration of HRM practices and policies with the company’s strategies which were worked out in relation to the definite strategy (Karami, Analoui & Cusworth, 2004, p. 52).
Moreover, there are three stages according to which it is possible to transform the traditional HRM approach into the contemporary SHRM approach.
Krishnan and Singh concentrate on such stages as the formulation of the business HR strategy in relation to the vertical fit; the implementation of the definite strategy according to the company’s objectives and principles; the evaluation of the results in relation to the horizontal fit (Krishnan & Singh 2011).
It is important to determine the company’s mission and goal in relation to the definite strategy at the early stage because these facts can be discussed as basic ones to develop the further plan of actions for the company to follow.
Furthermore, the stage of formulating the business strategy with references to the human resources is the period when the environmental analysis is important, and it can be discussed as the necessary one to continue the development of this or that strategy (Farazmand 2004). The last task at this stage is the formulation of the strategy for its further implementation.
It is significant to determine all the steps in the strategy’s development and pay attention to the expected and desired outcomes at these stages. The next stage is the implementation.
Many HR professionals can experience some difficulties at this stage because their competence is challenged with the necessity to adapt and transform the traditional HRM practices, programs, and policies to implement the definite new strategy which was developed in association with the other departments (Budhwar 2000). Nevertheless, it is possible to speak about the effectiveness of this or that strategy only after its evaluation.
The activity of the employees should be evaluated from the point of its effectiveness for completing the determined goals and objectives. As a result, the new role of the HR manager is to monitor the activities of the employees in relation to their appropriateness to the completion of some business objectives.
To integrate HRM practices into the plan of the strategic development of the firm, it is important to combine the efforts of the HR professionals oriented to the development of HRM with the efforts of the representatives of the other firm’s department. The selection and training processes and practices realized by the HR managers should be correlated with the decisions in relation to the firm’s strategy and possible outcomes (Brewster 1999).
From this point, the activity of HR professionals should be more diverse to respond to the requirements of the modern global tendencies, and HRM should be integrated into the company’s strategic development.
Kazmi and Ahmad pay attention to the fact that “SHRM is a planning process and the resulting plan must be a long-term plan” (Kazmi & Ahmad 2001, p. 139). That is why, the company’s human resources should be involved in the planning process to achieve the definite goal with the help of the certain strategy chosen by the specialists.
Nevertheless, the process of transforming the HRM into the effective SHRM is rather complicated. In spite of the fact the HR professionals can successfully perform and manage the work of the staff, the goals and perspectives which are provided by the HR professionals can differ significantly from the objectives determined by the specialists in relation to the developing strategies.
That is why, the combination of HRM and strategic management depends on the assessment of the general role of the company’s human resources in the strategic planning (Becton & Schraeder 2009). The main advantage of SHRM is the possibility to combine the efforts of the company’s human resources and strategic managers in order to accomplish the definite goal.
The Role of Human Resources in the Company’s Development
Each employee within the company has definite duties and fixed responsibilities. The task of the HR manager is to help employees complete their tasks effectively and perform according to the company’s standards. The task of the HR professional who works using the SHRM methods is to improve the work of human resources and to be oriented to the company’s strategic goals.
The employees should work as a team to complete the task and achieve the goal (Brandenburg, Haas & Byrom 2006). SHRM is based on the idea of the organizational learning when the employees work in a team to combine their efforts and to present the definite positive results which are significant in the context of the company’s strategic plan.
Thus, SHRM is oriented to the collective work and on the abilities performed by each individual (Budhwar 2000). HR managers should focus on recruiting and training the skilled employees to respond to the company’s needs in relation to the human resources.
Thus, such concepts as the work-life balance and employees’ performance are discussed from the other perspective, and it is the HR managers’ task to create the necessary conditions for the employees to lessen the turnover and increase the productivity and performance of the staff (Teo et al. 2008).
However, the effective completion of the strategic goals is impossible without referencing to the traditional HR practices of reward and recognition in order to motivate and stimulate the employees. SHRM depends on the provision of the effective performance of human resources for developing the ideas and strategies.
That is why, SHRM is also based on such HR practices as the selection and training which are used to increase the employees’ potential and develop their skills and abilities orienting to the employees’ motives and to the organization’s values (Karami, Analoui & Cusworth 2004).
From this point, the combination of the traditional HR practices with the new goals can be used as the method to contribute to the improvement of the human resources’ performance.
As a result, the role of human resources in contributing to the achievement of the definite business goals is more obvious with references to SHRM. Kazmi and Ahmad state that the “concept ‘our people make the difference’ is the outcome of that theme” (Kazmi & Ahmad 2001, p. 138).
Thus, those employees who are effectively selected, trained, and motivated can contribute much to the company’s development, and the realization of the definite strategy depends on the cooperation of the team members (Lado 2000). That is why, HR professionals are responsible for using more innovative approaches to organizing the work of employees and contributing to their productivity and high performance.
It is necessary to concentrate on the role of the organizational performance as one of the outcomes of using the principles of SHRM. HR professionals can provide the effective organizational performance when it is connected with the methods of the organizational theory and culture.
Basing on the developed and accentuated organizational culture, it is possible to stimulate and motivate the employees and lead them to the organizational success and positive outcomes (Karami, Analoui & Cusworth 2004).
When the organizational culture is strong the new approaches which are related to SHRM are implemented quicker and can result in many positive outcomes (Teo et al. 2008, p. 686). Nevertheless, it is the HR professionals’ task to contribute to strengthening the organizational culture and achieving the corporate goals.
The Possible Barriers to Implement SHRM
HR departments and professionals traditionally focus on stimulating and reinforcing their employees to contribute to their good performance. SHRM is based on involving human resources and HR professionals in resolving the strategic questions directly, guaranteeing the larger perspective for actions.
It is important for HR professionals to monitor the employees’ activities from the point of their relevance to the definite strategy in order to provide the competitive advantage (Krishnan & Singh 2011).
The problem is in the fact that it is rather difficult for HR professionals to rethink their major function and orient to the cooperation with the departments which work to develop the company’s strategy. The main task of the HR professional is to overcome the first barrier and state the necessity to stimulate the firm’s human resources in order to achieve the determined and fixed business objectives.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that it is a new approach to discuss HR not only as the developed operational system but also as the necessary component to work out the definite strategy. HR professionals should cope with the mentioned barrier in their activity when the impact of the human resources on the decision-making process and the general planning is not discussed.
According to the traditional HRM scheme, HR professionals pay much attention to the administration issues and monitoring without references to the strategic planning (Kazmi & Ahmad 2001). This approach can be considered as the significant barrier to realize the principles of SHRM within the company because of the lack of the HR professionals’ readiness to transform the traditional system into the new one which is more effective.
Being challenged by the necessity to respond to the large perspective and strategic goals, HR professionals can experience many problems with implementing the principles of SHRM within the company. However, following the three stages of the new system’s implementation, it is important to pay much attention to the evaluation stage. HR professionals’ task is to identify the best practices and programs which were used.
It is necessary to concentrate on the programs which were effective to inter-relate the activities of the human resources and different departments to accomplish the strategic goals (Farazmand 2004). It is important to note that the review of HR performance in relation to completing the SHRM plan is significant in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the used methods and techniques.
Conclusion
Many researchers agree that traditional approaches to HRM do not work in the modern competitive business environment. That is why, it is important to transform the traditional methods and use the SHRM principles in order to integrate the possibilities and potentials of human resources and the company’s strategies to achieve the definite strategic goal.
HR professionals should analyze the corporate tasks and goals from the large perspective and correlate the human resources’ skills and abilities with the company’s goals. This approach can be discussed as more advantageous because SHRM is oriented to the effective planning which leads to the success and positive results.
Human resources and HRM should not be discussed as independent approaches because of the ineffectiveness of this method. The processes of integration are more appropriate in the context of the global competition. Thus, the integration of human resources and corporate strategies and goals in relation to SHRM methods is not only popular business tendency but also it is the effective approach.
Reference List
Becton, B & Schraeder, M 2009, “Strategic Human Resource Management: Are we there yet?” Journal for Quality & Participation, vol. 31 no. 4, pp. 11-18.
Brandenburg, S, Haas, C & Byrom, K 2006, “Strategic management of Human Resources in construction”, Journal of Management in Engineering, vol. 22 no. 2, pp. 89-96.
Brewster, C 1999, “Strategic Human Resource Management: the value of different paradigms”, Management International Review, vol. 39 no. 3, pp. 45-64.
Budhwar, P 2000, “Evaluating levels of strategic integration and devolvement of human resource management”, Personnel Review, vol. 29 no. 2, pp. 141-161.
Farazmand, A 2004, “Innovation in Strategic Human Resource Management: Building capacity in the age of globalization”, Public Organization Review, vol. 4 no. 1, pp. 3-24.
Karami, A, Analoui, F & Cusworth, J 2004, “Strategic Human Resource Management and resource-based approach: The evidence from the British manufacturing Industry”, Management Research News, vol.27 no. 6, pp. 50-68.
Kazmi, A & Ahmad, F 2001, “Differening approaches to Strategic Human Resource Management”, Journal of Management Research, vol. 1 no. 3, pp. 133-140.
Krishnan, S & Singh, M 2011, “Strategic Human Resource Management: a three-stage process model and its influencing factors”, South Asian Journal of Management, vol. 18 no. 1, pp. 60-70.
Lado, A 2000, “Strategic Human Resource Management”, The Academy of Management Review, vol. 25 no. 3, pp. 677-679.
Stone, R 2011, Human Resource Management, John Wiley & Sons, UK.
Teo, S, Lakhani, B, Brown, D & Malmi, T 2008, “Strategic human resource management and knowledge workers: A case study of professional service firms”, Management Research News, vol.31 no. 9, pp. 683-696.