Questions and Answers of Contemporary Human Resource

To what extent do staffing processes at the Dionysos reflect the strategic approach to recruitment and selection encapsulated by the conceptual framework and model depicted in Key Concepts 8.4 and
To what extent does the process used to recruit Ryan Parry reflect a strategic approach to recruitment and selection? It is recommended that you conduct your analysis against the conceptual framework
Southco is a medium-sized American-owned global manufacturer of access hardware solutions, such as latches and hinges, used for applications in the aircraft, railway, computer and automotive
INA Bearing Company is a medium-sized manufacturer of high-precision engine components for the automotive industry. Based in Llanelli, South Wales, it is one of a number of manufacturing companies
How would you map out the benefits of HRP identified in the above analysis against the ‘regulation’, ‘control’ and ‘shape’ phases of Ulrich’s (1987) model of transitions in SHRP (see
1 What do people talk about when they talk about careers?2 On the basis of your answers above, construct a definition of career. Why do you think this is an appropriate definition at the present
You are an HR manager working in a busy training department in a local government office. The department has a well-established managing diversity policy. Within that policy it is explicit that
In Chapter 17 we reviewed the changing policy context for employee participation, in particular the on-going tension between management choices for employee participation and recent regulations for
Employee participation has retained a central role in HRM over the last two decades. It can be seen as a key component of best-practice HRM and high-commitment management leading to improved
A&B is a chain of department stores, selling clothes, food and hardware. It employs 10,000 UK workers in retail, distribution and office positions, mostly on permanent, full-time contracts. In
Girlie Glitter Co. is a UK-based chain of retail outlets whose products and services are marketed primarily at 3–13-year-old girls. The team who designed the concept took the theme of ‘girl
It has been eight months and although a lot has happened you seem to be in the same position trying to get Lee to follow your directions and requests.Since the meeting with Lee and Chris where they
Jen: Ok Carmel sets high standards but what is wrong with that? Ingrid just needs to pull up her socks and get to work and stop worrying about Carmel. I really don’t think that Carmel has been
In pairs reflect on the interpersonal conflicts you may have experienced, witnessed or heard about in the workplace and make a list of anti-social behaviours that occur in the workplace Consider if
The focus of this case is on the impact of private equity (PE) interventions on human resource management in a hospital. In its simplest form, private equity firms buy a profitable company and sell
Like the creatures grazing the open grasslands of Africa, firms known as ‘gazelles’ are not just fast (in this case, fast growing), but hard to hunt down. That’s partly because they are rare.
Mother London is a creative organization employing around 280 people and part of Mother Holdings which has 20 companies with around 700 people including freelancers. Established in 1996, Mother works
Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) provides Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and consultancy services to 45 major clients. They were the first to introduce the concept of RPO in 1996 and are now the
This case study examines the practice of performance appraisal in an NHS Trust hospital. North Trust (NT) is a whole district Trust in the northeast of England serving a community of a quarter of a
Even by the standards of modern management myths, the British Airways transformation is impressive. At the end of the 1970s and the start of the 1980s BA was performing disastrously against almost
Define reward management and strategic reward management;
Explain the factors in the external environment that have led to the increased interest in strategic reward management;
Analyse the links between intra-organisational factors that impact upon strategic reward management.
What obstacles stand in the way of the more widespread adoption of work–life balance policies?
What problems occur to you when you look at Figure 11.2?Figure 11.2: External environment ORGANISATION S BUSINESS STRATEGY OVERALL HR STRATEGY Reward strategy Cultural strategy Structural strategy
Moving from a situation where all pay is base pay to one where there is a combination of base and variable pay does carry with it threats. What may these be?
What may be some of the potential disadvantages of competence-based pay?
The Tibbett and Britten Group (TBG) is a UK-based international logistics service provider. Its main customers are retailers and manufacturers, to whom it provides warehouse, distribution and
Explain the importance of the employment relationship to SHRM.
Define the employment relationship.
Evaluate the strategic approaches to managing the employment relationship.
Identify the various formats for organising the employment relationship at a range of levels.
Define employee involvement and voice.
Assess the linkages between SHRM and employee relations.
Evaluate the concepts of partnership and the psychological contract.
Define the employment relationship and discuss the changes that have taken place to the relationship in recent years.
Fox (1966) clearly believed that the pluralistic perspective on employee relations was the most valid and realistic way to manage the employment relationship.Given the emergence of the HRM models of
Choose an organisation with which you are familiar and, using Guest’s evaluation of the four possible approaches to the management of the employment relationship, describe the current employment
Consider the arguments for and against the development and introduction of a partnership agreement in an organisation.
To what extent is the ‘new’ psychological’ contract a myth dreamed up by HR commentators to add a new dimension to discussions about SHRM?
In other case studies presented in this book the focus of analysis has been at the organisational level and presented company-based cases. Managing the employment relationship in a strategic manner
Explain the differences between managing diversity and equal opportunities approaches to diversity management and the debates relating to these approaches.
Explore the interdependence of managing diversity and equal opportunities approaches in managing human resources strategically.
Evaluate the business case for diversity management.
Note down the changes in the EU’s population highlighted by Figures 13.1 and 13.2.i. How are these predicted changes likely to impact upon the composition of the labour force in relation to full-
What do you consider to be the strengths and limitations of the equal opportunities and the managing diversity approaches to diversity management?
Outline the strengths and limitations for diversity management of the equal opportunities approach.
Outline the strengths and limitations for diversity management of the managing diversity approach.
To what extent is it appropriate to support a positive climate for diversity management for purely business-focused reasons rather than as part of its cultural values?
Worcestershire County Council is the local authority responsible for providing education; social services for children, older people and others in need; road maintenance and building; and libraries
Explain the purpose of downsizing and analyse the problems associated with its use;
Identify a range of organisational strategies to downsize and evaluate their implications;
Discuss the significance of employee involvement and influence in relation to the implementation of downsizing;
Describe the nature of survivors’ reactions to downsizing and the existence of moderating variables affecting these, and evaluate their significance for organisations using this type of change
Discuss the role of organisational theories and HR interventions to provide strategies to manage the process of downsizing more effectively;
Explore the implications of outsourcing for SHRM;
Analyse the role downsizing plays in contributing to organisational HR strategies and the interrelationships with other HR interventions such as performance management, employee involvement and
Using Shaw and Barrett-Power’s (1997) definition of downsizing (outlined earlier), which of the following events would you classify as downsizing methods: compulsory redundancy, early retirement,
Why might the requirement to adopt a proactive downsizing strategy in order to minimise its negative consequences be difficult to achieve in practice?
Which factors related to the methods used to implement downsizing might affect managerial control and employee influence over the process?
How would you react to the redundancy of colleagues in the organisation for which you work, or in an organisation for which you have worked? (Perhaps you have actually experienced this event. If you
Outline how perceptions of distributive, procedural, informational and interpersonal treatment may impact positively on downsizing survivors’ reactions.
About 4,000 MG Rover workers who lost their jobs after the carmaker went into administration have received redundancy payments averaging £5,000 each.The £20m-plus payout, which will ultimately be
Define the term strategy.
Describe and evaluate a range of approaches to strategy making.
Analyse links between different approaches to strategy and human resource management (HRM).
Understand the significance of strategic integration to explore links between strategy and HRM and its multi-dimensional nature.
Analyse the resource-based view of the organisation and describe key concepts related to this approach.
Describe and evaluate links between resource-based theory and HRM.
Is it possible to reconcile any of these four approaches to strategy making in practice and if so how might this occur?
What is the scope for the strategic integration of HRM in relation to each of the four approaches to strategy making discussed in this section?
Think of an organisational situation with which you are familiar. This may be one in which you are currently employed or one that you have worked for previously, or another organisation known to
How would you relate the resource-based view to the dichotomy between the planning school and the learning school that we discussed earlier?
Identify the major principles which underpin the concept of strategic human resource management (SHRM);
Analyse the main theoretical approaches to SHRM;
Explain the history and origins of SHRM;
Evaluate the studies which aim to establish the link between SHRM and organisational performance.
What value would you place in a philosophy statement similar to the BP example above if you were searching for employment?
In what ways do you think the presence of employee voice may be helpful to the implementation of universalist HR initiatives?
How influential would you say that the factors noted in Figure 2.4 were in creating the drive to introduce SHRM in major organisations?Figure 2.4: Cultural strategies Corporate strategy HR strategies
What practical contribution do you think the studies linking HR and organisational performance listed in this section have made to the practice of SHRM?
Identify some of the key background issues relevant to the internationalisation of business;
Analyse the significance in the growth of multi-national companies;
Define strategic international human resource management;
Identify the key components of strategic international human resource management;
Explain the significance of the capability perspective on strategic international human resource management;
Evaluate the importance of the cultural perspective on strategic international human resource management.
The reasons that companies pursue a strategy of internationalisation are not new.Historically, empires have been built on thriving international trade. Yet the rate of growth of international trade
As a senior HR manager in a major MNC, what arguments would you anticipate using to defend your company against the anti-globalisation lobby’s position that globalisation was disadvantageous to
In what other ways may the expatriate managers at DecoStore have established tacit knowledge?
Which of the line manager competences do you think are particularly important for HR professionals?
Of what value is this general grouping of national cultures to managers in their SIHRM activities?
Explain the importance and contribution of evaluation to strategic human resource management;
Identify the range of different purposes an evaluation can serve;
Assess the barriers to evaluation and their causes;
Identify the various stakeholders in any evaluation and their need both to contribute and to receive feedback;
Assess the choices to be made in respect of the evaluation process and make suitably informed decisions;
Outline a range of strategies and data collection techniques involving both primary and secondary data, which may be used to evaluate strategic human resource management;
Identify the complexity of issues associated with feeding back the findings of evaluations.
Think about the last time you were asked to evaluate a course in which you were participating. A possible course could be a module on your current programme or a training course at your workplace.a.

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