Questions and Answers of Contemporary Human Resource

List the arguments you would use to justify the need for an organisation to justify evaluating SHRM interventions.
Before you read on, based on your own experience make a list of reasons why you might be reluctant to undertake an evaluation of an HR process.As you read this section compare the reasons you have
Outline the relative advantages of action research and more typical approaches to evaluation from the perspective of the HR manager sponsoring an evaluation.
Outline the advantages that are likely to accrue to an organisation using a range of techniques, rather than just one, to obtain data to evaluate SHRM.
Halcrow Group Limited is a multidisciplinary consultancy group specialising in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure development throughout the world. Within
Define the term organisational structure and evaluate its links to strategy;
Describe and analyse conceptual approaches to the design of organisational structures and discuss their strategic implications;
Identify principal forms of organisational structure and explore their main effects on those who work within them at both a theoretical and practical level;
Analyse the relationship between organisational structure and SHRM.
Drawing on the dimensions of organisational structure outlined above, use the list of potential organisational consequences from structural deficiencies to evaluate the structure of an organisation
What other criticisms do you think may be made against the classical universal approach to the design of organisational structure?
How would you summarise the key differences between the classical universal, contingency and consistency approaches to the design of organisational structure?
Using the ideas discussed below, how would you summarise ‘organisational fluidity’?The concept of the virtual organisation appears suited to knowledge-based work that utilises technologies such
The discussion in this section has considered the impact of decentralised organisational structures on the development of human resource strategies. How do you think a more centralised and
DaimlerChryslers’ product portfolio ranges from small cars to sports cars and luxury sedans; and from versatile vans to trucks and coaches. Daimler-Chryslers’ passenger car brands include
Explain the meanings of national and organisational cultures and the debates relating to their existence;
Discuss the importance of organisational and national cultures in managing SHRM interventions;
Explore the three main perspectives through which culture has been explored within organisations: integration, differentiation and fragmentation;
Assess the complexity of issues associated with aligning culture to an organisation’s strategic direction;
Analyse the linkages between organisational and other cultural spheres and SHRM interventions.
Produce a table summarising the arguments for convergence and for divergence of national cultures using the following structure: Arguments for convergence Arguments for divergence
Examine Tables 6.1 and 6.2 and select two countries with contrasting profiles.Use Hofstede’s dimensions to suggest how SHRM interventions to motivate employees and appraise employees might differ
Why do you think it is difficult for managers to describe their organisation’s culture in detail?
Visit HP’s corporate web site at http://www.hp.com. Use the menus to go to the pages headed ‘Company information: About us – History and Facts’.What clues do these give you about the culture
How might an organisation use SHRM interventions to support a culture re-alignment process?
Why might organisations choose a top-down approach to cultural re-alignment?
Dicom Group plc is the global market leader in the information capture market, providing document imaging scanning hardware and software, and associated support services. Operating through two
Identify and discuss the core principles that underpin the concept of strategic human resource planning;
Critically evaluate the extent to which strategic human resource planning represents the vital connecting link between organisational strategy and SHRM practice;
Analyse the conceptual and operational difficulties surrounding the practice of strategic human resource planning;
Assess the relevance of strategic human resource planning to organisations facing an increasingly changing business environment;
Review potential avenues for addressing the difficulties associated with human resource planning in order to enhance its operational viability.
To what extent can the hard and soft variants of HRP be regarded as mutually exclusive?
To what extent can the view that HRP is all about ensuring that the right person is in the right place at the right time be interpreted as a soft, as well as a hard, approach to HRP?
For each of the above In Practice Cases answer the following question and justify your answer with reference to case evidence:• Which of the six strands of strategic integration are evident in the
The three cases outlined briefly below are drawn from the work of Salama et al. (2003) who are investigating changes and opportunities presented by mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving companies
Provide an underpinning rationale in support of the development and practice of strategically integrated recruitment and selection;
Identify and explain the major features of strategic recruitment and selection, and summarise these through an explanatory model;
Analyse how recruitment and selection can be developed to fit a variety of strategic scenarios using illustrative examples to support your analysis;
Explain how recruitment and selection practice can be shaped to accommodate the demands of strategic change and unplanned change arising from an uncertain future;
Evaluate evidence to determine the extent of strategic recruitment and selection practice;
Account for the apparent mismatch between the rationale for strategic recruitment and selection and the paucity of evidence of its practice.
Imagine that you work as an HR officer for a company that is unhappy with the effectiveness of its current recruitment and selection practice. You have been asked to write a paper presenting a
What potential features emerge from your reading of the section ‘What is the rationale for strategic recruitment and selection?’ that you would expect to be incorporated into the development of a
In Chapter 2 a number of studies exploring the contribution of SHRM to organisational performance were reported on. A critique of the research methodology used by each study was presented under the
Define performance management and explain its relationship to strategic human resource management.
Analyse the reasons for the growth in importance of performance management.
Explain the performance management systems model and the key processes embedded in the model;
Evaluate some of the major criticisms of performance management;
Suggest ways in which performance management may link more closely to strategic human resource management.
What factors do you think would explain the weaknesses Radnor and McGuire found in their research?
What obstacles do you think may stand in the way of an attempt by organisations to adopt a ‘new style’ of management in which the ‘new style’ manager is supportive, a team leader, a coach and
To what extent do you think that the lack of objectivity in performance appraisal may be overcome in performance management?
In what ways do you think the psychological contract is threatened by the shortcomings in the implementation of performance management at Stiles et al.’s organisations?
What problems may be involved in distinguishing between lack of capability and negligence?
What other potential problems may be relevant to the introduction or implementation of performance management?
Tyco employs 260,000 people in the USA and in more than 100 countries around the world. It is:• a global leader in passive electronic components and major producer of active components;• the
develop and discuss a continuum of strategic maturity upon which different approaches to Human resource development (HRD) can be located;
identify and explain the major features of Strategic human resource development (SHRD) and organise these into a conceptual framework;
analyse how systematic approaches to HRD can be accommodated in conceptual frameworks of SHRD;
analyse the significance of the learning organisation and knowledge management to SHRD;
critically review the rhetoric and reality of the role of managers as key SHRD stakeholders.
Based on the story so far, what do you think are the essential characteristics of SHRD?
Before reading on, how would you critique Garavan’s depiction of SHRD as summarised in Key Concepts 10.2? Key Concepts 10.2:1. Integration with organisational missions and goals – where HRD is
How can SHRD help support second-order strategy changes designed to produce a flatter organisational structure through delayering?
Why might it be argued that managers are the linchpin in the successful introduction and maintenance of SHRD?
What factors have contributed to the relatively low level of importance attaching to management development?
One of the biggest challenges facing companies in developing economies is coping with the lack of skilled staff. In rapidly developing economies, such as India, companies need highly qualified talent
Hinchcliffe Cards was started by William Hinchcliffe in 1874. Hinchcliffe had an artistic talent which he used for drawing individual greetings cards for his family and friends. As demand for the
Hislop (2008) reconceptualized Frenkel et al.’s knowledge work framework to make it compatible with the ‘all work is knowledge work’ perspective. The utility of the revised framework was
1 In the spirit of Rawls’ ‘veil of ignorance’, imagine how it would feel to occupy someone else’s role in society. Consider the following roles:a. carworkerb. black civil servantc. hospital
EngCo is a large UK headquartered engineering company which operates on a worldwide basis. It is structured into four main divisions and employs in the region of 39,000 people, located in 50
Two years ago GBD had a major restructure. The client relations section, however, seemed to fall into the ‘too hard basket’ and was never assigned a permanent manager. The Section has had to make
Ingrid: I cannot believe it has been a month since I took sick leave from Triple A. I am feeling so much better now but the thought of going back to work and working with Carmel terrifies me. Why,
Mercado’s HR strategy is: ‘to provide improved capability to become the best retail HR function and make Mercado a great place to work’. New HR processes were introduced in 2007 which meant
NSG is a recently created UK work organisation, consisting of two operating companies – Cook and Dickens Services – who enjoy an equal partnership while continuing to retain separate identities
Considerable evidence exists that supportive managerial and supervisor behaviours in environment initiatives are important in developing employee engagement in environmental management (EM). For
After almost 500 years of a particularly exploitative form of colonial rule, a failed socialist experiment and a bloody civil war, Mozambique underwent radical economic adjustment in the late 1980s
Steve is 36, single, and originally from Newcastle. After university, he joined a major retailer as a trainee area manager in Leeds in a job which he described as ‘an emotional roller coaster –
Devika was a star student at school. However, she chose to opt out of university and get married to her long-term boyfriend instead. Six years lates she was a mother of two. Once the girls started
PharMerger is a pharmaceutical company with significant global presence in six continents and premises in 45 countries. The UK has two research and development sites, one of which is the subject of
As part of a study of young, UK-based black and minority business graduates’ career identities and aspirations, research participants were asked to talk about their future work-family balance. The
One of the oldest airlines in the United States, Air Avia had withstood the test of time. Founded in the 1940s as a conglomeration and acquisition of several other airlines, Air Avia became an
Peninsula Lodge is a small boutique hotel close to the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland; a short distance from a national rainforest and within easy reach of beautiful beaches. It is a 3-star hotel
Jason is a section manager at Theme Park Co. He is responsible for managing 8 full-time and 14 part-time, largely seasonally employed workers, who work in the family section of a major theme park.
The senior management at Hotel Co., a large hotel in Singapore employing some 243 people at any one time, have recently introduced a computerized system that has fully integrated all aspects of
Car manufacturers BMW have made extensive use of temporary labour since they began production of the Mini at their Oxford plant in the UK in 2001. Entering a different market segment from their
This case study explores two ‘networks’, an outsourced group of housing benefit caseworkers and production workers in a specialist chemicals company, and considers the effect that each network
Kent County Council (KCC) governs the majority of the county of Kent, and comprises twelve District Councils and more than 300 town and Parish Councils. The Council’s headquarters are based in
Evaluation of performance, merit-rating, or annual review. It nourishes short-term performance, annihilates long-term planning, builds fear, demolishes teamwork, and nourishes rivalry and politics.It
NatBank is a major UK bank with over 60,000 employees in the UK and over 100,000 employees worldwide.The partnership agreement at NatBank was born out of a very poor climate of industrial relations
This case concerns a state-owned enterprise (SOE), the Third Electronic Power Construction Company located in Shan Xi Province, China. This SOE was established in 1978, and is responsible for
InnovationCo was founded in the second half of the nineteenth century in Germany. It produces fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and offers several thousand products in a variety of international
Ireland is one of the most globalized countries in the world, owing to the significance of foreign owned MNCs which have established subsidiaries there. The scale of foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cultural approaches to comparing HR between contexts tend to assume that countries do not readily change their defining cultural identities, and this will exert long-term effects on work and
David Nolan is the Chief Executive of Educate, a US based multinational publishing company. The company has offices worldwide, with large offices in the UK, Canada, Belgium, Australia, Singapore and
This case study examines the way management and HRM practices are used to support the work and knowledge activities in an organization whose workers are geographically dispersed and isolated, with
Marks and Spencer is a major UK-based retailer employing over 78,000 people with over 700 stores in the UK. Our detailed focus within Marks and Spencer is on the establishment of a logistical
This case highlights two different issues. First, it is an example of an outsourcing strategy adopted by a call center, and second, it highlights some methods used to recruit for scarce skills. It is
Fontainebleau and Oxygen are two leading multinational hotel chains that have branches throughout the world. Both hotels have a strong focus on customer service; however, two of their outlets

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