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,Strategic Human Resource Management: A Balanced Approach (2nd Edition) Boselie
Chapter 1 - Introduction: Strategic Human Resource Management in the Twenty-first
Century
Case study
The global financial crisis that started in 2008 has left its scars on societies and organizations.
Vacancy stops implies little or no opportunities for young workers to enter the organization. A
structural vacancy stop can result in an ageing workforce and may also have a negative impact on
the employer brand in the future making the organization less and less attractive for newcomers.
In times of organizational crisis it is the right people management or HRM that matters, and that is
not an easy challenge.
Introduction
Employees are generally considered ‘the organization’s most valuable assets’. As soon as an
organizational crisis emerges, the employee emphasis is often downgraded through downsizing
and mass layoffs. It is in times of major change that the management of employees is essential not
only to achieve organizational goals but also to pay attention to the individual employee’s well-
being as well. In theory and practice is concluded that employees matter and that the management
of employees (HRM) is a potential source for achieving organizational goals.
SHRM is a relatively young discipline (approximately 25 years old) with growing importance for
organizations operating in a dynamic and continuous changing environment. Organizational
change is inevitable for most contemporary organizations. Organizational change almost
automatically affects one of the organization’s most valuable assets: employees. Successful
change highly depends on changing people in their attitudes, behaviour and cognition. This asks
for flexibility and good people management.
The new economy
The 1990s introduced a new concept mainly focused on the shift from a manufacturing and
production economy into a service sector asset-based economy: the new economy.
- The old economy: Traditional industries such as steel, construction and motor industries. The
work was characterized by physical tasks, job design and work design based on mass
production (assembly line), many relatively low-skilled workers and high degrees of
unionization.
- The new economy: Emerging branches of industry, including the IT-sector, the
telecommunication sector and the financial institutions. Technological developments in the
early 1990s led to the Internet (a rise of the service industry). Assets are less tangible and
embedded in reputation, brands and knowledge of employees. Work is characterized by high
knowledge intensity, web-based organizing, contacts through intranet or Internet connections,
centres on the other side of the world and the integration of work design, technology and
services delivered.
The old economy still exists in developing countries and countries with relatively cheap labour
conditions. Outsourcing and offshoring business activities to developing countries are
characteristic of the new economy. Organizational change has become a common practice in the
new economy with major implications for employees.
Organizational change: The process between two different situations that affect an organization
and its HRM.
Organizational change and competitive advantage
The relevance of optimal coping with change is embedded in the concept of competitive
advantage.
Competitive advantage: Is the relative stronger position of an organization in comparison to other
organizations in the (geographical) region or in the same branch of industry.
Competitive advantage is important for organizational survival and it is at least partly manageable
by HRM. Competitive advantage tells us something about how well the organization is doing in
comparison to others in the same branch of industry in the same region. It might be reflected in
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, Strategic Human Resource Management: A Balanced Approach (2nd Edition) Boselie
better financial performance and non-financial performance, including the organization’s reputation
in relation to customers and potential employees. The concept of competitive advantage
represents a relative outcome: ‘An organisation with competitive advantage is doing better than its
competitor irrespective of the actual firm performance (negative or positive).In the case of losses,
the organization is still doing better than its competitors. And in the case of profits, the organization
makes more profits than the others.’
The changing role of work in modern organizations
The rise of the new economy created a shift from (traditional) production to services. This shift has
had a major impact on the nature of jobs in these societies. New flexible work arrangements
characterize modern organizations with benefits for both the employer and the employee. The
ageing population in many Western countries is also affecting work in modern organizations.
MHRM, IHRM and SHRM
SHRM can be a key to success in the process of organizational change.
HRM: Involves management decisions related to policies and practices that together shape the
employment relationship and are aimed at achieving individual, organizational and societal goals.
This definition acknowledges the relevance of different stakeholders and the goals linked to them.
SHRM builds on this definition and in addition pas extra attention to the organizational context.
HRM is ‘the management of work and people towards desired ends’ and is a fundamental activity
in any organization with human beings as employees. The authors identify 3 major sub-fields:
- MHRM: Covers the sub-functions of HR policy and practice, including recruitment and
selection, induction and socialization, and training and development. MHRM is closely related
to the studies in organizational behaviour and occupational psychology that focus on the
impact of single HR practices on employee attitudes and behaviours.
The sub-field of HRM aimed at studying the shaping of the employment relationship at the
individual employee level.
- IHRM: Is concerned with HRM in MNCs and HRM across borders. It focuses on issues such
as the transferability of HR practices across business units in different countries, the optimal
management of expatriates and the impact of different institutional country contexts on HRM.
The sub-field of HRM aimed at studying the shaping of the employment relationship in an
international context, with special attention to HRM for expatriates, HRM in large MNCs and
HRM in international governmental organizations (IGOs).
- SHRM: Focuses on issues of linking HRM to the business strategy, designing high-
performance work systems (HPWSs) and adding value through good people management in
an attempt to gain sustained competitive advantage. The concept of ‘fit’ plays a central role
within SHRM.
The sub-field of HRM aimed at studying the shaping of the employment relationship taking
into account the internal and external organization context.
HRM is embedded in different institutional contexts, that effective people management includes
managing multiple stakeholders such as trade unions, and that unique HR approaches can be
developed by means of a balanced perspective. There are major differences between countries.
Stakeholders of an organization represent all groups inside and outside an organization that can
affect its strategy and goals. Internal stakeholders include employees, line managers, top
management and employee representatives. External stakeholders include shareholders,
financiers, trade unions, national government, local government and other interest groups.
Three perspectives
The multidimensional strategic HR model (inspired by the European approaches to HRM and
industrial relations (IR)) in this book includes the following key characteristics:
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