Relationship between organization’s HR strategies and performance outcomes
Buller, P. F. & McEvoy G.M. (2012) �Strategy, human resource management and performance:
Sharpening line of sight�. Human Resource Management Review, 22(1), p.43
After you have read the article, complete the following:
Identify and analyze the relationship between organization�s HR strategies and performance outcomes.
The following conditions must meet in the paper
1) I want a typical and a quality answer which should have about 830 words.
2) The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.
3) The answer must include examples from experience or the web with references from relevant
examples from real companies.
4) Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System,
Relationship between organization’s HR strategies and performance outcomes
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Abstract
Organizations strategies come in different forms and approaches. Some companies have
perfected the art of employing skilled staff who posses various job competencies that are of
strategically important to the company. These employees’ posses some specific capabilities and
training that are unique and valuable. There benefits to the company exceed the costs incurred in
training and development. These companies have adopted strategic systems that require there
staff to undergo various training on job competencies. (Prahlad & Hamel, 1990) Most
organizations have different types of strategies depending on the level of importance. At the
business operation levels, most strategies aim at influencing the minds and hearts of the
consumers to increase sales. The other strategies target the functional areas that are concerned
with marketing, finance, production, research and development.
SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and RBV (Resource Based Views)
play critical roles in determination of a company’s strategic goals and initiatives. The LOS (Line
Of Sight) is important as it identifies and connects the functional units in an organization with its
corporate level strategies. The RBV are utilized as frameworks when examining the relationship
between the Human Resource Management (HRM) strategies and the performance outcomes.
The HRM strategies affect performance positively as per earlier empirical work carried out.
(Boselie et al 2005) However the exact impact of some of the strategies on the company and the
Relationship between organization’s HR strategies and performance outcomes
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outcomes are still not very clear. The uncertainties are largely due to different studies and
theoretical foundations, definitions of HRM strategies, analysis levels and the exact measures of
performance. (Guest 2011) For instance, studies have revealed that best practice strategies like
systems for high work performance can be applied universally to all firms. (Huselid 1995) Other
HRM contingency frameworks largely depend on the contextual business strategy variables.
(Chandler & McEvoy 2000) Other studies give varying results on the dependent performance
measures on functional financial strategies like profits, growth or sales. HR related strategies on
performance outcomes mostly relate to behaviors, attitudes and the employee intentions.
(Paauwe & Boselie 2005)
The black box that exists between the HRM strategies and the performance outcomes is directly
affected by the human capital. Human capital refers to the skills, abilities and knowledge that are
collectively or individually contained in the company’s human resource department. (Becker
1964) The HRM specifics like KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) and employee’s behavior
have a direct impact on company performance. A study on public and private companies in Israel
discovered that companies with higher levels of human capital in terms of work experience,
education levels, and training perform much better when managers recognize the KSAs and also
create a positive perception that the additional skills are valuable to the company.
HRMs empowerment-oriented human resource strategy that is related with innovative culture
and increased employee performance was registered in an experiment that was conducted in an
Irish company. (Selvarajan et al. 2007) Employees with KSA in a Spanish firm were discovered
to posses competitive skills and their efficiency levels were much higher than employees with
lower levels of skills and KSA. The HRM strategies value KSA as a means of promoting skilled
Relationship between organization’s HR strategies and performance outcomes
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based human capital. These studies indicate that different types of HRM strategies on
recruitment, internal employee development and selection are directly related to the performance
to the company. Firm-specific human capital is a major component of the HRM performance
relationship. (Wright & McMahan 2011)
HRM strategies adopted when developing the social capital as way of promoting performance.
Social capital applies to the social structures and processes that determine the nature of the
existing relationship. Collins and Smith (2006) discovered that on average commitment based
HRM strategies like training development, competitive compensation and elaborate selection
procedures were instituted specifically for knowledgeable workers who were interested in social
climate that are linked to trust, shared codes and combine knowledge that were connected to the
performance of the company. These studies reveal that the social capital is a direct link to HRM-
performance relationship.
The relationship that exists between the HRM strategies and practices and the performance is
centered on the LOS construct. However, the question is whether the having a well trained,
experienced and highly people is enough for a firm to achieve great success. The workforce has
to be efficiently networked and fully levered in order to maximize its benefits in the market.
There is a direct link between the HRM strategies of competitive compensation such as profit
sharing and commissions and the job performance. (Boswell 2006)
To conclude, the business operation levels of a company and the strategies that the HRM develop
aim at influencing the minds and hearts of the consumers to increase sales and the general
performance of the company. These strategies are KSA based and they are based on workers
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motivational strategies like stock options plans and profit sharing formulas. The other strategies
target the functional areas that are concerned with marketing, finance, production, sales, research
and development. Most of these strategies result in improved performance of the company.
References
Guest, D. E., 2011, Human resource management and performance: Still searching for some
answers. Human Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 3–13.
Paauwe, J., & Boselie, P., 2005, HRM and performance: What next? Human Resource
Management Journal, 15(4), 68–83.
Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G., 1990, The core competence of the organization. Harvard Business
Review, 79–91 (May/June).
Selvarajan, T. T., Ramamoorthy, N., Flood, P. C., Guthrie, J. P., McCurtain, S., & Liu, W., 2007,
The role of human capital philosophy in promoting firm innovativeness and performance: Test of
a causal model. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(8), 1456–1470.
Boselie, P., Dietz, G., & Boon, C., 2005, Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and
performance. Human Resource Management Journal, 15(1), 67–94.
Becker, G., 1964, Human capital, New York: Columbia Free Press.
Chandler, G. N., & McEvoy, G. M., 2000, Human resource management, TQM, and firm
performance in small and medium-size enterprises. Entrepreneurship
Relationship between organization’s HR strategies and performance outcomes
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Theory and Practice, 25(1), 43–57.
Collins, C. J., & Clark, K. D., 2003, Strategic human resource practices, top management team
social networks, and firm performance: The role of human resource
Practices in creating organizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Journal,
46(6), 740–751.
Huselid, M. A., 1995, The impact of human resource management practices on turnover,
productivity, and corporate