HRM 2026–2027
Study Notes
Personnel & Organisation · Chapters 1 to 5
Info:
Blue box A definition or theory term.
CASE Orange bar: a case, with what happened below it
Link to theory Green box: what the case teaches, linked to the theory.
Grey box: a note
Contents
Chapter 1 · HRM: definition & perspectives
What is (HR) management? | The Ulrich model: four HR roles | The principal–agent relationship | Four
perspectives on HRM
Chapter 2 · The development of HRM
Overview of the eras | Crafts, guilds and scale increase | Human face and self-actualisation | Profiles, quality and
globalisation | Flexibility and employability | Workable work | Disruption
Chapter 3 · Recruitment
Job analysis | Job evaluation and the pay structure | Recruitment: creating awareness | Internal versus external
recruitment | The job advertisement | Recruitment channels in practice
Chapter 4 · Selection
What selection is about | Phases of the selection process | The selection interview | Selection tests
Chapter 5 · Socialisation
What socialisation is | Seven organisational cultures | The socialisation process | Effects of proper socialisation
| Jones' continuum
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 1
, Chapter 1
HRM: definition & perspectives
What HRM is, the four Ulrich roles, the principal–agent relationship and four ways to look at HRM
1.1 What is (HR) management?
Management The attainment of organisational goals in an effective and efficient manner through the
planning, organising, leading and monitoring of organisational resources (Daft, 2007).
Human Resource Management (HRM) The same, applied to human resources, with respect for the reciprocal
relationship between the individual and the organisation (Daft, 2007).
The four management functions map onto four questions about people:
Function HR question
Planning What type of personnel do we need?
Organising How will the work floor be organised?
Leading How do we motivate workers?
Monitoring How do we monitor performance?
Managing people is a team effort
• Three parties: supervisor, HR and employee. A lot of operational HR is done by supervisors.
• HR has direct impact through team-building events, company culture and employer branding, surveys, and
social law.
• HR also acts when it is needed: training prevents errors, HR saves the day when errors occur, and gives
support in HR matters. HR is rarely redundant.
Good HR is effective, efficient and calculated
• Effective: do what you promise to do.
• Efficient: stay within budget.
• Calculated: make your business case like other departments do.
Managing people can be hard
• Shareholders want more profit than the banks' interest rate. If HR invests money, it should contribute to
the profit.
• "The decision is ruthless. Ethics are in the execution." A board decides on a restructuring and dismissals hit
staff hard. Execute hard decisions as softly as possible, but they have to be executed.
• HR is not a charity. Motivated, educated and well-led workers perform better, and a bad work climate
makes it hard to attract talent. But HR is a means to an end: an initiative for more satisfaction should bring
in more profit than it costs. HR's first responsibility is the organisation.
• The lecturer's view: do not do HR only because you like people. Optimise your soft skills and train your
strategic (hard) skills.
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 2
, CASE Delhaize (2023): handing 128 shops to independent owners
WHAT HAPPENED
• Large Belgian supermarket chain (part of AHOLD Delhaize) plans to hand over 128 shops to independent
owners. Most of these shops lose money.
• Long strikes, bailiffs and police interventions. 9,000 workers affected; they fear worse labour conditions and
forced flexibility.
• HR keeps paying the wages of workers blocked from the work floor, although it is not legally obliged to
(force majeure). Not paying is a commonly used weapon by management.
• HR does not want to set strikers against non-strikers, because they must work together under the new
owner.
• End of 2024: all stores are franchised. Delhaize reports an operational loss of 119 million linked to the
operation, due to strikes and empty shelves.
Link to theory Business perspective (section 1.4): a cost-driven restructuring of loss-making shops.
Change agent (Ulrich): HR has to carry out a hard strategic decision.
Interest perspective: strikers and non-strikers are groups with opposing interests who still have to cooperate
later.
Illustrates "ethics are in the execution" and "HR is not a charity": paying blocked workers is a calculated
choice for later cooperation, not generosity.
1.2 The Ulrich model: four HR roles
Ulrich model Dave Ulrich's model of four HR roles on two axes: strategic vs operational focus and focus on
processes vs focus on people. The roles link to the management functions.
Role Management Level What it does
function
Strategic partner Planning Strategic HRM Where do we want to go? Which positions,
(strategic, competences and structures? Competitive
processes) position, continuity and strategy. Top-level,
long-term decisions. HR influences the
choices of management.
Change agent Organising Tactical HRM Gets the strategic plans into practice:
(strategic, people) become more flexible, plan hiring and
dismissal phases, redesign jobs and
procedures. More professional and
individual impact.
Employee Leading and Operational HRM Most tangible for employees, done by
champion monitoring (operational, supervisors or HR, daily and short-term.
people) Leading = motivate, direct, communicate
goals. Monitoring = performance appraisals
and evaluation interviews.
Administrative Administration Operational Collect dates for evaluation interviews, list
expert (operational, training options, pay wages, prepare leave
processes) arrangements (career breaks, parental
leave), calculate dismissal arrangements.
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 3
, Strategic partner: two ways to link staff and strategy
Positioning approach (outside-in) Map the market, find the gap, devise the strategy, then adapt the
structures and hire adequate workers. The company's own strengths and weaknesses are sometimes
overlooked.
Resource-based approach (inside-out) Start from the strengths of the current staff. Those strengths
determine the strategy. What competitors do matters less, even if they do the same.
Be careful with best practices: assuming that because something works elsewhere it will work here. Telework
versus company day care is the slide's example. HR prevents bad decisions and prepares policies to avoid
perverse effects.
CASE Galapagos (2010–2026): positioning approach
WHAT HAPPENED
• 2010–2020, the golden years. Pride of Belgian biotech. Promising drug Filgotinib (Jyseleca) against
rheumatoid arthritis; strategic choice to use it as a "swiss knife" against other diseases such as Crohn. 2019:
billion-dollar deal with Gilead, CEO Onno van de Stolpe elected Belgian Manager of the Year, Galapagos is a
magnet for biotech talent. Stock rises from 14 euro (2014) to 249 euro (2020).
• 2020–2023, the horror years. The FDA blocks Filgotinib in the US (side-effect concerns), Gilead gives up on
the US. Ziritaxestat is cancelled (patient safety) and the Toledo molecules do not work against rheuma.
Stock market value falls below the cash in the bank. High-profile workers leave and stock options no longer
motivate. Strategic choice to build a "new Galapagos". Van de Stolpe resigns mid-2021 (stock +5%).
• April 2022: Paul Stoffels (J&J) becomes CEO. Target: 1 or 2 new medicines by 2028. 200 workers fired,
Filgotinib no longer a priority, new focus on immunology, oncology and decentralised CAR-T cell therapy.
June 2023: Thad Huston (ex-J&J) becomes CFO and COO.
• October 2023: Filgotinib sold to Alfasigma. 400 workers transferred (avoiding lay-off compensation), 100
more fired. Expected cost reduction 150–200 million euro.
• February 2024: Stoffels ends a research project (too expensive, competitors have a head start). January
2025: plan to split Galapagos in two, 300 workers fired (40% of staff, 70% of the Belgian branch).
• May 2025: Stoffels is fired, Henry Gosebruch takes over and cancels the split. Cell therapy is discontinued in
January 2026 (only a dozen workers remain). An international management team is hired to do acquisitions.
May 2026: Galapagos becomes Lakefront Biotherapeutics. June 2026: with Gilead it buys Ouro Medicines
(gamgertamig, an experimental medicine to reset the auto-immune system).
Link to theory Positioning approach: each new management first determines the strategy, then adapts the
organisation. Certain staff types leave, a different type is hired ("find a new strategy and then restaff").
Also shows strategic partner decisions with a long-term view that are felt short-term by staff (layoffs), and
the change agent role afterwards.
Links to the psychological contract (Ch. 3): stock options stopped motivating once the stock traded far below
the exercise price.
CASE UCB: resource-based approach
WHAT HAPPENED
• Belgian biopharma company with 9,000 employees. Global player Novartis has 110,000 employees and
much bigger research and marketing budgets, and already has Cosentyx on the market.
• UCB develops bimekizumab (Bimzelx) for psoriasis anyway. Results are significantly better than Cosentyx:
91% have clear or almost clear skin after 16 weeks.
• Approved in the EU and Japan. FDA approval postponed several times, then granted in October 2023 with a
critical label. The stock drops at first.
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 4
Study Notes
Personnel & Organisation · Chapters 1 to 5
Info:
Blue box A definition or theory term.
CASE Orange bar: a case, with what happened below it
Link to theory Green box: what the case teaches, linked to the theory.
Grey box: a note
Contents
Chapter 1 · HRM: definition & perspectives
What is (HR) management? | The Ulrich model: four HR roles | The principal–agent relationship | Four
perspectives on HRM
Chapter 2 · The development of HRM
Overview of the eras | Crafts, guilds and scale increase | Human face and self-actualisation | Profiles, quality and
globalisation | Flexibility and employability | Workable work | Disruption
Chapter 3 · Recruitment
Job analysis | Job evaluation and the pay structure | Recruitment: creating awareness | Internal versus external
recruitment | The job advertisement | Recruitment channels in practice
Chapter 4 · Selection
What selection is about | Phases of the selection process | The selection interview | Selection tests
Chapter 5 · Socialisation
What socialisation is | Seven organisational cultures | The socialisation process | Effects of proper socialisation
| Jones' continuum
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 1
, Chapter 1
HRM: definition & perspectives
What HRM is, the four Ulrich roles, the principal–agent relationship and four ways to look at HRM
1.1 What is (HR) management?
Management The attainment of organisational goals in an effective and efficient manner through the
planning, organising, leading and monitoring of organisational resources (Daft, 2007).
Human Resource Management (HRM) The same, applied to human resources, with respect for the reciprocal
relationship between the individual and the organisation (Daft, 2007).
The four management functions map onto four questions about people:
Function HR question
Planning What type of personnel do we need?
Organising How will the work floor be organised?
Leading How do we motivate workers?
Monitoring How do we monitor performance?
Managing people is a team effort
• Three parties: supervisor, HR and employee. A lot of operational HR is done by supervisors.
• HR has direct impact through team-building events, company culture and employer branding, surveys, and
social law.
• HR also acts when it is needed: training prevents errors, HR saves the day when errors occur, and gives
support in HR matters. HR is rarely redundant.
Good HR is effective, efficient and calculated
• Effective: do what you promise to do.
• Efficient: stay within budget.
• Calculated: make your business case like other departments do.
Managing people can be hard
• Shareholders want more profit than the banks' interest rate. If HR invests money, it should contribute to
the profit.
• "The decision is ruthless. Ethics are in the execution." A board decides on a restructuring and dismissals hit
staff hard. Execute hard decisions as softly as possible, but they have to be executed.
• HR is not a charity. Motivated, educated and well-led workers perform better, and a bad work climate
makes it hard to attract talent. But HR is a means to an end: an initiative for more satisfaction should bring
in more profit than it costs. HR's first responsibility is the organisation.
• The lecturer's view: do not do HR only because you like people. Optimise your soft skills and train your
strategic (hard) skills.
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 2
, CASE Delhaize (2023): handing 128 shops to independent owners
WHAT HAPPENED
• Large Belgian supermarket chain (part of AHOLD Delhaize) plans to hand over 128 shops to independent
owners. Most of these shops lose money.
• Long strikes, bailiffs and police interventions. 9,000 workers affected; they fear worse labour conditions and
forced flexibility.
• HR keeps paying the wages of workers blocked from the work floor, although it is not legally obliged to
(force majeure). Not paying is a commonly used weapon by management.
• HR does not want to set strikers against non-strikers, because they must work together under the new
owner.
• End of 2024: all stores are franchised. Delhaize reports an operational loss of 119 million linked to the
operation, due to strikes and empty shelves.
Link to theory Business perspective (section 1.4): a cost-driven restructuring of loss-making shops.
Change agent (Ulrich): HR has to carry out a hard strategic decision.
Interest perspective: strikers and non-strikers are groups with opposing interests who still have to cooperate
later.
Illustrates "ethics are in the execution" and "HR is not a charity": paying blocked workers is a calculated
choice for later cooperation, not generosity.
1.2 The Ulrich model: four HR roles
Ulrich model Dave Ulrich's model of four HR roles on two axes: strategic vs operational focus and focus on
processes vs focus on people. The roles link to the management functions.
Role Management Level What it does
function
Strategic partner Planning Strategic HRM Where do we want to go? Which positions,
(strategic, competences and structures? Competitive
processes) position, continuity and strategy. Top-level,
long-term decisions. HR influences the
choices of management.
Change agent Organising Tactical HRM Gets the strategic plans into practice:
(strategic, people) become more flexible, plan hiring and
dismissal phases, redesign jobs and
procedures. More professional and
individual impact.
Employee Leading and Operational HRM Most tangible for employees, done by
champion monitoring (operational, supervisors or HR, daily and short-term.
people) Leading = motivate, direct, communicate
goals. Monitoring = performance appraisals
and evaluation interviews.
Administrative Administration Operational Collect dates for evaluation interviews, list
expert (operational, training options, pay wages, prepare leave
processes) arrangements (career breaks, parental
leave), calculate dismissal arrangements.
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 3
, Strategic partner: two ways to link staff and strategy
Positioning approach (outside-in) Map the market, find the gap, devise the strategy, then adapt the
structures and hire adequate workers. The company's own strengths and weaknesses are sometimes
overlooked.
Resource-based approach (inside-out) Start from the strengths of the current staff. Those strengths
determine the strategy. What competitors do matters less, even if they do the same.
Be careful with best practices: assuming that because something works elsewhere it will work here. Telework
versus company day care is the slide's example. HR prevents bad decisions and prepares policies to avoid
perverse effects.
CASE Galapagos (2010–2026): positioning approach
WHAT HAPPENED
• 2010–2020, the golden years. Pride of Belgian biotech. Promising drug Filgotinib (Jyseleca) against
rheumatoid arthritis; strategic choice to use it as a "swiss knife" against other diseases such as Crohn. 2019:
billion-dollar deal with Gilead, CEO Onno van de Stolpe elected Belgian Manager of the Year, Galapagos is a
magnet for biotech talent. Stock rises from 14 euro (2014) to 249 euro (2020).
• 2020–2023, the horror years. The FDA blocks Filgotinib in the US (side-effect concerns), Gilead gives up on
the US. Ziritaxestat is cancelled (patient safety) and the Toledo molecules do not work against rheuma.
Stock market value falls below the cash in the bank. High-profile workers leave and stock options no longer
motivate. Strategic choice to build a "new Galapagos". Van de Stolpe resigns mid-2021 (stock +5%).
• April 2022: Paul Stoffels (J&J) becomes CEO. Target: 1 or 2 new medicines by 2028. 200 workers fired,
Filgotinib no longer a priority, new focus on immunology, oncology and decentralised CAR-T cell therapy.
June 2023: Thad Huston (ex-J&J) becomes CFO and COO.
• October 2023: Filgotinib sold to Alfasigma. 400 workers transferred (avoiding lay-off compensation), 100
more fired. Expected cost reduction 150–200 million euro.
• February 2024: Stoffels ends a research project (too expensive, competitors have a head start). January
2025: plan to split Galapagos in two, 300 workers fired (40% of staff, 70% of the Belgian branch).
• May 2025: Stoffels is fired, Henry Gosebruch takes over and cancels the split. Cell therapy is discontinued in
January 2026 (only a dozen workers remain). An international management team is hired to do acquisitions.
May 2026: Galapagos becomes Lakefront Biotherapeutics. June 2026: with Gilead it buys Ouro Medicines
(gamgertamig, an experimental medicine to reset the auto-immune system).
Link to theory Positioning approach: each new management first determines the strategy, then adapts the
organisation. Certain staff types leave, a different type is hired ("find a new strategy and then restaff").
Also shows strategic partner decisions with a long-term view that are felt short-term by staff (layoffs), and
the change agent role afterwards.
Links to the psychological contract (Ch. 3): stock options stopped motivating once the stock traded far below
the exercise price.
CASE UCB: resource-based approach
WHAT HAPPENED
• Belgian biopharma company with 9,000 employees. Global player Novartis has 110,000 employees and
much bigger research and marketing budgets, and already has Cosentyx on the market.
• UCB develops bimekizumab (Bimzelx) for psoriasis anyway. Results are significantly better than Cosentyx:
91% have clear or almost clear skin after 16 weeks.
• Approved in the EU and Japan. FDA approval postponed several times, then granted in October 2023 with a
critical label. The stock drops at first.
HRM 2026–2027 · Study notes · page 4
