lOMoARcPSD|11911780
Lecture 1 – Introduction: SHRM in 21st century
“Employees matter and the management of employees (HRM) is a potential source for achieving
organizational goals.”
The relevance of optimal coping with change is embedded in the concept of competitive advantage.
➔ Is more important for organizational survival;
➔ And is at least partly manageable by HRM.
Schnabel (social cultural agency in the Netherlands) has 5 I’s for the 21st century:
▪ Internationalisation (is increasing)
▪ Individualisation (is increasing, people want to make sure they can fulfil affinities in
personal and work relations)
▪ Informalisation (organization flatter, less hierarchy)
▪ Informatisation (technological changes, ICT)
▪ Intensification
Operationalized sustainable careers as healthy and productive. Productivity for the company <–
> happiness and health for the employee. Sustainable carreer means: value for the organisation
as well as the value for your personal development.
Stakeholder perspective – very important for HRM.
There are three HRM perspectives:
▪ Micro HRM (MRHM) – deals with the inflow, throughflow and outflow in the organization
(people that come in the organization, recruitment, selection, training & development;
focus on the individual employee).
▪ International HRM (IHRM) – focus on differences between countries (institutional
differences, societal differences, differences in how people interact with each
other.
▪ Strategic HRM (SHRM) – focusses on issues of linking HRM to business strategy, designing
high performance work systems and adding value through good people management in
an attempt to gain sustained competitive advantage.
There are also three perspectives in studying SHRM practices:
▪ A multi-actor perspective – multiple stakeholders including employees, managers, HR
professionals, work councils, trade unions, top management, shareholders, financiers,
and government.
▪ Broad societal view – emphasis on different institutional contexts, e.g. on the level
of industry, regions and countries.
▪ A multi-level perspective – including the individual employee perspective and the
strategic organizational perspective.
Pauwe (2004):
➢ Human resources are something more than just ‘resources’.
➢ Human resources management is not concerned solely with financial performance.
➢ Human resource management focuses on the exchange relationship between employee
and organization.
1
, lOMoARcPSD|11911780
➢ And the shaping of the employment relationship takes place in an era of continuous
tension between the added value and moral values.
Boxall & Purcell (2008)
▪ HRM covers all workforce groups, including core employees, peripheral employees
and contingent workers;
▪ HRM involves line and specialist managers, and is not solely aimed at employees;
▪ HRM is all about managing work and people, collectively and individually;
▪ HRM is embedded in industries and societies.
Manager/employability paradox: when you invest in your employees, they will work longer for you,
but they are more attractive to steal away by competitors.
Book Chapter 1 – what was not covered in lecture 1
Stakeholders represent all groups inside and outside an organization that can affect its strategy and
goals.
➔ Internal stakeholders: employees, line managers, top management,
employee representatives.
➔ External stakeholders: shareholders, financiers, trade unions, national government,
local government and other interest groups.
Four contract elements that characterize the employment relationship:
1. Legal contract: the rights and obligations of both the employee and the organization.
2. Economic or transactional contract: how much the employer will pay for the
employee’s efforts, e.g. salary.
3. Psychological contract: all things that are not written down but are expected from
both actors in the situation.
4. Sociological contract: social aspects related to the relationships and networks
employees have within an organization, e.g. the relationship between employees.
Hard HRM – mainly focuses on the economics.
Soft HRM – mainly focuses on the human side of organizing.
HRM is not focussing on the typical practices such as recruitment and selection, training and
development, but also involved in managing issues on multiple level, including the
individual employee level and the collective level HRM is embedded in industries and
societies.
Anglo-Saxon / Anglo American models are focussing mainly on creating shareholder value in terms
of profit and market value with little or no attention to other stakeholders including trade unions
and work councils.
Rhineland models acknowledge multiple stakeholders and their interests explicitly taking into
account employees interests in terms of well-being and societal interests.
In the strategic balance model, organizational success can only be achieved when financial
performance and societal performance of an organization are above average in the particular
population in which the organization is operating.
2
, lOMoARcPSD|11911780
Bolman and Deal (2008) present four different perspectives or frames for studying organizations:
1. Structural frame – seeks to gain an understanding of the various parts of an
organization; such as rules, roles, goals, policies and technology.
2. HR frame focuses upon the employment relationship – specific way of looking
at organizations focussing on needs, skills and relationships of those involved.
3. Political frame – power, conflict, competition and organizational politics are leading concepts.
4. Symbolic frame – builds on meaning and identity. Culture, meaning, metaphor,
ritual, ceremony, stories and heroes are the central concepts.
3
, lOMoARcPSD|11911780
Lecture 2 – SHRM and context
The more fit between strategy and HRM, the better!
➔ The organization is in line with the environment, it is more able to achieve goals.
➔ Purpose is why you want to do it;
➔ Mission is how you want to do it;
➔ Vision is what you are doing.
Legislation: affects people management and HRM (laws, working conditions, agreements and
regulations)
Stakeholders: all groups inside and outside an organization that can affect its strategy and goals.
In order to have knowledge about the why you have to look at your own values and what you want
to contribute to society, as a person and as an organization. Then you can look to the environment
and see who you want to inspire and attract.
➔ Enactment is to scan the environment, see what is going on, what you need to take
into account, so you can see the future and see what you want to add to this future.
➔ Misfits cost a lot of money and reduce individual and societal well-being.
➔ Example of a misfit; is reflected in strikes where employees have an ongoing conflict on
for example labour conditions.
There are multiple types of fit in SHRM:
▪ Internal/horizontal fit: fit between the HR practices.
▪ Vertical/strategic fit: relates to fit between strategy, market environment and HR practices.
▪ Institutional fit: all things that are not directly influenced by the market, but by
regulations etc.
▪ Person-environment fit: important concept, will learn more about in lecture
7. Additional fit concepts (p. 38)
- Single employee consistency vs. Among employee consistency (justice issue)
- Temporal consistency vs adaptation fit (dynamic
component) Cultural factors:
- Trust: southern countries less likely to trust employees
- Powerdistance: powerdistance smaller in Netherlands, more freedom, related to
culture There are cultural differences between power differences, trust in employees etc.
Strategy is an organization’s intention to achieve certain goals through planned alignment (or fit)
between the organization and its environment.
o Goal-based strategy – based on the organizations vision and mission.
o Strategic formulation – is the process of forging a cohesive integrated set of
strategies designed to deal with the environment and achieve the business strategic
goals.
o Strategy implementation – are the actions the organization takes to execute the strategy
it has formulated.
4
Lecture 1 – Introduction: SHRM in 21st century
“Employees matter and the management of employees (HRM) is a potential source for achieving
organizational goals.”
The relevance of optimal coping with change is embedded in the concept of competitive advantage.
➔ Is more important for organizational survival;
➔ And is at least partly manageable by HRM.
Schnabel (social cultural agency in the Netherlands) has 5 I’s for the 21st century:
▪ Internationalisation (is increasing)
▪ Individualisation (is increasing, people want to make sure they can fulfil affinities in
personal and work relations)
▪ Informalisation (organization flatter, less hierarchy)
▪ Informatisation (technological changes, ICT)
▪ Intensification
Operationalized sustainable careers as healthy and productive. Productivity for the company <–
> happiness and health for the employee. Sustainable carreer means: value for the organisation
as well as the value for your personal development.
Stakeholder perspective – very important for HRM.
There are three HRM perspectives:
▪ Micro HRM (MRHM) – deals with the inflow, throughflow and outflow in the organization
(people that come in the organization, recruitment, selection, training & development;
focus on the individual employee).
▪ International HRM (IHRM) – focus on differences between countries (institutional
differences, societal differences, differences in how people interact with each
other.
▪ Strategic HRM (SHRM) – focusses on issues of linking HRM to business strategy, designing
high performance work systems and adding value through good people management in
an attempt to gain sustained competitive advantage.
There are also three perspectives in studying SHRM practices:
▪ A multi-actor perspective – multiple stakeholders including employees, managers, HR
professionals, work councils, trade unions, top management, shareholders, financiers,
and government.
▪ Broad societal view – emphasis on different institutional contexts, e.g. on the level
of industry, regions and countries.
▪ A multi-level perspective – including the individual employee perspective and the
strategic organizational perspective.
Pauwe (2004):
➢ Human resources are something more than just ‘resources’.
➢ Human resources management is not concerned solely with financial performance.
➢ Human resource management focuses on the exchange relationship between employee
and organization.
1
, lOMoARcPSD|11911780
➢ And the shaping of the employment relationship takes place in an era of continuous
tension between the added value and moral values.
Boxall & Purcell (2008)
▪ HRM covers all workforce groups, including core employees, peripheral employees
and contingent workers;
▪ HRM involves line and specialist managers, and is not solely aimed at employees;
▪ HRM is all about managing work and people, collectively and individually;
▪ HRM is embedded in industries and societies.
Manager/employability paradox: when you invest in your employees, they will work longer for you,
but they are more attractive to steal away by competitors.
Book Chapter 1 – what was not covered in lecture 1
Stakeholders represent all groups inside and outside an organization that can affect its strategy and
goals.
➔ Internal stakeholders: employees, line managers, top management,
employee representatives.
➔ External stakeholders: shareholders, financiers, trade unions, national government,
local government and other interest groups.
Four contract elements that characterize the employment relationship:
1. Legal contract: the rights and obligations of both the employee and the organization.
2. Economic or transactional contract: how much the employer will pay for the
employee’s efforts, e.g. salary.
3. Psychological contract: all things that are not written down but are expected from
both actors in the situation.
4. Sociological contract: social aspects related to the relationships and networks
employees have within an organization, e.g. the relationship between employees.
Hard HRM – mainly focuses on the economics.
Soft HRM – mainly focuses on the human side of organizing.
HRM is not focussing on the typical practices such as recruitment and selection, training and
development, but also involved in managing issues on multiple level, including the
individual employee level and the collective level HRM is embedded in industries and
societies.
Anglo-Saxon / Anglo American models are focussing mainly on creating shareholder value in terms
of profit and market value with little or no attention to other stakeholders including trade unions
and work councils.
Rhineland models acknowledge multiple stakeholders and their interests explicitly taking into
account employees interests in terms of well-being and societal interests.
In the strategic balance model, organizational success can only be achieved when financial
performance and societal performance of an organization are above average in the particular
population in which the organization is operating.
2
, lOMoARcPSD|11911780
Bolman and Deal (2008) present four different perspectives or frames for studying organizations:
1. Structural frame – seeks to gain an understanding of the various parts of an
organization; such as rules, roles, goals, policies and technology.
2. HR frame focuses upon the employment relationship – specific way of looking
at organizations focussing on needs, skills and relationships of those involved.
3. Political frame – power, conflict, competition and organizational politics are leading concepts.
4. Symbolic frame – builds on meaning and identity. Culture, meaning, metaphor,
ritual, ceremony, stories and heroes are the central concepts.
3
, lOMoARcPSD|11911780
Lecture 2 – SHRM and context
The more fit between strategy and HRM, the better!
➔ The organization is in line with the environment, it is more able to achieve goals.
➔ Purpose is why you want to do it;
➔ Mission is how you want to do it;
➔ Vision is what you are doing.
Legislation: affects people management and HRM (laws, working conditions, agreements and
regulations)
Stakeholders: all groups inside and outside an organization that can affect its strategy and goals.
In order to have knowledge about the why you have to look at your own values and what you want
to contribute to society, as a person and as an organization. Then you can look to the environment
and see who you want to inspire and attract.
➔ Enactment is to scan the environment, see what is going on, what you need to take
into account, so you can see the future and see what you want to add to this future.
➔ Misfits cost a lot of money and reduce individual and societal well-being.
➔ Example of a misfit; is reflected in strikes where employees have an ongoing conflict on
for example labour conditions.
There are multiple types of fit in SHRM:
▪ Internal/horizontal fit: fit between the HR practices.
▪ Vertical/strategic fit: relates to fit between strategy, market environment and HR practices.
▪ Institutional fit: all things that are not directly influenced by the market, but by
regulations etc.
▪ Person-environment fit: important concept, will learn more about in lecture
7. Additional fit concepts (p. 38)
- Single employee consistency vs. Among employee consistency (justice issue)
- Temporal consistency vs adaptation fit (dynamic
component) Cultural factors:
- Trust: southern countries less likely to trust employees
- Powerdistance: powerdistance smaller in Netherlands, more freedom, related to
culture There are cultural differences between power differences, trust in employees etc.
Strategy is an organization’s intention to achieve certain goals through planned alignment (or fit)
between the organization and its environment.
o Goal-based strategy – based on the organizations vision and mission.
o Strategic formulation – is the process of forging a cohesive integrated set of
strategies designed to deal with the environment and achieve the business strategic
goals.
o Strategy implementation – are the actions the organization takes to execute the strategy
it has formulated.
4
