STRATEGIC ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Introductionscope of the strategic HR and how successful
              Strategic management seeksorganizations are leveraging their success on strategic
to coordinate and integrate the activities of the varioushuman resource management
functional areas of a business in order to achieve 
long-term organizational objectives. A balancedHR as Strategic Partner
scorecard is often used to evaluate the overallThese are among the important ones.
performance of the business and its progress towards- Recruiting the right employees. Align corporate values
objectives... Strategic management provides overallto your recruitment strategy.
direction to the enterprise and is closely related to the- Well-developed competencies of the workforce, and
field of Organization StudiesStrategic planning andtheir relevance to organizational core business.
management are more than a set of managerial tools.- Participative culture where HR initiatives fully support
They constitute a mind-set, an approach to looking atthe overall strategic plan.
the changes in the internal and external environment- Effective use of information technology.
that confront the manager. Using planning and- Effective leadership through appointment of the right
management tools strategically, then, involvesHR Head.
essentially a way of thinking, a mental framework or- Identification of human resource practices that make
approach, as well as a set of analytic tools. ForHR as strategic partner, namely, serving the business
strategic management to be effectively used theneeds of your organization. Discard ineffective HR
manager must develop a strategic mentalitypractices that do not contribute to the success of your
Organizations are working towards anorganization.
outward-focused view of the way services should beWhy make HR as Organizational Strategic Partner...
provided - a fundamental shift from the traditionalSome of the reasons may sound familiar to you.
focus on internal concerns. At the same time, major- To increase productivity of the labor force
opportunities for improvement may arise from- Competency and talent management
developments such as new information and- Onset of information technology and the vast
communications technologies, and the availability ofamount of knowledge used in the course of the
additional financial resources such as the Invest toactivities of organizations
Save Budget. In many cases the response to the- The changing business environment
problem or opportunity will:- Effect of globalization on the business landscape
- require the continuous attention of seniorThe Human Resource Function and Strategic Business
managementPlan
- affect most or all of the organization                  It was shown in a
- have long term implicationssurvey that there is a correlation between being
- require substantial resourcesstrategic business partner and the effectiveness of
- Be interconnected with other issues andthe HR function.
developments.You require strategic HR management to ensure that
 What is Strategy?your HR function can fully support the achievement of
           A strategy is a step-by-step plan ofbusiness objectives.
action prepared by an organization and by which itThe administrative reactive approach in people
aims to achieve its plan or plans, thus, ensuring itsmanagement can no longer support your organization
success and survival.in an increasingly competitive business environment.
What is Strategic human resource management?Strategy Development and Implementation
         This is the step-by-step plan of action               Full participation of HR
by which an organization employs, utilizes or manages,people in strategy development and implementation
develops, and deploys its human resources in order topromotes HR as strategic partner.
attain its defined corporate mission and objectives.Ensure that your HR Manager and HR professionals:
A human resource strategy is devised in respect of- contribute to business decisions
recruitment, employee deployment, motivation and- develop business acumen to understand how a
engagement, and employee retention.profitable business is run
By doing this, an organization puts itself in the position- are customer-oriented
of being able to achieve its mission and objectives- learn how to link HR practices to your organizational
through its human resources.business strategy
This follows from the way how strategic human 
resource is strategically defined.The Future of SHRM
          This is the effective way of               Proponents of strategic HR
organizing the workforce by the adoption of a specificmanagement generated tremendous interest on the
strategy, where employees' performance can help tosubject. Some large organizations had implemented it.
achieve the planned organizational targets, such asIn contrast, some lament the ineffectual efforts by
increasing revenue or improving the profit margin.many organizations in implementing the
Strategic human resource management is "humansystem.Strategic human resource management is not
resource management" carried out in a strategic way.going to disappear. This is so as long as people
The human resource activities are linked to thecontinue to run organizations of whatever size and for
achievement of the organization's overall objectives.whatever purpose. It is very certain that people will
This is the new way of managing human resources ascontinue to play pivotal roles.
compared to personnel management.As the world of business becomes more complex and
 challenging, strategic human resource management will
        To ensure a high probability of success incontinue to grow in importance in the success story of
the implementation of strategic human resourceorganizations.
management, a number of things are necessary.Importance of SHRM
- Strategic recruitment where the right person isThe organization's "ends" is its financial success.
selected to fill the right job and according toHuman resource strategy is one of the means to
organizational needsattain this. Organizations have always tried to comply
- Using the right mix of incentives to motivate andwith legal obligations in the course of carrying out their
engage employees who then can concentratebusiness activities. Also, finance and technology are
improving their performanceimportant assets. But people are required to make
- Appointment of the right HR Head to provide theeffective and efficient use of them.
necessary leadership in making HR as a strategicIn non-profit organizations, the end is to provide the
partnerspecified services to the intended group or groups in
- An HR mission statement with well defined HRthe most cost-effective way, in the most satisfactory
objectives drawn up in alignment with the overallmanner, and serving the majority of the target groups.
organizational objectivesEffective development and implementation of an HR
- Provision of the right set of training to every level ofstrategy requires HR professionals who are
employees on an on-going basisconversant in finance, negotiation, change
- Performance management system to identifymanagement, and the overall operations of the
high-performing employees for the purpose of givingorganization.
rewards befitting their performance, work quality andAn HR strategic plan aligns the HR function to the
outputcorporate plan. Good knowledge about the
Issues of SHRMorganization, its objectives, systems and processes,
     The strategic human resource choicescan assist HR people in doing this task well.
involved in  low cost of production strategy include:CONCLUSION
- Train some of the employees in the area of time                   This all looks so easy
management, material handling at work etc.on paper. Do this, do that, and you will be aligned with
- Retrenchment of surplus employees caused due tothe mission and able to demonstrate your contribution
superior speedtoward it. Obviously, it is not that easy. Private sector,
- Pay for performancepublic sector, and some Federal entities have been
- Promotions based on efficiencystruggling with this issue even before GPRA was
- High quality work environment at the production place.enacted -- and that works to our advantage. There is
These human resource issues are also known asa wealth of information out there that can help --
functional strategies of  HRM.hundreds of articles, books, and studies have been
 Approach to SHRMwritten, numerous tools have been created, and many
              This is the new way oforganizations have already tested a number of
managing people ensuing from the strategic humanapproaches. We can learn from all of these
resource definition.successes and failures. Where Do We Go from
Human resources with all the competencies andHere? But the only way to begin is to begin report.. To
potential are required to attain the HR objectives.achieve this goal, we must all work together.
These objectives are aligned to the organizationalIt's kind of fun to do the impossible.
objectives by way of a strategic plan. 
By achieving the human resource objectives, HR helps 
to achieve the business plan. 
Role of SHRM 
                 Strategic management 
of employees emphasizes the HR strategic role. ThisREFERENCE
stems from the argument of many "gurus" on HR Dr.Subba Rao .p, Personnel and Human Resource
strategic importance.Management, Preface to the second Edition on 21st
One of the foremost things we need to know is theJune, 2002.