JJEM: Volume 1 Issue 2 (Jul - Dec 2017)
JJEM: Volume 1 Issue 2 (Jul - Dec 2017)
2017-12-30
Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) - A Model of Achieving Competitive Advantage
Avneet Kaur
Human Resource isn’t a thing we do. It’s a thing that run our business Organizations are increasingly looking at human resources as a unique asset that can provide sustained competitive advantage. The changes in the business environment with increasing globalization, changing demographics of the workforce, increased focus on profitability through growth, technological changes, intellectual capital and the never-ending changes that organizations are undergoing have led to increased importance of managing human resources. In this scenario, a human resource (HR) department that is highly administrative and lacks strategic integration fails to provide the competitive advantage needed for survival, thus losing its relevance. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that there were noticeable financial returns for the organisations whose human resource management (HRM) systems have achieved operational excellence and are aligned with business strategic goals. HRM is strategic by its very nature and all its elements have strategic linkages. Strategic HRM defines the organization’s intentions and plans on how its business goals should be achieved through people. It is based on three propositions: first, that human capital is a major source of competitive advantage; second, that it is people who implement the strategic plan; and, third, that a systematic approach should be adapted to defining where the organization wants to go and how it should get there. Strategic HRM addresses broad organizational issues relating to changes in structure and culture, organizational effectiveness and performance, matching resources to future requirements, the development of distinctive capabilities, knowledge management, and the management of change. The paper attempts to give an insight about the meaning, aim of strategic HRM, how Strategic HRM helps in achieving competitive advantage, approaches and limitations of Strategic HRM.
Aim of strategic advantage, competitive advantage, limitations of strategic advantage, strategic human resource management