Imagine you are the HR manager at a company, and a female employee came to you upset because she felt a male coworker was creating a hostile work
Imagine you are the HR manager at a company, and a female employee came to you upset because she felt a male coworker was creating a hostile work environment by repeatedly asking her out on dates even after she said "no." What would you do? Write a plan for how you would approach your conversation with each employee, including the most essential topics to cover. As you write your plan, think about what your goals are for this situation and how each conversation will help you achieve those goals. Write a 2–3 page paper in which you:
- Write a plan for the conversation you would have with the employee, based on the concepts found in your textbook. What are the most important points you would need to cover in this conversation, and why?
- Write a plan for the conversation you would have with the employee's male co-worker, based on the concepts found in your textbook. What are the most important points you would need to cover in this conversation, and why?
- Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
- This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
- Include at least one reference to support your paper.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
- Create a plan for approaching tough conversations with employees, including a rationale for the most essential topics to cover.
Chapter 4: The Competitive Environment
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Chapter 4
The Competitive Environment
Learning Outcomes
Describe the competitive environment of human resource management
Identify three types of strategies and relate each to human resource management
Discuss human resource strategy formulation and relevant organizational factors
Discuss the processes through which human resource strategy is implemented
Discuss how the human resource function in organizations can be evaluated
LEARNING OUTCOMES
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HR5 | CH4
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Competitive Environment
Firms can gain competitive advantages through their management of human resources (HR)
HR managers:
Adopt strategic perspectives
Recognize the critical links between organizational and HR strategies
Add value by providing expertise on how to use a firm’s existing human resources to accomplish its objectives and gain competitive advantage
LO 1
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HR5 | CH4
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Strategic Perspective in the Competitive Environment
Employees are important sources of competitive advantage
Steps to gain a sustained competitive advantage
Hire the right people
Train them to be effective
Place them in the right jobs
Motivate them to work hard
Strive to retain them
Organizations must develop strategies to use their human resources in the most effective manner
LO 1
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HR5 | CH4
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Influence of Organizational Purpose and Mission
Fundamental contextual forces that define the strategic context of HRM include an organization’s purpose and mission
Purpose: Basic reason for an organization’s existence
Mission: Statement of how an organization intends to fulfill its purpose
Provides subtle cues about the importance an organization places on its human resources
Both its purpose and its mission affect an organization’s HR practices in some ways
LO 1
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HR5 | CH4
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5
Influence of the Top Management Team
Top management team: Group of senior executives responsible for the overall strategic operation of an organization
Sets the tone for the organization and plays a major role in shaping its culture
Abilities of top management teams to influence their organizations and success depend on the nature of the industry, organization, and individual
Described using the term managerial discretion
LO 1
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6
Corporate Governance
Determinant of managerial discretion
Role: To deal with agency problems
Agency problems: Mismatch in the interests of the managers and owners of a firm
Solved by a board of directors who monitor actions of the top management team to ensure the protection of stockholders’ interests
LO 1
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HR5 | CH4
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7
Types of Strategies
Corporate strategy
Deals with determining what businesses the corporation will operate
Business strategy
Deals with how a firm will compete in each market where it conducts business
Functional strategy
Deals with how a firm will manage each of its major functions such as marketing, finance, and human resources
LO 2
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HR5 | CH4
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Corporate Strategies
Growth strategy
Focuses on growing and expanding the business
Pursued internally by opening additional locations
Pursued externally through mergers, joint ventures, or acquisitions
Retrenchment or turnaround strategy
Occurs when an organization finds that its current operations are not effective
LO 2
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HR5 | CH4
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Corporate Strategies (Continued 1)
Major changes are needed to rectify the problem
Involves rightsizing the organization by closing operations, shutting down factories, and terminating employees to get back on the right track
Stability strategy
Used after a period of retrenchment or rapid growth when a company plans to stay in its current businesses and intends to retain the way they are managed
LO 2
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Corporate Strategies (Continued 2)
Diversification strategy
Used by firms that are adding new products, product lines, or businesses to their existing core products, product lines, or businesses
Related diversification: Used when a firm believes it can achieve synergy among its various businesses
Unrelated diversification: Used when a firm attempts to operate several unique businesses in different, unrelated markets
LO 2
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HR5 | CH4
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Business Strategy
Adaptation model: Popular approach to business strategy where a business seeks ways to adapt to its environment
Strategic alternatives include:
Defender strategy
Prospector strategy
Analyzer strategy
Reactor strategy: Seen as a strategic failure
LO 2
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Defender Strategy
Identifies a relatively narrow niche in the market and then directs a limited set of products or services at that niche
Guards and secures a position in existing markets
Appropriate in an environment with low uncertainty and risk and high stability
HR managers recruit and seek to retain stable employees who exhibit high levels of commitment and loyalty to a firm
LO 2
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HR5 | CH4
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Prospector Strategy
Focuses on new products and markets
Avoids long-term commitment
Business environment is dynamic and grows with considerable uncertainty and risk
HR managers prefer to recruit and retain entrepreneurial employees who are highly flexible and more dedicated to their craft or profession than to the organization itself
LO 2
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Analyzer Strategy
Identifies and exploits new markets and products
Simultaneously maintains a nucleus of traditional core products and customers
Appropriate in relatively stable conditions with moderate uncertainty and risk
HR managers may seek to recruit and retain employees who might be moderately entrepreneurial and flexible but who will also be quite dedicated and loyal to a firm
LO 2
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HR5 | CH4
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Specific Competitive Strategies
Differentiation strategy
Firms attempt to develop an image or reputation for their products or services that set the firms apart from their competitors
Cost leadership strategy
Focuses on minimizing the costs as much as possible
Focus strategy
Undertaken when an organization tries to target a specific segment of the marketplace for its products or services
LO 2
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Functional Strategies
Address how an organization will manage its basic functional activities, such as marketing, finance, operations, research and development, and HR
HR strategy formulation formally begins to take shape at the functional level
HR strategy should be closely integrated and coordinated with corporate, business, and other functional strategies
LO 2
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HR5 | CH4
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Human Resource Strategy Formulation
Staffing strategy
HR planning
Recruiting
Selection
Placement
Development strategy
Performance management
Training
Development
Career planning
LO 3
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Human Resource Strategy Formulation (Continued)
Compensation strategy
Wage/salary structure
Employee benefits
Incentives
LO 3
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Basic Components of HR Strategy
Organization design
Corporate culture
Unionization
LO 3
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Forms of Organization Design
Functional design (U-form organization)
Organizations group members into basic functional departments
Has a single HR department for an organization
Conglomerate (H-form) design
Used when an organization has implemented a strategy of unrelated diversification
HRM is a common staff function, but each of the unrelated businesses has its own HR department that functions with relative autonomy within that business
LO 3
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HR5 | CH4
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21
Forms of Organization Design (Continued)
Divisional (M-form) design
Facilitates synergy across businesses
HR function is likely to be diffused so that operating managers take on more of the responsibility for HR activities
Somewhat smaller HR staff provides basic services and plays more of a consultative role
LO 3
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HR5 | CH4
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22
Corporate Culture
An organization’s culture refers to the set of values that help members understand:
What the organization stands for
How it accomplishes what it desires
What it considers important
Plays a major role in shaping managerial behavior
Strong element in how an organization manages its human resources
LO 3
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23
Corporate Culture (Continued)
Firms must have a strong and well-articulated culture
Communicated through training, consistent behavior, and other organizational activities
May either facilitate or impede the work of HR managers
Crucial for the success of corporate mergers and acquisitions
LO 3
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HR5 | CH4
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24
Impact of Unionization and Collective Bargaining
Labor relations
Process of dealing with employees who are represented by a union
Unionized firms tend to have more rules and formal procedures that may limit a firm’s ability to formulate an ideal strategy
Strong unions facilitate strategic change if their leaders and the firm’s management work together productively
LO 3
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HR5 | CH4
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Interpersonal Processes
Psychological contract
Overall set of expectations held by an individual with respect to what he or she will contribute to an organization and what the individual receives in return
Personality
Relatively stable set of psychological attributes or traits that distinguish one person from another
LO 4
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HR5 | CH4
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Interpersonal Processes (Continued)
Motivation
Set of forces that causes people to behave in certain ways
Stress
A person’s adaptive response to a stimulus that places excessive psychological or physical demands on that person
LO 4
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HR5 | CH4
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Strategy Implementation
HR managers are responsible for:
Identifying potential leadership qualities among existing employees and to help structure procedures for developing and enhancing those qualities
Improving behavioral processes
Directly related to communication
Written, oral, and nonverbal communication are all pervasive in organizations
LO 4
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HR5 | CH4
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28
Evaluating the HR Function in Organizations
The costs and benefits of HRM functions are examined to see which ones contribute to competitive advantage and which should be outsourced
Line managers may choose between the corporation’s HR department or an outsider vendor when they need HRM help
Recent trend is to evaluate entire systems of HR activities
LO 5
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HR5 | CH4
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Human Resource Management Practices That May Lead to Improved Firm Performance
Self-directed work teams
Total quality management (TQM)
Contingent pay
Attitude surveys
Formal performance appraisals
Continuous training
LO 5
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HR5 | CH4
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Key Terms
Purpose
Mission
Top management team
Corporate strategy
Business strategy
Functional strategy
Growth strategy
Retrenchment or turnaround strategy
Stability strategy
Diversification strategy
Related diversification
Unrelated diversification
Adaptation model
Differentiation strategy
Cost leadership strategy
KEY TERMS
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HR5 | CH4
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Key Terms (Continued)
Focus strategy
Organization design
Culture
Psychological contract
Personality
Motivation
Stress
KEY TERMS
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HR5 | CH4
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Summary
Firms gain competitive advantages through the management of human resources
Key to strategic operations is developing and implementing effective strategies
HR strategy can be developed using a firm’s corporate and business strategies as context
Interpersonal processes play a major role in the implementation of HR strategies
Evaluating the effectiveness of the HR function has become a trend in recent years
SUMMARY
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HR5 | CH4
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