Shared Activity Unit 6: Trends in HR

As organisations continue to grow and change, HRM has evolved with them. As recently as a couple of decades ago, many HR Departments were still referred to as Personnel Departments, and they managed hiring, terminations and employee benefits. HRM now aspires to be a central part of the organisation and, in many cases, has developed strategic relationships with other departments. HRM now includes diversity management, virtual workforce management and performance management (Vosburgh, 2007). Through these functions, HR has the potential to make a direct contribution to the success of an organisation. These may be commonplace to you, but they would have been unheard of in the 1950s. Reflect on the key trends that are occurring in HRM and consider the contribution and value added to organisations by these trends. In this Shared Activity, you will analyse current HR trends and their impact on organisations.

References
Vosburgh, R. M., (2007) 'The Evolution of HR: Developing HR as an Internal Consulting Organization', Human Resource Planning, 30 (3) pp.11-23.Retrieved from http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.hrps.org/resource/resmgr/p_s_article_preview/hrps_issue30.3_evolutionofhr.pdf

To prepare for this Shared Activity:

• Review the Unit Introduction and the Learning Resources.
• Research and identify two or three key HRM trends as indicated by current debates in academic journals.

To complete this Shared Activity:

• Post an entry from the perspective of a manager and address the following points:
• Explain your selected HRM trends and draw out several common themes.
• Analyse one trend for how it may influence organisations, including benefits and drawbacks. Assess how the trend adds value and/or heightens the strategic involvement of HR within organisations.

• Respond to at least one peer who selected a different trend from the perspective of a HR professional and address the following points:
• Explain how the relationship between organisational behaviour theory and HR processes can be applied to your peer's selected trend.
• Explain how the changing role of HR professionals impacts the trend.
• Explain how the trend impacts the changing role of HR professionals.

• Support your Shared Activity with current academic literature beyond your Learning Resources.

Participate in this Shared Activity only during the period of this unit to ensure that you and your colleagues can keep track of one another's postings and maintain a focused, collaborative discussion. Review the Syllabus and Shared Activities Rubric for information on how your contributions to the Shared Activities will be graded in this module. In each unit, you will receive feedback from your Faculty Member on your participation in the Shared Activities, focusing on your contributions to the learning community. In Unit 6, your Faculty Member will provide final feedback and a final grade on your Shared Activity contribution throughout the module.

Individual Assignment Unit 6: Final Project

By the end of this unit, submit all elements of your Final Project to your Faculty Member for grading. These elements, and their grade weights, are described on the Final Project Guidelines document found in the Final Project area of the Module Menu.

INSTRUCTION FOR FINAL PROJECT

Overview

Throughout the module, you will participate in activities and complete assignments that will help prepare you to complete this Final Project. Many of the elements for your Final Project will first be submitted as Individual Assignments during the various units. You will have a chance to revise and improve them before submitting your Final Project, based on feedback from your Faculty Member and peers. Use the instructions below to complete all required elements of your Final Project.

For this Final Project you develop a set of HRM recommendations for a fictitious, scenario organisation that will be assigned by the Faculty Member that contains the three primary assessment elements. You are expected to adopt a critical approach to the way that you analyse the scenario organisation and make recommendations for change. You present the recommendations as a consultancy report that addresses a transition described in an assigned scenario.

Your Final Project in this module consists of two parts:

• Part 1: HRM Consultancy Report

• Section 1: Organisational change scenario analysis (1,000 words)
• Section 2: Analysis of organisational solutions (3,000 words)
• Section 3: Conclusions (1,000 words)

• Part 2: PPDP Update (not assessed)

You will prepare a consulting report that will follow this general outline:

Final Project Part 1: HRM Consultancy Report

•Section 1: Organisational change scenario analysis (1,000 words)

Based on the assigned scenario and Individual Assignments from the units, students will prepare the first section of the HRM Consultancy Report, an analysis of the potential people management issues at play in the chosen scenario organisation which should include the following elements:

• Describe the scenario organisation and its upcoming transition: If your selected scenario provides options, explain the options that you will address. For example, in the Akbar scenario, Mr. Akbar and his son have the option to leave or take on senior management positions. If you chose this scenario, state which option Mr. Akbar and his son will take. You may also wish to suggest additional choices not mentioned in the scenario brief and creatively provide other details as you describe your scenario. In addition, you may provide further context/details and selected options for your scenario, either based on your own experience and/or other case examples with which you are familiar. Just be sure to address the implications of these details as you propose solutions in Section 2 of the HRM Consultancy Report.

• An organisational analysis of the scenario:

§  What organisational issues might the scenario transition create and what are the people management implications of this transition?

§  What HRM approaches may need to be revised and/or new ones introduced?

• Section 2: Analysis of organizational solutions (3,000 words)

Based on the assigned scenario, students will prepare the second section of the Report that will follow this general outline:

• Theoretical Analysis: Include an introduction critically analysing two or three OB/HR matrix relationships that are relevant within your scenario. Identify theories of organisational behaviour relevant to the scenario and discuss what HRM approaches are associated and/or linked to these theories. How might the relevant theories be operationalised through specific HRM approaches/practices in the scenario (Unit 1)?

• Identification of Issues: List at least three key human resource issues that have the potential to impact the scenario for which you intend to propose solutions. One of your three issues should include how managers in the scenario organisation will develop teams composed of employees from varying cultures and geographic locations effectively (Unit 4). Assume that one of the scenario organisation's goals is to build a diverse workforce. Critically analyse the role of the adoption of diversity management initiatives in building a diverse workforce and what particular impact diversity might have to developing teams in your scenario organisation (Unit 2). Consider issues of power and politics that may arise within and across teams (Unit 3) as a consequence of the pending changes in your scenario organisation.

§  Depending on the issues you chose, you might also wish to discuss how performance management systems could aid the organisation in addressing these issues (Unit 5). Examples of other issues might include how to address recruitment and selection or training and development. Critically consider the organisational needs of the scenario (as well as any additional options or details you have chosen) and determine other issues that may be at play and how you might address them.

• Proposed Solutions to Issues: Describe your suggested solutions for addressing the three issues within the scenario organisation. Your solutions should suggest approaches to organisation and management that are appropriate for the scenario and should explain how organisational behaviour theories are relevant to the solutions. Explain how your proposed HRM approach solutions are connected to organisational behaviour(s).

§  Provide an analysis and critique of the implications of each suggested solution (from item c above) for managers in the scenario organisation. Are there implications of your suggested solutions for which the organisation should plan? Are there potential stakeholder reactions that might need to be managed? Include a comparison of the solutions as appropriate.

•Section 3: Conclusions (1,000 words)

Write a conclusion summarising thoughts on the solutions proposed and explaining how the implementation of the proposed solutions may impact organisational needs and managerial capabilities:

§  Include potential impacts on employees' reaction or resistance to change and the people management issues that may result from the implementation

§  Include any insights gained from completing the critique.

§  Cite your references in Harvard format.

Please note:

§  Word counts: Submissions that range from 10% below to 10% above the recommended word count are acceptable. Students should recognise that assignment submissions that fall outside these parameters may be marked down, since the quality of the assignment is likely to suffer accordingly.

§  All citations in your report should be supported with appropriate literature sources. These should appear in Harvard format in your References section at the end of your report.

§  Marks will be given for formatting, such as inclusion of an organisation description.

Scenarios:

1.An acquisition

Akbar and Sons, launched and headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a family-owned oil company with a rich tradition of social responsibility. BP Oil acquires Akbar and Sons. BP will send senior managers to the UAE Akbar headquarters for 3-6 months. After that, current Akbar managers will need to travel frequently to the UK where BP will oversee operations. The average age of Akbar employees is 46. Through working together for several years, they have become a very close team and all share a common Islamic faith. BP retains all Akbar employees and Mr. Akbar and his son have the option to leave or to fulfil senior management roles within the BP organisation, frequently travelling or relocating to the UK.

2.Opening a new overseas office

Lanx, a UK-based, textile-manufacturing firm is opening a new plant in Delhi, India. Lanx has enjoyed marked growth in the UK and determines that it can reduce long-term manufacturing costs by having a presence in Delhi. Selected current Lanx managers, who are all UK nationals and have worked in the UK-office for more than 5 years, will relocate and manage Delhi employees onsite. The selected Lanx managers were chosen for their company experience, performance record and ability to lead diverse groups. However, none of the selected managers has had extensive intercultural communication training.

3.Starting a new product or service line that will require new kinds of employees

Prochurus and Garner, a large, US-based consumer goods company is to launch a new cosmetics line that targets Latinas and is sold exclusively via network marketing.  The consumer who will be interested in selling the cosmetics via network marketing is a 24-year-old, Spanish-speaking female with limited sales experience. The current plan is to use savings from reduced marketing and distribution costs for training.

4.Starting an outsourcing effort

Historically, Amsterdam-based BancRoyale has been known for superior, friendly customer service. Due to increasing costs, BancRoyale outsources its online customer service function to a small firm in South America. Representatives from the South American firm seem professional, but there have been initial complaints about language barriers during service calls.

Final Project Part 2: PPDP Update (not assessed)

In addition to your Final Project, you should review and update your Personal and Professional Development Plan (PPDP) by adding/revising at least one new goal connected to your learning in this module.