Aligning HR Strategy with Organizational Strategy

Business Strategy emphasizes how it intends to succeed in its chosen market place. It mainly focuses on competitive advantage. Business Strategy helps to establish the direction in which the organization is going in relation to its environment. The Business Strategy of an organization must reflect the intentions of managers about what they expect to achieve over a stated period of time. Business Strategy is therefore, about beating competitors in meeting customers needs, but this does not mean that a Business Strategy is the same thing as a marketing strategy. Business Strategies should take into account the changing needs and critical resources needed to carry out the strategic aims. Thus, organizations must unavoidably make choices about how they would pursue competitive advantage. Business plans are prepared to work on three to five years cycle and annual business plans are formed within this. These plans consist of strategies like innovation, cost reduction, Continue reading

Need of Workers Participation in Management

The concept Worker’s Participation in Management (WPM) is a broad and complex one. Depending on the sociopolitical environment and cultural conditions, the scope and contents of participation may change. In any case, a common thread running through all interpretations is the idea of associating employees in managerial decision-making. The view expressed by the International Institute for Labor Studies (Bulletin 5) is worth quoting here. Worker’s Participation in Management  has been defined as, “the participation resulting from practices which increase the scope for employee’s share of influence in decision-making at different tiers of organizational hierarchy with concomitant assumption of responsibility”. The concept of worker’s participation in management crystallizes the concept of Industrial Democracy, and indicates an attempt on the part of an employer to build his employees into a team which work towards the realization of a common objective. The participation of each worker in management affairs should strictly confine to Continue reading

Culture – Definition, Characteristics and Elements

Anthropologists and sociologists define culture as “Ways of Living “, built up by a group of human beings, which are transmitted from one generation to another. A culture acts out its ways of living in the context of social institutions, including family, educational, religious, governmental, and business institutions. Culture includes both conscious and unconscious values, ideas, attitudes, and symbols that shape human behavior and that are transmitted from one generation to the next. In this sense, culture does not include one-time solutions to unique problems, or passing fads and styles. As defined by organizational anthropologist Geert Hofstede, culture is “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one category of people from those of another”. In addition to agreeing that culture is learned, not innate, most anthropologists share two additional views. First, all faces of culture are interrelated: Influence or change one aspect of a culture and Continue reading

Information System (IS) Applications in Human Resource Management (HRM)

A unified data model provides a single, accurate view of HR activities ranging from recruitment, employment, training, performance management, compensation management and real time management. Oracle human resource leverage workflow and internet-based processes optimize various HRM activities. The system maintains global HR data in case of Trans-national companies and total organizational human resource data in case of national companies in a single location for accurate and easy availability. The system of applications of Information Technology (IT) in HRM is referred to as Human Resource Module. HRIS merges some of HRM functions with the IT field, wherein the planning and programming of data processing systems have evolved into standardized routines and packages of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. ERP integrates the human resource module with finance, production, and sales and administration modules. Generally, traditional HRM functions are common to all organizations. They consist of tracking data regarding personal histories, family details, Continue reading

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) Assessment

Personality tests can have huge benefits for both organisations and the individuals. It can help management with employee selection and employee development and they can help individuals to identify areas of themselves which need improving. The practical nature of these tests can help to weed out unsuitable candidates quickly and easily and it is also a form of selection which can stand up in court. The  Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) itself is a well known and trusted brand of test, due to the model which it is based on and the amount of working adults it is normed on. The Hogan Personality Inventory is a personality test which is a measure of normal personality and is used to predict job performance. This tool has many uses and is used by both organisations and individuals. The HPI was specifically designed to aid business and commercial use and can be used throughout Continue reading

Self Motivation – Tips to Motivate Yourself

Self-motivation is a process wherein a person develop ways on how to keep his or her self motivated at all times despite challenging times and without direct help from other people. Experts say that self-motivation is a very important factor in a person’s life because this will help him or her see things in a positive way. This will also enable him or her to overcome challenges by developing an attitude that could withstand trials and failures.If one is able to develop a good outlook in life, everything will start falling into their proper places. In fact, he or she might even be surprised of the things that were able to accomplished in that span of time. The ABCs of  Self Motivation If you are one of those who have just realized the importance of self-motivation and would want to start it but you just don’t know how, here are Continue reading