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A New Mandate for Human Resources by Dave Ulrich

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A New Mandate for Human Resources by Dave Ulrich Harvard Business Review Reprint 98111 S h ould we do away with HR? In recent years, a number of people who study and write about business – along with many who run businesses – have been debating that question. The debate arises out of serious and widespread doubts about HR’s contribution to organizational performance. And as much as I like HR people – I have been working in the field as a researcher, professor, and consultant for 20 years – I must agree that there is good reason for HR’s beleaguered reputation. It is often ineffective, incompetent, and costly; in a phrase, it is value sapping. Indeed, if HR were to remain configured as it is today in many companies, I …show more content…

It follows that they should lead the way in fully integrating HR into the company’s real work. Indeed, to do so, they must become HR champions themselves. They must acknowledge that competitive success is a function of organizational excellence. More important, they must hold HR accountable for delivering it. Of course, the line should not impose the new agenda on the HR staff. Rather, operating managers and HR managers must form a partnership to quickly and completely reconceive and reconfigure the function – to overhaul it from one devoted to activities to one committed to outcomes. The process will be different in every organization, but the result will be the same: a business era in which the question Should we do away with HR? will be considered utterly ridiculous. Why HR Matters Now More Than Ever HR’s activities appear to be– and often are– disconnected from the real work of an organization. Regardless of their industry, size, or location, companies today face five critical business challenges. Collectively, these challenges require organizations to build new capabilities. Who is currently responsible for developing those capabilities? Everyone – and no one. That vacuum is HR’s opportunity to play a leadership role in enabling organizations to meet the following competitive

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