Performance Management in a Human Resources Framework

Critically compare and contrast the ‘best fit’, BP and RBV models of HRM strategy – explain how EACH approach is argued to contribute to improve organizational performance.

HRM goes beyond the administrative tasks of personnel management and encompasses a broad vision of how management would like the resources to contribute to the success of the organization.

This essay discusses the role and function of Human Resource Management (HRM) within an organisation. The Harvard and Michigan models have been explained within the essay as they support the analysis of “soft” and “hard” HR approach that managers adapt when applying the HR policies to achieve different organisational strategies like diversification, acquisition and cost reductions. Subsequent section of the essay will examine the link between HRM and its strategies with examples taken from organisations like Harrods’ and Disney and institutes like NHS on how they use HR policies and strategies to achieve their organisational goals.

Wright and McMahan (1994) define strategic HRM as “the pattern of planned Human Resource deployments and activities intended to enable the organisation to achieve its goals.” A HR function should impact the success of an organisation; a policy must remain current and suitable to both the internal and external environment. Ulrich and Lake (1990) affirm, ‘HRM systems can be the source of organisational capabilities that allow organisations to learn and capitalise on new opportunities.’

The focus on integration of HRM with strategy provides a wider range of solutions to difficult organisational problems and results in achieving a competitive advantage (Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall, 1998).

This literature review aims to examine and evaluate the existing literature, which relates to the role of performance management in both controlling and developing employees. In the beginning, the review will emphasize on defining ‘performance management’, its brief history, evolution, and definitions through the existing literature available. In between this literature review, will highlight the issues related to performance management, which act as a hindrance in its perfect execution in organisations. The latter part of this literature review will focus on the examination of existing research if any, which has aimed to identify a link or no link between performance management and controlling and developing employees.

HRM is an approach to employment management, which aims to achieve a competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques (Storey 2001). Ultimately, it focuses on the sharpening the ‘Labour’ and ‘Entrepreneurship’ factors of production. This means that the business can produce a high quality product to consumers with hopes of outshining competitors and achieving its strategic aims.

Throughout every organization, there is a system set up for effective performance management. It is known that there is a continuous process associated with performance management. In order have success in the process; managers must have extensive knowledge of the mission and goals of the organization. Once the mission and goal is set in place, there should be a cascading effect that trickles down to each employee within the organization. This paper summarizes an article titled “Performance Management Done Right: It’s Not the Form, It’s the Process” (Murray, n.d.) The published article breaks down what performance management actually entails and introduces a variety of ways to implement the tool that helps build

Performance management is the process of management that contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams to achieve high levels of organizational performance. Some see performance management as performance related pay schemes and others as the performance appraisal systems. In simple terms, performance management provides the means for people to improve their performance or apply their abilities more constructively.

The "best-fit" approach questions the universality assumption of the best-practice perspective. It emphasizes contingency fit between HR activities and the organization's stage of development, an organization's internal structures and its external environment like clients, suppliers, competition and labour markets (Redman and Wilkinson 2009). HR policy should be minted by the appropriate context of individual employees and therefore support the overall competitive strategy. Aligning HRM practices to strategies can enable companies to create potential competitive advantages (Schuler and Jackson 1987 in Redman and Wilkinson 2009).

Over sometime, King has been under great scrutiny for the way situations have been handled in the past. This steams all the way down from the leadership to the employees. With the recent reduction of force, many of these disturbing issues have been brought to light. These issues just as with any other organization, will not correct themselves. It will take various plans for improvement and involvement from everyone affected in order to turn things around for the better. Again, King is not the only or the first company to experience things such as this.

Armstrong M. and Baron A. (2005) _Managing Performance: Performance management in action_. London: CIPD in Foot, M. and Hook, C. (2008) Introducing Human Resource Management, 5th Edition, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, England, pp. 239.

HRM generally refers to a branch of management that is concerned with managing people so that they can contribute the best possible results to an organization. HRM leadership focuses on the application of management principles to the people working within the organization. HRM leadership aims at improving the performance and productivity of the organization by finding the effectiveness of its human capital; leadership in HRM focuses on placing the right person at the right job. This process consists of a range of activities such as recruitment, selection, orientation, training and development, performance appraisal, managing relationships within the organization, and introducing and managing change necessary changes.

The issue of how the human resource management affects organizations performance has always presented in academic world. Many scholars have done a lot of theoretical and field work, trying to prove that the contribution and impact of human resource management on organizational performance. Human resource management provides direction and enhances competitiveness in organization, and becoming a strategic partner in helping companies improves its performance (Ajit Kumar Kar, 2012). However, when it comes to particular issue, evidence suggesting a possible universal consensus are apparently the division of opinions is nowhere in sight.

Personnel management is an old approach to organise and manage staff in a firm whereas HRM is a complete view of managing staff and their powers in an organization.