HRM in large Organisations

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Chapter 7

• HRM in large Organisations

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Introduction

• Organisations are
• Social entities
• Common goals
• Unrestricted range
• Boundary
• Structure of relationships
• Recognised as entities but they are also
  intangible.

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Cont

• Ppl manages need to monitor and control
  performance to achieve org goals
• Need to manage ppl as well as corporate structure
  and culture
• OT provides frame of reference and different
  viewpoints.

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Organisations and the business environment

• Competition has increased
• Environmental norms and culture reflected in
  organisations- influences structures
• Different structures lead to diff ppl management
  approaches
• Businesses also control environmental elements in
  order to survive.
• HR moving away from employing inflexible ees to
  range of other alternatives
• Blind pursuit of cost effectiveness reduces ee
  commitment.

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Dimensions of organisation

• Decision to manage ppl in a particular way
  depends on a number of factors
• Organizational goals
• Size
• Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)
• Large commercial
• Public or state sector
• Cooperatives

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Cont

• Managerial structures
• Coordination
• Specialization
• Centralization-decentralization
• Hierarchy
• Degree of bureaucracy

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Organisational goals

• The logical starting point for HRm lies in an
  organisations goals- the reasons for its
  existence. Most modern businesse express these
  goals in the form of a mission statement. The
  allocation and control of human resources serves
  to assist or constrain the achievement of these
  objectives.

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Coordination

• Tasks divided among a group of individuals must
  be synchronised and integrated in some way as to
  achieve the overall objectives of the group. Jobs
  must fit into a coherent flow of work.
  Coordination involves the distribution of
  decisionmaking. This can be formal, with rigid
  rules and regulations, or informal, giving
  freedom for local decisions. Coordination may be
  routine, because of structure and control
  mechanisms, including a performance mgmt system
  or direct, by mgmt action.

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Specialisation

• The division of work btwn indvls or departments,
  allocating responsibilities for specific
  activities or functions to ppl who can achieve a
  high standard of work in a relatively narrow
  range of activities. They may require specific
  training or expertise. For example, HR managers
  are concerned with organisation of the HR
  function and resourcing of all other functions.

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Centralisation- decentralisation

• This depends on where decisions are taken. The
  human resource function may be held within a
  separate headquarters department or devolved to
  local sections. Alternatively, it may be
  allocated to line managers, with an in house
  consultancy provided by specialists for
  procedures such as selection, development and
  performance measurement.

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Hierarchy

• The structure by which individual responsibility
  and authority is divided in an organisation,
  usually represented by a tree and branch chart
  and reflecting the percepttion of senior
  managers. Vertical complexity is indicated by a
  tall or flat hierarchy. Taller organisations
  tend to be bureaucratic but have clear lines of
  command. Each indvl has one boss. flatter orgs
  are increasingly common. They demand more
  responsibility and self- control from staff, but
  decisionmaking and authority are less clear.

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Organisational Structures

• Functional structures-org divided into defined
  activities
• Divisional structures-based on specific products
  or ranges
• Federations-loosely connected businesses with
  single holding company
• Matrix- focus on project teams

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Cont

• New structures- more flexibility
• Networks- extend firms beyond their own
  boundaries
• Virtual orgs- project based, no physical offices.

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Organisational strategies

• One best approach
• Contingent approaches
• Determined by major variable
• Or strategic choice
• Crisp structure
• Or flexible fuzzy structure
• Uniformity of organisations
• Attenuation
• decisionmaking

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The HR role in large organisations

• Traditional personnel-type dept.
• In-house agencies
• Internal consultancies
• Business within a business
• External consultancies
• Outsourcing

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Flexibility

• The concept covers a combination of practices
  that enable organisations to react quickly and
  cheaply to environmental changes. In essence,
  flexibility is demanded from the workforce in
  terms of pay, contractual rights, hours and
  conditions, and working practices. This extends
  to the employment market, requiring jobseekers to
  show a willingness to move location, change
  occupation and accept radically different terms
  of employment.

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Cont

• Numerical flexibility
• Functional flexibility
• Pay flexibility
• Core and peripheral workforce

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