Human Resources Strategies
As a human resource director of human resources for a best-in-class retailer whose main culture is the effective development of strategies, plans, and selection criteria that are aimed at building a sustaining a competitive organization, the primary concern lies with strategies as defined by Porter. These generic strategies include cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The focus strategy can further be subdivided into two parts which include differentiation focus and cost focus. These strategies are aimed at improving the competitive advantage of an organization. A cost leadership strategy can achieve this in two ways namely; increasing an organization’s profits and at the same time reducing the cost of service provision by charging prices that are industry compliant. It also helps in increasing market share due to lower prices that still produce reasonable profits because of reduced costs ( Ireland, 2008) . This type of strategy helps an organization to have a competitive advantage in the market because of the price factor. However, being a low cost organization is not good enough because there is a possibility of facing competition from other low-priced organizations that might employ undercutting measures to decrease your market share. It is, therefore, import that this strategy be applied with confidence so as to have a competitive advantage. Organizations that have adopted this approach need to have access to modern technology that will bring costs down, have highly efficient logistics and have a low-cost base that can sustainably cut costs below those of rivals. However, the primary risk of implementing this type of strategy is that the resources used to reduce costs are not unique to any particular organization. Other organizations can also use those strategies ( Ireland et al., 2012). It is, therefore, of utmost importance to consistently find new ways and means of reducing costs. This can be done by utilizing the concept of continuous improvement.
There is also the differentiation strategy that entails the making of products and delivering services that are more appealing than those of competitors. This will not entirely depend on the nature of the industry including the products and services that are provided but also the functionality, features, support, brand image, and durability that are desired by consumers. For the differentiation strategy to succeed, an organization needs to have a good research and development initiative and organization, have the ability to offer high end products and services and lastly, effective marketing and sales system that meets the needs of the market. Organizations that follow this type of strategy need to be consistent with their product development processes because they risk competition from other organizations in the same industry ( Griffin, 2008).
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The other strategy an organization can employ is the focus strategy. This strategy mainly concentrates on specific niche markets. In this respect, organizations need to concentrate on the dynamics and unique needs of their consumers within the said market by developing products that are unique and are not costly. This is because they have a unique way of serving customers which consequently leads to brand loyalty, a factor that makes it less appealing to competitors. As an organization it is crucial to choose the most appropriate approach as the leading strategy ( Zapf, 2011).
In the adoption of any of these strategies it is good to know the benefit of selecting the focus strategy which ensures that the organization is adding something extra because of serving a specific market niche. However, it is simply not enough because the organization will also be competing with similar organizations in the market. By adding something extra, the organization can reduce costs or increase differentiation. When choosing the right strategy, an organization needs to make the right decision by considering all the options possible. It is not advisable to pursue more than one strategy. This is because the organization’s operations largely depend on the appeal of those strategies to different types of consumers. The cost leadership strategy lays much emphasis on a detailed internal focus on the organization’s processes. On the other hand, differentiation is externally-oriented and highly creative ( Magretta, 2012) . It is, therefore, important to choose a strategy that aligns itself with the organization's strengths and competencies. To help an organization choose the right strategy, it is good to use the following steps.
Step 1: carry out a SWOT analysis to eliminate strategies that are inconsistent with your organization’s competencies.
Step 2: an organization should have an understanding of the industry in which it finds itself by using the five forces analysis.
Step 3: the organization should do a comparison between SWOT analysis and the Five Forces Analysis to know how to manage the power of suppliers, the power of the consumer, have a competitive advantage, eliminate or reduce the threat of substitution, or new entry. It is at this point that the organization will select a strategy that has the strongest class of options ( Magretta, 2012).
In this case, a best-in-class retailer would choose an option that is unique and one that affords it competitive advantage over its competitors. The best approach to adopt is the differentiation strategy. This is because this organization is in a class of its own and is capable of making products and delivering services that are more appealing to its customers because they are highly innovative and have a research and development section that can produce unique and affordable products and services. As a best-in-class-retailer, the company has a good brand image and is also capable of offering high-end products and services which can reach the market through an effective sales and marketing system that meets the needs of its consumers. This strategy will help human resource to source for the most appropriate personnel who can drive this particular strategy. It needs to develop a good recruitment and selection process that will make this strategy to work. The most important factor that can make this strategy to succeed is human resource. HR should, therefore, be in a position to source for the4 right personnel that match this particular strategy. The training needs of recruited and existing personnel should also be in line with this strategy. This can be done by understanding the job needed to meet this strategy, the tools to be employed, and aligning recruitment and training needs to this objective ( Blanchard, 2010).
Approaches to Job Design/Redesign
Job design is a process that is done after job analysis which focuses on outlining and organizing duties and responsibilities related to a specific job. It also encompasses skills and qualifications needed to perform a particular job. There are several approaches of doing this. The first approach is known as the human approach which emphasizes designing a job based on personnel and not on organizational processes. In this approach, jobs are designed because of their benefits to the company. This approach focuses on the ability of jobs to fulfill the needs of an individual in terms of recognition, growth, respect, and responsibility. For example, the job of a human resource officer requires a person that has skills and qualifications in organizing personnel to fit in certain job categories. It recognizes an individual’s need for growth, respect, and recognition ( Branninck et al., 2007).
The engineering approach concerns itself with the planning by management, in advance, tasks or work that should be done by individual employees. The instructions of such tasks are communicated to the respective employees. It is a scientific approach that fragments jobs into logical tasks. For example, a sales representative is supposed to undertake various tasks in his job description such as servicing clients, maintaining a portfolio, meeting targets, among other tasks. When combined all these tasks forms his or her job description ( Branninck et al., 2007).
There is also the job characteristic approach which correlates job satisfaction and rewards. This approach is based on the concept that employees become more productive when they have been appropriately rewarded. In this approach employees are expected to utilize their skills and develop new ones, perform tasks to complete the job and also have autonomy and freedom ( Branninck et al., 2007). For example, an engineer in a company is appropriately rewarded for his work and this makes him to improve on his skills. He is given a free hand to perform his duties without any hindrance
Lastly, the job enlargement approach makes a particular job larger by combining other additional tasks through expansion. This type of expansion makes a particular job more challenging. A good example is when an accountant in a big organization has the responsibility of posting entries and making financial statements for the organizations sister companies. However, sometimes there is a change in work tasks which makes his job more interesting and motivating ( Branninck et al., 2007). This will compel him to improve on his productivity to accomplish the added tasks which leads to job satisfaction.
As a potential director of human resources, there is a need to inform the interviewing panel that effective job design application is important when aligned to an organization’s goals. This is because designing a job takes into consideration an organization’s plans and strategies and then incorporates those concepts into the overall work done by the organization. If an organization’s objective is to create a good rapport with its customers it will design its jobs to match customer expectations ( Branninck et al., 2007). It can adapt to any of these approaches to ensure that the job design is in tandem with the expectations of its customers.
Challenges of Recruiting Workers
An organization can face a number of challenges when recruiting workers. The first challenge has to do with attracting the right candidate for the job. Finding the right candidate for the job from a pool of unqualified candidates is quite challenging. Most organizations tend to choose the best person that they can find at a particular time. However, this candidate may not be the best fit for the job ( DeCenzo et al., 2015) . Nonetheless, the best way to hire the right candidate is to find a smaller group of more qualified people. The other challenge faced by organizations when recruiting is the tendency of hiring fast because they do not want to incur costs as a result of delays. The hiring process usually takes a longer period of time a condition that frustrates recruiters or hiring teams. This is mainly caused by a shortage of qualified candidates or the hiring team might not be able to reach a consensus on the right candidate making qualified people to find jobs in other organizations. It is, therefore, advisable to inform the hiring team on the hiring process expectations and let them know the timelines well in advance. Also, let them know the importance of carrying out a careful hiring process because bad hiring will cost the organization ( Banfield & Kay, 2012).
Candidate Selection Process Ideas
There are several ways of developing an effective selection process. The most important idea is to understand the job which needs to be filled. This will include the traits which are required to perform the job. To understand a specific job an internal job analysis needs to be performed either by the management or in cooperation with experts who are well qualified in developing job selection systems that are appropriate ( Nikolaou & Oostrom, 2015). This type of candidate selection idea can add value and general effectiveness to the goals and objectives of an organization.
Another candidate selection idea is that of developing a selection process that will be consistently used by an organization. This can be done by determining the best method of measuring the most important trait in a job by using several means of measurements. This type of candidate selection will help the organization to find the most appropriate tools of measurements as well as other processes like candidates’ fairness and perception and the efficiencies of the processes. These can include activities such as role plays, simulations, and employee assessment ( O'Meara & Petzall, 2013).
References
Banfield, P., & Kay, R. (2012). Introduction to human resource management . New York: Oxford University Press.
Blanchard, D. (2010). Supply chain management best practices . Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons. Supply chain management best practices . Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Branninck, M. T., Levine, E. L., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Job and work analysis: Methods, research, and applications for human resource management . Thousand Oaks, CA [etc.: Sage.
DeCenzo, D., Robbins, S., & Verhulst, S. L. (2015). Fundamentals of human resource management . New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Griffin, R. W. (2008). Fundamentals of management . Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin.
Ireland, R. D. (2008). Understanding business strategy: concepts and cases(9780324578997) . South-Western.
Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson, R. E., & Hitt, M. A. (2012). Understanding business strategy: Concepts plus . Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning
Magretta, J. (2012). Understanding Michael Porter: The essential guide to competition and strategy . Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Review Press.
Nikolaou, L., & Oostrom, J.K. (2015). Employee recruitment, selection and assessment: Contemporary issues for theory and practice. New York: Psychology Press.
O'Meara, B., & Petzall, S. B. (2013). The handbook of strategic recruitment and selection: A systems approach . Bingley, UK : Emerald, 2013.
Zapf, M. (2011). Michael Porter's Competitive Advantage Theory: Focus Strategy for SMEs . Munich: GRIN Verlag GmbH.
