BSBHRM602B: Manage Human Resources Strategic Planning Assessment Answers

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Competency Being Assessed

BSBHRM602B Manage human resources strategic planning

1. Research planning requirements
2. Develop human resources strategic plan
3. Implement human resources strategic plan

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency for this unit include:

• development of a strategic human resources plan which includes relevant research and data and demonstrates a clear alignment with broader business objectives
• implementation and review of the plan.

Question 1

Strategic plans of an organization are the blue print on the basis of which the various decisions of the organisations are derived from. The strategic plans of an organisation needs to be analyses that the human resources completely understand the direction in which the company is going and provide support accordingly. On the basis of this it can ensure that it has the right talent in place with the correct skill set. It helps the employee display the right kind of behaviour and attitude and the HR strategy can be based upon it. HR strategy on the basis of the strategic direction of the company can identify the fundamental underlying issue that must be addressed by the organization on the basis of which the people can be motivated in the right direction. For example if the object of a company is to enhance customer experience, the human resources strategy will be based on recruiting talent in the company whose will further this goal for the company. Also if the strategic goal of the company is diversification, the human resources strategy will be aligned with it and they will ensure that the right talent s is hired for this strategic objective (Foster, 2014).

For example companies are not tending to work in a more individual manner compared to the initial large teams of people. Also the focus is shifting from the manufacturing sector to the service sector especially in countries like Australia. Hence knowing the strategic goal of the company is important. For example a company which is planning to launch a new product in the market has to ensure that it hires a marketing expert such that it can take the product to its target audience. Also is customer experience is integral to the company than they need to hire a CEO who will further this vision like Steve Jobs of Apple who took the branding of Apple product to a whole new level. Knowing the strategic goal and direction of the company and integrating human resource strategy on the basis of this is extremely effective for an organization (Becker & Huselid, 2006).

Question 2

There are many factors which affect the human resources within an organisation and they need to be considered by the company. Such influences affect the company’s legislation since they have to pass notices which have adhered to this influence in an immediate manner. Companies change their regulations and incorporate these influences to ensure that they so not have any legal or economic implications with respect t0 these influence. The company also has to ensure that the impact of these influences is minimum on the customers and the profits of the company.

1. Emerging trends and practices

The emerging trends are those factors which are unique to each country and in the recent times a number of countries have introduced practices which have affected the human resource strategy of a company.

1. economic/financial

the economic g=factors that affect the human resource strategy include the growth rate experienc3d by the country, the industrial production, capital markets and the globalisation experienced by the industry. All these factors influence the kind of age rate that has to be given to the employees and the salary levels. Higher levels of unemployment will affect the recruitment process for an organization. For example when there is a financial recession in the country, the company has to strategize and optimize their human talent by laying off sections which are lesser productive to ensure their revenue stream like Goldman Sachs in 2009 who laid off a substantial amount of their employees. Also companies tend to outsource their back end to countries like India when the domestic wage rates in country is the country is high. For example companies like three have their back end in India (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2014).

1. social/domestic

Social and domestic factors are related to the forces of the society and the domestic factors of the country. The demographics and the preferences of social pressure form the external influence in this factor. For example the importance of paternity leave has gained importance in many countries since men and women are equally responsible when the child is born hence companies integrated paternity leave in the leave structure of their company. Also the youth thinks in a different manner compared to the older generation of work force, hence compensation packages need to be designed in a manner where they ensure that it works for the younger generation (Bakker, Demerouti & Verbeke, 2004)

1. technological

A series of new technologies are introduced to the Human resources department in a constant manner which helps them to downsize and look for various ways to save money. The impact of technology on the human strategy is extremely powerful since it allows companies to optimize their talent by infusing technology. For example in a manufacturing industry a number of machines are being automated which initially required manual labour. By the introduction of these machines, companies now downsize and replace the labour required affecting the human resource strategy. Also software’s in the human resources department itself affect the strategy since these software’s allow them to calculate the most optimized number of workforce for a given company

1. political

Government regulations that are introduced for industries and organizations affect the human resources strategy in a deep manner. Any changes in the legislation affect the way the company compensates its employees. These types of regulations influence every process of the HR department, including hiring, training, compensation, termination among others. For example companies compensate their employees by giving them allowances which helps them to save taxes and compensate them accordingly ( Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011).

1. legal

legal factors affect the ways human resource strategy is made since companies shave to ensure all legal aspect of human resource management are taken care else they will have to face law suits. For example the various companies have to adhere to the hiring and termination polices of the government else it may face consequences like shutting down. Also companies may be fined for unfair practices like discrimination on the basis of gender, race etc.

1. ethical

ethical influence shape the Hr. strategy sine the ensure that the employees re compensated in a correct manner and ensure that they are given ethical treatment in the company for example if a manger is working on a important project and has an emergency, companies usually train the entire team in a manner where the second in line can take over the managerial duties on a temporary basis. Also companies tend to compensate employees with respect to travel allowances if they are travelling to another location for the purpose of business and other expenditures like food etc (Saari & Judge, 2004).

1. consumer/marketing

The consumers form an important aspect of the external influence since their needs and wants shape the Hr. strategy. For example a company may recruit a front line executive according to the needs of the customers like knowing a particular language or other features of consumers. In airlines it is essential for the crew to know the regional language of the place they are flying to for the convenience of their customers. This is also applicable in front desk areas of banks where employees are given additional training with respect to ways that they should sell to particular clients like insurance and other funds (Barney and Clark, 2007).

1. community

The community as a whole affect the HR strategy hence company companies incorporate and train their employees for CSR programmes in a way that they can contribute to society. For example multinational companies pay their employees and incentive for spending their time with the elderly and they also take up initiatives to plant trees in order to give back to society.

1. industrial relations

The competitive nature of an industry affects the way company’s strategies with respect to human resources and ensures that they maximize their potential and increase their resource utilization. For example in many cases companies share talent pool in order to maximize their efficiency in the form of consultants. Companies also tend to use particular teams of other competing companies due to good industrial relations (Marks & Mirvis, 2011).

Question 3

There are various risks associated in an organisation with respect to the human resources division and it is essential to develop risk management plans in relation to strategic human resource issues. It is important since it identifies the possible risk that is associated with it and the team can come up with various mitigation strategies to combat these risks. Two examples have been provided in context with a company that is described below

A.The first case is with respect to the compensation and benefits HR activity of the organisation. The potential risk associated with the activity is that employees may financially abuse it by gaining benefits which they may have used for their personal interests. The other risk is with respect to the hiring where the risk is associated with the discriminatory practice by the company. The person in charge of the recruitment may practice unlawful activities like giving preference to a candidate because of their ethnic background or the gender and not according to the skill set of the candidate (Feriss et al, 2004)

1. In order to mitigate the above risk the following solution has been provided. In the first case the company ensures that the financial benefit and compensation is only given when approved by the signing authority of the bills which have been verified by the person. Also it is s two-step process at the company where the bills are verified by two mangers in order to get it approved which reduces the risks of passing fake bills.

The mitigations strategy for the other risk is too doing a complete screening of the candidates on the basis of their talent before the interview process. Also the interview is conducted by a panel of members so no individual interest is entertained with respect to discriminatory practices. Also a probationary period is set out by the candidate so if they have been given any unfair advantage in the recruitment process, it can be gauged and the right candidate can be appointed for the job (Datta, Guthrie & Wright, 2005)

Question 4

Human resource planning is essential for the expansion for a business. It consists of various activities like job analysis, recruitment, selection, training or development. The section examines the job analysis activity and its various features.

Once an organization determines its need for hiring, there is no sense in hiring unless sit completely outlines the kind of candidate it requires and the expectations in terms of a job profile. Job analysis is the systematic study of each employee’s duties, tasks and their work environment. A job analysis outline the various features like

• actual job activities
• the equipment and other accessories used on the job
• specific job activities required
• working conditions for the employee
• the degree of supervision necessary

The job analyst has mainly two parts which is the job description and the job specification. The job description mainly consist of the statement describing the employee’s duties, and tasks and responsibilities associated with the job while the job specification mainly consist of the key areas of qualifications required to perform the job such as education, skills, training and certain types of diplomas. Once the job analysis has been done the company can look at starting its recruitment process (Daley, 2006)

With respect to the labour markets it is important that the job analysis consist of the type of training that the labour is required to have to apply for the job. For example in the labour market there are some areas where the physical strength of the candidate is important since it may require heavy lifting and it is important that the job analysis consist of all these description in an in-depth manner such that the right kind of candidates can apply for the job. Also in the labour market the shift to outsourcing especially in Australia is so high that it is important to retain domestic labour for the enhancement of the economic conditions of the country. A detailed job analysis will allow Australian labours to improve on their skills and work towards qualifying for the job (Boxall & Purcell, 2011).

The activity meets the organisation’s strategic business objectives since it will allow the company to detail out the type of jobs and candidates required to further and support the strategy of the company. It is essential that a good and in depth job analysis is required for the successful implementation of the strategic goals of the company (Dowling, 2008)

Question 5

The process of monitoring and reviewing the human resource strategic plans has various features which are explained below

1. there is various mechanisms which are used for the monitoring and reviewed process

• internal/external audit - the internal audit of a company consists of the issues that are related to the practices of the business and the risks associated with it while the external audit of a company of records or an opinion mainly with respect to financial statements of the company. The internal audit is conducted to review and monitor the business practice in an internal manner while the external audit is conducted by an agency which is sourced from outside and has no relationship with the company
• Reviews by committees/individuals

Another way of monitoring the human resource strategic plan is through the review by special committee which is set for the purpose of review the plan. The various nuances of the new strategies is scrutinized in depth by the review committee or the concerned individual (Dowling, 2008).

• Responsibility assigned to an individual or group

The responsibility for monitoring is sometimes assigned specifically to one person where the only role of the person is to monitor the extent to which the human resource strategy is being executed in line with the strategic direction of the company

1. The frequency of these audits or reviews depends on the nature of the organization and the kind of environment in which it is operating. The company’s which experience a rapid change in its functions and working should review the HR strategy at least once in a month while the board of directors can monitor it on a quarterly basis. The chief executive officer should atleast look into the new strategy on a monthly basis and have a joint meeting with the audit or review committee (Storey, 2007)
2. Once the monitoring and evaluation is done and if there is any underperformance found than it should be addressed in an immediate manner. The remedial actions include the understating of the causes of the underperformance. It is essential that the review or monitoring committee understand the root of the problem and ensure that the relevant training is provided in order to eradicate the problem or increase efficiency. Also provide a range of mitigating strategies to ensure that the human resource strategy is in sync with the organizational strategy.

Section2

The following tasks are based on the organization that the author was a part of and received training while working with United Nations in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The mission of UNDP is to help countries quicken progress on human development, with a particular focus on making the achievement of the organization a reality as quick as possible. In so doing, UNDP plays a key role on behalf of the UN system in promoting coordination, efficiency and effectiveness across the system. Their main objective and purpose is advocacy, policy and technical support in the reduction of poverty, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development. The tasks below encompass the various features of the development and the implementation of the human strategic direction of the organization

Task 1

A.The organisations strategic plan is explained below

Organization strategic plan

The organization mainly works on the principle that they strive to improve the lives of the people in the country where they operate. The company has a dedicated and diverse staff in order to fulfil this objective and the main ways in which it achieves its goals. The company is a part of the international civil service with responsibilities to the UN and committed to values and principles that are embodied in the UN Charter and in the individual declaration of loyalty signed upon entering services

The value of UNDP is that the work with integrity mutual respect, professionalism, accountability and transparency. The organization confirms to high standards of behaviour and provides the clear ways in which the members interact with the stakeholders and the clients. The strategy of UNDP is about the achievement of development results and improvement of the human element in order to reach this strategic goal. he Strategy for Managing Human Resources at UNDP that is being more effective, responsive and productive because it invests in its staff and draws on shared values and principles of the organization (Bratton & Gold, 2012).

1. Environmental analysis

The political factors such as the government regulation with respect to policies are a major factor in shaping the human resource strategy. With respect to the organization, Australia is a country where the government ensure that the employees should be paid a minimum wage rate. Hence the emerging trend is to pay the employees higher then the minimum age rate. The company operates in an environment that is constantly changing and there are many advantage that globalization has brought to the industry. The developing as well as the developed struggle with finding the correct mix like legislations, polices, social structures to improve the lives of their citizens. Conflicts across borders and health epidemics like AIDS and HIV affect developments of the country. As the external influences change trends like skills and competency required to deal with these influences also emerge. The company wants to retain highly skilled staff to ensure that it can deal with the problems emerging from globalisation and offer the training to combat with these external influences. Also the social factors like having a diverse range of employees to ensure that he understand the changing trends is required which makes the organization face with the challenge of the challenge of achievement of gender parity and improvement in the diversification of the workforce because UNDP strives to be a network of development employees and they inspire to have the best possible expertise from all cultures and backgrounds. Also technology is emerging at a pace which is extremely fast due to which the human resources strategy has to be agile enough to reap the befits of these changes in a constant manner (Luthans & Youssef, 2014).

1. Future labour need

The future labour needs to further the HR strategy is mainly the recruitment of at least 5 to 7 global development officers who understand the organizations and its needs in an in depth manners. The skills mainly require the understanding of the various aspect of the organization along with team building, strong communication and cooperation with the reorganization. It is essential for them to completely understand the goals and objective so the organization and integrate it in their working. The main way of recruiting the labours is through advertisements both in an online manner through the organizations website and job portals and through an offline manner by giving advertisement in the paper. It is essential that the organization sources the candidate on the basis of the requirement for the organization and through a transparent, ethical and with integrity during the screening process (Cardo & Stevens, 2004).

1. Job redesign in terms of technology introduced

The work will be organized with respect to the introduction of new technology through the change management programme. The company will introduce training programmes such that the new employees as well as the existing employees transition into the new undertaken changes in a smooth manner. Also the work will be re organized with the help of existing employees where they will be asked their opinion on the ways the changes need to be carried out (Bohlander & Snell, 2006).

Task 2

Human resource strategic plan

A.The managers at the organization are consulted before taking any important decision at the organization. The opinion of the manager are taken on wide array of subject and open discussions relating to matter is done in a way that no point is left out.

1. The agreement is done between managers through discussion and in case if there is a conflicting view points, a third part analysis is done and a decision is taken based on the third part analysis which is neutral in nature.
2. Strategic objectives and targets in relation to human resource services

• Provision of opportunities to individuals and teams in order to provide an environment of trust, accountability and the values of the United Nation Charter
• Create an environment where the team talent is recognized and the staff is motivated to contribute to the success in a sustained manner
• Working environment should be safe, free of any form of harassment and form a healthy work and life balance
• The working environment will provide equal opportunities to women along with disable people and people from different geographic backgrounds (Chen et al., 2004)

1. Options for the delivery of human resource services are given in the following manner

• Mangers will be responsible for the highest ethical standards and are accountable for ensuring that it provides their employees with a positive working atmosphere
• Company will appoint a global staff survey to monitor the perceptions of the staff and take their feedback
• improved performance management system which will recognize staff achievements
• have tools at disposal for the staff where they can maintain a work life balance like flexible working hours, telecommunication and leaves for special occasions (Hendry, 2012)

1. Cost benefit analysis is mainly the systematic approach to estimate the strengths and weaknesses of the alternatives for the satisfaction of the various human resources and options

the cost benefit analysis can be done with the respect of offering staff additional benefits which will increase their efficiency, For example if a staff member is given a day off on special occasion like their own birthday or the birthday of a spouse, the staff will feel that the organization is taking care of his needs and hence will be motivated to increase his efficiency on other days. Though the cost to company is a day’s salary but the benefits derived will be in line with the strategic direction of the company

F.The review of human resource processes is done to ensure consistency with human resource program outcomes and agreed practices. This is done by outlining and defining success factors on the basis of which the review will be done. These include

• A compact for the organisation to deliver the changes that the staff wants to see in the organization
• Support the staff while organizational changes
• Commitment and leadership management
• Contribution should be equal by staff members (Foster, 2014)

These success factors is done by a movement from a personnel administration structure towards a more strategic HR management role, and the transfer of authority and responsibility for day-to-day HR matters to line manager. The revised approach of the human resources will focus on performance and talent management, succession planning and personal development and will also involve a supplementary importance on the equal opportunity agenda with an initiative in the area of flexible working arrangements and greater openness and transparency. The review will also be based on a regular and to the point analysis of the workforce profile required by the company. And in order to do so a work force information team will be appointed within the organization (Phillips, 2013)

1. The technology that support the human resources programs and practice are updates software’s in the human resources field and the human resource management information systems. This software’s include management tools like Learning Management System which will be used to train the staff and employees to provide the relevant increase in efficiency required ( Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011).
2. A number of potential risk have been outlined with respect to the organizational and a risk mitigation plan is seen below

Task 3

Implement human resource strategic plans

1. mechanisms used to monitor and review human resource strategic plans

Critical elements of the human resource strategic planning is its monitoring and reviewed and a variety of tools are used for this purpose. There are various mechanism that are used l will be extensive and in consultation with the managers and the staff from various headquarters of the organisations. The monitoring process will be done in consultation with the senior managers and on the basis of an open interaction with them (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2014).

An integral aspect of the monitoring process will be the regular checks of the key targets that have been set out for attaining the strategic objective. The possible constraints will be examined in an early stage such that there will be no hindrance in the implementation of the strategy and it can be monitored in a smooth manner. The monitoring will happen on monthly basis with an annual feedback given in the general meeting of the organization which happens in a yearly manner. Also other monitoring groups will include staff focus groups and staff association groups who will help in the internal audit of the company. Also, a task force mainly composed of relevant staff will be set up to provide advice with respect to the implementation, monitoring and improvement of the Strategy. Finally, progress reports will be periodically reviewed by senior management and included in UNDP’s Annual Reports (Hendry, 2012).

Effectiveness of the human strategic planning for the company with respect to

• Internal/external audit

The internal audit will consist of staff members from across the country which will monitor the progress of the strategy while a third party will be appointed to do an external audit of the strategy to ensure that it is analysed from neutral and unbiased perspective

• Reviews by committees/individuals

Committee members as appointed by the organization to monitor the progress of the strategy will give their view point in a periodic manner and ensure that the strategy is implemented on lines with the strategic direction of the company ( Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011).

• Responsibility assigned to an individual or group

The responsibility of monitoring and evaluation will be assigned to a senior manager who will be accountable for the committee decision of the ways to monitor the progress of implementation of the strategy

• Project management plan

A project management plan will be set out by the organization and tools like the Gantt chart will help the body to ensure continuous monitoring and evaluate the progress of the HR strategy

• reporting requirements.

The reporting requirement of the internal staff as well as the external audit will allow the relevant body to analyse the effectiveness of the strategy and evaluate the changes that need to be done to ensure that the strategic direction of the company is reached. The reporting requirements will be fed into the human resources information system which will give the employees a format in which the progress of the strategy can be recorded. A common template will allow the smooth analysis across the various disciplines of the organization (Hendry, 2012).