HRM Theory and Practice Assessment 1 COPY 2

Answer

Annotated Bibliography of Strategic, Sustainable and decent work approaches

 Cakirel, Y. (2019). Management and organization : Various approaches. Peter Lang. 181-

189.

This Chapter discusses human resource sustainability and how it is repeatedly ignored by most business organizations. The study also discusses the concept of decent work and its vitality to a sustainable human labour. According to Cakirel (2019), a sustainable organization does not only function for its own good and profit; it operates for the integration of business interests and the interests of the environment and society. In this regard, there is the consideration of sustainable human resource management which considers the long term organizational competitive advantage in line with a simultaneous reproduction of the human resource base. The relationship between HR and sustainability is explained by a number of approaches: sustainable work system, sustainable HRM, sustainable resource management and strategic HRM. In essence, sustainability is focused towards the attainment of business goals while at the same time meeting the employee and societal expectations. Cakirel also talks about decent work as a strategy of HR sustainability. Decent work is simply that work that recognizes and respects the basic human rights of a worker. It covers issues like labour relations, employment, occupational safety, training and education, diversity and equality at work. This section affirms that the application of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards could be vital in an organization’s attempt to measure and report sustainable HR practices. Factors such as employee well-being, safety, diversity management, fairness at work, employee growth, employee participation in society and gender equality are all in line with decent work.  In essence therefore, sustainable HRM can be used to attain decent work.

The lack of actual interviews with employees means that a critical perspective is missing from this study. It would be essential to get to hear first-hand what sampled workers think about HRM policies in relation to decent work. However, the consideration of current practices in HRM contrasted with past practices gives this study a comparative authority. It is a well-researched study that draws it conclusions not only from its own observations but also from peer reviewed publications and reports. It is important to note that in attempting to establish the connection between sustainable HRM and decent work, Cakirel draws from the recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the internationally recognized organization that champions the rights of workers around the world. This gives this study and its subsequent findings, conclusions and recommendations considerable authority and credibility.

The thoroughly researched documentation on sustainable HRM and its relation to decent work is very instrumental in making us understand and appreciate the connection between profitability of the business and the conditions of work for the employee. The study offers valuable insights on how work can be made a central theme on the debate on sustainability, and how moving into the future, companies can integrate this in an attempt at attaining sustainability. In addition, this study reaffirms the notion by Bratton and Gold (2015) that the attainment of sustainability is not a short-term endeavour. This ought to encourage HR managers that even though they may find the task of active promotion of sustainable development rather challenging, they must remain consistent in trying to do so. They have to accompany commitment with concrete sustainability practices with an aim of ultimately making sustainability institutionalised within their organizations. A consideration of the GRI standards also provides organizations with a practical framework through which the vision of decent work can be attained. According to Bader (2016), the critical application and evaluation of these internationally accepted standards can go a long way in ensuring that the organization upholds the promise of sustainability in development and respects the human rights of their workers. Ultimately, this study opens up our understanding of sustainable HR, suggesting ways in which an organization can implement and evaluate vital strategies that promote long term success and sustainability. Similarly, the study can be useful in assessing how the applicable sustainable HR strategies are instrumental in developing and promoting decent work and the respect of human rights at the workplace.

Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2000). Strategic human resource management: Where have we come

from and where should we be going? International Journal of Management Review. 2(2). 183-203.

This article looks at strategic human resource management as an approach in HR management. It critically assesses the strategic choices that have to do with the utilization of labour within an organization and seeks to find out why some organizations manage and utilize labour better than others. According to Boxall and Purcell, strategic HRM is complicated by a wide range of factors, including the micro and macro factors in the labour market and the connections that exist within and outside strategic management in firms. The paper delves into these issues through a discussion of the “best fit” and “best-practice” models of the development of strategic HRM. It looks at how these two provide insights into HRM and the firm’s RBV. The study further discusses the alignments between employers and employees, especially noting the adverse effects that a weak alignment between employers and employees has on the firm—it leads to high turnover rates and low productivity. It asserts that even though firms would like to implement “best practice”, a wide range of industry and organizational factors limit this desire. Like in many other spheres of life, issues around strategic HRM go beyond the individual factors within the firm. The article identifies the wider social and market regulation issues that inform inequalities at the workplace. Furthermore, there is an assessment of the RBV of the firm and how it may be linked to strategic HRM.  The other vital aspect that the article explores is the need for an interdisciplinary approach to strategic HRM, in essence providing direct and indirect ways in which strategic HRM is linked to IT or operations. The article asserts that a careful estimation of this interdisciplinary approach would help in evaluating the manner in which strategic HRM evolves over time.

The relevance of this article in helping us understand the value of strategic human resource management (Strategic HRM) cannot be underestimated. The article delves into the complexities and emerging debates on the theory and practice of human resource. It’s standing as a peer reviewed article is consistent with the references it makes, also from authoritative book chapters, official reports, organizational frameworks and journal articles that extensively explore human resource management. This study looks at many facets of human resource management, including the role that other disciplines and outside forces in the market play in determining the HR policy and strategy. The numerous effective and succinct references makes this work academic in every sense of that word, putting it as an invaluable resource in our understanding of strategic human resource management and the issues that affect it either positively or negatively.

This study offers novel insights into the understanding of the field of strategic human resource management. For researchers and students, and as Aust’, Brandl and Keegan (2015) also agree, this study offers an insight view into the theory of human resource management, providing them with a solid understanding of a vital human resource strategy. For managers and executives, the study provides practical examples of how they can assess an organization’s performance as an employer. Gooderham et al. (2015) say that the extensive discussion on the best fit and best practice concepts in relation to strategic human resource management also provides important grounds for future research and practice in management. The assertion by the study that the strategic HRM is influenced by factors even outside the organization gives the field a wider perspective and can assist executives to come up with remedies that put into consideration all the factors, even those that may not emanate from the organization itself. Finally, the interdisciplinary advocacy also widens this HR approach, making it even stronger because as Guerci et al. (2015) also agree, interdisciplinary advocacy broadens the scope and possibilities in strategic HRM.

Kramar, R. (2014).Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human

resource management the next approach?, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25:8, 1069-1089, DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2013.816863

This article looks at sustainable human resource management (sustainable HRM) as a new approach towards people management at the workplace. Kramar considers this approach as a departure from Strategic human resource management (SHRM). But more than a departure from, the article assesses the relationships between sustainability, SHRM and HRM. According to Kramar (2014), the essence of sustainability in business is seen not only in the concepts of corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance but also in the financial performance, social and environmental impacts. Sustainability can also be viewed in terms of the allocation of scarce resources and how they are exclusively shaped by the market mechanisms. The article discusses three approaches to sustainability: responsibility oriented approach, efficiency and innovation oriented approach and substance oriented approach. Furthermore, Kramar attempts to differentiate HRM from SHRM, suggesting that while HRM is broader and includes managing both employees and people, SHRM is more specific. Sustainable HRM serves as an alternative view to people management. The article affirms the importance of recognizing the way in which HRM is essential beyond the economic sense of an organisation. This perspective therefore questions the long-held notions that define the social and human outcomes of HRM in view of how they contribute to business success, the role of the HR professional merely as a business partner and the sole focus of HRM on financial outcomes. Sustainable HRM critically assesses the moral side of HRM policies and how such policies create both internal and external consequences. Sustainable HRM practices can be evaluated through climate, well-being and work-life balance surveys, workforce plans that predict future demands and supply and carbon footprint estimation. Kramar categorises sustainable HRM as a moral approach that in its multidisciplinary nature, demands that we understand the complexities and ambiguities that inform performance at all levels.

This article is a peer-reviewed and therefore an authoritative review of sustainable HRM. It makes use of extensive research, using illustrations and examples from other peer reviewed material to reach its conclusions and recommendations. To put the research into greater perspective, it has made use of diagrams that clearly demonstrate what strategic human resource management is and the multidisciplinary relationships that it shares with other fields. These illustrations and variety of relevant references combine to give this article its credible feature. The conclusions and recommendations it provides on people management are therefore reflective of a broad range of practical and verifiable experiences that characterise the modern human resource management sphere. All these factors combine to make this article relevant and timely.

The extensive research and recommendations that this paper provides lays perfect ground for the future understanding of the moral position of human resource management and how these can be beneficial to people management. According to Florkowski and Olivas-Luján (2016), the conclusions can be used to question the extent to which financial outcomes are influential in organization operations, and the limitations that this approach has. It provides a new perspective of looking at people within an organisation, preferring to see the full extent of their moral and ethical dimensions too. The study also acknowledges the shared aspects that SHRM and PM have with sustainable HRM. Gerpott (2015) stresses that the shared aspects can be applied in future by researchers and organisations in a multidisciplinary attempt at understanding people management. In addition, the evaluation measures for sustainable HRM that are discussed within this article can be incorporated into the broader HRM strategy. With its apparent departure from SHRM, sustainable HRM as discussed within this article provides a perfect blueprint for organizations and researchers to not only understand the theory and practice of management but also to improve it.

Conclusion

Strategic HR, sustainable HRM and decent work are approaches to HR management that are of great significance both to students, researchers and executives. They assess human resource policies and acceptable standards that every management must remember when handling human resource. These approaches offer theoretical and practical perspectives on human resource management, expanding our understanding of this vital organizational aspect. The three studies are not only instrumental to future understanding and research but also examples of how the practice of management can improve its strategic, sustainable and decent work approaches.