Instructions

Supporting Lectures:

Review the following lectures:

• Strategic Planning Process
• HRM Planning

Project

The project assignment provides a forum for analyzing and evaluating relevant topics for this week on the basis of the course competencies covered.

Introduction

The fundamental premise of this course is that different organizational strategies require different human resource policies and practices. Before HRM strategies can be utilized, it is important to understand the different types of strategies that organizations formulate and implement. It is important to understand the strategic planning process because HR professionals are expected to navigate the language of business and to be able to discuss HR programs using the terminology of strategic planning. Corporate strategies are organization-wide strategies focused on the overall strategy for the organization and its businesses or interests. These strategies are usually focused on long-term growth and survival goals.

Listed are three corporate strategy options:

• Restructuring
• Growth
• Stability

Each strategy option includes several forms:

• Restructuring: turnaround, divestiture, liquidation, or bankruptcy.
• Growth: incremental growth, international growth, or mergers and acquisitions.
• Stability: maintain the status quo.

Tasks

Select a public company to research. Pick one of the corporate strategy forms listed above, and answer the following questions:

• Describe your chosen organization.
• Define the corporate strategy that you researched.
• Evaluate the strategy used by your chosen organization and explain why it was selected.
• Examine if the strategy focus on long-term growth or survival goals for that organization?
• Conclude if the growth was achieved.

To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use the

South University Online Library

. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

Submission Details

• Present a 2- to 3-page paper in a Microsoft Word document formatted in APA style. Cite any sources using the APA guidelines.
• Name your file as SU_HRM5010_W1_Project_LastName_FirstName.

Human Resources

South University

file:///C|/Users/CWATKIM/Desktop/Strategic%20Planning%20Process.html[2/20/2020 10:38:26 PM]

Strategic Planning Process
When thinking of the best analogy for strategic planning that organizations use to compete, we may use
chess to illustrate the methods used by executives to move their organizations forward. Like chess,
strategies can be reactive or proactive. Strategies may be reactive, such as when there are changes in
various environments: legal, economics, political, sociocultural, competitive, etc. Strategies may be
proactive, such as when an organization enters new markets, introduces new products/services, or
withdraws from competing within a specific industry. Just like in chess, organizations make strategic moves
through a well-created and executed plan, the competition contemplates how to react with their strategy,
and there is back and forth movement for advantage.

The strategic planning process requires thinking and planning ahead. Good chess players do this—they
calculate their strategy depending upon how a game unfolds. If the game is moving slowly, chess masters
focus on conceptual plans. When the game is more defensive, a chess master will think ahead by several
moves.

You have to make strategic moves to win the game. There are rules in the game and you can change the
rules, but that is not recommended. You start any game at the beginning and follow a series of steps to
achieve a singular or set of results. You miss some steps and you might lose some grounds that you did
not wish or plan to lose. The same idea applies to the strategic planning process.

The basic rules for the strategic planning process includes the following rules:

1. Understand your current environment (Assess)

2. Identify your resources—what is available to you to work with? (Tools)

3. Recognize where you want or need to go (Goals)

4. Determine how you will get there (Path)

Additional Materials

From your course textbook, Managing Employee Performance and Reward (2nd ed.), read the following
chapters:

Performance and reward basics

Managing for engagement

Strategic alignment

South University
file:///C|/Users/CWATKIM/Desktop/Strategic%20Planning%20Process.html[2/20/2020 10:38:26 PM]

Managing for results

From the Internet, read the following articles:

Forbes. (n.d). Five steps to a strategic plan. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2011/10/25/five-steps-to-a-strategic-plan/#4023692361af

Hitt, M.A., Ireland R.D., Hoskisson R.E. (2007). Strategic management, competitiveness and globalization
concepts. Mason, OH: Thompson Higher Education. Retrieved from
https://kafebisnis2010.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/strategic-manag-concept-n-case-hitt-et-al

On Strategy. (n.d.). Essentials guide to strategic planning. Retrieved from
http://onstrategyhq.com/resources/strategic-planning-process-basics/

• Local Disk

South University

HRM Planning

HRM is the ongoing management of human resources in support of an organization’s strategies and goals. It continues to evolve and executives are now beginning to realize the impact it can have on the bottom line. Therefore, executives are including a place for HRM in their strategy.

Strategic HRM, then, increasingly provides direction at all levels within an organization and all departments or divisions. Again, the benefits and goals for this are that organizations become better suited to meet their strategic goals. The nuts and bolts of how this is accomplished is that HRM doesn’t only include the management of people but also provides insight and control over structure and design, communication, culture, ethics, and organizational change. At many levels today, HRM is involved with recruiting, restructuring and downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), etc.

Strategic HRM is the management of HR philosophies, policies, and practices to enable the achievement of the organizational strategy. Ideally, these philosophies, policies, and practices form a system that attracts, develops, motivates, and trains employees who ensure the survival and effective functioning of the organization and its members.

As demonstrated, strategic HRM is strongly linked to the profitability of an organization. It is obvious that an organization achieves success through people. Therefore, the management of people is considered a strategic resource that requires planning. Successful organizations place a high value on employees throughout their strategic planning. In this light, strategic HRM planning would consider recruiting people with skills required by the organization today and also recruiting people for tomorrow‘s needs. This requires forward thinking HRM.

Strategic HRM is at the heart of an organization’s competitiveness, profitability, and relevancy. Organizational performance is gained through HRM’s effective management of employees that is in harmony with the organization’s strategy.

Additional Materials

From your course textbook, Managing Employee Performance and Reward (2nd ed.), read the following chapters:

• Performance and reward basics
• Managing for engagement
• Strategic alignment

• Managing for results

From the South University Online Library, read the following article:

• Understanding Human Resource Management in the Context of Organizations and their Environments

From the Internet, read the following articles:

Hrcouncil.ca (n.d.). HR Planning. Retrieved from http://hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/planning-strategic.cfm

Cooke, R., & Armstrong M. (1990, December). The Search for Strategic HR. Personnel Management, 30–33.