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Block 4 Importance of HR Planning

Unit 2 Business Strategy And Operational Strategies (Technology And Innovation In HRs)

1) Explain the steps of alignment of business strategy and human resource practices within an organisation.

The sources outline several steps for aligning business strategy with HR practices:

• Identification of target units: This involves carefully analysing both the business and HR divisions, as they are crucial for the organisation.
• Identification of external driving forces: Organisations must identify external market trends or changes that necessitate adjustments. These are the forces outside the company that are compelling it to change.
• Studying the sources of competition: It is necessary to understand the competitive landscape. This means identifying what other companies are doing and how the organisation can best compete with them.
• Identification of organisational potential: This step involves a ‘gap analysis’ to assess current technical and cultural capabilities and identify areas for improvement. It looks at where the company is now and where it wants to be.
• Identification of HR practices: The organisation must determine which HR practices can contribute to creating the ideal human organisation, given the chosen business strategies. This is about figuring out which HR activities are most effective for the business goals.
• Preparation of an action plan: This step involves creating a plan with target dates, assigned responsibilities, and methods for assessing progress. This should outline what will be done, who will do it, and how success will be measured.
• Assessing the results: Once the plan is implemented, the results need to be measured to ensure the alignment is working.

2) Explain the benefits of operational strategy in HR practices.

Operational strategies in HR practices focus on implementing plans and putting HR policies into practice. The benefits include:

• Effective recruitment and selection: Operational plans help in preparing and implementing efficient recruitment and selection processes, ensuring the right people are in the right jobs.
• Identifying training and development needs: These plans aid in identifying and meeting the training and development requirements of employees.
• Providing compensation and benefits: They support the administration of appropriate compensation and benefits.
• Implementing employment standards: Operational strategies help with setting and adhering to employment standards and legislation.
• Increasing employee morale: By addressing HR practices, these strategies can increase employee morale.
• Job design: Operational strategies determine staffing needs and help with designing jobs according to organisational requirements. They help in making sure that day-to-day goals are met.

3) Explain how the operational and business plans are innovative measures within an organisation.

Operational and business plans act as innovative steps by:

• Introducing information systems: Operational plans can implement advanced HR information systems to help identify issues, track trends and monitor the success of strategies.
• Competency mapping: Operational plans can use competency mapping to understand the HR capabilities and develop frameworks for training and performance management.
• Integrating management development: They can help in incorporating a management development component with a focus on skills like innovation and collaboration.
• Aligning policies: They ensure that policies are aligned to get the right people in the right roles, especially in management.
• Emphasising skills training: They can be used to support a desired culture by emphasising training in those skills, using leadership, recognition, evaluation and communications.
• Ensuring a safe work environment: They also help create a work environment that is safe and healthy for the employees, stakeholders and customers.
• Enhancing organisational capabilities: Operational plans help identify the strengths of managers and staff, which helps with the growth of the organisation.
• Using technology: They leverage technology, such as the internet and intranets, for policies and learning.
• Developing user-friendly formats: Business and operational plans facilitate the development of user-friendly HR policies and processes.

4) Discuss the role of human resource professionals in business strategies.

HR professionals play a crucial role in business strategy by:

• Staying updated: They must keep up with the changing business environment to anticipate upcoming issues.
• Acting as knowledge facilitators: They need to enhance knowledge at all levels of the organisation using performance reviews and other sources.
• Understanding operational activities: They must be familiar with operational activities to contribute to training and development.
• Providing advice: They need to offer recommendations for the selection, development and management of the workforce.
• Being a strategic business partner: HR professionals should actively participate in implementing plans and achieving budgets. They also act as a link between human resource management and the strategic plan of the organisation.

5) As a business manager, what are the different strategies that you would try to implement with the help of human resource practices?

As a business manager, you would leverage human resource practices to achieve the following strategies:

• Develop a skilled workforce: Focus on training and development programs to enhance employee skills and adapt to new technologies. This will include both on-the-job and off-the-job training.
• Enhance employee motivation: Create a positive work environment that encourages both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, using rewards, recognition, and opportunities for growth.
• Create a performance-driven culture: Encourage a culture that appreciates high performance through feedback, rewards and development opportunities.
• Foster a healthy company culture: Promote shared values and norms to build a healthy work environment and brand name. This also encourages strong interpersonal relationships and a healthy work environment.
• Improve communication: Encourage open communication to address grievances and provide an avenue for employees to voice their opinions.
• Implement succession planning: Ensure that younger employees are trained to take over senior positions. This will also motivate employees, as well.
• Utilise a diverse workforce: Focus on the different needs of a diverse workforce.
• Engage with strategic planning: Ensure HR is directly involved in the process of strategy formulation.

6) What are the benefits of the operational strategies of a business plan?

The operational strategies of a business plan provide several benefits:

• Smooth business operations: They ensure the business runs smoothly.
• Target achievement: They help in achieving pre-planned targets and maintaining or increasing customers.
• Efficient business transactions: They speed up business transactions.
• Competitive advantage: They help in gaining a competitive edge over other organisations.
• Best resource utilisation: They facilitate the best use of available resources.
• Future trend anticipation: They help in anticipating future trends and handling emergency situations.

Important Points

• The HRD creates a platform at which the business strategies can be aligned with the HR practices.
•  An external driving force refers to the changes or the trends that are taking place in the market or outside the organisation.
• An action plan should also propose a target date regarding what is supposed to be done.
• Business strategy and human resource management are related but distinct, with HR practices needing to align with the overall business strategy.
• There should be an alignment between the human resource strategy and business strategy.

• A business plan is a blueprint of the activities that are supposed to happen within a specified time period within an organisation.
• Action plans help businesses to run smoothly.
• The operational strategies of a business plan helps in explaining how the transaction or business will be done.
• The organisation needs to continually change its business plan.
• The operational strategies depend upon the business plan of the organisation.
• Organisations need to anticipate changes.
• The human resource department is the most important source of information of the organisation.
• The human resource department can significantly contribute to the effective business strategies of the organisation.
• The human resource professionals should be capable enough to anticipate the upcoming issues and matters of concern.
• The Human resource professionals need to be more creative in nature.
• Human resource professionals should act as knowledge facilitators at all the levels of organisation.
• The human resource department should also have a complete knowledge of the business strategies or the business plans of the organisation.

• The business plan strategy also helps in enhancing organisational capability.
• The operational plan also helps in alignment of the overall culture of the organisation.
• The alignment of policy and processes with desired organisational direction focus on getting the right people in the right roles.
• Business plans and operational plans are a technological and an innovative step in human resource strategy.
• With the help of operational plan an organisation can introduce the information system as an advanced technique for managing the human resource system.
• The operational plans act as an effective support for the managers by leveraging the use of technology.