THE MEANING OF STRATEGY

Strategy can have a number of

meanings, namely:
A plan, or something equivalent a
direction, a guide, a course of action.
A pattern, that is, consistency in
behavior over time.
A perspective, an organizations
fundamental way of doing things.
A ploy, a specific manoeuvre
intended to outwit an opponent or a
competitor

STRATEGY AS PLAN & THE ROLE

OF T&D
Essentially

a mix of internal and

external environmental analysis
Strategic goals
HRM goals
Intertwined (goals/constraints),,,,at
least ideally
Needed

Role Behaviors
Predictability & Measurement??

STRATEGY AS PLAN & THE ROLE OF

T&D
GENERALLY

Treat people as assets- invest in them- get

psychological commitment and use them as
competitive advantage (the duplication argument)
GENERALLY
matching HRM activities and policies to some
explicit business strategy
SPECIFICALLY

What needs to be done; what needs to be changed

MORE SPECIFICALLY
What critical skills/behaviors are required
What HR processes would result in those KSAs
Abilities/resources required to implement those HR
processes

Wright

and Snell (1998) suggest

that seeking fit requires
knowledge of the skills
and behaviour needed to
implement the strategy,
knowledge of the HRM practices
necessary to elicit those skills
and behaviours, and the ability
quickly to implement
the desired system of HRM
practices.

STRATEGY AS PERSPECTIVE & THE ROLE

OF T&D
WHAT

GOES WRONG
It is relatively easy to come up
with new and innovatory policies
and practice. The challenge is to
get them to work
other business priorities, shorttermism
limited support from line
managers
lack of resources

STRATEGY AS PERSPECTIVE & THE ROLE OF

T&D
GETTING
the

IT RIGHT

formulation and embedding of a clear vision and

set of values (the big idea)
The provision of support and advice to line
managers on their role in implementing T&D policies
and practices
The development of a positive psychological
contract and means of increasing the motivation and
commitment of employees
Implementation of high performance work
practices, particularly those concerned with job and
work design, flexible working, resourcing (recruitment
and selection and talent management), employee
development (increasing skills and extending the
skills base), reward, and giving employees a voice

Lc, If Hr Needs To Be Taken

Seriously It Must Be Given Away,,
its The Line That Ensures The
Success Of Hr. managing
Relationship.,,
Holistic Approach

HR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Strategy

in not that logical and linear

It is emergent and flexible
Especially the case in HRM strategies
Strategy is much more intuitive and often only
visible after the event, seen as emerging
patterns of action. This is especially the case
when most of the strategy, as in HRM, is to do
with internal implementation and performance
strategies, not exclusively to do with external
market ploys.
Non Linear Plan Do Check Gratton

HR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Because

of its emergent nature following steps

are advised
Assess feasibility from an HR point of view,
feasibility depends on whether the numbers and
types of key people required to make the strategy
succeed can be obtained on a timely basis and at
a reasonable cost, and whether the behavioral
expectations assumed by the strategy are realistic
(e.g. retention rates and productivity levels)
Determine desirability examine the
implications of strategy in terms of valued HR
policies (eg, a strategy of rapid retrenchment
would have to be called into question by a
company with a full employment policy)

Klp

Know Ur Current
State,,,snapshot Of Ur Current
Competencies,,,
desirabilty Means Lookin Beyond
The Obvious,,afraid People Are
Not Good Learners

EXTERNAL FACTORS
LOCATION
DEMOGRAPHY
POLITICAL

& LEGISLATIVE

ISSUES:
a long term developmental plan
to change behavior & attitudes

EXTERNAL FACTORS
SOCIAL
1.
2.
3.

FACTORS
Legitimacy
Female work force
Contractual and part time workers

. ECONOMIC

FACTORS

. COMPETITORS

EXTERNAL FACTORS
TECHNOLOGY
Uncertainty
new

methods of working are developed

Multi skilling (ensuring that people have a
range of skills that enable them to work
flexibly on a variety of tasks, often within a
team working environment
New technology can therefore present a
considerable threat to employees
Deskilling
Flexibilty

tele-working, supervision

no role predictability continuity,,team

work attitude

INTERNAL FACTORS
BUSINESS

STRATEGY

CULTURE
Culture

is critical for high commitment

Culture needs reinforcement through
communications, T&D and reward systems
1.
2.
3.

T& D as a tool for culture propagation

Selecting a methodology
Generally , open cultures facilitate learning

INTERNAL FACTORS
ORGANIZATIONAL
Design-

STRUCTURE

Mechanistic to Organic
Decision Autonomycentralization to decentralization

INTERNAL FACTORS

PRODUCT/SERVICE

CHARACTERISTICS
INTERNAL

LABOUR MARKET

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
IF
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

NOT DONE;
Ad hoc demands from senior
management
Demands from line managers
Requests from individuals
Good ideas seen else where
Repetition of previous years
actions

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT

Conflict

of objectives
Lost opportunities on hindsight
Loss of credibility

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
THE
1.

2.

3.
4.

FOUR AREAS;
SKILLS: emphasized skills, new
skills & skills not needed
anymore
KNOWLEDGE: external
environment /internal workings
of organization
ATTITUDES: supervision style,
belief
CULTURE: most potent shift to

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
INPUT
A

INTO HR PLAN;

snap shot of skills knowledge

and abilities
Directing recruitment
Two way traffic

The Strategic Role of T&D

Work

today is essentially a relationshipbetween the employer and employee

Work

remains a central interest in the lives of

most people.
If they won the lottery, 39 per cent would quit
work, but most of the others would continue
working.
Asked to cite the three most important things
they look for in a job, 70 per cent of respondents
cited pay, 62 per cent wanted interesting and
varied work and only22 per cent were looking for
job security
Expectations, comparisons

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN
RELATIONSHIP
Unitary and pluralist frames of reference
. Organizations are assumed as
harmonious and integrated entities
. May be argued for some organizations
. It can be argued that this is a
managerialist assumption
. Organizations as coalitions of interest
groups
. Different interests and values are
legitimate and should be respected
1.

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN RELATIONSHIP

2.

The lean organization

Downsizing , Delayering , Flexibility

Employees work longer hours, stress rises, career
opportunities are reduced and morale and motivation fall
Under the pressures to be competitive and to achieve
cost leadership, organizations are not only downsizing
but are also engaging people on short-term contracts
and make no pretence that they are there to provide
careers. They want specific contributions to achieving
organizational goals now and, so far as people are
concerned, they may let the future take care of itself,
believing that they can purchase the talent required as
and when necessary. This may be short-sighted, but it is
the way many businesses now operate

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN RELATIONSHIP

2. The lean organization
Two important takeaways;
The issue is not to launch lean but to sustain it
many initiatives fail because they do not take
into account the people implications
KLPs
communication and participation in decision
making (removal of uncertainty)
shop-floor empowerment and problem-solving
practices (T&D, Supervisory attitudes)
emphasis on horizontal business processes
rather than vertical structures

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN
RELATIONSHIP
3. Mobile workers
Working at home or on the move
Managing a distant relationship is
not easy
Managers will have to find new
ways to control these mobile
workers, possibly based on
capturing workers hearts and
minds to create a culture of hard
work even at a distance.

The reality of employment relationship today

In general there is far less security in
employment today, and the old tradition of
the life-long career is no longer so much in
evidence. Employers are less likely to be
committed to their employees. At the same
time, employees tend to be less committed to
their employers and more committed to their
careers, which they may perceive are likely to
progress better if they change jobs rather
than remain with their present employer. They
are concerned with their employability, and
are determined to extract as much value as
possible from their present employment to
provide for their future elsewhere

The Strategic Role of T&D

Provide

scope for lateral career

development

Investment
In

in T&D

other words they should take

steps to improve employability of
their employees

The Strategic Role of T&D

The

training and expertise of employees

determines the skills available to the firm.

The

adaptability of employees determines

the strategic flexibility of the firm.

The

commitment and loyalty of

employees determine the firms ability to
maintain competitive advantage.

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
SOME
1.
2.

3.
4.

QUESTIONS?
Do you understand the strategic
needs of the business?
Do you regularly talk to senior
managers to understand business
needs?
Are there training programs that
are not worth the effort?
How does your training program
align with strategic objectives?

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
SOME
1.
2.
3.
4.

QUESTIONS?
Who receives majority of trainings
in your organization?
Is the primary focus management or
operations or both?
Are there groups of employees that
are significantly undertrained?
Do you invest resources in training
your suppliers or business partners?

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
SOME

QUESTIONS?
1. Given your strategic objectives,
what are the key groups that
need to be trained?
2. Are your methods appropriate?
3. Do you distinguish between
important and urgent needs?

What

Is Learning?

Is

There A Universal Theory Of

Learning?

What

Is Learning To You?

BEHAVIORISM
Classical

Conditioning

Instrumental

Conditioning- Law of

Effect
Operant

Conditioning

Understanding

REINFORCEMENT

BEHAVIORISM
Need

to foster REPITATIVE knowledge

Out

comes are predictable, precise &

measurable

Learning
Driving

can be broken down in steps

a car/ Operating a machine

BEHAVIORISM
Team

Work- lets take you as an example

KLPs
Socialization- unlearning
Training on teamwork
Incentivization
Supervisory feedback-buy in, knowledge of
appropriate behaviors, application
Effective feedback-we will get back to it

BEHAVIORISM
Work

place habits-John the machinist

KLPs
Organizational costs
Stress, irritants, complaints--CULTURE
Inaccurate diagnosis look busy do

USING FEEDBACK AS A REINFORCER

Be

Specific
Be Immediate
Remember the Intangibles
Small steps---Small Successes
Remain Unpredictable
B. F. Skinner Beyond Freedom and
Dignity, 1973

BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT
Step

1: Identification of critical
performance behaviors

Step

2: Measurement of Behavior

Step

3: A-B-C Analysis

Step

4: An intervention strategy

KEY TAKEAWAYs
Not

leaving things to chance

Ensure
Avoid
Non

ability before giving consequences

wrong associations

performance- a reward????

Taking

too long

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Improving

the situation

Trainer

can suggest situational changes- both

physical and social

Avoid

blame, Prevent future problems

COGNITIVISM
Edward

Tolman- Expectancy Theory

Perception

and learning

Term Memory Long Term

Memory

Short

Perceptual Organization
The Human Mind Is
HOLISTIC
KLPs ?

The Law of Similarity

Trees in different shapes

The Law of Proximity

Two men and the table.

When you look at a you see (a man + a man) + a table.
When you look at b you see (a man + a table) + a man.

The Law of Continuity

The Law of Good form or

Pragnanz
The critical
importance of prior
learning

KLPs

Memory-some initial rules for

effective training
From

sensory memory to short

term memory

ATTENTION

and its KLPs

MOTIVATION

and its KLPS

Self Efficacy- In a training Context

Prior

Experiences
Behavioral Models
Others feedback

Organizational

responsibilities
Trainers responsibilities

What is CHUNKING??
Meaning

comes from Organizing

Time flies you cannot they go by
too swiftly
You
If

do chunking

you do it, apply it in your training

Short Term Memory-some

toolsDual coding theory
Rehearsal
Mnemonics
Memory

devices

SCHEMA

What is a SCHEMA??
Elaborate

network of abstract
mental structures
Schemata are always organized
meaningfully
Schema within schema
Schema can change with new
information
Schema can be reorganized

How schema helps learning??

Prior

knowledge linkage

Categorizing,

remembering,
comprehending and problem solving

Sometimes

schema interferes with

new information

Long Term memory

Assimilation

vs. Accommodation

The case of Tom, Harry and their

Dad

Meaningful Learning
Rote

learning-memorization without
understanding
Meaningful learning- relational
manner, spread of activation
HIERARCHICAL

RETRIVAL SYSTEM

Social Learning Theory

Albert

Bandura
Modeling/ Imitating--symbolic
IMPORTANCE
Attention
2. Retention
3. Reproduced
4. Reinforcement
1.