Knowledge that Transforms

One reason why organizational improvement efforts often fall short of expectations is that they are rarely systematic. This article describes both the theory and practice of improving human resource management (HRM) using an example from McDonnell Douglas Corporation, in which an integrated systems approach was applied. A model of various, specific HRM initiatives is presented. The plan for undertaking these initiatives is also described. A key factor in the success of this approach is in changing the mental models that executives hold regarding how organizations really function. A major part of this shift is appreciating that organizational improvement initiatives are not additive but interactive.

Current-day university human resource educational programs had their beginnings in the late 1910s and early 1920s when textbooks and courses in personnel management first appeared, an event that occurred in tandem with the emergence of personnel management/industrial relations as a new functional area of business practice. Over the next eight decades, both the practice of HR management and the university programs that train people for it have evolved and grown in a number of important and interesting ways. This article provides a brief overview of this evolution in university HR education, summarizes the structure and curriculum of contemporary HR degree programs, and briefly describes the strengths and weaknesses of HR management as an intellectual subject area.

While it has long been recognized that the human resource function must take a more customer-oriented perspective on the design and delivery of HR programs, this view has focused primarily on internal customers. However, external customers can provide important input into HR activities (e.g., job analysis information), they can participate in HR activities (e.g., selection decisions), and they can use HR activities (e.g., receive training). By expanding customer orientation in the HR function to focus explicitly on external customers, a more direct relationship between human resource management and competitive organizational performance can be established.

This article describes the HR Management System in place at Sears. Key emphases of Sears' HR management infrastructure include: (1) formulating and communicating a corporate mission, vision, and goals, (2) employee education and development through the Sears University, (3) performance management and incentive compensation systems linked closely to the firm's strategy, (4) validated employee selection systems, and (5) delivering the "HR Basics” very competently. Key challenges for the future include: (1) maintaining momentum in the performance improvement process, (2) identifying barriers to success, and (3) clearly articulating HR's role in the change management process.

This article focuses on the development of mid- to senior-level HR professionals through a public program offered at the University of Michigan Business School. We suggest that developing HR professionals requires a theory of competencies about what HR professionals must know and do and a development experience based on those competencies. We highlight how we have created a competency model over the last decade and designed our HR executive programs to deliver against this model. We also show the pedagogical techniques used to deliver these competencies.

During the last five years, a team of researchers has worked with the senior human resource (HR) teams of seven large companies with United Kingdom operations. This research initiative has focused on a number of aims, one of which has been to understand and model how business strategies are translated through human resource strategies and people processes into individual and organizational performance. This article summarizes the key findings, provides a map of how this translation takes place in these companies, and discusses why some people processes are more strongly linked to business strategy.

This article synthesizes findings from five case studies conducted in firms known to be leaders in the management of people. We drew three broad conclusions: 1 The foundation of a value-added HR function is a business strategy that relies on people as a source of competitive advantage and a management culture that embraces that belief; 2 A value-added HR function will be characterized by operational excellence, a focus on client service for individual employees and managers, and delivery of these services at the lowest possible cost; and 3 A value-added HR function requires HR managers that understand the human capital implications of business problems and can access or modify the HR system to solve those problems.

Current business conditions mandate greater competitive advantage from HR agendas and processes. To add greater competitive advantage, HR must contribute strategic value against criteria from customer and capital markets. HR can add strategic value either reactively or proactively. In its strategically reactive mode, HR assumes the existence of a business strategy and adds value by linking HR practices to the business strategy and by managing change. In its strategically proactive mode, HR creates competitive advantage by creating cultures of creativity and innovation, by facilitating mergers and acquisitions, and by linking internal processes and structures with ongoing changes in the marketplace. This article defines and describes these specific practices through which HR can contribute to greater competitive advantage.

Considerable evidence suggests that a substantial part of organizations' investment in training is often wasted due to poor learning transfer and trainee relapse. This study investigated the effects of two different relapse prevention (RP) modules designed to supplement a training program on employee coaching skills. The coaching program was delivered to 78 research scientists from five departments of a large Midwestern firm. The transfer “climate” of those five represented departments was also assessed. Results indicated that the RP modules did modestly influence trainees' use of transfer strategies, but the impact was contingent on the nature of the transfer climate.1

This article argues that “acceptability” is a key issue relevant to the success of 360 degree appraisal processes. They present conceptual arguments to show how a customer-supplier relationship (CSR) perspective provides a useful means of depicting possible 360 degree linkages, as well as discussing the types of raters and ratees for whom acceptance of the process is important. A categorization scheme then provides the primary factors relevant to acceptance of the process. These factors include: (1) organizational characteristics and (2) CSR characteristics and appraisal context. Comparisons are made between customers and suppliers in terms of their probable acceptance of 360 degree appraisals.1