Need to read all these BEFORE the F2F in September
Political Skill at Work - Ferris, Davidson & Perrewe
Corporate Confidential - Shapiro
Play to Win! Revised Edition - Wilson

This one needs to be read by November 4th TI session
Flawed Advice and the Management Trap - Chris Argyris

We will be assigned a portion of the Losey book during the F2F -- reading & group discussion to be done by November 18^th TI
The Future of Human Resource Management - Losey, Ulrich & Meisinger

Some other resources Monica suggested
a book publisher: http://www.routledge.com
a suggested book for research: The Craft of Research

One of the assignments was to do selected chapter summaries of the Losey, Meisinger & Ulrich book...here are my reviews:

Section V Summary - Rethink Organizations as Capabilities Not Structures
The message behind this section is just as the title says--focus on the capabilities of the organization, not the structure of the organization.

Chapter 25 - What Really Works: HR's role in building the 4+2 Organization

This chapter points out that there are 8 key corporate practices that align with strong companies or companies that are overcoming challenges. These 8 practices are divided into 4 key foundational practices and 4 complimentary practices

Foundational Practices: 1) A Focused Strategy with a clear and focused set of shared goals, 2) A Flawless Execution supporting their key customers while maintaining productivity and costs, 3) A Performance Culture that is meaningful to all employees that allows them to grow and contribute to the bigger picture, and 4) A Fast/Flexible Organization that simplify work and reduced bureaucracy.

Complimentary Practices: 1) Holding onto & hiring talented employees, 2) Keeping key leaders & corporate directors focused. 3) Finding and making innovative market or industry moves, and 4) Organizational growth including partnerships and acquisitions.

It is a winning company strategy to target and succeed with the 4 key foundational practices...few companies can succeed without mastering ALL 4 of these. Also, the strongest companies master at least 2 of the complimentary practices. That's the meaning of the "4+2 Organization" that this chapter touts. But it's not always easy for firms to do this.

The chapter charges HR organizations to help firms achieve this 4+2 model to ensure the success of their respective firms. HR needs to be more engaged in Organizational Design, managing transformations, and other parts of the 4+2 model, and not just things like cultural change or corporate strategy.

--cj

Chapter 26 - Human Resources' New ROI: Return On Intangibles

Intangibles are a critical, yet hidden part of a company's value. This article points out 6 actions the HR departments can take to develop and reinforce the value of these intangible resources. While "...it is not the Holy Grail, it offers a different path..." to link HR and its assets to shareholder value.

• Become Investor Literate
  • Understand why people investin the firm: 1) Know the top 5 shareholders, 2) Why did they choose to invest in the firm, 3) How is the firn's current P/E ratio conpared to history, 4) Who are the major analysts that follow the firm, 5) Are the investors involved in HR practices of the firm, and 6) is the Board's governance model solid?
• Understand the Importance of Intangibles
  • Based on market value over the last 15 years, intangibles are an increasingly large portion of a firm's value. Faith in leaders help drive up and keep the intangible values high. Also, faith in the general workforce can drive up intangible value.
• Create a Framework for Organization and People Practices That Increase Intangible Value
  • Key strategic steps for building intangible value by: 1) Keeping promises, 2) Have a compelling growth strategy, 3) Building core competencies (R&D, etc.) that support intangibles, and 4) increase people and org values such as talent, mindset, leadership, etc.
• Highlight the Importance of Intangible Value to Total Shareholder Return
  • Determine if the P/E ratio is solid and make sure shareholders know it.
• Conduct an Intangibles Audit That Assess Where Leaders Should Focus Value Creation
  • Determine how to best audit the intangibles and be able to identify and report on them
• Align HR Practices and Investors
  • Get investors (stockholders, etc.) involved in helping select and determine compensation models for key executives...helps to improve the intangibles and tie it to the market.

--cj

Chapter 33 - The Dual Theory of Human Resource Management and Business Performance: Lessons for HR Executives

There are two distinct types of workforces -- "core" and "periphery". The core work force is usually 1) employed full-time, 2) paid a regular salary or wage, 3) covered by fringe benefits, 4) get training & development, and have 5) career promotion opportunities, 6) participate in decision-making, 7) has been carefully selected, 8) has employment security, 9) some performance-based pay, and is 10) regularly provided business updates. The peripheral work force is 1) part-time, temporary, contract, vendored, and/or outsourced staff, are 2) generally paid a fixed wage, salary or lump sum, 3) not covered by fringe benefits, 4) have little/no training or development, 5) have no promotion opportunities, 6) does not participate in decision-making, 7) has little performance-based pay, 8) no job security, and 9) gets no business-specific information. Consider core to be the "investment" staffing and the periphery to be the "cost control" staffing

Both types of staff have positive effects on business performance. So an important lesson for HR executives is that a business should find the optimal blend of these type of staffing strategies to help manage profit and control expenses. Based on a number of surveys and firms that were analyzed, using just a single model was not as effective as having an ideal blend of around 2/3 core and 1/3 periphery. But, when looking at globalization, there are countries in which certain "core" practices apparently “don’t fit” because they run afoul of cultural values, custom, history and legal constraints. On the other hand "periphery" practices, such as part-time, fixed contract and outsourced employment, don’t appear to fit well with many nations, so one size or set of best practices does not fit all.

This model of staffing needs to be further analyzed and HR organizations need to become engaged with working with corporate management to assess and influence the right hiring model.

--cj

 

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