sary changes have to be planned as part of human resource strategies including training,
layoffs in time, sub-contracting some jobs etc. as the need arises.
Formally declaration of intentions in managing HR
Securing the commitment of employees requires the building of trust on the part of the
management. Employees have to be assured of their future in the organisation through
some kind of documentation. Human resource strategy is one such useful document; it
gives a rough picture of how the management values employees and the reasons as to
why employees should be committed to the future of the organisation.
Generating a competitive edge
A competitive edge is generated from the quality and number of staff the organisation
has. Quality is measured in terms of the level of competence while the staff numbers
depend on the required employee – job ratio and number of working hours. Human re-
source strategy is a tool used for assisting the organisational process of gaining a com-
petitive edge by recruiting the best people, using the best labour in the most effective
way and putting the incentives in place that can retain the best people and develop them
so that they, through their knowledge, stand at the forefront of management and labour
utilisation.
Partnership between the management and workers
Under SHRM, the director of human resources represents employees as a partner in
business. Employees are partners in business in the sense that they have a stake in the
organisation that requires the full cooperation of all parties so that, organisational objec-
tives, team objectives as well as individual objectives are realised. A SHRM document
is useful in identifying the role of each partner in strategic business performance. Mill-
more et al. (2007) have dealt in detail with the roles of human resource strategy and
which are well summarised by Bhatia (2007). These include shaping the mind-set of the
management and staff, facilitating the process of decision-making and action to be
taken, working on human resource implications of specific strategic decisions and estab-
lishing strategies for cost reduction, defining opportunities for better capacity utilisation,
and creating future managers by nurturing talent.
Integrating business strategy with human resource strategy
Strategy – is a plan or pattern that integrates an organisation‘s major goals, policies and
action into a cohesive whole (Quinn 1991). By drawing from strategic management
literature, Bhatia (2007) looks at strategy in terms of a statement of the direction in
which an organisation wants to go and what it wants to become. However, human re-
sources must shape this direction. Therefore, as organisations become strategic, the
same strategic decisions on managing people become necessary. Strategic decisions are
decisions that determine the overall direction of the organisation. Fombrun et al. (1984)
regards strategy as a process through which the basic mission and objectives of the or-
ganisation are set, and the process through which the organisation uses its resources to
achieve its objectives.
Other scholars relate strategy to a competitive advantage. For example, Miller (1989)
defines strategy as encompassing those decisions and actions that concern the manage-
ment of employees at all levels in the business and that are directed towards creating