Which structural form, if any, is most suitable for an SHRM approach Essay

Which structural form, if any, is most suitable for an SHRM approach - Essay Example Management theorists and researchers have emphasized the difference between, and importance of, strategic HRM and human resource strategy, in achieving organisational goals. Therefore, strategic HRM decisions are incorporated into the strategic plan from which HR strategies are derived. According to Price (2007), strategies are means used by organisations to achieve their objectives, in the form of decisions taken well in advance to meet the long-term goals of the organisation. Strategic HRM focuses on widespread aspects of organisation such as organisational culture, individual career development, having right people for the right job, etc. In relation to this, Mabey, Salaman and Storey (1998) have proposed four different perspectives: firstly, SHRM entails complex activities that are beyond the responsibilities of personnel or HRM managers and extend to all aspects of managing people including social and economic context of management of internal and external environments impacting the organisation and its people; secondly, it includes impact of strategies on business performance, and thus emphasizes on measurement of performance; thirdly, management styles are more defined and according to the existing people and goals; and lastly, development of organisational capability is encompassed through strategic knowledge management. Much work on SHRM field has resulted in various models and types of SHRM, which can be broadly classified into two groups, the general and prescriptive approaches. Delery and Doty (1996) and Richardson and Thompson (1999) have framed ‘best practices, ‘best fit’ and the ‘configurational’ approaches (cited by Armstrong, 2000); another perspective by Armstrong (2000) includes high-commitment, high-performance and high involvement models. In the ‘best practice’ approach, organisations adopt best HRM practices such as employment