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HR Function (hr + function)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	85%

Selected Abstracts

Globalization of the HR function: The next step in HR's transformation?

GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 2 2008
Karen Piercy
A study confirms HR's progress in moving from a transactional function to a strategic partner. The function now faces pressures to globalize by adopting service delivery models that better rationalize costs, leverage common technology and processes, and focus resources on global HR processes that can create competitive differentiation for the enterprise. The authors discuss five service delivery models along a continuum of commonality of business needs, and present four cases of global companies that found the best fit for their needs. Key determinants include financial considerations, HR service requirements, and cultural readiness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

An exploratory study of governance in the intra-firm human resources supply chain

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010
Elaine Farndale
Abstract The human resource management (HRM) literature has paid insufficient attention to supply chain management (SCM) when exploring the architecture of human resources (HR). Drawing on an SCM perspective, this study develops our understanding of (1) the intra-firm HR supply chain, and (2) how this HR supply chain influences corporate governance processes within large organizations. We argue that the HR function, represented as an internal professional service supply chain, needs appropriate governance principles as it operates through multiple delivery channels and with a wide variety of HRM practices. Exploratory findings from a qualitative empirical study of seven large organizations investigating governance and risk management in the HR supply chain are presented. These in-depth interviews uncover how formal governance is relatively easy for these organizations to achieve, supported by outcome-focused monitoring tools, but informal governance mechanisms can fail due to insufficient attention. Although standardized approaches to HR delivery can maximize the opportunity for HR governance, little evidence was found that the organizations were considering the related governance implications explicitly. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Context-bound configurations of corporate HR functions in multinational corporations

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2010
Elaine Farndale
Abstract Considerable attention has focused on how multinational corporations (MNCs) deal with the simultaneous pressures of globalization and localization when it comes to human resource management (HRM). HR function activities in this process, however, have received less focus. The study presented here identifies configurations of the corporate HR function based on international HRM (IHRM) structures, exploring how issues of interdependency shape corporate HR roles. The study is based on 248 interviews in 16 MNCs based in 19 countries. The findings are applied to develop a contextually based framework outlining the main corporate HR function configurations in MNCs, including new insights into methods of IHRM practice design. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Modeling an HR shared services center: Experience of an MNC in the United Kingdom

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2006
Fang Lee Cooke
An increasing number of large and multinational organizations are moving to shared services models in delivering the human resource function. It is commonly believed that the adoption of an HR shared services model can transform the role of HR by enabling the HR function to be more strategic at the corporate level and more cost-effective at the operational level. However, few academic studies have been carried out to investigate challenges to implementing an HR services center successfully and the impact of adopting an HR shared services model on different groups of employees. Through a case study of a multinational corporation, this article reveals that there remains a significant gap between literature espousing the efficacy and utility of HR shared services and the extent to which the adoption of such a model is successful. The financial and emotional cost of moving to a shared services model can outweigh the tangible cost savings predicted by firms. The idea of separating the HR function into strategic, operational, and administrative components may prove to be too simplistic, although it underpins the initiative of HR shared services. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Outsourcing HR as a competitive strategy?

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2005
A literature review, an assessment of implications
HR outsourcing as an organizational strategy has increased substantially over the last decade. However, this trend has attracted little academic attention regarding how outsourcing decisions are made, the manner in which these decisions are implemented, how outsourcing effectiveness is measured, and its impact on organizational performance. In this article, we provide a critical review of the reasons for, the processes involved in, and the perceived effectiveness of HR outsourcing. We investigate the implications of HR outsourcing for the role of the HR function and for the various groups of people affected by this strategy. We argue that organizations should apply both the resource-based view and institutional theory when making outsourcing decisions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Preparing the HR profession for technology and information work

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 2-3 2004
Paul S. Hempel
Technology and human resource management have broad influences upon each other. Technology not only changes the administration of human resources (HR), which is the domain of e-HR, but also changes organizations and work. HR professionals must be able to adopt technologies that allow the reengineering of the HR function, be prepared to support organizational and work-design changes enabled by technology, and be able to support the proper managerial climate for innovative and knowledge-based organizations. An examination of HR professional degree programs shows that traditional HR education has poorly prepared the HR profession for these challenges. To address this shortfall, HR education must be revised to provide a greater focus on technological issues, and HR educators must acquire the skills needed to teach these courses. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Comparing Line and HR Executives' Perceptions of HR Effectiveness: Services, Roles, and Contributions

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001
Patrick M. Wright
This study compares HR and line executives' evaluations of the effectiveness of the HR function in terms of its service delivery, roles, and contributions to the firm. Survey responses from 44 HR and 59 line executives from 14 companies indicated that (a) HR executives consistently rated the functions' effectiveness higher than did line executives, and (b) the greatest differences were observed on the more important and/or strategic aspects of HR. Implications for improving HR effectiveness are discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]

Private equity and HRM in the British business system

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007
Ian Clark
Who owns the firm? Do changes in owner matter? Will change affect the operational and strategic role of the HR function? For some, the answer will be no precisely because mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, buyouts and privatisations are central activities for a British-based business where short-term value for shareholders and financial engineering are key management objectives that structure and inform the work of HR professionals. For other readers, the answer may well be yes; ownership and owner strategies do matter, particularly if a firm is acquired by a relatively new actor in the market for corporate control , the private equity firm. [source]

Evaluating human capital: an exploratory study of management practice

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004
Juanita Elias
The article explores the development of systems of human capital evaluation in a number of large UK firms. Human capital is a much used term in business literature, and it is widely recognised that firms need to develop mechanisms to determine the value of their employee base. An extensive human capital literature has developed in which the authors propose elaborate systems for measuring a firm's human assets. This article does not seek to offer yet another human capital model. Rather, the aim is to examine the management practices through which human capital evaluation is undertaken. The article is based on an exploratory study of such practices in 11 major firms in the UK. The findings are highlighted as follows. First, we note the preference for internal over external (static accountancy-based) reporting. Secondly, we highlight the diverse nature of human capital evaluation systems that exist across UK business. Thirdly, we explore the relationship between practices of evaluation and the role and position of the HR function within the firm. Finally, in conclusion, we address the implications of the human capital perspective for practitioners, arguing that there is no single formula that can be applied to its evaluation. We go on to suggest that the importance of the human capital concept and its measurement may lie in its ability to re-frame perceptions of the relationship between the contribution of employees and the competitive performance of the business. [source]

Paying the piper: choice and constraint in changing HR functional roles

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002
Catherine Truss
HR directors are often exhorted to play a more ,strategic' role in their organisations. However, it is not necessarily clear what is meant by this, or whether it is possible for departments to change their role at a whim. In this article we examine the changing role of the HR function within two contrasting organisations , an NHS trust and a bank , over a period of seven years. Drawing on role-set theory and concepts of negotiated order, we illustrate how HR functional roles are located within a complex and dynamic social setting, and present a model that seeks to map these interrelationships. [source]

Toward a Current, Comprehensive, Integrative, and Flexible Model of Motivation for Instructional Design

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2006
Patricia L. Hardré
Workplace motivation historically has been an HR function, with ID as a training function. This division produces a split between motivation and training, leaving them isolated from one another. Intervention design needs to include motivation throughout its phases, to maximize motivating opportunities for performance improvement. The current models included in instructional design texts and resources are important, but tend to lack some characteristics that would make them more useful and productive for designers. The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical and conceptual framework for the devel-opment of a new model of motivation for intervention design that is current, comprehensive, integrative, and flex-ible. To that end, we (1) review the key points of the call for such a model; (2) present a framework for such a model; (3) offer a conceptual prototype for a model to meet designer's needs and include perspectives from experts in instructional design and performance technology, including how it fills out an integrative theoretical base of motivation for the field; and (4) present future development implications for the field. [source]

Generalized mixtures in reliability modelling: Applications to the construction of bathtub shaped hazard models and the study of systems

APPLIED STOCHASTIC MODELS IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, Issue 3 2009
Jorge Navarro
Abstract In this paper, we obtain and discuss some general properties of hazard rate (HR) functions constructed via generalized mixtures of two members. These results are applied to determine the shape of generalized mixtures of an increasing hazard rate (IHR) model and an exponential model. In addition, we note that these kind of generalized mixtures can be used to construct bathtub-shaped HR models. As examples, we study in detail two cases: when the IHR model chosen is a linear HR function and when the IHR model is the extended exponential-geometric distribution. Finally, we apply the results and show the utility of generalized mixtures in determining the shape of the HR function of different systems, such as mixed systems or consecutive k -out-of- n systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]