Stratagic Hr Mgmt

SHRMStrategic human resource management has been defined as ‘ the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility ‘. Strategic HR means accepting the HR function as a strategic partner in the formulation of the company’s strategies as well as in the implementation of those strategies through HR activities such as recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding personnel. Whereas strategic HR recognizes HR’s partnership role in the strategizing process, the term HR Strategies refers to specific HR courses of action the company plans to pursue to achieve it’s aims HR management can play a role in environmental scanning i.e. identifying and analyzing external opportunities and threats that may be crucial to the company’s success. Similarly HR management is in a unique position to supply competitive intelligence that may be useful in the strategic planning process. HR also participates in the strategy formulation process by supplying information regarding the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses. The strengths and weaknesses of a company’s human resources can have a determining effect on the viability of the firm’s strategic options. By design the perspective demands that HR managers become strategic partners in business operations playing prospective roles rather than being passive administrators reacting to the requirements of other business functions. Strategic HR managers need a change in their mindset from seeing themselves as relationship managers to resource managers knowing how to utilize the full potential of their human resources. The primary actions of the strategic human resource manager translate business strategies into HR priorities. In any business setting, whether corporate, functional, business unit or product line a strategy exists either explicitly in the formal process or document or implicitly through a shared agenda on priorities. As strategic partners, HR professionals should be to identify the HR practices that make the strategy happen. The process of identifying these HR priorities is called organizational diagnosis, a process through which an organization is audited to determine its strengths and weaknesses The three stages cover strategy formulation, implementation and evaluationThe three stages cover strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation… The strategy formulation process is influenced by a numbr of external and internal factors..Formbrun(1984) identifies technological,economical, socio-cultural and political environmentas interrelated external factors that hav impact on the strategy formulation of organizations.

The formulation stage provides the ground for the happening of effective shrm.the organizations recognizes hr dept as a business partner and provides it wid avenues for beinga proactive partner.. Implementation of shrm may involve drastic changes in the work practices and other hr processes and hence may affect a lot of employees..bringing about change is a difficult process and people who hav faced negative consequences of an unsuccessful effort to change may obstruct the change processes of future Various hrm systems like recruitment and selection,,performance mgt,compensation,trng n developm,career mgtneed to b aligned wid hr strateg The third stage deals wid the evaluation of effectiveness of hrmsystems and their strategic integration.. The evaluation stage in dis model includes various surveys and evaluation processes..d evalution metrics need 2 b carefully constructed ..evalation of hrm systems is difficult bcos most of d orgabnisations are nt vry clear as 2 what they want 2 evaluet EMPLOYEE RETN STR Employee Retention Strategies is uniquely designed to provide small- to medium-sized organizations (and business units of large organizations) with affordable, effective, fast and lasting solutions to improve employee retention, satisfaction and commitment Main retention strategies 1 Communications - Getting Your People to Care Communication is the first step toward creating the kind of environment that people care about, and if they care, they just may stay. I'm not talking about a lot of New Age stroking designed to bring out the inner person or false praise that creates a misplaced sense of security. Instead, keep your people in the loop about what's happening with the company. At any time, all of your employees should have a pretty good idea of how business has been, and they should be aware of what issues the company is attempting to address. That means that you regularly keep your people up to date with important events affecting the company. If November was good, let them know, and while you're at it, tell them what you expect to happen in December. Share good news, as well as points of concern. If you've got "issues," talk about them before they start making you crazy. And if they don't get resolved, figure out whether the problem stems from a couple of individuals or from your system. The point here is that you want to treat these people as your partners, which they are. They may not have to worry about covering the payroll this week, but they do have worries of their own. Treat them with at least as much respect as they give you. As the store's owner or manager, you set the tone for the entire organization. If your salespeople, for instance, enjoy their encounters with you, they are much more likely to greet customers with a positive attitude. They are also much more likely to enjoy their work when they don't have a fire-breathing dragon looking to singe their butts. 2

set clear expectations a. How often do you appraise your employees/team-members? b. What are your expectations from your employees/team-members? What are the parameters to measure their performance? Have you communicated to them? c. What will be the consequences, if they fail? d. What will be the rewards, if they exceed the expected level

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33 Proper Rewarding A research reports says that in today's scenario, a. 70% of your employees are less motivated today than they used to be. b. 80% of your employees could perform significantly better if they wanted to. c. 50% of your employees only put enough effort into their work to keep their job.

As you might be aware of Employee Reward covers how people are rewarded in accordance with their value to an organization. It is about both financial and non-financial rewards and embraces the strategies, policies, structures and processes used to develop and maintain reward systems. The ways in which people are valued can make a considerable impact on the effectiveness of the organization, and is at the heart of the employment relationship. The aim of employee reward policies and practices, if any in your organization is to help attract, retain and motivate high-quality people. Getting it wrong can have a significant negative effect on the motivation, commitment and morale of employees. Personnel and development professionals will be involved frequently in reward issues, whether they are generalists or specialize in people resourcing, learning and development or employee relations. Keep following parameters in mind, while designing a reward policy: Build a high degree of recognition value into every reward you offer. Recognition is the most cost-effective motivator there is. While the high cost of other rewards forces us to give them sparingly, recognition can be given any time, at very little cost. Reduce entitlements and link as many rewards as possible to performance. Clearly the traditional "pay for loyalty" systems in most organizations need to be changed. Don't let attendance be your major criterion for rewards. Most employees resent those who only put in their time and yet receive the same reward as those who go the extra mile. Today's employees have higher expectations for what work can and should be, and they want to receive rewards that reflect their personal efforts and contributions. This is why so many companies are moving toward performance-based rewards, including performance bonuses, gain-sharing and non-monetary recognition. Although not a panacea, companies are finding that these new reward systems do allow them to give substantial rewards to those who really deserve them. Smart organizations are looking for opportunities to reduce across-the-board entitlements, and thereby find more resources for discretionary performancebased rewards, without increasing the total cost of rewards. Reward promptly. Rewards should be given as soon as possible after the performance has taken place. This is why the most successful gain-sharing programs pay employees monthly, rather than quarterly or annually as in the past. There is a well-accepted law of behavioral psychology, that if you want someone to repeat a behavior, you should positively recognize it immediately. From this law, smart supervisors and managers can learn a vital lesson: Look for any employee doing something right, right now, and recognizes it. A support to this, here is my favorite reward story: "When a senior manager in one organization was trying to figure out a way to recognize an employee who had just done a great job, he spontaneously picked up a banana (which his wife

had packed in his lunch), and handed it to the astonished employee with hearty congratulations. Now, one of the highest honors in that company has been dubbed the "Golden Banana Award"." Give employees a choice of rewards. Rewards are as different as the people who receive them and it doesn't make sense to give rewards that recipients don't find rewarding. For example, some people prefer more pay, while others prefer more time off. A promotion might be more rewarding to one person, while a job-sharing arrangement might be more rewarding for another. Some people are excited about sports events, others about movies. Some employees would love a dinner in a romantic restaurant, others a book by their favorite author. Food, fun, education, improved work environment, gifts, travel, family-oriented activities - the options are endless. How do you know what will be rewarding to employees? Ask them. Smart organizations are also letting employees choose their own rewards from reward menus and catalogs. Personalizing rewards shows that a company cares enough to discover what "interests" each employee, rather than just distributing generic items. It also reduces the following danger: In one organization I was visiting, an employee opened a big drawer in his desk and disdainfully showed me all the "worthless trinkets" he had collected over the years. Increase the longevity of your rewards. This can be done in a number of ways: One of the keys to reward longevity is symbolism. The more symbolic an item is of the accomplishment, the more likely it is to continue reminding the employee of why it was given. For instance, a T-shirt of coffee mug with a meaningful inscription will continue rewarding those who wear it, or use it, long after its initial receipt. There are many tokens of appreciation I still keep on or near my desk that remind me of the joy of past accomplishments, while the monetary rewards I have received are long spent and long forgotten. Another way to increase the longevity of rewards in your organization is by using some kind of point system. Rather than rewarding each individual behavior or accomplishment, points can be awarded, which employees can accumulate and eventually trade for items from a reward menu or gift catalog. This keeps the anticipation of rewards fresh for longer periods of time. It also addresses the need for reward individualization. One company that designs motivational systems offers an electronic debit-card system to help larger clients cope with the complexity of distributing, tracking and redeeming employees' points. Employees can use their points to purchase virtually anything they want, from sports equipment and clothing to automobiles and overseas vacations. They only caveat for such programs is to make sure that the recognition value of the rewards isn't lost because of the impersonal nature of the technology. One company uses a game it Call Safety Bingo. All employees receive a weekly bingo card. When an employee is observed working safely, a number is presented (immediate recognition). When they get "bingo", they receive a safety jacket (along with appropriate verbal reinforcement). The rewards escalate for subsequent wins. This type of program keeps employees interested for long periods of time, even though there might be weeks or months between rewards, and makes routine work more fun overall. Interestingly, when researchers have investigated the motivational dynamics of these workplace games, they have found that the major motivator is the playing, not the prize. Be continually vigilant of demotivators that may undermine your organization's best efforts to provide power rewards, and reduce them promptly. Most demotivators can be dramatically reduced by soliciting employee involvement in identifying highest-priority demotivators and by enlisting top-management commitment to support their reduction.

HR Outsourcing The Human Resource (HR) department is critical for employee satisfaction in any firm. Some businesses don’t have the staff, the budgets or the inclination, to deal with the nitty-gritty of HR management, so they opt for outsourcing. Deciding which functions to offload and which firm to outsource is also a major decision. HR functions include Payroll administration (producing checks, handling taxes, dealing with sick time and vacations), employee benefits (Health, Medical, Life insurance, cafeteria, etc), human resource management (hiring and firing, background interviews, exit interviews and wage reviews), risk management (workers’ compensation, dispute resolution, safety inspection, office policies and handbooks) and others. HR outsourcing Services could fall into one of four categories: PEOs, BPOs, ASPs, or e-services Not every HR outsourcing relationship results in a sizable return on investment (ROI). In some situations, the net result can be a substantial write-off. In this article, we study some high profile HR outsourcing failures. Many companies have been burned - badly, in some cases - as a result of misaligned expectations, selection of the wrong vendor or too narrow a focus on why they were outsourcing in the first place. Companies are slowly come to appreciate that HR outsourcing is far more complex than meets the eye both in terms of technology and business process change.

Steps

PHASE I - Define

In this phase, the objective is to understand clearly the voice of the prospective customer. When doing business on the Internet, we realize the importance of being clearly understood, to provide the best solutions to our customers. PHASE II - Design and Develop

Methodology - The evolving iterative approach. We often use the evolving iterative approach to web development. In this methodology, once the preliminary requirements are clarified, the next step is to quickly build the prototype of the website/web application. From then on, it is the continuing evolution of this prototype until it becomes the final product, exact to specifications. Visibility - The key Advantage. This is a revolutionary, new approach to software development and extremely suited to offshore development and outsource services. When you outsource your requirement of web solutions to us, we are sensitive to the fact that you require high visibility of the WIP (work in progress). This is the reason why we have adapted this methodology to our web development process. At each stage along the development, the website/web application evolves before your own eyes. Here are the broad milestones in this process: 1. Prototype: The first and crucial phase. The prototype shows you the shape of things to come. This is much more than just a visual representation. It represents all the screen elements in the final solution. This is the mould into which we start to breathe the breath of life! Feedback from the client is taken and required modifications are incorporated.

2. Functional Specifications Document: Before starting to actually develop the functionalities, we document all the functional specifications. The client reviews it and gives feedback again and with this, the requirements specifications are fully captured. 3. The Proof of concept. The prototype evolves to its more complex level of existence. Many parts of the prototype spring to life. We have this intermediate delivery before the final delivery to establish the proof of concept. The client can now almost feel the solution that he/she had entrusted us to develop. What remains now is just formality. Our production engine hauls the project to completion. 4. Final Delivery: The final product is delivered after testing. There are no surprises, and no tense expectations on the date of delivery. For, you had seen it evolve!

PHASE III - Deploy Performance of the site is monitored for a period of one month if there is no site maintenance agreement. Any problems found during this period will be solved, without any additional cost to the customer.

HR outsourcing: Key drivers No matter in which part of the world companies are located, they share some common reasons for outsourcing their HR activities. Typically companies outsource their HR to contain and manage costs, hire and retain talent, develop infrastructure, create and administer benefits and compensation programs, and get a company-wide view of HR resources. The issue of build versus buy is also stated to be a strong driver for outsourcing. In this case, companies choose to "leapfrog" their efforts by hiring an outsourced service provider to get things up and running quickly. Some HR departments within companies are going for one-stop solutions HR outsourcing shops where activities such as payroll, compensation, benefits, and BPO are handled by the service provider. It has been found that HR organizations, particularly in US-based firms, are starting to outsource even some of their core tasks, like parts of training or recruitment. These firms are learning how to take core functions apart and outsource some of their elements, further reducing the burden on the HR department of the organization. In yet other cases, HR organizations are not thinking in terms of core or non-core activities. They are simply categorizing transactional activities and looking for a different way to perform them. Reasons for outsourcing • • • •

Cost effectiveness Reduced administrative costs Capitalizing on technological advances/expertise Improved customer service

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Redirecting HR focus toward strategy/planning Focus on core business Reduced corporate overhead Provision of "seamless" delivery of services Insufficient staff

Size: No longer a barrier to outsourcing In fact, it is not just the HR departments of larger companies that are undergoing this makeover and catalyzing the outsourcing trend. Smaller and mid-sized companies, traditionally out of this magic circle, are now also being driven by factors such as bottom line consciousness to take the outsourcing route. Until recently, these companies were maintaining large headcounts and spending excessively on areas such as HR expenses What are the factors to be considered before selecting an ERP vendor?

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Analyze the capabilities of your outsourcing vendor Check if your outsourcing vendor has proper information security systems Review his infrastructure Study the organization and reassure yourself if a long term relationship is possible with that company. Long term relationships are important as ERP is a process which will take time to get implemented

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Review if there are appropriate programs to protect trade secrets of its clients, partners and customers

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If possible, involve CEO level interactions to ensure minimum risks

DOWNSIZING N LAYOFFS

Downsizing and layoffs, once phenomena associated mainly with individual company distress or larger economic downturns, have become permanent features of the global business landscape. This entrenchment of job-shedding activity has been driven by a number of factors. These factors include: more rapidly evolving technologies and business cycles, intensified pressure to improve stock performance, and mergers and acquisitions. At the same time, a growing body of evidence has shown that companies often fail to realize anticipated gains from downsizing, and nearly always suffer from substantial hidden costs. Employers therefore have begun to understand that simply reducing headcount may not be a strategy for long-term advantage. (For purposes of this overview, "downsizing" - defined as a net reduction in a company's workforce - also includes "layoffs," which can take place in one part of a company concurrent with hiring in another part of the same company.) •

Traditional downsizing doesn't achieve its goals. A wealth of evidence indicates that the benefits companies frequently hope to realize from downsizing fail to materialize or, if they do, are limited and short-lived. For example: o Cost Savings: While downsizing is intended to reduce a company's overhead, the savings frequently are less than expected or, in some cases, nonexistent. Research at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee showed that while nearly

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all Fortune 1000 companies downsized between 1985 and 1990, fewer than half met their cost-cutting goals. A 1995 study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide found that only 46 percent of companies surveyed met their expense-reduction goals after downsizing, and fewer than 33 percent met their profit objectives; only one in five enhanced shareholder return on investment. o Profits and Performance: These, too, are expected to rise following a downsizing, although this often isn't the case. The American Management Association, in its 1998 Staffing and Structure Survey, concluded that firms that showed a workforce decrease in the 1990s are far more likely to report long-term decline in worker quality, product quality, operating profits, and shareholder value than they are to report a long-term improvement. Meanwhile, a 1997 study by business school professors at the University of Colorado at Denver, which analyzed downsizing trends at Standard & Poor's 500 firms over a 12-year period, found that companies that downsize are generally no more profitable than those that do not. o Share Price: Downsizing often doesn't pay off in shareholder value, according to several studies. For example, a 1997 Wharton School of Business analysis of 52 studies involving several thousand companies found that corporate restructuring had little if any positive impact on earnings or stock performance. The year Watson Wyatt study mentioned above found that only one in five downsizing companies enhanced shareholder return on investment. The "downstream" costs can be large. Several studies indicate that downsizing can have hidden and very significant costs that emerge over time. Among them: o Reduced Productivity: The morale and reduced productivity of employees that survive downsizing - those that represent the future of the company - are frequently a problem. They may be required to take on additional workloads and adapt quickly to new work situations, often in an environment undermined by reduced trust and increased uncertainty. o Loss of Key Talent: In a downsizing environment, companies often find that their key employees and top performers depart the company, stripping it of valuable human capital, critical skills, and institutional memory. In some cases, downsizing disrupts or destroys the informal networks of employees that often contribute significantly to company productivity. For example, the Economist magazine in April 1996 reported on an insurance company whose claim settlements rose sharply following staff cuts in its claims department. Further investigation found that a few long-time employees who had lost their jobs had created an informal but effective way to screen claims, which disappeared after the downsizing. o Decreased Risk-Taking and Entrepreneurism: A 1995 study by McGill University and the Wharton School of Economics found that "Downsizing seems to interfere with the web of informal relationships that innovators use to win support and resources for new products, and which helps mesh innovative activities with those of the firm as a whole." o Potential legal and administrative costs: Many companies find that the price of downsizing can be high in the costs of legal challenges, disability claims, and other unanticipated costs. For example, a 1997 survey of 300 midsized and large companies by the American Management Association and CIGNA Corp. found that eliminating jobs can lead to an increase in disability claims, both occupational and non-occupational, particularly stress-related claims. The study also found that claims last an average of 25 percent longer than in companies that haven't downsized. A top executive at a large facilities-services firm quoted in Personnel Journal said that 90 percent of the 600 claims, charges, and cases the company had open were filed following a termination.

Implementation Steps

Company approaches to downsizing are many and varied and there are few templates to follow. Following are some key issues to consider: •

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Consider downsizing's full costs. Before implementing any layoffs or downsizing, it is important to carefully consider all of the costs involved - the direct costs as well as the indirect costs. Any decision to layoff employees should make a compelling case for how the job cuts will help achieve long-term company goals. Consider such costs as the potentially reduced productivity of "surviving" employees, the loss of institutional memory, the potential legal challenges, and the potential negative public relations that may result. Consider also the costs associated with several short- and mid-term business scenarios, including the potential need to hire and train staff several months or a year later when conditions improve. Examine alternative strategies. A variety of alternatives to downsizing may provide the same or additional benefits at a lower cost. These include: o deploying surplus workers to growth areas of the company, utilizing retraining and internal placement assistance when necessary; o making managers responsible for finding new positions within the company for downsized employees; o identifying temporary internal work arrangements at employees' standard salaries, even if the arrangements are for jobs that traditionally pay less; o establishing job-sharing or work-sharing arrangements among employees; o restricting overtime, enabling more employees to share the available workload; o establishing "employee exchanges," through which employees are "loaned" to customers, suppliers, or other local companies for temporary periods; o assigning employees to voluntary community activities that fit with the company's philanthropic goals; o encouraging voluntary time off and leaves of absence, during which employees continue to receive benefits and retain seniority; o implementing wage freezes or pay cuts that apply to all employees, including managers; and o implementing voluntary separation and early-retirement programs. Communicate fully and continually with employees. Research shows that employees with a full understanding of their industry and their company's situation feel less stress and more control, even if that knowledge suggests that layoffs may be inevitable. Make sure communication is clear, candid, and that employees are given the chance to ask questions and express their views. For example, ask employees about their ideas and suggestions for avoiding layoffs. Encourage them to participate in cost-cutting and efficiency measures, and to offer strategies for growth and the development of new markets that may alleviate the need for downsizing. In addition, make sure employees are the first to know about the downsizing by maintaining confidentiality about any layoff plans. Rumors and paranoia flourish - and productivity and risk-taking plummet - in an atmosphere of leaks and partial information. Avoid having employees learn about their own layoffs from news reports. Provide long-term notice: If layoffs are deemed necessary, give employees as much notice as possible. Many employers now give notice a full year in advance, or even longer. When the rationale for layoffs is clearly communicated, and the package of severance benefits makes it clear that management values employee input, companies find that workers will remain productive and quality-conscious up until the end. More than half of the 531 U.S. companies that responded to a 1993 study on best practices in corporate restructuring conducted by outplacement firm Wyatt Company reported that early communications helped companies achieve profitability goals (59 percent) and expense-reduction goals (54 percent). Respect diversity. Keep the company's diversity in mind before, during, and after the layoff process. Before deciding who to downsize, analyze the make-up of your workforce

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- by gender, race, and age - with statistics broken down by department, job groups and salary grades. Then, before laying off employees, analyze similar data on potentially affected employees to be sure no particular group is disproportionately affected. Similarly, form a diverse, cross-functional team to plan and manage layoffs. At a minimum, such a team should include representatives from human resources, labor relations, operations, finance, public relations, community relations, government affairs, and legal affairs. Diverse, cross-functional teams have proven to be effective at addressing the needs of employees and external stakeholders, and presenting clear messages about why and how the company is downsizing. Stay on schedule: Announce a specific timeline for implementation of downsizing activities and transition services, and stick to it. Sticking to schedules and keeping promises helps preserve credibility and trust, both among affected employees and survivors. Share the pain: Senior managers should demonstrate that they are sharing the burden of downsizing. They should not announce management bonuses or salary increases during a period of downsizing. In addition to destroying trust among laid-off employees and survivors alike, this invites criticism from external stakeholders such as investors and community groups. Craft a fair package: Develop a fair benefits package that fits the needs of affected employees. In addition to severance, these benefits may include outplacement assistance; personal, financial, and career counseling; an allowance for job retraining, education costs, or small business startup; and assistance with medical and dental insurance coverage. Prepare employees for the tax implications of their severance packages, and consider compensating them for sizable one-time liabilities. In addition, help affected employees integrate benefits available in the public sector with those offered by the company. Private Investment Councils (PICs), State Worker Dislocation Units, local organizations, and federal programs such as the Job Training and Partnership Act can provide funds for and assist with job development, training, and placement. Consider also outside experts, who often prove to be extremely useful in assisting with transition services. Nonprofit organizations such as the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning as well as a variety of for-profit companies can provide expert assistance, particularly in areas such as job placement and counseling. Consider external impacts: Anticipate and prepare for consequences outside the workplace. Layoffs frequently trigger sharp increases in child, spousal, and substance abuse. Companies often find they can assist most effectively in these areas by providing confidential access to counseling services, and by working with and providing extra support to social service organizations that in these areas. Redesign jobs: Accompany downsizing with thoughtful restructuring of the organization and changes in work design. The negative effects of downsizing are most pronounced when survivors are simply asked to shoulder the load of those who are laid off, without accompanying changes in job descriptions and duties. Involve employees in this process. Employees are more likely to feel valued and empowered within the changed environment when management invests in them through training. Avoid "survivor guilt": Anticipate morale problems and "survivor guilt" among employees who have not been laid off, and take positive steps to help employees to recommit and reengage. Articulate a clear vision for the company and the place within it that remaining employees will have, including opportunities that will be available to them. In addition, prepare managers for what is sometimes described as "terminator guilt," morale problems they may face after implementing a downsizing. Document the process: Document the planning and implementation of all layoff-related activities. Careful documentation of a well-designed process, particularly when it demonstrates fairness to workers and good faith efforts to assist them with their transitions, goes a long way toward protecting companies from litigation.

COMPETIVE ADVANTAGE Email n printout

Competitive Advantage When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Michael Porter identified two basic types of competitive advantage: • •

cost advantage differentiation advantage

A competitive advantage exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself. Cost and differentiation advantages are known as positional advantages since they describe the firm's position in the industry as a leader in either cost or differentiation. A resource-based view emphasizes that a firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage that ultimately results in superior value creation. The following diagram combines the resource-based and positioning views to illustrate the concept of competitive advantage: A Model of Competitive Advantage Resources

Distinctive Competencies

Capabilities

Cost Advantage or Differentiation Advantage

Value Creation

Resources and Capabilities According to the resource-based view, in order to develop a competitive advantage the firm must have resources and capabilities that are superior to those of its competitors. Without this superiority, the competitors simply could replicate what the firm was doing and any advantage quickly would disappear. Resources are the firm-specific assets useful for creating a cost or differentiation advantage and that few competitors can acquire easily. The following are some examples of such resources: • • • • •

Patents and trademarks Proprietary know-how Installed customer base Reputation of the firm Brand equity

Capabilities refer to the firm's ability to utilize its resources effectively. An example of a capability is the ability to bring a product to market faster than competitors. Such capabilities are embedded in the routines of the organization and are not easily documented as procedures and thus are difficult for competitors to replicate. The firm's resources and capabilities together form its distinctive competencies. These competencies enable innovation, efficiency, quality, and customer responsiveness, all of which can be leveraged to create a cost advantage or a differentiation advantage.

Cost Advantage and Differentiation Advantage Competitive advantage is created by using resources and capabilities to achieve either a lower cost structure or a differentiated product. A firm positions itself in its industry through its choice of low cost or differentiation. This decision is a central component of the firm's competitive strategy. Another important decision is how broad or narrow a market segment to target. Porter formed a matrix using cost advantage, differentiation advantage, and a broad or narrow focus to identify a set of generic strategies that the firm can pursue to create and sustain a competitive advantage.

Value Creation The firm creates value by performing a series of activities that Porter identified as the value chain. In addition to the firm's own value-creating activities, the firm operates in a value system of vertical activities including those of upstream suppliers and downstream channel members. To achieve a competitive advantage, the firm must perform one or more value creating activities in a way that creates more overall value than do competitors. Superior value is created through lower costs or superior benefits to the consumer (differentiation). FEATURES OF ORGNSTION STRUCTURE

Organizational Structure The organizational structure is an instrument of coordination of activities and control of the actions of its members. The organizational flow chart shows how its resources are distributed and how they are managed, giving "officially" shape to the communication and decision -making channels. When we define the structure to be adopted by the company, it would be wise to have always present its different purposes and functions. This one should: • • • • • • • • • •

To support the organizational structure. The structure should be designed in order to ensure meeting of the company's targets and objectives; To organize the different resources in an efficient and effective way; To allow the real share of tasks and responsibilities between the various employees and groups (if any), allowing for a progressive specialization; To ensure the effective coordination of the company's activities and to clarify the decisionmaking processes; To enhance and clarify the vertical and horizontal communication channels; To allow effective monitoring and analysis of the company's activities; To supply mechanisms that will allow you to overcome changes that may occur on the market, to the products /services and to the external and internal environmental component; To make the resolution of crises and problems easier; To help the employees of the company to become motivated, to manage and to provide them with professional satisfaction; To prepare the succession of the managing staff, and at the same time, to allow management of careers.

Key elements for "building" the organizational structure As referred to above, the organizational structure is usually represented as a flow chart also referred to as organizational design. There are several elements that influence the organizational design. However, the ones that

prevail over the remaining ones, in a direct influence relationship, which must be taken into account for its election are as follows: the company's objectives; its strategy; the technology used by the company; its size; and, its action environment. Thus, and in accordance with the above-mentioned elements, you are now going to reflect and define, within the scope of what is your company, the main features of the organizational design that you want to adopt: • •

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Specialization / differentiation: How and at what extent are you going to divide the work and what is the system that best fits your company? The aim is to divide the company into units/departments/areas and to define criteria associated with it; Formalization: How should the competences be defined in terms of detail and accurateness regarding each area / department as well as its functions and links between them? Are the different roles clear for everyone, or is there any possibility of individual interpretations? Do rules and regulations have to exist? Coordination: What type of coordination and links should exist between departments / areas? Shall you centralize or decentralize?

To "build" a good organizational design, you should also have to take into account certain principles, such as. As we usually say, here you have some "clues": • • • • • • •

The structure must comply with the strategy. Objectives and targets must be known and supported by all employees of the company; The whole structure should be divided into speciality areas; The number of structure levels should be as low as possible. The more levels exist the bigger will be the problems in communication from top to bottom, decision-making, coordination and control; The number of directly managed "employees" should vary in accordance with the nature of the functions and with the organization, but should not be so narrow that would lead to a structure with several levels, or so wide that would not allow an effective management; A "leading team" should exist. There should not exist any doubts as to whom any employee should report to and who has the authority to make decisions; Each position should be provided with a well-defined role, which will bring added value to the operation of the company; The structure should be designed so as to be able to face any change in the environment that includes economy, legislation, markets, technological developments, geography, among others.

Types of organizational structures You have several different types of organizational structures to choose from. Just to give you an example, we are going to use a simple and functional structure so as to better understand what is on the basis of its design. Although many of us are not aware that there is or that we are using a business plan, the "simple structure" is often used in the small-sized family companies, which is basically build up by two hierarchic levels: the managing owner and the employees. In this case, the manager holds most of the managing responsibilities, and there is not a clear definition of the tasks of the remaining employees. The company operates under the personal control and the individual contact of the manager with his employees. Obviously, this type of structure is feasible only when the company to has a certain size. When the company grows it is more and more difficult for just one person to have the control of the whole company. Another type of structure often used in small-sized companies or in companies with a reduced range of products and/or services and, mainly, in stable environments, is the so-called "functional

structure". It consists in dividing the work and in allocating authority and responsibility according to the classical management areas: • • • • •

Financial; Production; Marketing / Sales; Personnel / Human Resources Management; Organizational.

Features of an organization Composed of individuals and groups of individuals Oriented towards achievement of common goals Differential functions Intended rational coordination Continuity through time

Considerations in designing organizational structure CLARITY UNDERSTANDING DE-CENTRALIZATION STABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY

Principles of organizational structure Specialization Horizontal Vertical Coordination Unity of command Scalar principle Responsibility and authority principle Span of control Departmentalization - functional - product - users - territory - process or equipment De-centralization and centralization Line and staff relationships

Structure in an organization has three components (Robbins, 1989):

• Complexity, referring to the degree to which activities within the organization are differentiated. This differentiation has three dimensions: - horizontal differentiation refers to the degree of differentiation between units based on the orientation of members, the nature of tasks they perform and their education and training, - vertical differentiation is characterized by the number of hierarchical levels in the organization, and - spatial differentiation is the degree to which the location of the organization's offices, facilities and personnel are geographically distributed; • Formalization refers to the extent to which jobs within the organization are specialized. The degree of formalization can vary widely between and within organizations; • Centralization refers to the degree to which decision making is concentrated at one point in the organization.

Designing organizational structures Some important considerations in designing an effective organizational structure are: • Clarity The structure of the organization should be such that there is no confusion about people's goals, tasks, style of functioning, reporting relationship and sources of information. • Understanding The structure of an organization should provide people with a clear picture of how their work fits into the organization. • De-centralization The design of an organization should compel discussions and decisions at the lowest possible level. • Stability and adaptability While the organizational structure should be adaptable to environmental changes, it should remain steady during unfavourable conditions.

Principles of organization structure Modern organizational structures have evolved from several organizational theories, which have identified certain principles as basic to any organization. Specialization Specialization facilitates division of work into units for efficient performance. According to the classical approach, work can be performed much better if it is divided into components and people are encouraged to specialize by components. Work can be specialized both horizontally and vertically (Anderson, 1988). Vertical specialization in a research organization refers to different kinds of work at different levels, such as project

leader, scientist, researcher, field staff, etc. Horizontally, work is divided into departments like genetics, plant pathology, administration, accounts, etc. Specialization enables application of specialized knowledge which betters the quality of work and improves organizational efficiency. At the same time, it can also influence fundamental work attitudes, relationships and communication. This may make coordination difficult and obstruct the functioning of the organization. There are four main causal factors which could unfavourably affect attitudes and work styles. These are differences in: • goal orientation; • time orientation; • inter-personal orientation; and • the formality of structure (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967). Coordination Coordination refers to integrating the objectives and activities of specialized departments to realize broad strategic objectives of the organization. It includes two basic decisions pertaining to: (i) which units or groups should be placed together; and (ii) the patterns of relationships, information networks and communication (Anderson, 1988). In agricultural research institutions, where most of the research is multidisciplinary but involves specialization, coordination of different activities is important to achieve strategic objectives. Efficient coordination can also help in resolving conflicts and disputes between scientists in a research organization. Hierarchy facilitates vertical coordination of various departments and their activities. Organizational theorists have over the years developed several principles relating to the hierarchy of authority for coordinating various activities. Some of the important principles are discussed below. Unity of Command Every person in an organization should be responsible to one superior and receive orders from that person only. Fayol (1949) considered this to be the most important principle for efficient working and increased productivity in an organization. The Scalar Principle Decision making authority and the chain of command in an organization should flow in a straight line from the highest level to the lowest. The principle evolves from the principle of unity of command. However, this may not always be possible, particularly in large organizations or in research institutions. Therefore Fayol (1949) felt that members in such organizations could also communicate directly at the same level of hierarchy, with prior intimation to their superiors.

The Responsibility and Authority Principle For successfully performing certain tasks, responsibility must be accompanied by proper authority. Those responsible for performance of tasks should also have the appropriate level of influence on decision making. Span of Control This refers to the number of specialized activities or individuals supervised by one person. Deciding the span of control is important for coordinating different types of activities effectively. According to Barkdull (1963), some of the important situational factors which affect the span of control of a manager are: • similarity of functions; • proximity of the functions to each other and to the supervisor; • complexity of functions; • direction and control needed by subordinates; • coordination required within a unit and between units; • extent of planning required; and • organizational help available for making decisions. Departmentalization Departmentalization is a process of horizontal clustering of different types of functions and activities on any one level of the hierarchy. It is closely related to the classical bureaucratic principle of specialization (Luthans, 1986). Departmentalization is conventionally based on purpose, product, process, function, personal things and place (Gullick and Urwick, 1937). Functional Departmentalization is the basic form of departmentalization. It refers to the grouping of activities or jobs involving common functions. In a research organization the groupings could be research, production, agricultural engineering, extension, rural marketing and administration. Product Departmentalization refers to the grouping of jobs and activities that are associated with a specific product. As organizations increase in size and diversify, functional departmentalization may not be very effective. The organization has to be further divided into separate units to limit the span of control of a manager to a manageable level (Luthans, 1986). In an agricultural research institution, functional departments can be further differentiated by products and purpose or type of research. In contrast to functional departmentalization, product-based departmentalization has the advantage of: • less conflict between major sub-units; • easier communication between sub-units; • less complex coordination mechanisms; • providing a training ground for top management; • more customer orientation; and • greater concern for long-term issues.

In contrast, functional departmentalization has the strength of: • easier communication with sub-units; • application of higher technical knowledge for solving problems; • greater group and professional identification; • less duplication of staff activities; • higher product quality; and • increased organizational efficiency (Filley, 1978). Departmentalization by Users is grouping of both activities and positions to make them compatible with the special needs of some specific groups of users. Departmentalization by Territory or Geography involves grouping of activities and positions at a given location to take advantage of local participation in decision making. The territorial units are under the control of a manager who is responsible for operations of the organization at that location. In agricultural research institutions, regional research stations are set up to take advantage of specific agro-ecological environments. Such departmentalization usually offers economic advantage. Departmentalization by Process or Equipment refers to jobs and activities which require a specific type of technology, machine or production process. Other common bases for departmentalization can be time of duty, number of employees, market, distribution channel or services. De-centralization and Centralization De-centralization refers to decision making at lower levels in the hierarchy of authority. In contrast, decision making in a centralized type of organizational structure is at higher levels. The degree of centralization and de-centralization depends on the number of levels of hierarchy, degree of coordination, specialization and span of control. According to Luthens (1986), centralization and de-centralization could be according to: • geographical or territorial concentration or dispersion of operations; • functions; or • extent of concentration or delegation of decision making powers. Every organizational structure contains both centralization and de-centralization, but to varying degrees. The extent of this can be determined by identifying how much of the decision making is concentrated at the top and how much is delegated to lower levels. Modern organizational structures show a strong tendency towards de-centralization. Line and Staff Relationships Line authority refers to the scalar chain, or to the superior-subordinate linkages, that extend throughout the hierarchy (Koontz, O'Donnell and Weihrich, 1980). Line employees are responsible for achieving the basic or strategic objectives of the organization, while staff plays a supporting role to line employees and provides services.

The relationship between line and staff is crucial in organizational structure, design and efficiency. It is also an important aid to information processing and coordination. In an agricultural research organization, scientists and researchers form the line. Administrative employees are considered staff, and their main function is to support and provide help to scientists to achieve organizational goals It is the responsibility of the manager to make proper and effective use of staff through their supportive functions. The staff may be specialized, general or organizational (Anderson, 1988). Specialized staff conduct technical work that is beyond the time or knowledge capacity of top management, such as conducting market research and forecasting. General staff consists of staff assistants to whom managers assign work. Organization staff (such as centralized personnel, accounting and public relations staff) provide services to the organization as a whole. Their role is to integrate different operations across departments. Line and staff personnel have different functions, goals, cultures and backgrounds. Consequently, they could frequently face conflict situations. A manager has to use his skills in resolving such conflicts. Type of organizational structure

Classical organizational structure In a simple centralized organizational structure, power, decision making authority and responsibility for goal setting are vested in one person at the top. This structure is usually found in small and single-person-owned organizations. The basic requirement of a simple centralized structure is that it has only one or two functions, and a few people who are specialists in critical functions. The manager is generally an expert in all related areas of functions and is responsible for coordination. Thus, the organization has only two hierarchical levels. However, this structure has to become more complex for growth, diversification or other reasons. The Bureaucratic Organization In large organizations and under well defined conditions, organization structure may be bureaucratic. The essential elements of a bureaucratic organization are: • the use of standard methods and procedures for performing work; and • a high degree of control to ensure standard performance

Modern organization designs Modern approaches to organizational design include project, matrix and adhocracy types. Project design

Project design is also called the team or task force type. It is used to coordinate across departments for temporary, specific and complex problems which cannot be handled by a single department. This design facilitates inputs from different areas. Members from different departments and functional areas constitute a team, in which every member provides expertise in their area of specialization. Such a structure generally coexists with the more traditional functional designs. An illustration of project type of the organizational structure is given in Figure 2. Matrix Organization The matrix design blends two different types of designs, namely project and functional organizational designs (Kolodny, 1979). Since the project type of organizational design is not considered stable, the matrix design attempts to provide permanent management structures by combining project and functional structures. The main advantage of this combination is that the matrix design balances both technical and project goals and allocates specific responsibilities to both. Technical goals refer to how well work is done, while project goals relate to issues such as type of work to be done and its costs. Figure 3 shows a very simplified matrix organization design in which department heads have line authority over specialists in their departments (vertical structure). Functional specialists are assigned to given projects (horizontal structure). These assignments are made at the beginning of each project through collaboration between appropriate functional and project managers.

Porter's Generic Competitive Strategies (ways of competing) A firm's relative position within its industry determines whether a firm's profitability is above or below the industry average. The fundamental basis of above average profitability in the long run is sustainable competitive advantage. There are two basic types of competitive advantage a firm can possess: low cost or differentiation. The two basic types of competitive advantage combined with the scope of activities for which a firm seeks to achieve them, lead to three generic strategies for achieving above average performance in an industry: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The focus strategy has two variants, cost focus and differentiation focus.

1. Cost Leadership In cost leadership, a firm sets out to become the low cost producer in its industry. The sources of cost advantage are varied and depend on the structure of the industry. They may include the pursuit of economies of scale, proprietary technology, preferential access to raw materials and other factors. A low cost producer must find and exploit all sources of cost advantage. if a firm can achieve and sustain overall cost leadership, then it will be an above average performer in its industry, provided it can command prices at or near the industry average.

2. Differentiation In a differentiation strategy a firm seeks to be unique in its industry along some dimensions that are widely valued by buyers. It selects one or more attributes that many buyers in an industry perceive as important, and uniquely positions itself to meet those needs. It is rewarded for its uniqueness with a premium price.

3. Focus The generic strategy of focus rests on the choice of a narrow competitive scope within an industry. The focuser selects a segment or group of segments in the industry and tailors its strategy to serving them to the exclusion of others. The focus strategy has two variants. (a) In cost focus a firm seeks a cost advantage in its target segment, while in (b) differentiation focus a firm seeks differentiation in its target segment. Both variants of the focus strategy rest on differences between a focuser's target segment and other segments in the industry. The target segments must either have buyers with unusual needs or else the production and delivery system that best serves the target segment must differ from that of other industry segments. Cost focus exploits differences in cost behaviour in some segments, while differentiation focus exploits the special needs of buyers in certain segments.

What is the Five Forces model of Porter? Description The Five Forces model of Porter is an Outside-in business unit strategy tool that is used to make an analysis of the attractiveness (value) of an industry structure. The Competitive Forces analysis is made by the identification of 5 fundamental competitive forces: 1. Entry of competitors. How easy or difficult is it for new entrants to start competing, which barriers do exist. 2. Threat of substitutes. How easy can a product or service be substituted, especially made cheaper. 3. Bargaining power of buyers. How strong is the position of buyers. Can they work together in ordering large volumes. 4. Bargaining power of suppliers. How strong is the position of sellers. Do many potential suppliers exist or only few potential suppliers, monopoly? 5. Rivalry among the existing players. Does a strong competition between the existing players exist? Is one player very dominant or are all equal in strength and size. Sometimes a sixth competitive force is added: 6. Government.

Porter's Competitive Forces model is probably one of the most often used business strategy tools. It has proven its usefulness on numerous occasions. Porter's model is particularly strong in thinking Outside-in.

Threat of New Entrants depends on: • • • • • • • •

Economies of scale. Capital / investment requirements. Customer switching costs. Access to industry distribution channels. Access to technology. Brand loyalty. Are customers loyal? The likelihood of retaliation from existing industry players. Government regulations. Can new entrants get subsidies?

Threat of Substitutes depends on: • • • •

Quality. Is a substitute better? Buyers' willingness to substitute. The relative price and performance of substitutes. The costs of switching to substitutes. Is it easy to change to another product?

Bargaining Power of Suppliers depends on: • • • • • • • •

Concentration of suppliers. Are there many buyers and few dominant suppliers? Compare: Kraljic Model. Branding. Is the brand of the supplier strong? Profitability of suppliers. Are suppliers forced to raise prices? Suppliers threaten to integrate forward into the industry (for example: brand manufacturers threatening to set up their own retail outlets). Buyers do not threaten to integrate backwards into supply. Role of quality and service. The industry is not a key customer group to the suppliers. Switching costs. Is it easy for suppliers to find new customers?

Bargaining Power of Buyers depends on: • • • •

Concentration of buyers. Are there a few dominant buyers and many sellers in the industry? Differentiation. Are products standardized? Profitability of buyers. Are buyers forced to be tough? Role of quality and service.

Intensity of Rivalry depends on: •

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The structure of competition. Rivalry will be more intense if there are lots of small or equally sized competitors; rivalry will be less if an industry has a clear market leader. The structure of industry costs. Industries with high fixed costs encourage competitors to manufacture at full capacity by cutting prices if needed. Degree of product differentiation. Industries where products are commodities (e.g. steel, coal) typically have greater rivalry. Switching costs. Rivalry is reduced when buyers have high switching costs. Strategic objectives. If competitors pursue aggressive growth strategies, rivalry will be more intense. If competitors are merely "milking" profits in a mature industry, the degree of rivalry is typically low. Exit barriers. When barriers to leaving an industry are high, competitors tend to exhibit greater rivalry.

Strengths of the Five Competitive Forces Model. Benefits • •

The model is a strong tool for competitive analysis at industry level. Compare: PEST Analysis It provides useful input for performing a SWOT Analysis.

Limitation of Porter's Five Forces model •

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Care should be taken when using this model for the following: do not underestimate or underemphasize the importance of the (existing) strengths of the organization (Inside-out strategy). See: Core Competence The model was designed for analyzing individual business strategies. It does not cope with synergies and interdependencies within the portfolio of large corporations. See: Parenting Advantage From a more theoretical perspective, the model does not address the possibility that an industry could be attractive because certain companies are in it. Some people claim that environments which are characterized by rapid, systemic and radical change require more flexible, dynamic or emergent approaches to strategy formulation. See: Disruptive Innovation Sometimes it may be possible to create completely new markets instead of selecting from existing ones. See: Blue Ocean Strategy

Performance management Performance measurement is the process of assessing progress toward achieving predetermined goals. Performance management is building on that process, adding the

relevant communication and action on the progress achieved against these predetermined goals

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In network performance management, (a) a set of functions that evaluate and report the behavior of telecommunications equipment and the effectiveness of the network or network element and (b) a set of various subfunctions, such as gathering statistical information, maintaining and examining historical logs, determining system performance under natural and artificial conditions, and altering system modes of operation.[2] In organizational development (OD), performance can be thought of as Actual Results vs Desired Results. Any discrepancy, where Actual is less than Desired, could constitute the performance improvement zone. Performance management and improvement can be thought of as a cycle:

1. Performance planning where goals and objectives are established 2. Performance coaching where a manager intervenes to give feedback and adjust performance 3. Performance appraisal where individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered A performance problem is any gap between Desired Results and Actual Results. Performance improvement is any effort targeted at closing the gap between Actual Results and Desired Results. •

Application Performance Management (APM) refers to the discipline within systems management that focuses on monitoring and managing the performance and availability of software applications. APM can be defined as workflow and related IT tools deployed to detect, diagnose, remedy and report on application performance issues to ensure that application performance meets or exceeds end-users’

and businesses’ expectations. •

Business performance management (BPM) is a set of processes that help businesses discover efficient use of their business units, financial, human and material resources.

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Operational performance management (OPM) focus is on creating methodical and predictable ways to improve business results, or performance, across organizations

Simply put, performance management helps organizations achieve their strategic goals. Rather than discarding the data accessibility previous systems fostered, performance management harnesses it to help ensure that an organization’s data works in service to organizational goals to provide information that is actually useful in achieving them. and focus on the Operational Networking Processes between that performance level. Business performance management (BPM) is a set of processes that help organizations optimize their business performance. It is a framework for organizing, automating and analyzing business methodologies, metrics, processes and systems that drive business performance.[1] BPM is seen as the next generation of business intelligence (BI). BPM helps businesses make efficient use of their financial, human, material and other resources.[ The objectives of the Performance Management Process in CRY are to : -

define parameters of performance bring individual clarity to the job role give direction to the individual and review the performance.

The process starts with the "Key Focus Areas' (KFAs) which outlines the objectives and measure of performances for each individual's job which is linked to the organisation's objectives. A

performance rating is given against each objective. CRY conducts a review of an individual's performance twice a year.

COMPENSATION MGT Compensation Management is an integral part of the management of the organization. Compensation Management contributes to the overall success of the organization in several ways. To be effective, the managers must appreciate the value of competitive pay, their human resources, and have an investment view of payroll costs. We want to maintain pay levels that attract and retain quality employees while recognizing the need to manage payroll costs. SuccessFactors Compensation Management facilitates compensation planning and motivates employee performance with: • • •

• • •

Individualized Rewards. Connect merit pay, bonuses, and stock to employee performance for a true pay-for-performance culture Performance Feeds. Keep performance information handy when making compensation decisions The Merit Factor. Apply automated merit increases based on guideline calculations such as job level, pay grade, performance rating, comp-ratio, and range penetration

Lump sum adjustments. Move employees to another pay band using a lump sum adjustment to salary Variable Pay. Take overall company or department performance into account on each individual compensation decision Global enablement. Support global offices with local currencies

CAREER PLANNING

Our Career & Succession Planning module facilitates efficient career planning and streamlines the decision-making process. This is achieved by blending individual aspirations with the organisation's view of those individuals, thereby minimising the potential of making incorrect assumptions about career moves. This module leads you through every step of career and succession planning and tracks information about candidates' levels of potential, performance over time as well as retention risk. With our Career & Succession Planning module, you are able to create career development and succession plans as well as review incumbents and internal/external candidates for key or all positions. Our solution generates succession scenarios to help you visualise the effects of job changes and related executive decisions within your organisation.

What is Career Planning? Career planning is a lifelong process, which includes choosing an occupation, getting a job, growing in our job, possibly changing careers, and eventually retiring. The Career Planning Site offers coverage of all these areas. This article will focus on career choice and the process one goes through in selecting an occupation. This may happen once in our lifetimes, but it is more likely to happen several times as we first define and then redefine ourselves and our goals.

Career Planning: A Four Step Process Self Gather information about yourself (self assessment)

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Interests Values Roles Skills/Aptitudes Preferred Environments Developmental Needs Your realities

Options • • •

Explore the occupations in which you are interested Research the industries in which you would like to work Research the Labor Market Get more specific information after you narrow down your options by:

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Job Shadowing Part time work, internships, or volunteer opportunities Written materials Informational interviews

Match During this phase of the process, you will:

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Identify possible occupations Evaluate these occupations Explore alternatives Choose both a short term and a long term option

Action You will develop the steps you need to take in order to reach your goal, for example:

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Investigating sources of additional training and education, if needed Developing a job search strategy Writing your resume Gathering company information Composing cover letters

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Preparing for job interviews

On the other hand, the organic structure is more flexible, more adaptable to a participative form of management, and less concerned with a clearly defined structure. The organic organization is open to the environment in order to capitalize upon new opportunities. Organic structure may refer to: •

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Organic (model), forms, methods and patterns found in living systems, often used as a metaphor for non-living things. The molecular structure of an organic compound, also known as the structural formula of an organic compound.

multidomestic strategy - A strategy that enables individual subsidiaries of a multinational firm to compete independently in different domestic markets. The multinational headquarters coordinates financial controls and some marketing policy, and may centralize some R&D and component production. Each subsidiary behaves like a strategic business unit that is expected to contribute earnings and growth proportionate to the market opportunity.

A core competency is something that a firm can do well and that meets the following three conditions specified by Hamel and Prahalad (1990): 1. It provides customer benefits 2. It is hard for competitors to imitate 3. It can be leveraged widely to many products and markets.

A core competency can take various forms, including technical/subject matter know how, a reliable process, and/or close relationships with customers and suppliers (Mascarenhas et al. 1998). It may also include product development or culture such as employee dedication. Modern business theories suggest that most activities that are not part of a company's core competency should be outsourced. If a core competency yields a long term advantage to the company, it is said to be a sustainable There are three tests useful for identifying a core competence. A core competence should: 1. provide access to a wide variety of markets, and 2. contribute significantly to the end-product benefits, and 3. be difficult for competitors to imitate. Core competencies tend to be rooted in the ability to integrate and coordinate various groups in the organization. While a company may be able to hire a team of brilliant scientists in a particular technology, in doing so it does not automatically gain a core competence in that technology. It is the effective coordination among all the groups involved in bringing a product to market that results in a core competence. A core competency is fundamental knowledge, ability, or expertise in a specific subject area or skill set. For example, an individual who becomes certified as a Microsoft Certified Software Engineer (MCSE) is said to have a core competency in certain Microsoft systems and networks. Companies with specific strengths in the marketplace, such as data storage or the development of accounting applications, can be said to have a core competency in that area. The core part of the term indicates that the individual has a strong basis from which to gain the additional competence to do a specific job or that a company has a strong basis from which to develop additional products.

Broadbanding is defined as a strategy for salary structures that consolidate a large number of pay grades into a few "broad bands." This article covers: 1. The Benefits of Broadbanding 2. Potential Problems with Broadbanding, and 3. Conclusions and Recommendations

Benefits of Broadbanding Broadbanding has been successfully implemented in large, hierarchical organizations which attempted to flatten their organizations and remove levels of management. For example, organizations that had eight levels of management could eliminate four levels,

widen the salary ranges of the remaining four levels, and simply slot each manager into one of those ranges. With broadbanding, a manager can more easily encourage his/her employees to broaden their skills and abilities. This is valuable to organizations because employees with broad skills and abilities are critical for the success in a total quality/continuous improvement environment. In contrast, the jobs in traditional organizations are narrow and specialized. In order for employees to advance in pay and responsibility, they have to further develop their specialized skill. Thus a bias exists against the broadening of skills. Broadbanding evolved because organizations want to flatten their hierarchies and move decision-making closer to the point where necessity and knowledge exist in organizations. In flattened organizations, fewer promotional opportunities exist so the broadbanding structure allows more latitude for pay increases and career growth without promotion. Simply stated, broadbanding is the grouping of jobs with similar duties, responsibilities, and levels of accountability. Broadbands are created based upon the job analysis process of examining the body of work being performed at the University. Broadbands widen salary ranges in order to facilitate organizational flexibility, encourage individual career development, and market competitiveness. The use of broadbanding also reduces the number of job classifications

The mechanistic structure is the traditional or classical design, common in many medium- and large-size organizations. Mechanistic organizations are somewhat rigid in that they consist of very clearly delineated jobs, have a well-defined hierarchical structure, and rely heavily on the formal chain of command for control. Bureaucratic organizations, with their emphasis on formalization, are the primary form of mechanistic structures. According to Max Weber, bureaucracy is a form of organization characterized by a rational, goal-directed hierarchy, impersonal decision making, formal controls, and subdivision into managerial positions and specialization of labor. Bureaucratic organizations are tall consisting of hierarchies with many levels of management. In a tall structure, people become relatively confined to their own area of specialization. Bureaucracies are driven by a top-down or command and control approach in which managers provide considerable direction and have considerable control over others. Other features of the bureaucratic organization include functional division of labor and work specialization.

Differentiation Strategy

Differentiation involves creating a product that is perceived as unique. The unique features or benefits should provide superior value for the customer if this strategy is to be successful. Because customers see the product as unrivaled and unequaled, the price elasticity of demand tends to be reduced and customers tend to be more brand loyal. This can provide considerable insulation from competition. However there are usually additional costs associated with the differentiating product features and this could require a premium pricing strategy. To maintain this strategy the firm should have:

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strong research and development skills strong product engineering skills strong creativity skills good cooperation with distribution channels strong marketing skills incentives based on subjective measures be able to communicate the importance of the differentiating product characteristics stress continuous improvement and innovation attract highly skilled, creative people

Differentiation is a source of competitive advantage. Although research in a niche market may result in changing your product in order to improve differentiation, the changes themselves are not differentiation. Marketing or product differentiation is the process of describing the differences between products or services, or the resulting list of differences. This is done in order to demonstrate the unique aspects of your product and create a sense of value. Marketing textbooks are firm on the point that any differentiation must be valued by buyers (e.g. [1]). The term unique selling proposition refers to advertising to communicate a product's differentiation [ Your differentiation strategy is an integrated set of action designed to produce or deliver goods or services that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them. It call for you to sell nonstandardized products to customers with unique needs.

What is Skill Based Pay? The payment of additional salary or hourly pay to employees for learning, and being able to perform, additional tasks or skills. It is sometimes expanded to compensate employees for demonstrating relevant competencies.

How does Skill Based Pay work?

Jobs, or groups of jobs, are divided into component parts. Employees are hired into a base job level that presumes that they either know or will develop proficiency in a core set of tasks. To encourage them to learn additional skills, the organization provides additional training on other skill sets and commits to raise their base pay level once they demonstrate a satisfactory level of competence with each skill set.

An Employee stock option is a call option on a company's own stock issued as a form of non-cash compensation. Restrictions on the option (such as vesting and limited transferability) attempt to align the holder's interest with those of the business' shareholders. If the company's stock rises, holders of options experience a direct financial benefit. This gives employees an incentive to behave in ways that will boost the company's stock price. Employee Stock options are mostly offered to management as part of their executive compensation package. They are also offered to lower staff, especially by businesses that are not yet profitable. They can also be offered to non-employees: suppliers, consultants, lawyers and promoters, and to members of the company's board of directors for services rendered.

Competency Model for Professional Project Managers The Project Management Partners Competency Model was developed from the observable behaviors of successful, professional project managers in a variety of application areas. It provides a consistent, coherent structure for assessing the capabilities of current and prospective project managers. The Competency Model can be used to: •

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Guide a training needs assessment to help optimize the use of scarce training dollars by identifying gaps between job requirements and incumbent skill levels. Perform individual competency assessments to evaluate current project managers or to screen prospective project managers.

Conduct an organization-wide competency assessment to ensure that the most skilled project managers are assigned to the most critical projects. How are competency models developed? Competency models are developed through a process of clarifying the business strategy and determining how the models would be used (e.g., hiring and selection, assessment, performance management, training and development, and career development). Then, data is gathered in structured interviews. Next, data is analyzed and used to develop strawman models of success criteria. Then validation surveys are administered and models refined based on feedback. Finally, models are finalized and translated into appropriate, end-user tools and applications. •

VCP

The University of Mississippi is committed to compensating its employees on a basis that reflects the labor market. A market-driven compensation structure, such as the Variable Compensation Plan (VCP), is a viable approach to facilitate the achievement of this goal. Specifically, the VCP is a managerial tool developed for the purpose of administrating base pay among employees. The VCP assumes that pay-rates are a product of the labor market. Like all commodities, it simply becomes a matter of supply and demand. Therefore, rates based on the labor market should ultimately represent such factors as ability, education, training, skill, and experience. It is important to recognize that while the VCP focuses on base pay-rate administration, other factors such as shift differential pay, productivity awards, and employee benefits also contribute to an individual's overall compensation package. For example, an employee may receive benefits in the form of employer-paid insurance, personal leave, major-medical leave, paid holidays, compensatory time, retirement, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and employer contributions to social security. Within the public sector, employer costs for these benefits can be as much as twenty five to thirty percent of an employee's base pay. While the VCP does not specifically address these additional factors, they ultimately constitute a "hidden pay check" for the employee, and should be considered as part of the whole compensation package. A compensation plan is a set of policies and procedures governing the level, form, and variety of financial rewards received by members of an organization. A sound, market-driven compensation plan should provide clear position definitions, assess competitive wages in the labor market, establish rate minimums for the different position-types, and allow for ease in administration. In addition, a market-driven compensation plan can be structured to include extra pay for shift work, additional pay for temporary assignments, and ultimately be administered in a manner that stimulates productivity. The VCP represents an ideological shift in the administration of public employee compensation. Progressive public administrators recognize that in order to attract and retain valuable, highlyqualified employees, compensation must be competitive with the private sector. Hence, the role of compensation plan administration has been expanded, with a greater emphasis placed on understanding the competitive labor market value for positions. Purpose and Description of the VCP The VCP is a viable method for assigning a minimum rate for position-types based upon labor market data. This section presents key characteristics of the VCP for the purpose of developing a basic understanding of the plan's administration and maintenance. In addition, specific features of the VCP will serve to demonstrate that the universally accepted requirements of a sound compensation plan are satisfied. The VCP is based on the concept of paying a rate that is fair, reasonable, and competitive in the labor market. Specifically, the plan:

Provides a systematic method of assuring fair and equitable compensation. Provides rates that can be matched with prevailing wages. Includes a .5% difference between steps which is applied throughout. Provides flexibility in determining compensation rates at time of hire or transfer. Accommodates additional compensation for such reasons as shift work or temporary assignment. Accommodates for performance pay adjustments. Provides a usable tool for projecting future budget requirements. Provides a means for compensation assessment by management. Components of the VCP include: Additional Compensation: Examples of additional compensation include Professional Development, Shift Differential Pay, and Temporary Assignment Adjustments. The plan allows the University to authorize additional compensation on a case by case review without effecting the integrity of the plan. Base Pay-Rate Administration: This describes the set of procedures governing the administration of employee base pay. The base rate structure and procedures can be modified to stay current with the expressed goals and objectives of the University.

Productivity: The plan is designed to accommodate rate increases based upon performance. Productivity and merit awards may be granted by the University administration without effecting the integrity of the plan. Professional Development: Current University policy authorizes the awarding of pay increases to employees who participate in certain educational programs. Degrees and work related certificates are evaluated on an individual basis, and approved increases are allowable within the guidelines