“I believe we are in a war for talent. […] Let's face it — talented employees are the
lifeblood of any successful organization. To remain competitive in the global
marketplace, governments must do more to recruit the best and brightest, and then
RETAIN them.” (Janice Lachance, 2000)
…and exactly that is the upcoming issue in NPOs as the rising financial problems
often result from high turnover rates, unprofessional staff and unsatisfied volunteers.
This article will help managers of NPOs to understand how to link their organisation’s
strategy to their HR strategy in a way that their volunteer’s and staff’s behaviour
match the organisation’s long term goals.
Keywords
Nonprofit organisation, Human Recourse Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Human
Recourse Practices, Best Practice Approach and Contingency Approach.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. The Article’s Content
4. Implementation
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this paper is to explore how Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) can adapt strategic human resource management practices to improve their performance. By applying the theoretical framework of Schuler and Jackson, the paper investigates how aligning organizational strategy with HR practices can help NPOs overcome challenges such as high turnover and volunteer management to reach long-term goals.
- Strategic Human Resource Management in the NPO sector
- Application of the Contingency Approach versus the Universalistic Approach
- Linking organizational competitive strategies to specific HR practices
- Challenges in volunteer recruitment and retention
- Practical implementation of HR models in social-oriented organizations
Excerpt from the Book
3. The Article’s Content
To see the whole picture I will first give a brief summary of the two mainstreams in the research area. Basically, all HR strategy approaches try to find a way how to influence the employee’s behaviour according to the strategy so that the organisation could perform better than its competitors. According to Delery and Doty (1996) the differences within HR strategy and how it can be linked with the business strategy can be identified within the categories of the Contingency Approach, the Universalistic Approach.
The Universalistic or better “Best Practice” approach argues that high performance work practices will increase organisational performance irrespective of organisational, industrial, or national context. Pfeffer (1998) presents empirical evidence that strongly supports a direct relationship between a company’s financial success and its commitment to HRM practices that treat employees as assets. He asserts that a greater use of seven HR practises: employment security, selective hiring, self managed teams/team working, incentive pay, training, information sharing and reduction of status differences results in higher productivity and profit across all types of organisations. This seems easy enough but not every company went through the same history and therefore not every practise which worked good in the one company will work in another one.
In contrary, Contingency theorists argue that to be effective, an organisation’s HR practices must be consistent with other aspects of the organisation such as business strategy. That is where Schuler and Jackson (1987) come into play with their HR strategy built on the competitive advantage model of Porter (1984) and identified the relationship between the employee’s behaviour and the three dominant strategies (cost reduction, innovation and quality improvement). Schuler and Jackson (1987) proposed flexible HR practices menus because in the author’s eyes, there is no “best” strategy; it all depends on the situation a company finds itself.
Summary of Chapters
1. Executive Summary: Provides an overview of the importance of human capital in organizations and introduces the focus on HR strategy within the NPO sector.
2. Introduction: Discusses the theoretical background of Schuler and Jackson regarding the link between competitive strategies and human resource management practices.
3. The Article’s Content: Compares the Universalistic and Contingency approaches to HR strategy and details the three archetypes of competitive HR strategies.
4. Implementation: Applies the theoretical model to a practical case study, specifically the social-oriented NGO Caritas Upper Austria.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes the necessity for NPO managers to adopt competitive strategic thinking to improve sustainability and volunteer management.
6. Bibliography: Lists the academic sources and references cited throughout the paper.
Keywords
Nonprofit organisation, Human Recourse Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Human Recourse Practices, Best Practice Approach, Contingency Approach, Volunteer Management, Organizational Strategy, HR Archetypes, Staff Behaviour, Performance Management, Strategic Alignment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this paper?
The paper examines how Non-Profit Organizations can strategically link their HR practices with their overall organizational goals to remain competitive and effective.
What are the central thematic fields?
The main themes include Strategic Human Resource Management, the adaptation of for-profit competitive models to the non-profit sector, and the specific challenges of managing paid staff and volunteers.
What is the primary goal of the research?
The goal is to provide NPO managers with a framework to understand and implement HR strategies that foster behaviors aligned with long-term organizational success.
Which scientific methods or frameworks are utilized?
The paper uses the theoretical frameworks of Schuler and Jackson (1987), focusing on the Contingency Approach and Porter’s competitive advantage model.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section covers the comparison between Universalistic and Contingency HR approaches and the application of these concepts to the case of Caritas Upper Austria.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Nonprofit organisation, Human Recourse Strategy, Competitive Advantage, HR Practices, and the Contingency Approach.
How does the author view the application of "for-profit" strategies to NGOs?
The author argues that adopting such strategies is beneficial for NPOs as it helps them improve, learn, and secure financial support in an increasingly competitive environment.
Why does the paper emphasize the role of an HR manager in an NPO?
The author emphasizes this because HR tasks are often overlooked as mere expense factors, but they are crucial for gaining the trust and commitment of volunteers and staff.
- Citar trabajo
- Elisabeth Luger (Autor), 2004, Linking Competitive Strategies with Human Recourse Management Strategies, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/21771
