Week 5:
Strategy and EBHRM
Dr.Alan Burton-Jones
a.burton-jones@griffith.edu.au
1
AGENDA
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Nature of strategy
HRM as a strategic function
EBM and Organizational learning
Aligning HRM strategies with corporate strategies – implications for evidencebased management practice
2
WHAT IS STRATEGY?
“Strategy is the great work of the organization. In situations of life or death, it is the Tao of survival or extinction. Its study cannot be neglected”. ( Sun Tzu, The Art of War,
6thCentury BC)
“A strategy is the pattern or plan that integrates an organisation’s major goals, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole.” (Quinn,1997)
STRATEGY LINKS THE
FIRM AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
THE FIRM
Mission, Values, Vision
THE INDUSTRY
STRATEGY
ENVIRONMENT
Resources & Capabilities
Customers, Competitors,
Structure, Systems &
Suppliers, Allies,
Processes
Regulators
STRATEGY FORMATION PERSPECTIVES
• Strategic planning perspective: strategies are deliberately planned and executed
• Strategic incrementalism perspective: strategies emerge from interpreting, sensemaking and imagining – strategy formation is essentially an innovation process
DELIBERATE STRATEGIZING
Pressures
Direction
Without plans and objectives, organizations would be adrift.
Commitment
Plans enable early commitment to a course of action.
Coordination
Plans enable coordination of all strategic initiatives within a firm to cohesive pattern.
Plans enable programming organizational activities in advance.
STRATEGY EMERGENCE
Advantages
Opportunism
Organizations must keep an open mind to grab unforeseen opportunities.
Flexibility
Organizations must keep their options open and not commit themselves too early.
Learning
The best way to find out what works is to give it a try.
Entrepreneurship
Support
Different people in the firm will have different ideas.
Getting things done in firms includes understanding political and cultural dynamics. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTION
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How would you expect approaches to collecting, interpreting, and applying research evidence to differ between firms pursuing planned and emergent strategies? • What different types of evidence-related problems might they encounter?
STRATEGY, EVIDENCE AND CHANGE
– Strategic plans and decisions need to be based on the best available evidence
– Collecting, interpreting and acting on the basis of the best available evidence typically requires widespread involvement and support across the organization
– Gaining support is frequently difficult where the strategy implies significant change ASSESSING READINESS FOR CHANGE
Desired outcome
(scenario)
Discrepancy
Actual position
(current position)
Evidence?
Key indications
1. How significant and important do people believe the discrepancy is?
How meaningful or valued is the desired outcome?
Who is willing to take responsibility for the change?
What are the critical priorities for the key stakeholders?
2. Do people believe there are realistic opportunities available to close the gap? Is a solution possible at this time? 3. Is the capacity to implement change present and recognized? That is, do key change agents have sufficient skills, credibility and influence to initiate and manage change?
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INNOVATION, DIFFUSION AND
ADOPTION
Innovator
Early adopter
Majority
Laggards
ADOPTER CATEGORIES *
Early Adopters – Respect :
Opinion leaders who evaluate innovations; decrease their own uncertainty by adopting them and convey their opinions to nearpeers and others who respect their judgment
Early Majority – Deliberate
Take more time than early adopters to decide; do not like to lead; tend to follow early adopters
Late Majority – Sceptical
Cautious and sceptical; do not adopt until the majority of others in their organizational system have done so
Laggards – Traditional
Suspicious of change and change agents; adoption and use
