HR Strategy and People Management

Improving HR

• Establish a clear HR philosophy focused on people management.
• Implement systems and practices aligned with the HR philosophy.
• Selectively hire individuals with the desired qualities and skills.
• Retain talent through adequate rewards, job protection, and opportunities for promotion.
• Invest in employee learning and development for continuous growth.
• Empower employees with information, autonomy, and support to encourage participation.
• Foster self-managing teams and promote egalitarian work environments.
• Actively promote a diverse workplace with a clear diversity philosophy and accountability for managers.

Groups and Informal Dynamics

• Informal roles within teams include contributors (task-oriented), collaborators (symbolic direction), communicators (process-oriented), and challengers (questioning norms).
• Informal norms develop organically, guiding behaviors without formal mandates.
• Informal networks often form based on personal relationships and likes.

Interpersonal and Group Dynamics

• Advocacy involves trying to influence others by diagnosing issues and proposing solutions; it can lead to defensiveness and resistance.
• Inquiry promotes collective problem-solving through open communication and testing assumptions.
• Competitive dynamics can create silos, with biases arising from the desire to win or confirm pre-existing beliefs.

Political Dynamics and Power

• Power is defined as the ability of one party (A) to influence another (B) to act against their inclination.
• Dependency occurs when one party (A) possesses something desired by another (B).
• Various views on power include structural (authority-based), human resources (empowerment), and political (negotiation of interests).
• Power can stem from dominance (position, coercive, or control of agendas) or prestige (expertise, reputation, and personal networks).
• Power is essential for achieving goals, blocking obstacles, and shaping organizational culture.

Approaches to Power

• Effective influence strategies that don't rely on traditional power include reciprocity, commitment, social proof, and authority signals.
• Effective negotiation preparation involves defining clear goals, understanding BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement), and researching the counterpart's interests and constraints.

Organizational Growth and Strategy

• Organizations experience evolution (stability) and revolution (crisis) during growth phases.
• Navigating crises effectively determines progress to subsequent growth stages.
• Strategic positioning involves differentiating organizational activities from competitors.

Power in Organizations

• Knowledge of power dynamics and distributions is crucial, as organizations are political arenas with limited resources and natural conflict.
• Building alliances and coalitions is vital for influence within organizations.
• Ethical dilemmas arise as leaders balance personal ambitions with organizational objectives.

Key Articles on Organizational Behavior

• Mowday & Sutton emphasize how individual and group dynamics affect decision-making, motivation, and organizational commitment.
• Lau & Murnighan introduce "faultlines" that highlight how demographic diversity can create subgroups, affecting cohesion and performance.
• Kanter discusses the necessity of navigating interpersonal conflicts and managing diversity in organizational settings.

This quiz focuses on improving human resource strategies by developing a clear philosophy for managing employees, effective hiring practices, and retention strategies. Explore key practices like employee investment, empowerment, and creating development opportunities to foster a productive workplace.