Restructuring: Achieving Strategic Objectives

By: Stacey Muscat

Overview

Strategic Planning is the process of defining organizational strategy and allocating resources toward its achievement (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Strategic planning allows companies to plan their organizational mission and evaluate the human resource structure in order to implement changes.  Organizations often have to make changes to their strategy to provide the best service/product when customers compare them to competitors (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Strategic planning can help improve effectiveness and efficiency through a human resources perspective through lowering costs while improving the effects of tasks, programs, or projects. In the article I chose, GateHouse Media restructures their organization in order to accelerate the company’s achievement and lower the cost structure.

Article Description/Connection to Text

The article I read, “GateHouse Media Unveils New Organizational Structure” in the New York Times was about GateHouse media restructuring to meet the goal of becoming a “truly multi-media enterprise.” GateHouse Media is a publishing company whose business model is to be the preeminent provider of local content and advertising in the small and midsize markets we serve ("About gatehouse media,").  With GateHouse Media being one of many publishing companies available to consumers, the company had to come up with a strategy to entice customers, retain customers, and develop new ways of making more revenue. The article specifically states the that operations had to be realigned “to establish a more efficient, dynamic and forward-looking structure that places a strong emphasis on digital channels and services, integration of systems and processes to be more focused and efficient, and new revenue streams.” GateHouse Media created several new positions as part of the new structure. GateHouse Media did an internal environment analysis and determined employees had to be replaced and or new positions had to be created in order to meet the goals of its new structure. Since the company wanted to emphasize its digital channels and services, they created a Vice President of Digital position. Internal environment analyses allow managers to evaluate the strength of the talent pipeline and select individuals with the right talents for success (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). GateHouse Media promoted many employees to new vice president positions so that there was someone specifically in charge of the focuses of the new structure. I think this was a good move on GateHouse Media’s behalf because as I have learned, human resource success is all about the right people in the right place at the right time.  In order to cut costs, GateHouse Media also restructured field operations; instead of aligning by geography, they chose to align by Metros, Large Dailies, and Communities ("Gatehouse media unveils," 2011).  This helps lower cost because there will be vice presidents of each category and the value of the content will be able to be preserved. All of these vice presidents will report to the President and Chief Operating Office ("Gatehouse media unveils," 2011). This is ideal so that there is a defined chain of command.  GateHouse Media’s restructure was mostly the addition of new roles and moving their talent around to fulfill their new needs.

Take Away Points

I took away from the article the importance of organizational structure, which was already clear to me from the course. Chapter 2 of the textbook Human Resource Management by R. Mathis and J. Johnson focuses on strategic planning and how it is crucial to a company’s success. Specifically, I mentioned the importance of having the right talent. GateHouse Media felt that it was not using its talent efficiently and rearranged positions so that they felt they better served the company’s mission. If human capital is not used efficiently, it becomes a waste of the company’s money. I believe GateHouse Media cut costs by moving their talent around and achieved their goals in the same manner. Human Resource professionals need to know how to manage talent and have efficient succession planning. I think future Human Resource professionals could take away from this article that sometimes a company may not need more employees, but needs to better align them.

Works Cited

About gatehouse media. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gatehousemedia.com/about

Gatehouse media unveils new organizational structure. (2011, December 08). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks
/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201112081206PR_NEWS_USPRX____NY19570&feedID=600&press_symbol=5798705

Mathis, R., & Jackson, J. (2010). Human resource management. (13 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning

Creating the Right Organizational Culture

 By: Justin Orow

Overview

As a business minded person one of my points of emphasis in any business or company I would be involved in is to take care of employees and let them know how much they mean to the business and the everyday functions of the business, so that in return they can work harder for you.  Organizational culture should be seen as the “climate” of the organization that employees, managers, customers and others experience (Mathis & Jackson, 2010).  Many of the most successful business and companies that are being run today have an organizational culture that benefits the employees and is always rewarding to them. In the article I choose you will see that Fed Ex HR department tries to instill the same type of attitude and culture in to their 

 workforce.

Article Description/Connection to Text

In this article Frederick W Smith talks about the environment that Fed Ex managers and top officers have created for their employees to make them as effective as possible in taking care of the customer.  In the article smith mentions all the methods Fed Ex uses that benefits employees and it also talks about their motto “people service profit”. This philosophy is a value chain that suggests that, by taking care of employees, they will deliver the high levels of service demanded by customers, who will in turn reward the company with continued patronage and profitability (Smith, 2006).  To help support their motto they run annual employee surveys, which lets the employees rate the management effectiveness and commitment to their philosophy.  The survey is given once a year and is used as a basis for improvement.  Managers hold feedback sessions where they discuss things they found out through the surveys to make sure problems are being solved.  As a group, they develop formal, written action plans for solving these problems. Groups usually review plans throughout the year to determine whether problems are being solved satisfactorily (Smith, 2006).  Fed Ex takes these measures to establish the right kind of atmosphere for its work force that gives them a competitive advantage, which coincides with what the text says. Organizational culture should be seen as the “climate” of the organization that employees, managers, customers, and other experience. This culture affects service and quality, organization productivity, and financial results (Mathis & Jackson, 2010).  This aligns directly with Fed Ex motto of “people service profit” .If you align the right people in positions to best take care of your customers, a profit will be returned.  This is all possible by the culture that Fed Ex promotes.

Take Away Points

In promoting this kind of two way street approach to HR employees will much more satisfied with the environment of the workplace, and in return they will tend to the customer’s needs the best they could which will help your company gain a higher profit which is the end goal.  If you want to best improve processes and overall business functions who is going to know better then your own employees.  Annual surveys and meeting that involve employees can fix problems that HR on their own will not see.

Work Cited

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management. (13 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Jackson, F. (2006, May 16). “HR, anytime, anywhere". Human Resources.  
www.lexisnexis.com

Gaining Competitive Advantage Through HR

By: Kelly Barnhard

Overview

The primary responsibility of HR,  as describe in the text Human Resource Management, is to align human talent effectively and efficiently to achieve organizational goals (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Furthermore, HR should be involved in the strategic decisions throughout an organization. Strategic HR uses human resource management practices to add value by improving the performance of the business (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). Which in turn, can allow an organization to gain or keep a competitive advantage. Moreover, organizational strategy is an organizations plan for how to successfully compete and thereby continue to develop (Mathis & Jackson, 2010).  In view of that, I felt it would be fitting to start with an article that questions the real world of business and actually discovers how to gain a competitive advantage. By providing examples, backed with supporting evidence, this article will unveil how HR practices can truly add value to an organization.

Article Description / Connection to text

The article I found, writing by Freek Vermeulen, portrays the practices of HR as the tools an organization should use to build a real, sustainable competitive advantage. Vermeulen refers to the parts that are harder for an organization to emulate, such as a skilled and motivated workforce, as the parts necessary to construct an exceptional competitive advantage.  Furthermore, the article centers around four HR myths. Vermeulen enlightens the readers about these myths through the following examples:

1.      Downsizing rarely works, but good HR practices will be a success factor.

2.      An individual employee never outweighs the organizational environment.

3.      Losing a star employee can be a good, especially if to a client.

4.      Soft initiatives have real shareholder value.

The first example states that downsizing can work when the right HR practices are in place. Potential downsizing risks, such as lower commitment and loyalty among employees, can be reduced with the right strategic decisions (Vermeulen, 2011). This is relevant to organizational performance, because certain strategic decisions can result in either a cost savings or a better turnover during downsizing. According to the article, offering support for employees is a necessary practice. This ties into the need for constant communication during workforce downsizing as stated by the text. More specifically, addressing questions and reassuring surviving employees of their importance can help rebuild work moral and employee satisfaction.

The next two examples, while in fact different, both derive from the importance of human capital. In terms of the second example, when HR practices are used properly they can help employees develop skills tailored specifically to the company’s objectives (Vermeulen, 2011). Therefore, resulting in enhance individual performance and preventing these traits from matching or equally benefitting another company (Vermeulen, 2011). This reflects the importance of human capital and HR as stated in the text. Specifically, what employees bring, such as skills, knowledge or experience, contribute to organizational success. The third example provides some rare instance for when a departing employee is actually beneficial. However, an employee leaving for a client is not always the case, therefore, our text provides several drivers of retention and techniques to retain employees. For instance, offering competitive pay and benefits or developing stronger employee-supervisor relationship.

Lastly, the final example describes how HR can be the leading cost of an organization, but can also be their greatest value. This is relevant to the section of our text which measures effectiveness of HR initiatives. In particular, illustrating the need to regularly measure HR effectiveness and efficiency to pinpoint how HR is contributing to organizational success.

Take Away Points

What should be taken away form this research is that HR can significantly contribute to an organization. HR practices can truly add value and have the power to create a unique competitive advantage. Additionally, what should be gained from this research is the understanding that people can be a core competency. That the collective skills and  knowledge of employees can contribute to an organizations success and differentiate it from competitors. This information can provide students with a better understanding of how HR departments work in the business world. This article should provide a clear picture of how HR can regrettably be underestimated. Now, and later in their careers, students should use their HR wisdom to harness a competitive advantage and greatly benefit their organization.

Works Cited

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management. (13 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Vermeulen, F. (2011, March 03). In Praise of HR: The Soft Stuff Can Actually Lead to Some Hard Competitive Advantage. Forbes. Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/freekvermeulen/2011/03/30/in-praise-of-hr-the-soft-stuff-can-actually-lead-to-some-hard-competitive-advantage/

Southwest Airlines : HR Strategy

By: Erin Galloway

Overview

One aspect of our topic includes the broad understanding of an organizational strategy.  A strategic HR role means that HR professionals are proactive in addressing business realities and focusing on future business needs. Also, from the text Human Resource Management an organization’s strategy is the way they are going to compete successfully and thereby survive and grow (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). I felt it would be great to start out with an example of how effective HR management takes part in a successful business. Therefore, I picked to look into the strategy of Southwest Airlines and how they have been able to stay profitable after September 11, 2001, which caused a decline in the demand of flying.

Article Explanation/Connection to text

The article that I read was about Southwest Airlines explaining the strategy it uses to keep the competitive advantage over other competitors. Southwest Airlines uses 500 Boeing 737’s, which they consider themselves low-cost carriers and has been able to be one of the few airlines to consistently be profitable. Since Southwest Airlines has a conservative fiscal management, which means they try to avoid deficit spending and thoroughly weigh all aspects of business ventures. Southwest Airlines keeps using the 737’s airplanes, unlike many other airlines that are investing in newer and faster models. Therefore, it seems that the strategic plan of Southwest Airlines is to stick with what is working and do not spend on unnecessary upgrades when the older model planes are still functional. This is relevant to organizational performance because with using the same airplanes they keep costs low and consistent. An aspect of keeping the same airplanes is that you will not need to retrain employees to use different models, therefore keeping costs down. Plus with Southwest not spending money on innovations of new models, this allows them to keep a steady profit and costs consistent. Southwest Airlines is built on a simple business model, with operating the same type of 737 planes at a high frequency to smaller airports (Casey, 2011). Therefore, the strategic strategy of Southwest Airlines is to use the simple business model and have point- to -point rather than hub-and-spoke service. This means they have more direct flights with 73% of their customers flying on non-stop routes to their destinations (Casey, 2011). Another, part of Southwest’s strategic plan is to acquire smaller airlines like the acquisition of its smaller rival AirTran in May 2011. This acquisition allows Southwest to expand its organization into the New York, Boston market, as well as Atlanta. The article states that the acquisition has been approved by both board committees but still needs the approval of Shareholders (Casey, 2011). From the text we have read that HR needs to be part of the deal from the beginning performing due diligence and after the acquisition is completed. As well as HR recognizing cultural differences and establishing a new culture that incorporates the best of both organizations. It seems that Southwest Airlines has created a very effective HR management team, which keeps them one of the few consistently profitable airlines in the nation.

Take Away Points

What I take away from this article is that HR is a very powerful branch of a business and when they perform effectively the business will keep growing and surviving. You see that HR is involved in creating an efficient strategy that reflects the organization’s mission. HR is not only part of acquisitions in a business but also has a great deal of input on the organizations that are not being acquired. Students can use this information to help understand the development of a business and can help with a more in-depth understanding of how a business HR really works. This article helps students understand the chain of command in the business world and who really has a big influence on majority decisions made by an organization. People that are in the workforce can learn from Southwest strategy because simple seems to be the most effective in the way the economy is today. Therefore, people in the workforce can emulate Southwest strategy by cutting unnecessary spending and reducing non-value added activities.

Works Cited

Casey, K. (2011, April 05). Southwest airlines company. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/southwest_airlines_company/index.html?scp=3&sq=organizational culture in HR&st=cse

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management. (13 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.