Strategic HRM: Solving Business Problems with HR Programs - Essay Sample

Introduction

The strategic human resource management is an oriental procedure that is used to implement and develop the HR programs to solve and address business problems contributed while establishing the firm’s objectives. In recent decades, HR management has changed. In the past, the HR was known as an administrative department that focused on the day-to-day duties such as employee selection, recruitment and management. The development of strategic planning has presented many opportunities for HR professionals. The essay will elaborate more on the effect of not using the business and management model in HR management.

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The change in the labour market and business has also changed the HR strategies which involved retaining and recruiting an employee to provide cultural and ethical leadership. Most HR leaders worldwide are engaged in strategic participation and decision making by using strategic planning as their primary function. HR professionals in many small and medium organizations are involved in functional or organizational strategic planning. However, to achieve these objectives of the HR must be useful when it comes in planning to overcome the stereotypical adverse views concerning the HR function.

Research Question:

• What made RadioShack close its doors?
• Is there anything they could have done to avoid shutting down its business?
• What strategies could be applied to prevent this event?

The HR Business Operating model

One model chosen for this paper is the HR business operating model. This strategy helps companies retain their employees while also changing and adjusting based on the trends and customer demands. When a crisis comes, most companies try and save what they have by firing all employees because they think they are the cause of the problem. Instead, they should find strategies that will secure the business and employees jobs as well

HR functions in America are facing many challenges. This has made many stores to close or change their e-commerce to meet the demands of the clients. Suitable examples companies that were closed include J.C Penney, Macy’s and RadioShack. Despite their poor management skills, these companies claimed that the country was in the middle of a retail apocalypse. While businesses continue to be closed, many people are losing their jobs. The retail industry, for instances, gains more jobs than losing.

Warehouse operations and online shopping have created many job opportunities. The reason for this change is technology. Many clients can compare, browse and buy through the use of their phones. The retail shops, in this case, can also manage their delivery and supply through this procedure. However, most retail jobs pay more and need better skills.

Companies that still use the operate sales register have fewer customers while those who enhance the experience of customers have more customers. Firms that can also analyze data to anticipate and move goods efficiently are in a better position in the market. A suitable example is Home depot in America. The organization has few closed stores and more of new stores. The company managed to meet the changes when it comes to consumer preferences by developing the order fulfilment associate and the delivery associate.

The company also added the warehouse associate s and logistic analysis at the software development position. Some companies follow other ways like having more of the contractors and less of employees because the contractors are not given the company’s benefits like healthcare coverage. Many businesses are also on thin ice because the employees working hours are dictated managers that do not qualify under the federal government definition as compared to the independent contractors.

The retail business people, in this case, must develop new human capital strategies and consider getting longer-term employees who are loyal to them and understand the market. Repurposing employees that are in the risk of losing their jobs should be considered to avoid stores being closed. The businesses will also benefit when they retrain the existing employees because it is the strategic role of the HR office.

RadioShack’s Operating and Business Model

In 2015, RadioShack, a leading organization in consumer electronics, went into bankruptcy because of the declining net losses and store sales. Even though various factors led to this decline, poor financial performance was also caused by the misalignment between its operating model and business model. In short, the operating model was inappropriate because most of the time, it shifted its strategies to the clients.

The purpose of the business model was to make the company a trusted retailer of selling various consumer electronics such as electronic parts, accessories, wireless communications and digital services and products. The operating model of this organization also focused on delivering services and products to clients through its 4,400 mortar stores and physical brick. The only way this company managed to do this was through:

• The merchandised mix that emphasized on the growth of mobile devices which generated about 4.38 billion every year
• The small-sized store that was set in strategic points to limit the wide assortment of their products
• By providing superior customer service through sales associates that had strong product knowledge

When RadioShack was using this model, it lay down competitive strategies that offered quick service to the customers because of their intimate retail settings and a broad range of products. The company owned and small-sized franchise stores were also set in strategic places which enabled them to offer excellent customer services that were not provided by their competitors.

The Misalignment of Radioshack’s Operating and Business Model

In every competitive environment, shifts usually occur, and it is the role of the company to adjust to the change. RadioShack, in this case, never adapted its operating model when the climate of the business changed. The management of the company also failed to check the importance of growing the omnichannel retaining channel by introducing online operating services. Due to this change, most customers used the online platforms for consultations before buying anything from the retailers that operated through mortar stores and physical brick as most of them were used for product testing and showrooms.

A suitable example of companies that diverted to the online platforms is eBay and Amazon when selling consumer electronics. Since the cost structures are low, the competitors created efficient operating experiences and sold the same products that RadioShack did but at discounted rates. The shift in the competitive landscape misaligned the operating and business model of RadioShack.

The company would have invested in the digital presence but instead continued using their old way of selling. After a few years, the demand for products for the stores changed because the consumers also changed their buying habits and used more of the online platforms. Also, a few stores were poorly managed especially the ones that were located in areas that had many stores and this cannibalized one another.

Both the location and number of stores should have proper management strategies to align with the preferences of clients. The poor inventory management had a limited offer because of the comparison between the products at the stores and online customers. Later the company received a lot of complaints that the products they are selling never gave the full spectrum of specifications that customers wanted.

The financial capital and human resource would have been leveraged to reach the market of online shoppers. RadioShack would also have considered developing warehouses that distributed its product to online shoppers by working with other suppliers to expand their platform through the digital platform. Despite the company having the ability to improve its digital presence, it continued using the name in retail shops believing that remodelling the stores will boost the performance of the company.

The Importance of the HR Operating Model

The HR Operating Model empowers employees, HR professionals and business leaders because it aligns the work the company needs with the ability it has in delivering to the clients effectively. The model also emphasizes coordination beyond the HR office by reshaping the responsibilities and roles to align with the enterprise’s vision.

The HR operating model also incorporates technology as a working model based on the customer's demand. The model fosters outside connections with external networks and business customers. The idea is to nurture the brand and translate to the outside world the services and products on offer. RadioShack would have considered using this model instead of adding new features in stores such as touch screen displays and robot-controlled speakers to enable customers to locate their products.

Many companies have used the concepts of delivery models to quicken their services. Most of them use centralized administration to implement new technology and improve their operational processes. When efficiency is executed, it accomplishes the effectiveness of delivering sustained and positive products which end up boosting the business.

The HR operating model outlines the evolution of the company because it goes beyond the service delivery concept to enable the organization to achieve its success through models that take care of the customers. The model also promotes flexibility, openness, and collaboration for the various roles and functions that the company can play to be compatible with the change of the customer market.

Recommended Changes

Various methods can be used to RadioShack to make it adapt to the change in the market. First is by introducing the fundamental interactions that support coordination and fluidity. While companies can design their interactions to align with the HR operating model, the first thing they should do is to provide a starting point that would enable them to fulfil the demands of customers

Usually, HR is closest to the business, and since they act as the primary interaction between the managers and leaders, then they can emphasize on talent development and management. RadioShack can use this strategy to form an executive leadership platform to drive business strategy, people strategy and culture that engages with the external customers