Human Resource Strategies for Individual Performance

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUAL
PERFORMANCE
HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
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1HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review and Critical Analysis....................................................................................3
Theoretical HRM Factors and Strategic Models Affecting Individual Performance............3
Ability................................................................................................................................3
Motivation..........................................................................................................................4
Opportunity........................................................................................................................6
Major HRM Theories and Their Application on Individual Performance.............................7
Universalistic Theory.........................................................................................................7
Contingency Theory...........................................................................................................7
Configurational Theory......................................................................................................7
Limitations and Challenges....................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Reference List..........................................................................................................................10
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................12

2HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) practices seeks to improve organizational
performance and help a company to gain competitive advantage in the market. The
performance of the organization cannot be improved without improvements in individual
performances. Performance, in this regard, is dependent on various internal and external
factors which has a direct impact on the motivation of the individual employees, as well as
the entire work force, as a whole. It is the responsibility of the HRM departments to look
after these motivational factors, identify the problematic areas, and bring forth necessary
changes after holding discussions with the higher authorities of the company.
The scope of HRM in improving individual performance encompasses avenues of
employee welfare and personnel management like services for safety, health benefits, social
security, training, induction, orientation and the like (Antonacopoulou 2016). It also looks
after the real-time needs of the individual employees as well as that of the company. Thus, it
seeks to increase the productivity of the employees by safeguarding their interests and
establishing harmonious relationships among them across the different tiers within the
organization. The activities of the HRM largely circles around a model of AMO (ability,
motivation, opportunity), in the context of individual performance of the employees. This
paper attempts to study the various HR practices from a theoretical approach, along with the
factors that determine the application of strategies and related challenges that arises both in
theory and in practice.
The strategic implementation of HR policies and practices aim at certain short-term
and long-term benefits. The most important ones are – profitability and financial gain,
motivation of the workforce, improvement in managerial control, consistent progressive work
culture, reduction in burnouts and increased employee retention capability, the needs and

3HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
provision of amenities for training – all having a direct organizational impact through their
relation with individual performance (Meijerink, Bondarouk and Lepak 2016).
Literature Review and Critical Analysis
Theoretical HRM Factors and Strategic Models Affecting Individual
Performance
There are various HRM policies and practices that determine the workflow and
employment within an organization, and asks for related investments and choice and
implementation of policies from the management and other higher executive bodies. It is a
huge responsibility on the HR department to make sure that the firm make full use of its
potential profitability. A company is prone to underperformance due to poor utilization of its
potential resources. This often occurs due to the company’s inability to elicit the necessary
discretionary effort from individual employees, which has a direct impact on the company’s
costs. Adoption of proper HRM practices can bring forth these discretionary efforts, by
influencing the skills and motivation of the employees and providing them with a certain
amount of autonomy at work. There are various HRM models like the ‘Harvard Model’, the
‘Guest Model’, the AMO Model, and the ‘Warwick Model’, all of which encompasses major
factors of HRM concerning individual performance (Sarker 2017). Out of them, AMO –
ability, motivation, and opportunity – considers these three as the predominant determining
factors for individual performance (Almutawa, Muenjohn and Zhang 2016).
Ability – Ability is the determiner of how well a person is suitable for a particular job role. It
takes into account both the existing set of skills which are optimum for the primary level, and
the possibility of project-related skill development through trainings in future (Fu, et al.
2018). It is the proportional amalgamation of the theoretical knowledge and practical
expertise a person possess for working in a chosen field.