Key Concept Exercise: Aligning Business Strategy and HR Policy Report

This report delves into the crucial alignment of business strategy, HR strategy, and HR policy. It begins by defining organizational strategy and its role in identifying gaps and weaknesses, emphasizing the importance of a clear business strategy. The report then addresses how to incorporate existing HR policies from external entities and highlights key HR policies like employment classifications and safety regulations. It outlines three essential actions for aligning HR policies with business strategy, including understanding employee management, establishing an effective HR department, and assessing employee engagement. Finally, the report identifies major challenges in this alignment, such as lack of strategic agility and issues with business communication. The report concludes with a list of references supporting the discussed concepts.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Human Resources Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
1. Clarity about the Business Strategy of the Organization.............................................................2
2. Addressing Existing HR Policies to be imposed from Outside Entities......................................2
3. Actions to Identify HR Policies for Supporting and not Hindering Organizational Business
Strategy............................................................................................................................................3
4. Major Issues and Challenges in Alignment of Business Strategy, HR strategy and HR Policy. 3
References........................................................................................................................................5

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1. Clarity about the Business Strategy of the Organization
The organizational strategy can be referred to as the summation of different actions that
an organization intends to undertake for the core purpose of achieving the long term goals and
objectives. These distinct actions eventually make up the organizational strategic plan for
involving different company levels (Pick et al. 2015). The business strategy of an organization is
responsible for identification of different gaps and weaknesses that are needed to be understood.
The business strategy is the set of different competitive actions and moves, which a business
utilizes for attracting consumers, competing successfully and even achieving organizational
goals. It helps in outlining the major procedure of businesses to be carried out to reach the
desired ends (Whittaker & Marchington 2003). The opportunities are increased and the
organization secures a beneficial position for meeting threats and challenges.
2. Addressing Existing HR Policies to be imposed from Outside Entities
The existing HR policies are required to be imposed from the outside entities for being
sure that the company will be able to bring out few of the most distinct competitive benefits
without much complexity (Do, Budhwar & Patel 2018). These HR policies are formalized rules
and processes, which direct the process of few matters to be referred within the work space like
staff rights as well as responsibilities. These distinct policies are being tied to the employment
laws and for avoiding non-compliance and penalties from the government, the employer should
remain adhered to these distinct policies. The major HR policies of the organization include
employment classifications, safety and health, employee conduct, non-discrimination and anti-
harassment policies (Khilji & Wang 2006). These policies are helpful for ensuring that the
employees and managers could easily act on the guidance in their respective HR policies and

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processes. The outside entities of the organization refer to any type of nonprofit entity for better
execution of the strategy with consent of the organization.
3. Actions to Identify HR Policies for Supporting and not Hindering Organizational
Business Strategy
Three distinct and important actions for successfully identifying different HR policies to
support and not hinder organizational business strategy are provided below:
i) The first as well as the most significant action that would be effective for identifying
different HR policies is that the organizational management should understand different aspects
and features related to employee management, so that it becomes quite easier for them to
recognize the important policies and procedures (Gratton & Truss 2003).
ii) Incorporation of a suitable and perfect HR department for supporting and not
hindering the organizational business strategy eventually.
iii) Assessment of different factors related to employee management and engagement
would be the next vital action that would not affect the business strategy (Armstrong 2014).
4. Major Issues and Challenges in Alignment of Business Strategy, HR strategy and HR
Policy
The major issues and challenges that are being faced in alignment of business strategies,
HR strategy and HR policy are provided below:
i) The lack of strategic agility is the major and the most significant issue that could be
faced in such alignment.

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ii) The issue with business communication and decreased agility is the next distinct issue
that could be faced in this alignment (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam 2014).

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References
Armstrong, M. (2014) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management
practice, 13th ed. London: Kogan Page.
Bamberger, P.A., Biron, M. & Meshoulam, I. (2014) Human resource strategy:
formulation, implementation and impact, 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Do, H., Budhwar, P.S. & Patel, C., (2018). Relationship between innovation‐led HR policy,
strategy, and firm performance: A serial mediation investigation. Human Resource
Management, 57(5), pp.1271-1284.
Gratton, L. & Truss, C. (2003) ‘The three-dimensional people strategy: Putting human resources
policies into action’, Academy of Management Executive, 17 (3), pp. 74-86.
Khilji, S. & Wang, X. (2006). ‘“Intended” and “implemented” HRM: the missing linchpin in
strategic human resource management research’, International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 17 (7), pp. 1171-1189.
Pick, D., Teo, S.T., Tummers, L., Newton, C., Bish, A. & Johnston, K., (2015). Leader vision
and diffusion of HR policy during change. Journal of Organizational Change Management.
Whittaker, S. & Marchington, M. (2003) ‘Devolving HR responsibility to the line: threat,
opportunity or partnership?’, Employee Relations, 25 (3), pp. 245-261.