MGT600 - Management, People, Teams: Strategic People Management Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of strategic people management within the context of a modern business organization, using CST, a software producing company, as a case study. It begins with an introduction to strategic human resource management and its various aspects, emphasizing its role in achieving competitive advantage. The report delves into key principles and theories, including workforce planning, competency management, and performance management, and examines the practical application of these concepts. It also includes a detailed discussion of effective communication, problem-solving skills, and the roles and functions of managers in addressing organizational challenges. The report highlights the importance of intellectual capital, trained staff, transparent communication, and the use of strategic management tools. Moreover, it evaluates the effectiveness of different approaches using frameworks like the Harvard Analytical Framework and the Matching Model. The report concludes with recommendations and a summary of the findings, offering guidance for improving people management strategies.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management People and Team
Name of the student
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Author Note:

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Executive Summary
The following report is based on Strategic Peoples management and its effectiveness in the
modern darn day business organizations. The report has taken the example of accompany
named CST which is a software producing company. The report starts with a robust
introduction where the readers gains the idea on strategic human resource management and
the different aspects that are related to it. The review part of the following report has also
presented an overview of the principles, theories, major challenges and proper ways of
implementation of the business process in the organization. The report has also included a
recommendation section and a concluding section which helps to provide a guidance based
ending to the study.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Background............................................................................................................................5
Main Discussion.........................................................................................................................6
Key Principles and Theories underlying strategic people management................................6
Figure No 1: Harvard Analytical Framework........................................................................9
Figure No 2: Matching Cycle...............................................................................................10
Evaluation of the effectiveness of different approaches......................................................10
Demonstration of effective communication and practical problem solving skills...............12
Roles and Functions of Managers in the context of the challenges and risks......................12
Recommendations....................................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
References and Bibliography...................................................................................................15

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Introduction
Globalization has been one of the major reasons behind the different changes in the
modern day companies. The modern day companies are seeking new forms of practices and
reforms that can help them to be at the top of all the other organizations and deliver business
success in the most efficient manner. The application of the new form of business
management process can thus help the organizations as well as the employees working in
these organizations to improve their performance and lead the business enterprise to the path
of success (Armstrong & Taylor, 2020). This new philosophy can be termed as the “Strategic
Management of People within the business”. The competitive advantage in the traditional
days involved the financial success of the organization and ensuring that the financial growth
of the organization surpasses the different kinds of the business processes. However, in the
modern day competitive market, financial growth is not determined as the only element for
determining the competitive success. Rather the proper understanding of the employees, the
people involved in the organization and the management of these people in a proper and
efficient manner is considered to be the major requirements for gaining a strategic advantage
in the market (Armstrong & Taylor, 2020)..
The presence of an intellectual capital among the employees of the organization is
necessary for the success of the organizations. The presence of the intellectual capital is key
to the proper success and identifying the necessary requirements for the organization.
Strategic management of the people in the business enterprises has thus become a crucial
element that reflects the bottom line of the company and has also the capability to select the
organizational changes in the most promising manner. The effective management of the
organization is allied to different kinds of the innovative measures that helps the management
of the enterprises to ensure the different advantages that cannot be emulated by the
competitors in the business market. Strategic Human management thus needs a robust and

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compact plan that can be able to address the different challenges and address the different
needs of the human resources management. It will be the essential task of the human resource
management to select and train the employees in the best possible way that can be the clear
road to success. It is also the task of the management of the human resources to ensure the
implementation of a successful strategic planning that can act as the game changer for the
business organizations (Armstrong & Taylor, 2020).
Background
Strategic people management can be said to be an important element of the modern
day business management. The application of the strategic people management in the
organization helps the company to gain a strategic advantage by means of properly using the
human capital. Some of the major characteristics of the human capital includes the likes of;
a. Trained Staffs- The presence of trained staffs in an organization is an added
advantage for the organization. The trained staffs in the organization helps the
management to ensure the success of the business operations and also increase the
quality of the business performance. In case of untrained staffs, the organizations
needs to select different training programs that can be essential or suitable for the
particular job. Training thus forms an important source as well as an important
success factor for the business organization. The providence of the requisite training
helps the management to improve the performance, skills and encourage the
individuals of the team to perform a better job in the most efficient manner
(Armstrong & Taylor, 2020).. The investments in training programs can thus be
beneficial as because all the investment that will be incurred by the management of
the organizations will again return back to the enterprises in the form of the business
returns or performances of the individuals from the skills and capabilities attained
from the training programs.

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b. Clear and Transparent Communication- Communication is another important form of
the Strategic people management. The better, or clear the communication process, the
better will be the performance of the organization. If the management of the
enterprises are capable of reaching out to the employees easily and communicating
the different strategies accordingly, it will be the success of the organization.
Communication thus stands out to be the sole performer or the sole key in the success
of the business in the most efficient process (Avelino et al. 2017). The presence of a
sound communication strategy can also be said to be the major settings that can help
to achieve the goals and objectives of the business organizations.
c. Use of Strategic Management Tool- The use of the strategic management tools is
another comprehensive strategy of the modern day business organizations. The use of
the tools and other systems to strategically manage and analyse the system of people
management can ensure the effective monitoring of the employees. The monitoring
process involves the selection of the targets that needed to be targeted and the actions
that needs to be taken to manage the employees. Strategic Management Tools can
thus be an additional game changer for the organization to ensure the success of the
business in the most appropriate manner.
Main Discussion
Key Principles and Theories underlying strategic people management
The greatest strength of CST lies in the presence of an adequate and well trained set
of individuals in the form of the employees. Though one can argue that financial asset is the
biggest strength for an organization, the only way to gain clients and attract people to the
organization lies on the employees of the organization. The presence of a strategic human
capital management can ensure the success of the organization as well as help the
management to ensure a continuous improvement (Avelino et al. 2017). A number of

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principles and theories has been identified that helps to define the strategic people
management in the most appropriate manner. Some of the major principles that are a part of
the strategic people management are as follows;
a. Planning the Workforce- The planning of the workforce by the management of CST
in is a continuous process that helps to align the different needs and the demands of
the enterprise along with the employees of the organization. Such a planning process
helps in the alignment of the business process along with the works of the employees.
Such a business process can help the organizations to attain all the goals and aims of
the business houses (Avelino et al. 2017). The HR managers of the company must
have a proper planning in place that can be beneficial for the strategic linking of the
employees with the task of the management.
b. Competency management- In the modern-day world, where people can even work
from home and complete all his tasks in a proper and scheduled manner, it is quite
difficult for the management to keep a regular and updated track of the employees.
The implementation of the competency management program is thus quite necessary
for the organization to ensure complete success (Brown, Hirsh & Reilly, 2019). The
competency management program implemented by the management of CST can help
the organization to gather all the skills of the people that can be easily observed and
collected. This skills includes the communication skills, behaviour skills, reaction of
the people, productivity of the people and many more as such.
c. Performance Management- Performance Management is another major principle that
has its roots in the proper application of the strategic management program. The
performance management program can be said to be one of the basic reviews that
needs to be developed by the management of the business organizations in order to
judge and assess the performance of the employees over a certain period of time. The

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presence of a strong performance management assessment system can help gain the
best performer in the organization and reward them. While it will also help to identify
a mediocre and bad performer which will be used to address their difficulties and
issues.
d. Management of the time schedule and expense- The management of the workforce by
maintaining a proper time schedule is highly important for the success story of the
business. The proper management of the time schedule can be managed through a
proper planning.
e. Learning and Recruitment- The education and training process that are provided by
the HR management can act as an ultimate source of learning for the employees. The
creation of the training materials, training software and the presentation of the
different sets of the knowledge base to the employees can help them to gain a solid
knowledge on the process of the operations (Brown, Hirsh & Reilly, 2019). On the
other hand, the recruitment processes used by the management can also act as a strong
source of learning for the employees.
On the other hand, a number of theories and frameworks based on Human Resource
Management has direct links to the management of people in a strategic manner. The
application of the theories like Harvard Analytical Framework and the Matching Model are
two of the best examples to define strategic management process. The Harvard Analytical
Framework has a number of perspectives as because it involves the situational factors
involving the workforce and the business strategy to define the different interests of the
stakeholders involved in the business enterprises. On the other hand, the interests of the
stakeholders are related to the HRM policies which leads to the application of the reward
systems and the presentation of the HR outcomes and long term business consequences that

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involves the improvement in the performance of both the organization and especially the
employees.
Figure No 1: Harvard Analytical Framework
Source: (Campbell, 2018)
The matching cycle on the other hand, can qualify as the best model that showcases the
importance of a strategic management framework for the management of the employees. The
human resource cycle in this process includes the development of the strategic process, the
selection of the HR employees and then the assessment of their business performance. The
assessment of their business performance forms the basis of the presentation of the best
rewards and appraisals to these employees accordingly. Thus the model clearly justifies a
proper strategy that can have a strong impact on the management of the people within the
business units.

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Figure No 2: Matching Cycle
Source: (Campbell, 2018)
Evaluation of the effectiveness of different approaches
The evaluation of the effectiveness of the Human resource Capital is one of the major
tasks of the modern day business organizations. It will be the task of the HR management to
correctly verify and identify the effectiveness of the different business approaches in a
strategic manner through the implementation and use of the different tools and different
strategies. Some of the major processes that can help to evaluate the effectiveness of the
different approaches of Strategic people management includes the likes of;
a. Human Resource Audit-The management of CST can use the HR audit functions as the
HR audit is quite similar to the financial audit as it involves the analysis of the HR assets
and the analysis of the effectiveness of the HR functions of the business organization.
The Human Resource Audit involves the proper use of the data and then analysing them,
using a clearly defined objective to define the process, using action in response of the
different findings from the HR audit (shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, 2020). The HR audit is
capable of analysing all the data of the HR management and thus can act as an effective

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tool that can be utilized to improve the Human Resource process and make it more
useful. Apart from this, the use of the audit process in a proper manner can also help in
the achievement of all the different business and HR objectives like the recruitment of
the best people, implementation of the development and training program, employee
health and safety, employee well-being and many more as such.
b. Qualitative and Quantitative approaches- The use of both Quantitative as well as
qualitative approaches can be seen in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Human
resource management process (shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, 2020). The use of a number of
tools like HR expense factors, training costs expenses, lead and fill time vacancies, cost
behaviour methodology and many more similar as such can be used to determine the
effectiveness of the HR process through the use of the quantitative methodology system.
On the other hand the qualitative methodology can also be well suited for CST as the
company needs to find out the major reasons behind the sudden loss of the tenders to the
different competitors.
c. Benchmarking- Benchmarking can be another major practice that can be implemented by
the management of CST to ensure the effectiveness of their HR people strategy. The
benchmarking process can be achieved only when the management will involve the
employees to the best and most innovative practices that can set out examples for other
organizations. CST can use this technique as they have the quality as well as the required
technology that can help to ensure business success.
d. Balanced Score card- The balanced score card can perhaps be the best suited option for
the management of CST as it will help the organization to employ much less efforts to
gain the ideal effectiveness of the employees (shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, 2020). As the
balanced score card contains four different dimensions, its application can ensure the

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success of the organization as well as ensure the best possible way to learn and achieve
business growth.
Demonstration of effective communication and practical problem solving skills
The loss of three major tenders to other competitors in the market is surely a sign of
failure for ComSyst Technologies. Though CST has a large market base along the Asia
Pacific and the North America, the failure of the company to gain the tenders has led to a
substantial decrease in their shares over the last two years. A large number of major problems
has been identified in this area in regards to such a failure. Communication has been tipped
off as one of the largest factors that has been behind the failure to grab the contracts. Though
the technologically skilled organization has the reputation of serving the best channels of
communication of their clients, their own internal communication network
(shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, 2020). Such a failure has cost them dearly which has been a
major problem for the organization.
The presence of an effective communication skill can help the management to
establish a great link between the management and the employees of CST which in turn can
help the organization to develop better relations with the employees. On the other hand, the
presence of great communication skills can be effective for productive gains of the business
management. Such a skill can also help the management to solve different types of the skills
in a much better and organized manner. The strategic problem solving manner and the
problem solving effectiveness of the organization. This can help to ensure better problem
solving skills and gain success in the most efficient manner.
Roles and Functions of Managers in the context of the challenges and risks
There are a large number of challenges and risks that are generally faced by the
managers and the supervisors of the Human Resource Management of the organizations. The