HRMT20026: Tesla's HR Strategy and its Impact on Corporate Performance

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This essay analyzes Tesla's HR strategies.

HRMT20026: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Assessment 2: Individual Essay
1

Tesla Incorporation which is also known as Tesla Motors is energy and the automotive company
of America which is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States. The specialization of
the company is in the manufacturing of electric cars and through the manufacturing of solar
panel and solar city subsidiary. The assembly plants and multiple productions are operated by
this company and its main facility of vehicle manufacturing at the Tesla factory.
The rationale of embedding HR strategies into broader corporate strategies
Human resource strategies help in completion of different responsibilities including employees
searching, training, and assisting in the resolution of conflicts and help in organizing with
benefits. HR strategies are the designation for the plan which is long-term and is created for
achieving objectives in human capital management and human resource and in organization
development. In the human resource management’s field, strategies of human resource are one of
the outputs of strategic management (McQuide.et.al, 2013).
Tesla has adopted numerous HR strategies including competitive salaries, promotion
opportunities, and autonomy of employees. The regular and transparent communication is
conducted by HR managers with their employees. Tesla also made an investment in corporate
social responsibility; hiring practices of the company are enhanced. Employees are providing
with effective and regular training. The focus is also made by the company on the well-being of
employees.
As per Dwertmann, & Kunz, 2012, HR strategy helps in unifying and directing the actions and
behavior of employees and the overall development of them as per the needs of the company.
The meaningful and effective management and planning can be done through these strategies
with respect to all kinds of work of human resources (Dwertmann, & Kunz, 2012). Through the
introduction of different HR strategies, the productivity, augmentation, and performance of the
employees get increased. The organizational learning is impacted positively through the high
performance of strategies of human resources which in turn positively affects the business
performance. Momin, & Mishra, 2015 is of the view that embedding of HR strategies into
corporate strategies is of great importance as it strengthens the leadership and organizational
agility is created due to this. It helps in the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of
2

employees and enables the management for acting and making strategic decisions at a faster pace
(Momin & Mishra, 2015).
Analyzing how HR strategy is embedded in the broader corporate strategy of Tesla
In Tesla, HR strategies are embedded in the corporate strategies after a detailed understanding of
the directions and goals of the business. With the intersection of the HR strategies with the
business strategies following functions of business are affected which includes talent acquisition,
performance management, security and safety compliance, and compliance of employment laws.
The human resource of Tesla aligns human resource strategy by understanding the strategies of
the business, assessing the current conditions, planning and implementing the HR strategies, and
measuring and evaluating the results and adjusting as needed.
McQuide.et.al, 2013, mentioned that the alignment of HR strategy with the corporate strategy is
critical for achieving the mission of the company. For the alignment of the same the
professionals of HR are required to have a proper understanding of the objectives and goals of
the organization (McQuide.et.al, 2013). By this, the company will get a clear definition of
success. Key stakeholders should be connected initially by human resource for finding the
position of the business, and where it needs to reach in the next few months and years. After
defining the success and understanding the value drivers, the current workforce can be evaluated
and forecast the skills required for succeeding in business.
Buller, & McEvoy, 2012, said that employees should be connected with corporate strategies. if
the engagement of the employees of the company is not made during the plan implementation
stage then it will result in naught with respect to the work done by the HR (Buller, & McEvoy,
2012). As per Ulrich, & Dulebohn, 2015, after aligning, HR has to ensure that employees are
connected with corporate strategies and its objectives. This make company to get ready for the
change, decisions can be made more willing fully, appropriate risks can be taken into account
and actions can be taken which proves best for the organization (Ulrich & Dulebohn, 2015). If it
is found that the employees of the company are not accepting the change or are restricting the
introduction of change then HR is required to take appropriate actions so as to ensure that the
changes are welcomed in the organization. Alagaraja & Shuck, 2015, said that proper training is
given to employees as per the needs and objectives of the company and workforce are prepared
3

for the change management and opportunities are embraced by this. HR professionals exercise
monitoring and control for evaluating the results (Alagaraja & Shuck, 2015).
Implementation of HR strategies at the departmental level
The HR strategies' implementation is a key element for the success of Tesla and there is a unique
positioning of HR authorities for pioneering the realization of HR strategies. Bryant & Allen,
2013, argued that the implementation of the strategies of HR into action can be challenging for
the organization. Upon completion of the goals of the management of the human resource, a
determination is made by the HR department about the ways in which these strategies can be
implemented at their best (Bryant, & Allen, 2015). Kehoe & Wright, 2013, after ensuring the
alignment of HR strategies with the overall goals of the business, assurance should be made with
regard to the business philosophy, company values, ethics, and mission are clearly embedded
into the plan of strategy. Buy-in of management is critical and failure chances increase when lack
of unity is sensed by the employees between human resources and management (Kehoe, &
Wright, 2015). Managers should be convinced that strategies of human resources can be
successfully implemented and all this rests in their hands. Kramar, 2014 in addition to this said
that accountability for the management of changes should be held to the managers within the
respective areas of managers. Incorporation is required to be made of the role of departments into
the performance standards of managers (Kramar, 2014).
Stone & Dulebohn, 2013, mentioned that observations with respect to the auctioning of HR
strategies with the different departments. All the departments of the company should equally
demonstrate support of high-level for the goals of human resource strategies (Stone, &
Dulebohn, 2013). Kaufman, 2012 is of the view that if the changes are embraced by one
department’s employees and resistance is made by the employees of any other department, then
cross-departmental and dissension functions will be suffered due to this. For the rooting, it is
significant that there is a collaboration of human resource strategy (Kaufman, 2012). Goal-
setting material to be reviewed; the SMRT method of the goal development applies to the final
step in the implementation of human resource strategies. Prior to implementing the HR strategies
the achievement and productivity of the goal should be measured and these should be measured
during different implementation stages and after placing of HR strategies. If the HR manager is
4

unable to measure the success of strategies then drawing board is needed to be revisited for
refining the implementation steps.
Contemporary HR challenges being faced by Tesla
Stone & Deadrick, 2015 tells about the human resource management that it includes training,
development, planning of workforce, legal issues, job design and analysis, performance
management, and benefits and compensation (Stone & Deadrick, 2015). Tesla is facing many
HR challenges as keeping up with the employment laws which change with time to time is a
struggle and is a big challenge for the owners of the company. Shukla, 2014, sometimes ignoring
the changes in employment law results in lawsuits, audits and there is even possible that the
company can face demise. Changes in the management create challenges for Tesla as with the
growth in business the strategies, internal process, and structure of the company also grow and
these changes are restricted by some of the employees due to which the HR managers need to
make changes in their HR strategies as the productivity level of employees and their morale is
negatively affected during change periods (Shukla, 2014).
As per Zhu.et.al, 2013, technological changes are taking place continuously and it becomes
important for the company like Tesla to adopt these changes quickly, otherwise, it can lack in
competition with its competitors and will not even able to take a competitive advantage.
Embracing employees for the innovation and learning of new technology is quite challenging for
the managers of Tesla sometimes (Zhu.et.al, 2013). Managing of diverse cultures in the local
team of Tesla is a challenge for the human resource manager. Therefore, MacKenzie.et.al, 2012,
mentioned about the necessity of creating a workplace which is comfortable, free of conflicts and
welcoming for all the employees. Recruitment of right employees at the right place is an issue
sometimes as it becomes difficult for the HR managers to keep a balance between the hiring of
the right individual at the right time and keep business into running. Tesla can use staffing
company for facing this challenge as the solutions for temp-to-hire are provided by these
companies which help companies like Tesla for trying out the new employees with little risks or
no risk at all (MacKenzie.et.al, 2012).
5

Tesla’s HR manager has to change the HR strategies for retaining the talented employees so that
their interest and dedication towards the company remain same and their productivity level keeps
on increasing resulting in high profitability to the company.
6

References
 Alagaraja, M., & Shuck, B. (2015). Exploring organizational alignment-employee
engagement linkages and impact on individual performance: A conceptual model. Human
Resource Development Review, 14(1), 17-37.
 Bamberger, P. A., Biron, M., & Meshoulam, I. (2014). Human resource strategy:
Formulation, implementation, and impact. Routledge.
 Bryant, P. C., & Allen, D. G. (2013). Compensation, benefits and employee turnover: HR
strategies for retaining top talent. Compensation & Benefits Review, 45(3), 171-175.
 Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. (2012). Strategy, human resource management, and
performance: Sharpening line of sight. Human resource management review, 22(1), 43-
56.
 Dwertmann, D. J., & Kunz, J. J. (2012). HR strategies for balanced growth. In Balanced
Growth (pp. 137-161). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
 Kaufman, B. E. (2012). Strategic human resource management research in the United
States: A failing grade after 30 years?. Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(2), 12-
36.
 Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource
practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of management, 39(2), 366-391.
 Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human
resource management the next approach?. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 25(8), 1069-1089.
 MacKenzie, C. A., Garavan, T. N., & Carbery, R. (2012). Through the looking glass:
challenges for human resource development (HRD) post the global financial crisis–
business as usual?. Human Resource Development International, 15(3), 353-364.
 McQuide, P. A., Kolehmainen-Aitken, R. L., & Forster, N. (2013). Applying the
workload indicators of staffing need (WISN) method in Namibia: challenges and
implications for human resources for health policy. Human resources for health, 11(1),
64.
 Momin, W. Y. M., & Mishra, K. (2015). HR Analytics as a strategic workforce
planning. IJAR, 1(4), 258-260.
7

 Shukla, S. (2014). Emerging issues and challenges for HRM in public sectors banks of
India. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133, 358-363.
 Stone, D. L., & Deadrick, D. L. (2015). Challenges and opportunities affecting the future
of human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 25(2), 139-145.
 Stone, D. L., & Dulebohn, J. H. (2013). Emerging issues in theory and research on
electronic human resource management (eHRM).
 Ulrich, D., & Dulebohn, J. H. (2015). Are we there yet? What's next for HR?. Human
Resource Management Review, 25(2), 188-204.
 Zhu, C. J., Cooper, B. K., Fan, D., & De Cieri, H. (2013). HR practices from the
perspective of managers and employees in multinational enterprises in China: Alignment
issues and implications. Journal of World Business, 48(2), 241-250.
8