Strategic Human Resource Management Issues at the University of Canberra - Case Study Example

Strategic Human Resource Management Issues at the University of Canberra Introduction This report addresses strategic human resource management issues at the University of Canberra. The report first identifies the university’s key objectives as well as its strategy in meeting them. The report then analyses the link between strategy and human resource management issues at the institution. To achieve this, a number of issues are highlighted, including human resource planning and staffing and design and redesign of work systems and how they are linked to the university’s strategic alignment of human resource management concepts. Background information about the University of Canberra The University of Canberra is situated in the national capital city of Australia, Canberra. The university offers professionally based first degree, postgraduate as well as research programmes. It engages in applied research to ensure that its graduates fit into government, professional and business occupations at all levels including regional, national and international. The University of Canberra has a diverse community that comprises 964 staff and 14,113 students. The number of students includes 3,328 international students from over 118 countries. Despite this diversity, the university has developed a strong sense of community and its staff and students interact freely, even knowing each other by name (University of Canberra n.d.(a)). Objectives and goals of the university The University of Canberra has three main objectives. The first one is to be competitive within Australia by having an improved attraction to students across the country and through a well-designed course viability (University of Canberra 2013a). This objective is further divided into four components. The first component is to re-brand and re-position the university in line with the meeting the needs of the market. The second component is to expand and promote learning at the institution. Third is to raise the number of students in the institution through partnerships and collaboration with other institutions of higher learning nationally. The fourth component of the first objective is to strengthen the university’s college through the renovation of extant campus premises and by increasing its role in improving access to the main university and supporting students while they are at the university (University of Canberra 2013a). The second objective is to establish a genuinely international university that can prosper in a new area of globalised research and higher education (University of Canberra 2013a). This objective is to be achieved by working on three main areas as explained next. First is by establishing strong connections with selected international universities, especially those in Asia, as the basis for lasting research and teaching partnerships. Second is by providing the university’s research and coursework students with immersive international experiences that focus on Asia in order to establish cultural and global competencies as key values of the university. Third is by developing innovative kinds of coursework curriculum as well as research training, premised on real intellectual partnerships between the University of Canberra and its partners in targeted areas across the world (University of Canberra 2013a). The third objective of the University of Canberra is to attain a global ranking as an upcoming university (University of Canberra 2013a). Again, this objective comprises a number of components as follows. First is to increase the university’s competitive research grant income in order to expand overall research. Second is to strengthen the academic impact of the institution’s research activities as measured through citations. The third point is to increase the number of publications that are co-authored with collaborators at the international level. Lastly, the university aims to improve its international reputation as a teaching and research institution (University of Canberra 2013a). Strategy of the university The University of Canberra has developed detailed strategies revolving around education, internationalisation as well as research. In terms of education, the guiding principles are as follows. First is being student-oriented by focusing the university’s practices and policies on improving the student experience. Second is by being engaging, that is, striving for excellence in the delivery of student experience. The third point is being adaptive by responding to the needs of students, staff as well as the entire community. The fourth point is that the university is guided by the need to be world class. Here, the institution is committed to offering a world class learning environment and teaching experience. Finally, the university is guided by the need to be innovative by supporting and attaching great value to learning and teaching (University of Canberra 2013b). Link between strategy and human resource management (HRM) issues at the institution The University of Canberra’s strategy of focusing on the quality of education, internationalisation as well as research is centred on human resource recruitment values such as equality, fairness, efficiency and merit. From existing literature (Deb 2006, p. 53; Rondeau & Wagar 2010, p. 30) shows that an organisation’s strategic interests should be matched with its HRM practices. Specifically, Deb (2006) argues that an organisation can attain a competitive advantage by seeking improvements in the management of its human resources such as through better utilisation of the human resources. The first step towards achieving this is by selecting, retaining, developing and utilising competent human resources. The organisation must then implement all appropriate human resource (HR) practices and policies in accordance with the human resources strategy in such a way that the human resources and the HR strategies are well matched and in placed in the desired direction. Thereafter, the human resources need to fit with the organisation’s strategic management process in order for the organisation to attain the desired competitive edge in the industry (Deb 2006, p. 54). A detailed explanation of the link between HRM and strategy at the University of Canberra is given below. HR planning and staffing To start with, in order to ensure that the quality of education offered at the institution, research and internationalisation activities are of the highest quality, the University of Canberra aspires to attain strategic alignment (University of Canberra n.d. (b), p. 9). It has been argued in literature that leading organisations adopt a common plan or approach in order to align their HR policies to the general business strategy (Oakland 2004, p. 352). At the University of Canberra, this is anchored in the second principle of the university’s Recruitment Policy. This policy highlights strategic alignment by noting that “the university’s recruitment, selection and appointment practices support the achievement of the university’s strategic and operational objectives” (University of Canberra n.d. (b), p. 9). In the context of this policy, decisions about recruitment of new personnel to the university need to be made in regard to workforce planning and to constantly enhance the performance as well as position of the university (University of Canberra n.d. (b), p. 9). From existing literature, it is indicated that strategic alignment of HR policies involves identification of the key elements of the HR strategy such as the skills that are required, recruitment and selection, appraisal, remuneration, employee benefits and appraisal, health and safety, training and so on (Oakland 2004, p. 352). The HR plan is then revised in accordance with the needs of the organisation and the resources at its disposal as part of the general strategic planning process (Oakland 2004, p. 352). A similar process takes place at the University of Canberra. Managers and delegates from different departments are required to consider the requirements of the Recruitment Policy before taking on any recruitment activity. In addition, a review of the needs of the different faculties of the university are is undertaken, and considers a number of issues: (1) the strategic operational plans of the faculty; (2) funding arrangements; (3) the current staffing structure as well as the skills level of the faculty; (4) university and specific area targets for diverse staffing profiles; (5) academic profile as well as areas of specialisation (in terms of both current and future requirements; (6) foreseeable changes that might affect a given area or role; and (7) how the needs requirements for the position may best be met (University of Canberra n.d. (b), p. 9). The above description of how the University of Canberra conducts its recruitment arguably fits the definition and significance of HR planning. According to Armstrong (2006, p. 363), HR planning determines the human resources that are needed by an organisation to achieve its strategic goals. HR planning constantly evaluates the HR requirements of different departments of an organisation to identify any shortage or surplus of manpower in them (Durai 2010, p. 109). In the context of the University of Canberra, the identified shortages or surpluses can then be corrected by recruitment or redeployment to ensure that the personnel and are placed in position where they can best help the university to meet its goals. The strategic alignment process is in itself critical to competitive advantage as noted by Truss, Mankin and Kelliher (2012 p. 53). This is because as demonstrated above, managers in organisations are able to treat their employees as workers, as opposed to resources so as to sustain the organisation’s strategic approach. In the case of the University of Canberra, the organisation uses strategic alignment to ensure that its staff are placed where they deliver their best to attain the three key objectives of the university. For instance, by addressing issues such as recruitment and selection, appraisal, remuneration of the employees and sources of funding for different research programmes, the university can source for more professors from across the world by offering better remuneration and employment terms compared to other universities, thus making it more competitive and attractive to students. Design and redesign of work systems Job design is defined as the process of organising tasks, duties, responsibilities, as well as other elements of the workplace into a prolific unit of work. Job design focuses on matching the needs of the individuals performing various jobs with the productivity requirements of the organisation. The aim of job design is to simplify, enrich, enlarge or otherwise change jobs in order to make the input of each employee fit together and in an improved way with the jobs performed by other employees (Sims 2002, p. 78). Changing the way a job is done can make a system work more efficiently, and this is what is referred to as job redesign. The University of Canberra has a HR unit which is responsible for many functions including offering advice on the job classification policy, offering advice on and help with job redesign (University of Canberra 2012). The significance of having such a unit is that it can help to design jobs in such a way that makes the available personnel handle them better. This is in line with Mathis and Jackson’s (2011, p. 111) argument that job design is significant for the following major reasons. To begin with, job design can influence the performance of workers in certain jobs, especially the jobs in which employee motivation can make a significant difference (Mathis & Jackson 2011, p. 111). In the context of the University of Canberra, such jobs include areas involving innovation and research. Motivated personnel (specifically the university academics) are more likely to come up with innovations that are critical for making the university to have a standing as a renowned research institution. The second way in which job design is important is that job design can affect job satisfaction (Mathis & Jackson 2011, p. 111). Since people are more pleased with certain elements of their job than others, making out what makes a ‘good’ job turns out to be critical. Job design can be linked to benefits such as reduced employee turnover as well as absenteeism. At the University of Canberra, job design and redesign are vital in all job levels since each and every employee of the institution is important in ensuring that there is a conducive environment for the students to learn hence more attraction and competiveness, that the university grows as a global learning and research institution, and that the university improves its ranking as a young learning institution – all of which are its key objectives. The third significance of job design relates to the impact that the concept has on both the physical and mental health of workers (Mathis & Jackson 2011, p. 111). An appropriate job design can eliminate the problems associated with a poor job design such as stress, high blood pressure, heart disease and so on (Mathis & Jackson 2011, p. 111). At the University of Canberra there is need for the institution to embrace appropriate design of work system such as specialisation, where jobs that require specialised training are left to the experts to handle them; job enlargement, where there is an increase in the normal task in order to relieve the employees of boredom; job rotation, where the employees are moved across different specialised positions; job enrichment, where the amount of responsibility in a given job is increased in accordance with the level of productivity that employees have for their current tasks. The University of Canberra can also embrace vertical loading, which involves reassignment of a job responsibility that was formerly delegated to a supervisor to an employee. The University of Canberra appears to be doing well in job design. This is because jobs in the institution have been grouped under various categories, hence having employees in employments of different kinds as follows. First is continuing employment, which is defined by the university as employment for an indefinite period, on a part-time, full-time or other basis. The second category is contingent continuing employment, which the institution defines as employment on a part-time or full-time basis and is subject to the worker attaining certain highlights within the first seven years before employment is considered as continuing. Fixed-term employment is defined by the University of Canberra as employment which is for a defined period, or until a verifiable event take place as outlined in the employment contract. Finally, the University of Canberra also offers casual employment, which it defines as employment on an hourly basis or on an intermittent or irregular basis (University of Canberra n.d.(b), p. 9). In addition to this, the University of Canberra also needs to ensure that the design of its jobs for different employees fits them. It thus needs to evaluate job design characteristics such as task significance, or the extent to which the job gives participants a feeling of achievement; task identity, or the degree to which an employee can perceive a task as whole assignment from start to finish; skill variety, or the extent to which the job calls upon the employee to deploy a range of talents and skills; autonomy, or the degree to which the task allows independence, freedom and personal control over the work; and feedback from the job, which is the level to which information about job delivery is produced by those concerned (Evans & Lindsay 2012, p. 165). Conclusion In conclusion, this report has discussed the strategic human management resource management issues at the University of Canberra based on the organisation’s key objectives. The university’s focus on improving the quality of education, internationalisation and perking up the quality of research is anchored around strategic alignment. Strategic alignment is part of the university’s Recruitment Policy, which means that the university conducts a HR planning process to determine its staffing needs. It is also noted that the University of Canberra has a HR unit that is responsible for job design and redesign. In addition to this, there is need for the organisation to embrace the job design characteristics such as task significance, skill variety, autonomy, task identity and feedback from the job. References Armstrong, M 2006, A handbook of human resource management practice, 10th ed., Kogan Page Limited, London. Deb, T 2006, Strategic approach to human resource management: concept, tools and application, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. Durai, P 2010, Human resource management, Dorling Kindersley, New Delhi. Evans, J R & Lindsay, W M 2012, Managing for quality and performance excellence, 9th ed., Cengage Learning, New York. Mathis, R L & Jackson, J H 2011, Human resource management, 13th ed. South Western Cengage Learning, Mason. Oakland, J S 2004, Oakland on quality management, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Rondeau, K V & Wagar, T H 2010, ‘High-involvement work practices and social capital formation: examining the role of strategic orientation in nursing homes,’ Strategic Human Resource Management in Health Care Management, Vol. 9, pp. 25-46. Sims, R R 2002, Organizational success through effective human resources management, Greenwood Publishing, New York. Truss, C, Mankin, D & Kelliher, C 2012, Strategic human resource management, Oxford, Oxford University Press. University of Canberra 2012, ‘Classification Policy General Staff Positions: UC Level 10 and below,’ viewed 7 April 2014, University of Canberra 2013a, ‘Objectives,’ viewed 7 April 2014, University of Canberra 2013b, ‘Strategies,’ viewed 7 April 2014, University of Canberra n.d. 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