Strategic Human Resource Management

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Strategic human resource management is the process of linking the human resource function with the strategic objectives of the organization in order to improve performance.

Strategic management

The word �strategy’, deriving from the Greek noun strategus, meaning �commander in chief’, was first used in the English language in 1656. The development and usage of the word suggests that it is composed of stratos (army) and agein (to lead). In a management context, the word �strategy’ has now replaced the more traditional term – �long-term planning’ – to denote a specific pattern of decisions and actions undertaken by the upper echelon of the organization in order to accomplish performance goals. Wheelen and Hunger (1995, p. 3) define strategic management as �that set of managerial decisions and actions that determines the long-run performance of a corporation’. Hill and Jones (2001, p. 4) take a similar view when they define strategy as �an action a company takes to attain superior performance’. Strategic management is considered to be a continuous activity that requires a constant adjustment of three major interdependent poles: the values of senior management, the environment, and the resources available.

Model of strategic management

In the descriptive and prescriptive management texts,