SHRM theories
To be competitive, the companies need to offer the best choice of products to their customers and be sure that employees are ready to follow the company’scompany’s agenda. The following main approaches are going to be examined in the paper: the Universalist (best-practice) approach, the Configurational approaches, and the Contingency approach. The Universalist approach argues that the contribution of an HRM activity of one company will in return play a part in contributing to other companies too (RužiÄ 57). The theory claims that some of the HRM activities are the best for all organizations and should be used by them without fail (Sanders and Yang 204).
This approach was based on the interrelation between particular HRM activities and the performance of the company (RužiÄ 57). The Configurational approaches stress the importance of business strategy and the fit “”between the external environment, business and HRM strategies”” (Gill and Meyer 5). Opposite to the best-practice approach, the Configurational approaches argue that certain HRM practices are not applicable to all organizations. According to the Contingency approach, the practices are defined by the specificities of the organization (Gill and Meyer 6). Thus, all approaches are based on one specific hypothesis.
Each of the approaches has its advantages and disadvantages. The Universalist approach might present the best practices that fit companies’companies’ needs, but it is doubtful that it will apply to each and every company in the world (Armstrong and Taylor 137). A firm with the Configurational approach might have a better performance because of the diversity of its activities. Still, none of the Configurational approaches was proven to be better than the other, so it is unclear which one should be eventually used (Armstrong and Taylor 139). The best-fit approach pays attention to the circumstances of each organization and provides suitable strategies for it (Armstrong and Taylor 139). However, it is not capable of modeling the contingent variables for every case and showing how they are interconnected.
The Universalist approach was proven applicable in the hotel industry. According to RužiÄ, regardless of the companies’companies’ size examined in the study, some HRM indicators were proven to be more effective than the others (57). As the author states, “”Acquisition and selection, salary system, rewarding and education and development of employees”” were the main activities that influenced the companies’companies’ performance (58).
The Contingency approach is especially useful for companies that work abroad because they have to take specific circumstances into consideration (culture, work process details, etc.) (Savaneviciene and Stankeviciute 922). The Configurational approach was proven to be successful in healthcare organizations since it had had a positive impact on job satisfaction and high-performance work, but only when a various set of policies was implemented (Chuang et al. 1475). To choose an approach, one should carefully regard the specifics of the sector.
Analysis of the Cirque du Soleil’sSoleil’s SHRM approach
The approach of the Cirque du Soleil is of a particular design that corresponds to the company company’s policy. Recruitment and selection are based. The contingency approach, where the demand for creativity, commitment, passion, etc. is not limited by age or experience of the potential employee (Pawar and Gupta 6). The culture and work environment was managed using the Configurational approach where the external and internal environment, as well as the business strategies, were intertwined.
The colleagues treat each other as family members, the employees receive free lodging, have competitive salaries, their family is allowed to tour with them, and some of them have 100% medical insurance covered company’s staff). Since the staff of the company is of various origins, implementing acceptance of cultural diversity was also important. It seems that the two approaches the company has chosen are the most suitable for an organization that has employees and offices all over the world (Pawar and Gupta 3).
The company also has to consider local laws and policies of the country to function successfully during the tour (Marler 9) (Pawar and Gupta 8). It is not stated if the HRM strategies varied depending on the country of orioyeestrategies since various strategies of HRM are used in different geographical regions (Ferreira 159). The employees were taught to be tolerant of members of all cultures they worked with. To provide successful communication between the colleagues, meetings were set up, an intranet system was used, and all employees were consulted when the company introduced a new policy (Pawar and Gupta 11).
The best-practice approach was also used by the company, but only to the temporary staff. They had to follow the three-strike policy; if an employee made more than three mistakes, he/she was asked to leave (Pawar and Gupta 12). Sometimes they were firMistakesnation. Apparently, mistakes could be fixed and discussed only by and with the full-time employees, while the temporary workman rs faced strict rules. Such approach can negatively affect the company company’s image (Kinnunen et al. 158).
It is evident that the Configurational and the Contingency approaches were successfully implemented by the company and seemed to be usable for businesses with culturally diverse employees that work in various countries (Almond the 26 The HRM practices directed to managing of rare employees were not addressed as they are described very briefly in the given case. From the author’s observations, it seems that the two approaches mentioned above were also used to retain rare artists.
Works Cited
Almond, Phil. “Reāvisiting ”Country of Origin’Origin’ Effects on HRM in Multinational Corporations.” Human Resource Management Journal 21.3 (2011): 258-271. Print.
Armstrong, Michael, and Stephen Taylor. Armstrong’sArmstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, London, England: Kogan Page Publishers, 2014. Print.
Chuang, Emmeline, Janette Dill, Jennifer Craft Morgan, and Thomas R. Konrad. “A Configurational Approach to the Relationship Between Highāperformance Work Practices and Frontline Health Care Worker Outcomes.” Health Services Research 47.4 (2012): 1460-1481.Print.
Ferreira, Pedro. “Is There a European Convergence in HRM Practices? A Cluster Analysis of the High-performance Paradigm Across 31 Countries.” International Journal of Engineering and Industrial Management 6.2 (2016): 139-164. Print.
Gill, Carol, and Denny Meyer. “The Role and Impact of HRM Policy.” International Journal of Organizational Analysis 19.1 (2011): 5-28. Print.
Kinnunen, Ulla, Anne MƤkikangas, Saija Mauno, Katri Siponen, and Jouko NƤtti. “Perceived Employability: Investigating Outcomes Among Involuntary and Voluntary Temporary Employees Compared to Permanent Employees.” Career Development International 16.2 (2011): 140-160.
Pawar, Manasi, and Gupta Vivek. Cirque du Soleil HRM Practices, India, New Delhi: ICMR Center for Management Research, 2007. Print.
RužiÄ, Marinela DropuliÄ. “Direct and Indirect Contribution of HRM Practice to Hotel Company Performance.” International Journal of Hospitality Management 49.2 (2015): 56-65. Print.
Sanders, Karin, and Huadong Yang. “The HRM Process Approach: The Influence of Employees’Employees’ Attribution to Explain the HRM-performance Relationship.” Human Resource Management 55.2 (2016): 201-217. Print.
Savaneviciene, Asta, and Zivile Stankeviciute. “Human Resource Management Practices Linkage With Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction.” Economics and Management 16.1 (2011): 921-928. Print.