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Among The More Recognised Hrm Models As Discussed In The Hr Literature Are ...

Among the more recognised HRM models as discussed in the HR literature are the ‘soft and hard' models. While the ‘soft' model centres on a more persuasive approach in its treatment of employees as valuable assets and an essential competitive advantage, it is suggested that the ‘hard' model exploits corporate routines, rules and laws in controlling organisational activities. In the case of Barclays they employed a ‘soft' approach with team work being a vital strategy in the graduate program. This corresponds to the soft model as developed by Beer in 1985 and it is clear that efficient communication in particular through team work is supposed to contribute to the accomplishment of the goals of strategic graduate program. However according to the respondents the design of the program follows strict routines within the company and thus it can be associated with the hard model developed by Fombrun et al in 1984. It is believed that there is a vital relationship between corporate strategic planning and HR programs however during the strategic change process it is difficult to evaluate to what extent the ‘soft' HR model contributes to Barclays overall HR strategy. In contrast the hard model focuses more attention on the full system, policies and routines which achieve the objectives of a company's strategies. Barclays's graduate program has developed detailed routines in each field in order to achieve objectives which in terms of HR mean team work based principles are widely employed. In order to improve employee participation Barclays designed self development programs in the graduate program to help people develop their skills through increasing commitment and adaptability. It is not surprising to find gaps between reality and theoretical models since human resources are different from other resources due to the impacts of human in their environments. As a result detailed routines are used by Barclays to support the graduate program as a strategic HR program.

Conclusion & Recommendations

Based on the data generated by the interviews it is apparent that the Barclays's scheme is one of the more developed graduate programs in the UK. Its diversity in terms of the scope of different areas in which graduates can participate meant that a wide variety of graduates in terms of subject areas and disciplines were able to avail of the scheme. This meant that a wide scope of skills were attracted and provided a key resource for the company. In general from the results of the interviews and focus groups the assessment of the program was generally favourable. Overall most of the more important expectations of participants in the program in terms of security, training and promotion were being met through the design of the program into a number of different phases.

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