ODL-Managing People

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) means the planning of management of employees in a company for a long-term basis. Since HRM has been dubbed an important asset in a company since globalisation started escalating, HR professionals, academics, and even senior company managers have been looking into SHRM to gain competitive edge in the marketplace. In my personal opinion, it is neither an interest that grew purely out of business interntions, nor that of just self-interest. Of course, the bottomline of any company that sells products or services is to make profit. Interest in SHRM to increase revenue is a given. Self-interest is a factor as well, as treating employees as individuals is both a modern concept, as well as an increasingly normalised concept. In the 21st century, people are exposed to much more information through the Internet. Those who are exposed to various information every day tend to think more critically, radically, and maybe even more liberally. Human rights has become a highly-discussed topic, especially in the workplace. As described in the article by Bratton, there are different models of management strategy, namely control-based, resource-based, and the integrative approach. Although there are still companies that adopt the control-based approach, topics such as worker unions and human rights are putting pressure on said companies. Thus, from my point of view, companies' interest in SHRM stems from not only profit-making nor self-interest, but also from societal pressure of the digital era.