Operations and Human Resource Management: Working Together for a Better Tomorrow
Operations and Human Resource Management: Working together for a better tomorrow
Lori A. Erickson
East Tennessee State University
Introduction Historically, operations management and human resource management have been separate fields, only interacting for administrative issues regarding payroll and other matters (Boudreau et al., 2002). However, human resources play an integral role in the development of strategic plans for organizations. Since no operations can take place without the human capital necessary to implement the operations, special attention should be paid to the linkages between the operational strategy and the human resource strategy of the firm. According to Ahamd and Schroeder (2003, p. 19) “human resources are considered the most important asset of an organization, but very few organizations are able to fully harness its potential.” Alone, sophisticated technologies and innovative manufacturing practices only provide a small enhancement to the operational performance, unless the requisite human resources management practices are in place to provide a consistent socio-technical system (Ahmad and Schroeder, 2003). For years, human resource management has worked to achieve a place in the strategic planning of organizations, and has struggled to justify their bottom line contribution to the overall organizational performance (Akdere, 2006). It is easy for departments like operations and engineering to quantify their contribution to the success of the company; the inputs and outputs generated by these departments are easily measureable and can be defined. However, it is difficult to quantify the value added by human resource management, and as such it is often referred to as overhead (which immediately puts it into a negative connotation). So what can human resource management bring to the organization? Can it really function as a strategic partner in the organization? Can human resource management work directly with operations management to
Lori A. Erickson
East Tennessee State University
Introduction Historically, operations management and human resource management have been separate fields, only interacting for administrative issues regarding payroll and other matters (Boudreau et al., 2002). However, human resources play an integral role in the development of strategic plans for organizations. Since no operations can take place without the human capital necessary to implement the operations, special attention should be paid to the linkages between the operational strategy and the human resource strategy of the firm. According to Ahamd and Schroeder (2003, p. 19) “human resources are considered the most important asset of an organization, but very few organizations are able to fully harness its potential.” Alone, sophisticated technologies and innovative manufacturing practices only provide a small enhancement to the operational performance, unless the requisite human resources management practices are in place to provide a consistent socio-technical system (Ahmad and Schroeder, 2003). For years, human resource management has worked to achieve a place in the strategic planning of organizations, and has struggled to justify their bottom line contribution to the overall organizational performance (Akdere, 2006). It is easy for departments like operations and engineering to quantify their contribution to the success of the company; the inputs and outputs generated by these departments are easily measureable and can be defined. However, it is difficult to quantify the value added by human resource management, and as such it is often referred to as overhead (which immediately puts it into a negative connotation). So what can human resource management bring to the organization? Can it really function as a strategic partner in the organization? Can human resource management work directly with operations management to
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