A critical analysis report on Human Resource Management 
 
Executive summary
The report intends to provide business leaders with an understanding and knowledge of SHRM,
structure and shape debate as well as facilitate decision making in developing effective HRM
strategies. As such, the report is structured in two parts namely task 1 and task 2. Task 1 explains
the relationship between human resource strategy and business strategy. In addition, task 1
explores theoretical models and basis of SHRM from the lens of models such as the Resource
Based View (RBV), Universalist, and Contingency theories. Further, the report evaluates specific
HR Performance Management practices and Reward as well as making recommendations for
designing and re-designing a performance management system that would support organisational
development. On the other hand, task 2 critically discusses and evaluates the theoretical
perspective and nature of employee relations. Here, the roles of various actors in employment
relations has been explored with respect to the evolving nature of employment relations. Finally,
the report makes recommendations concerning the mechanisms that employees voice and
participate in employment relations within organisation. 
 Table of content
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................................1
2. Relationship between business strategy and the human resource strategy...............................................1
2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................1
2.2Relationship between business strategy and the human resource strategy..........................................1
2.3Critical evaluation and analysis of the strategic perspectives of SHRM models.................................4
2.3.1 Contingency/ Best fit Model.......................................................................................................4
2.3.2 Universalist/ Best practices Model..............................................................................................5
2.3.3 Resource based view (RBV).......................................................................................................5
2.4 Critical analysis of the specific HR practices of performance management and reward....................5
2.5 Recommendations to design/re-design a performance management system to support organisational
development and change.........................................................................................................................6
2.6 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................7
3. Employment relations.............................................................................................................................7
3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................7
3.2 The nature and theoretical perspective of employment relations.......................................................7
3.3 The roles of the actors within the employment relationship with analysis of the changing nature of
employment relations..............................................................................................................................9
3.4 How mechanisms of employee participation and employee voice can contribute to improved
employment relations............................................................................................................................10
3.5 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................10
4. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................11
Reference...................................................................................................................................................12 
 
1. Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the process of managing employees in organisations in
a thorough and structured manner (Hongmei and Tianyi, 2010). HRM entails hiring, change
management, performance management, employees’ remunerations, retention and hiring.
Additionally, HRM entails a collective and structured approach that employers adopt in
managing their employees. The present report intends to provide business leaders with an
understanding and knowledge of SHRM, structure and shape debate as well as facilitate decision
making in developing effective HRM strategies. The report is structured in two parts. Task 1
explains the relationship between human resource strategy and business strategy as well as
exploring theoretical models and basis of SHRM. Task 2 critically discusses and evaluates the
theoretical perspective and nature of employee relations.
2. Relationship between business strategy and the human resource strategy
2.1 Introduction
Traditionally, human resource departments have defined business strategic roles in organisations.
However, human resource strategy affects the bottom line of organisational success. Therefore,
executive leadership in organisations have come to appreciate that human capital is a major
resource that companies invest. Consequently, the return on human capital investment is the
main motivation for including human resource as part of the overall business strategy.
2.2Relationship between business strategy and the human resource strategy
Business strategy refers to the overall framework that a business operates in order to achieve
objectives such as growth, productivity and internationalisation (Strobel et al., 2017). On the
other hand, human resource strategy focuses more on managing employees to realise strategic
long-term goals within strategic overall framework. In other words, human resource strategy
emphasises longer-term resourcing issues within the organisation in the context of the firm’s
evolving nature of work, goals, as well as informing reward performance amongst other human
resource strategies(Ulrich and Dulebohn, 2015).
The Ulrich model, the Harvard model, and the David Guest model clearly present the
relationship between business strategy and human resource strategy in the following lines.
1
Firstly, the matching model proposes that organisations can achieve a competitive advantage by
aligning their HR strategy to their corporate strategy and employee management activities
(Bengtsson and Hand, 2013). The model emphasises the need for efficient utilisation resources,
including human resource, to realise the objectives of the organisation. This means that human
resource has to be used sparingly, obtained cheaply and fully exploited. The matching model is
based on the argument that the structure of an organisation is the outcome of its strategy (Yoon,
2017). 
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