Strategic human resource management involves the development of consistent and aligned practices, programs, and policies geared toward the achievement of an organization’s strategic objectives. It requires human resources (HR) managers to abandon the standard personnel management mindset and focus instead on strategic issues. These programs must be integrated into a larger framework that facilitates the organization’s overall mission and objectives (Mello, 2015). Nordstrom considers customer service to be at the core of the company’s culture (Spector & McCarthy, 2012) and sales is their service. With Nordstrom, everything starts with the hiring process. Their hiring strategy is to recruit sales employees who are motivated, but also nice (Spector …show more content…
In fact, it is the culture of motivated and empowered entrepreneurial employees that makes Nordstrom’s culture unique (Spector & McCarthy, 2012). There are less rules and procedures for Nordstrom’s sales personnel than in other retail organizations. Their sales clerks also operate with a certain level of autonomy, running their departments almost as if they are private stores (Mello, 2015). This overall strategic approach to HR keeps training costs low, and consequently the cost of turnover is also minimized. This is important, as Nordstrom’s turnover, due to the level of internal competition and entrepreneurialism this type of retail strategy requires, is one of the highest in its market (Mello, 2015). The high turnover rate makes HR planning an important factor in ensuring a stable workforce that can create and maintain ongoing customer relationships (Spector & McCarthy, 2012). Strategic workforce planning is the first component of human resources management (HRM) from which all other HR activities are derived from and flow out of. It is based on anticipated HR requirements from the perspective of the present HR environment. This requires a proactive posture, analyzing internal and external factors, to determine the most appropriate responses to future needs. Additionally, when formulating long-term proactive plans, an element of flexibility must be …show more content…
This involves forecasting the need for employees, the specific skills required of the employees, and implementing programs to address the anticipated surplus or shortage of talent (Mello, 2015). Nordstrom is currently addressing a surplus of operational staff while continuing to recruit retail personnel. On their operational side, Nordstrom has decided to lay off 350 to 400 people from their corporate offices in Seattle, Washington (Tu, 2016). While this would seem indicative of an operationally reactive HR, it was only in the third and fourth quarter of 2015 that the organization began to show signs of trouble. It likely was not until they did not meet expectations during the holiday shopping season that they realized they were in trouble (Tu,
Nordstrom is one of the top retailers in the United States. With a solid brand image and a sound financial situation, Nordstrom is relentless in their expansion in the US, and are beginning to expand into international markets. Nordstrom takes pleasure in providing state of the art client support and having experienced sales people. In order to hold their position as the most successful high-end retailer in the United States, Nordstrom must continue to figure out ways to improve their brand image and customer satisfaction. Nordstrom’s current business working strategy is successful but I believe there are a few ideal solutions that the organization could apply to further enhance the organization. Due to the aggressive characteristics of the fashion retail store market, it is crucial that Nordstrom preserves an aggressive advantage providing the highest level of customer support as possible.
Does Macy’s have the right resources and capabilities for their current strategy? Why or why
The retail stores of JC Penney and Sears have face headlines of “Which is Worst: JCP or Sears?” The end maybe near for both companies (Andersen2014). The customers look at the employees like their idiots. The public believes that poor management is the reason for the down fall of these companies. Eddie Lambert and Ron Johnson are the CEO’s of being credited to running these companies with wrong management strategies (Andersen 2014). Ron Johnson who is now the former CEO was highly qualified with his retail instincts tried to run the store like a retail boutique. He never took the time to consult a survey on what the consumer’s thought were and after two years he jeopardized the company (Andersen 2014). Whereas the CEO Eddie Lambert of Sears
Paco Underhill has created a way for stores to draw more customers in and spend more money by getting in the mind of the customers. I found some of Underhill’s theories to be true. Underhill’s theories have helped provide research of the actions of consumers inside of American Eagle, Meijer and Hollister, these theories include, the need for shoppers to acclimate to their surroundings, the way customers turn into stores, and by placing most used products in the farthest places away from the
...dule 3 – Workforce planning and employment [Blackboard ecourse]. In MGT 570 – Managing Human Resources (pp. 1-6). Greenwood Village, CO: Author.
First, Nordstrom is unique through its excelling customer service. As a full-service retailer, Nordstrom assists customers in every phase of the shopping process. Because they carry more specialty goods, customers will need and want more assistance leading to increased value of customer service. One of their policies is that they will accept any merchandise that people bring back without asking any questions. As a result, people feel more confident about purchasing products from there, since they can buy something with the comfort and knowledge that Nordstrom has an excellent return
First, I want to provide a little background on REI, Recreational Equipment, Inc. REI is an outdoor equipment and apparel supplier. REI is a co-op, or a consumer cooperative. This means that the company is not publicly traded, but owned by their members. A group of mountain climbers who needed outdoor equipment started the company many years ago and now consists of over four million members nationwide and still growing. For twenty dollars, a consumer can buy a lifetime membership to the REI consumer co-op. In doing so, the member is eligible to receive a portion of the company’s profits depending on the purchases the member makes throughout the year. REI has made FORTUNE magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” ever since FORTUNE started ranking companies. According to REI’s website, they believe “employees are the heart of the co-op and the ultimate source of our success.” This statement already shows that REI places a high value on human resources. Now let us look at those HRM functions that keep REI employees the focus of their su...
In an era of organizational flux due to competition and globalization, companies and employees are faced with constant change. Leaders must be able to adapt to change as the environment shifts. HR has been known as the organizational change agent, administrative expert, and employee advocate. More recently they have been regarded as business strategic partners for many organizations. In order to be successful and remain competitive in today’s market, Human Resources (HR) must be considered a strategic partner if an organization wants to flourish. Top executives today commit significant resources to ensure that their company’s functions are capable of rapid change and achieving their goals. Far too often, the Human Resources (HR) function is nominal thus they are not as quick to respond to the rapid rate of change. When “this occurs, companies may be perpetuating or even creating barriers to fully leveraging their human capital. Organizations can begin the process of removing these barriers by assessing the Human Resources function and its alignment with business objectives” (Wert & Liwanag , 2002). This paper will make a case for having HR report to the CEO. In order to do so the author will describe the relationship between HR strategies and business strategies. Examples of HR strategies that can be effective will be discussed. In addition, the author will examine the benefits and consequence of having HR as a strategic partner and well as the key business competencies that they must retain. Furthermore, she will discuss an optimal career path for a senior HR executive.
Nordstrom’s has a particularly well-known marketing strategy based around its costumers. In a world of cutting prices to get consumer attention they maintain profitable prices while profiting much more than those who cut prices. This is due to the fact Nordstrom’s carefully tailors itself to the customer experience it wants to give to all its customers. The way the people in Nordstrom’s definitely differ in the way employees treat the customers. At Nordstrom’s it is felt the customer should feel a personal connection they help you out specifically to you, they remember repeat customers. Nordstrom workers do not just simply tell you where an item is located they bring you there personally to make sure you get what you wanted. Where as in a store
First, in relation to the organization’s most important asset, people, Sears has failed to recognize the distinctive competences that lie in the skills and abilities of their own employees. Sears once was a very successful organization in relation to how they treat their employees. Sears was one of the pioneers of measuring employee engagement in the retail industry by creating a set of measures known as Total Performance Indicators. People who enjoy going to work every day, as a result of a high-performing company culture, increases their productivity, giving them a higher return on salary. This model of employee engagement worked very well for Sears in the past, however, in recent years, Sears has strayed away from this core competency.
Whether an organization consists of five or 25,000 employees, human resources management is vital to the success of the organization. HR is important to all managers because it provides managers with the resources – the employees – necessary to produce the work for the managers and the organization. Beyond this role, HR is capable of becoming a strong strategic partner when it comes to “establishing the overall direction and objectives of key areas of human resource management in order to ensure that they not only are consistent with but also support the achievement of business goals.” (Massey, 1994, p. 27)
Changing Roles. Traditionally, HR has been an administrative position-processing paperwork, benefits, hiring and firing, and compensation. However, recently HRM has moved from a traditional to a strategic role, the emphasis is on catering to the needs of consumers and workers. Before, HR was seen as the enemy and employees believed that HR’s main purpose was to protect management. Now, the position requires HRM to be more people oriented and protect their human capitol, the staff. In addition, human resource management has to be business savvy and think of themselves as strategic partners in the 21st century.
According to our textbook Human Resource Management (HRM) is the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance. “The human resources management process involves planning for, attracting, developing, and retaining employees as the HRM planning provides the rights kinds of people, in the right quantity, with the right skills, at the right time (Lussier, 2012, p. 240).” According to our textbook the typical responsibilities of the Human Resources department fall into three categories, and they are administrative services and transaction, which handle hiring employees. The second involves business partner services that focus on attracting, evolving, retaining employees by having a clear understanding
In education, human resource planning serves as a link between human resource management and the overall strategic plan of the sector (Human Resource Planning, 2012, p.17). According to Beardwell & Holden (...
Organizational success or failure is dependent on a myriad of variables that can be challenging to measure and interpret. Success or failure can simply be luck and timing or an orchestrated and deliberate effort. As new technologies allow organizations the ability to rapidly measure and assess its internal and external environmental factors, more efficient strategies can be quickly implemented. The focus of this literature review is specifically on one of these mentioned variables. The paper will detail the relationship that Human Resources (HR) practices have with an organization’s strategic goals and vision.