The human resource department in many organisations is at a crossroad of relevance, constantly being faced with the challenge to prove that it can add value towards the objectives of the business. The Human Resource (HR) department is also faced with a reality that, if the department does not add value to the organisation, it will be farmed out to independent contractors, who can deliver the HR functions at a more efficient and cost effective way. However, organisations have a great opportunity to achieve excellence and competitive advantage through the utilisation of the organisation‟s human resources. Many scholars and authors argued that organisations can achieve the most out of its human resources if the HR department is a Strategic Business Partner (SBP) in these organisations. A thorough literature review has led to the discovery that, despite the appraisal of the Strategic Business Partners (SBP) approach to the management of human resources, little progress has been made with the reinvention of the HR departments from support function towards being a SBP (Lawler & Morhman, 2003; Keith, 2007). The slow progress in the transformation of the HR department was attributed to a wide range of factors including the lack of competencies to take up Strategic Business Partnership roles, lack of management support, and incongruent organisational cultures (Keith, 2007; Sanders & Frenkel, 2009; Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with HR professionals, Managing Directors and other Directors, who sit on a strategic table, to identify the challenges and opportunities the HR department faced as a SBP in organisations. A self-administered questionnaire, based on an existing questionnaire (Ulrich & Cornell (1997) HR role assessment survey) was used to gather the perception of employees regarding the roles the HR departments play in organisations. In this study organisational culture was identified as having a huge impact towards the implementation of HR departments as SBPs. The study also identified the competencies needed for the effective execution of SBP roles, the challenges HR departments may face in the process as well as the important roles the HR department should be devoting most of its time and resources to.

Despite advances in the application of analytics in business functions such as marketing and finance, and a significant degree of interest in the topic of Human Resource analytics, its usage is still nowhere near where it could be. This study’s primary aim was to measure the levels of usage of HR analytics among South African organisations, an exercise that has not been done before. This qualitative, exploratory study was conducted among 16 senior Human Resource practitioners from large organisations in South Africa. Being qualitative, a limitation of this study is that it is not representative and therefore the results cannot be generalised. Further opportunities therefore exist for quantitative, longitudinal research in this field to objectively ascertain the extent of usage of HR analytics. It was found that South African organisations’ usage of HR analytics is still in its infancy and that the concept and its implications are little understood. It also found that there is consensus regarding the importance for HR analytics in organisations and that the HR analytical skills challenge is the main hindrance to implementation. Importantly, the study demonstrated and that the overall outlook for HR analytics is positive. The research makes recommendations and proposes a model that should enable organisations, the HR profession and the academic world to implement HR analytics. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / In 1999, a study was conducted by Christo Nel within the People Management and Leadership domain. His research was based on responses to a questionnaire regarding the application of people management practices as a means of competitive advantage. The study was implemented to investigate and elicit opinions and reasons vis-a-vis the importance of specific people management practices to globally competitive organisations. In early 2001, building on Nel's research, Bekker and de Villiers embarked on a comprehensive study of literature regarding the nine people management practices within organisations. This was done by exploring each of the specific people management practices with a view to gleaning information about programmes that best-in-class organisations have implemented to ensure that employees are aligned with the following factors: Knowledge development (or knowledge management) - How to best "partner technology with a corporate culture and business processes, and using this as a vehicle to manage and deliver the business information and expertise of fellow workers to the most fundamental driver of business growth: the knowledge worker." Service excellence - Ensuring that organisations are fully accountable to their customers and providing a strong level of service. Focus on goals - Ensuring that organisations are emphasising the conversion of overall organisational objectives into specific objectives for organisational units or individual members (i.e. a process whereby objectives are "cascaded" down the organisation). Participation Encouraging employees to "take ownership and responsibility for business results," through programmes such as ESOP plans, representative participation and employee empowerment. From the vast amount of information that has been synthesised pertaining to the topic, a clear thread runs through the dissertation: Agility! An agile firm manages change as a matter of routine. By combining a competitive vision with internal and external initiatives, and the application of technology, an enterprise can deliver on the four key competitive priorities - cost, quality, dependability, and flexibility. The proposed model suggests that being focused on organisational goals is central to effectively utilising an organisation's biggest asset, namely its people. By linking goals to all the other people management practices, an organisation becomes increasingly agile and more adept at outperforming its competition.

El objetivo planteado es contribuir a la teoría y práctica de la valoración financiera de la empresa estudiando la influencia que sobre dicha valoración ejercen integradamente gobierno, accionistas, acreedores, empleados y clientes. La necesaria flexibilidad de la vida empresarial se modeliza usando la metodología de las opciones, tanto ordinarias como reales. Las principales novedades se hallan en los dos ámbitos siguientes: 1) de carácter instrumental, que consiste en la forma de utilizar las opciones; 2) en la introducción y cuantificación del papel que empleados y clientes desempeñan en la creación de valor por parte de la firma. Este planteamiento pretende dar un paso adelante en la línea de evaluación de la remuneración de los empleados (lo que podría permitir la mejora de los esquemas de remuneración actualmente utilizados) así como en la de clasificar la clientela de acuerdo al valor añadido que estos dos grupos de personas (stakeholders) hayan aportado durante el ejercicio económico La investigación realizada abre importantes líneas de avance para el futuro, muchas de ellas reseñadas en la Tesis, que indudablemente servirán como hoja de ruta para ir completando el marco de trabajo aquí establecido. El actual estado de desarrollo de nuestros sistemas económicos necesitan nuevos enfoques, siendo muy prometedor el aquí planteado y utilizado. / This thesis focuses on the field of market valuation of relatively large firms and it refers markets with “normal” behavior, where classical assumptions apply, such as rationality and dynamical stability, in an attempt to investigate the firm's value creation so as to reveal the contribution of all possible stakeholders that might be involved in the formation of the market value of a firm. The literature review related to valuation models, especially the DCF model, has shown that the conceptual frame of Modigliani and Miller, to determine the market value of a firm as it is understood today, is too restricted because only three types of stakeholders (shareholders, debtholders and government) are considered. This work contributes to build an extending valuation model which incorporates some other stakeholders (different from shareholders, debtholders and government), such as employees and clients so as to reflect their influence on the firm's market value. Based upon the work of Rao and Stevens (2007) which reflects the role of the three types of stakeholders with a special emphasis on the role of government, real options theory is applied here to quantify the value created through a major degree of loyalty and capture policies for both employees and clients. One fundamental option is proposed when building the model and it is related to the employees' and clients' portfolio of a firm, which has options to improve returns by driving up the motivations of employees, the fidelity of clients, the capture of talents, the information campaigns to clients and/or investors. Through applying real options theory, this thesis finds an appropriate way for treating the uncertainty and integrating the risks associated with it in valuation models, along with considering the flexibility as an ingredient of value in managerial decisions, increasing the capability to give alternative actions. The approach in this thesis is almost theoretical with a possible scheme for empirical experiments suggested for future research. The results achieved attempt to suggest that there exists communication vehicles for the information about an increase of the satisfaction degree of employees and customers in such way to be truly transmitted to investors and thus to be converted into an increase of the firm's market value.

China has been a popular place for investment since it opened market in 1980¡¦s. Firms need to consider how to use inner and outer factors to gain competitiveness in this furious competition. This research is using a qualitative approach and case details were collected from firms which operate in China for years. This research aims to discover the relationship between firms¡¦ inner factors which are organizational capital types, strategic human capital management practices, and corporate entrepreneurship capability, and how they affect organizational competitiveness. Besides, this research also adds in the effect of institutional environment to find out how it influences those inner resources. Findings reveal that environmental factors are influencing firms¡¦ corporate entrepreneurship capability, but the effect is different in different industries and ownerships. For foreign investment, the effect is weak and negative; for local high-tech firms, the effect is strong and positive; for local service firms, the effect is huge and negative. Moreover, organizational capital types and strategic human capital management practices are influenced by institutional environment. Organizational capital is positively influencing corporate entrepreneurship and influencing selection of strategic human capital management practices, and even positively affecting organizational competitiveness. However, corporate entrepreneurship capability is influenced by organizational capital types and strategic human capital management practices and further affecting organizational competitive ability.

Talented employees are leaving small businesses in the search for more lucrative opportunities where their talent is acknowledged, valued and able to grow. Dealing with voluntary talent turnover decreases profitability and becomes a roadblock for achieving strategic goals. Businesses incur additional costs to find and replace talent to maintain continuity. However, the time and money spent replacing talent does not guarantee turnover will vanish. What were the stimuli that caused disengagement? Were they strategically managed? Did employees leave because the initial stimuli were not addressed? These are all questions that can lead to decisive actions focused on reducing talent departure. The goal of a small business should be to find a balance where employee values are met and human capital levers are strategically managed; consequently adding value to small businesses by reducing unnecessary costs due to turnover. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 486-512). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 486-512). Also available on the Internet.

Globalisation has a significant impact on human resources management policies and procedures in the public service. The driving forces of globalisation have affected human resources management in a variety of ways, for example, the impact of technology demands different skills and competencies from public officials. Globalisation is defined as “the process whereby the world’s people become increasingly interconnected in all facets of their lives, culturally, economically, politically, technologically and environmentally” (Streeten, 2001:169). Kirkbride (2001:14) states that globalisation is the integration of business activities across geographical and organisation boundaries. It is the freedom to conceive, design, produce, buy, distribute and sell products and services in a manner which offers maximum benefit to the organisation without regard to the consequences for individual geographical location or organisational units. This research examines the impact of globalisation on human resources management policies and procedures in the South African public service. The main problem is that the current training and development in the South African public service do not take due cognisance of globalisation to equip public officials to interact internationally effectively and efficiently. An inability exists to adapt to the changing strategic public human resources management needs from an international perspective. The problem of lack of knowledge and understanding by public officials of globalisation results in an inability to manage and execute international human resources management trends. There is a needed skill for achieving, maintaining, enhancing and implementing cutting-edge human resources management theories and practices for globally competitive human resources management. Usually, employees are not expected to work at tasks for which they received no training. In this context, it is necessary to note that with limited training public 7 officials are often placed in positions of having to muddle through as best they can without fully understanding of what is expected of them. Enhanced and continuous training can equip them with skills and knowledge that would create an organisation that is focused on outputs and performance rather than hierarchical control of procedures and processes towards reaching goals and objectives. Once the human resources in an organisation have been properly trained and motivated, they can be utilised effectively and efficiently to perform their tasks with dedication, competence and in the spirit of the Batho Pele principles. The main function of human resources management is to manage the acquisition, training, utilisation and maintenance of a sufficient number of competent personnel responsible for community-oriented service delivery. If training is neglected, then the nature of service delivery will be poor (du Toit & van der Walt, 1991:15). The management and utilisation of human resources in a globalised setting poses a particular challenge. Van Dyk, Nel & Loedolff (1992:15) defines training as the systematic process of changing the behaviour and attitudes of people in a certain direction in order to attain the organisation’s objectives. The changing nature of public service delivery has contributed to certain inadequacies in the public service and since governments are collaborating at a global level for improved service delivery, the public service is obliged to co-operate effectively and efficiently at an international level. In order to achieve this successfully, public officials need to possess relevant and applicable skills. The objectives of the study are to determine the impact of the globalisation process on the training and development of public human resources management policies and to understand how public human resources departments in selected state departments in the South African public service are adapting to the dynamic change in the field of public human resources management. The main finding of the research indicates that the aspect of training is a key element in improving the globalisation of public human resources management. 8 Training and development are essential to ensure that the South African public service is competent to perform effectively and efficiently in the global arena. Employees need to possess the necessary skills to function at an international level. The specific purposes of training are to communicate information that is applicable to practical situations. It is expected after training, for public officials to be able to demonstrate changes in the behaviour or performance that contribute to their abilities to deal skilfully without broader global problems. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on public service delivery.

There are many aspects that govern the performance of an organization. One of the most important thing is their organizational structure. Having a well-planned organizational structure facilitates good internal communication among the employees, which in turn contributes to the success of the organization. Today, company re-structuring is very common in the industry. When various key employees are re-organized (moved to different hierarchical positions), the company might experience certain incidents which can be damaging or beneficial for the company. To leverage the potential gain, having an efficient organizational structure is very important for a company. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the existing organizational structure of the company by the evaluation of email communications between the employees, and if required suggest the need for re-organization. In this case study, we have applied various cluster validation techniques to evaluate the email communications between the employees. The data (email logs) are provided by the company which have been recorded at different time periods. We have analyzed the organizational structure through the analysis of these email logs. We have then simulated various re-organization scenarios. By applying various cluster validation metrics, we have examined the quality of the existing organizational structure. We have also recorded how re-organization (moving employees from one organizational unit to other) effects the overall quality of the existing organizational structure of the company. In this study, we have presented how different cluster validation metrics will be helpful in assessing the quality of the organizational structure by reflecting the different aspects of the organizational structure. We have shown that our approach makes it possible to evaluate the effects of different re-organization scenarios on the internal communication patterns of employees in an organization. All these metrics can be used by the company to improve their existing organizational structure.