Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Cathy McDermott & Sarah Lewis

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Outline for the day Welcome What is strategy? How does human resource strategy fit? The business case for my issue Sharing knowledge Evaluation

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development By the end of the day you should: Be aware of a range of views about strategy Understand one strategy model Understand how psychological knowledge is relevant to the strategic process Understand how psychological knowledge is relevant to specific human resource strategies Understand how psychologists can add value to the strategic planning and implementation process Be able to put together a basic business case for psychology based HR Strategy.

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Modernist Post modernist EventProcess Planning Meeting Roll out Future Search Conference Co-creating how to go on

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development ‘the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term: ideally, which matches its resources to its changing environment, and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as to meet stakeholder expectations.’ ( Johnson and Scholes 1993)

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Strategy can be defined as: a plan - some sort of consciously intended course of action a pattern - which emerges over time a position - which provides competitive advantage a perspective - an abstraction which exists in the minds of people (Mintzberg)

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Lilly’s Paradox 1 ‘ Much of the strategy literature, once one has acquired the ability to translate its jargon, does appear to say little that extends that form of knowledge that we normally term commonsense.’ ‘ And yet, there are thousands and thousands of worth titles devoted to an understanding of this seemingly simple set of practices’

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Why are we so interested in strategy? ‘Strategy presents us with a problem of truth around identity. In its invocation of competing positions for our allegiance it poses interminable questions whose answers truth demands. Questions like: who are we? Who are we for?.. Who are we against?’ It is a phemonological quest - a quest for identitu

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Strategy ‘..strives to embody a relationship between the internal characteristics of an organisation and that which is outside.’ (Lilley)

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Strategy as a point of organisational tension Identity is a highly emotive issue Strategy talk is located within the ‘organisation as a rational entity’ discourse. Herein lies an unarticulated tension

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Lilley’s Paradox 2 ‘ All of which inscribes for us an inevitable paradox at the centre of the strategy language game, a paradox of identity…. We can either have stable organisations with shifting strategies, or shifting organisations that bend to reflect our stable strategies. But we can not have both. Which is perhaps the same as saying that we have to have both and thus no possibility of ( stable) identity.’

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Boston Group Model Growth Sector high low Relative Market Sharehigh low Stars Assessment Centres ? Cash Cows psychometrics Question marks Software. E- environment Dogs Basic management training

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Re-cap Be aware of a range of views about strategy Understand one strategy model Understand how psychological knowledge is relevant to the strategic process Understand how psychological knowledge is relevant to specific human resource strategiesUnderstand how psychological knowledge is relevant to specific human resource strategies Understand how psychologists can add value to the strategic planning and implementation processUnderstand how psychologists can add value to the strategic planning and implementation process Be able to put together a basic business case for psychology based HR Strategy.

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Q:How do Occupational Psychologists increase their influence at a strategic level of the organisation? A:They start by doing what many HR Professional have already had to do.

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development What is HR Strategy? a ‘broad brush’ definition: ‘getting the right people in the right place with the right motivation doing the right things’ ( Holbech 2002)

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development HR strategic planning today must include issues concerning : Global Management Culture Issues Intellectual Capital Organisational Capabilities

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development As sweeping changes continue to reshape the workplace the Human Resource professional needed today must be a knowledgeable and skilled business partner moving from the ‘back room’ to the ‘board room’ and playing a vital role in helping his/her organisation remain competitive in the marketplace

Occupational Psychology and HR Strategy Development In managing the changing role of Human Resources. HR professionals have been challenged to: define the value they create for customers ie., their employees and managers demonstrate added value and measurable outcomes

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Strategic partners AdminEpes Employee Champs Change Agents Admin Experts (Ulrich, 1997) Future/strategic focus process people Operational focus

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Putting the business strategy into action is the job of a Strategic Partner making vision a reality by aligning HR strategy with the overall business plan Deliverable outcome = Executing strategy

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Admin Experts improve processes, translate business processes into human resource processes and measure results in terms of efficiency (cost) and effectiveness (quality) Deliverable outcome = Building an efficient & effective Infrastructure

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Employee Champions listen and respond to employees and creates a balance between the demands on employees and available resources and takes action to promote employee contributions Deliverable outcome = improved employee commitment & capability

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Change agents understand theory and apply the ‘tools’ of change, lead transformation (by doing it first in the HR function), they are catalysts, facilitators and designers of change Deliverable outcome = Creating a renewed organisation

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development. HR Strategy culture organisation people HR Systems Training & Development Management development Organisational development Appraisal Reward Recruitment Manpower planning Communication

Occupational Psychology and Strategy Development Business Case Exercise Theory relevant to the issue e.g ‘the training cycle’ Theory relevant to the process e.g you as an actor in the context. Pulling these together to make a business case to present, and a strategy to influence