INTERNATIONAL HRM

International HRM

International HRM

Introduction

Strategic human resource management involves the development of a consistent, aligned collection of practices, programs (strategies), and policies to facilitate the achievement of the organisation's strategic objectives (Hofstede and Bond 1988, 4-21). Strategic human resource management practices SHRM practices are those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at all levels in the business, and which are related to the implementation of strategies directed towards sustaining competitive advantage. Therefore, this case study of Hilton International focuses on HRM stratgies and practices of the organisation. Examples of Hilton International are given to better understand this topic.

Hilton International

Hilton International - the hotel part of The Hilton Group plc that also includes betting and gaming, and Living Well Fitness Centers - realised that in order to deliver the quality service associated with the brand, it needed to invest in the training and development of staff who are essential to ensuring that guests have a good experience during their stay. The quality-service drive at Hilton saw the creation of a human-resource policy named Esprit, designed to embrace the key principles of employee recognition, respect and reward.

Hilton Group plc comprises some 500 hotels, employing more than 60,000 staff in 50 countries. In 1999, it bought Stakis plc. Headed by a main board and chief executive officer, Hilton International is divided into four global regions:

UK and Ireland;

Europe, the Middle East and Africa;

Asia Pacific; and

the Americas.

Each region has its own area presidents and executive teams, and the decentralised organisational structure means that Hilton depends on a clear brand direction.

HRD Plans, Policies and Strategies

Garavan (1991, pp.17-30) states that for HRD to be strategic in focus, it must formulate plans and policies that flow from and are integrated with business plans and policies. This requires an emphasis not just on the identification of learning needs at the individual level, but also at the organisational level, via an organisational review or audit. This will tend to put the emphasis on business driven approach to training, rather than a supply or menu driven approach that traditionally many training departments have adopted. McCracken and Wallace (2000, p. 429) argue that HRD policies and plans need to be supplemented by HRD strategies, with these being developed by the top management team. In Hilton, employee development is seen as crucial to Equilibrium. HRM policies have been developed and implemented to support strategic goals, however there is less evidence of any specific HRD strategies. Where these do exist, they appear to be subsumed within HRM strategies.

Hilton's performance is determined by the interaction of its core values - customer, quality, people and profit - in each hotel. These values are clearly inter-related but must be co-ordinated in such a way so that the fundamental imperative of ensuring quality customer service results in profit. Thus the customer offering is the priority in order to achieve the end of profit, through the means of quality staff performance. In Equilibrium, Hilton has adopted a strategic approach to ensuring quality that explicitly combines its service ...