RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research Proposal

Proposal

Proposed Title: Is unit HR better than cluster HR?

Problem Discussion:

Human resource management focuses on securing, maintaining, and utilizing an effective work force, which organizations cannot survive without. Human resource management involves a variety of activities, which include recruitment, and screening of prospective employees, the study of training needs, preparing human resource forecasts, the development of compensation systems, and an understanding of the laws that effect the performance of these activities.

Purpose of the Research:

The framework is devised following three planning and development meetings with external consultants, senior managers and trade union representatives. The council chose the Hay Group as its consultancy, influenced by its training support for competencies.

The first of the planning sessions involved senior managers and consultants only. It focused on clarifying the changing environment of the council, thinking about the future, considering the way in which services would be delivered and acknowledging what demands change would make on staff.

During the session, managers asked themselves: "If this is the kind of organisation we will become, what competencies will our people need to have to succeed?"

The second session, with staff drawn from a range of areas, focused on fleshing out the framework. It included detailed work to identify those competencies from the existing senior-management framework that should be retained, and the new competencies that needed to be added. The group also shared their thoughts about how the behavioural descriptors could guide staff in understanding how the competencies should be interpreted at different levels in the organisation.

The third session brought together the same group of staff to shape and refine the draft framework and, in particular, to hone the language used to describe the competencies.

Audience:

From this preparatory work a framework will be emerged that sets out the list of competencies and their levels, and clusters the competencies into four groups:

·leadership: developing others; impact and influence; managing performance; political awareness; team leadership; and vision;

thinking: analytical thinking; information seeking; and initiative;

·  values: customer focus; driving continuous improvement; integrity; quality focus; resilience; and self-development; and

·  teamworking: collaborative working; and organisational and cultural sensitivity.

Each of the competencies has a brief definition, a note about why it is important to the council, three levels of behavioural indicators and a set of negative indicators. For example, affirmative statements for the "developing others" competency include: positive comments regarding others' abilities and potential"; and "delegates responsibility to others to undertake work in their ...