Introduction
Labor productivity is one of the most important quality indicators of the work of any enterprise, and one of the main criteria affecting this index is the level of human resources management (HRM). Competent work of leadership in relation to this policy allows significantly improving the existing results of labor. As the analysis of the principles and practices of such work, the article “Employee Engagement, Human Resource Management Practices and Competitive Advantage: An Integrated Approach” by Albrecht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey, and Saks (2015) will be analyzed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches described. Such an assessment is a successful technique that allows identifying possible directions of development and key mistakes.
Basic Ideas
According to the authors of the analyzed article, the use of the central HRM practices by the leadership helps to achieve a number of advantages, in particular, to improve the organizational climate, the psychological stability of employees, the development of individual and group responsibility, etc. (Albrecht et al., 2015). As a methodology for searching for information, some scientific articles were investigated with the aim of reviewing existing methods for assessing the effectiveness of HRM. The value of the paper is that the ideas of different authors about the performance management policy are grouped in one study for an overall assessment of the stated problem.
Strengths of the Findings
One of the strengths of the authors’ findings is the idea of the need to go beyond the scope of conventional administration and to find new ways to manage efficiency when dealing with human resources (Albrecht et al., 2015). Also, it is necessary to note the fact that the main ideas are grouped in a scheme that reflects the interaction between the leadership and the staff and implies a constant exchange of experience between employees (Albrecht et al., 2015). This type of information structuring is an understandable and convenient way to concisely display the maximum of essential ideas (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).
One of the values of the findings is a mapping of the relationship between the policy of attracting workers and increasing labor productivity. Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly, and Kynighou (2016) claim that the participation of employees in various projects and programs for the modernization of the work process positively influences the overall level of productivity in the workplace and contributes to the strengthening of the competitive positions of a particular enterprise. The lack of work in this direction, on the contrary, hinders the development of a certain company and significantly reduces the chances of the venture to achieve high production success (Bratton & Gold, 2017).
Weaknesses of the Findings
There are not many shortcomings in the analyzed article. However, one of the weaknesses is the lack of the main HRM strategies description. As Jackson, Schuler, and Jiang (2014) note, much significant information is contained in these concepts; therefore, they should be concentrated on in more detail. Also, according to Stone and Deadrick (2015), challenges are a significant part of managers’ work, and it is an integral component of achieving success. Nevertheless, Albrecht et al. (2015) did not focus on the difficulties, and some important information turned to be lost.
Conclusion
Thus, the analysis of the article helps to draw useful conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of the study with respect to HRM. The advantages of paper prevail over shortcomings. The key findings confirm the need for a policy change in personnel management and the search for new ways of development to achieve maximum labor efficiency.
References
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (13th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: Theory and practice (6th ed.). London, UK: Palgrave.
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2016). Human resource management at work (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page.
Stone, D. L., & Deadrick, D. L. (2015). Challenges and opportunities affecting the future of human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 25(2), 139-145.