Corporate Strategy and Operating Environment
US border patrol’s plan to poison vegetation on the US-Mexico border is not the best way to fight criminality. Inability of the US border patrol to keep track of all the illegal immigrants and smugglers testifies to the fact that the organization’s corporate strategy requires changes. In general, corporate strategy is regarded as “the way a company creates value through the configuration and coordination of its multimarket activities” (Collis & Montgomery, 2004, p. 8). Value creation is often regarded as the basic purpose of the corporate strategy; however, in case of US border patrol, value creation is not the ultimate goal. This organization should be focused more on the configuration and coordination to be successful. The US border patrol performance can become more efficient and effective if certain HRM actions are implemented. At this, the action areas which may be subjected to change are productivity, human resource flows, and training and development.
Firstly, to improve its effectiveness, the US border patrol has to increase its productivity. The HRM action implemented in this area may be increasing per capita workload by at least 10%. It seems that proper allocation of the workload will help the patrol to enforce the protection of the border. The increase of the workload requires creative solutions this is why more workers will have to be involved in the allocation of the workload. The management of the organization should be engaged in working out a human resource plan the goal of which would be to maximize the number of working hours per border patrol agent in a way that would not harm the agents’ personal interests. This HRM action would improve the US border patrol’s performance and will result in a better protection of the US-Mexico border.
Another action that should be taken into consideration by the management of the organization in question concerns human resource flows. A number of actions can be implemented in this area; all of them are dependent on such strategy elements as recruitment and promotion (McCourt & Elbridge, 2003). With respect to recruitment, the organization could hire more workers for the post of border patrol agents. Recruitment is closely connected with promotion; thus, if some of the agents are promoted, new people can be hired for their former positions. This has two major advantages for the company. Firstly, the agents who get promoted can use their experience to improve the management of the organization; and secondly, the newly-appointed agents can bring innovations into the organization, which is likely to improve its efficiency. These HRM actions are going to take time and resources, but the results of the changes will overcome all the expectations of the management.
Finally, in terms of training and development, the organization under consideration will have to carry out initial training, retraining, and management development. Perhaps, US border patrol agency should start with management development. Individual management plans should be designed for each manager. The management should take qualification courses and define its areas of weakness. The organization whose management has flaws is unlikely to achieve any success; namely this is why the changes should be introduced into management in the first place. Qualified management will be able to work out the organization’s method of working and later organize appropriate initial training for the newly recruited workers. These workers (border patrol agents) will be trained in accordance with the new needs of the company, which will make their work more effective.
Similarly, the experienced agents will have to undergo retraining in order to meet new needs of the organization. Those workers who have not been promoted should be retrained. Retraining can also be useful in case of the introduction of new technologies. Technologies can improve the efficiency of border protection this is why all the agents should be instructed in order to properly use new technologies. If all the abovementioned HRM actions are implemented, the performance of the US border patrol agency is likely to improve and there will be no need in eliminating vegetation with the purpose of protecting the border.
HR Strategy
Developmental human resource strategy will prove to be the most effective for the US border patrol agency. This type of HR strategy is “jointly actioned by the corporate human resource unit and the business units” (Mabey, Salaman, & Storey, 1998, p. 415). Within this strategy, the emphasis is mainly placed on the development of the team and each individual within it, as well as internal recruitment, corporate organizational development, and corporate culture (Mabey, Salaman, & Storey, 1998). Developmental HR strategy perfectly corresponds to the needs of the US border patrol agency. It is only by cooperation of HR and business units and their development that the organization will be able to increase its effectiveness. Moreover, it corresponds to the HRM actions which were discussed above. This strategy presupposes internal recruitment which, as it has been mentioned, will help to bring new ideas into the company. In addition, it focuses on corporate organizational development, which will also lead to positive changes within US border patrol agency. If the organization in question follows this strategy, its corporate culture will be strengthened and its personnel will become well-developed, which will contribute to the company’s better performance and its business strategy which seems to consist in ensuring proper protection to the US-Mexico border.
US Border Patrol Agency Expanding Its Operations
Expanding and setting up operations in another country is likely to involve certain changes in the US border patrol agency’s human resource management. One of the most critical factors which may influence the company’s HRM of the workforce in the country is the management’s desire “to shift the historical pattern of HR strategy significantly in response to major contextual change” (Armstrong, 2000, p. 74). This may result in changing the agency’s HR strategy, hindering the organization’s development, and thus lowering considerably its efficiency. Another critical factor is the “relationship between business strategy and HRM” (Armstrong & Baron, 2002, p. 82). Business strategy has certain influence on the HR strategy; since the agency is going to expand its operations into another country, its business strategy may change entailing the change of the HR strategy. Finally, culture of the new country is the factor that is likely to affect the agency’s HRM. Most of the HR strategies are culture-dependent (Kearns, 2003), which means that working in a different country changes the company’s HR strategy. Thus, US border patrol agency’s expanding its operations into another country may make it weaker due to these factors’ affecting its HRM and, thus, effectiveness of the organization’s performance.
Reference List
- Armstrong, M. & Baron, A. (2002). Strategic HRM: the key to improved business performance. London: CIPD Publishing.
- Armstrong, M. (2000). Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
- Collis, D.J. & Montgomery, C.A. (2004). Corporate strategy: a resource-based approach. New York: McGraw Hill Professional.
- Kearns, P. (2003). HR Strategy: Business Focused, Individually Centred. Oxford : Butterworth Heinemann,
- Mabey, C., Salaman, G., & Storey, J. (1998). Human resource management: a strategic introduction. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
- McCourt, W. & Elbridge, D. (2003). Global human resource management: managing people in developing and transitional countries. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.