Strategic human resource management in tourism and hospitality Essay

Strategic human resource management in tourism and hospitality - Essay Example The SHRM approach focuses on long-term HR issues and macro-concerns such as organizational culture, values, commitment, and structure, among other things. In this view, Strategic HRM guides organizational decisions concerning personnel recruitment, training, development, performance management, and appraisal; personnel relations strategies, policies, and practices are also a key concern to SHRM. Unlike the traditional HRM, SHRM is an integrated approach in that its HRM strategies are integrated both with the business strategy and with one another. Strategic HRM plays a very crucial role in the tourism and hospitality industry because it leads to efficiency in service delivery and a multiplicity of competitive advantages for industry players (Baum, 2006). Some of the major challenges facing organizations and managers in the highly competitive tourism and hospitality sector are to do with recruiting, developing and maintaining a committed and competent workforce. To keep the workforce well managed, well-motivated, and focused on providing high-quality products and services to the increasingly demanding and discerning customers is another major concern for organizations and managers in the Tourism and Hospitality industry. ... Other major issues of great concern to long term HRM planning include changes in organizational structure and culture, matching resources to future requirements, development competitive advantages, management of knowledge, and change management. Strategic HRM enables the organizations to meet human capital requirements and to develop process capabilities i.e. the ability achieve outcomes more effectively. The aim of long term HRM is to identify all issues relating to the workforce that affect or they are affected by the strategic direction of the organization (Nickson, 2012); this enables the organization to make remedial interventions beforehand. In this respect, critical concerns of HRM such as choice of top management and formation of healthy human resource relations are crucial to every organization. HRM underscores the need for planning, matching HRM activities, and policies to business strategies; it also underscores the need for organizations to consider utilization of their w orkforce as a strategic source competitive advantage. McDonalds Restaurants SHRM McDonalds is one of the many organizations operating in the tourism and hospitality industry in general and the food industry in particular; McDonalds began in the USA back in the year 1955 with a single restaurant. Since it opened to date, McDonalds has become the world’s largest and fastest growing Quick Service restaurant with over $30 billion worth of sales (Chirantan, 2013). Today, McDonalds operates about 21,000 stores in over 101 countries in the world with plans of expansion in the future by opening an additional 3200 stores (Business2000, n.d). The food industry is a highly competitive sector that requires all players to maintain high standards of service, customer satisfaction, and hygiene.