HR Strategic Planning (PEOPLE, functional area #1)

Agile Project Management

SHRM: "Agile project management is used when the assumptions on which a project is based are unclear or may evolve as project work proceeds. The project focuses on iterations of the deliverables—completing one iteration and then using customer input to plan the next iteration. Agile is a process by which a team can manage a project by breaking it up into several stages and involving constant collaboration with stakeholders and continuous improvement and iteration at every stage. Team completes the project phases in iterations or sprints. Scrum is one of the most used approaches to Agile development.

Lean Six Sigma Project Management

SHRM: "LEAN project management focuses on eliminating waste by: Maintaining a tight focus on the intended value of the project. Empowering the team to make decisions. Analyzing and solving problems rather than working around them. Emphasizing continuous learning." SHRM: "Six Sigma project management derives from quality principles. "Six Sigma" refers to a level of quality so high that very few errors occur. It emphasizes focusing on projects with a quantifiable return of value, encouraging team commitment to quality and involvement in problem solving, measuring results in a manner that allows empirical analysis, and fact-based decision making." Driven by data and statistical analysis, Six Sigma provides a way to minimize mistakes and maximize value in any business process, from manufacturing to management. Six Sigma methodology DMAIC [(1)Define, (2)Measure, (3)Analyze, (4)Improve, (5)Control] offers a structured and disciplined process for solving business problems. ... - normally done through cross-function teams that manage the project.

Critical chain project management (CCPM)

SHRM: Critical chain project management is used when resources cannot be increased to meet deadlines. For example, an HR department may be able to allocate no more than 10 hours per week of staff time to do project work. Project activities are scheduled accordingly. Buffers are built into the schedule both to account for dependencies (i.e., having to wait for another task to be completed) and to allow some room for variance for the estimated task requirement. Once the buffers are set, however, they are strictly enforced." Excerpt From: Society for Human Resource Management. "People." Apple Books. Critical chain project management helps you identify both resource and task dependencies to help you complete projects as efficiently as possible. Most time-consuming string of tasks that must be completed in serial will determine how quickly you can complete your project. In the diagram, those are the tasks that are colored in coral. By identifying this string, you've just found the critical path to project completion. The critical chain project management method goes one step further to look at the resources (ex. people, equipment, a physical space) you will need to complete your tasks.

SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and so a SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects of your business.

Scenario planning

Scenario planning is making assumptions on what the future is going to be and how your business environment will change overtime in-light of that future. More precisely, Scenario planning is identifying a specific set of uncertainties, different "realities" of what might happen in the future of your business. It sounds simple, and possibly not worth the trouble or specific effort, however, building this set of assumptions is probably the best thing you can ever do to help guide your organization in the long term. For example, Farmers use scenarios to predict whether the harvest will be good or bad, depending on the weather. It helps them forecast their sales but also their future investments.

Social (of PESTLE)

Social aspects, attitudes, and trends that influence your business and target market. Examples include: Attitudes and shared beliefs about a range of factors including health, work, leisure, money, customer service, imports, religion, cultural taboos, the environment; population growth and demographics, family size/structure, immigration/emigration, lifestyle trends, etc. Questions to ask - How do our consumer's values and beliefs impact on their buying habits? - How does human behavior or cultural trends play a role in our business?

Project Management SOFT Skills

Soft Skills: -Organization -Teamwork -Prioritization -Research -Creativity -Critical Thinking -Communication -Leadership -Diplomacy -Coaching

Strategic drift

Strategic drift can be defined as a gradual deterioration of competitive action that results in the failure of an organization to acknowledge and respond to changes in the business environment. Occurs when the strategy pursued by a business no longer fits the environment around it. What may have been appropriate at one point is no longer suitable as conditions have changed.

7/9 KEY CONCEPT - Strategic planning analysis frameworks, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Strategic planning analysis frameworks (e.g., PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, industry analysis, scenario planning, growth-share matrix).

8/9 KEY CONCEPT - Strategic planning process, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Strategic planning process - (e.g., formulation, goal-setting, implementation, evaluation).

9/9 KEY CONCEPT - Systems theory and input-process-output models, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Systems theory and input-process-output models

Systems Theory

Systems theory, also called systems science, is the multidisciplinary study of systems to investigate phenomena from a holistic approach. ... People who adhere to systems thinking, or the systemic perspective, believe it is impossible to truly understand a phenomenon by breaking it up into its basic components

System's Thinking

Systems thinking is an approach to problem-solving that sees complex entities as a series of components with each part interacting with and influencing the rest. - driver of how thinking about problems and strategies - approaching all of our work that is done as being part of a larger system that is integrated and inter-related. - understanding that work done in one part of org impacts a variety of other groups/projects inside and outside org. - ability to assess options and implications in new ways in order to identify solutions, - keeping the broader perspective and impact in mind, and - appreciating how current, short-term outcomes are driven by long-term strategy and vision. - It's required because our work impacts a wide range of stakeholders in different ways and in different communities, and vice versa. - taking a big picture perspective that comprises not only a wide breadth of implications, but an understanding of the historical implications of actions and events in different communities.

Technological (of PESTLE)

Technology that can affect the way you make, distribute, and communicate your products and services. Examples include: Technology and communications infrastructure, consumer access to technology, emerging technologies, automation, legislation around technology, research and innovation, intellectual property regulation, competitor technology and development, technology incentives, etc. Questions to ask: - What innovations and technological advancements are available or on the horizon? - How might they affect our operations?

Growth-share matrix

The growth share matrix is, put simply, a portfolio management framework that helps companies decide how to prioritize their different businesses. It is a table, split into four quadrants, each with its own unique symbol that represents a certain degree of profitability: question marks, stars, pets (often represented by a dog), and cash cows. By assigning each business to one of these four categories, executives could then decide where to focus their resources and capital to generate the most value, as well as where to cut their losses.

How the growth-share matrix works

The growth share matrix was built on the logic that market leadership results in sustainable superior returns. Ultimately, the market leader obtains a self-reinforcing cost advantage that competitors find difficult to replicate. These high growth rates then signal which markets have the most growth potential. The matrix reveals two factors that companies should consider when deciding where to invest—company competitiveness, and market attractiveness—with relative market share and growth rate as the underlying drivers of these factors.

Micro environment

The micro environment relates to the immediate periphery of an organization and directly influences the organization on a regular basis (affect its performance and decision-making). Hence, it is also known as the task environment. It is important for an organization to monitor and analyze all the elements of its micro environment like customers, competitors, etc.

Traditional project management (5-steps)

Traditional project management is a universal practice which includes a set of developed techniques used for planning, estimating, and controlling activities. ... Traditional project management is mainly used on projects where activities are completed in a sequence and there are rarely any changes. - initiating, - planning and design, - launching/executing, - monitoring and controlling, - closing.

Project Management TRAITS

Traits: -Ordered -Visionary -Detail orientated -Team orientated -Cautiously optimistic -Tenacious -Adaptable -Decisive -Responsible -Strong work ethic

Variance Analysis

Variance analysis is the quantitative investigation of the difference between actual and planned behavior. This analysis is used to maintain control over a business. For example, if you budget for sales to be $10,000 and actual sales are $8,000, variance analysis yields a difference of $2,000

Elements for All HR Professionals - HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

We are expected to: - to support and contribute to the strategic role of HR and the strategic direction of the organization. - we need a solid grasp of systems thinking and theory, which explains how organizational systems—including HR—work together. - understand and identify the contributions of the organization's strategic direction to organizational decision-making, and the contributions of each organizational system to the organization's overall strategy - incorporate the organization's mission and vision into goal setting,

HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Definition: HR Strategic Planning involves the activities necessary for developing, implementing and managing the strategic direction required to achieve organizational success and to create value for stakeholders.

CONTINUED Elements for All HR Professionals - HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

- determine how HR can help the organization create and sustain competitive advantage. - use project management skills (e.g., project planning, monitoring, reporting, leadership) to carry out key initiatives that contribute to the goals of the HR function, and that are based on the strategic direction of the organization. - Such programs should be continually evaluated by HR professionals as to their impact on the organization, in order to maximize their positive contributions.

(1/6) Proficiency Indicators

1/6 PIs: Uses the perspective of systems thinking to understand how the organization operates.

(2/6) Proficiency Indicators

2/6 PIs: Informs business decisions with knowledge of the strategy and goals of HR and the organization.

(3/6) Proficiency Indicators

3/6 PIs: Develops and implements an individual action plan for executing HR's strategy and goals.

(4/6) Proficiency Indicators

4/6 PIs: Uses benchmarks, industry metrics and workforce trends to understand the organization's market position and competitive advantage.

(5/6) Proficiency Indicators

5/6 PIs: Informs HR leadership of new or overlooked opportunities to align HR's strategy with the organization's.

(6/6) Proficiency Indicators

6/6 PIs: Provides HR leadership with timely and accurate information required for strategic decision-making.

Gantt charts

A Gantt chart, or harmonogram, is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. This chart lists the tasks to be performed on the vertical axis, and time intervals on the horizontal axis. The width of the horizontal bars in the graph shows the duration of each activity.

PESTLE analysis

A PESTLE analysis is a strategic management tool used to (1)identify, (2)analyze, (3)organize, and (4)monitor key external factors that can have an impact on an organization now and in the future. The framework examines opportunities and threats due to Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental forces, to inform planning and decision-making. - helps a team to understand the organization's market and business position better, plan strategically, and conduct market research in new and existing markets. The framework: - Encourages strategic thinking and helps you evaluate how your strategy fits into the broader environment - Provides an overview of the crucial external influences on the organization - Allows leaders to make more decisive and knowledgeable decisions

Greenfield operation

A green-field (also "greenfield") investment is a type of foreign direct investment (FDI) in which a parent company creates a subsidiary in a different country, building its operations from the ground up.

(2/4) Tasks Strategy Planning and Management

Development of strategic goals and tactics that will optimize success given the environment, opportunities, and constraints—the strategic plan.

Stars Growth-share matrix

Each of the four quadrants represents a specific combination of relative market share, and growth: High Growth, High Share. Companies should significantly invest in these "stars" as they have high future potential.

Question marks Growth-share matrix

Each of the four quadrants represents a specific combination of relative market share, and growth: High Growth, Low Share. Companies should invest in or discard these "question marks," depending on their chances of becoming stars.

Cash cows Growth-share matrix

Each of the four quadrants represents a specific combination of relative market share, and growth: Low Growth, High Share. Companies should milk these "cash cows" for cash to reinvest.

Pets Growth-share matrix

Each of the four quadrants represents a specific combination of relative market share, and growth: Low Share, Low Growth. Companies should liquidate, divest, or reposition these "pets."

Environmental (of PESTLE)

Environmental forces impacting your businesses and/or customer's geographical location, the surrounding environment, and natural resources used by your organization. Examples include: Weather, climate change, your carbon footprint, environmental regulations, pollution laws and targets, recycling and waste management policies, endangered species, support for renewable energy, etc. Questions to ask: - How does our physical environment affect us and vice versa? - What are the effects of climate, weather or geographical location? - Are we prepared for future environmental targets?

(4/4) Tasks Strategy Planning and Management

Evaluation of results, both continually, to make sure that activities maintain strategic focus and are effective, and at designated intervals, to determine the effectiveness of the strategy itself and the need for change or improvement.

3 Reasons to evaluate results

Evaluation of strategic results is essential for several reasons: 1- Measuring the outcomes of activities is sound strategic management, since an organization's limited resources must be directed to those activities that deliver the most strategic impact. 2- Measurement is also a matter of good governance, of demonstrating to stakeholders that managers are doing a good job in using resources. 3- Analyzing results allows organizations to improve their strategies and continually increase their institutional knowledge and skills."

2/5 Bargaining power of suppliers Porter's Five Forces Model

Force analyzes how much power a business's supplier has and how much control it has over the potential to raise its prices, which, in turn, lowers a business's profitability. It also assesses the number of suppliers of raw materials and other resources that are available. The fewer supplier there are, the more power they have. Businesses are in a better position when there are multiple suppliers. If these suppliers choose to increase the cost of the raw materials or services, it will then have a direct impact on the revenue of the company. On the other hand, in an industry where the number of suppliers is abundant, the companies can easily switch from one to another, thereby reducing their bargaining power.

4/5 Threat of new entrants Porter's Five Forces Model

Force considers how easy or difficult it is for competitors to join the marketplace. The easier it is for a new competitor to gain entry, the greater the risk is of an established business's market share being depleted. Barriers to entry include absolute cost advantages, access to inputs, economies of scale and strong brand identity. - Entry barrier can include strict legal regulations, the presence of well-established brands or high capital investment to set up the business. - Exit barrier, on the other hand, can involve a high amount of working capital trapped in a business. The threat of new entrant is quite significant for the existing firms as it can increase the competition in the market.

1/5 Rivalry among business competitors Porter's Five Forces Model

Force examines how intense the competition is in the marketplace. It considers the number of existing competitors and what each one can do. Rivalry competition is high when there are just a few businesses selling a product or service, when the industry is growing and when consumers can easily switch to a competitor's offering for little cost. When rivalry competition is high, advertising and price wars ensue, which can hurt a business's bottom line. Each of these firms seeks to create some form of differentiation that can distinguish them from the "crowd" and can offer an exclusive value proposition for the customers.

3/5 Bargaining power of buyers (customers) Porter's Five Forces Model

Force examines the power of the consumer, and their effect on pricing and quality. Consumers have power when they are fewer in number but there are plentiful sellers and it's easy for consumers to switch. Conversely, buying power is low when consumers purchase products in small amounts and the seller's product is very different from that of its competitors. If the product offerings made by the companies are exclusive to their brands, then the switching cost becomes high, as the customers cannot easily switch to other products in the market without compromising the unique value offered by the firms.

5/5 Threat of substitute products and services Porter's Five Forces Model

Force studies how easy it is for consumers to switch from a business's product or service to that of a competitor. It examines the number of competitors, how their prices and quality compare to the business being examined, and how much of a profit those competitors are earning, which would determine if they can lower their costs even more. The threat of substitutes is informed by switching costs, both immediate and long-term, as well as consumers' inclination to change. - EX. Threat of substitute in the car-manufacturing sector can come from public transport, as both of these products offer the same core value proposition which is transportation. - The degree of this threat can be assessed by looking into the additional features of the products offered by the market players, which either make it superior or inferior to the substitute products.

(1/4) Tasks Strategy Planning and Management

Formulation, during which leaders gather and analyze internal and external information to determine the organization's current position and capabilities, opportunities, and constraints.

Strategic fit

Grant defines strategic fit as the consonance or compatibility of an organization's strategy with its external and internal environments, especially with regard to the goals and values it chooses and the resources and capabilities that can be deployed toward strategic goals. Michael Porter would add that when strategic fit exists, an organization's activities are consistent with the strategy, they interact with and reinforce each other, and they are "optimized" to reach the strategic goal. "Optimized" means that the organization will do whatever it needs to get there."

Project Management HARD Skills

Hard Skills: -3Rs (reading, writing, arithmetic) -Process Management -Project Initiation -Project Planning -Scheduling -Documentation Development -Task Management -Project Control -Risk Management -PM Tools -Technical skills

(3/4) Tasks Strategy Planning and Management

Implementation of tactics—the process of strategic management. This requires clear communication of objectives to teams, coordination and support of their efforts, and control of resources.

External Environment

An external environment is composed of all the outside factors or influences that impact the operation of business. The business must act or react to keep up its flow of operations. The external environment can be broken down into two types: the micro environment and the macro environment.

Industry Analysis

An industry analysis is a business function completed by business owners and other individuals to assess the current business environment. This analysis helps businesses understand various economic pieces of the marketplace and how these various pieces may be used to gain a competitive advantage.

*Industry Analysis

An industry analysis is a business function completed by business owners and other individuals to assess the current business environment. This analysis helps businesses understand various economic pieces of the marketplace and how these various pieces may be used to gain a competitive advantage. *See Porter's Five Forces Model

3/9 KEY CONCEPT - Organizational mission, vision and values, and their relation to strategic management and planning, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

None

6/9 KEY CONCEPT - Role of strategic management and planning in creating and sustaining competitive advantage, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

None

1/9 KEY CONCEPT - Approaches to project management, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Approaches to project management (e.g., traditional, Lean Six Sigma, agile, critical chain) and processes (e.g., initiating, planning and design, launching/executing, monitoring and controlling, closing).

Competitive Advantage & Core Competence

Competitive Advantage implies the virtue, that helps the firm to perform better than its rivals at the market place. Core Competence refers to the specific skills, knowledge and expertise, that is hard to be followed by the competitors.

2/9 KEY CONCEPT - Concepts of Systems Thinking, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Concepts of systems thinking - (e.g., related parts, input-process-output) and - components of an organizational system (e.g., interdependence, necessity of feedback, differentiation of units).

Critical path analysis

Critical path analysis (CPA) is a project management technique that requires mapping out every key task that is necessary to complete a project. It includes identifying the amount of time necessary to finish each activity and the dependencies of each activity on any others.

Legal (of PESTLE)

Current and future legal and regulatory requirements impacting on the business. Examples include: Laws regarding consumer protection, labor, health & safety, antitrust, intellectual property, data protection, tax and discrimination; international and domestic trade regulations/restrictions, advertising standards, product labeling and safety standards, etc. Questions to ask: - What regulations and laws apply to our business? - Do they help or hinder our business? - Do we understand the laws across all our markets?

Outcome Monitoring

Outcome monitoring systems are commonly used to track the performance of key programs over time— measuring short- or long-term outcomes—and can be particularly useful in detecting areas where performance is below acceptable standards, as well as whether things are improving or getting worse. To advance their systems, states can establish benchmarks and targets for expected performance, use actual and historical data to track progress, and include narrative information to understand the context for a program's results (for example, a major weather event or the implementation of a new initiative).

Economic (of PESTLE)

Overall economic forces that could affect what you're trying to do. Examples include: Economic trends, growth rates, industry growth, seasonal factors, taxation, inflation, interest rates, international exchange rates, International trade, labor costs, consumer disposable income, unemployment rates, availability of credit, monetary policies, raw material costs, etc. Questions to ask: - What economic factors will impact on us moving forward? - Does the current economic performance affect us? - How does each economic factor impact our pricing, revenues, and costs?

PESTLE Process per SHRM

PESTLE analysts: 1- Assemble a list of possible events or trends that exist now or could materialize within a defined time frame. This could be done through brainstorming meetings, interviews or focus groups with experts in certain areas, or literature reviews. 2- Identify the potential impacts on the organization. These should include positive and negative or immediate and long-range effects. Analysts should also look for possible ripple effects on apparently unconnected processes or parts of the organization. 3- Research the impacts more thoroughly to understand possible causes, their dimensions, and connections with other events or trends. For example, trending information may be obtained from government agencies or industry associations. 4- Assess the importance of the possible impacts based on the strength of the data.

Political (of PESTLE)

Political or politically motivated factors that could affect the business. Examples include: Government policy, political stability or instability, bureaucracy, corruption, foreign trade policy, tax policy, trade restrictions, labor/environmental/copyright/consumer protection laws, competition regulation, funding grants & initiatives, etc. Questions to ask: - What government policies or political groups could be beneficial or detrimental to our success? - Is the political environment stable or likely to change?

Porter's Five Forces Model (Industry Analysis) FORCES SHAPE INDUSTRY COMPETITION

Porter's Five Forces is a framework for analyzing a company's competitive environment. The number and power of a company's competitive rivals, potential new market entrants, suppliers, customers, and substitute products influence a company's profitability. (1) RIVALRY (2)

5/9 KEY CONCEPT - Project leadership, governance and structures, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Project leadership, governance and structures (e.g., team roles, team management, work breakdown structures).

4/9 KEY CONCEPT - Project planning, monitoring and reporting methods and tools, HR Strategic Planning: PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN Functional area #1

Project planning, monitoring and reporting methods and tools (e.g., critical path analysis, Gantt charts, variance analysis, outcome monitoring).

Macro environment

macro environment is the condition that exists in the economy as a whole, rather than in a particular sector or region. In general, the macro environment includes trends in the gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, employment, spending, and monetary and fiscal policy

Formulation

n. the action of devising or creating something. "the formulation of foreign policy"

factionalism

party strife and intrigue; infighting, dissension Factionalism refers to arguments or disputes between two or more small groups from within a larger group. There has been a substantial amount of factionalism within the movement.

Work breakdown structure (WBS)

work breakdown structure (WBS) is a key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into manageable sections. ... The project team creates the project work breakdown structure by identifying the major functional deliverables and subdividing those deliverables into smaller systems and sub-deliverables.