WEEK 5 DRAFT of the Annual HR Operating Plan (AHROP)

Template Introduction Paragraphs and Numbering – Where and When?

Annual Operating Plan for the Human Resource Department of <Apple>

1. Organization’s Mission & Vision

Organizational mission and vision statements serve as channels that communicate an organization’s values and beliefs and how they align with an organization’s business strategies and the needs of the target stakeholders. An organizational mission explains the purpose or reason for which an organization exists. It outlines the broadest goals which the organization aims to achieve, enabling it to fulfill its mission in the long run (Fitzsimmons et al., 2022): WEEK 5 DRAFT of the Annual HR Operating Plan (AHROP).

A mission makes sense if it guides organizational stakeholders to make the right decisions so that they can achieve the organization’s purpose. Besides, the mission should stimulate people to innovate and exploit their potential continuously so that they can achieve such goals (Fitzsimmons et al., 2022). In other words, the strategies within an organization should be influenced by the mission for it to be meaningful. Among others, the mission offers an insight into the customers a business serves, the products or services that it supplies, and/or the markets the business is currently pursuing or intends to pursue.

On the other hand, a vision focuses on the business’s strategy and is the root cause of continued success within the organization. Among others, the vision plays a vital role in determining an organization’s market potential and its position in the marketplace (Van der Walt et al., 2004). In the long run, a vision helps communicate the business’s desired end results into a mission, which is communicated to employees, investors, and customers, besides ensuring that it is aligned with the business’s standard operating practices.

A comparison of the two shows that a mission communicates an organization’s core values and purpose, while a vision offers insight into the business’s desired future. Therefore, a mission can be leveraged to guide day-to-day business operations, whereas the vision represents the long-term aspirations of the business (Van der Walt et al., 2004). To that end, a vision may change from time to time, but a vision statement lasts generations since it represents long-term business aspirations.

2. HR Department Vision

In the context of human resources (HR), vision refers to the description of the future position the organization seeks to achieve. Through the HR vision, the organization sets HR strategies that can help it attain its long-term objectives so that it can achieve the positions it aspires to attain (Akter, 2020). An HR vision determines the HR management practices within the organization.

For instance, if the organization desires to avoid high employee turnover, the HR vision can give insight into strategies that can be implemented to achieve this goal (Akter, 2020). For instance, employee recognition and reward programs are just a few examples of strategies that can support an organization to retain its employees.

An HR vision is important because it helps align HR with organizational objectives. Once HR aligns with organizational objectives, it can implement plans, programs, and initiatives that support organizational objectives (Cayrat & Boxall, 2023). For instance, an organization may have a goal of expanding its market share by 30% within the next two years. The HR department can support the vision by implementing strategies that support this objective, including the recruitment of employees and providing training to make them competent (Cayrat & Boxall, 2023).

Also, an HR vision is crucial because it offers an organization a competitive advantage. For instance, in the face of growing cybersecurity threats, the HR department of an IT company can hire more cybersecurity experts in anticipation of a growing demand for their services. Also, a strategic HR vision helps an organization in retaining its employees.

An HR vision aligns with the organizational vision because it guides the department on the practices that should be implemented to achieve the overall organizational objectives. It recommends the most appropriate workforce management practices that may help the organization ensure it retains employees. It is incumbent upon other departments to follow recommendations made by the HR department for this goal to be achieved.

3. HR Environmental Analysis (HR SWOT)

An HR SWOT analysis refers to the examination of an organization’s workforce to discover the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats faced by the workforce. HR SWOT differs from organizational SWOT analysis because the latter focuses on overall organizational conditions that impact a firm’s performance. An HR SWOT analysis offers insight into whether the HR function is well-equipped to support the organization’s HR objectives (Qin, 2022).

The strengths and weaknesses in the HR SWOT refer to people skills and workforce capabilities (Qin, 2022). On the other hand, opportunities and weaknesses refer to the regulatory environment, technological landscape, and labor market conditions that affect the HR function.

HR SWOT supports organizational objectives because it offers a pathway to achieving organizational growth and sustainability. By conducting an HR SWOT analysis, the organization will gain insight into the HR function’s efficacy and efficiency (Jenčo & Lysá, 2018). Besides, it can help the organization anticipate the future so that it can implement strategies that put the organization ahead in light of future conditions.

For instance, the HR SWOT analysis may indicate that globalization will lead to employees freely moving across borders to work for different organizations in different countries in the future. As a result, the organization should prepare itself by revising its perks and motivation programs so that it does not lose the best talent who are likely to be attracted by foreign organizations that offer better compensation packages.

4. Annual HR Strategies and Objectives

An HR strategy refers to an organization’s plan or roadmap to solve the top challenges facing the organization through its people. It entails how an organization leverages human capital to assist in efforts that will help the organization deal with problems and attain certain objectives (Bratton, 2022). For instance, human capital may be leveraged by the organization to ensure that all and sundry align with the organization’s culture.

Also, an HR strategy supports the organization to achieve its performance objectives because it prescribes action plans that ought to be done to attain the desired performance. For instance, through onboarding, the organization prepares employees with action plans that will help them attain such objectives.

On the other hand, HR objectives are specific and measurable goals that align with an organization’s mission and vision. These HR objectives provide the focus and direction required to allocate resources effectively and monitor progress toward the established goals (O’Riordan, 2017). For HR officials to set effective strategic objectives, they must first understand the organization’s goals and determine how best they can achieve them. For instance, if an organization’s objective is to attract top talent, then employer branding is crucial for the organization to be attractive.

4.1.   Annual HR Strategy

Annual HR strategy refers to the annual roadmap that the organization sets to enable it to leverage its human capital to solve organizational challenges. A well-defined HR strategy helps employees address the organization’s challenges without repeatedly referring to their leaders.

4.2.   Annual HR Objectives

Annual HR objectives are specific and measurable goals that align with an organization’s mission and vision. Well-defined objectives help employees progressively monitor the progress toward achieving the objectives and implement the necessary action plans in case they realize they are lagging.

5. Implementation

Implementing HR strategy and objectives is vital for business success because it positions HR authorities in a good position to pioneer the realization of such strategies. It is incumbent upon the human resources department to coordinate the implementation of HR strategies to ensure that organizational goals are reached (Trinovianti & Ruslan, 2021). The HR department is better positioned to coordinate implementation because the process involves linking employees from different organizational departments. Besides, successful implementation involves removing internal organizational objectives that prevent the organization from reaching its objectives.

Planning ahead is crucial to the successful implementation of HR strategy and objectives. By planning ahead, HR authorities will identify potential challenges and alleviate them in time before they affect the process. One such common challenge in organizations is employee resistance (Sullivan, n.d.).

For instance, an organization seeking to digitize its processes may require the HR department to ensure all employees are equipped with digital skills to effectively adopt the change, something that will attract resistance, especially from older employees. To navigate this challenge, the organization will need to engage employees and convince them to gain their buy-in.

6. Measurement and Assessment

Automated human resources and organizational performance (AHROP) measurement refers to the use of computer software to measure and assess employee metrics. Some of the technologies utilized for this process include artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (Murugesan et al., 2023). To determine organizational performance, various metrics, such as employee productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue per employee, among other metrics, are used.

To determine whether the organization is moving forward or not, the metrics are measured against industry standards. Besides, organizations leverage AHROP to determine HR’s alignment with the organization’s goals set prior to the measurement process. One of the crucial HR metrics is employee satisfaction. Once AI offers insights into employee satisfaction, the organization can implement corrective measures, including improving workplace conditions.

7. References

Akter, S. (2020). Companies’ vision, mission, and core values focus on human resource management. International Journal of Financial Accounting and Management, 2(4), 343–355. https://doi.org/10.35912/ijfam.v2i4.412

Bratton, J. (2022). Chapter two: Strategic human resource management. In Human Resource Management. Bloomsbury Academic. https://www.otaru-uc.ac.jp/~js/downloads/SP2005-PDF/SP2005-Chapter2SHRM.pdf

Cayrat, C., & Boxall, P. (2023). The roles of the HR function: A systematic review of tensions, continuity and change. Human Resource Management Review, 33(4), 100984–100984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.100984

Fitzsimmons, A. B., Qin, Y. S., & Heffron, E. R. (2022). Purpose vs mission vs vision: Persuasive appeals and components in corporate statements. Journal of Communication Management, 26(2), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcom-09-2021-0108

Jenčo, M., & Lysá, Ľ. (2018). Evaluation of a work team strategy by using the SWOT analysis. Quality – Access to Success, 19(165), 39-42. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326849406

Murugesan, U., Subramanian, P., Srivastava, S., & Dwivedi, A. (2023). A study of artificial intelligence impacts on human resource digitalization in industry 4.0. Decision Analytics Journal, 7, 100249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dajour.2023.100249

O’Riordan, J. (2017). The practice of human resource management: State of the public service series. IPA. https://www.ipa.ie/_fileUpload/Documents/THE_PRACTICE_OF_HRM.pdf

Qin, W. (2022). SWOT Analysis of challenges and opportunities for the company’s human resources in COVID-19. BCP Business & Management, 34, 754–760. https://doi.org/10.54691/bcpbm.v34i.3093

Sullivan, J. (n.d.). Why you need workforce planning. https://www.richardswanson.com/textbookresources/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ch-18-Why-You-Need-Workforce-Planning.pdf

Trinovianti, R., & Ruslan, S. (2021). Implementation human resource management in improving competitive advantage of PT CSI. Dinasti International Journal of Education Management and Social Science, 2(4), 2686–6358. https://doi.org/10.31933/dijemss.v2i4

Van der Walt, J., Kroon, J., & Fourie, B. (2004). The importance of a vision and mission for small, medium-sized and large businesses. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 7(2), 206–220. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v7i2.1373

 

8. Appendix (all 1-page graphics only)
9. HR Gap Analysis (you will include here once you have addressed written faculty suggestions in the grading feedback of this assignment)
10. HR SWOT Analysis (you will include here once you have addressed written faculty suggestions in the grading feedback of this assignment)
11. (when completed as a later assignment, you will add the BSC for HR here).

The strategic plan of a company or organization guides the creation and writing of the operating plans for every department. Subsequently, operating plans guide the direction of each department’s work, while remaining aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and business strategies.

This week, you begin finalizing an AHROP, including metrics and the Balanced Scorecard, for the organization you chose in Week 1, pulling in content already written in previous assignments. Write academic introductions using references provided in this course for every section. Create your full References page required in Section 7. Refer to and use the Week 7 Template that has been modified to fit this week’s work.

Access the modified template found in this week’s Learning Resources. The sequence and numbering of Key Section Headings and the formatting cannot be altered, because in planning, each element has specific implications. However, the template contains detailed instructions for each section; after reading them, you will delete these prompts and instructions.

Also included in the Learning Resources is a flowchart of an AHROP, which provides context for your work.

To complete this Assignment, populate EACH SECTION HEADING (1–6) of the modified AHROP for the Human Resources Department/Division template. Include an academic introduction that draws upon your assigned/academic readings in this course to create context for others reading this plan.

Complete the following:

• Based on the work you have done to date—the brief research on the organization from Week 1, together with required weekly course readings—write an academic introduction for each Key Section (1–6 Section Headings) and for 1.1. 1.2, 4.1, and 4.2 Subheadings using the Week 5 Template. An academic introduction discusses, in general, what the section is about, its components, how these components benefit an organization, their strategic purpose, as well as how the section is operationalized within an organization. The academic introduction should not be confused with the company you selected. This initial content for each section and subsection, will represent the minimum requirement of 10–15 references for your document.
  

  WEEK 5 DRAFT of the Annual HR Operating Plan (AHROP)

Note: This draft completes much of the Capstone Project, leading you directly to focus on the heart of the plan (i.e., Section 4 HR Strategies and the 6–7 Key Action Steps required for each strategy). The strategies and action steps are the CORE of any plan. Writing these will demonstrate your wisdom and understanding of your HR program.

The final version of your AHROP will be due in Week 7. Feedback from this week’s draft should be received in time to make necessary changes before the final submission.

To complete this Assignment, populate EACH SECTION HEADING (1–6) of the Annual Human Resources Operating Plan for the Human Resources Department/Division template, creating an academic introduction to that specific topic (e.g., strategic objectives, strategies, etc.) that draws upon your assigned/academic readings in this course to create context for any reader of this plan.

Complete the following:

• Based on the work you have done to date—the brief research on the organization from Week 1, together with required weekly course readings—write an academic introduction for each Key Section (1–6 Section Headings) and for 1.1. 1.2, 4.1, and 4.2 Subheadings using the Week 5 Template. This initial content for each section and subsection will immediately create the minimum requirement of 10–15 references from your required readings for Section 7, References.

Important: You may add to these for your final project, but you must provide the minimum requirement this week.

Note: This initial draft completes much of the Capstone Project, leading you directly to focusing on the heart of the plan, specifically the new HR strategies you create based on the data in the analyses in Section 4 HR Strategies and the 6–8 Key Action Steps required for each strategy.

The strategies and action steps are the CORE of any plan. Writing these is where your wisdom and understanding of your HR program really is demonstrated. The final version of your Annual Human Resources Operating Plan will be due in Week 7, so this week’s initial draft allows you to receive early feedback which will be exceptionally helpful in ensuring your success with the Capstone Project by providing an opportunity for any needed adjustments prior to that time.

Additional Notes:

• The chosen organization is Apple Inc.
• Please check all the attachments