Hrm Homework Week 7

Chapter 16 Question 3

A high-performance work system can be defined as a specific combination of human resources practices, work structures, and processes that maximizes the knowledge, skills, commitment, flexibility, and resilience of employees.

The pieces of the system are important only in terms of how they help the entire system function. When all the pieces support and complement one another, high-performance work systems achieve internal fit. When the system is aligned with the competitive priorities of the organization as a whole, it achieves external fit as well.

While external fit is important, it is also necessary to have a proper internal fit. That is why it is more critical to have an internal fit first.

The term internal fit may seem to be oxymoron, but many companies are more worried about external factors before really addressing their core values. Many companies fail to realize that competitive advantages come from internal fit. A competitive advantage comes from creating value to your customers that they would not have otherwise. Not only value creation but also value capture is a part of creating an advantage over competitors. Capturing value comes from organization design. Making sure the processes inside the company are all reinforcing is essential to making sure the fit is right.

To make sure activities inside the company are reinforced one another, links between the different departments must be created. All of the operations, such as human resources, production, marketing, and distribution must be on the same page. Companies must look for inconsistencies within different departments. The company must also address the link between leadership and the company culture.

In summary, finding internal fit is critical and essential to enforcing a company’s strategy. Identifying what internal fit is for each company is the first step. Business managers cannot just assess the outside market. They all too often focus on what...