Soft and Hard HRM

A distinction can be made between 'hard' and 'soft' types of HRM. Soft HRM can be characterized by:

• Seeing people as organizational assets

• 
  A quantitative approach to HRM

• A mutual commitment of employees and employers to the goals of the organization

• Being driven by costs

Who had advanced the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ approach of HRM?

• John Storey

• Lloyd Baind

• James Niniger

• Benjamin Schneider

HRM focuses on the approach to effectively manage the employees in a business to help the business gain . . . .

• Absolute advantage

• Competitive advantage

• Highest profit possible.

• Highest sales possible.

One approach of the Hard HRM is through the production efficiency done by . . . . .

• Trainings and coachings.

• Laying off employees.

• Teamwork to encourage employees' participation.

• Two way communication to value the employees.

While the Soft HRM is an approach with the purpose to . . . . .

• Achieve minimum training costs.

• Replace the employees as they are disposable.

• Cut costs to maximise profit.

• Reach self-fulfillment and commitment.

Identify two features below that are of the Hard HRM:

• Top down communication.

• Focus on job enrichment and satisfaction.

• Manages the employees through frequent redundancy and recruitment.

• Democratic leadership style.

Below are two features of the Soft HRM:

• Liitle empowerment and delegation.

• Job enrichment and satisfaction.

• Emphasises on the financial methods of motivation.

• Intensive two way communication.

Two advantages of the Hard HRM to a business are:

• Enhanced collaboration and co-operation.

• Delayed decision making.

• Staff are well monitored and controlled.

• Standardised processes.

One disadvantage of Soft HRM is . . . . .

• Employees feel strictly controlled.

• Delayed decision making.

• Well monitored employees.

• Employees feel dissatisfied.

Hard HRM that trims out the number of employees to keep the business lean and competitive surely minimises the cash outflow and this leads to . . .

• Lenient standard applied to the production of the company.

• More budget to be allocated to the business strategic equipment.

• An increase in the sense of team spirit among the employees.

• A bleeding cash outflow that hurts the business financially.