Human Resources at Sysco Corporation

rQuestion 1

        Human Resources at SYSCO Corporation, the number one food service marketer and distributor in North America, is successfully delivering business partner services and serving as a strategic partner.  The senior vice president and chief administrative officer is responsible for ensuring that HR strategy is aligned with the business strategy.  SYSCO tries to differentiate itself from competitors in the marketplace by providing value in its products and customer service to the customer.  HR.at Sysco  focuses on ensuring that the five processes are in place.  These processes stress a common understanding of the company's mission , values and goals establishment of clear expectations between employees and managers using the performance management process ,operating within laws ,ensuring that employees are inspired to come to work , and giving every employee the skills and technology needed to contribute to the company.  HR is a strategic partner in all of the processes, works together with senior management to develop programmes and guidelines to support the processes. It then markets them to line managers, who execute and customise the programmes for their specific business.

1.1        Discuss how the HRM function at SYSCO Corporation is able to deliver and implement the strategy thereby fulfilling its role as a strategic partner.

Introduction:

        Strategic management can be defined as " a process, an approach to addressing the competitive challenges an organisation faces.  It can be thought of as managing the "patter or plan that integrates an organisation's major goals , policies , and action sequences into a cohesive whole"  (Noe et al: 2006: 69).  Strategic management is a process for analysing a company's competitive situation, developing the company's strategic goals, and devising a plan of action and allocation of resources(human , organisational and physical) that will increase the likelihood of achieving those goals.  This kind of strategic approach should be emphasised in human resource management.  HR Managers should be trained to identify the competitive issues the company faces with regard to human resources and think strategically about how to respond.

1.1.2        Functions of HRM in strategic management        

        Strategic Human Resource Management can be thought of as " the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organisation to achieve its goals.   (Noe et al: 2006: 69).   Strategic human resource management also means enhancing the functions of the Resource Manager to accommodate him as a Strategic partner in eth formulation and implementation of the company's strategies through the following: