Human Resource Management

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Given the theory and reality mentioned above, four HR configurations will be recommended to Huawei. Firstly, for core employees, Huawei is supposed to choose Arthur’s (1994) commitment-based HR system to develop a long-term and loyal relationship between employers and employees. That is to say, the groups of core employees, such as sales, customer service and R&D departments, should be invested and sponsored significantly to master unique knowledge and skills (Lepak and Snell, 1999). Specifically, Huawei should keep a high level of continuance commitment by raising the career switching cost of employees and developing employees’ firm-specific competencies, among core employees, especially customer service and R&D, which are the focused sectors in the high-tech market. Under this circumstance, the turnover rate of employees could be decreased and employees may be motivated to bring more value to the company. Secondly, according to Lepak and Snell (1999), Koch and McGrath’s (1996) market-based HR system may be the better choice of job-based employees. Since job-based employees like marketing employees are not unique to a certain firm, it is most likely for them to be evaluated based on the performance rather than development. Therefore, Huawei is suggested to put efforts in selecting people who can make immediate contributions in jobs. Thirdly, as for contract workers, such as IT and manufacturing workers, compliance-based HR system is recommended (ibid). Compared with commitment-based HR system, compliance-based HR system focuses on obeying preset rules, regulations or conditions of contracts rather than securing organizational commitment. In the light of this situation, in a high-tech market, IT and manufacturing departments of Huawei can put an emphasis on improving rules, systems and policies in order to keep confidentiality and efficiency. The final advice is the collaborative-based HR system for alliance. Generally, employees of legal and HR departments act as the partners of a company. For instance, if Huawei wants to protect the company’s rights and profits by laws, it can seek help from the legal counsel. In other words, this HR system encourages cooperation and collaboration and provides value for all involved parties. Thus, it is beneficial for Huawei to employ such HR system in order to invest in a good relationship.

In the final analysis, given the theory of employment modes and relationships, the essay argues that four HR configurations should be recommended to Huawei and Huawei should manage its HR architecture for competitive advantage to emerge as one of the most outstanding in global market.

Lepak, D.,Snell, S., 1999. The Human Resource Architecture: Toward a Theory of Human Capital Allocation and Development. The Academy of Management Review, Vol.24 (1), pp. 31-48.

Latorre, F., Guest, D., Ramos, J., & Gracia, F. J., 2016. High commitment HR practices, the employment relationship and job performance: A test of a mediation model. European Management Journal.

Huarng, K. H., Yu, T. H. K., & Lai, W. ,2015. Innovation and diffusion of high-tech products, services, and systems. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), pp.2223-2226.

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