Philippine E-Journals

 

This study describes how Human Resources (HR) is positioned through stories about the HR Head’s participation in top-level management planning and strategy execution activities using the lens of Positioning Theory. Data were gathered through interviews among the HR Heads, Organization Heads and other key members of the Management Team in two organizations recognized as having Strategic Human Resources Units. Results showed that HR was consistently positioned within HR as support service storyline by all of the respondents in an academic institution and within HR as business partner storyline by all of the respondents in the business organization. Thus, HR was accorded varying rights and duties such as adviser, resource person, facilitator, implementer, enabler, and change-initiator according to these storylines. Findings imply that being “strategic” does not follow a specific mould and may mean differently depending on the context of each organization. Analyzing the stories or narratives gave an in depth view of HRs contribution in top-level management activities that likewise explains some of its contribution to the organization’s value-creation process.