Every person, institution seeks to have a philosophy of their own. It is important for us to understand what philosophy means. These slides are prepared to give an overview of HR Philosophies.

1. HR PHILOSOPHIES
28 February 2012 Dr.Padma Shankar 1

2. Philosophy comes from the Greek
(philosophia) which literally means
“love of wisdom”
"Philosophy studies the fundamental
nature of existence, of man, and of
man's relationship to
existence…………….‖
—Ayn Rand,
Philosophy, Who Needs
It (p. 2)
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3. Why do we need a

philosophy??? of life."
Philosophical convictions are “sense
 It reflects the fundamental ways you relate to the world and
other people; it is your intuitive feeling of how things are and
how they ought to be.
 There is a need to understand the convictions
consciously, Otherwise we don't really have a clear idea of what
we believe or what is motivating us to make our biggest
decisions.
 This sense of life that dominates nations or cultures can
determine their fates.
(Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs
It, p. 5)
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4. Why do we need HR
philosophy
planet
"People" pertains to
fair and beneficial
business practices
profit people toward labour.
Triple Bottom Line of sustainability
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5. Assumptions of HR Philosophy
 HR is a resource (useful, limited and potential to
deplete), capital (asset), and talent (ability)
 „understand-predict-influence' sequence
 'philosophy of HR' shapes the way the employees are
managed in that organization.
 'Theory X„ -- that the employees are inherently lazy
and will avoid work if they can-- will promote 'Theory X'
kind of behavior among the employees
 'articulated HR philosophy' and the 'HR philosophy in
practice' !
 HR philosophy be closely linked to (or even derived
from) the core values of the organization.
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6. Why HR philosophy
(a) Organization………….
 has barriers,
 may not be perfect but are good,
 now aiming to be “great”
 benefits from a talented, motivated, loyal and
free spirited work force.
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7. (b) HR………..
 can be developed and increased to an unlimited extent;
 philosophy create conducive and healthy climate with values of
openness, enthusiasm, trust mutuality and collaboration.
 to plan and monitor ways that are beneficial both for the
individual and the organization.
 to perpetuate a feeling of belongingness to make them feel
committed to their work and the organization.
 to motivate employees by satisfying their basic and
higher level needs.
 to discover and use the employees capabilities and
potentials to increase their commitment.
 to ensure the development and utilization of the capability
of all the subordinates.
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8. How HR philosophy helps:
 to makes explicit the organizations
core beliefs about managing people.
 to translate the HR philosophy into
management system and practices.
 And finally HR philosophy provides
direction, practices make it operational.
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9. How to Create a HR
Philosophy?
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10. Keep it in Context
“An attempt to create an identity for the company that distinguishes it in
the marketplace," says David Ulrich,
(a business professor at the University of Michigan and co-founder of the RBL Group, a consultancy that advises businesses on
human resources, leadership, and organization.)
A company needs to have a mission statement, philosophy, and code of
ethics:
Mission statement: A mission statement should succinctly summarize
what you do or what your aims are.
Philosophy: A philosophy is the slogan like into core ideas or values that
the company and its members hold dear and adhere to in their business
dealings.
Code of ethics: A code of ethics or code of conduct expands to deal with
specific types of situations and behaviors.
Ulrich continues,
"There are dimensions of this identity: They all try to position a
company's identity in the minds of those inside and outside the company."
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11. Don't Put It Off
“What tear them (companies) apart is people that don't get along
with one another; they have different values.“
Alex Plinio, co-founder of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School.
Practice What You Preach
The principles in a company's philosophy have to come from,
and be true to, the founder or CEO as a person.
"if you have a hard-driving, aggressive, person [in charge of a
business], having 'play nice with others' as part of your principles
is not going to work,“ says Steve Priest, president of Ethical Leadership Group
(ELG), a consulting firm.
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12. Keep it Simple
Ulrich warns that,
"Only focusing on details makes [your philosophy] non-
memorable and no one will wade through it;
managing by slogan is superficial and does not lead to
accountability or change."
It should encapsulate your ideology in a memorable way without
being reductive.
“Commitment to add value”
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13. Hire People Who Match the Culture
Ulrich says.
"Crafting a philosophy statement, or identity, becomes helpful
when the 'bumper cars' no longer bump into each other“.
As Ulrich puts it,
"Technical fit without cultural fit is a misfit, and the employee will
be competent, but not contributing to business success.“
“shot tempered marketing executive”
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14. School New Hires on Company History
New hires get introduced to the company's history, and to it's
ecological commitment, "I think one of my roles as a leader here is to
keep the story of who we are--our creation story as well as our
evolution--alive and vivid and active,"
Finally, Fixing a Broken Company Culture
As a company grows, it's possible for the leadership or the
employees to lose sight of the founding values.
This can lead, among other things, to ethical lapses.
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15. Mahatma‟s Philosophy:
Truth and Nonviolence
Mother Teresa:
Untiring Service to Humankind
Philosophy of prayer.
"Lead me from the unreal to the Real“
Nature‟s Philosophy is :
Change
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16. Great place to work 2012
First 4 Ranks are………
 Google
 Boston Consulting company
 SAS
 Wegmans Food company
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17. Google philosophy……..
At Google, innovation and creativity
keeps
our projects changing and improving.
Our
consistency comes from our Googlers –
smart, amazing people who foster an
environment of collaboration and fun.
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18. Boston Consulting company
Upon joining,
you become a lifelong member of a
unique global community
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19. SAS
We seek the best talent to build on our success story.
In return, SAS employees enjoy a supportive environment,
outstanding opportunities for professional growth,
and a chance to help SAS drive the new economy
and provide innovative solutions for business decision makers
across the globe.
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20. Wegmans philosophy…………….
Our values are a way of giving freedom to our
people. Once you share a common set of
values, you can go and be yourself. This is
something we live.” Danny Wegman,CEO
―We’re committed to our Who We
Are values because they set a
strong foundation for us as a
company – a foundation of caring
about people and each other.‖
Colleen Wegman President
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21. FedEx HR Philosophy
"In the fiercely competitive air express
cargo
transportation industry, FedEx attributes
much of its success to its corporate
“people
service profit” philosophy. Under the
founder of FedEx, Frederick
Smith, “when
people are placed first they will provide
the 28 February 2012 Dr.Padma Shankar 21

22. Infosys HR Philosophy:
Working with Infosys is not a job.
It's a journey,
an experience. There's so much
to explore here –
even about yourself – that every day is
a
new day.
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23. Tata Philosophy
Leadership with trust;
Nurturing employees from
womb to tomb.
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24. Mahindra Rise philosophy to infuse in the DNA of the
organization (Rajeev Dubey)
 Nurture and nourish the core values of the
group
 Confidence, morale and motivation is to be high
for getting innovation
Future 3 pillars or mind set of this organization to
be
infused:
 We accept no limits;
 We do alternative thinking;
 We drive positive change
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25. Vineet Nayar on “employees first and
customer second”
 Generations have changed
 “Building is in Fire” --Trust between us and employees is
at the lowest;
 Future is in the innovation of our employees
 Value zone Is in the inter phase of customers and
employees, value is created by employees
 Enthuse, encourage, and enabling the employees to
create the differentiated values
Three steps:
 Ask and look at the mirror, feel uncomfortable;
 Vision for tomorrow;
 Small action to create a revolutions.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHTtddLvh6s
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26. Symbiosis believe that the
„World is One Family‟
“ Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”
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27. Therefore what is HR
philosophy?
 Fundamental assumptions and
beliefs;
 system of values;
 an underlying theory;
 system of thought on which the
HR of an organization is based.
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28. References:
http://www.tata.com/company/Media/inside.aspx?artid=aAOifiKhB/g=
http://kisholoygupta.blogspot.in/
http://www.mahindra.com/News/Media-Library/AV-1295013331
http://prasadokurian.blogspot.in/2007/11/towards-philosophy-of-hr.html
Lee G Bolman, Terrence E Deal, (2008), Refraining organization, John
Wiley and Sons , USA.
Thank you…………………….
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