Hockey, Julia Marilyn (2000) Attempts to link organisational strategy and training strategy in the new Civil Service : an evaluation. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The literature on strategic human resource management (HRM) includes much
discussion about the importance of linking organisational strategy and HRM strategy
and little agreement about how the integration of these strategies should be achieved.
As an integral part of HRM, training strategy is an important element in this on-going
debate. This thesis seeks to add to the existing body of knowledge in the research
area by focusing on a large decentralised public sector organisation that has
experienced fundamental change over two decades and has tried to link its
organisational strategy and its training strategy. The evaluation of the attempt by the
Civil Service to make these links in strategy forms the basis of the case study
research.
Middle managers working in Civil Service departments and agencies have been
selected as the primary source of information that has been collected by using a
combination of focus groups, a survey questionnaire and one-to-one follow-up
interviews with a selection of survey respondents. In addition, documentary evidence
has been used to help explain the organisational strategy and the training strategy of
the Civil Service, and to corroborate evidence from other sources.
The research findings confirm the difficulties experienced by decentralised
organisations when trying to link their organisational strategy and their training
strategy, and the need for the corporate centre to understand how strategies will
translate into action on the ground. The thesis argues that unless the linking
mechanisms selected in the training strategy are compatible with the organisational
strategy and complementary and compatible with one another, linkages will be
incomplete. The conflicting pressures on line managers to achieve business and
people objectives have been identified from the research. Their crucial managerial
responsibilities for linking organisational strategy and training strategy is emphasised
together with recommendations for strengthening this role in the future.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Civil service -- Great Britain, Strategic planning -- Great Britain, Personnel management -- Great Britain, Employees -- Training of -- Great Britain
Official Date:	December 2000
Dates:	Date Event December 2000 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Warwick Business School
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Extent:	v, 330, [19] leaves
Language:	eng

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