1. Human Resource Management in the Service Sector
Review of the course

2. Overview
Course examines the HRM challenges in the knowledge-intensive service sector
Introduction: characteristics of the service sector and identifying the knowledge-intensive section of this sector (1 week)
Develop theoretical frameworks and perspectives for analysing the HR challenges (2 weeks)
Investigation of HR challenges in four types of organisations in this sector: call centres, management consulting, law and creative (8 weeks)
Summary and review (second half of final week)

3. Characteristics of the service sector
Course design
HRM challenges theory
Call centres
Theory
Management consultancies
Law Firms: theory and case
Creative Firms: Theory and case
Managing knowledge workers
Case
Characteristics of the service sector
Summary and revision

4. Literature focus for the course
HRM & knowledge-intensive services
Services sector
Professional Services

5. Week 1: Introduction to the service sector: objectives
Outline the importance of the service sector in modern economies
Identify the key characteristics of service work and the areas of the sector for detailed study: knowledge intensive work
Outline the research in the area
Introduce the HRM challenges posed by knowledge based service sector working

6. Converting Human Capital into Intellectual Capital
Conversion Process
Employee Knowledge Skills Experience
Products and services which have market value
Role of HR practices in this conversion process

7. Performance management/reward
Implications for HRM
Nature of Work
Managerial problem
HRM issue
Performance management/reward
Intangible
Measurement
Knowledge based
Training and Development
Renewal
Staff allocation
Customised
Standardisation
Organisational commitment
Recruit and retain
Professional
(Drawn from Suddaby and Greenwood (2006) Maister (2003) and Batt (2006))

8. Week 2: HR practices in knowledge intensive firms: objectives
To understand the distinctive characteristics of knowledge intensive service firms
To identify the key resources (forms of capital) that knowledge intensive firms draw on for their success
To identify the challenges for managing people and managing knowledge faced by knowledge intensive firms
To explore the ways in which HR strategy, structure, delivery and practices can be used to create valuable products and services

9. Pressures on knowledge intensive firms
Product market - Customers and clients
KIF
Financial success – short and long term
Employment market – needs of employees
(Maister, 2003)

10. Forms of Capital Human capital Network Capital Social capital
Knowledge skills and experience of staff
Forms of Capital
Human
capital
Knowledge of and relationships with network members
Network
Capital
Social
capital
Knowledge embedded in values, culture and relationships
Intellectual
Capital
Client
Capital
Structural
capital
Knowledge of and relationships with clients
Organizational
Capital
Ways of structuring work
Procedures, policies and processes

11. The HR Wheel Human capital Social Structural Network Capital Client
Strategy
Resourcing
Structure
Human
capital
Social
Structural
Network
Capital
Client
Organizational
Job and Work Design
Involvement
Intellectual
Capital
Training and Development
Performance Management
Pay and Reward
Kinnie et al 2006
Delivery

12. Week 3: Managing knowledge workers: objectives
Define a knowledge worker
Identify the characteristics of knowledge workers and understand the human resource management challenges presented by them
Explain how knowledge workers are managed
Identify and discuss the dilemmas associate with the management of knowledge workers
Understand how social identity can resolve some of the tensions involved in the management of knowledge workers

13. Managerial challenges
How can organisations retain and develop their professionals?
Presents three dilemmas that sit between the employee and the organisation
Retention
Employability
Organisation specific
Transferable
Multiple Identity perspective
Value capture
Ownership of value

14. Multiple sources of identity
Organisation
Professional EE
Client
Team

15. Weeks 4 and 5: Call Centres: objectives
Define call centres and understand the reasons for their growth
Identify the key characteristics of the nature and management of call centres
Analyse their forms of human capital and consider the implications for HR especially recruitment, selection and retention
Examine recent changes in call centres especially the moves towards outsourcing and off-shoring
Apply the 4 ID model to gain insights into the nature of work in call centres – with reference to the Norwich Union case
(Refs: Deery and Kinnie, 2004; Korczynski, 2002, Frenkel et al, 1999, Homan, 2004)

16. Weeks 6 and 7: Management Consulting: objectives
To understand the characteristics of the management consulting industry
History
Types of organisations
Types of consultancy activities
Typology of human capital
According to the client interface process
Career structures within management consultancy
The role of consultants as knowledge brokers
Typology of client capital
The consulting firm – client relationships
The HRM practice focus:
Recruiting human capital
Managing across boundaries
Human
capital
Network
Social
Capital
capital
Client
Structural
Capital
capital
Organizational
Capital

17. Using external facilitators poses a challenge to many forms of intellectual capital flows
Clients
Facilitators

18. Facilitator network: HC viewpoint
External pool of facilitators
Focal Practice Group
Regions
Other Practice Groups
Clients
Facilitators within clients
External skill experts
HC boundary

19. Weeks 8 and 9: Law Firms: objectives
Understand the basic characteristics of the sector
Identify the traditional model of organising and management of HR
Consider some of the key changes in the sector and the responses of law firms
Identify the challenges this presents for HRM and for knowledge management
Focus on the key issue of remuneration and reward, especially variable reward
Analyse a practical case drawing on our knowledge of theory

20. Traditional HR practices ‘Up or Out’
High reward for equity partners
Partner in 6 years – or leave the firm
Apprenticeship model
Elite recruitment

21. ‘High Trust’ Local law firm - medium sized and growing fast
Strong emphasis on culture and values inclusive and mutual respect – building social capital – sharing work and knowledge
Issue of how to reward their staff who contribute to the success of the firm while reinforcing their values

22. Weeks 10 and 11: Creative Firms: objectives
Understand the basic characteristics of the sector and establish our focus on advertising/marketing agencies
Identify the key forms of capital present in these firms
Identify the challenges this presents for HRM especially the development and retention of staff
Draw contrasts between two practical cases on the way they manage these HR challenges

23. Building network capital
Client
Marketing manager
Agency

24. Key challenges and tensions facing HRM in marketing agencies
External Resourcing
Attraction and retention of staff valuable to the firm and to existing and potential clients
Recruiting for internal development – recruiting experienced staff
Internal Resourcing
Promotion and career building – efficient allocation of staff
Rotation of staff - building and maintaining client and network relationships
Training and Development
Developing human capital - developing client capital
Importance of coaching, feedback and development – importance of serving client needs
Reward
Intrinsic rewards linked to development – extrinsic rewards linked to client success
Longer term rewards through promotion – shorter term linked to targets
Our focus: the interaction between the need to develop employees, serve the needs of clients and achieve financial success

25. Revision
Essential to understand the basic theoretical frameworks underlying the course (weeks 2 and 3 especially)
Need to be able to apply these to the four sectors studied (eg how does the reactor model apply to creative firms)
Facility to move between theory and practice (to understand the theory in practice and the practice in theory)

26. Revision continued
Cases studied in class are important along with other cases and your own experience
Key is to build up your understanding of the issues – at a sector level and at a macro/cross sector level
Use the frameworks and models to guide your analysis – to help you understand the issues/problems/cases

27. Examination structure and rubric
Unseen paper in 2 hours no additional materials
6 questions – one from each sector studied plus two others
Answer three questions

28. Sample questions
What are the most important external pressures on the managers of knowledge intensive firms? How might HR strategy and practice help to manage these pressures?
How might the concept of multiple identities help managers of HR contribute to the creation of organisational value in professional service firms?
With reference to the ‘High Trust’ case study discuss the problems associated with designing a variable reward system in law firms. How might these problems be resolved?

29. Expectations
Demonstrate your learning and your understanding of the theory and the practice
Answers which directly focus on the question (basic descriptive answers will get a low pass)
Explicit references to previous research (you will get credit for this)
Good use of practical examples to illustrate points (credited)
Highlight conflicts and tensions where they exist
Develop an argument which is supported by theory and evidence (illustrates higher level understanding)

30. Advice
All the basics apply: plan your answer/focus on the question/refer to relevant theory and examples/pull it together
Thorough revision – understanding not rote learning – test yourself out – use the models to analyse cases; use the cases to ask: what is this an example of?
See links between the models and sectors
Use contemporary examples if you can – shows engagement with the material