6 Paradoxes of HR Part 1

This week in my Strategic Human Resource Management course we are focusing on the 6 paradoxes of HR. According to HR from the Outside In: Six Competencies for the Future of Human, HR must learn to master six paradoxes. Paradoxes mean that HR people and departments are effective only when they can simultaneously deliver multiple outcomes (Ulrich et al, 2012). The paradoxes are as follows:

1) Outside and inside: This would be HR turning external business trends and stakeholder expectations into internal practices and actions. This would require the department to operate in the marketplace and the work place simultaneously.
2) Business and people: This is the HR department finding a balance between being credible activist who earns personal credibility and taking an active role in business performance.
3) Organization and individual: This is HR finding the right mix of personal and organizational development actions that fosters success for the individual, the team, and the organizational culture.
4) Process and even: This is HR finding a way to successfully be an innovator and an integrator that turns separate events into a cohesive solution.
5) Future and past: This is HR being a change champion that connects the past to the future and that anticipates, initiates, and manages institutional and individual change.
6) Strategic and administrative: This is HR using technology to process administrative work effectively and flawlessly while generating information for continued strategic work.

Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Younger, J., & Ulrich, M. (2012). Chapter 3: Strategic positioner. InHR from the outside in: Six competencies for the future of human resources (p. 65). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Identify and describe 1 of the 6 paradoxes in HR.

The paradox that I would like to identify and describe is organization and individual. In organization, it is important to cultivate individuals, while encouraging teamwork, all within the organization's ideal culture and environment. I could understand why this is a paradox. I hadn't thought about the balance that would be needed for the department to manage individual needs and the organization's need. I hadn't thought about what it take to encourage employees individually without alienating the other employees and encouraging teamwork. Specifically balancing the abilities of the employees.

SHRM Connect:
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