Is it possible to manage your employees "strategically"? What does that mean, and what would it look like? The key principles of Human Resource Management (HRM) have been around since at least the 1950s. However, since the turn of the 21st century we have seen a distinct move towards making HRM more "strategic". Amongst many other things, this has involved making the Human Resource (HR) function more pro-active, and highlighted its importance for the strategic success of companies. Yet, there is also another way of approaching HRM more strategically: determining what roles are strategically most important, and tailoring your HR practices accordingly. It is this specific approach to strategic HRM that will be the focus of this week. You will learn to question common practices in HRM from a strategic perspective, and develop alternatives to them that better support the business strategy of your organisation. You will also learn to apply a key conceptual framework for strategically differentiating your HRM approach. So this week is all about learning how to align your people practices with your business strategy. This will involve some tough, and possibly controversial choices, which should provide plenty of opportunity for some great discussions.