MN7181-People and Organisations

Ethical Context of HRM

Ethics

The term ‘ethics’ is usually applied to persons (ethics comes from the Greek ethos, meaning character) and ‘morality’ to acts and behaviour (moral comes from the Latin moralise, meaning customs or manners). It refers to that aspect of human experience which involves making what reason to be impartial judgements as to the ultimate rightness and wrongness of conduct and the values to which priority ought to be given in personal, social, and political decision-making (Maclagan, 1998).

Ethics in HR

While HR is all about people management, applying the theories ethics in an organization can be complicated as it as to be practical in day to day use (Kew & Stradwick, 2008). It is a critical challenge faces by HR practitioners to convert the theories in to practice since human resources is a very sensitive practice in any business.

The said sensitive practice human resource management deals with all activities relevant to the manpower and deal with the human element of the organization which makes everything different from any other practice or theory. However, ethics mostly matter in this area of business as the practice handles compensation, training development, industrial relations and health and safety issues (Gandz & Hayes, 1988). Hence, human resources play a crucial role in keeping up with ethics in an organization.

Given the nature of the practice of HR the HR professionals become responsible in raising awareness on ethics through the code of conduct which will be unique to each organization. In order to achieve this, the responsibility of the human resources practitioners of the organization would be (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014);

·         Implement policies and procedure that are ethical

This will help define & standardize ethical practices like the responsibilities of the employee and employer in the juncture of resignation, non-disclosure of company information and any other ethical behavior desired to be practiced.

·         Practice ethical standards in the HR framework (compensation, recruitment & all other key areas)

Setting salary scales for each grade of employment to maintain fair and transparent compensation. Requesting a standard set of onboarding documents at the point of recruitment which helps with the grading of the employee.

·         Challenge unethical behavior of any level of employee

The ability to challenge or question any employee’s behavior when unethical; regardless their designation in the organization in order to maintain an ethical environment.

References 

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S., 2014. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 13 ed. Londin: Kogan Page Ltd.

Gandz, J. & Hayes, N., 1988. Teaching business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 19, pp. 657-669.

Kew, J. & Stradwick, J., 2008. Business environment: managing in a strategic context. London: CIPD.

Maclagan, 1998. Management and Morality: A Developmental Perspective. London: Sage.

MN7181-People and Organisations

Learning and Development

Learning & development along known as training and development is a function with organizational activity focused to enhance the job performance of employees (Tracey, 1992).

Learning / Training is considered as the learning process helping employees bridge the gap between the current level of performance to reach expected performance level.
Development would be the process of enhancing employee proficiency for career development and future opportunities (Hunt & Michael, 1983).

It is often perceived that the main benefit in the process of learning is the addition of credentials or qualifications. (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009)However, the concept of learning and development goes beyond this & makes the process alone significant. Trainings in an organizational context will be more focused on working on the weakness of an individual to perform better in his job role. This comes with a drive, passion and motivation as it enables one to improve themselves as individuals both personally and professionally. With the right training and development programs, employees perform better which helps boost revenue and organizational growth.

A group of people who work together in an organizational context and they collective enhance each other’s capacities & skills is refers to as a learning organization (Senge, 1990). The process of organization learning consists of learning individually and it shifts from the traditional organization concept to a more learning and development oriented culture where employees think more creatively and critically.

A learning organization has certain characteristics as stated below that has been elaborated by the creator of this model Dr. Peter Senge.

·         System thinking

This characteristic reflects the observational process of an entire system instead of maintaining focus on issues individually. The management understand the consequences of all the actions and the correlation each action has on the other. With this understanding, managers become proactive and when face with an issue enables them to look at the cause of an issue in order to rectify (Marquardt, 1996)

·         Personal mastery

Personal mastery takes place when the leader has set the vision clear with goals aligned to it. These are realistic and it drive the employees towards the vision. However, employees could believe they lack the competencies to achieve their goals and it will hold them back from realizing their vision.

·         Mental models

A team needs to understand the purpose of the business which is the vision. This understating will help in adopting to the changes of the organization which will be made time to time in order to achieve the vision. (Gilley & Maycunich, n.d.)

·         Shared vision

Through a shared vision an organization can keep all of its employees inform and education which align the interest of all members keeping the focus in one direction to achieve the vision.

·         Team learning

Team work and learning within a team encourages learning through mistakes and developing skills from the colleagues.

Benefits of a learning culture

·         Efficiency gains

·         Increased productivity and Increased profit

·         Decreased employee turnover, as employee satisfaction levels rise and loyalty and commitment can be increased

·         Raising the bar by creating a continuous improvement mindset, shared ownership for projects and shared accountability for results

·         Developing leaders at all levels, which helps with succession planning

·         Creating a culture of inquiry, adaptive capacity, and knowledge sharing (vs. knowledge hoarding)

·         Enhanced ability for individuals and teams to embrace and adapt to change.

 References 

Aguinis, H. & Kraiger, K., 2009. Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams, Organizations, and Society. Annual Review of Psychology.

Gilley, J. & Maycunich, A., n.d. Beyond The Learning Organization: Creating a Culture ofContinuous Growth and Development Through State-of-the-Art Human Resource Practicies. s.l.:s.n.

Hunt , D. M. & Michael, C., 1983. Mentorship: A Career Training and Development Tool. Academy of Management Review, 08(03).

Marquardt, M., 1996. 16 Steps to Becoming a Learning Organization. s.l.:s.n.

Senge, P. M., 1990. The Fifth Discipline. s.l.:s.n.

Tracey, W. R., 1992. Designing Training and Development Systems. 3 ed. s.l.:s.n.

MN7181-People and Organisations

HRM and the design of work

What is design of work?

Design of work, also referred to as job design, can be described as the process of designing or creating a job role or a work arrangement in order to maximize the productivity of an organization and at the same time, reducing any barriers for the smooth flow of the work process while creating a positive and motivation atmosphere within the organization for the employees and employers alike. Job design is not simply an individual task, but rather a combination of tasks and activities that is related to the perfecting of a job role. Job rotation, job enlargement, job simplification and job enrichment can be names as some of the processes that create the combined concept of a job or work design. The above mentioned techniques can be effectively used according to the situation, to align a certain job role with the corporate and strategic goals of an organization, and to maximize or minimize the workload for specific positions as required while upgrading work design according to the timely need of an organization. (Parker and Wall, 1998)

The process of creating efficient work designs and the role of HRM

One of the main aspects to handle work design successfully is to consider the following; Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. These factors will have a major impact in assisting to create the work in a more appropriate manner since it takes into account the group or the individual that is assigned to perform the work, the nature of the work and the desired output of the work.

The most successful method that the HRM of an organization can adopt for the work design is to follow the human approach. It can be considered the best and the most impactful way for work designing, since more priority is given for the employees who perform the job role and the work is designed to facilitate and accommodate the employee while at the same time aligning the work with the strategic vision of the organization, hence creating a win - win situation.

The following aspects should be considered carefully by the HRM when taking part in the process of work design;

·         Skill Variety

·         Task Identity

·         Task significance

·         Considering motivating factors such as achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility and advancement

·         Maintenance factors

·         Designing of work that is interesting and rewarding for the copay as well as for the individual

The designing of an efficient work design is a challenging task, since the work design will simply decide the performance and the capacities well as the career progression and stability of an individual in an organization, and should be handled with much attention and precision  by the HRM of the origination. (Taylor, 2005)

References

Parker, S. K., Parker, S., Wall, T. D., Job and Work Design: Organizing Work to Promote Well-Being and Effectiveness [online]

Available at:

https://books.google.lk/books?id=_-oe-0GiRHQC&dq=job+design&source=gbs_navlinks_s

[Accessed 08^th January 2020]

Taylor, S., People Resourcing: People Organizing Series [online]

Available at:

https://books.google.lk/books?id=6f-Yk35qMqcC&dq=job+design&source=gbs_navlinks_s

[Accessed 08^th January 2020]

MN7181-People and Organisations

THE GLOBAL CONTEXT OF HRM

In the dynamic, fast moving work world, HR has taken a lot of new turns and globalization had definitely has its impact over the field of HR as well. The necessity of shared knowledge and the requirement of accepting the diversities within cultures and nations have become a powerful tool in HRM, especially if organizations need to stand out from the competition.

What is the global context of HRM?

The global context of HRM can be defined as an approach where the local appeal for the work is developed and accelerated without compromising upon the global identity of the workforce that is involved in the process. It promoted recruitment through global communities and diverse cultural contexts and also is an approach where the cross cultural sensitivity is developed among the employers and the employees regardless of the grographical boundaries. Sharing knowledge through cross cultural relationships and thus creating competitive advantage, decision making and coordination, adhering to the legal compliances associated with the global context cab be defined as some of the objectives of the global HRM. (Kramar and Syed, 2012)

The contribution of global HRM for an organization or an entity

·         Integrated Operation using technology

HR systems can be upgraded to be used on a global scale and more job opportunities can be created for employees via the cross cultural impact and the connections made with overseas staffs

·         Shared knowledge base

By creating, developing and sharing knowledge among communities and cultures and working towards a common goal can create competitive advantage for an organization

·         Social integration and developing bonds between the workforce

This will help the employees in multinational organizations to integrate with their foreign work partners better and also develop cross cultural sensitivity while creating a more accepting and diversified work culture.

·         Emotional integration through shared identity

The application of global HRM will require the assistance and the lead of professionally qualified HR professionals who can handle HR matters at a global scale and balance the strategic path of the organization along with the legal, compliance and other global issues that come along with it, and this will require negotiating a new balance between the application of global rule-sets to HR processes and the need for local responsiveness. Managing expatriates and management of subsidiaries needs to be well balanced and handled professionally.  (Goshal and Graton, 2002)

References

Kramar, R., and Syed, J., 2012. Human Resource Management in a Global Context [Online] Available at:
https://books.google.lk/books?d=WLMcBQAAQBAJ&dq=international++HRM+Kramar+and+Syed&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXvPWF9_DmAhUEeisKHQSnA3gQ6AEINjAC
[Accessed 07^th January 2020] 

Ghoshal, S., and Gratton, L., 2002 Integrating the enterprise, Sloan Management Review

[Online] 

Available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/saleable-pdfs/4413.pdf

[Accessed 07^th January 2020]

MN7181-People and Organisations

Organizational Culture

What is organizational culture?

Organizational culture can be describes as a set of beliefs, values, ethics and traditions that governs and rules the working environment and the employees of an organization. Organizational cultures differ from company to company; therefore, it can viewed as something unique to a certain organization. Organizational culture usually defines the limits, guidelines and the scope for the people working for the organization for their functions and activities, and most of the time, the most important thing about organizational culture is that it is more implied that pronounced, and can be considered as a set of terms and conditions that developed and nurtured during a long period of time with contribution of employees and employers alike.

Organizational culture can be viewed as a combined output that is derived from the following aspects that is related to the people and the environment of an organization.

·         Human nature - The attitude and the intentions of the people working in the organization, their relationships with external parties, customer and supplier relationships etc.

·         Organization’s relationship to its environment – This refers to the ability of the corporate vision of the company to define, secure and emphasis its goals and objectives

·         Appropriate emotions – Which emotions should the employees be encouraged to express and what type of vibration is appreciated and encouraged within the organizational environment

·         Effectiveness - An organization will be effective only when the culture is supported by an appropriate business strategy and a structure that is appropriate for both the business and the desired culture.

Maintaining and sustaining the organization culture can be considered quite a tactful task, since its maintenance will have major impact on the performance of the employees and the stability of the work environment

The task of the HR in this matter is a highly important and crucial one, and the following areas can be considered as the aspects that should be focused by the HR when it comes to the context of organizational culture;

·         Hiring practices

·         Onboarding programmes for familiarization

·         Reward and recognition programmes

·         Performance management programmes

·         Conducting and maintaining employee focus groups

·         Maintaining and encouraging effective and healthy communication patterns 

Whereas the right HR practices regarding organizational culture can bring about a positive impact, trying to impulsively change any ongoing practices and or/ implementing practices that is not in alignment with the organizational culture can destroy the peacefulness and the productivity of the work environment.

References

Organizational Culture [online]

Available from:  https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/pages/organizational-culture.aspx [Accessed: 08^th January 2020]

Organizational Culture [online]

Available from: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-organizational-culture-definition-characteristics.html [Accessed: 08^th January 2020]

MN7181 -People and Organisations

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is defined as the emotional or psychological commitment an employee has towards the organizations and the goals of the organization (Kruse, 2012). Employees who are emotionally committed care about their work, responsibilities and the company as well. The reason they work is not the mere paycheck, benefits or personal career development but also to ensure their contribution towards the organizational vision is fulfilled.

How can Employee Engagement be Improved?

·         Encouraging Flexibility

Giving employees flexibility and freedom in terms of working hours and locations to match up with their convenience is one way of increasing employee engagement. This gives the employee the feeling of being trusted by their superiors which will enhance performance.

·         Be Sincere

Maintaining an honest and authentic relationship with the employees builds trust and teamwork which will encourage the employees to be honest with their work. This promotes a positive work culture where employees feel belonged and care about the organization.

·         Feedback

Making the employee feel that their opinion matters is one way of increasing employee engagement. This makes them feel that they are an important part of the organization.

·         Communicate Goals

By clarifying the responsibilities and goal of each individual employee on and off, communicating their contribution towards the overall vision of the organization helps with employee engagement.

In addition to the above there are a number of ways to better employee engagement od the organization. Simply asking the employees what they would prefer would be sufficient to improve employee engagement.

Benefits of Employee Engagement

Engaged, motivated workers have higher employee satisfaction, which leads to enthusiasm in their role and overall company growth in the form of higher retention and lower turnover; higher productivity; increased profitability; less absenteeism, and increased employee loyalty (Robins, 2017).

·         Employee engagement promotes employee satisfaction which plays a major role in terms of high performance.

·         Low attrition rate. Employees remain loyal to the company and retention rate is high.

·         High productivity and profitability

Conclusion

Emotional connection an employee feels toward his or her employment organization, which tends to influence his or her behaviors and level of effort in work related activities (Warner, 2018)

References

Kruse, K., 2012. What Is Employee Engagement. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/06/22/employee-engagement-what-and-why/#287776d47f37
[Accessed 29 December 2019].

Robins, A., 2017. 6 Amazing Benefits Of Employee Engagement. [Online]
Available at: https://officevibe.com/blog/employee-engagement-benefits
[Accessed 30 December 2019].

Warner, J., 2018. 7 Definitions of Employee Engagement. [Online]
Available at: https://decision-wise.com/7-definitions-of-employee-engagement/
[Accessed 30 December 2019].

MN7181-People and Organisations

Performance Management

How do you fix the gap between expected performance levels and current performance level of your organization?

Performance management is the point of evaluating the progress of both the company and its employees. The overall strategy of the company of the company is depicted by the vision and the steps of achieving the vision is depicted by its mission (Armstrong, 2006). The mission is further cascaded down to departmental goals and assigned to each department of the company. The HODs along with the HR department need to further break down the departmental goals/KPIs in to each position and assign the KPI to each and every staff. The realization of the business strategy will be done bottom to top in measurable entities which are KPIs (key Performance Indicators)

Figure 1 - Performance Management Cycle

Goals can be analyzed by adopting and developing a Balanced Scorecard, a trusted strategic planning and management system.

Setting goal, positioning them with accordance to the corporate vision and the process of setting these as goals against each employee in line with their job role, while closely/ periodically monitoring the performance of the implantation f the said goals; offering measures to enhance and improve the performance is the overall scope of performance management (Lauby, 2017). However, to manage the strategy of the company, the following steps need to be looked at. (Jackson, n.d.)

• Analyze business goals.
• Examine the data from the analysis to check the performance
• Identify and understand the areas that are well performed and areas that need
• Implement and track strategy

The process of performance management consists of four elements which are

1.      Agreement

Setting goals and KPIs for the employees and agreeing according to the development goals and measuring performance (Empower Success Corps, 2014).

2.      Feedback

The performance is evaluated against the KPIs and employees are encouraged to improve their weaknesses. Training programs are planned and designed with the input of the requirement from the employees. Feedback from both employee and manager is communicated at this juncture.

3.      Positive reinforcement

Rewarding and appraising the employees which have met the performance expectations while encouraging the others with positivity.

4.      Dialogue

Continues discussions and reviews on the KPIs in order to ensure that they are achieved and goals are met.

The performance management process if carried out as most suited for the organization; it will help in meeting the gaps in expected organizational performance with the current performance levels. It is the key tool to study where the organization and its employees stand in terms of performance and productivity.

References 

Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 10th ed. London: Kogan Publishers.

Empower Success Corps, 2014. Performance Management: Four Components for Success. [Online]
Available at: https://www.empowersuccesscorps.org/blog/performance-management-four-components-for-success/
[Accessed 29 November 2019].

Jackson, T., n.d. What Is Strategic Performance Management & Why Should I Care?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/strategic-performance-management/
[Accessed 19 March 2019].

Lauby, S., 2017. 5 Key Components of Any Successful Performance Management Process. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hrbartender.com/2017/employee-engagement/5-components-performance-management/
[Accessed 29 November 2019].