Evaluating human resource management - Essay Example

Evaluate critically the reasons why companies want and expect their employees to be numerically and functionally flexible. Assess the human resource management issues that can arise from contemporary demands for flexibility. ABSTRACT A large number of firms and organizations are offering flexible working arrangements for their employees, as a strategy to retain them by satisfying them to an extent. These arrangements help the employee in maintaining balance life between career and family, this way it motivates the employees to give productive results by working in an efficient manner. Although the advantages derived from flexible working arrangement are considerable, still due to a large number of reasons it is not carried out in an efficient manner in the firms. In this paper, we address the benefits derived by firms by opting flexible working arrangements, the issues faced by them and the various methods by which the obstacles can be overcome. The data was derived upon after referring to surveys which were done in the past and also based on the results of the questionnaire which was filled in by the professional employees. INTRODUCTION The term 'human resourcing' is used to describe a set of principles through which the strategic possibilities of an organization's workforce and employment structure is evaluated. The methodologies of human resourcing derive from two concerns (Zeytinoglu,1999) : 1. The auditing of current human resources in relation to possible future product/ service and labor market scenarios. 2. The promotion and maintenance of optimal human resource performance through the management of work patterns and organization structures. While human resourcing encompasses what has traditionally been termed manpower planning, it also involves another dimension: that of managing motivation and activity in support of enhanced performance. The basic idea of manpower planning was to manage the headcount of an organization in such a way as to achieve compatibility with predicted trends in performance over time. The emphasis primarily is on the relationship between numbers employed (in various capacities) and the rate of growth or contraction of the organization. This approach rested on three sequential steps (Catalyst,1997): 1. An estimation of the organization's future manpower needs in terms of numbers and skill composition. 2. An analysis of labor flows into, within and out of the organization, and the ability of relevant labor markets to supply existing or future demands. 3. The identification of gaps between supply and demand and the development of policies to 'close' these. LITERATURE REVIEW The need to consider strategic planning for human resources has been recognized in the HR literature over the last couple of decades and more recently by chief executives and senior HR specialists. Various external factors - such as move towards globalization, changing economic trends, changes in the demographic-make up of the labor force and the shortage of key skills, knowledge and experience - have contributed to the urgency with which the subject is now debated. Also there is a realization between organizations of the changing and more 'flexible' nature of the workforce and their need to combine diverse careers with their personal lives. In essence manpower planning has been associated with a more tactical approach of getting the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time. The definition of 'right' is not made in the literature, but should be taken to mean 'what is right for a particular organization'. Part of the difficulty with this rationale is its static nature, where people are seen as a cost to the organization (Walsh, 1999) instead of an investment. The focus of manpower planning is on management and control. It usually includes various statistical calculations that are not always evident in practice: both short-term quantitative techniques (for example, labor turn over analysis) and more long-term qualitative techniques (for example, succession charts, attitudinal surveys). RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES Flexibility and Working Practices : One way in which organizations have attempted to rethink the organization of employment to enhance performance through greater efficiency is through a reassessment of working practice in terms of greater flexibility. Flexible working is the term used to describe the creation of work patterns and arrangements based on the need to maximize and optimize organizational output, customer satisfaction and staff expertise and effectiveness. It has come about as the result of the expansion of globalization of competition and choice, increased pressure on all resources, enhanced customer demands and expectations, and changes in patterns of consumption. Flexible workforces are created to maximize and optimize the use of capital, premises, technology and equipment, to produce high quality products and services that are available to customers where and when required. "Flexibility can be achieved at two levels: at the level of work practice (functional flexibility); and at the level of organization structure (numerical flexibility). To this can be added a third category, temporal flexibility which involves the reorganization of working time" (Bailyn & Fletcher, 1997). As much as anything, since the early 1980s the notion of flexibility has been tied to industrial regeneration and, as such, provides important themes within HRM. Flexibility has been seen as a vital means of responding swiftly to changes in economic and technical environments and reducing costs by maximizing the utilization of employee skills. Two forms of flexibility are usually identified. The first, numerical flexibility refers to the ability of organization to restructure their workforces so as to retain only workers with key skills as direct employees, less essential functions being placed with outside contractors, the self-employed or casual part-time labor. In this way the organization reduces its direct administration and supervisory costs, and responds to changes in its markets/budget by terminating or extending contracts. The subcontract/casual 'periphery' thus acts as a buffer for the 'core' staff of the organization. This approach is epitomized in Atkinson's (1984) model of the 'flexible firm'. Functional flexibility, on the other hand, concerns the practice of 'multi-skilling' whereby workers are encouraged to acquire a range of different skills each of which, previously, would have been the preserve of a single occupational group. A mechanical engineer, for example, might also be trained as an electrical fitter and a plumber. In this way skilled labor can be deployed as and when needed. Temporal flexibility, while not incompatible with functional flexibility, is primarily concerned with the fundamental restructuring of working time. This approach hinges around the notion of making optimum use of paid time - minimizing "ineffective time" (i.e. where no productive work is undertaken) and maximizing 'productive time' (time - spent in productive work). This explanation leads us to the following research questions : RQ1 : Do flexible working arrangements enhance the performance of the employees and how do the productivity results differ from that of a standard work arrangement firm RQ2 : Do flexible working arrangement help the organizations and firms in reducing the level of iteration and is the rate of iteration in such firms less than that of a standard work arrangement firm Flexible working is not new. Energy, telecommunications, emergency services, health care, transport, travel and leisure services have always operated around the clock. Flexible working hours and extended hours have therefore been around for a long time. The purpose here is to consider the potential, the opportunities, and also the pitfalls, afforded by flexible working in order to ensure that organizations that follow this path gain the best results possible, identify the best approaches, and avoid the main problems. Workforce is a combination of : patterns of work, based on hours, expertise, needs and demands of customers and clients, the capability and capacity of technology, location and specific aspects of particular activities; attitudes and values, especially responsibility, dynamism, individual and collective responsiveness, commitments to service and satisfaction, positive approaches to solving problems; a commitment to training and development, enhancing the value brought by all members of staff to the organization; individual and collective commitment to improve all aspects of work, procedures, practices, response times, as well as product and services; organizational commitment to flexibility and to each of the above points, and a commitment to invest in and support everything that is necessary to achieve this. Flexibility is a corporate attitude; and the flexible workforce is the product of this corporate attitude. The reasons for having a flexible workforce are : (Almer & Kaplan, 2002 ) to produce better quality, more effective work; to develop the reservoir of talent and potential that exists in all work forces, and which traditionally has remained constricted by procedures and hierarchies or otherwise largely untapped; to serve customers and clients at times suitable to them. This is especially true of retail and other service activities, following the decision of supermarkets, agencies, restaurants and others hops to open or longer hours, and following the Sunday Trading Act of 1992 which further extended their scope for opening; to make full use of talented person who (for a variety of reasons) are unable to work regular or traditional patterns or hours, and to harmonize their capabilities with the demands of customers and requirements of organizations. This discussion leads to the following hypotheses : H1a : Employees working under a flexible working arrangement shows a higher level of commitment towards the work which results in higher productivity. H1b : Employees working under a flexible working arrangement shows a higher level of commitment towards the firm or organization as they are highly satisfied with their job. METHOD A large bulk of data of data and information was gathered from the survey results done in the past. However, to make the explanation more effective the thoughts of the current working professionals needs to be taken and for this a questionnaire was formulated and passed to professionals working in different firms. The individuals were selected randomly, the HR in all the participating firms assisted in the selection by providing the productivity results of each individual. Also the iteration data and the reasons behind the employees leaving the organizations were given by the HR; the data was derived from the exit interviews. In total 100 individuals were selected from five firms (20 from each firm). The participants included professionals (both males and females) of all age groups. There was no discussion or group discussion was allowed amongst the participants. The participants were asked to fill in the ten questions asked on the questionnaire. The following is the result of the questionnaire : YES NO 1. Are you satisfied with the current employers 45 % 55% 2. Are you married 50 % 50% 3. Do you have children 45% 55% 4. Are you happy with your work timings 38% 62% 5. Will timings be one of the reasons to change your job 62% 38% 6. Do timing factor motivates you 80% 20% 7. Are you happy to work in flexi time 84% 16% 8. Do you think flexible working is better than standard 51% 49% working arrangement 9. Given a chance will you opt for working in flexi hours 88% 12% 10. Are you happy to work in flexi timings arrangement 89% 11% Although, it was made compulsory to answer all the questions there were few participants who did not abide by the rule and this resulted in a small amount of deviation in the results. However, the impact was not high as the sample-size was good. Also, participants found the answers option ( YES or NO) to be very direct as they were few of them who were neutral on few questions. The survey result depicts that indeed, time is a major factor with all the employees. The working hours do influence or impact the professional's life in different ways. Given a choice, a large number of employees (89% - 89 out of 100 participants) would prefer to work in a flexi-shift. RESULT The method followed was a survey done by using a questionnaire. Thus no statistical tool or technique was utilized to analyze the data and its interpretation. A simple mathematical expression was used to calculate the percentage and derive the results. DISCUSSION The result of the survey to a very large extent agrees to the hypotheses derived at the earlier stage on the paper. Indeed, employees working in a flexible working hours arrangement yield more output as the level of self motivation and satisfaction is higher in them. They are also more committed to the firm and thus there would be less chances for them to seek a change in their jobs. Discussions with the HR's of the participating firms gave a clear picture about the requirements and the issues which would result from adopting the flexible working pattern in their firms. Few of the major requirements and issues are listed below : Major Requirements : For effective flexible work to take place, the following must be present : Staff commitment: to the organization, its customers, clients, products and services; to the quality of whatever is offered; to customer satisfaction and contentment; to continuous personal and occupational development and advancement. Organizational commitment: to its staff, to products, its services, its customers and clients; to improvement in all areas and activities, including the quality of management and administration; to continuous training and development to improve the capabilities and expertise of the workforce. Dynamism and responsiveness: rather than passiveness and dependency on procedures and bureaucracy. Empathy : with customers and clients; with managements and supervision; with peers superiors and subordinates; with suppliers and distributors; with governor, shareholders and backers. Identity: between the organization and its staff; between the organization and its customers and clients; within immediate work teams; with its wider environment and community; and with others with whom the individual comes into contact. Difficulties Faced by HRM : Difficulties with the variable working hours patterns tend to be practical ones: administrative and inefficiency costs poorer production or quality standards employee relations problems. CONCLUSION The responses to the increased use of technology and to economic and competitive pressures have changed the nature of people management in a number of ways. These include slimmer and flatter organization structures in which cross-functional operations and team - working have become more important, more flexible working patterns, total quality and lean production initiatives, and the decentralization and devolution of decision making. 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