Managing Social Climate at Work - Research Paper Example

Managing Social Climate at Work Undoubtedly, part of an organization’s success has a lot to do with the employees of the organization. Human capital attributes such as training, skills and experience all contribute to the knowledge base of a company, and is what partly determines the company’s value, and contributes largely to the achievement of the company’s competitive advantage (Pablos and Lytras, 2008). In this context, it follows then that companies have to be very careful when it comes to hiring potential employees who are right for the job. Since it is the employee who contributes partially to answering the objectives of an organization, it is the responsibility of the human resource management team of an organization to make sure that their employees are able to effectively and efficiently handle the tasks that their job entails. First and foremost, the company should have an organizational strategy which mentions the immediate needs of the company. All employees and applicants should be made aware of such a strategy, and from the very beginning, both the human resource department and the potential employee should be aware of the positions that he/she is applying for, and the challenges that are faced while working under such a position. On the part of the human resource department, it would be a huge help if the management team is clear with the requirements needed to fulfil the job. This includes the necessary business experience, education attainment, and of course, the knowledge, skills and capabilities of the applicant. In addition, both the management and the applicant should already be made aware of tasks, duties and responsibilities that will be and may be assigned to him/her, without leaving any details out. This means that it is the job of the human resource department personnel to make sure that the objectives of the company are understood by the applicant in addition to any accountabilities. The applicant must also agree with the work schedule offered to him/her, and should there be any short notice changes, such as overtime periods, the management must be clear from the start about their incentives, compensation and benefits. If the employees are aware of what they should expect from their jobs, then the chances of them being taken by surprise by fluctuations in schedules or the increase in overtime work needed to be done. According to O’Hara, (2009), creating a successful company with a good internal culture begins with hiring the right people and leading them in the right direction. In an interview conducted with a certain Jim Geiger, who is a chairman, president and CEO of Cbeyond Inc, a VoIP- based managed services provider for small business, the key to his company’s success lies in hiring the right people for the job and establishing close relationships with them. In fact, Geiger also claims that for an organization to be successful, it is very important for its members to be successful as well. In this context, investments for employee training and skills development helps in shaping a healthy culture and environment within his organization. On the other hand, in order to increase employee motivation, one of the first factors that must be considered have to be the benefits or the incentives that are provided to the employees. Of course, there are factors such as financial incentives that are often the main motivators that companies use in order to motivate their employees to give more time and effort to their work. However, there appear to be more ways to motivate employees than simply depending on rewards. This shall be discussed later on in this report. Task 2 According to Doeringer and Piore (1971), large firms may have stronger internal labor markets and these firms may have their own set of norms against hiring outsiders as compared to other firms. Since our company is still a small company, it would be acceptable of employee recruitment and selection depend on the traits of the best type of people to hire. According to Mitra and Pingali (1999), these traits include risk taking, the ability to be optimistic and goal oriented, in addition of course to previous experiences that have been encountered prior to applying at the company. The recruitment process is a complicated process that requires plenty of time in order to attract the right kind of employees. The first thing that the company must try to understand is what kind of person they need to fill in a vacant position. One of the best ways to do this is to write down a list of all the duties and responsibilities of the job that needs to be done, the amount of time that the employee needs to devote to a particular job, and of course, the company should also be aware of how important the tasks of the job are with regards to the company’s overall development. Studying this will undoubtedly help HR personnel to find out whether there is a need to hire new employees or the company can make do with their existing employees by delegating these tasks to them. HR personnel in charge of handling the hiring process should then make a careful evaluation of the desired characteristics that are needed for the job position to be filled. In other words, a professional profile of every applicant is needed to be made, where the interviewer would be able to tell whether the applicant has been or is currently loyal to a cause, person or company. Aside from the educational background and the applicant’s experience in the retail field, it is best for the HR personnel to have an idea with the applicant’s character/ personality. This way, the business profile will be able to reveal whether the applicant understands what the business is about and the goals it is after to achieve. There are several ways to hire people. It could either be through referral methods, where an existing employee refers another individual he/she thinks is right for the job. Of course, the writer feels that the best way to hire individuals is to put out ads through media mediums such as newspapers, Internet ads and the like. This is the traditional and the most common way to attract hires, and is one that requires interested applicants to submit their resumes. Resumes that may attract the HR personnel will need to be screened and once the applicant has been interviewed personally, it is advised for the HR department to make a background check on the information provided in the resumes to ensure that all information listed by the applicant is accurate and valid (Yate, 1988). Task 3 The role of internal auditing is one which assesses the risks associated with practices and processes with regards to the organization’s operations, particularly when it comes to production, marketing and human resources. It is therefore the job of the management team to make sure then that these areas are operating accordingly with the company’s policies and legislation. According to Hyland and Verrault, internal functions within the company are divided into two categories. The first is compliance based and the second is risk managing. The practices that make up the human resource management team are either strategic or administrative. When it comes to creating value in the company, internal auditing does the job of measuring the value of human resource practices, by providing an analysis of both the risks and the benefits involved. On the other hand, the human resource management is related to internal auditing through the strategic business risks that are involved with the human resource aspect. Thus, with such a tandem, the financial performance of the company is improved. Since internal auditing provides the HRM with a risk assessment of various functions and procedures that are set for the HRM to handle in order to allow for future change. Thus, the internal auditing aspect of the company can help the HRM to implement its proposed strategies in a manner that is more focused. This way, more value is created, even though a certain period of time may have to be required. It must be mentioned that although the HRM department can exist on its own and can operate strategically in such a condition, financial achievement is limited as a result. It follows then that if the internal auditing department of the company collaborates with the HRM to produce a strategic approach with regards to the company’s operations, then the entire organization as a whole would be at an advantage. When it comes to managing risks that take place within a company, the internal auditing can serve as a cooperative partner to the HRM which is strategically oriented. The Internal auditing can also motivate the human resource department to be strategically inclined if it isn’t already. However, the opposite is not true. The HRM cannot influence internal auditing practices to change its operations significantly (Human Resource Management, 2004). The employees have complained that due to the circumstances experienced by the company as a result of more work that needs to be done due to development changes and the result of employees leaving the company, the other employees left behind have to sacrifice their time at home and their time spent with the family in exchange for more hours spent at work. Kanter (1977) came up with the view that the concept of work and family in the business world are two different entities that must be considered in any business setting. Other companies have recently found out that both work and family life are two factors that need to be paid attention to, and are now expanding and diversifying their work-life benefit programs in order to help their employees manage both the demand of their careers and their personal lives. These ‘work-life’ benefits exist to particularly help employees with their personal well-being, professional development and their responsibilities towards their families that cannot be sacrificed or ignored (Galinsky et al, 1996). Muse et al. (2008) have identified these work-life packages to include benefits that can be categorized into six non-hierarchical levels. These benefits can be child-related and would include childcare facilities, financial assistance, childhood health programs, and maternity or paternity leaves. The second category has to do with the time or schedule that an individual devotes to his/her work. This includes factors such as flexible schedules, compressed workweeks and job sharing systems. The psychological well-being of an employee is also something that has to be taken note of. Therefore, it is advisable that our company should have programs that offer counselling, or other employee assistance programs. This way, employees can effectively manage the stress levels that they encounter in the workplace, and the chances of absenteeism would be less. Eldercare is also another category that should be kept in mind, and this includes retirement programs and other assistance programs for retired employees. The last category would refer to professional development, which would refer to training and educational programs, all of which aim towards the improvement and development of the worker. Aside from this, Berger 1984) and Dreher (1981) also cite other benefits such as dental and vision insurance as well as life insurance policies for the employee and his/her dependents. Increase in salaries, promotions and improved working conditions due to acknowledged accomplishments and/or encompassing a period of time of being loyal to a company, all help in changing or influencing employee behaviour in a positive light. Such improvements in behaviour could include less absenteeism and less job turnovers (Weiner, 1980). Task 4 There appears to be differences between the salary system of big firms and small firms. Obviously, large firms consist of more employees and the salary system is therefore one that is quite complex. This then gives way to more internal equity and pay compression problems. On the other hand, small companies have a stronger salary system that is more flexible. However, according to Amba-Rao, et al.(1985), small companies really have to work on their pay policies, especially since most operations in small companies are operated in an informal manner. Since our company plans to expand its business, it would be wise to improve the pay system in such a way that confusion is avoided and the employees are able to get the incentives that they deserve and the compensation benefits that they need. Generally, small firms are typically short of resources and skill applications and are thus less capable of providing employees with resources to further enhance their skills and abilities (Child, 1973). However, as opposed to large firms where employees may not appreciate any changes initiated by the employer, members of small firms are more likely to be open to changes. Since small firms do not typically have formal operations, any changes to the organization that the employer may make would be able to function more and contribute to salary increases as compared to larger firms. One of the main reasons for this is because small firms are more likely to have new employees who would be able to influence the operation of the firm (Sturdivant, 2008) In other words, this becomes somewhat of an advantage as the company is able to hire new individuals with outside experience, that may be beneficial for the company. One of the ways in which a company can show their appreciation for the efforts of their workers would be through the rewards system. Through such a system, employees who have contributed considerably to the company are acknowledged and rewarded for their hard work. This is known as payment by performance, where the employee is obviously paid a larger amount if the quality of work produced is better than the previous work done. In this way, other members of the organization shall also be motivated to work as hard as their peers who have been rewarded. According to Muse et al., (2008), the reward system consists of two things- performance results and the rewards corresponding the performance delivered. It is up to the leader of the human resource department’s judgment to decide whether the performance of an employee is up to the company’s standards or exceeds it. The judgment process involved defining the performance level, evaluating it, and providing feedback to the employee with regards to his/her performance. In return for his/her good work, the rewards could include a bonus, an increase in salaries, promotions and stock awards. It has been known that rewards vary from company to company, but some companies have also started to see the advantage of providing travel incentives as a good motivator for their employees to perform well. The idea of an all-expense paid trip to an exotic location has proved to be an effective strategy towards increasing employee satisfaction and boosting performance levels (Pennington, 1991). However, despite the advantages to such reward systems that are monetary in nature, it must be reminded that not all individuals appreciate monetary rewards for their hard work. It is the employer’s job to identify exactly what their employees like and what they do not. This being said, reward programs must be developed according to what employees value the most, otherwise, employers may make the mistake of investing in reward programs that do not encourage an improvement in employee performance at all. According to Motowidlo (1983), financial incentives have been known to produce diminishing returns. This means that once employees have started to get used to their improved income levels, their efforts at work may not be worth their increased finances. Therefore, more than providing workers with rewards that are financial in nature, it is more important for the employer or manager to find out exactly what the employee needs. After these needs are found out, then the employer can give provide different rewards using the employee’s needs as a basis. For instance, if the employee wishes to have more holidays in a year because of family issues, then the employer should be ready to work out such arrangements accordingly. Earlier in this report, it was mentioned that employees would like to spend more time with their families. Family-related incentives are therefore believed to be helpful in encouraging job performances. Task 5 In any organization it is crucial that all its members are able to continuously develop, hone, and refine a wide range of skills before actually being able to do more complex work (Whalen et al., 2004). In addition, appropriate and systematic training is crucial for employees to be more productive, which in turn would also lead to future successes for the company. The idea of training lies in the fact that change develops at a very quick pace and as a result employees should, in turn, learn to adapt to changes in the trends and demands of the company and the environment. In this context, it is necessary to constantly upgrade the employee’s skills and knowledge, and it is the job of the management to make sure that all employees have the opportunity to constantly learn and acquire new information about their chosen field. Programs and seminars help to facilitate the employee to develop his/her professional skills, and this can also increase work effectiveness (Daily Gleaner, 2008). Despite the advantages of employee training and education, it has been known that some companies are indeed hesitant to invest vast sums of money in training their employees. This is due to the fear that after training investment, the employees might just use their newly learned skills and knowledge towards looking for better opportunities in another company. However, despite the costs involved, there are more advantages to training employees than there are disadvantages. For one thing, increased and improved knowledge provided through training leads to increased confidence, which has a direct impact on the generation of profits of a company. In the sales industry for instance, training employees on how to effectively communicate with customers helps to increase sales. In addition, training also helps to boost employee morale, increase job security, and also helps the employee move onto new roles or higher positions within the company (Johnston, 2008). According to Schuler and Jackson (1987) companies are in need of employees who already possess specific skills, knowledge, and abilities, all of which are needed to implement the company’s strategies. In addition, the employees that are hired must also possess characteristics that allow for behaviour and ability development, all of which must go hand in hand with the HRM methods of the company. Since this company is one that is in need of a cost-reduction strategy due to the number of branches that it plans to open, there is obviously a need to control expenses and minimize them, while striving for greater economies of scale. One of the first things that have to be considered as a result is the achievement adoption of the utilization type of HRM strategy. The basic idea of the utilization strategy is that businesses recruit their employees mainly from the external labour market. As a result, the selection of the employees picked has been done with the idea that the employee hired should be able to work immediately, with the hopes that training expenses are minimized. As a result, the job content of such workers is definite, career development focuses on specialization and performance can be evaluated during shorter term periods. In addition, the newly hired employee can be paid based on external equity with other workers, and under such circumstances, there is a chance that bonuses and other monetary incentives are rare. It seems then that worker recruitment basically emphasizes on technological ability and organizational requirements. However, companies that undertake such recruitment strategies should realize that job security is poor (Dowling and Schuler, 1990). Therefore, as a consultant, I would like to suggest that the company still invest in training their employees effectively without spending too much. In order to make sure that the company invests in appropriate training for their employees, it is important that the company conduct regular assessments on the performance churned out by their employees. In such assessments, the employee’s weaknesses and strengths have to be identified so that the human resource department can easily find out what skills have to be taught to the workers, in addition to providing further knowledge about a particular aspect of the task at hand. It is also the job of the human resource department to assess the behaviour of their workers, since behaviour towards work has been known to significantly affect the outcome of the worker’s performance. After identifying the behavioural pattern of the employee in addition to the skills required to be enhanced and the weaknesses that have to be paid attention to, it is up to the human resource department to design a training program that would keep the behaviour of the worker, his/her skills, and his/her strengths and weaknesses into consideration. The employees must also be asked for any feedback with regards to the training programs provided by the company, so that the human resource department would know whether their training strategies are effective or not. By giving the employee the opportunity to provide his/her own feedback, the company is saved from wasting time and money on training investments that may bring no benefits in the end. Task 6 By recognition in the context of employee relations, it is mandatory for the employer to have a good relationship with his/her employee. This is how good leaders are identified. It has been said that good leaders are those who constantly involve themselves in the lives of their employees in order to ensure maximum employee satisfaction and well-being. One of the best ways in which this can be done without the rewards system is for the employer, or manager to express his/her appreciation of the work produced by the employee. This creates an impression on the part of the worker that the employer is concerned with the well-being of his/her workers and that the value of the worker towards the company is well appreciated. There exists a phenomenon known as the social exchange theory which suggests that the behaviours exhibited by an individual are the result of a process or system of exchange. Based on this theory, people use their own judgments to weigh the potential benefits of their behaviour and also the risks involved. If the person sees that the risks and the costs outweigh the benefits that can be received, then the individual may opt to minimize their efforts or change their behaviours completely (Hormans, 1958). In the workplace, social exchange theory can be seen in the exchange of valued resources that can be seen between the relationship of the employee and the employer (Blau, 1964). Different researchers consider different types of ‘valued resources’ as perceived by the employee, as offered by the organization that he/she works in. Shore and Shore (1995), for instance, reveal that employee recognition and rewards rank high as a great motivator for an improvement in employee performance. Kacmar and Carlson (1997), identify the fair treatment of employees to have a positive effect in employee attitudes and behaviour. On the other hand, Eisenberger et al (1986) feel that strong levels of supervisory support help to influence positive feelings from the employee towards his/her employer and his/her work. Finally, Wayne et al. (1977) agreed that training provided by the management of the company are considered as valuable resources. All workers from all levels should strike a balance between work and life since this has tremendous implications for human resource professionals. In fact, such a balance affects almost all the functions of human resources, from recruitment to retention, advancement and retirement. All the strategies, policies and programs of the all human resource departments should consider the fast-paced and constantly changing demand of employees for a lifestyle that is more balanced. Thus, the employees are able to have the opportunity to balance all aspects of their lives (Muna and Mansour, 2007). According to a 2002 research performed by Gallup, it was found that successful businesses owed a large deal of their success to employee satisfaction and employee commitment. The report studied 7,939 units of 36 companies and it was found out that the companies that took care of their employees also resulted in a higher rate of customer satisfaction, along with higher profits. It seems then that treating employees as important individuals has its advantages towards the benefit of any company. This is because workers need to feel that the input that they pour into their work is recognized and valued. The workers need to be acknowledged as the key ingredients into helping a company develop and grow. The concept of trust which the worker feels towards his/her employee further develops employee satisfaction (Raines, 2008). According to Sturdivant (2008), leaders of the company have to make sure that the company environment is one in which all the workers support the company’s goals and of course their employers. However, employers have to earn this support by constantly giving back to their employees who work hard to help the company go about their business processes. Some of the most successful companies are those that are able to recognize not only their employees’ needs at work, but also their needs with regards to their family life and personal life. One of the most fundamental features of modern management theory and practice is basically team working. Trade unions are often considered to be incompatible with HRM (Guest,1987). Basically, trade unions consist of a number of workers who have formed their own organization in order to achieve the same goals with regards to working conditions and other work-related issues. Thus, the trade union, through its leaders, represent the other union members, and it is the leaders who are responsible for relaying any concerns of the union to the employer. The single table union approach on the other hand, deals with all recognized unions to collaborate together with regards to collective bargaining with the management of the company. Other forms of trade unions include multi union, the single union and partnership, all of which may be of a disadvantage to the company if ever the employees are not satisfied with their jobs and their workplace. As a result, it is very important the HR department pay close attention to what their employees want, and should these needs be reasonable, the HRM should address their needs accordingly. According to Sims R. and S. Sims, (1994), the opportunity for employees to have more flexible hours at work results in less trade unions and less problems for companies. Thus, the HR department could see to it that an efficient system of time schedules should be arranged so that its employees are not overworked, but all necessary work can still be done. In order to retain their employees and to make sure that they are satisfied, it is important that our company should see to providing innovative and flexible benefits. Such flexible benefits could include the chance of workers to work part time, and the opportunity for them to be allowed more time to relax and rest in exchange for extra hours at work. One of the biggest challenges of the HRM is that employee expectations tend to be fickle and it is very difficult for the company to always come up to the expectations of their employees. However, in order to keep the employees satisfied and to continue working in the company, it is inevitable that the company must do their best to make sure that the expectations of their workers are met (Sims R. and S. Sims, 1994). First and foremost, companies have to first identify what their employees need. It must never be assumed that all employees have the same needs. For instance, one employee may find his/her work to be quite monotonous or redundant, while another may be satisfied with the tasks he/she has to do every day. The job of the HR professional is to therefore find out from the employees themselves what their needs are and how these can be met the best way possible. Earlier in this paper, it was discussed that providing employees with benefits that also benefit their families have proven to be one of the most effective motivators to increase performance and avoid absenteeism and job turnovers. Conclusion The paper has outlined concrete strategies for building a successful organizational culture. Moreover, motivators were also discussed. The ways of attracting new hires were mentioned; it was emphasized that people with the right skills must be hired, and their risk taking, the ability to be optimistic and goal oriented, and previous experiences that have been encountered prior to applying at the company, must all be considered. In addition, the rold of internal auditing is to evaluate the risks related to the practices of the enterprise as regards production, marketing and human resources. It is therefore the job of the management team to make sure then that these areas are operating accordingly with the company’s policies and legislation. It has also been recommended tha the improve its pay system in such a way that confusion is avoided and the employees are able to get the incentives that they deserve and the compensation benefits that they need. Programs and seminars help to facilitate the employee to develop his/her professional skills, and this can also increase work effectiveness, must likewise be in place; employee labor relations is also a critical area that must be monitored to ensure the smooth employer-employee relationship. This is a requisite for organizational effectiveness and employee productivity. References Amato, L. (1984), "Firm size, leading firms and mobility", Studies in Economics and Finance, Vol. 8 pp.5-24. Amba-Rao, S.C., Pendse, D. (1985), "Human resources compensation and maintenance practices", American Journal of Small Business, pp.19-29. Berger C. 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