Organizational Success with Effective Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Organizational Success with Effective Human Resource Management Contents Introduction Analyses of HRM Models in Xerox Retaining the Acceptance Employees Designing the Jobs Conclusion References Introduction Human Resource Management is potentially important for the success of the organizations. A good HR manger is adept at identifying each person's skills, and motivating the employees to effectively use those skills. By using specific practices and policies, the HR department places the right person at the right position to improve the productivity of organizations (Lajara et al, 2002). This study aims to find out the contribution of Human Resource Management in the success of organizations by performing a series of tasks. The first task involves the identification of two human resource management models in an organization. The study will then discuss these two models and critique their effectiveness against the backdrop of the organization's efficiency and effectiveness. The second task aims to evaluate Marie Detert statement in the February 2008 issue of management today. The author stated that about 10-15% of the people in any organization are likely to be outstanding and around 5-10% do not perform. The majority of the employees works at an acceptance level, but is often neglected by the managers who concentrate on the outstanding and the inadequate. This study will discuss why it is important for organizations to retain the employees who are performing acceptably. The research will explain and justify the HRM strategies that can be used by organizations to retain and motivate its acceptance employees. The third task will evaluate the need of organizations to design jobs that empower their workers. Also, this task will analyze if the job design should be amended once change is contributed into the HR systems. The importance of job design towards the success of organizations will also be evaluated. Secondary research has been used to collect information for this study. A number of books, journals and magazines have been consulted to collect information and reach a conclusion that is presented towards the end of this study. Analyses of HRM Models in Xerox In this section the study will identify and discuss two human resource management models that are in use at Xerox. These models will be evaluated for their efficiency and effectiveness in the organization. (i) Training and Development The HRM department at Xerox realized the importance of training and development to survive and sustain in the changing business environment. Today, the leaders are expected to have not only good verbal skills, but also excellent videoconferencing skills. It is no longer enough to simply mail things to clients and the customers now expect well written and prompt emails. Board meetings through videoconferencing were becoming very popular and Xerox decided to train their employees to use new technology (Pulley et al, 2002). The company approached the Center for Creative Leadership and asked them to design unique leadership development program that minimized the time needed for training the employees. Xerox wanted to train future leaders but was keen on minimizing their time away from the job. In addition, the company aimed to cut down the learning costs, and use learning technology to reach it goal. The Center for Creative Leadership introduced Xerox the idea of leadership development via the web (Pulley et al, 2002). The e-leadership program was delivered through web to geographically dispersed and targeted high-potential employees. The e-learning program used the web to conduct online face-to-face sessions, which included assessment, personal coaching, and mentoring. The new HRM model for training and development was successful in improving the performance of the employees at Xerox (Pulley et al, 2002). The e-learning program enhanced the learning efficiencies of the targeted employees and lowered the total costs of training. Xerox also enabled to reduce the time employees had to spend away from the job. The employees were also extremely satisfied by the training and found the online face-to-face session very relevant (Pulley et al, 2002). (ii) Providing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Research also indicates that Xerox is practicing the HRM model of equal employment opportunity (EEO). Literature shows that the organizations that are very committed to their aim of providing EEO, can easily improve the financial position of women and minorities. Identity-conscious HRM structures ensured that the organization is recruiting protected groups and does not discriminate people while hiring. In addition, the companies with EEO models typically allow women and minorities to be promoted in leadership positions (Ivancevich and Gilbert, 2000). Joseph C. Wilson, the founder of Xerox Corporation was very committed towards social responsibility and aimed to have a diverse workforce. During the growth phase the company revised its HR practices, hired a number of women and people from minorities. These people were even promoted to higher managerial positions with more responsibilities. Due to the support from top management, Xerox now has a diverse workforce and some say that this workforce actually more diverse than the general population (Ivancevich and Gilbert, 2000). The company has greatly benefited from this as a diverse workforce is known to provide a sustaining competitive advantage. Companies following the EEO model can hire, develop, and retain talented employees and thus have better chances of improving their positions in the market (Ivancevich and Gilbert, 2000). Retaining the Acceptance Employees This section of the study will now discuss why it is important organizations to retain employees who are performing acceptably. The research will also evaluate and justify the HRM strategies that an organization may use to retain and motivate its acceptance employees. (i) The importance of retaining employees who are performing acceptably Studies indicate that enterprises must not always focus on retaining their star performers or weeding out chronic poor performers. Around sixty to eighty percent of the employees in any organization are average performers. The managers and leaders must focus on retaining these everyday contributors that work at an acceptance level (Niederman et al, 2006). This is very important as analysts believe a firm can improve its economic condition by improving the performance of their average performance workers (Lepsinger and Lucia, 2009). The companies will waste a lot of their resources if they continue focusing on developing and retaining the top performers. Instead they must allocate the budget for each segment and keep a certain amount to retain and develop everyone (Walker and Larocco, 2002). A good example for this management issue has been set by the legendary leader Jack Welch who divided the employees as the A, B, and C players. Welch said that the top performers constituted around 10-20 percent of the workforce, the middle performers accounted for around 70 percent of the total workforce and around 10-20 percent comprised of people with serious work issues. Welch directed his managers to spend time and resources in developing and retaining the top tier but also asked them to maintain the middle tier. He firmly believed that the organization can improve its efficiency and productivity by maintaining the middle tier (Walker and Larocco, 2002). (ii) HRM strategies that help retain and motivate the acceptance employees The Human Resource Managers have realized that employees are the assets of the organizations in today's knowledge-based economy. Employees' skills are now included in corporate wealth and this trend drives the HR departments to retain their employees and find what motivates them (Kulesa, 2003). Having skilled people in the organization can help it succeed in this competitive market. If mangers are finding it difficult to retain their skilled employees they will find it even harder in the next decade when organizations will be challenged with scarcity of skilled employees. Turnover of employees is common when they are unhappy with their jobs, are having problems with their supervisors or have become bored with their jobs (Dibble, 1999). A survey of 8,000 people in 35 industries indicates that employees will like to stay with their organizations if they find the work to be exciting and challenging. In order to retain the employees, the HR mangers must ensure that the employees are growing in their companies and are getting fair pay and benefits. The survey also showed the importance of relationships with other workers and the support of management (Kaye and Evans, 2002). In order to retain and motivate its acceptance employees the HR managers must also provide a good work environment and recognize them for good work. Employees like to be valued and respected and will prefer to stay in an organization if they find meaningful work. There is no quick fix solution for retention and many organizations hire talent-management experts to retain their skilled employees. These experts also coach the managers to build a retention culture in their organization that encourages each employee to keep on working with them (Kaye and Evans, 2002) Designing the Jobs The third section of the study will attempt to find out if companies must design jobs to empower the employees. The research will also discuss if the job designs must be amended once change is contributed into the HR systems. Literature will be reviewed to find the importance of job design in helping organizations to compete successfully in the modern world. (i) Designing jobs to empower employees Research indicates that organizations must design their jobs to give the workers autonomy. The employees must have the opportunity to independently make few decisions about how task are done (Jones, et al, 1991). This proposal is reaffirmed by (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2005) who say that organizations need to design their jobs in a way that empowers their employees and gives them more responsibility. Managers can enrich the jobs of the employees by giving them more control over the areas they work and this will ultimately improve the efficiency of the entire organization (Pugh, 2007). The workers have evolved and they no longer like to work in an authoritarian environment where they are not valued for their contribution. Workers like to believe that they are significantly contributing to the organization and that they are not easy replaceable by any other person (Herman and Gioia, 2002). The authors note a survey by Response Analysis of Princeton, New Jersey. The survey showed that the majority of the respondents wanted to own the responsibility of their work and the results it produced. Out of the people surveyed, forty two percent of the employees wanted acknowledgment for their contributions. Also, a large number (thirty nine percent) wanted to be given tasks that matched their capabilities. The organizations that want to attract and retain good employees will have to design job that gives them responsibility (Herman and Gioia, 2002) Benefits of job designs that empower the employees are evident from the example of Compaq Computers that boasts a very low turnover rate among its employees. Even though the company constantly pushes its people to work hard to achieve corporate goals, the employees prefer to stay with Compaq. The experts attribute the reason for this loyalty to the company's culture that holds individual responsible for results. The performers are also highly respected throughout the organizations. Another example is of the Ritz-Carlton hotel and resort company that has won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Using self-directed work teams concept, Ritz-Carlton gives their front-line workers complete control over the process and outcomes of their tasks. This concept has enhanced the employees' problem-solving skills and made them more committed towards providing world class customer service (Herman and Gioia, 2002). (ii) Changing the job design A company has to bring change in the job design when they are challenged by a rapidly changing business environment. The fluctuating business environment may lead to change in HR policies and practices and the mangers must be driven to reorganize or downsize the workforce (Lewis, 2000). During the change period, the employees may often develop negative attitudes and this may affect the company's bottom line. The HR managers can motivate the employees by redesigning the jobs (Fink, 1996). This approach will give better results as it is much easier to change jobs than to change employees in organizations. The jobs can be redesigned by the following ways: Job rotation, Job enlargement and Job enrichment. Job rotation involves moving the employees through several different jobs. This will motivate the employees who are working in the same kind of job for a very long time. Job enlargement is especially suited for very talented employees that become extremely frustrated if they find themselves to be in a very simple or limited job. Employees work can also be made very interesting and fulfilling by job enrichment. The managers can give more autonomy to the workers and allow them to make more decisions independently (Fink, 1996) Conclusion This study clearly indicates the contribution of Human Resource Management in the success of organizations. Both the HRM models used by Xerox have improved the efficiency and effectiveness in the organization. The first model used e-learning to train their future leaders. Evidently, leaders are required to much more than communicating with mails and thus the company decided to hone their communication skills by providing training to use modern technology. The company used the web to develop their leaders who were geographically dispersed. The e-learning program also decreased the total costs of training and reduced the time employees had to spend away from the job (Pulley et al, 2002). The second EEO model also has given a competitive edge to Xerox. By hiring and promoting minorities and people of color, the company has been able to retain a pool of talent that is loyal and grateful for the recognition the get in Xerox (Ivancevich and Gilbert, 2000). Evidently, it is very important for organizations to retain employees who are performing acceptably. A large number of organizations spend too much time worrying about retaining their star performers or weeding out chronic poor performers. They must instead devote some time to retain those sixty to eighty percent of the employees who are average performers (Niederman et al, 2006). The companies will benefit from following the policy of Jack Welch who asked the managers of GE to take out some time from developing and retaining the top tier and use it to maintain the middle tier (Walker and Larocco, 2002). These employees can be retained by the HR managers if they can ensure them exciting and challenging work. They must also be provided with growth opportunities and fair pay and benefits. The acceptance employees will also stay if they like the work environment and are appreciated for good work (Kaye and Evans, 2002) Finally, the study also indicates the importance of job design and emphasizes the role of HR in providing jobs that empower the employees. The workers like autonomy and like to make at least few decisions independently. If the employees are given more control over the areas they work, they will feel empowered, become more responsible for their work, and increase the efficiency of the organizations (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2005). Examples from organizations such as Compaq Computers and Ritz-Carlton hotel and resort company show that they can increase the loyalty of employees by giving them more control over their jobs (Herman and Gioia, 2002). Also, the job design has to be changed when the company is operating in a dynamic business environment. The change may bring negative attitudes in the employees and this can be overcome if the HR managers redesigning the jobs. By using approaches such as job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment, the companies can make the jobs more fulfilling for their employees (Fink, 1996) References Dibble, S (1999): Keeping Your Valuable Employees: Retention Strategies for Your Organization's Most Important Resource: John Wiley & Sons: p, 3 &4 Herman, R. E and Gioia, J.L (2002): Making Work Meaningful: Secrets of the Future-Focused Corporation: The Futurist: 32 (9): p, 24 Fink, C.B (1996): The manager's desk reference: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn: p, 171 Kaye, B and Evans, S.J (2002): Retention in Tough Times: Here's What 25 Global Talent Leaders Say about Keeping Good People-Especially Now: T&D: 56 (1): p, 32 Kulesa, P (2003): Keeping the Good Apples: Companies Must Understand What Special Motivators Can Drive High-Performance Employees to Stay with the Company: Security Management: 47 (8): p, 32 Lajara, B.M., Lillo, F.G., and Sempere, V.S (2002): The Role of Human Resource Management in the Cooperative Strategy Process: Human Resource Planning: 25 (2): p, 34 Lepsinger, R and Lucia, A.D (2009): The Art and Science of 360 Degree Feedback: John Wiley and Sons: p, 35 Lewis, L.K (2000): Communicating Change: Four Cases of Quality Programs: The Journal of Business Communication: 37 (2): p, 128 Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A (2005): Human resource management at work: people management and development: CIPD Publishing: p, 7 Niederman, F., Griffeth, R., Ferratt, T.W (2006): IT workers: human capital issues in a knowledge-based environment: IAP: p, 81 Ivancevich, J.M and Gilbert, J.A (2000): Diversity Management: Time for A New Approach: Public Personnel Management: 29 (1): p, 75 Jones, J.W., Steffy, B.D and Bray, D.W (1991): Applying psychology in business: the handbook for managers and human resource professionals: Lexington Book: p, 605 Pugh, L (2007): Change management in information services: Ashgate Publishing: p, 190 Pulley, M.L., Sessa, V., Malloy,M ( 2002): E-Leadership: A Two-Pronged Idea; at Xerox, Leadership Development Is Via the Web and about the Web: T&D: 56 (3): p, 35 Walker, J.W and Larocco, J.M (2002): Talent Pools: The Best and the Rest: Human Resource Planning: 25 (3): p, 12 Read More