Personnel Management - Enterprise Labour Flexibility and Security Surveys - Assignment Example

Personnel Management Exam Answer To what extent and why do models and theories assist our understanding of the role of personnel management in organisations Personnel management plays an important role in the realisation of the organisation's objectives. For this case, if the human resources are not properly motivated, the management might not accomplish their goals. Therefore, human resources should be managed with utmost care to inspire, encourage and impel them to contribute their maximum for the achievement of the organisation's objectives. The basic job of the management of any firm is the effective utilization of available human technological, financial and physical resources for the achievement of the organisation objectives. A number of models and theories do assist us in understanding the role of personnel management in an organisation. Personnel management requires a sound management since we need to evaluate the status of the personnel activities. This is because there are a number of functions carried out in the personnel department that include: recruitment, training, rewarding, appraising, dismissing etc. To run the personnel department, the concerned individuals need to know the entire organisation and all the employees qualifications needed for various positions. Hence, understanding of personnel management models and theories is very essential. Models and theories of personnel management assist our understanding of the role of personnel management in an organisation. Legge (1978) characterises four models of personnel management. The four models of personnel management includes: Normative, Descriptive-functional, Critical-evaluative and Descriptive-behavioural. In normative framework, the personnel manager speaks about employees in the context of teams, quality, empowerment and creativity. The underpinning of the manager's opinion, norms and values about the people who work for them are reflected in McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. (Storey, 1995) In a cold or harsh organisation, the firm's manager may be distant, erratic, and negative or cod. Their value may be coercive or exploitive as far as their behaviours are concerned. In such circumstances the personnel department: Keep salaries, wages and terms and conditions of employment very low They hire casual labourers only They behave with insensitivity towards employees The employees are supervised thoroughly as they work The employees do not develop deep seated trust in management because of the management behaviours. These norms and behaviours fall outside the welfare, participation and empowerment norms of the neo-human relations school which include: the welfare, participation and empowerment norms of the neo-human relations school which might include the following: Encouraging people to be part of a team Responding to the aspirations of individual members of the organisation Having employment policies that reflect broad societal needs for fairness and equity By seeking secure optimum utilisation of the human resources of the organisation by fitting the right people into the right jobs with the right rewards Putting emphasise on getting results through people by securing their commitment not by coercive or demanding means. The mangers behaving consistently and with sensitivity to the needs of others by applying sound planning, organisation, communication, motivation and controlling activities to acquire, develop, maintain and use the workforce effectively and economically. Normative emphasis may be pluralistic rather than unitary. Management's role and functional human resource management policies are emphasised even more where are different vested interests and a potential for conflict between groups whose objectives are different. Managers must manage conflict in professional ways being primarily responsible for taking the initiative, developing institutional relationships and mechanisms to anticipate problems and minimise the potential for damaging conflicts of right and interest, consulting and negotiating, responding to appeals to the exertion of managerial authority. In descriptive (functional) model, it model emphasises the policies, processes, roles and structures required to manage people at work. The functions can either be carried out within a unitary or pluralistic framework. This is also known as professional systems-oriented manager approach whereby employment regulation perspective within the internal labour market of the firm is more evident. The Personnel management is associated with regulative systems; job definition, organisational structuring, selection, appraisal, training, rewards, discipline for which managers are responsible. Indeed managers must adhere to the requirements of external regulation such as those imposed by the trade union. To achieve these we use the following means: Negotiations between stakeholders of the organisation. Inter and intra-organisational problem solving, negotiation, mechanisms The functional perspectives on human resource management need to be seen in relation to the normative systems of the organisation. Managerial authority may be challenged where there are competing interests amongst organisational players. The challenges may be between managers. The norm of professionalism would have it that it is management's responsibility and personnel management's specialist to offer a professional, know-how based approach. In critical or evaluative model, a more critical view of what personnel management is and what its functions do was opened up by Watson (1986). Watson questioned the "justificatory overtones and mystifications" of the normative perspective. There may be a pluralistic melange in the employment relationship hence a definite imbalance. The employer-employee exchange is not one between equal partners. The law has to intervene to even things up a bit. Though the employers don't like this interference, the employees generally have to be put out of a job or experience discomfort in their working life before they really can lay claim to legal protections. Normative values and the managerial ascendancy of unitary and pluralistic professionalisms don't really address these matters of power and societal regulation. According to Watson (1986), he viewed the personnel practice as being A critical view points to personnel practice as being: Secondary to the dominant strategic concerns of profitability, market share and growth Also as regulative and exploitative Legge (1978) noted that managers tends to have a confused and stereotyped perception of the personnel service. She points to a credibility gap arising from the contradictions of market economics and capitalism and the rhetoric and gloss of human relations and unitary normative aspirations. In descriptive or behavioural model, its approach focuses on the actual experience and actual behaviours of personnel people and how others perceive them i.e. how it compare with normative rhetoric and what they do in reality. According to Legge (1978), Clint Eastwood who as Dirty Harry, when being disciplined for his anarchic, anti-public relations behaviour, is threatened with being transferred to the Personnel section. It is also essential for the personnel management team to understand the motivational theories in order for them to clearly manage their employees effectively. This will in turn motivate their employees, thereby increasing their productivity. For example, in Hertzberg's Two Factor Theory, the personnel team get to know that there are certain factors in the workplace that result in job satisfaction, while others lead to dissatisfaction. There is clear distinction between motivation and hygiene in regards to this theory. Motivation comes in due to recognition, responsibility and challenging work which brings positive satisfaction. Hygiene factors like job security, status and wages and salaries bring positive satisfaction, although their absence results to dissatisfaction. (Deci and Ryan, 1985) According to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory, it states that human beings have wants and desires which influence their behaviour, only unsatisfied needs can influence behaviour, satisfied needs cannot. These needs are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the complex as follow: Physiological, Safety and security, Love, Self esteem and finally Self actualization. (Deci and Ryan, 1985) 2. Is firm-level labour flexibility necessarily a good thing Firm-level flexibility is a good thing since it determines the workers security this is largely determined by the practice within the enterprise of their employment. The ILO conducted a survey to examine the process of employment creation, labour utilisation, job structure, working conditions, and labour relations at the establishment level. The survey was carried out in a number of countries in year 2001-2002. The survey was meant to promote the idea of an optimal level of security in work, by focussing on firms as places where profitability, dynamic efficiency, flexibility and work related security by International Labour Organisation (ILO). (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/sesame/seshelp.elfs_desc#why) Firm level labour flexibility is essential in an organisation as it help it to adopt and adjust to changes in the economic, technological and institutional context. Labour flexibility is in a number of dimensions that include: Organisational flexibility which is applied when there is more turnover of firms, more use of sub-contracting and production "chains", and when there is a tendency to contract the employment function. Numerical flexibility is employed when there is more use of external labour such as temporary workers, contract workers, outworkers, agency labour, and teleworkers and home workers. Functional flexibility is employed when there is greater change in work tasks, skills and job rotation. Working-time flexibility is employed when there is more continuous working and flexible hours. Wage flexibility is employed when there is a shift from fixed to flexible wages, monetization of remuneration, and greater use of bonuses. Labour force flexibility is employed when there is less attachment to sectors, companies or occupational groups, erosion of "collective labour", and greater tendency By use of the above labour flexibilities dimensions, the firms are able to use the best flexibility that would suit them in case of change in economic and technology. (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/sesame/seshelp.elfs_desc#why) 3. What are the limitations and potential benefits of appraisal Appraisal is the practice that enable firms to take stock of their skills mix and standards, and for employees to look to where and how they should develop. For the personnel department to appraise staff fairly and objectively, appraisal training is very essential. It works very well where there is objectivity that is enhanced by trust. (http://www.bcftcs.ac.uk/pdf/sh-appraisal.pdf) Performance appraisal process is powerful tool in an organisation and this is the key responsibility of the personnel department. This provides documented feedback on the performance of the employees and this offer a means for determining continued employment, promotion, transfer, bonuses, and pay raises. The appraisal document influences the career of an employee as this become part of an employee's permanent record. In appraisal, the skills, experience and roles and responsibilities performed within an organisation are reviewed by a trained appraiser to make them more effective. Before the appraisal process begins, there must be an agreed job description. Appraisal has both the limitations and potential benefits. The potential benefits of appraisal are: It supports the staff in the acquisition of appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to enable them to develop and meet the challenge of change in an organisation. It encourage, identify and recognise good practices in the firm Appraisal increases employee's motivation, performance and productivity while at the same time reducing potential exposure to litigation. It helps in improving the current performance and confidence of all staffs in their current and future roles. It improves the quality of the service provided by the organisation to its clients. (http://www.bcftcs.ac.uk/pdf/sh-appraisal.pdf) However, there are limitations associated with appraisal and they include: Failure to include all staff in the appraisal scheme Staff on probation are not subject to be appraised The appraisal takes place annually and the date for appraisal being conducted by the personnel department. Appraisal being done by untrained appraiser hence not being done properly. The appraisers favouring some employees during appraisal process hence it will not be fair. If the appraisee consults the personnel manager regarding the allocation of the appraiser, then the appraisal process might be biased. (http://www.bcftcs.ac.uk/pdf/sh-appraisal.pdf) References The Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies, Appraisal Scheme, Available at (http://www.bcftcs.ac.uk/pdf/sh-appraisal.pdf), accessed on 8/9/2006 Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R. M. (1985): Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour, New York: Plenum International Labour Organisation (2006): Enterprise Labour Flexibility and Security Surveys - ELFS, Available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/sesame/seshelp.elfs_desc#why, Accessed on 8/8/2006 Legge, K. (1995): Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities, New York, Macmillan Legge, K. (1978): Power, Innovation and Problem-solving in Personnel Management, New York, Macmillan Storey, J. (ed) (1995): Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, London, Routledge Watson, T. (1986): Management, Organisation and Employment Strategy, London, Routledge Read More