Human Resource Management Unit - Case Study Example

Human resource management unit case study essay Table of Contents Introduction 3 HR issues raised in the case 3 Workforce Relations 3 Lack of employee commitment 4 Lack of Training and Safety issues 5 HR strategies to be implemented 5 Improve working conditions 5 Career Development Programs 6 Autonomy, Sense of control over work 7 Redesigning of salary structure 8 Training and Development Programs 8 Conclusion 9 Reference 11 Introduction The project tries to the explore the existing condition of the company Howard Transport which was established long back and has been taken forward by the subsequent generations. The company was established through the initiative of Steve, who was a worker in a factory and had been seriously injured while at work which no longer allowed him to continue working. Although the accident was a major setback in his career and his personal life, Steve was determined to live an active life and make at as productive as possible. The company had continued to grow and prosper for the initial years of its establishment. However, the growth began to deteriorate as the company was undertaken by the subsequent generations. The project identifies the various human resource issues which were raised in the organization and were responsible for its downfall. Finally, the project provides recommendations HR strategies that must be implemented to handle the various HR issues. HR issues raised in the case Workforce Relations The initial success of the business can be attributed to the enormous efforts and hard work which had gone into the company. This had resulted in great earnings and revenue for the company which consequently reflected through the satisfaction of workers and their commitment and contribution towards the employer. During the initial years major emphasis was also provided towards enhancing employee satisfaction in terms of providing rewards, cash bonuses and throwing big parties for the employees. There was least coordination of activities between the different business units in the organization. This is because each of the units considered themselves as individual entities which created major coordination problems between them. It was realized by the management that the employees belonging to the individual depot showed enormous commitment towards that business unit, however, this loyalty was not visible from the overall perspective of the company. This shows that the workers’ efforts were not directed towards the goals and objectives of the company and thus did not add to the company’s growth (Cook, 2007, p. 128). Lack of employee commitment The relations between the workforce and management had deteriorated considerably. There was least job satisfaction among employees. The management tried to satisfy the employees and increase productivity by providing them with extra incentives. However, the policy did not work in their favour. It was found that the employees lacked commitment towards their employer completely and were therefore not interested in the company’s fortunes. The low commitment of the employees was primarily because of the fact that the management had not lived up to their commitments. They had not done anything according to that which was claimed or promised. Any kind of agreement that was made was broken which aggravated employee grievances even further. An example may be cited in this regard which would employer’s lack of commitment towards their employees elaborately. Once, an incentive scheme was established which offered an all expense paid holiday to the Gold Coast for the first employee who would generate a certain amount of new business which would be beyond the amount predetermined. However, when a particular employee had achieved the target, Mike, who was the Managing Director of the Company, had refused to give the prize, on the ground that the employees had found a drawback in the scheme of incentive. Lack of Training and Safety issues Employees work quality of work had also deteriorated because of the lack of training in the organization. This was accompanied with certain safety issues which raised dissatisfaction among workers. The factories provided least safety measures for the employees. Moreover the number of occurrences of accidents had increased which raised the expenses of the organization even further. With increase in the number of accidents the company’s insurance premium for the workers’ compensation also increased simultaneously. There were three back injuries among the workers which necessarily meant that three workers would be out of work. The insurance company claimed that there was inadequate training in the organization which was one of the reasons why the management felt the need to revise their human resource strategies and policies. Inadequate training had certain implications for the organizations. Apart from falling quality of work, it was accompanied with rising costs and high business demands (Kusluvan, 2003, p.313). HR strategies to be implemented The basic aim of the management would be enhance employee motivation and commitment towards the organization. According to the present condition in Howard Transport the first step would be to improve the conditions of work and ensure loyalty towards the employees. Improve working conditions The conditions of work at Howard Transport were poor because of which the number of accidents had increased dramatically. Workers felt insecure to conduct risky activities which could otherwise be done in a risk free environment (Glanz, 2001, p.10). The floors remained wet and slippery which increased the chances of accidents. Also there were electrical cords lying across the floor which created hurdles and blockages in the work floor. Providing a hassle free work environment which would provide employees with a smooth running work place was the immediate challenge in front of the management at the moment. Improvement of working conditions is the prerequisites for organizations which are associated with production and development (Clerc, (1985), P. 256). Workers must be provided with safety measures. This is especially applicable for workers who use dangerous machines for performing their jobs. Improvement of the working conditions would eventually result in satisfaction which would consequently lead to higher productivity, lesser dissatisfaction among workers and also improve relations between the workers and the management. Career Development Programs Since there was not career development programs in the organization, workers did not feel the motivation to perform better in their jobs. Development of a proper career path is a requisite for workers to be more involved and motivated in their daily activities. The desire to attain targets and achieve goals would help them to perform better, faster and improve their work quality. Incorporating a career development program would help to assess their work performance on a regular basis and identify the gaps between set targets and actual targets. The performance of employees also requires evaluation to facilitate the process of incorporation of training and development programs (Frazis & Loewenstein, 2007, p.6). A suitable career path incorporated in the organization would provide the impetus for employees to achieve the set targets in order to move up the career ladder. It is also seen that the nature of work keeps changing and along with it does the goals and objectives of the organization. The program would help workers to keep their work processes updated as per the latest requirements from the organization. The changes might also follow from the changes in the labour and industrial market, changes in the organizational as well as the individual levels. The development programs would be designed by considering the changes going on in the world of work, like changes in technology. This would be effective in generating greater benefits for the efforts of employees (Patton & McMahon, 2001, p.126). Autonomy, Sense of control over work In spite of the presence of managers, most of the operational decisions were taken by Mike. This is because the managers were of the opinion that in case of any wrong decisions, they would be held responsible. That is why in times of making a crucial decision, Mike was referred. However, it must be realized that managers were more close to the processes and were directly involved with the functions of workers and the system. Thus they would be in a better position to make any critical decisions with regards to the work activities and processes. Thus managers must be given greater work empowerment and the allowance to make decisions regarding the activities of workers or processes of work. Employee empowerment is an effective process of enhancing involvement of workers in the work processes which in turn provides the basis of motivation for them to perform better. It also gives them the authority to perform their jobs in the way they feel would be effective and yield the maximum result. It allows greater flexibility and freedom to perform the job in the best suited way for the worker (Potterfield, 1999, p.3). It also boosts the employee morale and accountability for they are performing as it is based on their decisions and views. Redesigning of salary structure The company must maintain the basic wages of employees as per the industry standards and must also abide by the legal labour legislations. It is crucial to make the workers feel that they are not being exploited or cheated and that their efforts are treasured by the organization. Along with the basic salary the management could also incorporate an incentive scheme which would be based on targets. According to the scheme, employees would be provided with a sum of money over and able his basic wage on the attainment of a particular unit of work or meeting a certain target set by the organization. This would inject a competitive atmosphere in the organization and provide extra impetus towards workers to perform better and hence would reflect through enhanced productivity of the organization. However it must be ensured that the system is fair and not biased towards particular employees. Training and Development Programs Development of training programs is essentially important to uplift performance of workers and align them with the goals and objectives of the organization. At the present condition of the organization which is running at losses, it is important that no resources are wasted and ensured that each individual effort contributes towards adding productivity of the organization. Also the training and development programs would be based on the evaluated performance of employees. This necessarily shows the importance of a performance management system in the organization (Byrnes & Baxter, 2006, p.88). With the system the loopholes and drawbacks of each individual worker would be identified. The training programs would be developed to meet the individual requirements of each worker. This would eventually help to increase their productivity and eventually the overall productivity of the organization. Also the workers must be made to understand their worth in the organization and the value of their efforts. They must also be rewarded according to their performance in the organization. It is also recommended that instead of downsizing or curtailing the strength of the organization to reduce expenses of the organizations, enhancing the productivity of workers through training would be a better option from the point of view of the employer. This was, it would retain its productive resources and be able to align their efforts towards the desired objectives. It must be realized the cause of low productivity of the organization is dissatisfied workers and worsening of the employer and employee relations. Downsizing would only aggravate the situation even further. Cutting jobs would spread dissatisfaction among the retained workers as they would be upset with their fellow workers losing their jobs. It would also spread insecurity among the present employees (Saunders, 2003, p.52). Conclusion It is realized that the gradual fall in productivity of the organization has been primarily because of deterioration of the management and workers relationship, which accounts for an integral part of any organization (Ghuman, 2010, p.105). Lacks of commitment from the part of the workers and also the employer failing to keep its promises are some of the major factors which have worsened the situation at Howard Transport even further. Workers productivity has fallen because of poor working conditions in the organization. Also they lacked any kind of accountability for the job they were performing. They were only concerned with the functioning of their own business unit and were not concerned with the future of the organization. Also the lack of prospects of promotion and unavailability of training programs reduced employee morale and consequently their performance. It is recommended that the management must incorporate suitable training and development for the worker based on their individual needs and requirements. Also aggressive measures must be taken to improve the conditions under which employees worked. The management must also show concern regarding the safety and security of workers. They must be given greater authority and control for the job they were performing and lastly, incorporation of an incentive scheme in their salary structure would inject more competitiveness among workers and boost their morale even further. Reference Byrnes, M. A. & Baxter, J. (2006). The principals leadership counts!: launch a Baldrige-based quality school. ASQ Quality Press. Clerc, J. M. (1985). Introduction to working conditions and environment. International Labour Organization. Cook, K. S. (2007). Trust and Distrust in Organizations: Dilemmas and Approaches. Russell Sage Foundation. Kusluvan, S. (2003). Managing employee attitudes and behaviors in the tourism and hospitality industry. Nova Publishers. Frazis, H. & Loewenstein, M. (2007). On-the-Job Training. Now Publishers Inc,. Glanz, B. A. (2002). Handle with care: motivating and retaining your employees. Handle with care: motivating and retaining your employees. Ghuman, K. (2010). Management: Concepts, Practice & Cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Patton, W. & McMahon, M. (2001). Career Development Programs: Preparation for Lifelong Career Decision Making. Aust Council for Ed Research. Potterfield, T. A. (1999). The business of employee empowerment: democracy and ideology in the workplace. Greenwood Publishing Group. Saunders. (2003). Research Methods for Business Students. Pearson Education India. Read More