The Link between Human Resource Practices and Organizational Effectiveness - Coursework Example

THE LINK BETWEEN HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS INTRODUCTION Human resource practices have existed since the early days ofagriculture as part of organizations and business. However, the contemporary model of human resources started as a reaction to the effectiveness focus of Taylorism, early 1900s. In 1920, employment experts and psychologists in the United States stated forming human relations movements. These movements viewed workers not as interchangeable parts, but in terms of the link between their psychology and their companies. The movement developed all the way through the middle of the twentieth century, emphasizing on how cohesion, leadership and loyalty played major roles in the success of the organization. Despite the fact that this view has been increasingly challenged since1960 to date by management techniques, it is clear that human resource development has already achieved a stable position within organizations, nations and agencies and more so, not only in academic fields, but also takes a major position in development policy (Huselid, 1995). This paper will discuss the effect of human resource practices and techniques on the organization’s performance. ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Organizational effectiveness as a concept refers to how successful an organization is, in attaining the goals the organization intends to achieve. It is the careful application of facts about how individuals or groups of people operate within organizations. Today, quality-products are highly demanded and the customers’ expectations are also increasing much more than before. Competitions between companies and globalization have exemplified the problem and therefore, in order to meet the customers’ requirements and abide by the world class standards, there is need for the organizations to adjust their structural framework, thus the need to promote organizational effectiveness. Scholars and practitioners say that decision making and strategizing in the organization are easily reached at, but implementation is the main problem. Decisions made by the organization’s staff, with the intention of attaining certain intended goals that will promote the organization’s performance, do not come into operation. Senior executives often complain that operating managers fail to acquire the necessary actions required to employ a strategy. One of the famous strategic intellectual puts it that, formulating a strategy is not a major issue but the problem is how to make it work (Huselid, 1995)). Yet still, another scholar known as Gen Bradley Omar said that, 10% of the job involves drawing the plan while seeing the plan through is the other 90%. This further can be explained using the systems theory; systems theory works to ensure all parts work together through synergistic partnership for the good of the whole system. Indeed it ensures that all parts are properly fit for the system to work as required. An organization’s structure, its managerial processes and strategies have to be in line with the set standards for it to be effective. HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES The people working in an organization are the organization’s human resource and therefore their practices have a great influence on the effectiveness of the organization. Their behaviours and attitudes dictate the performance of their organization. Human resource is the organization’s function that involves issues concerning people such as safety, benefits, wellness, employee motivation, compensation, training, communication, performance, hiring and administration according to Batt (2002). A number of intellectuals have recently advanced the notion that human resources can offer a foundation of sustained competitive gain through a connection between some of the organizational variables, such as organizational performance and human resource managing practices (Randall and Jackson, 1987). Huselid, Jackson and Schuler (1997) identified two types of linkages between human resource practices. Technical human resource practices are the customary personnel roles, whereas strategic human resource practices refer to concepts such as employee empowerment, flexible workforce, quality improvement services, and team -related job designs. It also involves development of talents that will help to implement the competitive strategy and achieve the organization’s operational goals. There is also a link between employee recruitment and the organizational effectiveness according to Muczyk (2004). Recruitment of employees forms a greater potion of the organization’s general resourcing strategies that seek to secure and identify the people required for the organization to succeed and survive in the medium to short-term. Organizational structures with versatile selection processes and tough task, sound job design, human resource policies and employment relations help to promote an organization’s effectiveness. Positive employee behaviours and attitudes influence business outcomes. Organizational citizenship behaviour, employee satisfaction and employee turnover determine customer satisfaction and profitability. A research conducted by PsycINFO using data collected from the units of a restaurant chain through employee surveys, customer surveys, manager surveys and organizational records. 64 managers and 774 employees participated. Analysis was done through cross-lagged regression and showed that employee behaviours and attitudes at time 1 are related to organizational effectiveness at time 2. The study found out that human resource practices influence the outcome of the entire organization. A good human resource development plan will organize its individuals to accept a higher level of work, planned learning through a given time span so as to provide option for change in performance (Sims, 2002; Gerald, Rosen, Barnum, 1995). This framework focuses on the competencies of the organizations at the initial stage, training and employee development through education, in order to meet the long-term needs of the organization, the career goals of the individuals and the value of the employees to their employers today and in future. There is need to upgrade the attitudes and the skills of the employees at various levels so as to take advantage of the effectiveness of the organization (Holbeche, 2001). Development of the human resource occurs so as to promote the organizations’ outcome. In other words, individual development and education is a tool; a way to an end and not in itself, the expected outcome according to Holbeche. Effron, Robert and Marshall (2003) confirmed that companies that led other companies were good at basic management practices such as execution, strategy, culture execution. These were supplemented with talent, leadership, mergers and partnership; all of which should be possessed by the human resource for the organization to remain effective. While pointing out the essence of having top-notch people in an organization, Gerald, Rosen & Barnum (1995) also emphasized the importance of ensuring the importance of good relationship between the employees and the organization in order for the organization to attain positive outcomes. According to Macduffie (1995), in industrial-organizational psychology history, four methods have gained systematic recognition from researchers and have been identified motivate the performance of the employee. These are money, job enrichment, goal setting and participation. In addition, leader behaviours, compensation schemes and management by objectives also need to be looked at. In the past, researchers identified the need to also consider organizational structure as an organizational variable. However, today, emphasis is placed on the need to consider organizational culture as has been highlighted; it is considered a major determinant of the organization’s performance. Organizational structure can be altered in a very short period. However, a significant amount of research implies that key changes in the quality of human resource practices and culture may take a number of years of constant attempt for it to change (Bohlander & Scott, 2009). Even though various studies link individual personality of managers, managerial experience, managerial actions, and managerial skills with implementation strategy, there is a gap requiring research about the link between organizational systems and leader behaviour to implementation strategy. According to Becker and Gerhart (1996), the practice of including managers in the middle-level and supervisors in the formation of strategies is linked with the performance of the organization. CONCLUSION It is clear that there is a direct link between human resource practices and the organization’s effectiveness. How people in a certain organization behave and their attitudes dictate the outcomes of that particular company. Where the employees are treated well such that their needs are well catered for, that organization tend to do well and last what is referred to as effectiveness in this study. However where the employees needs are neglected, the organization’s sustainability is predictable such that its life cycle is rated as low. Therefore, in order for the organization to remain effective, it has to cater for the needs of its human resource such as compensation, health and safety, training, retirement benefits among others. Also in addition, an organization also needs to successfully respond to surrounding factors for it to be effective and attain its goals. Organizations produce different products, they are exposed to different environment and their organizational members are from different types of people thus, there are various models designed to determine organizational effectiveness, each conforming to the attributes of that particular organization and its environment. The organization therefore, needs to identify the model which suites its operations and operate under the appropriate model. REFERENCES Batt R. (2002) “Managing Customer Services: Human Resource Practices, Quit Rates, and Sales Growth”, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 45, No. 3 (June), pp. 587-597. Becker B. and Gerhart B. (1996)”The Impact of Human Resource Management on Organizational Performance: Progress and Prospects”, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Aug.), pp. 779-801. Bohlander G. & Scott S. (2009) Managing Human Resources (15th ed.) Cengage Learning. Effron M., Robert P. & Marshall G. (2003) Human resources in the 21st century, John Wiley and Sons Gerald R. Ferris, Rosen S., Barnum T. (1995) Handbook of human resource management‎, Blackwell publishers Holbeche L. (2001) Aligning human resources and business strategy, Butterworth-Heinemann. Huselid M. (1995) “The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance”, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 38, No. 3 (June), pp. 635-672. Huselid M., Jackson S., & Schuler R. (1997) Technical and strategic human resource management effectiveness as determinants of firm performance, Academy of Management Journal, 40 (1), 171-188. Macduffie J. (1995) “Human Resource Bundles and Manufacturing Performance: Organizational Logic and Flexible Production Systems in the World Auto Industry”, Industrial & Labour Relations Review, Vol. 48. Muczyk, (2004) A systems approach to organizational effectiveness: The alignment of critical organizational dimensions with selected business/competitive strategies. Randall S. and Jackson S. (1987) “Linking Competitive Strategies with Human Resource Management Practices”, The Academy of Management Executive (1987), Vol. 1, No. 3 (Aug., 1987), pp. 207-219. Sims R. (2002) Organizational success through effective human resources management, Quorum Books. Read More