McKinsey 7s and Other HR Management Models for Large Scale Change with Multiple Requirements - Coursework Example

Human resource and Information Management Human resource can be referred to as human capital which can be defined as the intangible resources of time, effort and abilities that workers invest in their places of work. Human resource management (HRM) covers the whole gamut of practices and knowledge that illustrates the work environment and regulates employment relations. Employees of Cathay Pacific are major contributors to the company’s strategic capability. Being a service delivery company, Cathay Pacific realizes that the quality of service it provides will hugely impact what its customers’ perception and thus, it has devised a strategy on employee development through effective and proper training. Employee development is a vital ingredient of achieving a competitive advantage over business rivals and includes major investments in terms of training and education of the employees, for instance, training employees on effective performance at workplaces, employee orientation to their work stations, employee development for advanced programs or positions and enhancing the company’s capability in readiness for successes in the future (Bruce & Pepitone, 1998). Cathay Pacific encourages the creation of a working atmosphere wherein its employees feel free to take actions towards satisfying both the clients’ and the company’s interests. In order to successfully compete in the volatile global market, a company needs to effectively deploy human resources to enable it realize competitive advantage and strategic capability. Being an internal resource, Cathay Pacific’s human resources are among the foundations and major contributors of its strategic capability. Effective management of human resources can lead a company having competitive advantage and hugely determines the long term performance of an organization (Sims, 2002). Recruitment HRM involves several responsibilities two among the important ones being the selection and training of potential and current employees to suit the company’s needs. Recruitment process involves not only finding but also attracting qualified individuals using methods that are timely, cost effective and that comply with the local legislation on employment (Clardy, 1996). Cathay Pacific has an equal employment policy and selects potential employees depending on their experiences and both expatriate and local employees are treated equally. Recruitment also involves handling of employee and potential employee records some of which can be sensitive. Cathay pacific has the policy of treating the application information confidentially and only utilizing the application information only for the purpose intended. The recruitment process involves internal integration of the various departments within an organization. It can be a costly process in terms of both time and money and therefore requires planning which involves the other departments within the organization (Vance, Vance & Paik, 2006). Some of the external actors that have to be taken into consideration are the land’s law on recruitment and employment. Cathay Pacific strictly observes the anti-discrimination regulations and tries to be as fair as possible when it comes to employment (Cathay Pacific, 2010). Performance appraisal Cathay Pacific has an open performance appraisal system that takes place twice a year although the company has an ongoing employee review which sometimes occurs on a day-to-day basis. When issues requiring attention come up at the workplace, the department heads or the supervisors in charge of employees counsel and talk to the employees with the aim of settling the issues. The company is always seeking for ways to continuously develop all its employees and at times, the company’s management holds discussions with the employees’ union before arriving at tough decisions involving the employees. Cathay Pacific tries to treat their staff in accordance with their competence level, for instance, employees who are realized to be better at different jobs other than the one they are assigned to, are normally reassigned to the job that they are better at. Reward A reward system is useful both as ways of showing appreciation and encouragement. Cathay Pacific has put in place a reward system christened “Asia Miles” for its passengers as a way of encouraging them to be frequent fliers with the airline. The reward scheme offers frequent fliers discounts based on the class they fly in. In addition, the reward points can be earned by staying in certain hotels or settling some bills using their credit card. The airline has partnered with over 400 other organizations worldwide from which one can earn the reward points (Cathay Pacific, n.d). Training and development Cathay Pacific realizes that beginning a career is not easy. Whether one has just graduated or is seeking to change careers, the company has a graduate programme that is directed at according the new employees a head start in growing their future careers. The company has a Management Trainee Programme that it utilizes to nurture its next generation of leaders which begins with a development program lasting three years. The program includes workshops, attachments and classroom training. A trainee engineer undergoes a 33-month training program that has earned it respect within the aviation industry. It involves both classroom training and practical training that takes place at various engineering sections. Their customer services officers are trained to provide the highest possible level of attentive and personal service to their passengers from their check-in-time to the time when they (passengers) pick their luggage. Internships last a period of two months and are designed to provide one with both practical experience at work and an opportunity to develop skills. For those who have the ambition of pursuing the career of a commercial pilot, Cathay Pacific has a full expenses paid residential course that lasts for 60 weeks. The training takes place in Australia at a specialized facility and is designed to prepare cadets for exiting careers in aviation (Cathay Pacific, n.d). Career Progression Almost all employees in all organizations, especially the experienced and highly qualified ones are always seeking ways of moving their careers to the next challenging stage. Be that as may, a company needs to have opportunities within it so as to reduce cases of the valued employees resigning and seeking growth opportunities elsewhere (Sherman, Rowley & Armandi, 2006 ). Cathay pacific invests heavily in their training programs, for instance, the airline invests approximately one million Hong Kong dollars to train one cadet. In many other countries, these training expenses are paid by the cadet. The company in addition offers competitive remunerations as way of keeping their employees stay loyal. Integration of Systems with Strategy Cathay Pacific, together with a team from SITA succeeded in installing IT services to run within the fully integrated centre at Cathay Pacific’s headquarters. The company also invested in e-business platforms and an internet service that ensures its entire staff all over then globe get access to important business application services like sales information, reservations, engineering systems and revenue management, mentioning a few. This was a major milestone since previously, the company’s performance was restricted by the limitations of its technology and had to outsource some of its network requirements. Implementation of the system from SITA has enabled the airline deliver fast and efficient services as a strategy to make it a preferred airline to travellers. Conclusion Today’s business world demands a human resource management that promises efficacy through adoption of strategic models and attempts to create methods of efficiently utilizing human capital with the aim of making it (human capital) a more effective ingredient within an organization’s success formulation. HR practitioners not only have the task of managing staff from their cultures but also mange individuals from other nations. This is especially true for organizations like Cathay Pacific which operate in more than one country and sources its staff across national and regional boundaries. Apart from performing the numerous tasks, including those mentioned in this article, the HR basically runs an organization by co-ordinating all the departments within a firm. The core philosophy of believing and treating the employees as very important if not the most important assets within a business enables an organization achieve sustained success driven by its motivated employees. The application of this philosophy has become the driving force in today’s businesses resulting in many organizations seeking more strategic approaches to aid them in properly managing their work force. Cathay Pacific has demonstrated that it has competency on its staff by actions of the company’s leadership to encourage the employees to perform at their peak, and this perhaps, is the reason why the airline has achieved several rewards in recognition of its efficient services. Recommendations Cathay Pacific has demonstrated that it has competency on its staff by actions of the company’s leaders to encourage the employees to perform at their peak. Cathay Pacific usually sets a few attainable objectives with the aim of making their employees more enthusiastic since they easily satisfy the set objectives. Even though it is good to set clear and measurable objectives, it is better to set challenging objectives that will open up the employees’ minds and help them note the opportunities available for them within the organization. As for the fully paid training programs, the company should at least let the cadets pay some fraction of the expenses. When something comes free, one is less likely to give it the seriousness it deserves. Paying a fraction will make the cadets even work harder as they would not want to waste their money. References Bruce, A. and Pepitone, J.S. (1998).Motivating Employees. McGraw-Hill Professional: New York. Cathay Pacific (n.d.). Asia Miles. Viewed on 10th April, 2010. Available at: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_JP/ffp/asiamiles Cathay Pacific (n.d). Career Choices. Viewed on 10th April, 2010. Available at: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/careers/student Cathay Pacific, (2010). Cathy Pacific response to locally employed pilot’s claims. Viewed on 12th April, 2010. Available at: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/aboutus/pressroomdetails?refID=be10e5359f1b6210VgnVCM62000007d21c39____ Clardy, A. (1996) Managing Human Resources: Exercises, Experiments and Applications Workbook. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ. Sherman, H., Rowley, D.J. and Armandi, B.R. (2006). Strategic management: an organization change approach. University Press of America: Indiana. Sims, R.R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human resources Management. Quorum Books: Westport CT. Vance, C.M., Vance C. and Paik, Y. (2006). Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and opportunities in International Human Resource Management. M.E Sharpe: New York. Information Management System Large scale relocation of desirable information systems and resources can be very challenging. In addition, the business processes and other elements within the business are likely to change with the deployment of a new information management system. This report outlines the challenges of implementing the new system and provides some strategies that can be helpful in handling the deployment following the McKinsey 7s model. Strategy: The aim of a deployment strategy is to enable the new system have employees and targeted users be prepared to receive the new system and in addition help in improving the company’s decision making process and efficiency. Some of the activities that need to be done prior to the deployment include promotion, marketing and training activities. It is expected that not all employees will receive the deployment positively as the new system is likely to change the way of doing things within the organization and not everyone agrees with change. Therefore, resistance and change consequences need to be expected and dealt with in advance (Adams, 1997). Some of the strategies that could be employed in deploying the new IS system include direct adoption, parallel running, phased adoption and pilot introduction. Direct adoption is also referred to as the “big bang approach” and involves deployment of the IS in full scale to its intended users. The large scale deployment is likely to cause some sort of “big bang” within the organization in terms of the sudden changes it brings (Raulerson, Malraisonm & Leboyer, 2009). Parallel running deployment involves utilizing both the old and new systems for some period on a trial-and-error basis and comparing the performance of the two systems. This strategy is designed to provide a fall-back plan in a situation whereby the new system is rejected or is flawed as the organization can always go back to the old system of doing things. Pilot deployment is strategy where the organization utilizes only a few of its department to test the new system or even have other organizations test the system. Once successful, the pilot project is expanded to the whole firm. Phased adoption involves implementation of the project over a stretched time period, or in phases. This strategy should include milestones that are clearly defined (Reynolds, 2002). Structures The deployment of the new system is most likely to affect the structure in an organization. Some of the new strategic systems like ERP require major investments in terms of technology and training and can be quite costly (Leon, 2007). Implementation of computerized systems will most likely reduce the amount of work done by individuals and some employees may be relieved of some jobs or supervisory duties causing some insecurity. This means that some of the employees may develop feelings of being redundant and fear being dismissed from work. The aim of introducing new information management systems is to improve efficiency and the cost of doing business (Robinson, Byeon & Teja, 1991). As such, unfortunately, some workers will lose their jobs as the new system may have the ability to do multiple functions. The organization needs to prepare the workers for this eventuality and prepare for the financial consequences of dismissing the workers in terms of retirement packages. With some workers having to leave, organizations structure is bound to change and the employees have to be trained to blend in with the new structure. Systems Some organizations may be structured in such a way that all departments are independent and utilize their own systems in their daily operations. In such systems, once a certain task is completed and moved to the next department, the previous department may have no information about the next task. This can, of course, be very inefficiency. Some systems like the ERP seek to centralize all of the firm’s operations and make monitoring much easier. The deployment success will also be pegged on the level of co-operation between the employees. If the organization has an operation style that encourages co-operation within the firm, deployment will be easier and if the level of cooperation is low, the organizational leaders may have to employ a few skills to increase co-operation (Child, 1984). Style The leadership or management style will also impact the deployment process. The level of participation and effectiveness of the leadership determines how an organization is run and how projects are to be implemented. Since most people find it difficult to accept change, the leadership needs to actively and effectively participate in the deployment of the new program and encourage people to accept it as a positive step towards better achievements. Employees tend to follow in the footsteps of their leaders. Therefore, when they get the perception that the leadership is not very serious about the deployment, they will less likely co-operate in the deployment or even do their best to ensure its successful full implementation. The leadership has to lead the way throughout the deployment (Jeston & Nelis, 2006). Shared Values Introducing and sustaining change in an organization requires strong leadership combined with a highly organized and structured approach to the implementation (Barrier, Anson, Rogers & Ording 2002). This clearly means that for a successful system shift, the leadership needs to device change strategies that will be perceptive to the tensions arising between the traditional pathological system and recovery. The fundamental philosophical approach and the organization’s shared values towards recovery from the shift will operate as enablers in the implementation of the new system. Each approach emphasizes the beliefs and values of the other. Staff The employees are any organizations most important assets (Beer, 1984) besides the capital and for any organization to success, the staffs need to be properly motivated so as to perform at their peak. Thus, the management need to keep in mind the welfare of the staff when implementing the new system. The large deployment may require the staff to have some level of skills to enable them properly run the new system. The number of staff who have specialized training and the number of specialized positions the new system requires need to be factored before the deployment. If the numbers are deficient, the necessary steps need to be undertaken including sending some staff for the specialized training or recruiting employees who have had some previous experience with the system. Since the staffs are the ones who will directly run the new system, it is important to adopt a working environment that will provide the staff with enough motivation to enable the new system work as it is suppose to. If some employees are to be laid off, it needs to be done in such a way that the remaining staffs do not feel insecure about their jobs. The laid off staff should be properly compensated to reassure the remaining staff that the company cares about and values all staff. Skills The human resources of an organization play a vital role in the success of the company. Through their skills, the organization is able to grow and achieve competitive advantage in the market. A new information management system may mean better efficiency through fast transfer of information between stakeholders of the company. On the other hand, such a system will definitely result in the existence of skills gaps which may have to be bridged if the full potential of the system has to be harvested (Tomlison, 2003). What this means is that the organization must analyze beforehand its employees’ skills noting which of the skills are strongest in the company team. This can be done by seeking to establish what the company’s employees do best at and if they can be able to effectively accomplish new tasks that demand their current skills (Heneman, 2002). The skills that employees need to apply in the new system should be in alignment with the organization’s structure, systems, styles and strategies. Conclusion The efforts of initiating large scale change have multiple requirements namely, the collaboration of multiple departments within the industry, the drafting of protocols that are both shared and detailed, strong personal leadership and commitment of everyone or almost everyone in the organization and the requisite changes in the organizational culture. Change can be very expensive especially this one involving a big company with numerous departments and employees and as thus, it is better done in a planned procedure considering many factors, some of which have been explored by this article. Getting a huge number of employees to adapt to a new system that many render some of them jobless and completely change the way of doing things in the organization will not be easy and that is why it is important to make pre-implementation plans. There are several management models that can be utilized in aiding the big change one of which, the McKinsey 7s model has been discussed by this article. The selection of the management model to utilize will depend on many factors but it is better to choose a model that has worked in similar organizations. Change will have to start at the leadership level who themselves, after accepting the oncoming system change will act as precursors who will create readiness strategies that are to be followed by those working under them. References Adams, B. (1997). Streetwise Managing People: Lead Your Staff to Peak Performance. Adams media: Cincinnati: OH. Barrier, M., Anson, B., Rogers, E. & Ording, R. (2002). “Culture transformation in a healthcare organization”. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 54 (2), 116–130. Beer, M. (1984). Managing Human Assets. Free Press: Tampa, FL. Child, J. (1984). Organization: A Guide to Problem and Practice. SAGE: London. Heneman, R. L. (2002). Strategic Reward Management: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation. Information Age Publishing Inc: Charlotte, NC. Jeston, J. and Nelis, J. (2006). Burning Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations. Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. Leon, A. (2007). Erp Demystified 2/E. Tata McGraw-Hill: New Delhi. Raulerson, P., Malraison, J. and Leboyer, A. (2009). Building Routes to Customers: Proven Strategies for Profitable Growth. Springer. Warren: MI. Reynolds, J. (2002). A Practical Guide to CRM: Building More Profitable Customer Relationships. Focal Press: New York. Robinson, D., Byeon, Y. and Teja, R. (1991). Thailand: Adjusting to Success: Current Policy Issues. International Monetary Fund: Washington, D.C. Tomlison, R. F. (2003). Thinking about GIS: Geographical Information System Planning For Managers. ESRI, Incorporated: California. Read More