The Role of Human Resources In the Changing Market Process - Research Proposal Example

Change Management: The Role of the Human Resource Function Changing markets, technology, financial, political and legal environments createsituations that force organizations to change the internal work environment to compete and survive. The likely reasons for a change initiative may be a change in business strategy, revision in business focus or change of ownership and management with a concurrent need for change in the style of functioning. Market forces may call for a need to change internal processes to better cater to the needs of the customer. A variety of initiatives are designed to effect change to garner the benefit of workplace bonding and better communication. Is there a role for the HR function in the organizational change effort? Is the role recognized by the employees the function seeks to manage? The proposed study is a non-experimental survey across similar sized companies (up to 500 employees) that have undergone a change initiative to manage market and business dynamics in the past 2 years. It examines the views of the middle management groups with their view of the effects individually on their teams. The study analyses the experiences of employees who have been part of the process and their impressions of the extent and effectiveness of involvement of the HR functionaries in the change process. Introduction HR constitutes Human Resources Professionals who formulate and introduce HR strategy at the management level. Communication and the strategic management of talent in times of change are necessary for staff involvement and retention. Change initiatives may be expected to create upheavals in the minds of employees which can lead to signals being misread, thereby vitiating the atmosphere and driving them to look for alternatives. In order to avoid unintended reactions as an outcome of a change process, HR must be involved in managing the image of the process and assuaging any feelings of uncertainty that come in its wake. HR professionals on their part must recognize the expectations of the management and the staff and strike a balance. The management expectation of HR is to provide a positive tone to the change process and draw up strategic policies and processes to ensure that employees are not unsettled. Employees look to HR and department heads for communication and direction. The Human Resource professional must be able to provide a comprehensive communication strategy that allows for a flow of communication through the department heads and allows for a feedback mechanism about the effectiveness of the communication and the resultant experiences among staff. Relation to Previous Research The circumstances under which companies choose or are forced to change vary. Paton and McCalman (2008, 9-11) explain that the impact of environmental factors on legislation and thereby on social and commercial factors in the external environment can force change. Pettigrew and Whipp (1993, p. 27) contend that over a period, simultaneous rather than discrete change at the economic, international and national levels and at the level of the industry and firm force internal change. Change may be purposefully chosen to prevent stagnation and the creation of silos (Vermeulen, Puranam and Gulati, 2010). Cameron and Green (2004, p. 5) explain that management of a change process requires parallel focus on ‘outcomes, interests and emotions’ in order to achieve the intended goal. Regardless of how it occurs, HRM must possess the ability to partner the organisation, champion HR principles and devise strategy and HR organisation to aid the company in the process (Ulrich, 1997, p. 189; Erasmus, Swanepoel & Schenk, 2009, p. 16-18; Sparrow,2009, p.240). Mabey, Salaman and Storey (1998, 75-81) believe that the role of Human Resource Management must be to focus on structure and define organisational capability to effectively implement strategy. Armstrong (2006, p.10 – 23) considers the variety of ways that the HR function can be expected to impact the employees of a corporate. He believes that the process of change must be considered as a normal part of business and the strategies and policies of HRM must be designed to keep employees engaged regardless of external forces. Strategic HRM aims to utilise the capabilities of the workforce towards a unified goal. It works on the view that talent should be suitably applied to get the desired business results and garner employee satisfaction with work conditions. Holbeche (2001, p. 13) adds to this view with the observation that SHRM has a ‘focus on implementing strategic change and growing the skill base of the organisation to ensure that the organisation can compete effectively in the future.’ The necessary ingredients for an effective Strategic HRM process are the learning processes to facilitate future strategy development and adaptation to changes in the business environment. Ready and Conger (2007) reiterate the role of talent development in providing company’s the competitive edge to stay in the marketplace. They believe that companies that create ‘talent factories’ have the right mix of ‘functionality and vitality’ to fill key positions as and when the need arises. Storey (1996, p. 44) relates the need for the transition of the role of the HR from being paternalistic to professional and manage employee development and lay-off with the same skill. While organisations grapple with changing business realities, HR must be able to utilise different strategic responses to manage the situation. Kearns (2003) believes that the HR function misses its role in times of business emergency and skims over key issues relating to business performance. Hendry (1995, 48-49) cautions that the limitations on HR in change management may be imposed by business leaders who want to create an impression with little intent to follow through with action. Proposed Methodology The philosophies of research methodology may follow two paths – positivism and interpretivism. Watson (2003, p. 14) describes positivism as that ‘method which uses quantitative methods’. Kolalowski defines positivism as an approach that allows the researcher ‘to record only that which is actually manifested in experience’ (MacKenzie, 1977, p. 29). ‘Interpretivism… centres in people’s ways of interpreting/ making sense of reality… tend to be generated from data’ (Tones & Green, 2004, p. 310). The methodology adopted for this exercise will be to derive data based on individual realities and draw inferences from the information generated. Both primary and secondary sources of data will be utilised. Primary data will be collected by identifying and contacting companies belonging to the Information Technology industry with an employee base of up to 500 employees to ensure similar organization profiles and contexts. The companies under consideration are part of a long list of organizations that have undergone either a change of management or a change in market context thereby forcing internal adaptation (such as reduced dependence on a technology). A pre-survey email will be sent to an identified representative in each company to communicate the purpose of the survey and ascertain the willingness of the organization to allow their mid-level employees to participate in the study. Mid-level employees who manage teams of 5 to 10 members will be considered as suitable respondents for the survey since they are responsible to disseminate information that is received and are in a position to know the responses of the staff. This managerial level may be expected to be closely connected to the groups that receive and spread information through the grapevine. A combination of the web-based questionnaire method and telephonic interviews will be utilized for data collection. Interviews will be utilized for the purpose of clarifying responses provided in the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be designed to take up no more than 5 minutes. Inductive research will be used for data collection and analysis to identify recurring themes. The questionnaire will be designed to provide 15 statements that can be answered with a 2-point (Yes/ No) rating scale and thereby reduce the scope for ambiguous responses. The responses on each filled form will be considered as data points. The survey will be designed to provide little scope for ‘middle’ scores. The questionnaire will be checked internally for contradictory or unclear statements. The secondary source of data refers to the extensive study of literature to ascertain the existing thoughts on the subject. Plan for Implementation of proposal                             Day considers week day - 5 week days constitute a week     Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Approval of proposal                 Email to companies       Literature Review                           Review Questionnaire         Follow up         Review interested companies       Receipt of respondent contact       Distribution of Questionnaire           Receipt and follow up for filled forms             Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25 Day 26 Day 27 Day 28 Day 29 Day 30 Data collation and analysis             Telephonic interviews           Report preparation             Report submission                               Reflections The survey study has certain inherent issues. The role of Human Resources is in a large part determined by the organisational culture and views about the function. The notions about the effectiveness in carrying out the role are linked to the biases of the employee groups with respect to the function. Organisations that view the function as purely support based may reduce the role it plays in managing the flow of information and feedback. Active management support for the positive role of HR is essential to determine its success in times of change. HR professionals on their part must recognise the role of different functionaries and know how to utilise them for effective employee management. The top management may prefer to direct that the flow of upward information be limited and no feedback mechanism be allowed, in which case despite the best efforts of the HR function, there will be reactions of discontent that remain unheard among the staff members. The implications of the change must be clear at the management level. The change process may lead to hierarchical and role definitions which require immediate attention and communication. The role of HR in the change initiative may cover areas other than communication but the study concentrates on only this limited aspect of the role. The mid-level manager who is identified as an appropriate respondent may have limitations in the ability to process information in an unbiased manner. Technically oriented managers who prefer to stay away from ‘softer’ issues are likely to find this exercise of little relevance. If the organisation has preferred to direct communication through the department heads, the employees may not experience the involvement of the HR function at all. Besides, the change initiative may not have affected employees in all functions. If adjustments were made in internal processes with little effect on the customer facing departments, groups of employees would be unaware of HR involvement. Organisations that have faced difficulties in the course of the change process due to faulty strategic processes are less likely to be willing to participate in an exercise of this type. Organisations are likely to be less inclined to participating in an exercise of this nature especially if the change has had wide reach and a wide range of reactions. The willingness is likely when the change was in response to a market situation and led to a positive result of higher revenue or wider customer base. As a researcher, I have been privy to the varied feelings that employees have towards the role of the Human Resource function and their expectations of it. The ambiguity of role leads to unexpressed expectations remaining unfulfilled and a consequent loss of faith in the function. If the respondent belongs to this category of employees, the responses will be marked by an inability to recognise the effort and direction that HR is working towards. Can the respondent group be expected to provide a perspective that considers the role of HR in a rational and realistic manner? It is possible that the companies are unwilling to allow direct communication between the researcher and the employees because of the unwillingness to share specifics about the change process. This can be managed by providing the questionnaire to the representative to check that it does not ask questions of a disturbing nature. Conclusion The approval for the proposed exercise may be expected in a week after which the survey process will commence. We have a list of 25 companies that fulfil the criteria of having undergone a change process. The immediate steps after this exercise are to send out the emails pertaining to the survey and carrying out a parallel literature review. While we wait for the companies to respond, the draft questionnaire that has been prepared will be distributed to a selected group for vetting and further discussion. The questionnaire will be checked for time taken to fill and statement clarity. Companies will be checked for their responses and follow up emails will be sent to companies that fail to respond. The vetted questionnaire will be forwarded to companies that agree to participate. The names and email contacts of employees who may be asked to fill the survey form will be collected from the companies and distribution of questionnaires will start. In the absence of this, we will send the final questionnaire to the company for distribution to the respondent groups. References 1. Armstrong, Michael (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page Publishers. 2. Cameron, Esther & Green, Mike (2004). Making Sense of Change Management. Kogan Page Publishers. 3. Erasmus, Barney, Swanepoel, Ben & Schenk, Heinz (2009). South African Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Juta and Company Ltd. 4. Hendry, Chris (1995). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach to Employment. Butterworth-Heinemann. 5. Holbech, Linda (2001). Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy. 2nd ed. OX: Butterworth-Heinemann. 6. Kearns, Paul (2003). HR Strategy: Business focussed, Individually Centered. OX: Butterworth-Heinemann. 7. Mabey, Christopher, Salaman, Graeme and Storey, John (1998). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell. 8. MacKenzie, Brian D. (1977). Behaviourism and the Limits of Scientific Method. London: Routledge. 9. Paton, Rob & McCalman, James (2008). Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. London: SAGE Publications. 10. Pettigrew, Andrew & Whipp, Richard (1993). Managing Change for Competitive Success. Wiley-Blackwell. 11. Ready, Douglas A. & Conger, Jay A. (2007). Make Your Company a Talent Factory. Harvard Business Review. http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2007/06/make-your-company-a-talent-factory/ar/1 [Accessed 1 July, 2010]. 12. Sparrow, John (2009). Handbook of International Human Resource Management. John Wiley and Sons. 13. Storey, John (1996). Blackwell Cases in Human Resource and Change Management. Wiley-Blackwell. 14. Tones, Keith & Green, Jackie (2004). Health Promotion: Planning and Strategies. 2nd ed. London: SAGE. 15. Ulrich, Dave (1997). Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results. Harvard Business Press. 16. Vermeulen, Freek, Puranam, Phanish and Gulati, Rajan (2010). Change for Change’s Sake. Harvard Business Review. http://hbr.org/2010/06/change-for-changes-sake/ar/1 [Accessed 1 July, 2010]. 17. Watson, Tony J. (2003). Sociology, Work and Industry. 4th ed. London: London: Routledge. Appendix: Anticipated questions with sub-headings Expectations of HR I expect that HR will communicate policies that affect me personally I expect that HR will communicate policies that affect me professionally My expectation of HR is usually satisfied I believe that the HR function should directly speak with me about major company issues and changes The HR function need not be involved in strategic issues if the business heads do the job of communication The HR function must be proactive in analysing the implications of change on individuals and teams The HR function must address the doubts that come up in the minds when a change initiative in progress Experience during change process The changes in the recent past have led to a great deal of stress The HR function made visible efforts to clarify our doubts HR arranged meetings and communication events I received direct communication from the HR department The communication from HR was clear HR communicated to make us understand the scope of the change and extent of impact HR was actively involved in arranging training to ensure that I added skills to cope with the change Experience after change process After the process change was incomplete, HR kept in touch with us HR function knows my views about my career in this company I felt bitter about unanticipated changes to my job profile that no one told me about I felt insecure and considered quitting Communication events helped me make a decision to stay on Read More