Human Resource in Organizations - Example

Student Name: Course Coordinator: Title: Human resource in organizations Course Submission Date: Word Length: 3182 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Human resource in organizations 5 Introduction 5 Organizational structure justification 6 Improving communication between the workshop staff 7 Reducing formality and emphasizing on interpersonal communication and relations 7 Developing shared values and vision 7 Prioritizing individual development of the workshop staff 8 Providing collaboration opportunities through information sharing 8 Offer incentives for collaboration and cooperation work 9 Over staffing in John’s company 9 Efficiencies during harder economic times 10 Benefits of hiring an external coach 12 Contingency plans for the company 13 Vendor readiness plan 13 Temporary facilities plan 14 Property protection plan 14 Fire hazards plan 14 Insurance plan 15 Conclusion 15 Recommendations 16 Reference list 17 Executive summary The purpose of this report is to carry out an assessment of the case “The Overhaul of John's Business: Organising Staff for Success” by Dr Anna Blackman. The analysis of the case study provides various findings and recommendations that can be employed in providing solutions to various problems identified in the case study during analysis. The scope of the report includes the organisation structure of the company, improvement of communication among the workshop staff in the case study, overstaffing, benefits of hiring an external coach and various contingency plans suitable for the company. Carrying out the assessment included researching various information sources to provide the necessary information to analyse the case study. The theoretical information was then integrated in solving various problems in the case study. The findings of the assessment are that the organizational structure is not justified for the company of this size. This is because the company is relatively small and this type of organizational structure is fit for relatively large organizations. Such an organizational structure can be costly to a small organization and also leads to delayed decision making. In order to improve communication within the company, John should engage his employees in activities that encourage interaction and reduces formalization as the employees will feel free to communicate with the management and also among them. Communication can also be improved by promoting activities that encourage collaboration and teamwork as well as rewarding workers who excel in such activities. Providing collaboration opportunities by the company’s management sharing information with the employees as this will promote smooth flow of information in the organization and consequently improve communication. Overstaffing is evident in John’s company for instance in the labor hire division where there is a manager and an assistant manager. From the case study, it is evident that the manager can operate effectively without the need of an assistant manager and vice-versa. In harder economic times, the company can integrate its activities vertically to enable the company to sell and distribute its products fast and at a low cost. Standardization can also ensure that goods are produced at low cost. The number of the managers can also be reduced to three as this will reduce the company’s operating costs. The hiring of an external coach in the company has many benefits which include identifying the shortcoming in the company and development and growth of the company. This can be identified where the external coach is able to identify overstaffing in the company after interacting with the managers for some time. Various recommendations include hiring of an external coach on a regular basis, the company adopting a different organizational structure that is fit for small organizations, and cutting down overstaffing by mostly reducing the number of managers because overstaffing increases operating costs in the company. Human resource in organizations Introduction The analytical report was authorized by the Course Coordinator as an assessment item of human resources in organizations. The report provides an analysis of the case “The Overhaul of John's Business: Organising Staff for Success” by Dr Anna Blackman. Basically, there were no limitations that were encountered during the assessment because there were adequate resources to carry out the assessment. The purpose of this report is to analyse the case study and with various findings and recommendations to solving the problems indentified in the case study. The report covers the organisation structure of the company, improvement of communication among the workshop staff in the case study, overstaffing, benefits of hiring an external coach and various contingency plans suitable for the company in the case study. The main body of the report presents discussions and analysis of the case study while the conclusion presents the summary findings of the assessment. The recommendations consist of the proposed options for solving the problems identified in the case study. The information used to carry out the assessment was obtained from various academic journals and books and the reference list provides various sources of information used during the assessment. Organizational structure justification The organizational structure is not justified for the company of this size. This is because the company is relatively small and this type of organizational structure is fit for relatively large organizations. To start with, there are many managers in the company and this can result to delays in decision making. The decision making process can be delayed as the two supervisors and the three managers have to consult with each other as well as the general manager (John) before making any decision and the decisions of the supervisors and managers can be delayed because of the lengthy process. Basically, since the company is small, the organizational structure should be centralized to one top authority that makes decisions and this can avoid a delayed decision making process (Jacobides 2007). Another reason why the organizational structure is not justified is because there is complicated operation. This organizational structure is too complicated for the actual operation of the company because of various authorities and hence command unity principle can be easily desecrated. Additionally, such organizational structure can have adverse effects on internal discipline. There is a likelihood of the internal discipline being adversely affected because of decentralization of loyalty of employees. For example, staff in this case study have problems in identifying who is in charge of them and this goes to show that there are many managers than necessary and this can affect internal discipline adversely (Lim 2010). Moreover, the organizational structure is so costly for such a small company. This is because the many managers and supervisors are paid high salaries and this adds to operating cost expenses as well as increasing the cost of production. Since the size of the company is relatively small, such costs can be avoided by adopting an organizational structure that has few managers (Lim 2010). Improving communication between the workshop staff Reducing formality and emphasizing on interpersonal communication and relations John being the general manager and the owner of the company, he has an extremely personal responsibility in setting the culture in the organization. Therefore, john should act as the mentor of his employees (workshop staff) and put emphasis on their training as well as their individual development. He should also ensure that social interaction within the organization is high and encourage a positive up-beat environment and attitude in the organization. In being a role model, John can great his employees always and ask them how they are fairing on. This can trim down formality and limit hierarchal differences between the employees and the management and in this manner the employees will always find it easy to communicate anything to the management and discuss anything regarding their work among them. In addition, this will encourage interpersonal communication and relations because it will reduce formality and thus employees will feel free communicating with their boss and also between themselves. John can also consider ensuring that all his staff eat together, for instance during lunchtime, a common eating place can be introduced. When employees meet at a common place during their meals, they are bound to interact and this improves organizational interactions. More importantly, since managers and all other workers will get an opportunity to meet informally while taking their meals, this is a good opportunity for John being the general manager, other managers and common staff to meet and discuss various things. This can efficiently lessen formality and improve interpersonal communication and relations (Paulina & Marita 2011). Developing shared values and vision The goal of a leader is developing a shared vision that is acceptable to everybody. Therefore, John should develop shared values and vision for the organization as this can promote a sense of common objectives, same time, working together with a common goal of achieving the organizational goals. One of the key goals of John as the organizational leader should be developing and communicating shared values and vision among each and every staff member in an efficient manner. The organizational vision is supposed to be based on its purpose as well as its overarching values. In this regard, John can develop a strategic plan for his company with a vision statement as well as a statement of shared values (Dawn 2006). Prioritizing individual development of the workshop staff John should consider developing his employees through training and providing development opportunities and support. He should offer the staff opportunities fro growth particularly if this can result to more responsible positions and better salaries for the individuals. In addition, John can promote adaptability, initiative, accountability as well as teamwork among the staff. He should also treat all workers respectfully and in a dignified manner by having a positive and proactive attitude toward all the employees. This will make the workers feel they are valued and their efforts are being acknowledged and thus this can boost confidence among the staff and consequently they will feel free to communicate confidently even to their superiors (Paulina & Marita 2011). Providing collaboration opportunities through information sharing For any organizational problem, John can ensure that he presents problems or goals to be accomplished by the staff and make sure he explains the reasons for such actions and then allow the staff to brainstorm and share ideas. John as a leader can then assist and advice his staff but not dictate what he wants. This is because active listening is an important tool in improving communication in an organization. John should also ensure that the staff holds open meetings. In this regard, he can develop a working team to handle a certain matter, problem or change goal. During open meetings, he should allow the group to resolve problems and make decisions and be ready to trust within the group process. He should also share information with the workshop staff truthfully and openly. This will promote smooth flow of information in the organization and consequently improve communication (Fineman & Panteli 2008). Offer incentives for collaboration and cooperation work John should work to offer suitable compensation for the workers who promote collaboration and team work. The objective here is recognizing and rewarding and hence encouraging positive behaviors and put emphasis on group success in accomplishing an objective. The objective of John in this regard would be incessant positive feedback as well as an environment of encouragement for the staff and for the company. Recognition and rewards greatly motivates employees and have social value because in most cases they are awarded in presence of workmates (Dawn 2006). Over staffing in John’s company Overstaffing in a company occurs when a company has more workers than required, and this result into some workers being paid to nothing. Overstaffing in John’s company can be seen in the labor hire division where there is a manager who is Craig and an assistant manager who is Louise. From the case study, it is evident that the manager can operate effectively without the need of an assistant manager. This is because Craig as the manager and responsible for ensuring that the company supplies the appropriate trades-people to the mines and is also responsible for the development of the entire business and assisting in managing business growth (Repenning 2008). Generally, the manager was rarely doing any of these tasks, and the assistant manager, Louise is the one who was doing all the administration work for the labor hire team as well as actual filling of positions. This indicates that one person in the labor hire could adequately carry out these tasks and thus this area is overstaffed (Colquitt 2008). Similarly, the General Manager, who is John the owner, does not seem to have much to for the company. Additionally, the workshop hire division is also overstaffed. The case study illustrates that the employees within the workshop were not precisely sure of who was in charge of them because they could answer to Ted who is the manager, Dave who is the supervisor offsite worker and Matt who is the workshop supervisor. Instead of having the two supervisors, the company needs just one supervisor who could be under the workshop manager. Basically, the management team is overstaffed and hence rather than having five individuals in the management team, there should be three individuals who can effectively carry out the company’s management tasks (Fineman & Panteli 2008). Efficiencies during harder economic times During harder economic times, John can consider completely centralizing the company where he being the strategic leader of the company can have the responsibility of making all major decisions and ensuring that most communication within the company is carried out through one-on-one conversations. This would mean doing away with some of the managers in the company and thus doing away with the expenses spent on their salaries. This can be especially practical for John’s company because it is a small one and it would enable John being the owner to control its growth as well as development (Colquitt 2008). On the other hand, John can consider hiring temporary workers or outsourcing some management services instead of employing permanent employees. This is because in most cases, over staffing can take place when a business experiences a rapid boom and then an abrupt decline follows. As a result, a company sees the necessity of hiring more employees during the peak season but such a company can commit the mistake of employing workers on a regular basis. Therefore, when lean season comes, such a company ends up having more employees than necessary to do the limited work. In general, overstaffing is a dilemma that can result to bankruptcy due to the wasted funds on wages (Kogut 2007). Additionally, John can also consider separating the workers within the functional divisions whereby the workers carry out a specialized set of tasks. For example, strategic HRM planning division can be staffed with just HRM specialists while the boiler-making division can be staffed with just boiler-making staff and this can result to operation efficiencies in these divisions and therefore cutting down operational costs. This can also help the company produce uniform goods at a large volume and at a low cost. Task coordination and specialization can be centralized as this will facilitate production of limited good effectively and in a predictable manner. The company’s activities can also be integrated vertically and thus the company will be able to sell and distribute its products fast and at a low cost (Braha 2007). New organizational chart President (John) VP Human Resources VP Operations Workshop hire Labor hire Nine boiler-makers two apprentices Benefits of hiring an external coach Hiring an external coach is important for the employee personal growth as well as organization development. This can be evidenced in the case study where the external coach has been able to identify the organizational problems and also difficulties different workers are facing and thus this can form a platform for improving these areas. The external coach will obviously amplify the staff knowledge and also their thought process because she will end up establishing a supportive atmosphere whereby the staff will be able to challenge and develop critical thinking abilities, ideas as well as behaviors the external coach will bring diverse skills and experience and provide a fresh standpoint to the organization (Paul 2010). The external coach will also facilitate improvements and developments within major interpersonal skills like communication and cooperation in a team atmosphere among the staff. For instance, the external coach in this case was able to identify several problems within John’s business and thus this will provide a platform for improved performance among the staff after rectifying the areas that need to be rectified (Colquitt 2008). Additionally, the John’s staff will have increased motivation levels and morale and as a result improved performance. Another advantage of hiring an external coach is that she provides all the power to people within the team. Basically, the function of an external coach is utterly selfless because their sole responsibility is improving both skills and performance of individuals. Consequently, the staff will be in a position to make individual decisions and be courageous and confident when making own decisions which ultimately saves a lot of time. Normally, coaching is devised for empowering each person to understand their abilities and to establish how their potentials can be achieved. Through development of a sound comprehending of the responsibility, the coach is aware when she should support and stretch and when she should guide or challenge (Bradford 2008). In this case study, the coach was meeting with the managers weekly and thus she was able to work on a one-to-one basis with them. As a result, the coach and the managers who were being coached were able to join forces to set and accomplish major goals, taking into consideration the organizational goals in addition to the experience, maturity along with career path of the managers. This can be identified where the coach identified the shortcomings in various individuals’ work, for example where the coach identified that Ted as the manager was overburdened and hence was not able to work efficiently while there are some individuals who were under-working. Accordingly, this can be helpful in rescheduling the managers program and various roles, which eventually contributes to more enhanced organizational success (Paul 2010). Coaching promotes the development of organizational objectives, which can be divided into manageable measurable steps (Bradford 2008). In supporting this, coaching is accomplished through a 'little and often' basis and this is why the coach was meeting managers on weekly basis. Therefore the coach required each manager to evaluate and adapt their approach and seek new ideas and this ends up increasing performance as well as individual job satisfaction. Additionally, the external coach was also able to identify the work imbalance in the organization, for example she identified that Craig was under-working and his position was probably unnecessary in the organization and on the other hand Louise was doing most of the administration work. Contingency plans for the company Vendor readiness plan The company depends on vendors for supplying it with some materials, goods, supplies along with services. Some vendors are more significant that others. To reduce the company’s exposure to interruption by the vendors, the company should ensure that it avoids a single source supplier of any materials, goods, supplies and also services. The company should have a minimum of three vendors who can supply each of its critical goods and service needed in supporting its business (Amaral 2007). Temporary facilities plan The company should identify location of the temporary facilities that can be accessed for an extended duration. As a result, the company will be in a position of accessing such facilities when it is established that normal business operations are not functional for an extended duration. The facility should be availed within 24 hours after the company notifies the vendor its intention of occupying the facility, and assured occupancy should be at least one year (Amaral 2007). Property protection plan This plan covers the protection of facilities, machineries as well as important records as this is vital to restore the company’s operations after emergency occurrence (Amaral 2007). Fire hazards plan Information regarding fire should be distributed to all workers on; fire prevention within workplace, containing a fire, evacuation and where fire incidence should be reported. Evacuation routes maps should be posted within all well-known locations. Smoke detectors should be examined for appropriate functioning monthly and their batteries should be replaced after every six months (Amaral 2007). Insurance plan The company should have insurance just in case of an accident or any other adverse effect on the company. The company ought to conduct an exposure analysis every year. A formal assessment should be carried out to identify suitable insurance coverage levels as well as review extra risk management strategies of mitigating risk exposures (Amaral 2007). Conclusion The organizational structure is not justified for such a small organization because the structure is too costly for the company due to many managers. Such a small company should have a structure that has a sole centralized top authority. To improve communication problems in the company, John should consider engaging his employees in activities that encourage interaction and reduces formalization as the employees will feel free to communicate with the management and also among them. The hiring of an external coach comes with many benefits which include identifying the shortcoming in the company and development and growth of the company. This can be identified where the external coach is able to identify overstaffing in the company after interacting with the managers for some time. Overstaffing has been identified in the company especially in labor hire division where the assistant manager does all the work and the manager has little to do. The management is overstaffed because the management team contains relatively many managers and the roles of all these managers can be accomplished with fewer managers. Lastly, there are number of contingency plans that can be considered for the company and they include insurance plan, fire hazards plan, temporary facilities plan, property protection plan and a vendor readiness plan. These contingency plans will prepare the company to handle various emergencies if they occur. Recommendations The company should hire an external coach often as this will enable the company to identify areas that need improvement, improve skills of the managers and plan on the developmental course and hence effectively meet organizational goals. The company should adopt an organizational structure that is simple and fit for a small company. I would recommend the company to adopt a line organizational structure because it enables faster decision making, simple and hence employees clearly know who is in charge of them and it is also less costly. The company should reduce the number of managers as this has led to overstaffing. Instead of having two managers on labor hire division, there should be one because all hire labor tasks can be handled by one manager effectively. The number of managers in the management team should also be reduced from five to three. The human resources should make a practical assessment of what could go wrong for the company and then come up with appropriate contingency plans. Reference list Amaral, L., 2007, Complex Systems—A New Paradigm for the Integrative Study of Management, Physical, and Technological Systems, Management Science, Vol.53/7. Bradford, K., 2008, The Role of organizational commitment in occupational stress models, International Journal of stress management, Vol.329-344. Braha, D., 2007, The Statistical Mechanics of Complex Product Development: Empirical and Analytical Results, Management Science, Vol.53/7. Colquitt, J., 2008, Handbook of organizational justice, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, N.J. Dawn, K., 2006, Using vision to improve organizational communication, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 21 / 2. Fineman, S, & Panteli, N, 2008, The case of virtual team organizing, Behavior & Information Technology, Vol. 24: 347-52. Jacobides, M., 2007, The inherent limits of organizational structure and the unfulfilled role of hierarchy: Lessons from a near-war, Organization Science, Vol.18/ 3. Kogut, B, 2007, Emergent Properties of a New Financial Market: American Venture Capital Syndication, 1960–2005, Management Science, Vol.53/7. Lim, M., 2010, Organizational structure for the twenty-first century. Presented at the annual meeting of The Institute for Operations Research and The Management Sciences, Austin. Paul, R., 2010, Organizational Coaching, Journal of Management Studies, Vol.43: 711-30. Paulina, P, & Marita, V., 2011, Testing a methodology to improve organizational learning about crisis communication by public organizations, Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 15 /4. Pugh, S., 2006, Organization Theory: Selected Readings, Penguin, Harmondsworth. Repenning, N., 2008, A Simulation-Based Approach to Understanding the Dynamics of Innovation Implementation, Organization Science, Vol.13/ 2. Robbins, S., 2007, Organizational Behavior, Pearson Education Inc., New York. Read More