A Critical Evaluation of HRM and Organisational Behaviour Theories - Essay Example

?A Critical Evaluation of HRM and Organisational Behaviour Theories and Frameworks and Link with Performance Table of Contents Overview 3 Changing Landscape of HRM and Organisational Behaviour 5 Significance of HRM Theories and Frameworks 7 Significance of OB Theories and Frameworks to Manage Complexities 9 Assumptions of OB and Human Resources Management 10 Organisational Behaviour to Enhance Organisational Performance 12 HRM to Enhance Organisational Performance 13 Contemporary HR Themes in Contemporary Organisations 14 References 17 Overview The key task of the human resources management (HRM) is to deal with numerous approaches in order to manage the people of the organisation. The approach is practical and there is greater tendency to change towards an informal individualistic direction (Salaman & Et. Al., 2005). In the international context, HRM issues are quite prominent and therefore an in-depth understanding of such issues is quite significant. Various theories and frameworks of HRM are present which can be applicable for managing the people working in the international arena (Lucas & Et. Al., 2007). Best Practice HRM is considered as the notion that human resource practice tends to work in an effective way if they are introduced in correlated and equally reinforcing bundles (Redman & Wilkinson, 2009). The literatures on human resource management suggest that the policies and the procedures related to the functions of human resource must be coordinated with the business strategy (Rollinson & Et. Al., 1998). On the other hand, the term ‘organisational behaviour’ (OB) implies the study and the application of knowledge regarding how the ‘individuals’, ‘people’ and ‘groups’ behave in the organisation. Systems approach is followed by the organisations in order to comprehend the way people behave in the organisation. The relation among the people and the organisation is interpreted in terms of entire organisation, person, group and social system. The main objective of the organisation behaviour is to develop enhanced relation by attaining the three main objectives such as organisational objectives, human objectives and social objectives (Champoux, 2010). Organisation behaviour is mainly concerned with the behaviour, the performance and the attitude of the people in the organisation (Champoux, 2010). Changing Landscape of HRM and Organisational Behaviour It has been mentioned by Jamrog and Overholt in their study that since last 100 years there has been continuous shift in the role of the human resource professionals and there has been addition of more responsibilities in the work of these professionals. According to the research of the authors, there has been major shifts in the functions of HR and it has developed through numerous stages starting from medieval time to industrial revolutions, from scientific management to human relations movements and finally to current strategic business partner model. In the ancient times, the HR has mainly tried to focus its attention towards the administrative facets of the human resource management. However, in the recent times, the strident call forced the HRM to become a strategic business partner. It is quite significant to comprehend the differences between the Human Resource Management (HRM) and the Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). When the traditional HRM is taken into consideration, it is noted that traditional HRM is generally transactional in nature and aims at providing administrative support to the people working in the organisation in terms of staffing, compensation, recruitment and benefits. It has been paradigm change from the administrative facets of the human resource management that has led to the development of SHRM. In SHRM, a new set of value added roles and responsibilities have been inculcated to functions of the HRM. The prime importance of the SHRM is that of the strategic business partner. It is the SHRM that helps the companies to achieve competitive advantage and therefore assist the business managers to plan the roles of the human resources working in the organisation strategically (Salaman & Et. Al., 2005). There have been shifts in the organisational behaviour theories as well with the pace of time. The main indicators that have brought major changes in the theories and the practices of the organisational behaviour are information technology, total quality as well as diversity. The main objective of the organisational behaviour is to assist the managers to bring changes to the new paradigm. Few features of the new paradigm are coverage of information technologies of the second-generation as well as total quality management which includes reengineering, empowerment, benchmarking, as well as learning organisation for the purpose of controlling the multiplicity at work. It is the new paradigm shifts in the organisational behaviour that has set the stage for the purpose of studying, comprehending as well as using the time-tested micro-variables, macro-variables and dynamics (Rollinson & Et. Al., 1998). It is significant to comprehend the reason behind the requirement of new perspectives to management for the purpose of meeting the challenges and therefore to shift to new paradigm. In the context of modern approach to organisational behaviour, it tries to identify the reason behind people behaving the way they do. It is to be remembered that organisational behaviour is quite fragile as well as complex procedure. In order to manage the organisation, it becomes significant to comprehend the main operation of the business as well (Rahim, 1983). In the modern day context, many new types of organisations are emerging. They are the network and cellular form, the federal organisation, the creative compartment, the post modern and flexible firm, the virtual organisation as well as the individualised corporation (Clegg & Et. Al., 2005). In the contemporary competitive environment with high degree of uncertainty there is requirement of agile response the customers’ expectations. This brings forward the demand for more adaptive and entrepreneurial mode, thus necessitating the requirement of effective leadership (Storey, 2004). It has been noted that the conventional form of the HR function had been an in-house department which was monitored by the senior manager along with numerous HR and administrative staffs in order to run the departments. In the contemporary organisations, there are various approaches used for delivering the HR functions effectively (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). Significance of HRM Theories and Frameworks There are valid theories in context of human resource management that offer frameworks through which it becomes possible for the management of the organisation to predict, comprehend and thus impact the thoughts, the feelings and the behaviours of the employees working with the organisation. It is worthy of stating that with the help of the human resource theories, frameworks can also be generated so that interventions can be designed and results can be interpreted (Redman & Wilkinson, 2009). Complexity is considered to be the newest business buzzword. With the globalisation of the operations of the businesses, there has been rise in the complexity in the operations of the businesses of the organisations. It is quite difficult for the companies to make the complexity simpler. However, it is the duty of the top executives working with the companies to manage the complexities in the best possible way. The main drivers of complexity are diversity, flux, ambiguity and interdependence (Gist, 1987). Complexity may arise because of the self-awareness of the internal agents thus requiring dealing with high level of difficulties or complexities of the internal organisation. It has also been analysed that the complexities tend to arise because of the co-productions of the various agents. There are external complexities as well such as competition and technological advances among others that lead to complexities. It is through the proper utilisation of the human resources in the organisations, the companies are capable of managing such complexities. Complexities may take numerous forms. However, an adequate method of structuring the internal organisation is through composition of the personnel. It is worthy of stating that the personnel composition is generally dependent upon the economic web of association among the organisations as well as its stakeholders. Organisations need to consider these factors in dealing with the strategic human resource management (Salaman & Et. Al., 2005). In the world of business, complexities are rising each day. In order to survive in the turbulent business environment, it is significant to make use of the strategic human resource management since it offers support for the executives to prepare and execute the strategies properly. It is human resource management that is mainly concerned with the policy decisions thereby impacting the operations of the overall organisation. Its main objective is to assist the people working in the organisation to deal with the complex business environment. The management of the organisation receives a sense of direction in a complex organisation with the help of the human resource management and the requirement of the organisation is translated into rational and practical policies as well as programs (Salaman & Et. Al., 2005). Significance of OB Theories and Frameworks to Manage Complexities Complexities may arise during meetings or while preparation of the reports. They may as well occur while structuring the organisation and taking decisions while preparing hierarchies. In addition to these, globalisation has ignited complexities and thus complexity is getting out of control. According to few experts of the organisational behaviour such as Ron Ashkenas, managers unconsciously create lots of complexities in the organisations which hinder their day- to-day operations and therefore it leads to inefficiencies in the work place (Rousseau & Fried, 2001). It is often noted that at the organisational level, the organisation tries to meet with the complexities by developing difficulties around its technical core; by flattening inputs as well as output transactions; by proper planning as well as forecasting; by segmenting itself or becoming decentralised; and finally by assuming rules. The complexity in the organisation tends to arise because the people working with the organisation are becoming too complex in nature. This does not imply that one organisation is less or more complex in comparison to the other organisation but the fact is that regardless of their internal diversity all the organisations tend to be complex and pose complexities imposed by both internal as well as external environment. While the internal environment is formed with the help of the processes and the technologies assisting the core operations of the firm, the external environment consists of the customers, competitors, markets and suppliers among others. Thus, in order to deal with such complexities, organisational behaviour theories provide the practicing managers and the employees of the organisation with such elements which can be used to manage the complex business environment. It helps the decision makers to break the decisions into constituent parts and therefore treat them sequentially. It further tries to ignore the less important and tertiary characteristics of the decisions and therefore the people in the organisation are capable of focusing their attention towards few selected issues which are adversely impacting the successful operations of the firms. The organisational behaviour theories and frameworks assist the managers to identify the solutions to the problems with the help of their experiences from previous problems and reducing their efforts to search new solutions. OB helps the organisation to forecast the quantity of insecurity as well as variation in the complex environment (Boyacigiller, 1990). Assumptions of OB and Human Resources Management There are numerous assumptions underpinning the way in which HRM and organisational behaviour theories and frameworks have been propagated. It is generally assumed that people are versatile and complex. According to the economists, these people have needs to attain, however they also have social needs. They want to bond with other people living in the society. They want to learn and grow and therefore want to protect their self-esteem. So, when these people with mixed needs tend to join the organisation, it becomes necessary for the organisation to reshape their strengths by means of socialisation and selection. It is also assumed that organisations are generally multifaceted open social systems that tend to acclimatise and manage to survive and prosper. It is to be remembered that in order to adapt successfully, it is quite significant to have an efficient and effective exchange with the agents in the environment. In addition to these, the value of the output of the organisation must be such that it exceeds the total cost of producing the outputs. The term ‘complex’ is generally referred as the system in which the various organisational facets, the designs, the leadership behaviours, the human resources policies, the people, the culture and its sub-units are interdependent and thus engage themselves in shared adaptation in order to gain strategic fit. When an organisation gets inclined by the external environment and especially because of the influence of the society on its members, it is referred as open system (Rousseau & Fried, 2001). The other assumption is that with the pace of time, an organisation tends to build up distinguishing and unrelenting outline of behaviour or culture. With the term ‘culture’, it can be comprehended as the development of the assumptions, the beliefs and the behaviours by the leaders in the organisation in order to deal effectively with the internal as well as the external environment problems. It is through the manager’s tendency to attract and select the personnel depending upon the similarity of the individual to those who are already in the organisation that tends to enhance the strength of the culture. Organisations differ in terms of strengths of the culture and there are subcultures in numerous parts and sub-units (Rousseau & Fried, 2001). The other assumption of organisational behaviour is that it is defiant to change because of the human cognitive processes as well as defensive routines. People tend to justify their past behaviour by shaping beliefs that rationalise them and by means of escalating commitment to them. People also dislike embarrassment and threat to themselves as well as others. It is these characteristics of the humans which stops the managers from identifying the fact that their actual behaviour is contradictory with their stated ambitions. Furthermore, it is because of this human nature that leads to organisational policies and procedures in light of new realities unless and until skills and norms of inquiry are built (Rousseau & Fried, 2001). The basic belief and assumption of HRM model is that human resources help in achieving competitive advantage. It is also assumed that the aim must not only be compliance with the rules but must also include employee commitment. In such circumstances, the employees need to be selected carefully and developed (Wilton, 2010). Organisational Behaviour to Enhance Organisational Performance It is to be stated that the two elements of human resource practices such as training and information technology have influences on the performance of the organisation. A research work conducted by Zaini, Syed and Nilufar identified that there are four components of HR practices such as training and development, HR planning, team work and performance appraisal that have positive impacts upon the performance of the business (Lucas & Et. Al., 2007). With the demanding characteristics of organising and controlling people in the organisation, it must be regarded that OB is the groundwork of the management studies. It has been found that OB seeks to have significance for comprehending the behaviour of people working at numerous hierarchical levels (Knights & Willmott, 2006). Organisational behaviour tends to impact the profitability of the organisation. It is the talented and skilled people who can be considered as valuable resources for the organisation. Therefore, in this regard, it can be mentioned that good organisational behaviour is significant for the profitability of the company. The job performance is not only dependent upon the employee motivation but also there are other factors as well such as fostering high degree of performance, proper management of the stress, commitment towards the employee learning and creation of the climate of trust. If the organisation fails to provide its employees with any of the above mentioned factors, then the performance of the organisation tends to get hampered (Peterson & Thomas, 2007). One of the facts of organisational behaviour states that the intervention of the organisation to alter the organisational design as well as behaviour leads to enhanced performance. It further endorses the view that it is behaviour of the individual that leads to performance. It is through good performance, there can be change in the behaviour. However, according to managerial point of view, deliberate change in organisational behaviour can be considered as the first step in enhancing the organisational performance. Progressing performance may strengthen management’s planned efforts to change and offer the resources so that the management can invest in the organisational development (Anderson & West, 1998). HRM to Enhance Organisational Performance There are very few existing models that study the link between HRM as well as organisational performance; however few models have tried to pinpoint the fact that corporate HRM policies and practices are closely associated with enhanced performance. It can further help in supporting the behaviour and the attitude of the employee towards strengthening the competitive strategy of an organisation (Wilton, 2010). Performance, in views of organisation, is not only a wide concept which signifies productivity, effectiveness, efficiency or competitiveness but it also is considered to be a subject to be studied by the social scientists from numerous disciplinary perspectives. The HRM theorists are trying to develop a link between the HRM and the performance. There is increasing number of studies that have focused upon the fact that good human resource policies can assist in enhancing the organisational performance. For the purpose of achieving enhanced performance, it is quite significant for the firm to meet one or more of the strategic fits and the HR strategies that it adopts. The various human resource practices need to be rational and must harmonise each other. There must be proper fit between the rational sets of the practices of human resources as well as other systems in the organisation. The human resource system needs to be aligned with the competitive strategy of the organisation. Furthermore, it is quite significant for the human resource systems to be well-matched with its operating environment (Wilton, 2010). Contemporary HR Themes in Contemporary Organisations In complex business environment, it has been found that the organisations are becoming more nimble, elastic, malleable as well as customer focused in order to succeed. There has been change in the role played by the HR managers and more focus is upon meeting the needs of the transforming organisation. The HR managers are not just expected to perform the administrative functions. The HR professionals are expected to develop as a strategic partner in the operation as well as execution of the organisation. The contemporary approach demands HR professionals to act more as an employee sponsor, change mentor or an advocate in the changing business environment. The HR professionals’ key tasks since last few years have been to look after the workplace diversity. In the modern times, if the organisational environment is not capable of supporting the diversity then they may have fear of losing the best talents to the competitors. It has been noted that most of the contemporary organisations are as well trying to focus upon modern HRM themes in order to meet the challenges of the business environment. The organisations are focusing upon enhanced training and development approaches in order to train and motivate their employees in the organisation. The organisations are trying to adopt new means and methods in order to make their employees more competitive. In the recent times, training is no longer considered to be the method of providing knowledge to the employees based upon the competencies but also it focuses more upon investigating the values and attitudes of the employees at the organisation. The contemporary HR theme involves change management process that aims at improving the potentials of the employees in a comprehensive manner and thus also tries to turn the work of the employees into value addition for the organisation (Redman & Wilkinson, 2009). 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