Human Performance in Running a Multi-Division Company - Essay Example

? Human Performance in Running a Multi-Division Form Company of the Due: Measures on Human Performance (Accountability) in Running a Multidivisional Form Business Introduction This paper will seek to corroborate Hoskin and Macve’s (1990) claim that “putting a measure on human performance is significant in getting things done” as well as explore the intended and unintended consequences of this and how the latter can be minimized. It will look at the meaning of M-form businesses and how the role and duties of management accountants blend into the measurement of these performances to help arrive at an acceptable conclusion on the statement. Multidivisional form (M-form) business refers to an organizational structure by which a firm is separated into semi-autonomous units. These semi-autonomous units are guided and controlled by various financial and performance targets that together form core objective of the organization. These units therefore, operate as their own separate entities. Each unit plays a vital role in the organization in areas of conflict management, customer service, employee retention, overall productivity and profitability (Rohlander & Snell, 2009). Multi-divisional form of business is usually adopted by organizations to facilitate prudent changes without encountering an extensive chain of approval. Human performance is therefore a vital factor in ensuring efficiency and effectiveness with regards to productivity of the organization. It is for this reason that firms, both public and private must seek to quantify the value of their human performance. In the process of measuring this performance, several challenges are likely to arise, some intended while others unplanned. Measures must therefore be put in place to minimize the consequences of measuring human performance that were not planned. Since there are multiple divisions in these organizations it is of great significance to know both the performance and contribution of each division to the overall performance of the enterprise. Human performance Human performance is at the core of an organization’s well being; it incorporates total quality management, improvement of processes, appropriate employee behavior and sound instructional systems all under the banner of human resource management. In as much as employees are not listed in the balance sheet, they are such an essential asset to an enterprise and their contribution is a vital factor that should not only be quantified but also harnessed for the achievement of the set objectives. Multi-divisional private companies are not listed in the stock markets and therefore the effects of their human performance do not translate into a drop or rise in the prices of their stocks. This is however not the case for public traded companies that have their shares not only affected by financial but also human performance (Rohlander & Snell, 2009). Effectively, when there is news or even a feeling of inefficiency in a public company the ripple effects will be immediately felt at the stock market. This has the dire consequence of insolvency if drastic measures are not taken to make the necessary corrections. Measuring human performance begins with putting in place targets that must be achieved within specific timelines. Each unit (division) is given its overall targets that are then broken down to individual targets. With the kind of autonomy enjoyed by divisions in most M-form businesses, it is very easy for the individual units to then come with performance strategies and the best ways of evaluating the set targets. Multi divisional forms of business therefore help in meeting the needs of employees by enabling managers to delegate various responsibilities leaving them with ample time to monitor and make sure that everything is done for the achievement of an organization’s objectives (Wang &King 2009). This model makes communication between units more effective, problem solving manageable and team work is encouraged. The ways and means of achieving the set targets should be employee driven in that the ideas on how to make the work done and areas that require improvement should come from the doers themselves. This will create a sense of process ownership on the part of employees. With individual targets set and their achievement time allocated, appropriate evaluation tools must then be used to gauge the level of success or failure of individual employees. Among the available tools are; the balanced scorecard, periodic audits, customer feedbacks and ultimately the financial performance of the individual units. The above tools will help at ensuring that individual contributions are determined and recognized besides giving insights on the possible reason for failure in areas that have fallen short of the set targets. Harnessing human performance in an organization is intended at achieving productivity, improving the quality of either a service or good, fostering efficiency, ensuring a seamless flow in operational processes, cultivating the culture of accountability, putting in place coherent instructional systems and in the end profitability of an enterprise among other objectives. It however brings with it several unintended consequences of stress, depression and high employee turnover. To mitigate these unplanned side effects, an enterprise should have in place the necessary motivational tools of bonuses that can be either periodic or annual, medical cover, staff accommodation to reduce the inconveniences of finding a place to live on the part of staff, arrange regular team building and other outdoor activities that do not only help employees get away from their daily routines but also provides them with an avenue to form bonds beyond the work place and proper management structures. Benefits like educational scholarships to staff and performance based promotion systems go a long way in improving productivity and eventually the quality of their contribution to an organization at the same time creating a huge sense of indebtedness and loyalty to the enterprise. Having in house day care centers for example, has a huge productivity effect on female employees who are in most cases distracted by the thought of what could be happening to their children while at work. The idea of coming to work with their babies and being able to conveniently and regularly check on them, is a major psychological and emotional reliever that touches the very core of human performance at the work place. Organizations must therefore invest in these facilities if optimum human performance is to be realized (Neider & Schriesheim, 2003). Managers and supervisors should therefore, provide worker feedback on an incessant basis as an informal mechanism of measuring human performance and accountability. Through this, their attention to employee performance and well being will be demonstrated. When employees are aware of their supervisors’ and managers’ attention to their inputs they are bound to improve or in the least maintain their performance for they know they are being held accountable. Consequently, managers must be held accountable by employees on the basis of their regular feedbacks relating to performance standards which are in essence a valuable contributor to the motivation of employees and overall progress of the organization. Management accountants and human performance Management accountants are members of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), a professional institution that was founded close to a century ago with the objective of promoting knowledge and professionalism among cost accountants as well as advancing a broad understanding of these values in an organization’s management. To help achieve these objectives, the institution put in place strict professional code of ethics that must be adhered to by members in the performance of their duties with the aim of fostering ethical professional practice. It is the strict adherence by members to these codes that has for the period of the institution’s existence promoted and served to enlighten organizations on the significance of the role of management accountants to their daily operations and today, the services of management accountants form the core of operations in most enterprises. Among the stipulated standards and values that a member must uphold are Confidentiality, Competence, Integrity, Credibility and Objectivity. Since most organizations share ethical codes of conduct with the IMA, the services of management accountants has as a result gone beyond formulating strategy by providing information on sources of competitive advantage like the cost, productivity, or efficiency advantage of their organizations in relation to competitors, to being enforcers of ethical practices in these very organizations (Butter & Sims 2006). They are more of ethical police today. They therefore help in measuring human performance by first ensuring strict adherence to the above mentioned code of conduct as well as through the provision of information that form the basis of making performance related decisions. With the culture of competence, integrity and objectivity embodied by the work force, performance cannot be anything but at its best in an enterprise. M-form businesses should therefore incorporate the services of management accountants at each unit to ensure that these values are not only lived by the staff but the decisions relevant to good performance are also backed by statistical data generated by these accountants. There should equally be a provision for the services of a management accountant in the larger organizational structure to provide guidance to the semi-autonomous units and compliment the services offered by the individual unit management accountants Conclusion I totally agree with the statement that measuring human performance is necessary to getting things done in an M-form business because with the kind of independence enjoyed by the units, it is without doubt difficult to quantify and oversee performance without any specific measures in place. It is equally important to note that achieving results must first begin by imagining/ visualizing the intended results. Without this vision, an organization is surely on the path to nowhere, because through this vision, statistical data can be generated on the basis of historical information and resources necessary allocated. Human performance requires investment in areas that directly touch on the work force like tools, facilities and relevant programs. An organization cannot therefore anticipate optimal performance without first making appropriate investments in its work force and their well being. It is hard to imagine an environment without targets, clear operational procedures and any form of reward to employees. The picture that comes to mind is total chaos. With known targets, reasons for non achievement become fairly easy to investigate and determine, this in turn facilitates improvements because through these investigations, better ways of doing particular activities are found resulting to reduced costs and efficiency. In other words, an enterprise gets to know specific areas that need improvement. Measuring human performance is without doubt the sure way to the motivation and improvement of the human resource and should be at the core of an organization’s activities. References Butter N., Sims A. (2006); Cima Learning Systems; Management Accounting –Business Neider L.L, Schriesheim C. (2003); New Directions in Human Resource Management; IAP Publishers Rohlander G., Snell S. (2009): Managing Human Resource: Cengage Publishers Strategy; Butterworth-Henmman Publishers Wang V. C. X., King K. P. (2009): Fundamentals Of Human Performance And Training: IAP Publishers Read More