Galactic Office Furniture: the Role of the HR Managers - Essay Example

GALACTIC OFFICE FURNITURE LTD Question Using relevant models analyse the case study and evaluate the extent to which SHRM (i.e. both HRM and HRD) is being practised effectively. Explain what you see as the advantages and disadvantages of the present situation The importance of the strategies followed by the human resources department has been highlighted by many researchers. In this context, Jackson et al. (1995, 237) noticed that HRM is often used “as an umbrella term that encompasses (a) specific human resource practices such as recruitment, selection, and appraisal; (b) formal human resource policies, which direct and partially constrain the development of specific practices; and (c) overarching human resource philosophies, which specify the values that inform an organizations policies and practices”. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that HRM can operate differently in every firm in accordance with the skills of the employees, the financial strength of the firm and its targets both in the long and the long term. In this context, Sims (2002, 3) found that human resources involve HRM programs aimed at developing HRM strategies for the total organization with an eye toward clarifying an organization’s current and potential problems and developing solutions for them; they are oriented toward action, the individual, the global marketplace, and the future’. In accordance with the above the role of the HRM within a particular organization is significant; however because of the existence of many factors that can influence the effectiveness of the programs suggested by this department, it is necessary that the appropriate measures have been taken in advance in order to avoid any negative outcome during the implementation or the application processes. In Galactic Office Furniture Ltd one of major problems that need to be resolved by the human resource department is the low productivity of the employees that have led to the reduction of the firm’s financial performance. Because of this issue it is necessary that a series of plans are implemented in the specific company. However, in this case the reaction of the employees in the changes proposed would have to be considered carefully by the HR managers. As it is admitted by the firm’s Training and Development Manager ‘isn’t it going to be difficult to persuade people around here that you can be trusted?’ It seems that the environment in the workplace is not really friendly for employees neither for managers. The existence of these conditions could be possibly explained by the lack of communication between managers and employees or else the lack of confidence between these parties regarding the exchange of thoughts for the firm’s problems in the area of Human Resources. It seems that employees in the above firm face several problems in the workplace but they have preferred to avoid explaining the situation in the HR managers; the lack of communication between these two sides is obvious. Despite the above problems, the willingness of managers to improve their relations with the employees seems to be limited. More specifically, it has been announced by the company that “in a change management workshop that has been run during the last eighteen months there was no participation of managers; in fact no board directors or senior managers attended” The above situation can influence the productivity of employees and, furthermore, the performance of the company. In this context, it has been supported by Kundy et al. (2004, 40) that “excellence in service delivery is heavily dependent on the way a workforce is managed, and the workforce directly influences the following five dimensions of service quality: a) Reliability: Ability to deliver services as promised; b) Responsiveness: Willingness to provide prompt service and help customers; c) Assurance: Ability to communicate credibility and to convey trust and confidence; d) Empathy: Willingness to provide caring and individualized attention to customers; and e) Tangibles: Maintaining the appearance of physical facilities and personnel”. In other words, the low level of employees’ productivity should be considered as a consequence of the lack of appropriate HR plan within a specific organization; the responsibility for the above situation belongs therefore to HR managers who have failed to understand the needs of the employees and their significance for the firm’s development. In accordance with the above, the implementation of the Total Quality Management Policy as already designed by the firm’s HR managers will help towards the improvement of the employees’ productivity. Actually, it seems that the relations between the employees and the firm’s managers are not very good. In a relevant discussion between the firm’s HR managers it is admitted that ‘too many of the factory managers are making life too difficult for the regional sales teams’. This fact could be a major constraint to the increase of the employees’ productivity as the application of the suggested programs will not have the expected results. The participation of the employees is vital for the success of any corporate plan especially if this involves in the development or the restructuring of the practices used in the delivery of work within a specific organization. On the other hand, it seems that ‘some senior managers do not fully appreciate the need to ‘stick to the budget’’. For this reason the firm’s Finance Director ‘sent a memo to all managers stating that this is the primary objective for the business’. In the same context, the breaches of company regulations by the firm’s managers need to be faced the soonest possible. The audit that will take place in the firm after a relevant proposal of the Finance Director will be really helpful towards the identification of the people that have the responsibility for this de-regulation inside the specific organization. The need of the control over the costs and the search for efficiency gains is considered to be of primary importance for the organization. For this reason, in a relevant conversation between the firm’s CEO and the Chairman it is noticed that it is necessary for the company ‘to target anything which can add value both in volume and niche markets’. The firm should continue however to target on the following issues: investment, improvement and innovation. The above strategy seems to be quite effective for the firm as its current reserves have been estimated to approximately 106 million. In accordance with the study of Schuler et al. (1998, 159) HR in a particular organization should focus on the following areas: “a) the business structure, b) the legislative and employment relationship context, c) the patterns of HRM competence and decision-making and d) the national culture”. Apart from the above, corporate strategy should lead to the ‘alignment’ of the business activities with the employees’ skills, or else the ‘fit’ of skills to the firm’s needs. In this context, the study of Wright (1998, 56) showed that ‘the basic theory behind "fit" is that the effectiveness of any HR practice or set of practices for impacting firm performance depends upon the firms strategy (or conversely, the effectiveness of any strategy depends upon having the right HR practices)’. In the particular firm, in order for this ‘fit’ to be achieved it is necessary that the plans applied are in accordance with the employees’ competencies as they can be ‘measured’ in the employees’ daily activities in the workplace. The explanation to the employees of their job through a job description delivered to them, cannot be regarded as an effective strategy towards the achievement of the above target. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the company could increase its performance through a constant ‘review’ of the organisation in order ‘to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase flexibility to respond to change’. However, this target is rather difficult to be achieved unless a radical change in the firm’s HR strategy takes place. Question 2 Draft a set of recommendations on what the company needs to do differently in the future to bridge any gap between what is actually happening and what is felt to be desirable. Be specific (e.g. actions to be taken; feasibility assessment; priorities; overcoming barriers to change etc) In order for the company to achieve its targets, it is necessary that the role of the HR managers is developed. In accordance with the study of Jamrog (2004, 60) the HR that will be involved in the effort to develop the firm’s performance would have the following competencies/ skills: “1) knowledge of business (which includes financial, strategic, and technological capability), 2) knowledge of HR practices (which includes staffing, development appraisal, rewards, organizational planning, and communication) and 3) management of change (creating meaning, problem-solving, innovation and transformation, relationship influence, and role influence)”. On the other hand, Luthans (1998, 17) supported that “the traditional role of the HR/personnel department has essentially been functional in nature and has revolved around specialized tasks such as HR planning, recruiting, job analysis, performance review, compensation, training, and legislative compliance; moreover hiring, firing, and providing benefits to employees remain important tasks that must be accomplished in any effective organization”. All the above duties should be ‘incorporated’ in the duties of HR managers in the particular organization even if their application would require significant time to be completed. On the other hand, it is necessary that the firm’s HR plans incorporate the appropriate tools for the improvement of the employees’ performance. Ramlall (2003, 60) supported that “it is only through performance measuring that one can really articulate the benefits of HR strategies in achieving the organizations business strategy and in the process enhance the credibility of the HR profession”. On the other hand, Gelade et al. (2003, 383) found that “few organizations can evaluate their performance accurately by averaging the performance of their employees; in most cases, the performance of an organization is determined by the productivity and efficiency of such higher-level organizational entities as departments, retail outlets, plants, or teams which constitute - in the language of operations research – the so-called "decision-making units" (DMUs)”. In the case under examination, the implementation of specific measures of performance would help towards the increase of the employees’ productivity. The simultaneous provision of rewards in accordance with the level of performance achieved by each employee would be helpful towards the successful of the above plan. The introduction of specific criteria in the choice of employees is also necessary. However, even if the employees’ selection is quite satisfactory, it is necessary that the employee is given all the appropriate support for his/ her personal development. For this reason, Marchington et al. (2005, 72) noticed that “having recruited ‘outstanding human talent’, employers need to ensure that these people remain at the forefront of their field, not only in terms of professional expertise and product knowledge but also through working in teams or in interpersonal relations”. Towards the same direction, Walker (1994, 59) supported that “Recruiting, selection, assignment, and other staffing actions are crucial in matching available resources with required staffing levels and mix of capabilities; managing performance aligns individuals and teams with the objectives of the business; training, education, and job-related learning are crucial to the development of needed capabilities and performance”. Generally, the whole HR planning of the company should be restructured. Indicatively, we could refer to the study of Eldson et al. (1991, 41, 45) who suggested that HRM should have the following targets: “a) to enable employees to seek greater fulfilment in their work; b) a person-to-person career counseling should be offered; c) the provision of support to the employees regarding their career development; d) Particular emphasis is also required to support the retention needs of employees with five or fewer years of service - a vulnerable group”. However, in the particular organization because of the existence of disputes between employees and HR managers, the application of any suggested HR plan depends on the employees’ acceptance. For this reason, it is necessary that all disputes in the internal environment are resolved before the firm proceeds to the implementation of HR strategies in the workplace. In this context, HR managers should be accordingly informed not only by books (a method used occasionally by HR managers in the firm of the particular case study). After the appropriate training of HR managers, it could be expected that the later would apply a series of innovative methods to develop the firm’s employees, like: ‘new and stretch job assignments, membership on project teams, action learning in training experiences, leaders running training programs, 360[degrees] feedback, coaching, Web-based best practice and learning mechanisms, and Web-based skill building’ (Ulrich, 2000, 18). In this context, we could refer to the work of Summers et al. (1997, 18) who supported that ‘for those organizations seeking a competitive advantage through innovative human resource activity, strategic skills analysis (SSA) represents a means to link business strategy with human resource strategy’. The application of the above technique in Galactic would be really effective for the improvement of the employees’ performance. In general the control over the employees’ performance but also over the managers’ efforts and plans is considered as necessary in order to identify the possible areas in the corporate strategic plan that need improvement. On the other hand, the implementation of advanced technology systems cannot be regarded as a significant measure regarding the increase of the employees’ productivity. Even if we accept a primary role of technology in the improvement of productivity of employees, it is necessary that other ‘performance tools’ are going to be ‘engaged’. In this context, Megginson (1972, 75) found that ‘while technology can increase productivity and give major emphasis to social and economic development, the other factors are equally important; management exerts strong influence upon the types and extent of utilization of technology as well as the supply of natural, financial, and human resources while productivity involves using knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and methodology of people in an existing culture’. It should be noticed that for any plan followed there are chances for failure because of the involvement of many factors in the firm’s daily activities. In this context, personal attitudes of employees and HR managers are of significant importance for the success of any corporate plan. Specifically in the area of HR, the behaviour of the T&D manager should be regarded as a constraint towards the achievement of the target set by the firm’s strategic management team. The continuous control over the employees’ personal attitudes and the removal of any employee that behaves inappropriately should be considered as necessary parts of any HR strategy. They can even be regarded as being more important even from the plans themselves. References Eldson, R., Iyer, S. (1999). Creating Value and Enhancing Retention through Employee Development: The Sun Microsystems Experience. Human Resource Planning, 22(2):39-47 Gelade, G.A., Ivery, M. (2003). The Impact of Human Resource Management and Work Climate on Organizational Performance. Personnel Psychology, 56(2): 383-398 Jackson, S., Schuler, R. (1995). ‘Understanding Human Resource Management in the Context of Organizations and Their Environments’ Annual Review of Psychology 46: 237-254 Jamrog, J.J., Overholt, M.H. (2004). Building a Strategic HR Function: Continuing the Evolution. Human Resource Planning, 27(1):51-63 Korman, A., Kraut, A., London, M. (1999). Evolving Practices in Human Resource Management: Responses to a Changing World of Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Kundu, S., Vora, J. (2004) Creating a Talented Workforce for Delivering Service Quality. Human Resource Planning, 27(2): 40-53 Levine, D. (1995). Reinventing the Workplace: How Business and Employees Can Both Win. Brookings Institution. Washington, DC Luthans, K. (1998). ‘Using HRM to Compete in the 21st Century’. Management Quarterly, 38(4): 17-23 Marchington, N., Wilkinson, A. (2005) Human Resource Management at work. CIPD Ramlall, S.J. 2003. Measuring Human Resource Managements Effectiveness in Improving Performance. Human Resource Planning, 26(1):51-64 Schuller, R., Rogovsky, N. (1998). ‘Understanding compensation practices across firms: the impact of national culture’. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(1): 159-172 Sims, R. R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management.Quorum Books. Westport, CT Summers, S.B., Summers, T.P. (1997). Strategic Skills Analysis for Selection and Development. Human Resource Planning, 20(3): 14-19 Ulrich, D. (2000). From eBusiness to eHR. Human Resource Planning, 23(2):12-22 Walker, J. (1994). Integrating the Human Resource Function with the Business. Human Resource Planning, 17(2): 59-71 Wright, P.M., (1998). Strategy - HR Fit: Does It Really Matter? Human Resource Planning, 21(4): 56-59 Read More