The HR Director - about JAL - Essay Example

JAL – Case Study As the HR Director at JAL, it is my first and foremost responsibility to understand the mess that JAL finds itself plunged deep into. What this will do is to allow me to come to terms with the gravity of the problem at hand. It will also make me feel a part of the company in the most literal sense. I would empathize with both the parties – the JAL workers as well as the IASCO ones so that my work domains do not get influenced by either of them. I would urge each one of the parties to make their concerns clear to me, as and when they wish to. On my part I would also appreciate if the JAL and IASCO workers could come up to me and share with me what they feel about the entire working regime in place and how they can contribute towards a changing climate. This would put an end to the acrimony which has arisen within the JAL umbrella and which needs to be taken care of at the very earliest (Tomei 2003). The organizational fabric is getting hurt and this cannot be tolerated at all. So it is in the best interest of the organization to keep away those factors which are creating some form of nuisance and find a way to deal with him in a very strict and harsh way. On the same token, all out efforts would be made to ensure that there are no problems left at the end, so that the JAL employees and the IASCO workers could take a sigh of relief. The tension thus existent could be thwarted if I am steadfast in my approach to resolve all disputes and if I am geared to meet these problems in a head on manner, which I shall promise to do with all my faith and conviction. I believe the business is going wrong because there is no set philosophy of the work as such. The employees are uncertain about their jobs and some of them think of the other clan as the inferiority group, which is abysmal to state the least. I would take notice of this in a very strict way because at the end of the day, each employee there is meant to attend work so that they can give their best, and not to indulge in petty issues and fights. My aim is to address these matters because these mean a lot for the sake of the organization and which is in essence hurting the cause of JAL as a single unit. The business is also going wrong because no one is paying attention at the moment, and much care has to be brought in within the related equation. At the beginning of my term, I would make it clear that discipline would rule the roost because it is the only thing that unifies the organization as a single entity. If the employees are disciplined enough to understand that their organizational basis depends on their courteous behaviors and actions, the organization shall return the favor to them as well (Sims 2002). However the individuals who would show absolutely no regard for the work domains as well as their employees would either be asked to leave on their own or would be removed from their service. A strict disciplinary code is the need of the hour at JAL so that both the sets of employees (JAL and IASCO) would not take the company for a ride and start adhering to the rules and guidelines that have been set in the charter of JAL from day one. This is a service industry which caters to the needs of the customers who are the passengers so there must be regard paid on this tangent rather than engulfing within petty fights, disgruntling and so on and so forth. As the HR Director for JAL, I would urge my subordinates to report to me who are the crooks within the organization and then hold them accountable for their respective behaviors (Cappelli 1999). I would also make sure that any employee who does not follow the disciplinary regimes be asked to reply to a showcase notice within set time duration. An explanation would be sought because if I do not do so, then it would be against the labor laws as well as the most basic of human rights. At the same time, I would focus on hiring those individuals who know their work domains best and are not involved in any activities which are unbecoming of their status. My mission would be to hire people who want to work for JAL rather than recruiting individuals who would come in this mess and create more of it. Moving ahead further, I aim to understand the psyche of the employees at JAL. This is because they have gone through a lot of trouble lately and it is only natural to know their perspectives as well. This is in line with finding out the root of the problem and how it would be removed once and for all so that solution for the same is found. I would aim to find out the best remedy possible so that any such issue which might arise in the future can be taken care of with minimal hardship. I would rate the employees from a psychological angle because this is important from the company perspective (Duke 2003). I would also ask them to attend to some psychological tests and programs so that I could gauge their interest levels within the work that they do as well as their commitment towards the company as a whole. This would be deemed as important as it would offer me a chance to study their innate traits and activities, the manner in which they conduct their own selves and give time towards their work ethos, etc. I will be able to touch upon quite a few aspects of their work if I am head on as far as my work manifestations are concerned because these mean a lot for the JAL work environment which is not at all up to the mark at this very moment. From the management perspective, it is of paramount importance to understand that all its actions and steps would be unbiased and not based on any illegitimate viewpoints and angles. The focus would be on setting things right because this is necessary to set things in a corrective fashion within the employees and indeed the culture of JAL. The JAL and IASCO workers should get along with one another and must not have any malice within their relations, as this will make them work hand in hand with each other. However the role of the management is very predominant here since it will decide what to do and when. If the management falls short on this count, there would be many problems that one can fathom with regards to JAL and its work regimes (Gellerman 1968). The management needs to bring in steps which will ask of the employees to dedicate themselves whole-heartedly with their work manifestations and make it mandatory on their part to interact with one another, as this will cultivate an air of trust and confidence amongst them. Hence the role of the management is a dicey one because it can bring both success and failure for the sake of the organization. What is important is how it tackles the whole debate of handling success and failure, and how it will balance the two tangents alongside one another. This will assist in aligning the business scenario with the work environment at JAL. From the employee perspective, it is always good to understand their psyche first before moving ahead further. This is important because it will give me an overview of the kind of wrongdoings that are taking place within the work realms (Fox 2004). It will also make me aware of the strengths of employees as well as their weaknesses. I am sure that I have the eye to spot the individuals who are creating mess within the workplace and since the authority is on my side, I can take decisions to let them employees resign or remove them from their service myself. However I need to comprehend what is good for the sake of the organization first before deciding on any particular course of action. The attitudes of distrust between the employees for one another are something that I would have to set my eyes upon (Egan 2001). It can literally break the very basis of JAL because there have been serious losses within the folds of JAL and same will continue to be the case if it is not addressed to in a quick way. Some heads must roll if there is a need to do so, but then again focus should be on doing things right more than anything else. I am of the opinion that the employees should be given the space that they deserve but this must not be such that it transgresses the rights of others as well as the work environment prevalent at the workplace. The human resources plan that will be drawn up would take into consideration the role of the employees and the link that they have with the management. This would mean that it would list down the exact requirements that the management of JAL has from the JAL and IASCO workers (Cronshaw 1999). It would treat both of these groups as a single unit, because this is important for the overall unity and discipline regimes to prevail within the JAL work environment. The human resources plan will also discuss some of the more important topics like a proper code which will detail the employees about conducting themselves within the workplace environment, how to dress up formally, how to interact with one another, following room and area codes, and so on. All of these aspects would cover the very basis of success as far as JAL is concerned (Cooper 2004). The human resources plan should be comprehensive because it pinpoints the exact basis of employee behavior and how their actions would suggest for eventual success of JAL in the long run (Dipboye 2005). One must understand that JAL has to pull up its socks and I, as the HR Director of the company, have to be on my toes to get things done the proper way. There must be as few hiccups as I could see within the proper conducting of these tasks. I believe that the human resources plan should be enacted at the earliest so that each one of the employees know what is good for them and how they would achieve performance levels by complying with the same human resources plan. As far as recruiting the right people is concerned, we would be requiring individuals who can work for us rather than having their own set agendas. We need people who are meritorious and who believe in their work domains as much as they care about their own selves. This will help JAL to enhance its image within the global aviation industry as well as in the eyes of the customers worldwide. It will depict the true basis of JAL and then highlight its strengths within the aviation sector, showcasing its richness within the employee selection and recruitment processes. It should not matter to the company if the employees are from JAL or IASCO contracted ones. What must matter is that they come under the JAL cadre and work for JAL alone, without thinking of anything else at all (Lee 2004). If I require, I can even take the services of a third party recruiting agency so that I select people who are very aptly driven by work rather than some ulterior motive which they want to satisfy in a workplace environment. I would have to seek prior permission from the higher management so that this kind of activity could be leased with proper funding at my end. It is my duty to keep the top management aware of the activities that are happening in the folds of recruitment and selection because I would have to be answerable to them under all situations and circumstances that crop up in the future. Once we get the employees we require dearly for JAL, we will provide them learning and training modules so that they get acquainted with the best practices which are applicable within the world’s best known organizations. These learning and training programs could be in the form of seminars, workshops and conferences held inside the workplace realms or even outside it. What this will mean is that the employee participation would suggest what kind of motivation level they are at, and how well they are geared to look after the needs and requirements of the organization on a consistent basis (Blackman 2006). These learning and training programs could either be conducted by employees amongst themselves or people from other companies and industrial leaders can make an effort to educate the JAL employees and workers. The interaction levels of the employees should also be gauged here because this is the perfect platform to know what they think about their work domains, and how best they can contribute towards its betterment on a consistent basis. In essence, these learning and training programs are meant to provide help and facilitation to the employees because they seek guidance from the industry leaders who are one step ahead of these employees. As the HR Director for JAL, I will make sure that this step sees the light of the day because hard work will have to be put in if I need to achieve something of value for the sake of this airline. Another important step that I need to undertake is that of performance management. The realms of performance management are being discussed now-a-days by the movers and shakers of business because it underpins the need to be one step ahead of the competition. It is a phenomenon which will be on the rise and still is, in the coming times. The employees are judged on the basis of their performance and their performance appraisals are completed at the end of each year. This makes them feel in line with the organizational goals, policies and regulations, as well as gives them the luxury to receive compensations and bonuses. Their performance realms are judged on the graph of productivity and then analyzed in line with the shortcomings that they had to face during the year (Halachmi 1996). One must fathom the fact that performance management is now a science in its own right, and hence should be given the significance that it so richly deserves. What is most important here is to comprehend that performance management shall not in any way deter the cause of growth and development within the employees and that they must showcase their skills and abilities at the very optimum levels. After all, performance management is supposed to be an encouraging tool for the sake of the employees and they must not be taken aback by it under any situation whatsoever. This is the basic ideology of performance management that I wish to incorporate within the realms of JAL. As for employee relations, JAL has to play its due role because this will pave the way for camaraderie and friendship to prevail at work. If the employees are divided amongst themselves, it would be very hard to assume that they will bring sanity within the ranks of JAL. However if they are united, this will bring in harmony amongst them as well as mean they are committed to the cause of JAL in essence. Employee relations are undoubtedly one of the biggest issues at JAL and if I am able to rectify this problem, I would think that I have done half of my job as the HR Director. Employee relations can be boosted time and again by giving the employees the confidence that they so richly deserve, as well as making them realize that they are an important part of the management process (Gannon 1987). They must interact with one another so that success can dawn upon JAL. Their interaction would ensure that all processes would be resolved amicably without any interruptions whatsoever. If they do not like to talk with one another, it would mean that they are losing out on a lot of counts, which would eventually suggest for losses at the JAL’s end. Employees must know that they cannot have fights within the workplace as their rifts would mean losses on the part of the organization in the long run, which is simply unacceptable. In the end, we will have to evaluate why we need to take these steps so that we could reason the basis of our hard work. Since I am the HR Director, I have to fully justify why I am undertaking all these steps and doing my best on a consistent basis. I will remain committed to the cause of bringing sanity amongst the employees of JAL and the IASCO workers so that they can work hand in hand with one another, and ultimately benefit the cause of JAL itself. More than anything else, this evaluation will also offer me a chance to get equipped with one of the most problematic scenarios at work (Kofman 2001). It will make me feel contented that I have achieved something of note within my professional domains, as well as make me aware as to how I can better my professional acumen in the times to come. All said and done, my role as the HR Director at JAL is to justify the very basis of processes as they are being done, and how I will be setting things right within the aegis of JAL. I aim to give in my very best so that the culture and the work environment within the organization become better with each passing day. This is my ultimate objective as long as I am the HR Director at JAL. Bibliography Blackman, Anna (2006). Graduating Students Responses to Recruitment Advertisements. The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 43 Cappelli, Peter (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxford University Press Cooper, Cary L (2004). Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions. Routledge Cronshaw, Steven F (1999). Functional Job Analysis: A Foundation for Human Resources Management. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Dipboye, Robert L (2005). Discrimination at Work: The Psychological and Organizational Bases. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Duke, Shearlean (2003). Managing Business Crises: From Anticipation to Implementation. Public Relations Quarterly, Vol. 48 Egan, Mary Lou (2001). 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Discrimination and Equality at Work: A Review of the Concepts. International Labor Review, Vol. 142 Read More