Patagonia - Assessment of Work Environment - Essay Example

BUSINESS EVALUATION of Passion at Work Patagonia being a first world retailer of high quality technical outdoor clothing, lifestyle, travel gear, distribution and designing, has a strong passion for outdoors and environmental care. In this respect it uses environmentally friendly raw materials such as recycled polyester, hemp, organic wool and organic cotton seeking to serve as a model of sound business practices and sound environment (Chatwin, 2012). How it would be like to Work at Patagonia and Assessment of its Work Environment To be precise, it would feel great and honoured to work in this organization given that its love for outdoor activities gives a special priority to employees with special interest in outdoor activities; desire to make a difference and passion for quality. In fact working with this organization would leave the employee fully satisfied with their job because job descriptions are clearly defined and only those that are interested will apply for them. More so, the organization clearly stipulates its goals and each and every employee working with it knows what is expected of him. This indicates why the turnover rate is low compared to other organizations. Still the organization tries as much as possible to ensure that its employees are well taken care of in the field of recreation which involves outdoors activities which are related to the nature of work and services offered by the organization. Patagonia’s Situation and Employees Motivation Patagonia’s situation about employee motivation is clear and it is based on many theories. To start with, motivation has been known to have a basic impulse to optimize well being of an individual by minimizing physical pain and maximizing pleasure it can also involve satisfaction of basic needs such as provision of food, shelter, sex and resting. According to (Hoffmann, 2007) these factors must be provided as the most basic. Patagonia has truly made these needs available to its employees. For instance it ensures that there is a child care room and enough clothing for employees and all other recreation facilities. This shows that the hierarchy of needs as hypothesized by Maslow’s theory of needs is achieved where employees start with the very basics like food and shelter. Also employee’s job security is assured given that the organization registers a low turnover rate with the highest experienced back in the early 1990s. More so, social wellbeing of employees is promoted through cerebrations. Additionally, there is increased self esteem and self confidence following the freedom that the employees have by working to achieve goals with minimum supervision. Patagonia’s Challenge in keeping Employees Motivated The biggest challenge that Patagonia is likely to face in keeping its employees motivated would be lack of career vision. This is because there is no mention of career advancement. In fact most people want have clear cut career objectives. This will help them feel that there is progression for them in the organization that they work for. With this in place, it is possible to set long term goals for the employees who will in return proactively work towards the projected outcomes. Also lack of regular training and development opportunities can demotivate employees due to lack of engagement. Most employees may value ongoing learning potential and also the sense that they are expanding and improving their knowledge and skills. Consequently, when work place becomes stagnant, employees become uninspired and non-progressive. Talent at the Place of Work Supply and Demand for Employees and their Implication In this case, it is obvious that attraction and selection of the right employees is very crucial to a company and this depends much on demand and supply. For this to be effectively done, companies demand skill which is the ability to do work effectively. Also they demand efficiency which implies use of resources prudently with minimum wastage. Still they may insist on innovation which is the ability to do things differently and coming up with new ideas. Following this, supply is then based on various approaches that are put in place in an effort to harvest the best employee possible. This is done through proper staffing and recruitment procedures bearing in mind other useful tests like intelligent quotient test. This is because the traditional way of relying on geniuses does not always produce competitive workers. The implication is that some employees may not be highly effective despite their excellent academic performance (Lal & Jain, 2010). Meaning of “search for the purple squirrel” in relation to spotting talent and relevance to non-tech companies The meaning behind the “search for the purple squirrel” in relation to spotting talent is that. Most organizations are looking for the most perfect employee which in most cases does not exist. So to discuss this, it is evident that most companies are trying all the possible ways to lure the best employees into their organizations. This is being done through various attractive ways. For instance some companies such as H-P have been using pizza party talk approach in most schools so as to emerge with the best of students before they get absorbed into other rival companies. Another good example is Microsoft which at point sent alumni back to school to promote their talents. Despite all this, the search for talent is still posing a great challenge to employees given that the demand is still high for limited supply of potential employees. This may not be very relevant to non tech companies because distribution of skills may not call for same qualifications and also talents may be different for people working in different areas. This is justifiable because most companies require quality work at the expense of talent spotting which consumes time. Suggestions to put up with for Spotting Talent In the position of a Human Resource Manager the following suggestions would be wise in spotting talent. Firstly, there should be clarity and transparency which is not just attached to talent identification and development, but selection is supposed to be open and honest. This can be done by valuing employees and helping them achieve their talents through fulfillment of their potential. Secondly, there should be simplified search for talents (Effron & Ort, 2013). This implies that hiring quests should not be long and contradictory as this would make it difficult to have a clear sense of priorities. So, it would be easier to take time and know what the roles are really required to perform to perfection. Finally one should not fear the odd ball. This implies that concentration on hiring must not be strictly based on top university graduates but it would be important to also to find the not so obvious prospects that are looked for by many other organisations.This is because time may prove the weak employees weak. References Chatwin, B. (2012). In Patagonia. London: Random House. Effron, M., & Ort, M. (2013). One Page Talent Management. London: Harvard Business Press. Hoffmann, S. (2007). Classical Motivation Theories. Cardiff: GRIN Verlag. M.B.Lal, D., & T.S.Jain. (2010). National Talent Search Exam. Tokyo: Upkar Prakashan. Read More