Focus on Human Resource Management - Term Paper Example

 «Strategic Leadership Management» INTRODUCTION The operations that go into running a company are clearly not an easy task. Managers or senior leaders have the responsibility to establish an environment that satisfies its stakeholders, workers and customers. It is the manager’s job to ensure that expectations are met, or at least compensated for, while maintaining optimum organizational performance within the company. With each passing day, the company has to cope with competition with other rival companies, while ensuring that organizational values and policies are maintained and followed. This paper would like to focus on leadership practice in action within a company, which shall be referred to in this paper as Company X. The writer would also like to investigate the strengths and weaknesses involved with leading a company, and how a company may be able to survive the inevitable obstacles that may come in the way of its operations. What is Leadership? Leadership is an ongoing process. It influences performance within an organization and has its own cultural and political conditions. It has also been referred to as an ‘orchestration of reflection,’ or a reflexive and a dialectical social process, according to Goranzon (1997). The leader has to have a vision to work in such a manner that is targeted towards achieving long term goals for the benefit of the organization and its stakeholders. By stakeholders, we mean that the leader has a responsibility not only to its employees, but also to its suppliers, directors, management, community and even the government. The leader and his/her team should be able to communicate well with each other, in order to be committed to seeing through the entire organizational process (Walji, 2007). This process of leadership also creates social bonds and social capital, as well as being the process that embeds values and principles that would benefit a company (Carpenter et al. 2004). There even exists a leadership philosophy, according to Hogan and Kaiser (2005), wherein the leader should reflect solid moral grounding, so as to attract followers. In addition to this, the leader should also know when and how to serve others when the need arises, and should also show kindness and sensitivity to all individuals in the company (Jordan & Gabriel, 2008). The Mistakes that Managers Make and How to Overcome Them Most leaders in a company point to ‘common sense’ as their management philosophy. Employees want leaders to understand them as unique individuals, who, therefore, respond to different supervisory methods compared to what the leaders may think or assume. Leaders must therefore realize that what motivation method may work well with one employee may not work with another. In this light, it would be safe to say from my own experience, that one of the worst decisions a leader may make would be to use themselves as models for understanding how to manage their workforce. It follows then, that false consensus may operate also in groups and lead to obstacles in their own decisions. One of the mistakes that a I want to get rid off would in my own leadership practice would be spending too much time explaining tasks when they are already quite clear and the employees already have the ability, capability and also the experience to handle the tasks, will find that their input is going to be ineffective because employees may consider such directive behaviour as not only redundant, but also somewhat insulting. Productivity management therefore happens when I, as a leader, am sensitive to the perceptions, wants and priorities of others, and treats them accordingly. Yet another one of my strengths is my being continuously aware of his/her assumptions about the employees, and should constantly interact with them to get to know them better. I am aware that his/her views, preferences and needs are not, and cannot necessarily be shared by others. It is a very common fact, but leaders often make the mistake of forgetting this. As an effective and good leader, I learn as much as I can about individual differences and preferences. Accumulating knowledge this way is the first step to appreciating and valuing differences. Furthermore, the I am always engaged in dialogue with my staff. For instance, when a new policy is made, a consultation with employees could disclose others’ unknown preferences and needs. One other strength is that I have the ability to pay attention to non-verbal cues, which can tell a great deal about an employee’s true feelings. Basically, good people skills are what the driving force of what makes a good leader. The management strategies that I use on my staff are also what I extend to customers. In other words, I always involve myself in the lives of others, and show that the well-being of my staff and customers is top priority. FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Employee Well-Being and Satisfaction In a Gallup research performed in 2002, it was found out that successful businesses owned their success to employee satisfaction and employee engagement. In the report, which studied 7,939 units of 36 companies, it was discovered that these companies who involved their employees in their operations and took care of them, also resulted in a high rate of customer satisfaction, and higher profits. How a leader makes his/her subordinates feel is extremely important. The workers need to feel that their input towards the benefit of the organization is valued, and that they are key ingredients into helping the company develop and grow. Naturally, this feeling also stems from the worker’s trust of his/her employer. (Raines, 2008). The heterogenous workforce today has brought in flexible benefits such as profit sharing and stock ownership, childcare assistance, dental and vision insurance, and life insurance policies for the employee and his/herb dependents. For Company X to be successful in achieving positive employee relations, it is important that flexible plans be targeted at achieving employee satisfaction. In addition to this, job satisfaction also includes job elements such as salaries, promotions and working conditions (Berger 1984 & Dreher 1981), that have been found to be directly related to positive behaviours such as less absenteeism and less job turnovers (Motowildo, 1983 & Weiner 1980). Furthermore, for Company X to attract and retain their workers, a flexible benefit plan is essential to significantly expand and improve the company’s human resource pool (Barber et al, 1992). Work Systems Employees look for a leader who can be held accountable for company operations and anything that may go wrong within the company. Therefore, through creating a culture of accountability, Company X may be able to increase its profit margin, as well as encouraging its employees to be more committed towards serving the company. The leader of Company X should be able to constantly encourage his/her employees to identify and understand their goals, and see how these goals can be related and aligned towards the company’s. Often, when employees fail to meet the goals of the company, it is because they are unsure of the company’s objectives and why these objectives are important in the first place. If an employee of Company X consistently fails to meet a company’s goals, it is crucial that the leader of the company should be able to communicate with such an employee, and should start by asking such an employee what he/she expects or wants the leader to do in order to help them succeed. Here we see that the leader is the one who is serving the employee, so the employee can be honest and will not be intimidated by the power of the leader. Through the leader’s help, the employee can write his/her action plan, which shall include action plans, responsibilities that need to be taken care of, and timelines. Documents such as these are helpful for the leader to keep track of their employee’s progress, and this way, the leader can help the employee along his/her plan towards success. For Company X to be a successful business entity, it should have a defined culture that includes a set of values, beliefs and attitudes of all the members involved in the company. Studies have shown that reward systems in a company has resulted in the company being able to achieve control. Through the reward system, employees who have contributed considerably to the company are acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts. Therefore, this way, other members of Company X are also able to be influenced and encouraged to work just as hard. Reward systems consist of two things- performance and rewards. Performance would consist of defining performance and evaluating it with the leader of Company X providing feedback regarding the employee’s performance. In return, the rewards would include a bonus, an increase in salaries, promotions, and even stock awards. Leaders are responsible for conducting good interpersonal relationships with their employees, and for Company X, it would be advisable if employee feedback could be given more frequently to ensure optimum efficiency of work that is done within the organization (Kerr & Slocum, 1987). Employee education, training and development Appropriate training is crucial for employees to be more productive, which in turn, naturally leads to more revenue turn out for Company X. By providing employees necessary tools that are required to meet the changing trends and demands of the company and its environment, then Company X is also preparing itself on the road to success. In this light, it is important to constantly upgrade the employee’s skills, and it is the leader’s job to see to it that the employee is constantly learning and acquiring new information about his/her field of work. This is why programs and seminars are set up in the first place so that the employee would be able to develop his/her professional skills, and also increase work effectiveness (Daily Gleaner 2008). In addition to worker training, leaders and potential leaders should also be given the opportunity to undergo leadership training courses on how they can lead a company better. This is because training leads to an increase in the confidence level of an individual. When this happens, employee and leader morale are also increased. In turn, these individuals are then able to share information with each other willingly, which makes up for a stronger bond between Company X’s teams. Since employees view learning and intellectual growth as one of the keys towards a successful and secure future, it is advised that professional development opportunities be provided for by the company, particularly for those who have been loyal toward the company for so long ( Johnston, L. 2008). Modern times have shown that there are alternatives to classroom type learning and training for employees of companies. For Company X, the writer would like to suggest that the company adopt mobile learning, or rather, m-learning, which refers to the knowledge gained or information learned without having to remain in the same place at a certain time. This means that no matter where an individual may be, mobile learning helps in providing access to up-to-date information about anything, anywhere, anytime. This can be done through the mobile device that the person would probably be carrying, and information can be accessed through a variety of ways. Text messages, podcasts, vodcasts, MP3 videos and even WAP, the ways wherein information can be achieved is countless and practically limitless (Donnelly, 2008). E-learning, on the other hand, refers to learning wherein digital tools are used to enable learning between the learner, the teacher, and/or other peers. It usually takes advantage of a network such as the internet, or LAN and WAN, for delivery of the information required to facilitate the learning, the interaction and the facilitation of the entire learning session. This type of learning activity is useful because it means that learning can still be done outside a classroom and distance would not be a problem for the learners themselves as long as connectivity to a desired community is not a problem. (Britt, 2004). This type of learning can also be adopted in the workplace, and when it comes to attracting a pool of younger employees, this type of training is something that the younger generation are easily attracted to (Mingail, 2005). Thus, the writer thinks that such innovative forms of learning could actually encourage its employees to feel the need and want to learn more about their field of work, without having to necessarily go through the hassling process of being in a room with an instructor where the trainee should sit and take down notes. Furthermore, teamwork is necessary in an organization in order to get work done easily. For instance, in Company X, the training of employees in the company could start with the division manager receiving direct reports from his/her employees. This way, the group would be able to understand new concepts regarding his/her duties and they can all develop relationships with each other and strive to achieve a common goal (Ray, 1989) PROCESS SYSTEMS Management Innovation A lack of management innovation is a serious problem, more than product and technology innovation, according to studies. However, management innovation depends on both in order to succeed. For Company X, it is inevitable that instances such as an economic crisis, a lack of resources, a lack of capital, a deteriorating educational system and low inventories may happen. As a result, what defines a successful company is one that can withstand such obstacles, and a leader who has the capability to oversee his/her company’s processes and lead it on the road to success. Organizational learning, is a process where new insights are gained and behaviour is modified to keep up with changes that may occur in the organization. For Company X, it is important that its members take necessary actions in order to facilitate change. In this light, it is advisable that all the members come together, along with shared beliefs and goals, and learned lessons from past experiences. Poor communication between people and between other organizations can hinder learning and quality improvement. Thus, the leader of Company X should foster and cultivate good communication skills between the company’s members. The challenge then is how to acquire the necessary tools in order to facilitate management. A suggestion for Company X to acquire these tools could be via academic research and the discovery and documentation of best industry practices from other organizations who have found the perfect concept and strategy to lead them on the road to success. However, the real value of management ideas can actually only work if it is put into practice. In addition to this, management innovation does not come for free. Therefore if Company X aims for efficient management strategies that could improve its business processes, it should know the investment of time and resources that go along with it (Ray, 1989). Performance Management System for Competitive Advantage A new set of practices are necessary for Company X to be able to compete with rival companies. Given the changes that occur consistently in the business world, it appears then, that being fixated on past management strategies that have been proven to work, cannot continue forever, or it could put the company in competitive jeopardy with its rivals. It is important for Company X to create variety, and to avoid sticking to a standard, because with the time, these standards are likely to change. Therefore, leaders are accountable to direct the organization, and this position and authority should not be restricted by the people at the top of the company, but it should be distributed throughout the entire organization (Hamel & Breen, 2007) As mentioned earlier, employee satisfaction and the reward system could be important strategies to bring about competitive advantage. This is due to the establishment of a performance management system and desirable outcomes are achieved. For instance, studies have shown that through job satisfaction and the benefits provided, employees are motivated to exhibit behaviours that are supportive of enhancing their work performance and their support towards product and service quality (Anderson & Oliver, 1987; George, 1990). Management consists of two dimensions. One would consist of encouraging human capabilities to create conditions where the employees get inspired to work to the best of their abilities. The second dimension would consist of forming teams to enhance human capability. This is because not all individuals can perform work separately and tend to work better if they work collectively. Innovation is key towards increasing competitiveness and a company’s capability to compete. To be able to innovate would mean that a company is able to challenge the typical business dogma. Changing rules is key towards improving standards and attracting a larger market and human resources base (Weil, 2007). There is also the issue of management risk. Company X, for example, may have stumbled upon a strategy that works, but should times call for a different strategy, as much as there is a risk involved, it is necessary for the company to go through a certain degree of discomfort to see if risks are worth taking in order to improve business efficiency. Building processes and supporting the people who make it up are needed for innovation to work. It is also important to allow time, and for Company X to learn how to accept failure should the risk have a negative effect in the end. Just like how it is in life, companies need to learn from its mistakes, and be optimistic in order to survive in the battle of which company makes it to the top (Thum, 2007). Market and Customer Orientation Market orientation consists of the organization following a set of values, beliefs and policies that focuses on Company X’s clients being their main priority (Deshpande, 1999). The challenge then is, how a leader is able to handle changes, and how he/she can reach out to the workforce to embrace these changes and encourage a willingness to adopt new values, beliefs and behaviour. If the workforce responds in a positive way, the customers would also be satisfied. Research has shown that fostering good working relationships between the customer and the company (or supplier) encourages strong performance between the two parties (Cannon & Homburg, 2001). One of the new trends in society today would have to do with diversity management, which can serve as an example to facilitate this idea of change. Companies all around the world have started to adopt diversity management as a strategy to stop discrimination in the workforce. Thus, by employing and involving mixed races, genders and various cultures into a company’s goals, competitive advantage occurs as a variety of individuals bringing their own strengths of skills and experiences to the company (Poe, 1996). In turn, such a strategy can also attract more customers, who support such diversity management programs. It helps because a diverse workforce can reach out to a diverse market, and this creates a positive working environment for all the parties involved. However, diversity management does not always mean a good thing for organizations. Tension in the workplace as a result of differences does not spell progress. What is important for diversity management is not by how many different individuals work together, just to adhere to the global standard that that should be the case. What should be more important is how to handle a good internal working organization where workers can work harmoniously together. If differences cause tension and trouble within the company, then the company may have to do without diversity management. In this light, the leader of Company X, would then have to make decisions regarding what works for his/her company and what does not (Dickson et al, 2008). The possession of a strong internal customer orientation is important for an organization’s development when it comes to their market orientation. It has been noted that internal customer focus is important because internal customer objectives can go hand in hand with organizational objectives which can provide better value and quality for customers (Conduit & Mavondo, 2000; Hauser et al., 1996). Furthermore, this writer would also like to suggest that to further foster good working relationships between Company X and its community, the company should also learn the value of corporate social responsibility, so that it can both attract a large customer base and a loyal workforce. Corporate social responsibility is the concept of companies or organizations performing their own activities in a manner such that the interests of their employees, customers, community, shareholders and the environment are well taken care of. In other words, it is the obligation that companies feel they owe to society in return for the profit that they draw in every day. The management of companies usually start within their organization and perform activities for the benefit of their employees. Since it follows that a happy and healthy worker also produces good output of work, it is important that, for the company’s sake, that the employees are well looked after. One such example is Occupational Safety and Health, or OSH. The benefits associated with this standard policy should be common in work areas such as factories where the workers subject themselves to high risks which may be detrimental to their health or overall well-being. Another method of showing corporate social responsibility within an organization is producing quality products and services that are environmentally friendly, in order to gather more supporters of the company brand. Quality should never be sacrificed, and the environment as well. For instance, giving back to society via showing philanthropy to charities and using environmentally friendly products are effective strategies to help ensure a loyal customer base and workforce (Castaldo et al. 2008). The leader should always see to it that his/her environment is taken care of so everyone is satisfied. SUMMARY Leading a company entails making decisions that work for the company and what does not, while keeping the interests of the entire community in mind, and not just the workforce and the customers. It is important for a leader to exhibit values and principles that garner respect from his/her workers and the leader must be competent enough to be trusted. In addition to this, the leader should be able to have the courage to take risks for the benefit of the company, and should the risks turn out to have negative effects, the leader should be able to use failure as an inspiration to work better and find out new strategies to facilitate management within the organization. Research into other company profiles and research about new marketing and management strategies are necessary for Company X to invest in. Furthermore, the leader should be held accountable for any systems processes that occur within the company, especially when something goes wrong. References: 1. Raines, L. 2008, ‘A good boss is a business plus: success depends on supervisors who keep employees engaged,’ The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, p. R 1. 2. Goranzon B. 1997, ‘Leadership: implementation of theory or development of practical skills?’ AI Soc 11, pp. 166–176. 3. Walji, N 2007, ‘Leadership: an action research approach,’ Springer-Verlag London Limited, pp. 1-16. 4. 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Castaldo, S., Perrini, F., Misani, N., Tencati, A. 2008, ‘The missing link between corporate social responsibility and consumer trust: the case of fair trade products,’ Journal of business ethics, pp. 1-16. Read More