Management in High-Velocity Setting - Research Paper Example

 «Management in High-Velocity Setting» The dimension of work wherein human resource management (HRM) functions has transformed remarkably in the recent decades; not unexpectedly, hence, the HRM frameworks and practices being made and performed nowadays are also growingly dissimilar from those from the previous times. Planners and providers who recognise this and who too have a means to predict the arriving changes and required HRM practices of the prospective years will offer their organisations with a tactical competitive leverage. In this research, one of the areas of human resource management will be examined, which is performance management. Some scholars claim that performance management is the component of human resource management which can create the greatest effect on organisational performance. The employment of performance management systems to put into effect strategy has as well been observed as an essential fragment of the strategy mechanism (Burke & Cooper 2004). The subject matter has received revitalised importance at present, chiefly due to mounting competition, which has obliged organisations to investigate thoroughly the contribution of different components of the business, and to extensive restructuring efforts, made use to support organisations intimately with the market place, which have included decentralisation to business divisions and revenue centres. In such circumstances, responsibility and evaluation become important to successful operations. Research Questions Performance management has attracted substantial highlights in the human resource management literature, as fewer in the strategy arena, despite of appeals for improved analysis in the field. Hence, three research questions will be answered in this qualitative research, which are: 1. Is performance management capable of functioning as a primary integrative mechanism which will connect individuals’ objectives and duties to the goals of the business, and involving key interventions such as assessment, incentives, training and development, hence making possible strategic match? 2. Can performance management be a means of improving organisational regulation over employees, establishing a coherent principle of managerial prospects, and advancing a collective perspective of the business? 3. Is performance management an important motivator in determining helpful outcomes, such as employee dedication? A foremost difficulty for performance management is that, as some scholars have argued, it has evolved under theories of bureaucracy. Such theories, involving the stability of occupational roles and descriptions, the transparency of cause and effect linkages involving the responses employees make and assume upon and their consequences, and the importance of individual performance as contrary to team performance, are subjected under criticism and attack at times the environment is fast-changing (Kraut & Korman 1999). II. Methodology This research will be purely qualitative, drawing much of the information and analysis on available literature on the subject matter. Aside from the process of gathering information from already written researches on the area of human resource management, a secondary data analysis will be employed in order to appropriate interpretation and discussion of the relevant information obtained. Specifically, this research will examine two organisations from two fast-changing environments, namely, Hewlett Packard from the electronic business, and Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK from the pharmaceuticals industry. Then, these organisations’ performance management will be investigated through their components such as goal setting, assessment, training and development and incentives or rewards, and afterwards examine the character of the relationships between these mechanisms. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the methodologies that will be used in this research have inherent weaknesses or imperfections. Since the information that will be used for the data analysis will be from previous researchers, the study is susceptible to biases and more prone to exhibit value-laden interpretation. Furthermore, since the methodologies will be purely qualitative in nature, then the accuracy of the outcomes will not be substantiated through statistical analysis or application of concrete measurement tools. Therefore, this research will need further improvement through integrating quantitative analysis to the research techniques. For now, this research will merely serve as a starting point for prospective studies on the academic field of human resource management. III. Theoretical Perspectives In a period of growing extreme competition, international markets, advancing technology and dogmatic reorganization, there has been a substantial attention delegated to how companies respond during periods of fast-changing environmental circumstances. However, despite the possible significance of this subject matter for human resource management, exceptionally few are known regarding how fast-changing circumstances influence the management of performance (Sims 2002). Environmental rapidity can be distinguished as manifesting both the tempo of transformation in an environment and the inevitability of change that takes place. In their ground-breaking research, Bourgeois and Eisenhardt revealed that high velocity environments are characterised by “changes in demand, competition and technology are so rapid and discontinuous that information is often inaccurate, unavailable or obsolete” (Gratton et al. 1999, p. 60). A. Performance Management as a Strategy for Effective Control Performance management is the key classification of practices through which control is reflected in organisations. Control here is identified as any mechanism that is employed to side with the performance of individuals to the objectives of the organisation. Therefore, under such a description, performance management is predicted to decisively influence both motivation and skills. Performance management is typically perceived as comprised of three attributes, namely, goal setting, prescribed performance assessment and relationship between assessment outcomes and development and incentives, so as to bolster favourable behaviour (Gratton 1999). If performance management is a means to controlling the character of employee involvements, then how is it influenced by fast-changing environments? A primary difficulty in the management of performance in environments that are classified as high-velocity is that regulatory structures, such as performance management mechanisms, are inclined to be ineffective and highly defiant to change. Such mechanisms have commonly developed over a specified number of years, and the scale of certification and formalisation demanded to put into effect processes, along with the requirement to be capable to drive in the controlling and assessment procedures so that employees can have a coherent anticipation of the agreement concerning effort and rewards, makes them problematic to adjust (ibid). Provided with the features of high-velocity environments, the requirements on performance management mechanisms to evaluate precisely the involvement of employees are probable to boost considerably. This then could be discussed thoroughly through looking at the components of performance management mechanism, namely, goal setting, evaluation, training and development and incentives. A.1. Goal Setting As far as the goal setting assumption is concerned, goals are successful in so far as they imply a degree of performance that is particular, feasible, challenging and favourable. In high-velocity environments, goal particularity is difficult since the stability and permanence of the outside environment, and in several instances the character of the work, is indefinite. In high-velocity environments people would anticipate to see objectives insecurely indicated and prone to repeated modification. People would also predict there to be higher involvement by employees in their goal setting, because managers could not be in the paramount status to evaluate the shifting demands of a specific employee’s task (Rudman 2003). A.2. Evaluation Performance evaluation has been described as having two main objectives, namely, reviewing employee performance, and recognising prospects for training and development. In organisations functioning in reasonably stable circumstances, where objectives and job descriptions are reliable, and where there is a substantial habit to the carrying out of tasks of employees, the reviewing element of evaluation is much more to the forefront. In high velocity environments, nevertheless, where what occurred previously could prove an erratic guide to what could happen in the coming years, one would anticipate evaluation to have a greater stress on development, with the goal of motivating resourcefulness and constant improvement, rather than checking for departures from the norm (Burke & Cooper 2004). Another significant section of evaluation concerns the contribution the one being evaluated has in the procedure. Traditionally, performance evaluations have been perceived as decidedly formal, non-participant occasions. In high-velocity environments, people would anticipate employees to have a considerable part in their evaluations. The shifting demands of work and function, and the stress on development requirements, would appear to demand a well-built contribution from employees, provided that the information unevenness between manager and employee will be higher in fast-changing contexts (ibid). With organisations implementing group-based working and team-oriented output, depending on merely the instant manager’s contribution into the evaluation could lessen the effectiveness of the process, as relevant information could be mislaid because of unsatisfactory re-evaluation of the employee’s performance. People would hence expect in instances where work is growingly interdependent, that numerous contributions into the performance evaluation would be employed. Since tasks become somewhat flexible and occupations more complex to characterise in high-velocity environments, people would anticipate reduced importance on formal appraisals and more on informal assemblies and higher partial evaluation (Arthur 2000). A.3. Incentives In strategic human resource management, the reward mechanism is aimed to align employees with the strategies of an organisation through giving out incentives for employees to take steps in the organisation’s interest and better carry out tasks over time. Expectancy assumption transmits an obvious message that employees should feel positive that their effort will influence the incentives given to them. Perspectives of equity are hence vital in an employee’s choice to remain and generate important work. Equity is a complex construct, encompassing outside equity, in-house equity, and individual equity. Due to the shifting demands of performance on employees in fast-changing organisations, views of equity in its three kinds could turn out to be confused, as occupational roles and job interdependence become more differed and resilient (Gratton 1999). Because employees would anticipate that as their task changes, so will their incentives, formulating reward structures in fast-changing environments present a crucial problem to organisations. A.4. Training and Development A crucial concern for organisations in high-velocity environments is that they demand resilient, competent employees who require training and development to uphold and improve their knowledge base and proficiency levels aligned with the erratic environmental situations. Yet the character of training and development, with its somewhat lengthy ‘lead times’ along with the time consumed for its advantages to seep in, makes problematic the possibility of training and development to suit strategically within a fast-changing organisation (ibid, 107). IV. Performance Management in High-Velocity Setting: The Facts from Hewlett Packard and Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK This part will analyse the performance management mechanism of two of the chosen organisations through their affiliate components, namely, goal setting, evaluation, training and development, incentives, and then investigate the character of the relationships between these interventions. A. Goal Setting In Hewlett Packard, there has been a protracted tradition of goals being recognised by both superior and subordinate. This manifests not merely the established guidelines of decentralisation within each organisation yet also the problem of enforcing performance goals on employees who are confronting shifting demands and operating in high-velocity markets. These discussions are collaborative. Since work is not habit-oriented, the conversations try to embrace the multiplicity of situations the employees would confront as far as that is probable to guarantee. The adjustable character of the performance goals, along with the extent of influence employees have over their goal setting, implies that views of equality are great with regard to the goals being reasonable and feasible (Sims 2002). On the other hand, at Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK, the inheritance of paternalism indicated that the mechanism of involvement in goal setting and the adjustability of the goals were less well entrenched. At Hewlett Packard and Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK, goals were clearly tied to business techniques, at Hewlett Packard through the structure mechanism, at Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK through the RATIO agenda; employee acknowledgment of these relationships was great, manifesting the corporate attempt in communication thru meetings, trainings and seminars, and bulletins (ibid). B. Performance Evaluation Self-evaluation practices are strongly encouraged in Hewlett Packard and Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK and it is here that goals can be re-evaluated, and specific developmental requirements recognised in the light of varying circumstances. Networking processes were distinctive of employees, not merely to secure assignments to well-organised projects but also to guarantee that individuals having a contribution into an individual’s assessment had valuable information about them and may perceive them in their paramount perspective. This was specifically obvious in Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK and Hewlett Packard, where the companies had given out with the long-established evaluation form (Sims 2002). Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK, in similarity with Hewlett Packard, has endured predicaments with the level of administration the evaluation procedure produces. Resource restrictions in these lean organisations imply that the time accessible to review employees formally is constrained. Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK’s way out has been to remove the evaluation form and to motivate employees to collect a portfolio of proofs to demonstrate how they are addressing requirements in comparison with their objectives and competency improvement (ibid). C. Incentives In these organisations, a quality is given on employee who can show flexibility and who can function with considerable judgment. The employment of quality systems, specifically constant development, at each of the organisations creates strong pressures on employee proficiency and demands that employees be resourceful in looking for better means of working. In order to inspire and keep these employees, the incentive systems of the organisations have been organised to guarantee that the differentiations between outstanding and standard performance are acknowledged and paid off (Gratton 1999). In both the organisations, the fundamental structure of compensation was steady across the business department, yet pay rates varied between employee groups because of the emphasis on the external market and dissimilarities in proficiency levels. The satisfaction with outside impartiality was great (ibid). D. Training and Development Training and counselling were being employed substantially in the two organisations. In Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK, an instructor was selected to handle each business department team, whereas at Hewlett Packard, controlled counselling processes is now functional. Self-improvement seminars at Glaxo Pharmaceuticals UK and Hewlett Packard highlighted these obligations. The learning mechanism in these organisations was additionally improved by the growing use of secondments to motivate individual development and organisational cohesion (Sims 2002). Development is perceived as the obligation of the line, by no means the HR responsibility. Managers in the two organisations have individual development schemes related to the proficiency approaches, and with the emphasis in each organisation on improving customer service and keeping important clients, there is a movement towards development in-function, rather than inspiring task hopping to acquire skills (ibid). V. Conclusions A primary general attribute is the objective not to breakdown performance management intentions. Objectives are established collaboratively and managers are provided a substantial extent of good judgment to revise goals in the light of shifting environmental circumstances. Since performance evaluations on outputs are not anymore suitable in light of the complexity of establishing practical objectives, they have been enhanced by the introduction of proficiency approaches, which endeavour to define behavioural objectives focused on the strategic goals and values of the organisation. Behaviour is not strongly regulated through these proficiencies; they have sufficient space to facilitate creativity and modernisation, these values being vital proficiencies themselves. Moreover, in the two organisations there has been improved collaboration activity, and goal setting has manifested this. Bibliography Arthur, D. (2000), Successful Interviewing: Techniques for Hiring, Coaching and Performance Management Meetings, Atlanta: American Management Association. Bassett, G. (1993), The Evolution and Future of High Performance Management Systems, Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Burke, R. J. & Cooper, C. (2004), Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions, New York: Routledge . Gratton, L. et al. (1999), Strategic Himan Resource Management: Corporate Rhetoric and Human Reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kraut, A. I. & Korman, A.K. (1999). Evolving Practices in Human Resource Management: Responses to a Changing World of Work, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rudman, R. (2003), Performance Planning and Review: Making Employee Appraisals Work, Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin . Sims, R. R. (2002), Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management, Westport, CT: Quorum Books . Williams, L. C. (1995), Human Resources in a Changing Society: Balancing Compliance and Development, Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Read More