High-Involvement Work Systems - Essay Example

Teamwork in Volvo Corporation Introduction In today’s turbulent business environment firms need to remain competitive and hence they need to establish competitive strategies. There has been a shift in the area of human resource management and it is believed that the HR performance needs to be augmented. This has been referred to as ‘best practices’ in HRM. According to Johnson (2000) “best practice or high performance work practices are described as HR methods and systems that have universal, additive, and positive effects on organisational performance”. Best practices can be used in job analysis, job enrichment, employee training, promotions and performance appraisals. This paper will review the literature on ‘best practices’ and on high-involvement work systems (HIWS). IT would then look into how HIWS could be adopted by Volvo Corporation in enhancing their team efficiency. 2. Literature Review 2.1 ‘Best Practices’ HR ‘best practices’ would differ across industries and across nations. Best practices include establishing a service-oriented culture, building a strong capital base, motivating employees, and providing employees with an opportunity to contribute (Hughes, 2002). Best practices according to Johnson (2000) are effective because of its underlying principle that employee performance is valued and rewarded. This is evident through employee empowerment and development of employees. Best practices should be a source of unique and sustainable advantage (Wall & Wood, 2005), However, Mess (2004) found that employer commitment plays a major role in HRP best practice. If this employer commitment is reciprocated by the employee then performance is enhanced as employees develop the skills and become more committed to their profession. 2.2 HIWS & Teams HIWS is one of the best practices adopted by the HRM and it is believed that engaging or involving employees results in better performance. HIWS can generate positive beliefs and attitudes associated with employee engagement. For HIWS to be effective employees should be provided with power, information, knowledge and rewards (Konrad, 2006). This involvement of employees can be through self-managed teams and problem-solving groups, together with arrangements for information-sharing between management and labour, and employee training and skill development (Wright, 2000). The relationship between HIWS and performance has yet to be established and there are arguments that its outcome may not be positive although it has been found to be effective in self-managed teams and problem-solving groups. HIWS has been found to have considerable improvement in overall performance especially in manufacturing settings (Knowledge@Wharton, 1999). The benefits include improved quality, higher productivity, lower scrap rates, and lower turnover. Teams have been defined by Hootegem, Huys and Delarye (2004) as a group of employees that have at least some collective tasks and the team members are authorized to regulate the execution of these tasks. Self-directed teams have become popular in achieving total quality management (TQM). Self-directed teams are also known self-managing teams, self-maintaining teams or self-leading teams are responsible for a whole product or a process (Attaran & Nguyen, 2000). These teams are a logical extension of quality circles. Through such teams organizations combine people and technology in different forms to produce outputs. Figure I 3. Volvo Corporation – HIWS, team work and knowledge sharing Volvo Corporation is a vertically integrated multinational organization manufacturing and assembling the full range of commercial vehicles from 7.5 to 42 tonnes gross vehicle weight (Thompson & Wallace, 1996). While they believe in “team-based work organization” (Amelsvoort & Benders, 1996), truly high performance teams are very rare in the organization. Teamwork is one of the most influential attributes for success in the turbulent environment. The challenge in the teamwork organization at Volvo is enhanced because there are 1400 new workers unfamiliar with the Volvo way (Delarye & Huys, 2003). Ford has been focusing on short term gains and such team organization requires investment. They are trying to enhance team work by promoting knowledge sharing between senior and new employers. 4. Application of HIWS at Volvo The old way of things have to be unlearned and then the new practices should become routine for automobile units to show any positive results (Knowledge@Wharton, 1999). During the learning process the performance level may drop but Volvo needs to have a long-term focus and not focus on short-term gains. A new management team is not the solution and in fact the management teams with longer in-plant experience should be allowed to introduce new practices through employee involvement. Robotics can help to harness the workforce flexibility of HIWS. Job rotation and work teams would help to achieve HIWS. The teams should be self-managed teams that can assign specific jobs to team members and plan and schedule their own work. They will then be able to take decisions without management approval (Mess, 2004). The approach to change has to be determined based not on the current culture but on the belief that it can bring about transformation (Holman, 2000). To change from the traditional model to the HIWS model requires employees to act responsibly which may not always be possible. Self-esteem can shape an individual’s orientation to work. To enhance self-esteem the employee needs supervisory support and respect, organization structure, enriched work, adequate resources, and team support (Newstrom, Gardner & Pierce, 1999). The table below suggests how self-esteem can be developed and team work can be enhanced through the implementation of HIWS: Source: Holman (2000). At the macro-level, government and union players can help facilitate the transition to HIWS although in some cases they are known to hinder (Knowledge@Wharton, 1999). Simply making the decision to change does not ensure success. There may be obstacles at the plant-level, company-level, union-level, and country-level but Volvo has to overcome all these and implement HIWS because the benefits far outweigh the costs. 5. Conclusion Thus, if Volvo implements HIWS based on the inputs as shown in figure I, it is highly likely that they will experience better team performance which will be evident in productivity. There are doubts and apprehension about the outcome of HIWS as it is dependent on several variables. Very few companies have been successful in implementing HIWS in the organizations but with specific variables, Volvo can achieve success. References Amelsvoort, P., & Benders, J. (1996). Team time: a model for developing self-directed work teams, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 159-170 Attaran, M., & Nguyen, T. T. (2000). Creating the right structural fit for self-directed teams, Team Performance Management: An International Journal, vol. 6, no. 1/2, pp. 25-33 Delarye, A., & Huys, R. (2003). The sustainability of teamwork under changing circumstances: the case of Volvo-Ghent. Available online 31st July 2009 from http://etjanst.hb.se/ped/cav/Dokument/0603_Volvokonferens/Delarue_Huys.pdf Holman, P. (2000). Culture change. Executive Excellence. Provo: Jul 2000. Vol. 17, Iss. 7; pg. 16, 1 pgs Hootegem, G., Huys, R., & Delarye, A. (2004). The sustainability of teamwork under changing circumstances The case of Volvo-Ghent. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 24, no. 8, pp. 773-786 Hughes, J. M. C. (2002). HRM and Universalism: is there one best way? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 14 (5), 221 Johnson, E. (2000). The practice of Human Resource Management in New Zealand: Strategic and Best Practice? Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 38(2), 69. Knowledge@Wharton. (1999). Why Efforts to Implement High-Involvement Work Practices Fail. Retrieved online 04 August 2009 from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=82 Konrad, M A. (2006) Engaging employees through high-involvement work practices. Ivey Business Journal. March/April 2006. Mess, H. (2004). HRM Best Practice. Otago Management Graduate Review, Vol. 2. retrieved online 04 August 2009 from http://www.commerce.otago.ac.nz/mgmt/research/omgr/04mess.pdf Newstrom, J., Gardner, D., & Pierce, J. (1999). A neglected supervisory role: Building self-esteem at work. SuperVision. Burlington: Feb 1999. Vol. 60, Iss. 2; pg. 9, 4 pgs Thompson, P., & Wallace, T. (1996). Redesigning production through team working Case studies from the Volvo Truck Corporation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 103-118 Wall, T. D., & wood, S. J. (2005). The romance of HRM and business performance, and the case for big science. Human Relations, Vol 58(4), Apr 2005. pp. 429-462. Wright, M. (2000). High involvement work systems and economic performance: a review of recent research. retrieved online 04 August 2009 from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2000/02/feature/uk0002156f.htm Read More