Organization and People HR - Coursework Example

Organization and People HR Table of Contents Organization and People HR Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Comparison of Approaches to Teamwork and Team Working 4 Comparison of Cultures 6 Conclusion 8 References 9 Bibliography 9 Introduction Twenty first century has often been referred as the age of competition where organizations are moving beyond geographical boundaries to enter new markets. This has heightened the level of competition. In order to attain competitive edge, firms must have organizational excellence. Organizational excellence can be obtained by having a pool of talented and motivated employees. This is because organizational excellence is directly related to employee motivation which can only be achieved by adopting an employee friendly organizational culture (Kondalkar, 2009, p.243). Organizations have started formulating effective strategies that seek to make the organization a comfortable place for employees. Effective organizational policies lead to employee satisfaction which in turn promotes organizational excellence. Firms are increasingly shifting from traditional practice of vertical organization structure to horizontal organizational structures. Horizontal organizational set ups offers numerous advantages over vertical organization set ups. Horizontal organization set ups provide considerable responsibilities to employees and is characterised by the presence of low levels of hierarchy which promotes faster decision making. This is critical considering the fact that fierce competition prevailing in the market call for organizations to have faster decision making capabilities (Daft, 2009, p.93). The present study would concentrate on various aspects of teamwork and organizational excellence towards attaining organizational efficiency. It would also focus on the aspects of organizational culture and design that determines the competitiveness and efficiency of the organization. A comparative analysis of two cases from different organizations would be used to have a better analysis of the topic of study. The two cases represent contrasting situations with regards to their strategies that have been adopted by these two organizations. The study would finally conclude with a set of plausible recommendations for the organizations. Comparison of Approaches to Teamwork and Team Working The case study provided for the study presents two contrasting organizations named Safe Mint UK Ltd and Dockland Solutions Limited. The two organizations operate in similar macroeconomic scenarios as they are based in the same geographic regions. The two organizations display a contrasting approach towards team work. On one hand Mint UK Ltd has staff strength of 407 individuals of which 300 constitute shop-floor workers. The entire workforce is divided into five teams comprising of 60 workers each who are led by a team of three supervisors designated as the project managers and report directly to the board of directors. Further analysis of the company reveals presence of large scale inefficiency in the top management as well as ineffective team management which has led to large scale employee grievances. These grievances have reduced the efficiency of the firm which has resulted in serious issues for the new firm where employee unions have started blackmailing the organization. In this scenario, development and modernisation has taken a back seat which has plunged the firm into a dismal state for the first time in history. The story of Docklands Corporation reveals an entirely different scenario. In this organization, the top management has a completely different outlook as they believe in the statement ‘work hard and play harder’. The top management believes that the key to efficiency lies in having a satisfied workforce. As a part of this strategy, they have implemented different schemes that seek to provide greater freedom to the employees which have given them a greater sense of responsibility towards their job. The employees are given sufficient freedom as the team members are encouraged to act as their own bosses. During on site projects, employees can communicate in whatever way they desire without involving greater formalities. Aspects like work from home and friendly relations between the top bosses and ground level employees are characteristics of this successful organization which has reported a 30 percent increase in net turnover. The importance of employee satisfaction for the top management can be analysed from the fact that it spends 2 percent of its turnover towards employee benefits. Successful team management is dependent on the presence of an effective leader. Burke & Cooper stated the importance of an effective leader towards efficient team management. An effective leader is one who has cross functional abilities. A team leader must essentially have greater accountability, apart from having high levels of interpersonal and motivating skills (Burke & Cooper, 2005, p.139). Frederick Einslow Taylor proposed a theory of scientific management which was primarily aimed at enhancing the productivity of the shop floor workers. The theory proposed by Taylor emphasises on a clear distinction of different job responsibilities among the workers and the management of the organization apart from other aspects like scientific method of selecting workers and providing them effective training, devising the best possible work environment and rewarding the performing employees. The main basis of Taylor’s theory was to reduce cost and enhance the productivity of employees and the organization (Kuper, 2003, p.848, 849). Taylor’s theory is highly relevant for the two cases given for study. On one hand most of Taylor’s principles of effective management have been followed at Docklands Corporation whereas the situation is completely reverse at Safe Mint. The ineffectiveness of the leader could be analysed from the fact that Mr Mint who is at the helm of affairs has a very casual attitude which is evident from the fact that new effective policies proposed by Ms Stella could not be implemented because of his absence which is quite unnatural considering that the organization is facing rough weathers. Indiscipline among the employees has arisen due to ineffective division of task which is another important fact stated in Taylor’s theory. Comparison of organizational structure and design Organizational design and structure also has a direct effect on the efficiency of the firm. The analysis of Safe Mint and Dockland Corporation reveals the importance of organizational structure. Organizational structure at Docklands is based on a horizontal organization set up whereas Safe Mint has adopted a vertical organization set up. Horizontal organization set ups have greater flexibility in their approach and provides greater responsibilities to the employees which helps in faster decision making, leading to greater efficiencies in the organization (Griffin, 2005 p.354). Docklands Corporation has formulated an organization culture where there is smaller hierarchy and individuals are encouraged to make decisions on their own which generates a sense of responsibility among the employees which helps to generate competitive advantage for the organization. On the other hand, the organizational structure at Safe Mint is basically that of a vertical organizational set up. The hierarchy of the organization is based on multiple levels which makes decision making quite tedious. This is quite evident from the fact that the new project manager suggested certain important changes in the organization which if implemented could have changed the fortunes of the company, but presence of complex hierarchy hindered the decision making process. Moreover it was also evident that the firm did not provide sufficient responsibility and freedom to its workforce which de-motivated the employees and resulted in a sour relation with the top management. Decision making was vested in the hands of a single leader which delayed decision making and complicated the process of organizational management which ultimately led to losses for the organization. Comparison of Cultures Organizational culture plays an important role in defining the profitability of an organization. Organizational culture can be defined as “a pattern of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an organization’s history and which tends to be manifested in its material arrangements and in the behaviour’s of its members” (Maier, 2007, p.222). Employee motivation is directly related to organization culture. A good organizational culture motivates the employees, which leads to job satisfaction and greater efficiency for the organization. The organizational culture at Safe Mint reveals a poor organizational culture. Presence of an ineffective business leader and a vertical organization set up has created considerable difference in between the top management and the employees. This has led to employee dissatisfaction which is quite evident from the fact that there are frequent skirmishes between the employees and the top management leading to strikes. Rogue trade unionism has merged which has started blackmailing the organization. The situation is so critical that once a HR manager stated that they cannot fire an inefficient employee who has been on uninformed leave just because the unions won’t allow the organization to do so. Other instances include cases when the project manager formulated certain strategies and found that there were no takers for her strategies as the CFO and the top boss who wielded the ultimate powers were off for a vacation even during these crucial periods. On the flip side, the organizational culture at Docklands showed an extremely conducive environment for the employees. In this firm, a horizontal organization set up has been adopted which provides significant freedom to its employees with regards to taking up responsibilities. This has also generated an urge among the employees to innovate in the workplace and view their routine tasks as responsibilities rather than day to day job. In addition to this, the company has reportedly spent approximately 2 percent of its turnover to generate welfare schemes for the employees. The working culture at the organization was such that any employee could discuss and watch a game with the top boss of the company without any hesitation. The top management of the firm believed in a strategy of making the workplace an enjoyable area where work and fun could be combined together. The top bosses of the company along with the employee’s often went out together for fun programmes as well as charity shows. The real part of its success story was that all through employees had a vision in mind which was to deliver efficient performance at the workplace. All these strategies bore fruits for the company as it showed growing profit margins. These strategies have not only made the workplace at Docklands a congenial atmosphere but have also helped in generating sustainable competitive advantage for the organization. Conclusion Organization culture and design have an important role in shaping up the profit margins of an organization. The present competitive nature of business markets has led to a situation where firms cannot afford inefficiencies. Hence, it has become absolutely essential for organizations to have a talented workforce. This is important considering the fact that human resources are the biggest assets for any organization. The comparative study of Safe Mint and Docklands shows the manner in which effective human resource policies can go about in introducing efficiency and job satisfaction among the employees of an organization. Formulating and implementing effective human resource policies goes a long way in ensuring better positioning and competitiveness for an organization in the business markets. References Burke, R.J & Cooper, C.L. 2005. Reinventing human resource management: challenges and new directions. Routledge. Daft, R.L. 2009. Organization Theory and Design. Cengage Learning. Griffin, R. 2005. Management (8Th Ed.). Dreamtech Press. Kondalkar, V.G. 2009. Organization Effectiveness and Change Management. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Kuper, A. 2003. The social science encyclopaedia. 2nd Edition. Taylor & Francis. Maier, R.2007. Knowledge Management Systems: Information and Communication Technologies for Knowledge Management. Springer. Bibliography Ferris, G.R, Rosen, S.D. & Barnum, D.T. 1995. Handbook of human resource management. Wiley-Blackwell. Read More