How Strategically Important Is It for an Organisation to Control Its Workforce, and How Has This Been Achieved - Essay Example

How strategically important is it for an organisation to control its workforce, and how has this been achieved? Contents Contents 2 Introduction 4 Discussion 5 Achievement of organizational goals 5 Efficient use of human resources 6 Setting accuracy of standards 7 Employee motivation 7 Ensuring better communication 8 Maintaining discipline and order 8 Maintaining coordination within workforce 9 Improving performance 9 Minimizing errors 10 Ways of achieving control of workforce 10 Performance Appraisal 10 Training and development 11 Balance between control and independence 11 Setting quantitative standards 12 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction The functioning of organizations across the globe is being affected by then changing dynamics of the global business environment. Along with the physical resources, the human resources of an organization are important in deciding the success and credibility of an organization in the present as well as in the future. The human resource is identified as the most valuable asset that an organization possesses. But in the changing conditions of the business environment, it is difficult to optimize and align the employees with the goals of the business. A suitable balance between the goals of an organization and the personal and professional interests of the employees should be maintained to create the ideal conditions for success and sustainability of an organization. In this respect, the importance of effective management, control and monitoring of the workforce of an organization has become a critically important aspect in every organization. The management of workforce encompasses various activities that are necessary to improve the productivity and efficiency of the workforce which in turn helps to achieve the organizational goals. The workforce management includes various concepts like human resources administration, payroll and service benefits, attendance, self-services of the employees, talent acquisition, career planning, succession planning, talent management, training and development management, planning and forecasting, workforce tracking and performance management. All these factors are effectively built on proper control mechanisms employed to manage and control the employees which is of high strategic importance for the functioning of an organization in the present global business scenario. Discussion Controlling the workforce is of critical importance for the management. The control factor is embedded in all other aspects of management and the success of an organization is much dependant on the proper controlling and management of the human resources in the organization. Controlling is the last phase of a proper management process preceded by planning, organising, staffing and directing. The control of the employees in an organization by the managers and leaders is important to achieve the long term strategic planning of the organization as well as the short term business requirements within an organization. The strategic importance of controlling the workforce is multi-faceted and of high value to every organization operating in today’s world. (Source: Schaefer and Mousa, 2001, p.144) Achievement of organizational goals The controlling of the workforce enables the organization to implement the planning and scheduling aspects more easily into the business. The plans devised within an organization are aimed at setting organizational goals and deciding on the business strategies required to achieve these goals. The controlling function enables the organization to actively involve its workforce in implementing these strategic plans of the business. Proper control systems also ensure that any deviations from the set time or goals at any point of the implementation of these plans can be easily identified and rectified within a short period of time. The control of the employees ensures that the activities of the employees are not only monitored suitably but also guided and directed in the right way. This will automatically lead to improved participation of the workforce and ensured achievement of the strategic objectives. Efficient use of human resources The control of the employees are not only directed towards the benefits of the organization but are also aimed at improving the individual performance and the motivational aspects of an employee. The control process also ensures that the employees are properly informed about the procedures and the job requirements in the organization. This also enables them to understand the expectations of the organization form them and also helps them to comply with the existing policies and standards of the organization. Also, they get a clear idea of the acceptable and non-acceptable norms in the organization in which they are working. This is very important for the employees to perform productively and become more compliant with the required standards. Under suitable methods of controlling, it is ensured that the delays in work are minimized and controlled. Along with these, the wastage of physical resources as well as human resources is minimized through the use of control systems. Setting accuracy of standards The control of the workforce enables to judge the accuracy levels of the strategic plans implemented in the organization from the perspective of the workforce. The standards can be revised more easily and the employees can be controlled to perform within the set standards thus maintaining accuracy and reliability in their working in the organization. The control system helps the managers to evaluate the actual performance level of the workforce with respect to the set framework of standards. If they do not match, the managers may redefine the set standards to facilitate better performance of the employees and maintain better accuracy of the standards within the organization. Employee motivation A proper control system would ensure that it takes into account the emotional factors and personal interests of the workforce along with the rules and regulations of the organization. A command and control approach is redundant in the modern business world Kumar, 2004, p.86). Instead, understanding the interests of the workforce and paying suitable attention to the benefits and development of the workforce would help in improving the motivational factor of the workforce. This would automatically help in controlling the attitude of the employees towards their work and in controlling their work behaviour as well as performance levels. The control system for the employees also ensures that the standards and goals of the organization are communicated to the employees and their activities are controlled to help them work in adherence to these goals and standards. A critical aim of establishing a robust control system is to motivate the workforce and inspire them to work with dedication (Miller and OLeary, 1994, pp.15-16). The knowledge that the performances of the employees will be evaluated and assessed motivates the employees to perform their work with dedication and interest so as to create an identity for themselves in the organization. Ensuring better communication The controlling system also helps the workforce to maintain better communication with their managers. An open door policy helps the employees to reach to their mangers in case of any problems faced by them in the professional front. This enables to maintain transparency and establish free communication within different levels of the organization. Not only does this ensure monitoring the activities of the employees and managing their performance , but it also helps the managers to guide and direct the employees towards the right direction in achieving the strategic goals though the implementation of business strategies in every point of functioning of the organization. Maintaining discipline and order Workforce control ensures the development of an atmosphere of discipline and order in the organization. The activities of the subordinates can be monitored and kept under check through the use of a robust control system. This ensures that the workforce remain conscious that their activities are being monitored and therefore they are more adept in performing their work more efficiently as well as maintain compliance within the organization. Since the dishonesty of employees can lead to frauds and corporate scams, it is very important to continuously monitor and control the activities of the workforce so that any fraudulent practices by the employees can be detected at the earliest and effective steps can be taken to mitigate them. The control measures help to prevent thefts, delayed work, fraudulent activities, non-cooperation as well as undesired and non-cooperative behaviour in the workplace (Froud, 1998, pp.700-708). The control of the workforce helps to maintain disciple, streamline the activities and goals as well as avoid chaos and confusion within the workforce. Maintaining coordination within workforce The control of the workforce helps to maintain the equilibrium between the activities of the workforce and the goals of the business. The coordination between different departments and levels of the organization is necessary for successfully achieving the organizational goals. The entities and departments in an organization are interdependent and a proper control helps to interlink and streamline the activities of the various departments and entities for the efficient functioning of the organization (McKinlay and Pezet, 2009, pp.486-495). The coordination between employees, teams and departments are likely to improve when the employees are controlled by the managers. The maintenance of standards becomes easier because of the improved coordination between the employees. Thus a unity in direction and objectives is achieved when the workforce are aligned in the same method and towards the same ends. This enables the creation of very less difference between the expected results and the actual results of the performance and achievement of goals in an organization. Improving performance The control process ensures the maintenance of continuous check on the behaviours and activities of the employees in the workplace. A controlling function enables the employees to remain aware of their job roles, responsibilities and duties as well as the standards and policies followed in the organization. This helps in preventing any breach of the existing rules and the applicable policies for the functioning of the organization. A clear idea of the employees about the framework, their duties, opportunities and constraints helps to improve the performance of the individual employees and thus makes the workforce more productive and efficient. Minimizing errors A one-time error in the work of the employees may not affect the performance of an organization. But repeated errors or cumulative errors may lead to huge financial and operational losses for a business. The control system helps to ensure that the errors on the part of the workforce are minimized through continuous scrutiny and check (Fraser, 2003, pp.160-171). The errors are detected easily and in time and thus necessary steps can be taken in time to minimize the impacts of these errors and the occurrence of these errors in future. Ways of achieving control of workforce The ways of establishing proper control over the workforce of an organization are performance appraisals, setting quantitative standards, providing proper training and development and maintain a delicate balance between control and empowerment of the employees. Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal and self-appraisal are important methods of control establishment. In a self-appraisal system, the employees prepare a report on their own performances and explain whether their performance for a period has been in accordance with the desired strategic plans set for the period. The report also contains an assessment of the contribution of the performance of the employees to the overall goal achievement of the organization. The achievements of the employees are maintained in this report. The performance appraisal on the other hand is prepared by the immediate mangers or supervisors of the employees. The manger observes and monitors the behaviour and performance of the employees and evaluates them with respect to the standard levels of expected performance. Both the self-appraisal and performance appraisal systems are used to decide on the incentives, promotions and bonus for the employees (Mehri, 2006, pp.21-42). The employees are motivated to perform efficiently because of their interest in getting the promotions and incentives. These processes thus help the managers to gain a high degree of control over the working of the employees and the managers are able to influence and motivate the employees to perform better. Training and development The organization can have better control over the functioning of their workforce through proper coaching and training systems. Communicating the standards followed in the organization as well as the strategic plans and business strategies used in the organization helps the employees to get a clear picture of the functioning of the organization and creates transparency between the management and the employees (Edgell, 2011, p.120). This helps the managers to control the workforce more easily by setting right directions for the workforce to follow in their terms of employment. Balance between control and independence The management should be able to distinguish between situations in which intervention related to control is required and situations in which the employees should be empowered to make the basic decisions related to their work. Though suitable control of the workforce is necessary for the success of an organization and for creating a high performing workforce, excessive intervention and control may lead to a disappointed and de-motivated workforce (Fillingham, 1993, pp.125-130). Along with providing proper guidance and training, the managers should also focus on giving the workforce opportunities to learn and growth and empower them to take the basic decisions related to their daily work in the organization. Setting quantitative standards The effectiveness of a control system can be evaluated on quantitative terms. The assessment of the performance of the workforce should be based on measurable factors. This would help to create a proper understanding among the employees about how their performances are evaluated in the organization. The setting of the key performance measures and the achievement of these KPIs should be used by the managers to establish a proper controlling and monitoring function for the employees. Also, related costs incurred for developing and maintain the employees should be considered in the control system to map the means against the end results. The standards of measuring the performance should be set in specific quantitative terms to make the control system more effective and useful to implement as well as to evaluate. There are many benefits of controlling of the workforce which include measuring the success indicators for the workforce and the business, control of the costs incurred in the human resources, alignment of the human resources functions with the business goals and strategies, improving efficiency and productivity of the workforce, measuring and influencing the workforce activities and deciding on the priorities in the workforce and organization planning. Control indicates power and power is not only inhibitory and repressive but also productive and positive (McKinlay and Pezet, 2009, p.486). Conclusion The control of the workforce in an organization is an important management function. All the organizations across the world are paying critical attention to maintain suitable control methods and establish robust control practices in order to improve the quality of workforce, and performance of the workforce and to ensure the achievement of organizational objectives through proper control standards and policies. The control systems are effective for improving the performance of the employees, reducing errors, establishing order and discipline in the work environment, boosting a positive work culture , ensuring optimal use of the human resources available in an organization, motivating the workforce and ensuring cooperation and coordination within different levels of the organization. The various methods and techniques used by the managers to ensure achieving a proper degree of control over the employees in the organization are performance evaluation, maintaining equilibrium between control and independence, providing proper guidance and support and setting measurable standards to be followed by the workforce of the organization. To summarize, the controlling function helps to measure and evaluate the performance levels of the workforce on the basis of organizational standards and achievement of organizational objectives. Controlling and monitoring the workforce are critical in the modern business world to ensure that the business follows proper methods and adheres to the required standards thus ensuring increased competitiveness and sustainability in the dynamic business environment. References Edgell, S. 2011. The sociology of work. London: Sage. Fillingham, L. 1993. Foucault for Beginners. London: For Beginners. Fraser, N. 2003. 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