International Differences in the Business Practice and productivity of Firms - Assignment Example

In Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo) decided that home (or remote) working should no longer be available to staff, at a time when others were seeing home working as a way forward for their organisations. Discuss the pros and cons associated with home working for both the organisation and the employees (with specific reference to organisational culture and team working, amongst other factors). Based upon your research assess whether you believe homeworking within organisations will increase or decrease in the future. You should identify real life approaches as well as referring to current research to illustrate your answer. Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Pros of home working for organization 4 Pros of home working for employees 5 Cons of home working for organization 6 Cons of home working for employees 7 Future of the system of home working 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Remote working or working from outside the office premises has been an emerging trend among multinational companies in the last 10 years. Many internationally acclaimed companies like Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo Inc., Google Inc. and Apple Inc. have built up sustainable and successful businesses through the use of many innovative human resource management strategies out of which remote working is one famous strategy. Though this trend started with the main information technology companies across the globe, slowly the trend was taken up by different companies across a wide array of industries and geographical locations. Currently, not only the physical brick and mortar companies, but also many virtual corporations have started surviving on the option of hiring employees and letting them work from remote locations and not exactly by coming into the office campus for stipulated hours of work. This report will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the remote working options form the perspectives of both the employers and the employees. The report would include an initial introduction of the concept of remote working followed by an in depth discussion regarding the benefits and costs of working from home. The discussion would be supported by the examples of real life companies in which this people management strategy has been used with varied levels of success. A section would include evaluating the future of remote working systems and provide suitable recommendations as how to overcome the loopholes and pitfalls associated with this system. Discussion Pros of home working for organization The system of working from home has been considered by many organizations across the globe as a major way of increasing productivity, managing people resources and saving on other physical resources of the company. However, it is seen that within a particular industry, the rate of success of this system varies greatly. While some companies are able to implement this people management system in an efficient manner, some other companies face many hindrances in the way. For example, in companies like Microsoft, Siemens and Google Inc., remote working has been a part of the organizational culture and tradition. But in other companies like Yahoo, this facility started resulting in decreasing productivity and performance levels and irregularity in work regulations. As such, in the year 2013, the CEO of Yahoo Inc. decided to call back the option of remote working that were earlier made available to the employees of the company in all its geographic locations. The common benefits of work from home from the point of view of the employer groups include the facts the issues like the technology issues that are faced by the companies can be solved by this system. Factors like low internet and intranet connections and absence of proper office equipment can lead to the reduction in performance levels, productivity and efficiency of the employees. In this case, remote working can be used as a strategy for the company to make better sourcing and allocation of resources and capabilities, when the employees perform their job roles for their own premises, then it means that the usage of resources from the office premises becomes lesser. This often leads to reduced operational costs and optimal resource allocation for the business (Walker, 2011). Pros of home working for employees There is no doubt regarding the fact that working from home is a lucrative working option for different employees. The most preferred reward for working from home for the employees seems to be the fact that an employee gets more time to spend with his family. This is especially advantageous for if employee has the responsibility of looking after old family members or children. Often, working from home is seen as a way of ensuring that the work life balance of the employees is adequately maintained. Secondly, another main advantage of remote working is that the travel time to and back from office is saved. Especially, in commercial cities, where traffic has become unbearable, work from home seems to be a boon for saving a lot of hassle and time while going to office and coming back to home (Syversson, 2011). A sense of independence and being one’s own boss is also a big boost for the employees who work in a remote work system. This often leads to higher motivation, interest and proactivenss in work. Flexibility of work timings and postures are other benefits of remote working option for the employees. Often the employee can make sure that he works in breaks and can accommodate other necessary task in between his office work. The ancillary work environment related issues like ergonomics and work timing issues are also automatically solved by the use of this system of people management. Often the employees prefer flexibility over high incentives and remunerations because they are able to access some level of independence in their work and are able to adjust their routines thereby making it easier to maintain a balance between their private and professional lives. Cons of home working for organization As there remains a number of positive sides of letting the employees access remote working or working from home, there also are many negative aspects and redundancies that may be identified in this human resource management strategy. Therefore, the employers should carefully evaluate the possible benefits and costs associated with the whole system and analyse whether this new system actually leads to increased productivity, performance levels, better employee relations etc. or it adds to the casualties in the office and damages the organizational culture of the corporation in any manner (Bloom, Kretschmer and Reenen, 2009). Working from remote location options and teleworking may be seen as a boon for the employers and the employees. However, this kind of arrangement may also lead to a wide array of potential pitfalls in the whole organizational culture and work environment. According to the human resource management consultants functioning in today’s environment are of the view that the remote work option should be used by the employers only when the scale of availability of talent within a commutable distance is low and when certain drastic life changes lead to an alteration of the circumstances of an employee (Council of Economic Advisors, 2010). However, every employee cannot be considered to be the ideal candidate for a remote working setup. Those employees whose job roles include work that can be performed without direct and face to face interactions with other colleagues, managers and departments and which require lesser levels of direct interaction and collaboration can be the most suitable choices for remote working options. The employees should also be matured and dedicated sufficiently to demonstrate that they are enthusiastic and capable of working from outside the office premises and thus, the companies should consider the work track records, the individual work load handling capacity and the independent working skills of the employees before giving the employee an access work from home through internet or teleworking options (Freeman and Shaw, 2010). Cons of home working for employees However, as there are many benefits of remote working options for both the employers and the employee groups, there are also certain flip sides of remote working for the employees as well. Many times, due to the lack of monitoring and the pressure to start and end work within deadlines lead to slackness in the work processes. The employees may feel the urge to delay their work because the motoring from their managers is absent. This may lead to the serious reduction in work productivity which may ultimately decrease the overall performance standards of the employees as well as the organization. In this case, greater self-discipline needs to be maintained by the employees. Another significant challenge faced by the employees opting for the remote working option is that the personal chores of the individual may be given more priority and can become extremely difficult to postpone or delay when staying at home. Often, the tasks that could be completed within a shorter period of time while working in an office environment may be delayed and procrastinated leading to a longer work completion cycle. This may be harmful for the work record of the employee as well as can lead to the loss of credibility and dependability of the person as an efficient employee. Also, working away from the office may lead to a loss in the competitive spirit of the employee (Bloom and Van Reenen, 2011). The lack of human interaction, communication and collaboration with colleagues and managers may lead to the reduction of competitiveness and sense of urgency for work completion among the employees. Sometimes, the employees also find it very difficult to segregate their professional lives with their personal lives and end up being more stressful regarding both professional and personal chores. The absence of working within a well monitored and surveillance oriented management within the office premises in case of remote working system is another major cons faced by the employees engaged in this type of working mode. Future of the system of home working It can be recommended that in order to create a remote working system within an organization, the employing corporations would have to focus on the creation of a people management process that can be easily streamlined with the prevailing organizational culture. Also, the remote working option should be developed in a manner so as to ensure that the employees dedicate their time and effort towards their job roles and responsibilities in a similar level as they would be doing within the office premises. The mangers should review the job roles and responsibilities of the remote employees and also ensure that the guidelines required for work are clearly communicated to and comprehended by the employees. This would lead to properly managed and high standards of employees. The employees should also consider several other rules in the remote work option inducing making it mandatory for the employees to give proof of working conditions through site visits, videos, web chats and photos (Griliches, 2007). Also, the remotely working employees can be made to sign agreements and contracts that clearly define the terms and conditions of remote working as specified by the organization. The companies should also track the outputs of off-site work and monitor the progress of work as and when necessary. Thus, both the employers and the employees within a remote work setting should try to balance the priorities and objectives at both the ends. The employers should try to provide a work system that would support as well as engage the employees. On the other hand, the remote working employees should ensure that they dedicate sufficient time and maintain the balance between their professional and personal lives so that none of these are hampered in any way. The employees should also prioritize their work and ensure that they meet deadlines and the necessary standards of work. Conclusion Reliability and credibility seems to be the buzzwords for remote working options. Since, the level of international competition in industries are increasing and the human resources have emerged as valuable assets for any business, therefore, companies should focus on opting for the remote work systems so as to ensure that the attrition rate within the organization is curbed. This would not only help the company to retain developed talents and skills within the organization but would also help the employees to feel more encouraged and motivated to do their jobs. However, every company should develop suitable guidelines for remote working system and ensure that they continually monitor and periodically review the progress and performances of the remote working employee groups. The future of remote working system seems to be bright because the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks associated with the process. In this era when every corner of the world is connected through the internet and other technological advancements, it is absolutely necessary for the companies to tap in the available technological resources and also save and allocate other physical resources and capabilities to sustain and survive in the complex business environment. References Bloom, N. & Van Reenen, J. 2011. Human resources and management practices, Handbook of Labour Economics, Vol. 4 (1), pp.89-90. Bloom, N., Kretschmer, T, & Van Reenen, J. 2009. Work-life Balance, Management Practices and Productivity. London: Sage. Council of Economic Advisors. 2010. Work-life balance and the economics of workplace flexibility. [Pdf]. Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/100331-cea-economics-workplaceflexibility.pdf. [Accessed on 30 December 2014]. Freeman, R. & Shaw, K. 2010. International Differences in the Business Practice and productivity of Firms. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Griliches, Z. 2007. Hybrid Corn: An Exploration in the Economics of Technological Change. Econometrica, Vol.25 (4), pp. 501-522. Syversson, C. 2011. What Determines Productivity? Journal of Economic Literature, Vol.49 (1), pp. 326-365. Walker, F. 2011. The Source of Business Profits. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 12(1), pp. 265-288. Read More