Participative Management - A of John Lewis Partnership - Case Study Example

Competitors find it difficult to replicate the competitive edge acquired by such a firm over a period of time. The objective of this report is to analyze HRM principles and theoretical observations applicable to John Lewis Partnership. The report will also examine whether and where the HRM policies adopted by the company fulfill or fall short in strengthening its efforts to achieve organizational goals and attempts at suggesting remedial measures. Human Resource Management-Participative Management: The central theme of human resource management is to enhance employee performance through employee commitment (Armstrong, 1987, Storey 1995 cited in McGunnigle 2000).

The right human resource management system attracts and retains the right talent, develops workforce skills, resolves or avoids conflicts and motivates workforce into a culture of commitment to achieve organizational goals (Storey 1995 cited in McGunnigle 2000). Watson et al. suggest that a culture of commitment may be induced by the application of specific practices within HRM areas such as recruitment and selection, training and development, reward systems, employee participation, involvement and empowerment (Watson et al.

1996 cited in McGunnigle 2000). Kinnie et al. . Involvement in decision makingPerformance appraisal with tight links to contingent pay (Holbeche 2001 p.13) Kinnie et al. sound a word of caution when they argue that the application of specific HR policies may not have a uniformly desirable effect on all employees working in an organization. They argue that the extant debate on the links between HR policy and organizational performance has been based on the distinction between the 'best practice' and 'best fit' perspectives, both of which assume that HR policies have the same effect on all employees working in an organization.

The best practice view put forth by Pfeffer (1994, 1998 cited in Kinnie et al. 2005) identifies a set of policies associated with performance improvement applicable to all industries and by implication to all employees. On the other hand the best-fit strategy proposed by Schuler and Jackson (1987 cited in Kinnie et al. 2005) and Miles and Snow (1984 cited in Kinnie et al. 2005) suggests that HR policies consistent with business strategy maximize performance. (Kinnie et al. 2005). There have been a number of references to 'participative management' within the literature on human resource management, which however must not be confused with permissiveness.

According to Frohman, it is a "practical approach to solving problems and achieving performance targets by utilizing people as resources." As against the human resource approach which "aims to generate compliance and employee morale" participative management is a "quest for improved performance and quality." (Frohman 1988) John Lewis Partnership (JLP): JLP is an employees' co-operative, wholly owned by its 64,000 employee-partners. This unique democratic management model imbues the company with a corporate