Fundamentals of Staff Development - Research Paper Example

Fundamentals of Staff Development Q1 Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the Spencer model of staff development, and assess its relevance to your organization/department/section. The Spencer Model of Development, advanced by Professor John Spencer is a “package of ten interdependent, interactive principles” crafted both as an administrative tool and administrative practice. It is composed of three attitudinal principles namely heterogeneity, accountability and responsibility, and altruistic vision. Seven other principles complete the model, all of which are action principles, namely: recruitment and selection of staff; staff induction; staff supervision; staff evaluation; planned individual development; further professional development, and; career path planning (see Fig 1). Professor Spencer stresses the interdependence of these principles implying that no principle can stand successfully on its own without the help of the others (Riley 2009). This paper will attempt an analysis of the ten-principle package of the aforementioned Spencer Model by first, taking up one by one the ten principles composing it and summarizing these components as Professor Spencer construed and defined them. These components are then scrutinized and analyzed with respect to their significance and importance in staff development vis-à-vis the organizational set up, keeping in mind that their inclusion in the ten-package model implies necessity of administrative intervention. After the individual analysis of these principles, then entire model is then analyzed in its entirety, with a view to establishing its authority and soundness as a staff development model. Planned Indv’l Development Recruitment & Further Career Selection Induction Supervision Profess’l Path Altruistic Devlpmt Planning Vision Evaluation A Attitudinal Principles Heterogeneity, Accountability and Responsibility, Altruistic Vision. Heterogeneity, according to Spencer, is an inevitable quality of an organisation because of the individuality of the people composing based on the principle that no two persons are alike. Heterogeneity therefore can hamper staff cohesiveness, a positive quality of a good organisation necessary for its productive functioning. There is therefore, a need according to him, to distinguish between characteristics that are given and those which result from “administrative/managerial stimuli.” The first kind, Spencer says, is natural and therefore does not warrant control but the second kind, demands confrontation as such behavior may run counter to organisational productivity and goals in general (Riley 2009 10-11). On the other hand, the attitudinal principles of accountability and responsibility have something to do with the acceptance of the duties that come with the assumption of a position in an organisation. The difference between the two terms, according to Spencer, is that responsibility refers to the acceptance of the role appended to the position and the obligation to carry them out while accountability goes a step beyond responsibility and refers to answerability to such responsibility. The significance of these terms to staff development, according to Spencer, is that they must not only be cultivated individually but also as a group and the best way to do so is for managers to set examples, an imperative according to him, in “upwards, downwards and lateral relations with colleagues, staffs, clients, and the wider community” (Riley 2009 14-16). The third attitudinal principle is altruistic vision which, according to Spencer, is actually a derivative of the first two attitudinal principles – heterogeneity and accountability and responsibility. Altruistic vision is an elusive quality that is mostly found in the realm of the mind. This intangible characteristic or characteristics refer to “imagination, sensitivity, compassion, willingness to cooperate, responsibility for others, loyalty, creativity” and the like. Intangible as they are, their place in organisational set-ups is vital and therefore, a challenge to administrators and managers to work out a way to elicit them from their subordinates. Comparisons with other Staffing Models like that of Janosik and Creamer (see Fig 2) would show the uniqueness of the Spencer model with respect to the inclusion of the three attitudinal principles. While the Spencer model has ten components, the Janosik and Creamer model has only six elements namely recruitment and selection, orientation to position, supervision, staff development, performance appraisal and separation with staff development Fig 2 Janosik and Creamer Staffing Model itself one of the components (2003 3). The more pertinent difference is that the Janosik and Creamer model does not contain any of the attitudinal principles of the Spencer model namely heterogeneity, accountability and responsibility and altruistic vision although from the way the different elements are interlinked together in the representational diagram in Fig 3, it is evident that the same characteristic of interdependence characterises the said model in the same manner as the Spencer model. In addition, most of the elements present in the said model are also present in the Spencer model except for the three attitudinal principles. Their absence in the Janosik and Creamer is understandable considering that the two attitudinal components – heterogeneity, accountability and responsibility – are implicit in the other components. On the other hand, altruistic vision is such a vague and illusive notion because of its intangibility and therefore difficult to impose upon subordinates. B Action Principles Recruitment and Selection of Staff. The basic stage of recruitment and staff selection is a very important phase in staff development because an organisation can only function at its best if it has the best people behind it. Spencer cited Robbins and Mukerji who posited that selection is a largely predictive exercise because it entails a calculated guessing which among the applicants will fare well once hired. Spencer likewise cited Sullivan and Decker who defined two types of losses in the event of an incorrect selection of applicants: the visible cost in going through another process of recruitment and selection to correct the earlier mistake, and; the hidden cost from poor work quality and the alienation of clients from the organisation turned-off by the low quality service (Riley 2009 10-25). The importance of attracting bright candidates early on in the recruitment stage is likewise highlighted by the experience of a UK global management consultancy which used to have the best track record in attracting well-qualified applicants. During the recent years however, a significant percentage of well-qualified applicants who came knocking on its doors was reduced. A raise in the starting salary and some changes in advertising did not do the trick either prompting the company to seek help from a Chartered Occupational Psychologist. The psychologist, after showing the company the loss sustained by it due to the weakening of the selection ratio, subsequently analyzed its recruitment and selection method. The study revealed that during the ‘milk rounds’ of companies in universities, its competitors had recently made changes to their company presentations, including an experienced company consultant in every milk rounds, while the company stuck to its old presentation. A recommendation was thereafter made by the psychologist for the inclusion of a realistic presentation company jobs, a clear career development path and the inclusion of an experienced consultant in milk rounds (Tinline & Robertson 2003 80-81). Staff Induction. The general assumption is that the induction phase of staff development is that period which starts from the time an applicant has successfully hurdle the recruitment and selection process and officially becomes a member of the organisation. To Spencer, however, induction must begin even before the first selection interview. He recommends that there must be an existing blueprint of how a new hire is introduced into the company and made to “feel they have become, welcomed and vital members of the organisation” to ensure that the new employee does not nurture an erroneous impression of the organisation and its goals. Spencer proposes a three-stage exercise for the induction phase: orientation, where the new hire is apprise of the organizational locality, the status of the organization within the community, and the introduction of the new hire to members of the organization and vise-versa; familiarization, or introducing the company and the company’s business to the new hire, and; incorporation or the assimilation of the new hire into the organization replete with the knowledge of his/her role and place within the organisational structure (Riley 2009 ). Spencer’s evident ascription of importance on the induction process is well-founded as the first few weeks of a new hire’s life with the organization is his most vulnerable, according to author Rosemary Thompson, a period which “can have a lasting impact on their long-term view of it.” The new hire could be properly guided and emotionally supported at this stage by a good induction programme which will ensure a smooth transition and assimilation into the organization (2002 67-68). Staff Supervision. Staff supervision, according to Spencer, is a pivotal component of Staff Development, albeit the most undermined, because it ripples to and affects the other nine principles. To illustrate this point, Spencer points out that staff supervision can serve as a verification medium to the effectiveness of recruitment and selection methods adopted by an organisation and the subsequent induction phase, both of which precedes supervision in the organisational chain of events. Obviously, determining the efficacy of the recruitment and selection method is critical because it ultimately determines the quality of the organization’s staffing Likewise, staff supervision may be made a basis for determining evaluation and planned individual career and plays a significant role in the determination of the incentives that should be adopted to further professional development (Riley 2009 29-32). Spencer’s emphasis on staff supervision as a pivotal cog in staff development is shared by many other research scientists like Burke, Janosik and Creamer, and Lacey. Burke, for example, contends that today’s organisations are plagued by many challenges and problems. Burke consequently developed the Burke Research Model (see Fig 3) which took into account the opinions of professional managers of various professional service firms. The Model showed that supervisory quality has a direct bearing on four important factors, namely: barriers to service, supports for service, job satisfaction, and quality of service and products provided by the firm (Burke 2001 28-30). Fig 3 Burke Research Model On the other hand, Janosik and Creamer developed their own Staffing Model which also places supervision, like Spencer, in the center, linking to all other aspects like Recruitment and Selection, Orientation to Position, Staff Development, Performance Appraisal, and Separation. To Janosik and Creamer, supervision is a tool which can be employed to closely observe personnel allowing an accurate appraisal of his/her performance and even provides mechanism to assist personnel during separation from the organisation (Janosik and Creamer 3). Staff Evaluation. Staff evaluation makes judgment as to the performance of the employee on the basis of a pre-determined standard, yet Spencer nixes the judgmental or terminal aspect. Evaluation is important because it can mean promotion or demotion, a commendation or increase in salary and even termination. To be meaningful and fair however, evaluation presupposes that the employee has been apprised of the criteria and the goal that must be met, that there was assistance offered to meet them and there was information of his/her progress to give him/her opportunity to make up for deficiencies (Riley 2009 39-43). Staff evaluation, also called performance appraisals, is a useful tool for strategic training and development, according to Dunphy and Hackman by profiling and classifying the workforce and used that classification to work on those employees classified as low performer. Anderson, on the other hand, asserts that organizations have the ability to use the evaluation as a tool to guarantee that employees find as much satisfaction in what they do for while they contribute effectively to organizational good and productivity (Lundy & Cowling 1996 287-290). Planned Individual Development. Spencer says that supervision and evaluation must take into consideration individuality and must be geared towards “professional maturation” as the focus of the administrators and managers. Its aim is to maximize skills to ultimately be shared, with all individual talents and skills so shared encourage “deliberate amalgamation […] to release the synergy of the team thereby ensuring that your area of responsibility will not only achieve the organization’s expectations, but exceed them” (Riley 2009 49). According to the book Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology: Personnel Psychology, individual development in a workplace can be viewed from three perspectives: behavior change; self-directed learning, and; adult learning. In all three perspectives however, success is hinged on the ability to articulate the aspects of one’s personality and skills that need to be improved and the accessibility to feedbacks that will confirm or negate improvement (Anderson 2001 315-317). The implication here is that the success of a planned individual development is guaranteed most when the employee is under the supervision of another who can provide guidance and feedback. Spencer’s inclusion of planned individual development under the realm of administrative function is therefore warranted considering that an employee’s development will redound to increased job performance. Further Professional Development. The distinction between further professional development and other developments acquired through the other principles mentioned by Spencer is that this part of the staff development is deliberately and actively sought outside of the organisation and infuses fresh knowledge and skills internally. Further Professional Development can take any of the following forms: in-servicing-internal; in-servicing-external; contact with experts and specialists; community consciousness; inter-organizational link relationships; further formal study and study leave (Riley 2009 50-57). Career Path Planning. Career path planning is the adoption of a blueprint detailing career direction. Its inclusion in the Spencer model implies the responsibility of administrators and managers to provide opportunities for career planning of employees. According to Spencer, managers know the “promotional procedures and career paths” within the organization and they must be willing to share it even if it threatens their own positions or would result in the departure of employees from the organization to seek better opportunities in others (Riley 2009 57). Spencer’s inclusion of career path planning in his ten-package model is noteworthy considering that without career path planning, an employee, according to Glueck, will be placed in a state of “dysfunctional career drift” which he describes as a condition in which “employees drift along with no goals or plans for self-development, while the job or the organization may be demanding new talents or approaches. The organization winds up with … obsolete employees” (qtd Josi et al 1998 62). In 1970, a study conducted revealed that employees which had career path plans ended up as having the most fulfilling and successful careers (Josi et al 1998 63). With set goals, which can be provided by a clear career path, an employee is more motivated and performs better than an employee who has not set a goal for himself/herself. It is therefore, to the advantage of an organization that its employees are aided by it in planning their path career. C Overall Analysis/Conclusion The ten-package model of Spencer shows a complete and exhaustive blueprint of staff development all geared for the development of organizational members under managerial intervention and guidance. The inclusion, for example, of the attitudinal principles which could have been implicit in most of the components show the importance that Spencer has placed upon them which is justifiable considering that they are the unseen but potent forces that could underpin many conflicts and failures within the organization. Placing emphasis on these attitudinal principles make managers and administrators aware of what they would have normally bypassed although they may catch glimpses of but have no name for. Moreover, Spencer’s persistent pronouncing of caveat on administrators and managers to implement organizational principles in non-adversarial and judgmental manner, show regard and deep understanding of human nature and psyche. The best way after all to elicit the best from people is not by making them feel and see the administrator’s superiority but by encouraging and supporting them in all their endeavors. References: Anderson, N & D S Ones & HK Sinangil 2001, Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology: Personnel Psychology Edition: reprint, illustrated, SAGE. Burke, R J. 2001, Supervision and Service Quality Janosik, S & M and DG Creamer 2003, Supervising New Professionals in Student Affairs: A Guide for Practitioners, Routledge Mental Health. Josi, DA & D Sechrest 1998, The Changing Career of the Correctional Officer: Policy Implications for the 21st Century, Butterworth-Heinemann. Lundy, O & A Cowling 1996, Strategic Human Resource Management Edition: illustrated, Routledge. Riley, D 2009, Fundamentals of Staff Development, UNE Rue, L.W. & Byars, L.L. 1996, Appraising employee performance, in Supervision: Key Link to Productivity, 5th edn, Irwin, Chicago, pp. 204-224. Thomson, R & Chartered Management Institute (Great Britain) 2002, Managing People Edition: 3, revised, Butterworth-Heinemann. Tinline, G & I T Robertson 2003, Recruitment and Selection: A Framework for Success, Edition: 21, illustrated, Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More