Key Theoretical Perspectives of Contemporary Human Resource Development - Essay Example

A critical discussion and evaluation of key theoretical perspectives on contemporary human resource development - Starbucks Introduction HumanResource Development (HRD) policies and initiatives have received greater attention in the current period due to highly articulate employee skills training and development strategies at the individual firm level. Thus the theoretical and empirical analysis of this paper is based on the available literature on the subject at a global level along with a case analysis based on the Starbucks’ own HRD practices. This study basically draws on the Starbucks’ policy based convergence/divergence parameters for the continuous analysis for a proper articulation of the HRD strategy at broader level though its theoretical underpinnings are based on the need to focus attention on the evolving environment of competition. In other words an HRD policy and initiative based analysis is a near approximation of an otherwise intractable continuum which lacks definable contours and a logical conceptual framework of reference. While theoretical constructs underlying this approach have been presented as a uniform analysis there is very little attention being focused on the qualitative paradigm shift caused by the a priori and a posteriori catalytic changes. Thus the qualitative shift in this study is essentially based on these outcomes and the latest calibrations and/or benchmarks enunciated by researchers to establish a conceptual framework for analysis. This paper just focuses on the latest HRD related practices and their theoretical evolutionary process with reference to the Starbuck’s operational environment at a global level. 1. Analysis 1.1. Theoretical analysis of HRD HRD function as against HRM is much facilitated when scale of operations expands beyond a certain minimum level (Lawler & Hundley, 2008). New recruits could be trained and put on the full-time workforce with the added advantage of having a continuous supply of skilled labor for future growth. Training & Development of skills have been emphasized by management experts with a view to making use of extra space in a new setting. Environmental benefits apart a new setting would allow the management to employ new training methods. As a corollary of the above it must be noted that HRD practices in culturally diverse organizations pose a formidable challenge to the leader/manager (Behar, 2007). In such situations both the leader’s rationality and circumspection matter to such an extent that the subsequent decisions to co-opt workers’ support for his measures would have not only to be rational but also articulate enough. The HR manager is just a functionary here since his instincts about training and development of employees’ skills invariably support the organizational outcome. However it cannot be denied that the manager’s concern for the long run organizational outcomes as against the short term would have a telling impact on the overall organizational goals. Theoretical intricacies apart there is also a highly dynamic correlation between value judgments and leadership role in the organizational context where HRD practices are concerned. HRD strategies are closely aligned with leadership roles that percolate down to the bottom-line of the organization. The typical organization like Starbucks adopts a similar strategically determined functional variant of HRD models that are basically culturally diverse and internationalist in nature. Cultural diversity of the workforce might act as a constraint on the HR manager’s freedom to form such opinions as value judgments that underlie management decisions (Moore, 2006). Thus by implication the manager or the leader is less amenable to accept value judgments in his decisions. This a priori factor has been cited by some scholars as a basic tenet that causes the schism between more culturally diverse HRD practices and less culturally diverse HRD practices. 1.2. Literature review Strategic skills development and workforce management principles require the organization to put in place a number of initiatives such as design, planning and implementation strategies. The corporate environment demands attention be paid to such variables as internal quality management, Human Resource Development (HRD), internal value chain analysis, supply chain management, product portfolio development, product & marketing mix, market segmentation, product lifecycle management, strategic product/customer/market orientation, a sound communication strategy and above all a competitor orientation strategy based on the firm’s ability on the following cultural diversity determined HRD environment (Noe, 2004). A perceptual mapping process to achieve corporate and organizational goals is nothing new in the individual firm’s own strategic HRD environment. Thus the current dichotomy between strategic competitive environment and strategic operational environment is based on the organizational outcomes. The individual company in the retail sector of the economy is subject to a greater amount of competitive pressure than those firms which exclusively produce in order to sell in the domestic market or export physically. Thus the competitor orientation strategy of the firm is determined by the level of competition in the area where the restaurant or the coffee bar is located. Competition occurs in a variety of situations. All organizations with culturally diverse workforce would be geared to meet the new pressures created by this diversity. How best to meet this competitive pressure depends on the firm’s ability to absorb excess demand through capacity and value creation. Internal value chain management process of the firm decisively places some limitations on its ability to meet this extra demand. Therefore it’s the pricing policy, HRD and internal management culture that ultimately enable the firm to meet this demand successfully (Kranz, 2008). If the attendant VRIO (value, rarity, inimitability and organization) framework is sound enough to enable the management of the company to withstand pressure and devise alternate plans to compete against rivals then there is the possibility of success. However, it’s the HRD function which occupies a very important place in the whole value chain management process. The fast food sector has been careful enough not to strain its staff at each level of operations, including baristas and waiters. On-the-job Training and Development of skills at the average organization with a multicultural workforce is oriented towards meeting international quality standards (Filipczak, 1995). Strategic operational and competitive environments of such organizations are characterized by some strategic shifts away from the homogeneous cultural environments’ HRD practices. HRD function also has other areas for consideration when the firm expands as a result of M&A. Mergers and acquisitions produce HR synergies across a broader spectrum of departments or divisions within the combined organization as in the case of Starbucks. However M&A necessarily doesn’t mean that there would be an expansion in the scale of operations because the dominant company would simply strip the assets of the acquired company and absorb the latter’s market share. Such synergies in turn enable the new management to diversify and target hitherto unsought market segments. This type of expertise comes from the combined efforts. The relationship between the manager and the subordinate has been brought into sharper focus here owing to the very important decisions involving HRD and above all the existence of a dichotomy between the theory and the HRD approaches shows that indisputably international HRD practices under cultural diversity have to be adopted in a variety of contexts (http://www.wilsongroup.com/ecr/case/Starbucks.pdf). This is none so well borne out than by the fact that where there are international culturally diverse HRD practices in organizations there is a precise tendency to define HRD strategy in keeping with long term organizational goals. This is in sharp contrast to the inefficiencies associated with less culturally diverse workforces elsewhere where organizational outcomes and goals tend to be synonymous with inward looking local practices. The leadership style plays a much more pivotal role here. The transformational leader motivates his followers by setting an example to his subordinates. However transformational leadership style isn’t always typical of such HRD environments. In the first place the democratic and transformational leadership qualities when combined together would ignore such overriding concerns for meeting production targets so that it would instill a sense of permanency in the minds of employees thus reducing absenteeism and redundancy. This type of HRD approach can be desirable in the fast food industry where everything from DIY goods to petrol are sold. A demotivated workforce might underperform and then cause conflicts in the workplace. This is apparent in some organizational settings where persistently underperforming staff come to be treated as a liability by the management. Such friction between the manger and employees in culturally diverse organizational settings would be regarded as one of the most negative factors in falling productivity in organizations where mangers tend to be autocratic and diverge from norms. In other words human potentials have to be recognized before they are rewarded. The transformational leader does recognize these positive elements in the culturally diverse workforce (Michelli, 2006). Such leadership qualities have a positive cumulative impact on the long term organizational outcomes. Therefore what’s essentially noticed in Starbucks is an international strategic HRD environment that functions basically with a highly regulated work environment along with democratic leadership norms that stretch even beyond the work environment and sometimes extend up to otherwise indeterminate culturally diverse social settings in the backdrop of the coffee bar. This last aspect of the HRD strategy of Starbucks acquired a much greater dimension concerning workplace based norms. Further employee motivation, skills development and training strategies at Starbucks and labor turnover figures are interconnected in such a way that crew members have particularly been affected by a lack of concern for their negative experiences while dealing with customers. This study has clearly identified a positive set of outcomes related to HRD practices and motivation at Starbucks restaurants and coffee bars particularly in North America. The theoretical posture of the paper is based on the fact that HRD practices at Starbucks have acquired a greater dimension of integrity at the inner-house operational level on par with positive employee motivation and in-house HRD strategy. 1.3. Empirical analysis with reference to Starbucks’ HRD practices After the assumption of duties as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shultz has initiated a number of changes in the workforce management at Starbucks. Work ethics is differentially applied to generate enthusiasm among employees. Workers at Starbucks are motivated through a good mixture of both financial and non-financial benefits (www.starbucks.com). Performance-related pay might encourage baristas and other crew members to contribute more and more to the success of the organization. Employees are told in no uncertain terms that competition has forced the management to take decisions and face tougher choices. Under the Starbucks’ banner it’s no more the brew to regain sagging spirits alone but also the source of regeneration of identity. Shultz’ ability to create a wholly different atmosphere at Starbucks depends on the new organizational culture centered on more competition and less ideals. In this context Starbuck’s employee skills development and training programs assume an international dimension along with their sharp focus on international Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) practices. As much as employee motivation policies and initiatives at Starbucks play a very significant role in determining the policy direction in skills reorientation programs there is an attendant cleavage between the two concerning the latter’s convergence with the company’s corporate goals. Thus the parametric growth of employee skills development and training programs at Starbucks can be attributed to the company’s own concern for positive growth in such metrics as sales, revenue, profits and market share. Employee skills reorientation programs as outlined by the current level of HRD practices at Starbucks’ show that they are basically centered on Training & Development (T&D), motivation and the reduction of labor turnover figures. Thus the existing horizontal organizational structure at Starbucks helps in integrating the diverse HRD policies and initiatives into the existing framework of organizational performance (Pieters & Young, 1999). Corporate goals such as profits, revenues, quality improvement and external supply chain management among others, have been part and parcel of this holistic strategic emphasis on modern HRD related strategy at Starbucks. While many researchers have investigated the extent of the impact of organizational structure, culture and leadership/management style on HRD related outcomes at Starbucks only a few of them have carried out an in-depth analysis of the HRD related practices like job enrichment and job enlargement strategies at Starbucks in implementing employee skills development and training programs. While figures on job enrichment, job enlargement and job sharing are much less made available to the outside world at Starbucks there is a greater degree of employee participation in quality improvement and middle level decision making here that must be considered in detail in order to arrive at some important conclusions on HRD policies and initiatives at Starbucks. However accreting to some recent research studies there is a substantial skills gap at Starbucks among lower level employees like baristas and store managers. 1.4. Starbucks’ Training Policies According to the Vice President of Starbucks the company is “looking for a diverse workforce that reflects the community and above all they should enjoy their work” (www.oppapers.com/essays/Starbucks-Training-Policies/155883). According to the statistics 80% of the Starbucks’ staff is white. This cultural diversity and the attitudes of employees didn’t much help when it came to the number of hours of training, i.e. 24 the least during the first 4 weeks. In fact the mean number of hours for barista/partner and a Starbucks store manager didn’t exceed 40 hours. The functions of the barista include grinding the coffee, steaming the milk, pulling the shots of espresso and so on. Actually these tasks need more prior training. The Star Skills Program that involves three basic tasks – maintaining and enhancing self-esteem, listening and acknowledging and asking for help when it is needed. Thus overall this paper would focus on the Starbucks’ HRD strategy and initiative related issues to bring about a more comprehensive theoretical and conceptual framework of reference so that employee skills reorientation programs of Starbucks can be examined with reference to the following three perspectives. These perspectives have been suggested in the light of recent accusations that the Starbucks’ coffee isn’t the same everywhere now. (a). Starbucks’ strategic HRD practices and initiatives. (b). Organizational structure and leadership style and their impact on the organization’s HRD strategy. (c). Labor turnover issues at Starbucks’ restaurants in the world and the organizational goals related outcomes. In fact employee relations in general and motivation in particular at Starbucks have to be examined with reference to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) related initiatives such as education and employee welfare. It has adopted a very liberal employee relations policy of encouraging employees to be independent with a degree of freedom given to ensure operational independence. In fact the top management encourages greater participation in the decision making process of the company for the employees. However according to critics these are mere initiatives because there is no actual practicing of them at the staff management level. What’s required is a more concentrated effort to identify skills gaps between two employees. For example the real standards of the training programs at Starbucks have come down (Sandelands, 1997). Trainees are much less equipped to carry on their task with degree of confidence now. Thus the general complaint often heard at Starbucks’ restaurants is that coffee does not taste the same at two different locations in the world any more. Better positive employee motivation can also be attributed to good pay. Monetary and non-monetary benefits both lead to better performance and especially performance related pay as adopted at Starbucks would have a good impact on employee motivation. According to recent research this type of strategy in managing labor relations cannot be ignored and it’s perhaps one of the most desirable policies to achieve organizational goals in the long run. In the first place lower labor turnover figures at Starbucks in North America in particular and the rest of the world in general could be attributed to well managed labor relations and good motivation policies. The degree of support among employees at Starbucks for such programs has been consistent enough for the management to initiate changes at every level of the organization. The empirical a priori and a posteriori evidence prevalent at Starbucks restaurants concerning HRD related policies and initiatives including employee skills reorientation and labor relations strategies, is basically determined by a complex and diverse set of variables. The underlying theoretical constructs of labour relations and CSR can be used to adequately explain the general and particular characteristics of the restaurants (Kolk, 2005). Despite a number of drawbacks that a researcher would have to face by way of a dearth of literature on this subject, there is still a greater chance of success in finding the right analytical framework to treat all variables within a reasonable reference structure. 1.5. HRD policies and their learning outcomes with reference to Starbucks Labor is a resource that has to be managed according to widely accepted international HRD practices. Starbucks’ restaurants are subject to a variety of labor market influences such as supply and demand related outcomes in addition to the government’s national minimum wage policy. For instance Starbucks’ workforce management capabilities can be theoretically examined according to the resource-based view of corporate strategy. Organizational success is determined by the internal strengths of the organization in controlling, rationalizing and utilizing the available resources to the maximum benefit of competitive advantage. The well planned management of resources at Starbucks presupposes that each department would possess a distinctly unique set of resources and connected capabilities thus giving it an advantage in cost over its rivals (Silber & Kearny, 2009). The ever increasing Research & Development (R&D) expenditure of Starbucks would confirm that resource variation is maintained by it in order to build up an inventory of inimitable resources. According to researchers labour turnover figures at Starbucks right now are very high and the skills training and development programs have been poorly designed and executed. Often employees at lower levels complain about company policies in giving promotions and increasing wages. In fact most of the lower level employees like baristas have received much less training and are unhappy about the organization’s approach to staff policies, particularly the skills training and development strategy which is basically determined by skills requirements rather than motivation. In fact staff motivation strategy at Starbucks lacks the kind of direction and purpose inherent in such strategies (Simon, 2009). These learning outcomes have supported the position taken by this researcher in respect of the learning outcomes of the Starbucks’ current HRD operations irrespective of the on-and-off successes that have been reported by the top management. Finally the emergent trend of competition and the firm elaborates how organizations would focus on learning and innovation to achieve strategic competencies against rivals. This theory is essentially based on “the cognitive theory of the firm” and therefore places much emphasis on the organization’s ability to pass value judgments, to feel and experience emotions. Thus the manager’s ability or inability to achieve organizational goals and success depends on his or her approach to resource management based on how internal organizational processes would determine capabilities to sustain a particular strategic initiative towards the achievement of the same goals. It’s difficult to make a realistic assessment as to what extent Starbucks’ restaurants in the world as a whole have adopted these strategic skills development practices in order to maximize HRD related positive synergies at the practical level of the organization. The same can be said about their employee skills reorientation programs (Weiss, 1998). Only a few of them have adopted internationally reputed programs of skills reorientation while the rest have adopted a more mundane practice of skills development and training the workers by paying more. Thus HRD practices and related CSR policy initiatives are virtually determined by a high level of dependence on organizational outcomes and not practical realties taking place on a daily basis at café bars in the high streets of London or elsewhere. Conclusion Starbucks’ restaurants and coffee bars as surveyed by this researcher have adopted the same HRD policies and initiatives on a global level though there has been some criticism about the changing employee attitudes and tastes of the age old brew. In fact there is considerable correlation between HRD initiatives and success of employee skills reorientation programs at Starbucks’ restaurants in the world. Secondly despite an obvious lack of comprehension on the part of some employees of the existence of CSR policies and initiatives and the related positive impact on employee skills development programs and overall HRD practices at these restaurants, the general agreement is that key performance indicators on the relative success of HRD polices and initiatives have been gathering a positive momentum at these restaurants. Thus this paper has successfully established a set of positive correlations between a number of CSR and HRD related key performance indicators and the organizational outcomes especially concerning employee skills reorientation and motivation strategies at Starbucks. Particularly the environment and employee welfare related policies have shown a progressive improvement. Starbucks’ North American operations in particular and the rest of the world’s operations in general are characterized by a highly strategic policy oriented environment of competition. Against this backdrop its current HRD practices are essentially influenced by the organization’s restructuring programs as undertaken by Shultz. He is determined to bring about a real change in the coffee chain with a global identity tag. He needs to prioritize the work ethics at the organization for this change. International HRD practices in culturally diverse and complex organizational setting as that of Starbucks’ requires a fair degree of restructuring based on motivating the employee to achieve predefined targets. Leadership style of Shultz might need to be changed in accordance with this requirement. But nevertheless the current HRD operations at Starbucks have many shortcomings as highlighted above. REFERENCES 1. Behar, H 2007, Its Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks, Portfolio Hardcover, New York. pp. 85-88. 2. Filipczak, B 1995, ‘Trained by Starbucks and born to be wired’, Training Magazine, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 73. Howard Behar (Author) 3. 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