High Performance Work Systems - Research Paper Example

High Performance Work System Introduction: In the global financial system, all the companies operate in an intense competitive environment. To safeguard their future in this challenging environment the companies need successful innovations and implementations of the designs and products. A constant improvement in the system of organizing and managing of works is required. The key to the success of an organization depends upon the capability of the organization to utilize the talents of its employees. The High Performance Work system focuses on the elements of innovation at workplace. It involves participation of the employees in the diverse systems of the organization. Implementation of HPWS models in the firms demonstrates a powerful net impact on the equality and the diversity of the working systems. In economic terms, the median-sized company with approximately 270 employees “employing the multi-dimensional model of HPWS would have performance advantages including almost €12,000,000 (or €44,399 per employee) in labor productivity, and €556,200 (or €2,061 per employee) in workforce innovation.” (Flood, et. al., January 2008, p.8) HPWS is basically management practices, which attempt to create an environment that would inspire greater responsibility and involvement of the employees in the activities of the organization. This participation would provide empowerment to the employees, which would further lead to the creation of a committed workforce in the organization. (Brown, August 2006). In this paper we would provide a brief overview of the ideas involving the High Performance Work Systems and the challenges faced in the implementation of such systems. We further look in to the avenues of implementation of HPWS in the online education system of higher education. History, Overview and implementation of HPWS: HPWS is defined as “a specific combination of HR practices, work structures, and processes that maximizes employee knowledge, skill, commitment and flexibility” (Bohlander & Snell, 2004, p. 690). The ideas of HPWS have existed from a long period of time; these ideas became popular in the late twentieth century, with the inset of globalization and opening of the economies. The globalization invited fierce competition within the industries. The few concepts that rose out in these turbulent times, to save the industries from the global competition, are the key concepts of a high performance work systems. These are various components of HPWS which are expected to catalyze the environment of the manufacturing industries. The first component is to provide the employees with the opportunity to participate in the decision making of the system. This would help to affect the immediate environment further resulting in affecting the entire environment of the company. The next is the training of the employees to provide them with the necessary skills to enhance their productivity. Training also ensures that the employees assume a more responsible role to understand their skills and their effectiveness within the organization. The organizations also benefit from these training programs as they give the organizations a way to cross-train their employees. This would encourage multitasking, multiple roles and responsibilities within the employees. The third component of HPWS is providing incentives to the employees. The incentives ensure better efforts of the employees towards performance. Performance linked incentives would ensure successful implementation and operation HPWS. Incentives can be in the forms of Employee Stock Options (ESOP's), bonuses and increments, profit sharing plans etc. They can be both monetary and non monetary like free lunch, performance parties, outings, picnics etc. Incentives to the employees can be provided “on outcomes that are beneficial to themselves and the organization as a whole” (Bohlander & Snell, 2004, p. 698). The fourth and the final basic component of HPWS are the innovations in the technology. Technology is an important part of the modern developmental exercise within the organizations. The innovations have to be such that they provide the employees with effective means of communication within the organization. Information sharing is an important part of the business performance of a company. The combination of these four components is necessary for the implementation of HPWS in an organization or system. (Brown, August 2006, pp 3-4) Graphical Presentation of the HPWS in the organizational structure (Brown, August 2006, p.5) The 'fit' is the achievement of optimization from coordination between the 'people, technology, information and work, which is achieved with the help of successful implementation of HPWS. The design of implementation of HPWS is unique for each organization. The designs greatly depend upon the architecture of the organization. According to the diagram the HPWS designs need to change with market and customer requirements. Each organization has a different market and customer base therefore the HPWS designs should be according to them. The designing and implementation of HPWS cannot be constant, continuous redesigning and transformation of the plans is required to cope up with the changing environment. A continuous monitoring and comparison of the HPWS designs are required to ensure that the changes of the internal and external environments are quickly incorporated in the system. Communication within the environment is very necessary for the implementation of the HPWS plans in the organization. The organizations should ensure smooth and continuous flow of information regarding the social and technological innovations introduced in the system. Information sharing increases the motivation of the employees and enhances their ability of problem solving and handling tasks independently. The owners, stakeholders and the managers should be well aware and informed about the changes that are to be implemented in the organization. They should be able to analyze the changes that are going to take place after the implementation of the HPWS plans. To implement the plans successfully and to reap maximum benefits out of them, it is important to establish a smooth communication network with close association within the employees and the mangers. Further continuous transition and evaluation of the system is required for meeting the goals of the HPWS. HPWS plans are implemented to gain a competitive advantage in the global markets. HPWS aims at creating successful business environments. HPWS can provide an organization a way to create “higher productivity, lower costs, and better responsiveness to customers, greater flexibility and higher profitability” (Bohlander & Snell, 2004, p. 712). Implementation of HPWS in the online system of higher education: The higher education systems of many countries are undergoing a process of reform. The reform aims at maintaining balance between the autonomy of the institution and its public accountability. Reports suggest that the managers of many institutions are facing problems related to planning and resource allocation. A holistic approach is needed for the management of these institutions, so as to address the issues related to changes in the management of the institutions. Large numbers of educational institutions are opting of autonomous status to increase the efficiency of the institutions. The autonomy would bring along with it the issues of internal resource allocation, devolution of the funds available, and the approaches towards the planning process of the universities. (Thomas, July 1998). Under this section we would observe the process of implementation of the HPWS systems in the online education system of the higher education. More and more institutes are providing the facility of online and distance education for the students. This would greatly help the students to access higher education without moving to a different place or country. The online system of higher education can be very convenient and thus be very popular. However the online higher education is not considered to be a beneficial means of education. Classroom coaching is still preferred over the distant means due to the lack of efficiency in the online system of education. The online education system can implement the principles of High Performance Work Systems to increase its efficiency. The implementation of the HPWS would require two broad environments, internal and external. The internal environment consists of the social and technical coordination’s. In the case of institutions it would be relations between the teaching and non-teaching faculty and the managers of the institution. The technical aspect would require creating an environment to support the needs of the customers. (Varma, Beatty & Ulrich, 1999). The external environment would be communicating and supporting the students and create a continuous learning environment. Implementation of HPWS in the online education system would aim at changing the process to an efficient and effective one by proper management of resources. Experiences from different industries confirm that these methods should be accompanied by support and responsibility "at both departmental and senior university management level". (Thomas, July 1998, p. 97) Successful implementation of the HPWS would require focusing on self-managing teams, flexible technologies, increased training and continuous improvement. Arup Varma states "systems of complementary and reinforcing work practices lead to improved performance in a variety of ways." (Varma, June 1998 p. 5) The education sector being a non-industrial set up faces challenges of technology and innovations. Being a traditional sector incorporating quick changes is another challenge for the implementation of HPWS. Inspite of these difficulties in implementing the HPWS plans in the education system; studies report that effort to implement them in the education system is on a rise. “HPWS design features should be viewed from a holistic perspective, and not as a number of individual design features.” (Varma, June 1998 p. 5) On the basis of the study of the HPWS designs and implementation, we put forward the following steps for the implementation of the HPWS in the online system of higher education. 1. Preparation for change: The institutes must prepare and train the staff for the online teaching and communicating techniques. 2. Involvement of the employees: The staff should be involved in the development policies and programs, so as to understand the changes and the benefits associated with this technique. The employees should be associated with understanding of the process and should be aware of the funding and technological process. This would bring in greater responsibility on the part of the employees. 3. Establishment of effective two-way communication networks: The importance of communication in between the working staff and various areas of the institution are to be understood. This would ensure proper stream of information and feedback. 4. Appraisals and appointments: This would focus on proper implementation of appointment and promotion procedures. This should aim at recognizing the need of high caliber staff to handle the new imposed technology. Incentives in the forms of appraisals should be announced to encourage the staff members. 5. Transition of the education system and complete implementation of the HPWS plan: This step would involve the transition stage from classroom teaching to the virtual or online teaching systems. 6. Continuous evaluation: Close monitoring and Regular evaluation is the final step of this process. The institutional structures should be reviewed regularly at both the officer and community level to ensure speedy decision-makings to meet the demand of the competitive environments. (Brown, August 2006 p. 9 & Thomas, July 1998, pp. 103:104) The higher education institutions are subject to governmental control and dependency. These reforms for implementing the HPWS techniques might turn out to be a difficult task for the institutions. "Overwhelming dependency on the government has often left the institutions ill equipped to manage their affairs effectively." (Ziderman & Albretcht, 1995, p. 139). The institutions are dedicated to the primary roles of teaching and research, implementing the HPWS in the online system of education would help to increase the efficiency of the online education system. This has helped in enhancing the scope and area of the education and the institute. Conclusion: The impact of the HPWS practices on the financial and management practices of the firms have been positive. The global scenario demands for effective online higher education setups. Though most institutes offer online and distance education, the online education set-ups of most of them are inefficient and fail to draw students towards them. Efficient management and advanced technology is required to bring efficiency in this system. HPWS may act as the much-required plan to boost the popularity of the online system of higher education. The higher education sector is subject to governmental controls and regulations. Implementation and regulation of HPWS is a challenge these institutions face. The education sector is a booming sector, as it would keep on expanding no matter what. Successful implementation of the HPWS plane will help the institutes to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. References: 1. Brown D. E. (August 28, 2006). Implementing a High Performance Work System. Brown Consulting Group. Available at: http://ericbrown.com/docs/Implementing%20a%20High%20Performance%20Work%20System.pdf (Accessed on June 7, 2010) 2. Bohlander, G., & Snell, S. (2004). Managing human resources (13th ed.). Mason, OH: 3. Thomson/South-Western. 4. Flood, P., J. Guthrie, W. Liu, C. O'Regan, C. Armstrong, S. MacCurtain, and T. Mkamwa. (January 2008). New models of High performance work systems. The equality authority. Dublin. Available at: http://www.ncpp.ie/dynamic/docs/HPWS%20Final%20Jan%202008.pdf. (accessed on June 9, 2010) 5. The Scottish Government (2009). Benefits of High Performance Workplace Practices, available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/Employeradvice/workplacepractices (accessed on June 9, 2010) 6. Thomas G. H. (July 1998). Reform and change in financial management: The need for an holistic approach. Higher Education Management. 10(2). Available at: http://www.oecdwash.org/PUBS/PERIOD/hem102-art.pdf. (accessed on June 9 2010) 7. Varma A., Beatty R. & Ulrich D. (1999). High performance work systems: exciting discovery or passing fad?. 22(1). 26-38. Questia. Available at: http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=MMMZhP0jTBnp21kzLm2vJbX0qbHYGTcT9mphRq67vGbsq1rjLdJl!1502933935!1748356985?docId=5001258112 (Accessed on June 7, 2010) 8. Varma A. (June 1, 1998). High performance work systems: what we know and what we need to know. Human resource Planning. Available at: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development/703955-1.html (Accessed n June 7, 2010). 9. Ziderman, A. & Albrecht, D. (1995). Financing Universities in developing countries. Falmer Press. London. Read More