Problems Challenges and Solutions - Research Paper Example

 Problems, Challenges, and Solutions Abstract Human resources management frameworks have become essential to the functioning of the modern organization given their ever expanding roles. A new human resources management framework was installed in XYZ Airlines but it failed to produce the desired results. This paper will look into the salient causes that made the new human resources management framework fail as well as the various steps that could be taken to mitigate the consequences. Introduction The basic management blocks of any organization are essentially human beings. Any organization is composed essentially of human beings on the horizontal and vertical scales of operation and management. It is up to the human resources management structure in an organization to keep these employees well motivated and responsive to the company’s needs. The traditional roles of human resource management have been to attract new market labor while retaining previous labor. The human resources framework is also responsible for selecting and training the new employees as well as previous employees for a number of positions. The typical selection process includes assessments that are geared to evaluate the employee’s suitability for a position such as through testing or appraisals. Human resource management teams also operate the reward mechanisms in place. Given such a large domain of functions, conventional human resource management frameworks are responsible for creating and sustaining an organizational leadership and culture (Daft & Armstrong, 2009). The conventional roles of human resource management have been expanded upon in recent decades due to challenges presented by globalization. The typical functions of human resource management have changed radically over the years due to expanding roles in company consolidation, the addition of new research and due to company consolidation moves. The upcoming domain of human resources management tends to deal with new strategic moves such as dealing with new acquisitions and mergers, industrial and labor relations, talent management, personal and professional development, inclusion as well as diversity planning mechanisms. The new and expanded roles of human resource management have meant that the human resources management framework is even more essential to the modern organization and its functions (Hatch, 2006). A number of new and old organizations are scraping their conventional programs for human resources management to inculcate newer programs and structures. While this has been seen as a mechanism for success in many organizations but the move to a new human resources system may not be as easy as believed. The enormous resistance to change resulting from the implementation of new human resources management systems is enough to embroil the organization in a number of challenges. These challenges are typically intricate and require careful attention to detail in order to be taken forward. Mishandling of these changes can often lead to a loss of stabilization in the contemporary business operations of a firm and in turn this can lead to short term as well as long term losses for the organization. In this sense human resources management is essential to the functioning of an organization in the modern market and economy. Only adequate human resources management can ensure that the modern business remains aligned to its objectives and goals and that the workforce remains as motivated as desired. Given the expanding role of the human resources management framework in the modern business it is essential to deal with the change management required to initiate new human resources management frameworks (Merchant & Van der Stede, 2007). A number of problems are encountered when new human resources management frameworks are installed in place of previous human resources management systems. This paper will attempt to delineate various human resource management problems that were encountered as a new human resource management framework was installed in XYZ Airlines. Background to Airline The United States government owned and operated XYZ Airlines. The airline’s history went back some four decades and over this period of time it had accumulated around 25,000 employees. In 2006 the government embarked on an ambitious restructuring program that was to result in privatization. The restructuring process was taken to effect under a new chief executive officer (CEO). The resulting structure produced eleven strategic business units as well as two privatized companies that were split up as Catering and Ground Services. Both of these new companies work under the main XYZ Airlines umbrella. The restructuring effort saw the airline coping with serious challenges that encompassed a wide set including problems with infrastructure, legacy systems, organizational structure, change management, etc. The Human Resources arm of the main airlines encountered serious problems due to inertia to change since change was required in almost every procedure and process. The restructuring effort was designed to overhaul the airline structure and so nearly every single nook and cranny of the airlines was brought under scrutiny and change. Employees who had been working with the airlines for two decades or more displayed the greatest inertia. The decades of stagnancy meant that these employees had a very hard time in figuring out a new place for themselves in the emerging restructured framework. As far as the issues related to ERP were concerned, the Human Resources division dealt with most issues using SAP ERP systems. However, issues related to policies and procedures still came under intense criticism since there was little to cover the domain of such problems. The problems were overwhelmingly felt in relation to staffing activities such as promotions, over times, changes in career paths, transfers to other departments, appraisals and the like. The previous working structure of XYZ Airlines represented a Jurassic anomaly since the human resources management structure in use was outdated. As a consequence of this fact, it was common for employees to be working with the main airlines structure for over a decade and a half without any innovation management or change management. Confronting the new change management and innovation management was too overwhelming for a number of employees and this was obvious from the resistance to change being offered. Around 70% of all employees of XYZ Airlines had been working in the structure for around a decade and a half without any moves to new positions. This meant that the career paths were more or less stagnant and predictable which the new restructured framework did not support. Furthermore, most employees had been working in the older airline structure using old automated systems and manuals which were irrelevant to modern methods of working and thinking. A large amount of resistance to change came from unclear policies and procedures that resulted from the new system. Like any new system under implementation, it was expected that changes would occur in policies and systems as implementation produced problems. The large changes introduced were also too much to handle for a number of employees who sought to turn to early retirement as a viable option to exit the new framework of policies. Faced with overwhelming change management challenges a number of employees were de-motivated and this in turn led to significant turn over. A significant proportion of older employees have already left XYZ Airlines while another significant proportion is thinking about leaving the company. This has in turn led to a host of retention problem as well as the loss of developed expertise that is being lost due to human resource management failures. Problems Policy Problems One of the chief problems related to installing a new human resources management framework is the issue of new policies and their implementation. Employees are typically used to dealing with previous human resources management policies and adopting to newer policies represent significant challenges in themselves. Since the human resources management framework applies across the board and deals with a number of aspects regarding human resources so the implications are organization wide (Sapru, 2008). Moreover, the scope of these policies extends to both horizontal and vertical aspects of human resources management and hence the organization’s business operations. A number of human resources management policies were affected as a novel human resources management framework was installed in XYZ Airlines. Another troubling aspect of this installation was the fact that this new human resources management framework replaced the previous human resources management framework altogether. This meant that the employees were subjected to a host of new policies that affected the entire organization. Various aspects of this replacement human resources management framework are discussed below in detail with regards to XYZ Airlines. Promotions Promotions tend to serve as one of the most contentious aspects of any human resources management framework. Various employees tend to have differing ideas as to the structure of the promotion system in terms of both its inputs and its outputs. As far as inputs are concerned, employees have differing ideas as to what criteria should be used to classify promotion decisions in any organization. In contrast, in terms of outputs, the employees have differing ideas with respect to how promotions should benefit them and how their career paths should develop given promotions. The older employees in XYZ Airlines were comfortable with the previous human resources management framework that determined their promotions in terms of both inputs and outputs. The implementation of a novel human resources management framework meant that older employees were left to face the new human resources management framework without proper appraisal of the new system. In addition, it must be taken into account that employees employed 15 years of before composed around 70% of the human resource pool. These employees were all subjected to changes that they failed to understand in terms of the inputs and outputs. This in itself produced a large amount of de-motivation for these employees. In addition, the problem was exacerbated due to employees who were expecting promotions in a few years but were brought back to square one due to the new human resources management framework. Instead of going for an entire replacement system, it would have been better to implement a hybrid system that took elements of the previous human resources management framework and blended it with elements of the new human resources management framework (Bueno et al., 2009). Using this method it would have been possible to allow employees, especially older employees, to adopt to the new human resources management framework at their natural pace. Expecting employees mired in the previous human resources management framework to take to change management at such speed is unrealistic. The results of the novel human resources management framework implementation proved beyond doubt that employees could not adopt quick enough. In a similar manner, another approach could have been to train the employees with regards to the novel human resources management framework. This would have meant that employees would have been made aware of new demands and constraints of the new system. The implementation would have taken more time but the transition from the older system to the newer system would have been much smoother. The amount of employee de-motivation produced through a quick turnkey solution in the new human resources management framework could have been avoided. This is all the more important in terms of the promotions structure since a large amount of de-motivation was produced when employees realized that their decades worth of work was being put to waste. Even though this belief was not well confounded but its development led to significant turnover. Appraisals The appraisal system of any human resources management framework tends to serve as one of its basic tenets. The appraisal system tends to produce the inputs required for the functioning of any progression system in any organization. On the one hand the appraisal system provides for the growth and advancement of the employees and on the other hand it delineates the various shortcomings of employees. The contention behind identifying these shortcomings is not to suppress employee development but instead to enhance it. Once these developmental gaps are identified on the employee’s individual level and the overall horizontal and vertical planes, it is much easier to define a course of action that would trigger improvements (Cokins, 2009). As the older human resources management framework was scraped and a new human resources management framework was installed, the employees were again lost in translation between systems. The older employees that constituted the bulk of the XYZ Airlines structure were not completely aware of what was being expected of them under the new appraisal system since it was a new implementation. In a similar manner, line managers and other management functionaries were not fully aware of how employees were going to be evaluated. This in turn led to rampant confusion between management functionaries and employees with neither side being able to justify itself fully and finding fault with the other side. In short, the appraisal system was unable to live up to expectations and proved to be a failure that triggered yet other failures such as the failure of the promotion system. As before the lack of a hybrid system and the lack of training can be seen as the primary reasons for failure of the appraisal system. The failure of the appraisal system also signaled the failure of the continuous improvement principle in human resources management. One of the key contentions behind any appraisal system is to identify shortcomings and to improve on them (Daniels, 2006). However, most modern human resources management frameworks rely on the agreement between the employee and the appraisal authority to derive the shortcomings. If either faction does not agree to the identified shortcomings, there is little hope of moving towards improvements of any kind at all. The human resources management framework can be seen as failing in this regards since continuous improvement cannot be guaranteed using such a human resources management framework. Assessments The airline industry relies in large part on various forms of assessment that are delivered on the horizontal and vertical planes of the organization to provide professional growth and sustained operations. While assessments are geared for all planes of the organization but perhaps the most critical of all assessments are delivered to technical personnel. These technical assessments ensure that the technical personnel are up to date with the developments required to keep the aircraft in the air. This is essential for all kinds of support crews that support the aircrafts in any sense be it ground control, maintenance, fuelling or anything else. Therefore, it could be surmised that the assessment procedure delineates how well prepared technical personnel are to deal with aircraft operation. This fact tends to affect service quality in the air directly so it could be said that the assessment procedures of any airlines are critical to the overall business environment and strategy (Enkel & Gassmann, 2010). When the new human resources management framework was installed, the previous assessment scheme was kept in place since the assessment scheme was as per industrial standards. Another important aspect of the technical assessment system was that it was externally monitored and run according to previously set external standards. The externalized nature of these assessment schemes meant that employees did not have any trouble since no new things were introduced. The new human resources management framework only affected the technical assessment system by altering the schedule of training sessions and by introducing the concept of internalized training. Previous practice in regards to training was to hire external training staff from specialized organizations. These trainers were responsible for training the technical staff as per the requirements of the job. This ensured that experts carried out training on a specialized basis. The assessment and actual evaluation was always carried out by the standards organization so there was no question of conducting internal technical assessments. The new human resources management framework took on a different approach as per training. It was decided that external training would be conducted for a few senior employees who would then conduct internal trainings. This raised two sets of different problems. The younger employees felt that the external training program for assessments was much better than the internalized program in terms of course material and teaching aids. They younger brood felt that the internalized training program was more costly since it introduced a greater chance of failure in the standardized program for external assessment. On the other hand, the older employees felt that the internalized training program was a constraint on their available time since they had to first learn and then teach others. It was felt that this strategy would cost them dearly in terms of time and would affect the professional requirements of the job such as maintenance or ground support. It could be said that this attitude was more or less about skepticism since many organizations use such models to disseminate assessments. However, the negative reception of the training program tended to underscore the potential benefit that could have been derived from the program. The overall negative environment caused by the introduction of the new human resources management framework tended to take down the assessment program modifications as well. It could be said that the assessment program represented a right hybrid mix since it contained internal as well as external elements that were well balanced against each other. Challenges Retention One of the foremost challenges experienced due to the implementation of the new human resources management framework was retention based problems. The exasperation produced by the new environment was highly damaging in terms of retention and turnover. The problem was more felt in terms of older employees at the lowest scales of the organization who were not comfortable with the new human resources policies. Large retention failures meant that XYZ Airlines lost quite a few good technicians, clerks, administrative staff and the like who had decades of experience in the bag. The negativity experienced in this regard took onto new dimensions given the fact that most good employees left the organization through early retirement thinking that progress on the professional ladder was not possible anymore. Although this belief was highly misleading and misinformed but a significant number of employees left under this guise. The inception of new human resources policies meant that older employees’ especially high flyers under the older human resources management framework were left in the dark. The development of the notion that progress under the new human resources management framework required more than just professional skills led to a high turnover. An early retirement program brought under the new human resources management framework compounded this problem. The contention behind the early retirement program was to allow underperforming employees to leave the organization. However, the anticipated consequences were reversed as the performing employees began to leave. Retention could have still have been kept high if the new human resources management framework had allowed for retention measures. However, the older employees were still allowed to leave under the idea that this would produce more room for younger blood. The consequent loss of employees tended to remove the more desirable older employees who could find jobs elsewhere given their experience and skill sets. However, the older employees who could not find employment elsewhere were left with XYZ Airlines which was not desired in the first place. The resulting mix of employees has been older less desirable employees and large proportions of new employees who require adequate development as yet. Development of Skills The induction of a large number of new employees means that skill development on a large scale was required. The turnover of older and more experienced employees produced a sizable gap that could not be filled up as quickly as desired. The situation was exacerbated due to the implementation of a new training and skills development regime which produced more confusion. Again, the speed of the implementation was seen as a major problem since quick implementation of the new human resources management framework led to a distortion in the total skills base of the organization. It was felt that a hybrid development regime overall would have aided in the transition and in retaining the total skill level of the organization. Recommended Solutions Motivational Measures In the given scenario, it is highly important that employees be provided motivation through the utilization of payroll benefits, bonuses and other related measures. Motivation is the real method of retaining employees especially employees who are more experienced and tend to create more value for the organization. The use of motivation will allow greater retention as well as the development of trust between employees and top tier management. These measures would allow more time for the employees to appreciate the new system and would allow the management more time to dispel the doubts of employees. Training Training is essential to the implementation of the new human resources management framework since employees are currently at loss due to the new framework. Training imparted at all levels would allow the employees to appreciate the efficacy of the new system and would allow the various myths that surround the new system to be dispelled. Only this would ensure that the existing trust deficit between the employees and the management could be resolved. Moreover, these measures would also open up the window of opportunity that some older and experienced employees would return to XYZ Airlines. Conclusion The implementation of new human resources management frameworks is essential to the modern organization given the critical roles played by human resource management. However, the implementation of a new regime brings in a number of problems with itself including deep misunderstandings that have little ground. In the case of XYZ Airlines, the implementation of a new human resources management framework has led to more problems than solutions possibly because of a speedy implementation. A lasting solution could have only been brought in if all involved stakeholders were brought onboard before the new human resources management framework was implemented. The loss of retention and a large number of employees leaving the organization led to a significant erosion of the skill base. However, a number of steps could be taken to mitigate the consequences of a rapid deployment. For one thing, the employees could be motivated through payroll and other measures and the employees could be trained about the new system. This would ensure that XYZ Airlines would regain its balance in the business world once again. References Bueno, E., Aragon, J.A., Salmador, M.P. & Garcia, V.J., 2009. Tangible slack versus intangible resources: the influence of technology slack and tacit knowledge on the capability of organisational learning to generate innovation and performance. International Journal of Technology Management, 49(4), pp.314-37. Cokins, G., 2009. Performance Management - Integrating Strategy Execution, Methodologies, Risk, and Analytics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Daft, R.L. & Armstrong, A., 2009. Organization Theory and Design. Toronto: Nelson. Daniels, D.A.C., 2006. Performance Management: Changing Behavior That Drives Organizational Effectiveness. 4th ed. New York: Performance Management Publications. Enkel, E. & Gassmann, O., 2010. Creative imitation: exploring the case of cross-industry innovation. R&D Management, 40(3), pp.256-70. Hatch, M.J., 2006. Organization Theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Merchant, K.A. & Van der Stede, W.A., 2007. Management Control System - Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Incentives. 2nd ed. Essex: Prentice Hall. Sapru, R.K., 2008. Administrative Theories and Management Thought. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited. Read More