Evaluating Human Resource Managment - Essay Example

April 26, 2007 Evaluating Human Resource Management " Management is the art of getting things done through other people. Management is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business. Without it the resources of production remain resources and never become production." (Yvonne, 1999, p.97) Human resource Management is, perhaps, the oldest and most widely researched subject in management. Yet, as technologies change, cultural diversities occur and people's expectations undergo fundamental shifts towards newer and newer dimensions. For instance, professionals are gaining more say in the running of organizations. Even where governance is by people who own the majority stakes, their own positions and the respect they command are contingent upon their competence rather than ownership. This definition emphasizes that the managers achieve organizational objectives getting things done through the employees. Human resource Management is very essential for successful running of an enterprise. It ensures proper use of physical and human resources by deriving the best results. It leads to efficient performance and higher productivity. (Yvonne, 1999, p.99) Human Resource Management is very essential for every organization to make productive use of human physical and financial resources or the achievement of the organizational goals. It helps in determination of objectives. No organization can succeed in tits mission unless its objectives an identified and well denied. Management helps in achieving these objectives by the efficient use of resources. A number of factors have come together to initiate a fundamental change in the way organization functioning needs to be architect to meet the needs of organizations. These include the sheer quantity of training, technology advancements, limited human resources, and the need to be flexible. Firstly, what does a 'new flexible workforce' mean According to Stephen Procter et al in the Contemporary HRM text, flexibility of labor can be understood in two ways. First, the ability and willingness of individual workers to perform a wider range of tasks, jobs or skills; and second by the ability of organizations to vary the amount of labor they use in accordance with fluctuations in demand. Other forms of flexibility exist (technology, organizations and systems) which are also important factors to bear in mind when considering the flexible workforce. Since the early 1980s, research by John Atkinson and others (Atkinson 1984: Atkinson and Meager, 1986 etc) suggests that firms are increasingly seeking and achieving greater flexibility from their workforce. Four forms of flexibility were identified, which have been packaged together to develop a flexible firm model: Numerical means the emergence of new forms of contract based on limited employment periods such as temporary contracting, part-time contracts, and zero hour contracts etc. This allows the firm to move people in and out rapidly and respond to changing market demands. Numerical Flexibility involves changing the quantity of employee input. Quantitative changes include: Hiring numbers of employees Specified hours of work Organization uses part-time employees Organization uses temporary employees, whose contracts can be terminated, using liberal provisions on hiring and dismissals. The extent of numerical flexibility is a function of the severity of certain restrictions. Numerical Flexibility is typically constrained by rights to protection against unfair treatment, Numerical flexibility constrained by rights to redundancy benefits, and by restrictions on freedom to restructure through requirements to consult, negotiate, or gain legal approval Functional means the emergence of teamwork and the broadening of established job boundaries and skill definitions. Flexible organization of the workplace involves high skills and a collaborative approach to work. Its features are: Broadening job design and job boundaries: Willingness among employees to adopt new working practices such as team working and multi-skilling Extending the range and depth of individual skills: Essential to improve productivity, to respond to technological change, and thus to build competitiveness and Extensive training and retraining: Autonomous, self-managed, multi-functional teamwork is an indicator of this kind of flexibility. Temporal means the redefining of time, the development of distinct shift systems and the move away from standardized working patterns. Mobility across tasks: Free movement of employees between tasks underpinned by flexible skills and an absence of demarcation lines. Varying the hours of work through part-time work, shift work and annualized hours Financial means the emergence of individual pay regimes and the linking of pay to performance. The flexible adjustment of wages in line with changes in economic and competitive conditions an be achieved by linking pay to company and individual performance in a decentralized labor market and to establish co-ordination between employers and organization to moderate real wage increases in a more centralized labor market. The environment of an organization must either be flexible enough to meet the broad and evolving needs and address both current and anticipated needs of that organization. Given the model of the flexible firm, and the two-sided definition of the flexibility of labour, is there evidence to support the rhetoric of a 'new flexible workforce' Or does the evidence suggest that in reality this is somewhat more contradictory and problematic Research to evaluate this area has been focused on the areas of numerical and temporal flexibility, which are both considered established ways of matching labour to demand conditions (Hendry). The Price Waterhouse / Cranfield Project points to an increase in flexible working patterns of this kind on a European-wide basis, with part-time employment particularly prevalent in the UK but concentrated in a few organizations (Brewster et al., 1993). These areas of flexibility have been selected due to the particular interest of the author in this area. As a concept, varying the pattern of hours worked and the contractual terms of employees to create mutually beneficial flexibility could be considered a sound business proposition. Indeed, research by Harkness in 1999 suggests increased usage of all forms of temporal flexibility in recent years. This research showed that one in six employees now works during the evening, while one in sixteen works at night, which has opened up new employment opportunities. Additionally, there has been substantial growth in the numbers of employees employed on a numerically flexible basis, with the number of part-time employees rising from 15 per cent in 1971 to 28.5 percent in March 2000 (Labour Market Trends 2000, p.S23). In 1994, Watson established that thirty-eight per cent of all employees are employed in the flexible workforce, which is an increase of 1.25 million individuals since 1986. If the rhetoric was to be believed, and there truly is a 'new flexible workforce', it should be possible to find evidence in practice that employees are mutually benefiting from temporal and numerical flexibility, given that they form one half of the employment relationship. From the research undertaken however, it is clear that the reality does not fully support this viewpoint. It is evident that some employees are benefiting from being employed on non-standard hours or contracts, as evidenced via the research above. However, other research undertaken suggests that there is far from a harmonious balance in meeting the needs of both employers and employees with regards to temporal and numerical flexibility resulting in tensions in the employment relationship. (Yvonne, 1999, p.101) The first example used to illustrate this point uses a study supported by the Institute for Employment Studies; Work-Life Balance: Beyond the Rhetoric (2002). The outcome of this study confirmed that even when employers try and introduce flexible working practices, including non standard hours and contracts, employees experience a number of difficulties and obstacles which puts them off wanting to work flexibly. These difficulties and obstacles for employees are wide ranging, with the three key ones being; perceived impact on career prospects (main concern), and impact on earnings. Many flexible working practices result in a reduction in pay or haphazard earnings, which paid employees simply cannot afford or manage, as they still have the same outgoings. This also impacts on pension contributions and longer term benefits; and incompatible organizational cultures, for example not everybody being employed on the same flexible basis, leading to resentment on behalf of those employed non-flexibly. The results of this research suggest that what employees really want is rather more inflexibility, so that they are left with certainty of where they fit within the organization and less vulnerability; and equality of treatment for all, regardless of what hours they do or the contracts that they are employed on. If the Management studies of the importance of work itself and what motivates people to want to work are assessed, such as Maslow (1943) and Herzberg (1968), this should not come as such a great surprise. Even when employers have tried to introduce flexibility for employees this is not well received due to the difficulties and obstacles perceived, and the tensions this creates. It could be concluded from this research that whilst these remain, employees may continue to perceive temporal and numerical flexibility negatively thus limiting the opportunities for employers who may wish to operate on a more flexible basis. This led to an assessment of the 'right to request' flexible working that was introduced for employees who fulfilled certain criteria under the Employment Act 2002. This was considered important because if there really is a 'new flexible workforce' with regards to temporal and numerical flexibility, the introduction of this new legislation should have had minimal impact. A recent example of when an employer attempted to create a more flexible workforce was used as a case study to assess how this was received in practice. The employer in question was British Airways ('BA') when it announced plans in July 2003 to introduce split shifts and annualized hours (BBC News: Six Forum - Flexible Working). Flexible working arrangements were already in place prior to the announcement of this new scheme by BA but Management instigated changes to better service customer's needs and meet business objectives. These proposals resulted in a mass walkout by check-in staff, of which 90 per cent were woman with children. Fears were expressed that the new arrangements may possibly alter their ability to work. Key employee concerns appear to have been overlooked when implementing this scheme, which affected BA's ability to obtain initial buy-in from its employees, such as: the ability to plan affordable childcare and holidays due to the uncertainty created by the new contracts (key concern); employee's job insecurity if the new arrangements resulted in the need for less employees; and flexible working employee/employer balance being perceived to weigh more heavily in BA's favor. If 90 per cent of employees are women with children, recognition of this key concern is important. Research by Leeds University, referred to in the BBC News: Six Forum suggests that mothers often put flexibility and childcare before pay and self-fulfillment when choosing jobs. Therefore, if an employer wants temporal flexibility that does not recognize the key concern that the majority of its employees may have, then this is likely to fail. The above provides a further practical example of some of the problems associated with the concept of a so-called 'new flexible workforce' - employees still have needs and concerns which cannot be overlooked, without the necessary steps taken to address, such as the provision of affordable childcare. Until such time that they are, the flexibility of the workforce may remain limited. It is concluded that approaches to work and the working culture have evolved over a long period of time. Therefore, it is difficult to change the mindset of how work should be organized and controlled if not all are employed on standard hours and contracts. Recent research in the UK reveals how organizations do not view flexibility in a strategic fashion (Kandola and Fullerton, 2003), rather that it arises as an ad-hoc reaction to external pressures. Additionally, research by McGregor and Sproull (1992) indicates that 'flexibility is viewed as a solution to a specific problem'. This research as well as the further research detailed above provides evidence that the 'new flexible workforce', is not widely a reality and more likely to be rhetoric at this current time. There is much to commend the move towards a more healthier work-life balance for all, which may be achieved via an organization's use of numerical and temporal flexibility. However, whilst the perceived difficulties and obstacles and employees' concerns in flexible working exist, it is difficult to assess how the needs of employees / employers can be aligned to mutually benefit both parties and enable this to occur. Atkinson's model of the flexible firm has been around for twenty years and it will be interesting to see whether this becomes more of a reality in the future, as employer's face a more competitive trading environment arising via globalization. The benefit of time may bring forth societal changes as employees become more used to and accept the idea of non-standard contracts and patterns of work due to changes in the trading environment, so that these become acceptable and the norm. However, this is considered some way off the current position. For achieving organizational goals is it very essential to improve the work environment. People whose work is highly specialized, repetitive and routine may become dissatisfied with their job. This dissatisfaction often shows itself by reduced output, increased absenteeism and high staff turnover. This very quickly reduces effectiveness of a work area, and influences the effectiveness of the whole organization. A number of approaches have been developed to try to overcome this problem. Among these are job enlargement, job enrichment, job rotation, and semi-autonomous work groups (Yvonne, 1999, p. 115) Job enlargement increases the scope of the job. Employees are given more variety in order to increase job satisfaction. Usually various work functions from a horizontal slice of a work area are combined, giving employees more tasks to perform. Sometimes tasks are rearranged between several employees so that each employee gets a sense of the wholeness of a job. With Job Enrichment approach individual employees may be given responsibility for deciding the best way to perform a particular task, and for correcting their own errors. They may also be involved in making decisions, which affect their own work areas. Job rotation is a system whereby employees move from one job to another. This rotation may occur over various time spans, from, say, every two hours, to every week or month. It gives employees increased variety, and helps to relieve the monotony of routine, repetitive work. It also gives employees the opportunity to develop different skills, and mix with different people Semi-autonomous work groups are groups of employees working together, who se largely self-sufficient in terms of managing the tasks and functions for which they are responsible. This approach gives employees a sense of identity with, and responsibility to, the group. Job enlargement, enrichment, rotation and the use of semi - autonomous work groups are all approaches which can be used to reduce employee dissatisfaction with routine, repetitive jobs. Other approaches include flexible working hours and compressed working weeks (Yvonne, 1999, p. 116). A basis for effective discipline in an organization is good communication, co-operation and morale within an organization. Employee self discipline is more effective than manger imposed discipline. Counseling or disciplinary interviews aim to correct inappropriate behavior and prevent its recurrence. Promotions, transfers and demotions refer to employees' changing jobs, upwards, sideways or downwards, in an organization. Promotions are made in recognition of superior performance, while transfers and demotions may occur or a member of reasons. Separations may be caused by a variety of beacons and fall intone of the following categories: resignation, dismissal, retrenchment or retirement, Each category must be handled correctly, and with sensitivity, exit interviews are a useful means of collecting information on reasons for resignations. Counseling should take place or be available to employees facing dismissal, retrenchment or retirement (Yvonne, 1999, p. 119). In synthesis, the differences or variances in job flexible is relative to the working environment and human motivation. It is then recommended that managers should be aware that distinct attributes and factors may influence the level of job satisfaction among different occupations within business organizations. The combined effects of all the variables for the aggregate population and by occupation clearly demonstrate that achieving job satisfaction and organizational goal is possible through flexible workforce Additional researches with participants in other environmental settings and conditions are essential. The manner of implementation of Flexibility in workforce significantly affects employee's views and beliefs as well as the manner in which they exercise or do their responsibilities. But definitely, Flexile workforce plays an important role in the success, efficiency and soundness of Human Resource management of an organization. References Atkinson, J. (1984), 'Manpower strategies for flexible organizations', Personnel Management, August 28-31. Atkinson, J. and Meager, N. (1986), 'Is flexibility just a flash in the pan', Personnel Management, September 26-29. BBC News: Six Forums - Flexible Working, 31st July 2003, accessed via www.news.bbc.co.uk 24.05.04. 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