MN7181-The Global Context for HRM

" Globalization and Human Resources Management”

As a result of globalization, many firms have begun to compete on a worldwide basis. This situation has led Human Resources Management to gain more importance in the global arena and international Human Resource Management field. Over the past few decades, international Human Resource Management has become an important segment of Human Resource Management. The increasing globalization of business has required organisations to manage their workforce effectively. Managing a foreign workforce can differ drastically from managing a domestic one. Human Resource Management in the international context requires managing diverse workforce originating from different nationalities with various cultures. Therefore, workforce diversity has become increasingly important for organisations that plan to expand into global markets and target different consumer groups.

Organisations can adopt different approaches for managing their workforce and every function of HRM systems should be designed consistent to the workforce diversity of the organisation.

The preliminary function of global Human Resource Management is that the organisation carries a local appeal in the host country despite maintaining an international feel. To exemplify, any multinational / international company would not like to be called as local, however the same wants a domestic touch in the host country and there lies the challenge.

Global HRM therefore is a very challenging front in HRM. If one is able to strike the right chord in designing structures and controls, the job is half done. Subsidiaries are held together by global HRM, different subsidiaries can function operate coherently only when it is enabled by efficient structures and controls.

The main reason for the growth of the internationalization with respect to employment is the cultural differences in terms of national values and attitudes. Thus a lot of care must be taken to adopt, improve and standardize culturally suitable human resource management plan, policy and performance (Sparrow, 2006).

Reference:

Adonoo, S. (2011). Human Resource Management in the context of a global company. [ebook] Available at: https://www.grin.com/document/196467 [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].

(Sparrow, 2006) cited at UKEssays. November 2013. HRM in an international context. [online]. Available from: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/hrm-in-an-international-context-management-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 6 January 2019].

MN7181-Managing Diversity

"MANAGING diversity”

A management system which eliminates the difference found in a multicultural work force in a manner which results in the highest level of productivity for both the organisation and the individual. In other words, managing diversity means managing people in the best interest of employee as well as employer.

Managing diversity is an on-going process that explores the various talents and capabilities which a diverse population brings to an organisation, so as to create wholesome. It also involves creating a supportive culture where all employees could be effective. In creating this culture it is important that top management strongly support work place diversity as a company goal and include diversity initiatives in the company’s business strategies.                                                                                                               

In many organizations, it is common for the managers to discriminate against particular racial and ethnic employees because they would be playing favorites with those employees of their own kind. These needs to be avoided at all costs and the senior leadership should send an unambiguous message that discrimination and harassment would not be tolerated at any cost. Further, in Asian countries, it is often the habit that employees lapse into their own language without considering the implications that it would have on the employees who do not speak their language. These needs to be avoided at all costs as well and strict enforcement of the language of communication (whether it is local or global) must be done. The point here is that in many industries, the managers need to communicate in the language that the workers are comfortable with. Therefore, there are no issues in this case since the language of communication can vary. However, in corporate settings and in services sector companies, there are employees from diverse backgrounds who feel lost when the manager and the employees communicate in languages other than the official language of communication.

The next aspect is that the workplace must be gender sensitive, which means that managers and employees must not comment on matters that are sensitive to women. For instance, it is common in many organizations to pass overt and covert comments against women and to speak in demeaning ways. This must be avoided at all costs and we cannot emphasize more the importance of being gender sensitive at the workplace. The point here is that unless the work environment is free from gender stereotyping and racial and ethnic biases, the output from the organizations suffers.

Organizations with diverse employees are better suited to serve diverse external customers in an increasingly global market. Such organizations have a better understanding of the requirements of the legal, political, social, economic, and cultural environments (Patrick and Kumar, 2012).

References

Patrick, H. and Kumar, V. (2012). Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges. SAGE Open. [online] Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2158244012444615 [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].

Juneja, P. (2019). Managing Diversity at the Workplace. [online] MSG MANAGEMENT STUDY GUIDE. Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/managing-diversity-at-workplace.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].

MN7181-HRM and the Design of Work

"job design”

The specification of the contents, methods, and relationships of jobs in order to satisfy technological and organizational requirements as well as the social and personal requirements of the job holder (Davis, 1966).

Job design specifies the contents of jobs in order to satisfy work requirements and meet the personal needs of the job holder, thus increasing levels of employee engagement (Armstrong, 2014)

Job design is the one of the core elements of enhancing effectiveness and productivity of the employees towards achieving perspectives of the organisation. Job design should be aligned with the employees’ talents, interests, relationships which are needed for the success of the job.

Job design is a very important core function of staffing and also is a continuous and ever evolving process that is aimed at helping employees make adjustments with the changes in the workplace. The end goal is reducing dissatisfaction, enhancing motivation and employee engagement at the workplace. If the jobs are designed properly, then highly efficient staff will create and in addition to join the organisation effectively. Form the satisfaction they are getting through, they will be motivated and will improve the productivity and profitability of the organisation. On the other hand, if the jobs are designed unproductively, then it will result in absenteeism, high labour turnover, conflicts, and other labour problems.

       

Robertson and Smith (1985) suggest the following five principles of job design

·         To influence skill variety, provide opportunities for people to do several tasks and combine tasks.

·         To influence task identity, combine tasks and form natural work units.

·         To influence task significance, form natural work units and inform people of the importance of their work.

·         To influence autonomy, give people responsibility for determining their own working systems.

·         To influence feedback, establish good relationships and open feedback channels.

According to Armstrong (2006) the main job design approaches are:

·         Job rotation                             - which comprises the movement of employees from one task to another to reduce monotony by increasing variety.

·         Job enlargement                      - which means combining previously fragmented tasks into one job, again to increase the variety and meaning of repetitive work.

·         Job enrichment                        -which goes beyond job enlargement to add greater autonomy and responsibility to a job and is based on the job characteristics approach.

·         Self-managing teams (autonomous work groups) – these are self-regulating teams who work largely without direct supervision. The philosophy on which this technique is based is a logical extension of job enrichment.

·         High-performance work design          -which concentrates on setting up working groups in environments where high levels of performance are required.

It can clearly be concluded that a good job design helps a lot in motivating employees and making them able to perform better than expected by the organisation. Furthermore, if the employees are motivated and satisfied they would produce superior quality performance in optimal time and lead to growing profits.

References

UKEssays. November 2013. The impact of job design on employee motivation. [online]. Available from: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/the-impact-of-job-design-on-employee-motivation-management-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 6 January 2019].

Juneja, P. (2019). Training and Development - A Key HR Function. [online] MSG MANAGEMENT STUDY GUIDE. Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/training-development-hr-function.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].

(Davis, 1966): Robertson and Smith (1985) cited at Armstrong, 2006. A Hand Bok of HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE. 10th ed.

MN7181-Employee Engagement

"Employee Engagement”

Engagement is a positive, two-way, relationship between an employee and their organization. Both parties are aware of their own and the other’s needs, and the way they support each other to fulfill those needs. Engaged employees and organizations will go the extra mile for each other because they see the mutual benefit of investing in their relationship (Chiumento, 2004).

Employee engagement has become a hot topic and that has been captured major role of modern Human resource management context. Employee engagement is a practical approach which should be applied within the workplace while ensuring that the employees are dedicated to their organization’s goals, objectives and values, encouraged to contribute to organizational success, and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of well-being.

Most importantly, employers can have a great influence on employee’s level of engagement through appreciation, healthy interactions, brainstorming, group discussions, common games etc. That is what makes employee engagement as essential as a tool to fulfill ultimate success of the organisation.

If employees can't sit down with their boss and talk about things, then it can be detrimental for the company in the long run, doesn't matter how many policies and procedures are put in place.

The way that treats its employees by an organisation, employee engagement is divided in to 03 segments.

1)      Engaged                           - Employees are working with passion with an emotional bonding with the organisation. They drive organisation towards success and could be considered as loyal, Committed and productive employees.

2)      Not Engaged                - Employees are come to work and do what is asked by the manager. They process work to rule concept. However they have a little more passion and always looking their own goals which are not connected with organisational aspect.

3)      Actively Disengaged            - Employees who are working with negative attitudes. Most of the time they shows their unhappiness during the work actively and they always refuse to give their commitment to achieve organisational goals and objectives.          

Employees require to be adopted in a working environment which will lead them to show their commitment that organizations are looking for. An organization has to promote the factors which have a positive effect of engagement through every business activity that they do.

           

Employers need to have a thorough understanding about their employee’s expectations and future plans. Further, it can also be concluded that high levels of employee engagement may lead to enhanced employee commitment and involvement towards respective jobs while creating a motivated workforce – that will work together to achieve the common goals   of the organization.

References

Allen, M. (2014). Employee Engagement – A Culture Change. Immediate impact-endless possibilities, [online] pp.1-4. Available at: https://www.insights.com/media/1091/employee-engagement-a-culture-change.pdf [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].

Mehtha, D. and Mehtha, N. (2013). Employee Engagement: A Literature Review. Economia. Seria Management, [online] 16(2), pp.209-215. Available at: http://management.ase.ro/reveconomia/2013-2/1.pdf [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].

(Chiumento, 2004): Armstrong, 2006. A Hand Bok of HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE. 10th ed.

MN7181-Managing Performance

Effective Performance Management and Appraisal

Performance management can be defined as a systematic process for improving organizational performance by developing the performance of individuals and teams (Armstrong, 2006).

Performance Management is an approach to evaluate people that raise the likelihood of reaching clearly defined, pre-set goals and targets. The performance management process helps the managers and supervisors through performance appraisal method to provide feedback to the employees regarding their current performance at job and expected level of performance. It provides clear direction to the employees about management expectations regarding their performance. The compensation and rewarding system is also established based on the performance of the employees over the stipulated period of time. It also assists the organizational leadership to identify the training needs of the employees and resolve the performance related issues. It provides opportunity to the managers to set the performance expectations and keep proper tracking of the employee’s performance. The supervisors and managers can measure the performance outcomes by comparing it with the performance expectation and performance appraisal can be done on the basis of this procedure.

According to Armstrong (2006), the performance management process should be formally reviewed once or twice a year in order to have a fair knowledge of key performances and development issues. Most of the modern era organizations are presently conducting midyear reviews in addition to the yearend reviews in order to look forward what needs to be done by the employees to achieve organizational goals during the stipulated time frame.   

The performance appraisal process is conducted between the employee and his or her supervisor for the first round and then between the supervisor and the manager before going into the third round. The third round includes the above people as well as the HR manager but excludes the employee. Managing employee performance within a larger framework of organizational goals is critical for organizations that count people as their key assets but still, it can be done efficiently as discussed above.

Conclusion

In conclusion performance management is important for organisations and businesses to keep track of how their staff is getting on in terms of their work life. They are able to compare and measure the performance to ensure a successful organisation with positive motivated employees.  As mentioned above Organisations, managers and employees have been practicing good performance management all their lives, executing each key component process well. Goals are set and work is planned routinely. Progress towards those goals is measured and employees get feedback and rewards accordingly. High standards are set, but care is also taken to develop the skills needed to reach them. Formal and informal rewards are used to recognize the behavior and results that accomplish the mission.  

References

Armstrong, M. (2010). A Handbook of HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE. 10th ed. London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

MN7181-Organisational Culture

Culture of the organisation plays major role of the success

Organisational culture is often referred to as something which tells us more about the organisation. This ‘something’ may be the personality, philosophy, ideology or even the overall climate of the organisation. Organisational Culture is therefore an element which differentiates each organisation from the other and gives it a unique identity (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004).

Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the ways in which people behave and things get done. Values refer to what is believed to be important about how people and the organizations behave. Norms are the unwritten rules of behavior (Armstrong, 2006).

When the modern business units are developed and nurtured, organisational culture can be a huge competitive advantage in order to imitation by competitors. Companies with positive cultures are significantly outperformed other organizations in workforce growth, stock prices and net income and vise versa.  

An organization refers to a group of people gathered together for achieving a particular goal. In organizations, original culture takes its source from the founder's philosophy. As the firm grows, cultural criteria are influenced and changed (Robbins and Judge, 2013). Decisions made by senior management shape the climate over time. With the general acceptance of climate and socialization, culture is shaped, developed and changed.

Organizational culture, which is in a position to connect members of the organization with the consciousness of unity and set targets in the way of reaching common goals, acts as a guide for managers to easily carry out policies (Genc, 2012).

Despite its importance to bottom-line success, culture is often ignored because people have difficulty recognizing the culture that surrounds them every day. When culture is not measured and managed, it can be influenced the behaviors of employees in unintended ways – often devastating employee engagement and retention, obstructing corporate strategies and goals, and ultimately eroding the bottom line.

Organizational culture touches every aspect of the business, and culture impacts the satisfaction of the customers and the perceptions of the stakeholders and investors. Ultimately, culture impacts the success of company strategies and the bottom line. The management should not be careless with culture. They should be able to measure it, mold it, and make it matter.

I have come to the conclusion that a culture can have a major impact on an organisation. Further, some organisations will have strong cultures and others have weak. A strong culture is when people tend to agree on the beliefs and values within the organisation. On the other hand weak culture can be when people disagree on the existing culture and instead form their own sub cultures. It is important to have a strong culture so you can survive and beat your competitive environment and ultimately be the company you want to be.

Referenses

(Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004): UKEssays. November 2013. Concepts of Organisational Culture. [online]. Available from: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/organisational-culture-is-something-which-tells-us-more-about-the-organisation-business-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 4 January 2019].

Mullock, H. (2014). A brief literature review on organizational culture. [online] Research Methodology. Available at: https://research-methodology.net/a-brief-literature-review-on-organizational-culture/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].

(Robbins and Judge, 2013): (Genc, 2012): Ozaya, O. (2017). Organizational Culture. [online] BIZBEY. Available at: https://bizbey.com/blog/organizational-culture [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].

MN7181-Learning and Development

Training and Development

                             

According to Henderson (2017), training is a set of planned activities on the part of an organisation to increase job knowledge and skills, or to modify attitudes and social behavior, to achieve specific ends which are related to a particular job or role

According to Ivancevich (2004), training and development are processes that provide (or at least try to) a personnel with information and skills they need in order to understand the organisation and its goals. They are designed to help a person continue to make positive contributions in the form of good performance

Training and development is vital part of the human resource development. It is also become more important globally in order to prepare workers for new jobs. Training can be defined as a refining process done with the selected candidates to make them perfect and adaptable according to the changing working environment of the company. The complete process of identifying, selecting, recruiting and training individuals helps them in their overall professional growth and also contributes to the development of the company

The need for Training and Development

Training is needed for the individual development and progress of the employee, which motivates him to work for a certain organisation apart from just money. We also require training update employees of the market trends, the change in the employment policies and other things.

From a company’s perspective, the failure to encourage employees to please their careers can result in a shortage of employees to fill open positions, lower employee commitment, and inappropriate use of money allocated for training and development program.

When a company helps employees in developing a career plan, the employees are less tending to quit that company. Developing a career can boost the morale of the employee, enhance productivity and help the company become more efficient.

References:

Ivancevich (2004): November 2013. Training and development. [online]. Available from: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/training-and-development-skills.php?vref=1 [Accessed 4 January 2019].

Juneja, P. (2019). Training and Development - A Key HR Function. [online] MSG MANAGEMENT STUDY GUIDE. Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/training-development-hr-function.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].

tutorialspointSIMPLYEASYLEARNING. (2019). HRM - Training and Development. [online] Available at: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/human_resource_management/human_resource_management_training_and_development.htm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].