Impact of Organizational culture in contemporary context

Organizational culture is defining as the drive of efforts and contributions made by the employees to achieve organizational goals and how each employee could attain goals; it also shared the beliefs and values within the organization that helps to shape and understand the behavior pattern of the employees (Kotter and Heskett, 1992). Thus organizational culture could means of keeping employees in line with the organizational objectives.

 The organizational culture is considered as a motivational factor which promotes organizational to perform smoothly and ensure success in all its endeavors such as rewards systems, organizational design, decision making, communication, Job satisfaction, leadership, Mentoring etc…( Schein,1990).

Organizations differ in their cultural content, some organizations practices on their recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and performance management processes, where some organizations place a premium on career development, objective setting, pay for performance etc.., all of above is with the intention of maximizing the employee performance and customer service which will help to create culture of high performance across the entire organization. 

Organizations plans and put more efforts on training and development of their employees of job related competencies such as knowledge, skills or behaviors that are critical for performance. Training and development help in utilization of human resource effectively and efficiently that helps to achieve organizational goals and as well as their individual goals (Adeniji, Osibanjo, and Abiodun, 2013).

The improvements in productivity lead to employee commitment, values and objectives which help to improve organizational culture and employee performance. Employee performance is considered as the back born of organization as it leads to development of the organization, the loyalty of employee behavior and awareness of culture improves performance of the organization (Brooks, 2006).

Conclusion:

The strategic thinking of most companies is shaped by the way they do business, a farmer thinks in terms of annual seasons and crops, an internet company like Google works at a fundamentally different pace, web software changes continuously .You don’t plan it rigidly, you evolve it day by day, the faster and more flexibly you evolve , the more successful your products will be.

References

Adeniji, A. A., Osibanjo, A. O., and Abiodun, A. J., (2013). Organizational Change and Human Resource Management Interventions: An Investigation of the Nigerian Banking Industry. Serbian Journal of Management, 8(2), pp 139-154.

Brooks, I., (2006). Organizational Behaviour: Individuals, Groups and Organization. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Kotter, J. P and Heskett, J. L., (1992). Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: Free Press.

Schein, E. H., (1990). Organizational Culture. American Psychologist. 45(2), 109-119. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.45.2.109

The guardian :Google logic, why Google does the things it does the way it does –www.theguardian.com accessed on 25-12-2017 at 1.35 pm.

Changing trends in HRM the global perspective

Employee diversity has become very important in every business in order to remain viable in today’s economic world. Since the 21^st century workforce has become more global new critical skills are rare and the companies need to develop new ways to find innovative people & develop their capabilities (Deloitte, 2014).

As the result of development in science & technology especially young talented employees who are ambitious and filled with passion are no longer live and work in an insular marketplace; they are now part of a worldwide economy. In analyzing the most recent USA research article it was noted that in the 21st century racial, ethnic, age and gender mix up of the US workforce through 2050 will mean that four employees out of ten employees will be the members of the ethnic groups (Colella, 2006).

Amalgamate and acquisition involves blending people of different corporate culture and even various national cultures into one company. It is to knit together new partners financial, technological, production and marketing resources. Organizations have to strongly take into consideration that the resource people by creating a partnership that spans around different corporate cultures. Different nationalities differ in many ways such as the custom of conducting business, how people are expected to behave as well as the kind of behavior expected to be rewarded.  (Moran et al,2007).

Impact of the technology have been responsible for the continual changes in the structure of the organizations which has affected on how firms do business since the industry is more exposed than almost any factor than digital forces. For an example social media presents new marketing opportunities but also new opportunities to improve workforce efficiency by enabling working across various teams with diverse cultural background and locations to interact and share information and best practices (Deewr, 2013).

Conclusion

Global companies are still struggling with their negative perceptions and attitudes towards equal employment opportunity among women, minority workers and people with disabilities as required by UN Convention on Human Rights and different laws and regulations from different Countries. For example, US seeks to achieve a racial and ethnic balance while in European Countries and Canada their target is for immigrants and people from different nationalities (Mollel et al., 2015). 

References:

Colella, H.M., (2006). Organizational behavior: A strategic approach. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Deloitte.,(2014). Global human capital trends: Engaging the 21st – century workforce. New York: Deloitte University Press.

Deewr.,(2013). Workforce diversity: Guides to employment for migrants. Canberra Australia: Australian Government Press.

Moran, R.T., Harris P.R & Moran S.V., (2007). Managing cultural differences. 7^th Ed.UK: Oxford Elsevier.

Mollel, E.R., Mulongo, L.S & Maket,L., (2015). Workforce diversity management and global organizational growth in the 21^st century. Journal of scientific research and studies, 2(7), pp.164-175

Contemporary performance management practice in global context

Performance management is the continuous process of improving performance by setting goals that are aligned to the strategic goals of the organization, planning performance to achieve the goals, reviewing progress, and developing the knowledge, skills and abilities of people (Armstrong, 2016).

Most employees want direction, freedom to get their work done, and encouragement not control.  The solution is to make it a collaborative development system in two ways. First, the entire performance management process – coaching, counseling, feedback, tracking, recognition, and encourage development. Second, when managers and team members ask what they need to be able to do bigger and better things, they move to strategic development (Egan, 1995).

A number of companies have recently introduced radical changes to their performance management systems. One company that has pioneered in transforming their performance management into a continuous feedback process is Cargill , they abolished its traditional approach and implemented a new process, called Everyday Performance Management, The new process was designed to focus directly on driving key behavior’s that matter every day.

TriFinance believes that employees grow when they get the freedom to make their own choices, combined with mentoring and coaching. They refer to their employees as ‘Me Inc’-ers, which stands for ‘Me Incorporated’. This means that every employee is considered as a small company on their own who has plans to develop their career and prepare for the future.

Facebook strongly believes that the manager trumps the brand. In 2011, when Facebook was growing quickly, the company noticed that the gap between their managers that were doing a great job and those who weren’t was increasing. Hence, developing great managers who supported the company culture and values became a priority for Facebook. To this end, they put together a programme called ‘manager effectiveness’, which has become a way of working within Facebook.

In 2008, Google launched its Project Oxygen in order to optimize its management and have it organically fit within Google’s unique culture .Google found that the manager’s quality was the single best predictor of whether employees would stay or leave .Every 6 months, Google surveys teams anonymously to see how their managers are doing. As a result, each manager gets a report with the percentages of favorable answers, measured against their last report and the global average.

In 2009, SodaStream, an Israeli multi-national corporation, introduced ‘strength-based employee evaluations’ to make their Performance Management more meaningful and useful,based on the feed forward interview (FFI). The FFI protocol is intended to enhance employee performance and improve collaboration between employees and managers by focusing on the positive aspects of employee experiences, instead of focusing on what goes wrong.

Conclusion:

HR has an important role in redesigning performance management systems. However, it should not be about HR developing yet another sophisticated process to add or replace existing processes17. Holbeche, L. (2015). Rather than being owned by HR, the process should be owned by those directly involved (employees and managers). This entails that HR needs to start an open dialogue with employees and managers to determine the necessary components of an effective performance management system.

References:

Armstrong, M., (2016).Handbook of Management and Leadership for HR: Developing effective people skills for better leadership and management. 4^th ed. Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

Egan, G., (1995) .A clear path to peak performance, People Management, 18 May, pp 34–37.

Holbeche, L.,(2015). The Agile Organization.  How to build an innovative, sustainable and resilient business. Kogan Page Publishers.

Dewettinck,K & Blondia, H .,(2016). Trends in Performance Management, Report co-created by Hudson and Vlerick Business School Centre for Excellence in Strategic Talent Management.

Critical review of Scientific Management

Taylor was one of the first theorists to consider management and process improvement as a scientific problem and he proposed that a business economic efficiency could be improved by simplifying and optimizing work processes, which would increase productivity. Taylorism, as a philosophy, was the product of a series of experiments and observations, such as time-motion studies, designed to determine the most effective and efficient way to complete a task. (Taylor ,1911).

Its fundamental and inter-related principles can be summarized as follows:

• Using scientific method to challenge habitual working practices and to determine the most efficient way to perform specific work tasks;
• Matching workers' capability and motivation to the task requirements and supervising them according to the established rules and procedures;
• Establishing fair performance levels and develop a pay system that rewards, and therefore encourages, over-achievement; and
• Appropriate divisions of responsibilities to allow managers to apply scientific management principles to plan work and ensure workers are effective.

One of the most popular criticisms leveled at Taylorism is its perceived lack of human appreciation .(Caldari,2007). In the drive to increase physical efficiency, it considers the worker a part of the production process on a level equal to the tools uses and, as such, strips of all capacity to reason and act autonomously. All thinking and planning is taken over by management, and the worker's role is reduced to the simple repetition of standardized and simplified work flows in accordance with productivity targets.

A further point of controversy for Taylorism's critics is the theory that scientific process will eventually identify the 'one best way' of carrying out a specific process of work to maximum efficiency .(Ralston, 2014). They argue that the implementation of 'one best way' disregards individual talents and preferred working methods, thereby alienating workers and preventing them from developing an appreciation of their place or function in the entire industrial process.

In the light of the above criticisms, it is perhaps unsurprising that employees' views of Taylorism have tended to be unfavorable. In its pursuit of efficiency and productivity, Taylor's scientific management principles divide labor undemocratically, in such a way as to empower managers, benefit employers and lower workers' morale. Although Taylor advocated fair assessments of working hours, productivity and pay, his theory obliges the worker to depend upon the employer's conception of fairness, and gives the worker no voice in hiring and setting the task, in negotiating the wage rate or determining the general conditions of employment.

 Conclusion

Taylorism as the first and most influential theory that shaped a spectrum of subsequent management practices that falls under the wider umbrella philosophy of scientific management. As an example Microsoft shows how the principles of scientific management inform many practices that are still in use today. As a large, established, multinational organization, Microsoft's management practices are, almost inevitably, complex and contradictory. Microsoft has appropriated, adapted and implemented elements of Taylor's early scientific management theory, such as division of labor, employee selection, training and supervision, pay and reward, scientific evaluation, and process improvement, to improve Microsoft's productivity, quality, and economic performance today's fast-paced competitive environment .

References :

Caldari, K . (2007). Alfred Marshall's Criticism of Scientific Management, European Journal of the History of Economic Thought . pp 55-78

Ralston, S. (2014). Doing versus Thinking: John Dewey's Forgotten Critique of Scientific Management, Southwest Philosophy Review

Taylor, F W .(1911). Principles of Scientific Management, New York, Harper

Talent management

Talent management is the process of ensuring that the organization has the talented people it needs to attain its business goals. Most talent management researchers agree that the beginning of the concept is the study of Michaels et al (2001, xii).  The term ‘talent management’ became popular in the late 90s, but ‘high potential employees’ or simply ‘high potentials’ had been studied in management literature much earlier.

The beginning of the 21st century was characterized by high industrialization of China and the need of exceptionally good workers became apparent at that time. It was China that reported the ‘lack of talents,’ but the war for exceptional employees occurred earlier, for example, in the USA in the form of campus recruitment.

Talent was defined by Michaels et al (2001, xii) as ‘the sum of a person’s abilities... his or her intrinsic gifts, skills, knowledge, experience, intelligence, judgment, attitude, character and drive. It also includes his or her ability to learn and grow. The phrase ‘the war for talent’ has become a familiar metaphor for  talent management which  identified five imperatives that companies need to act  , 1- Creating a winning employee value proposition that will make your company uniquely attractive to talent. 2- Moving beyond recruiting hype to build a long-term recruiting strategy. 3- Using job experience, coaching and mentoring to cultivate the potential in managers. 4- Strengthening the talent pool by investing in A players, developing B players and acting decisively on C players. 5- Central to this approach is a pervasive mindset – a deep conviction shared by leaders throughout the company that competitive advantage comes from having better talent at all levels.

Talent management starts with the business strategy and what it signifies in terms of the future demand for talented people, the aim is to develop and maintain a pool of talented people through the talent pipeline, which consists of the processes of resourcing, career planning and talent development that maintain the flow of talent needed by the organization. Its elements are Talent planning – the process of establishing how many and what sort of talented people are needed . Resourcing − the outcomes of talent planning are programs for obtaining people from within and outside the organization. Talent identification – the use of talent audits to establish who is eligible to become part of the talent pool. Talent relationship management – building effective relationships with people in their roles.  Talent development – learning and development policies and programs . Talent retention – the implementation of policies designed to ensure that talented people remain as engaged. Career management – concerned with the provision of opportunities for people to develop their abilities. Management succession planning –  the objective is to see that the organization has the managers it requires  to meet future business needs. The talent pipeline – the processes of resourcing, talent development and career planning that maintain the flow of talent needed to create the talent pool. The talent pool – the resources of talent available to an organization.

Conclusion:

HSBC has created a system of talent pools that track and manage the careers of employees. Employees  in these pools are selected initially for new assignments within their region or line of business and, over time, are given positions that cross boundaries in order to demonstrate that they have the potential to reach a senior management role. They can then be placed in the group talent pool, which means that they have the potential to reach the senior executive level in three to five years and top management in the longer term. Ready and Conger (2007)

References:
Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S (2014), 13^th ed , Hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice ,Talent Management ,pp 263-279
Kogan Page, UK.

Michaels, E G, Handfield-Jones, H and Axelrod, B (2001) The War for Talent, Boston, MA, Harvard Business School Press

Ready, D A and Conger, J A (2007) Make your company a talent factory, Harvard Business Review, June, pp 68–77

Employer/ Employee relationship

Trade Unions

Fundamental purpose of Trade unions is to protect the interests of their members. The main aim is to redress the balance of power between employers and employees. Emmott (2008). The basis of the employment relationship is the contract of employment. But this is not a contract between equals. Employers are almost always in a stronger position to dictate the terms of the contract than individual employees.

Trade unions provide their workers with a ‘collective voice’ to make their wishes known to management and bring actual and desired conditions closer, Freeman and Medoff (1984).  This applies not only to terms of employment such as pay, working hours and holidays, but also to the way in which individuals are treated in such aspects of employment as the redress of grievances, discipline and redundancy. Trade unions are also let management to know that there will be, an alternative view on key issues which affecting employees. More broadly, unions may see their role as that of participating with management on decision making on matters affecting their members’ interests, yet unions often work in tandem with employers for mutual gain based on productivity growth.

Trade unions have had two specific rolls, 1) to secure, through collective bargaining, improved terms and conditions for their members, and 2) to provide protection, support and advice to their members as individual employees. An additional role, that of providing legal, financial and other services to their members, has come to the fore more recently.

Unions can be organized in two basic ways. Craft unions- represent workers who have the same skill or work in the same profession. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and the National Football League Players’ Association are both craft unions. Industrial unions - represent workers who are employed in the same industry regardless of their specific skills or profession. The Transport Workers Union and the United Steelworkers of America are both examples of industrial unions.

Conclusion

The key reasons why people may join a trade union include obtaining external support and protection from employment problems or seeking improvements in pay and terms and conditions. They may also join because union membership is common at a workplace or because of a belief in unionism.

References
Armstrong, M., (2009), 11^th ed , A hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice
Kogan Page, UK.
Emmott, M (2008) .Is there a return to ‘old style industrial relations?, Impact, February, pp 6–7.
Freeman, R E and Medoff, J (1984) .What do Unions do?, Basic Books, New York.
www.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/1111221464_263559.pdf
Accessed on 13-11-2017 at 8.45 pm.

Emerging Trends in Training & Development

Training and development are essential for any organization to remain relevant and competitive in the marketplace. As the social and business environments shift over the years, firms need to become learning organizations. By investing in their employees, they ensure skills are up to date to meet the challenges of a changing environment. Putta,H. (2014).

Higher education is badly hit by increasing education cost; cut to education budget and an increasing demand for distance learning are forcing educational stakeholders to re-visit the way education is delivered. To cater for the shifting environment, E-learning is mainly focusing on higher education which has created a new dimension in it and has given an opportunity to educational institutions as well as to students.

E- Learning can be implemented totally at a distance where students can learn from anywhere and at any time using information and communication technologies. Educators and trainers need to design learning materials for delivery on these emerging technologies so that students can learn from anywhere and at any time. For an example in year 2009 over 5.6 million students were taking at least one online course in USA. (Allen & Seaman, 2010).

The rapid growth of E-learning in education is because of the many benefits to both the students and educational organizations. The most important benefit is that the upcoming generations of students are comfortable using information and communication technology. These students can use their existing technologies to access E-learning materials from anywhere and at any time. They also use emerging technologies that will allow them to learn in a virtual environment. Another benefit of E-learning is for students who have limitations for travel because of disability, family obligations, affordability, and the remoteness of their communities. E-learning also provides equal educational opportunity for all since students and citizens can access learning materials from anywhere and anytime. With the recent development of mobile technologies, students can access learning materials on mobile technologies as well (Ally, M 2009 ).The main drawbacks are the need for learners to be self-motivated, the time and effort required to develop and update E-learning programs and, sometimes the availability of computers.

Since the use of E-learning in education and training continues to grow there must be standards established so that the E-learning programs can be successfully implemented In E-learning systems, the role of the teacher will change to facilitator.  As a result, we will need a new generation of teachers who are comfortable using the technology.

Finally the impact of E –Learning is strongly influenced by the quality of the support provided to learners. It is the effectiveness of this support rather than the sophistication of the technology that counts.

 Conclusion:

To become and remain competitive in the 21^st century countries and organizations must use delivery methods such as E-learning. The delivery systems must follow good practises and use standards. It is important to establish standards and best practises for the design and delivery of E-learning materials.

References

Ally, M. (2009).  Mobile Learning, Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training.
Athabasca University Press, Athabasca.
Armstrong, M and Taylor, S. (2014)  A hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice.
Kogan Page, UK.
Allen, I. E and Seaman, J. (2010). Class differences,  Online education in the United States.
Babson Survey Research Group, MA
Putta,H. (2014) .Impact of recession on training .Journal of business and management,3.

Emerging Trends in Global HRM

Globalization is causing businesses to rethink their human resources strategies. Organizations can now recruit employees from all around the world and subsequently are able to sell products and services across geographic and cultural boundaries. The effects of globalization on HR have initiated a number of trends in the workplace.

Globalization allows businesses to recruit and hire employees from all around the world. This is particularly attract to smaller businesses who may not have more than a few employees &  can fill their available positions with the very best talent, even if that talent doesn't live locally. The HR trend of international recruitment and hiring is focused on bringing diversity to the organization and it recognizes that employees from abroad may be able to provide unique perspectives on customer service, marketing and sales, among other areas of the business.

Similar to the trend of recruiting abroad from a diverse pool of applicants is a progressive approach to providing benefits and compensation to employees. Federal laws mandate minimum wage and basic employee benefits; however, globalization has brought new ideas to business owners and managers on how to reward their employees both as a standard policy and as a reward for hard work. For example, some U.S based businesses are now offering paternity leave, extended holiday time, work-from-home programs and flexible childcare options for their employees. These approaches to compensation allow employees to balance their work with their personal life and are aimed to increase happiness and productivity among the staff.

Social media and mobile technologies are a hot trend in HR globalization. Social and mobile tech enables HR to expand its services by more easily and rapidly communicating with employees. If the office will be closed for inclement weather, for instance, HR can send social media messages to let employees know as opposed to using a phone tree. Social and mobile tech also helps HR to increase the value of the company by providing the business with employees who are tech savvy and eager to embrace new ways of doing business

Professional development training programs have also arisen as a trend in response to global compensation approaches. Professional development is about providing employees with opportunities for growth outside the day-to-day routine of the organization. For example, HR might send employees to training seminars to sharpen their IT skills for use in global social media campaigns, or customer service personnel might be sent to language courses to enhance their ability to communicate with customers who live abroad. Such professional development programs keep employees motivated and feeling rewarded, and the new skills these employees learn are put to direct use within the company.

References:

Armstrong, M and Taylor, S. (2014)  A hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice.
Kogan Page, UK.

Dessler,G (2013) Human resource management  13th ed. Managing Global Human Resources

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/hr-trends-globalization-62045.html

 -(Accessed on 01-11-2017 at 8.30 pm)

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

We can define human resource management as follows:

A strategic, integrated and coherent approach to the employment, development and well-being of the people working in organizations.
Also, distinct from personal management, is the emerging philosophy that ‘people need to be viewed as an asset rather than merely a variable cost.
New emphasis on line managers accepting responsibility for the ‘alignment of competitive strategy and HR policies’.

The Role of HRM
1-Strategic Management

Human Resource professionals are proactive in planning for the future by meeting the continuous short-term and long-term strategic objectives of the organization.

2-Workforce planning and Employment (recruitment and selection)

Involves, recruitment, selection, orientation, and exit process. Department managers collaborate with Human Resources to determine staffing needs and to fill job vacancies in a timely manner whenever the need(s) arise. 

3-Human Resource Development (training & development)

HR is responsible for ensuring that employees receive the appropriate training (whether in-house or off-site) to adequately perform their jobs.  Thus, employees will be equipped to help achieve desired departmental and company goals and objectives.  HR Specialist also assists with change management and performance management needs of the organization.

4-Total Rewards (compensation & benefits)

The HR benefits team is responsible for acquiring and administering an attractive compensation and benefits package for new hires. This might include: a competitive salary range, medical and dental insurance, choice of life insurance, tuition reimbursement, and more. The HR recruiter should promote and offer an attractive rewards package to those candidates who meet the selection criteria at some point during the interview process.

5-Policy Formulation

Human Resources keep new hires and current employees abreast of the policies and procedures of the organization. This might include the distribution of employee handbook, code of conduct manual, and performance appraisals guidelines.

6-Employee and Labor Relations

The employee relations team seeks to align the employees’ needs and rights with the needs of the organization.  Things such as: union and non-union issues, discrimination issues, and sexual harassment claims are matters that should be handled by the labor relations department.

7-Risk Management

The HR risk management team along with the department manager-should be proactive in detecting risk items that could pose a possible threat to the company.  HR should provide safety training and issue handbooks to its employees to educate them on risk

References:

Armstrong, M., (2009), 11^th ed , A hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice
Kogan Page, UK.

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S (2014), 13^th ed , Hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice ,
Kogan Page, UK.