Global context for HRM

What is Globalization?

The term globalization comes from English, as base of the word ”globalization” which refers to the emerging of an international network, belonging to an economical and social system.

Roland Robertson  was the first person who defined globalization as "the understanding of the world and the increased perception of the world as a whole. Martin Albrow and Elizabeth Kingdefine globalization as "all those processes by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a single world society.

Anthony Giddens uses the following definition: "the globalization can be defined as the intensification of social relations throughout the world, linking distant localities in such a way that local happenings are formed as a result of events that occur many miles away and vice versa.

Globalization can be linked to the local, the national and the regional. On the one hand, a connection is made between social and economic relationships and networks, organized on a local and / or national, on the other hand, it connects social and economic relationships and networks crystallized on wider scale the regional and global interactions.

Globalization speeds up the competition for efficiency in production market. Under the pressure of competition, one of the main changes is innovation in the workplace and therefore firms were increasingly became commit to seek productive work organization (Chaykowski & Giles, 1998). As firms become more engaged in globalization process, a parent firm will need to innovate to survive. At the end, international workplaces will choose a high performance HR practices designed to encourage workers to commit (Walsworth & Verma, 2007). 

To improve a quality of production, for instance, management have to have unique skill to satisfy customers and thus, employers focus on job training, multi-skill and employee’s involvement such as quality circle, autonomous team. Under the functional human resource management, compensation was based primarily on seniority, yet competition has encouraged performance based payment system. Promotion was also tightly linked to individual performance.

 On the other hand, at the heart of managerial strategy focusing in high performance work system is individual involvement and trustworthy relationships (Spreizer et al, 1999). Therefore, employers emphasizes on open communication and effective grievance system in the workplace.

            Video 1: Globalization and HRM

Key aspects of Globalization

Containerization

The costs of ocean shipping have come down, due to containerization, bulk shipping, and other efficiencies. The lower unit cost of shipping products around the global economy helps to bring prices in the country of manufacture closer to those in export markets, and it makes markets more contestable globally.

Technological change

Rapid and sustained technological change has reduced the cost of transmitting and communicating information – sometimes known as “the death of distance” – a key factor behind trade in knowledge products using web technology.

Economies of scale

Many economists believe that there has been an increase in the minimum efficient scale (MES) associated with some industries. If the MES is rising, a domestic market may be regarded as too small to satisfy the selling needs of these industries. Many emerging countries have their own transnational corporations.

Differences in tax systems

The desire of businesses to benefit from lower unit labor costs and other favorable production factors abroad has encouraged countries to adjust their tax systems to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Many countries have become engaged in tax competition between each other in a bid to win lucrative foreign investment projects.

Less protectionism

Old forms of non-tariff protection such as import licensing and foreign exchange controls have gradually been dismantled. Borders have opened and average import tariff levels have fallen.

That said, it is worth knowing that, in the last few years, there has been a rise in non-tariff barriers such as import quotas as countries have struggled to achieve real economic growth and as a response to persistent trade and current account deficits.

Growth Strategies of Transnational and Multinational Companies

In their pursuit of revenue and profit growth, increasingly global businesses and brands have invested significantly in expanding internationally. This is particularly the case for businesses owning brands that have proved they have the potential to be successfully globally, particularly in faster-growing economies fueled by growing numbers of middle class consumers.

References

• Heung-Jun Jeong (2012) The Effect of Globalization on Human Resource Management, Unions and Flexibility in South Korea , Available at: http://ilera2012.wharton.upenn.edu/RefereedPapers/JeongHeungJun.pdf (Accessed: 26th September 2018).

• Jim Riley (2017) Factors That Have Contributed to Globalisation, Available at: https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/factors-that-have-contributed-to-globalisation(Accessed: 26th September 2018).

• Sandu CUTERELA (2012) Globalization: Definition, Processes and Concepts, Available at: http://www.revistadestatistica.ro/suplimente/2012/4/srrs4_2012a22.pdf (Accessed: 26th September 2018).

• Video 1 :Globalization and HR[Online] available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqr8r8r95x0&t=90s [Accessed on: 26th  September 2018].

Employee Engagement

Definition of Employee Engagement

It is evident in the present world that employees are much more committed to their work place activities than their personal lives. Kahn (1990) defines employee engagement as “the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances”.

The CIPD(2007),  suggests engagement ‘can be seen as a combination of commitment to the organisation and its values plus a willingness to help out colleagues (organisational citizenship). It goes beyond job satisfaction and is not simply motivation. Engagement is something the employee has to offer: it cannot be ‘required’ as part of the employment contract’. 

The cognitive aspect of employee engagement concerns employees’ beliefs about the organisation, its leaders and working conditions.The emotional aspect concerns how employees feel about each of those three factors and whether they have positive or negative attitudes toward the organisation and its leaders. The physical aspect of employee engagement concerns the physical energies exerted by individuals to accomplish their roles.

Organisations with higher engagement levels tend to have lower employee turnover, higher productivity, higher total shareholder returns and better financial performance (Baumruk, 2006). Towers Perrin (2007) found that organisations with the highest percentage of engaged employees increased their operating income by 19 per cent and their earnings per share by 28 per cent year‐ to‐year.

                                                  Video 1 : What is employee engagement?

Why employee engagement is important?

• Employee who are engaged will boost the productivity of the organization

It is evidenced from the reports that employees that get engaged will produce more than the employees that does not engage to work.According to Ann Latham, “Engagement is, at best, a symptom of success. Employees who are succeeding and feeling good about their contributions to the company are naturally more likely to be proud to work for their company, be happy to come to work each day, and feel valued.”

Finding ways to engage people, whether that means giving them a challenge or more responsibilities, means and also finding ways to boost  organization’s productivity. In short, it’s good for everyone involved.

•  Employee engagement increases customer satisfaction.

People who are passionate about their work are often the best people to interact with customers. Why? Because that view  is infectious and customers will take observations.

The most engaged employees are,   are more inclined to put in the effort that translates into buzzing productivity levels, a happier sales force, and a more credible product pitch. In other words, customers are treated to a better experience when dealing with engaged employees.A better experience can be facilitated by the customers.

• Can retain the talented personnel s.

Engaged employees are involved and invested in their roles and are therefore less likely to leave their job. Since the best individuals will increase the effectiveness of the organisation.If an  organization is dealing with low retention rates, it’s time to think why they are not engaged yet. Because when the best people at an organization leave, the rest of the people will notice and gets demotivated. 

• Company culture is enhanced with the fusion of employee engagement.

People who are engaged in what they perform  are easier to work with than others.A better organizational culture is important for the employees to perform their tasks with less obstructions.

According to Forbes ,  it’s a workplace that's “designed, first and foremost, around its company values.” Creating a culture of employee engagement requires “checking in with their employees to ensure that the company mission aligns with the ways that people currently work and the ways that they want to work.” 

• Employee engagement is a root cause to the  success of the organisation

This means when the employees are engaged to their duties and responsibilities ,the organisation can lead to the defined goals and objectives easily.As far as it is concerned the employees add value to the organisation everyday by performing the right thing. Therefore new candidates feel that there is a good work environment to work with.Once the success of the employees are  recognized and they are highly motivated the productivity of any organisation will maximize.

Whilst much of the literature has focused upon the drivers of engagement, there is also a growing focus upon identifying those factors that will inhibit employees’ ability to engage. Key factors include bureaucracy and heavy workloads. Lockwood (2007) maintains that bureaucratic behavior in organisations severely handicaps the potential of an organisation to engage its employees, as well as being over‐worked, as both increase an employee’s susceptibility to stress. 

Speaking at the Employee Engagement Summit in 2009, John Purcell, Strategic Academic Adviser at Acas National, suggested six key factors that limit or damage engagement

 ■ Job insecurity: fear of job loss is particularly likely during a recession.

 ■ Unfairness, particularly in reward and pay systems.

■ Jobs with no space example  repetitive work with short cycle times such as call center work with very short call times.

 ■ Highly stressful jobs with very little flexibility or autonomy.

 ■ Poor line management behavior and bullying.

 ■ Working for long periods of time without a break

References

• Armstrong, M. (2006). ‘A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’, 10th edn., London, Kogan.
• Corey Moseley (23rd September 2018) Why employee engagement is important, Available at: https://blog.jostle.me/blog/5-reasons-why-employee-engagement-is-important (Accessed: 23rd September 2018).
• Gemma Robertson-Smith and Carl Markwick (23rd September 2018) Employee Engagement, Available at: https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/469.pdf (Accessed: 23rd September 2018).

• Video 1 : what is employee engagement [Online] available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu7EG6EZeAM/ [Accessed on: 23rd September 2018].

Managing Performance

Definition Of Performance Management 

According to Armstrong and Baron(1998) Performance management can be defined as a strategic and integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organizations by improving the performance of the people who works in them and by developing the capabilities of terms and contributors. This can improve the effectiveness of the activities of the employee tasks involved hence the productivity of the organization can be increased.

Further Bates and Haton (1995) defines Performance management as   a multi-dimensional construct, the measurement of which varies depending on a variety of factors. It is important to determine whether the measurement objective is to assess performance outcomes or behaviors

.

                                                     (Video 1: What is performance management)

Why Performance Management ?

As Armstrong and Baron (2005, p.2) stated that “the overall purpose of performance management is to contribute to the achievement of high performance by organisation and its people.” High performance is acquiring the desired targets by developing the capacity and potentials of present people who are contributing in the achievement of the organisational goals.Following are the factors that describe why performance management should be added in an organisation.

• Performance is different from other activities in an organisation.
• In order to achieve the higher returns/potentials key performance areas give directions for the managers.
• Observing the past performance records will ensure to learn the weaknesses and pave the way to the future in an effective manner.
• Organisational, Functional and Individual goals can be easily identified by this process.
• By implementing an action plan the tasks that should be done, who should do and how should be done can be denoted.

Performance Management Model

Figure 1:Performance Management Model.

• Plan:  Performance Management begins when the supervisor reviews the employee’s position restriction, communicates competencies, creates goals, and discusses them with the employee. This helps establish mutual understanding of the performance and behavioral expectations.

• Coach:  The supervisor provides coaching and feedback throughout the year to help their employees successfully reach their goals. The goals and any other documentation created during the Plan phase become a working document to be referenced, and revised if necessary, throughout the performance review period. The supervisor and employee can each create notes about employee performance at any time which are tracked outside the Workday system.

• Evaluate:  During the evaluation process, the supervisor may rely on multiple resources, such as the employee self evaluation, performance notes created during the year, accolades, and customer feedback to assess the employee’s performance. The supervisor meets with the employee to discuss the performance evaluation, explain the ratings, and provide feedback about strengths and areas for improvement. The supervisor then completes the evaluation in Workday and sends it to the employee to review and acknowledge before formally closing the review in Workday.

• Reward: The supervisor recognizes and rewards performance at year-end and during the year as merited.The employees are satisfied mentally so the tasks are completed with less obstructions.This final stage is essential since the motivation will be increased and they get attracted to work more so the effectiveness of the organization will be higher than expected levels.

References

• Armstrong, M. (2006). ‘A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’, 10th edn., London, Kogan.
• Performance Management model [Online] available at: https://www.employees.tamu.edu/pd/performancemanagement/performance-management-model-pcer/ [Accessed on: 21st September 2018].
• Video 1: Performance Management. [Online] available at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyOZ_4rWWiY&t=57s [Accessed 21^st  September 2018].
• Figure 1: Performance Mangement Model:[Online] available at :https://employees.tamu.edu/pd/performancemanagement/performance-management-model-pcer/[Accessed 21st September 2018]. 

HRM and Design of Work

Job Design

Definition of Job Design

According to Michael Armstrong, "Job Design is the process of deciding on the contents of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures, and on the relationships that should exist between the job holder and his superior subordinates and colleagues."

Job design plays a crucial role in the achievement of organizational as well as personal goals. Job design is defined as specifying the contents or methods of any job in such a way that various requirements of the job holder can be effectively satisfied (Buchanan, 1979). These requirements may include social, technological, personal and organizational desires. Job design is related to the process of transformation of inputs to outputs and it also takes into consideration the human factors as well as organizational factors which are of very much importance in the achievement of desired performance. When employees get involved and are familiar with the job design they become more motivated to take active part in the achievement of organizational goals and as a result performance of employees increases which positively impacts the outcomes.  

According to  mbaskool.com  ,Job design is the process of organizing work as group of tasks, arranging and defining the job process and structure at the workplace depending on the job analysis performed. The job design takes into account the organizational objectives to be achieved along with trying to minimize on–the-job fatigue, stress and human error.  Job Design is done specifically to reduce the mechanical aspects of the job and make sure that the employee derives job satisfaction from the assigned roles and responsibilities.

Process of Job Design

   

Figure 1: Job Design  

Job Simplification   

Job simplification is breaking the job into relatively easier sub-parts with the intention to enhance the individual’s productivity by minimizing the physical and mental efforts required to perform a complex job.Once the complex task is divided into the relatively easier tasks, each task is assigned to the individuals who perform these over and over again. By doing the same thing again and again, the employees gain proficiency in the jobs assigned to them and as a result, the profitability of the organization increases

Job Rotation   

Job rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights.

Job rotation is a well-planned practice to reduce the boredom of doing same type of job everyday and explore the hidden potential of an employee. The process serves the purpose of both the management and the employees. It helps management in discovering the talent of employees and determining what he or she is best at. On the other hand, it gives an individual a chance to explore his or her own interests and gain experience in different fields or operations.

Job Enrichment

This is a job design technique used to increase the satisfaction among the employees by delegating higher authority and responsibility to them and thereby enabling them to use their abilities to the fullest.In other words, job enrichment is the opportunity given to the employees to explore their abilities when some tough task is assigned to them. The job enrichment is the vertical restructuring of moral excellence in which more authority, autonomy, control is given to the employees to perform a given set of a job. 

Job Enlargement                  

Job Enlargement refers to the horizontal expansion of jobs wherein more and more activities, and tasks are added to the existing job scope at the same level in the organization.Further, job enlargement means maximizing or widening  the scope of duties and responsibilities of an employee  by composing  the related activities to his existing job profile and generally without any change in his authority and his level in the hierarchy in the organization.The purpose behind the job enlargement is to increase the employee flexibility and reduce the monotony that occurs gradually over a period of time. Often, the employees are not required to get the training for the task-related activities because he is already aware of that and is doing for quite some time.

References

• Armstrong, M. (2006). ‘A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’, 10th edn., London, Kogan
• Job Designand techniques[Online] available at: https://www. businessjargons.com/job-design.html [Accessed on: 21^st September 2018].
• Figure 1 :Job Design: [Online] Available at :https:// https://businessjargons.com/job-design.html /[Accessed 21 September 2018].

Employee Relations

Introduction to Employee Relations

 According to CIPD (2009) Employee relations has replaced industrial relations as the term for defining the relationship between employers and employees. Today, employee relations is seen as focusing on both individual and collective relationships in the workplace, with an increasing emphasis on helping line managers establish trust-based relationships with employees. A positive climate of employee relations - with high levels of employee involvement, commitment and engagement - can improve business outcomes as well as contribute to employees' well-being.

The managerial focus identified by Marchington and Wilkinson is that employee relations is a study of the rules, regulations and agreements by which employees are managed both as individuals and as a collective group, the priority given to the individual as opposed to the collective relationship varying from company to company depending upon the values of management. As such it is concerned with how to gain people’s commitment to the achievement of an organisation’s business goals and objectives in a number of different situations.

Today, Employee Relations is a much broader concept. It involves maintaining a work environment that satisfies the needs of individual employees and management. Improving employee morale, building company culture, conveying expectations. An effective employee relation involves creating and cultivating a motivated and productive workforce. It’s necessary to keep the dynamics of employer-employee relationship in mind. It covers all the relations between employers and employees in industry. Employee relations also includes giving scope for employee participation in management decisions, communications, policies for improving cooperation and control of grievances and minimization of conflicts.

According to Rubin and Brown (1975), negotiation refers to a process in which individuals work together to formulate agreements about the issues in dispute. This process assumes that the parties involved are willing to communicate and to generate offers, counter-offers, or both. 

Negotiation involves several key components including two or more parties to a negotiation, their interests, their alternatives, the process and the negotiated outcomes (Neale & Northcraft, 1991). These elements are described in the following discussion.

R.G. Shell (2006) identified five styles/responses to negotiation.Individuals can often have strong dispositions towards numerous styles; the style used during a negotiation depends on the context and the interests of the other party, among other factors. In addition, styles can change over time. 

1. Accommodating: Individuals who enjoy solving the other party’s problems and preserving personal relationships. Accommodators are sensitive to the emotional states, body language, and verbal signals of the other parties. They can, however, feel taken advantage of in situations when the other party places little emphasis on the relationship. 

2. Avoiding: Individuals who do not like to negotiate and don’t do it unless warranted. When negotiating, avoiders tend to defer and dodge the confrontational aspects of negotiating; however, they may be perceived as tactful and diplomatic.

3. Collaborating: Individuals who enjoy negotiations that involve solving tough problems in creative ways. Collaborators are good at using negotiations to understand the concerns and interests of the other parties. They can, however, create problems by transforming simple situations into more complex ones.

4. Competing: Individuals who enjoy negotiations because they present an opportunity to win something. Competitive negotiators have strong instincts for all aspects of negotiating and are often strategic. Because their style can dominate the bargaining process, competitive negotiators often neglect the importance of relationships.

5. Compromising: Individuals who are eager to close the deal by doing what is fair and equal for all parties involved in the negotiation. Compromisers can be useful when there is limited time to complete the deal; however, compromisers often unnecessarily rush the negotiation process and make concessions too quickly. 

References

• Armstrong, M. (2006). ‘A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’, 10th edn., London, Kogan Page, pp. 796-804. 
• David Lax and James Sebenius, 3D Negotiation, Harvard Business School Press, 2006.
• Gennard, J and Judge, G (2005) Employee Relations, 3rd edn, CIPD, London
• Guest, D. (2011), “Human resource management and performance: still searching for some answers”, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 3-13
• Kuvaas, B. (2008), “An exploration of how the employee-organization relationship affects the linkage between perception of developmental human resource practices and employee outcomes”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 45 No. 1, pp. 1-25.

Learning Organisation

Introduction to Learning Organisation

The term learning organisation was first used by Richard Pascal in 1980.But the term Learning organisation was popularized with the publication of Dr Peter Senge that is Fifth Discipline(1990).Dr Peter Senge defines Learning organisation as "oragnisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire , where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured,  where collective aspiration is set free , and where people are continually learning to see the whole together".

According to Leitao and Martins(1998) Learning Organisation is the  idea that this is in itself a organisational change concept because “continuous learning” means constant transformation, because learning means transforming through a continuous process of constructing firm’s identity through its interactions with the environment.

                                                             Figure 1 : Learning Organisation

The dimension that distinguishes learning from more traditional organisations is the mastery of certain basic disciplines or "component technologies".  Peter Senge identifies five components in order to converge innovative learning into the organisation.These composed of :

Figure 2: Five disciplines by Peter Senge

• Personal mastery-occurs when an individual has a clear vision of a goal, combined with an accurate perception of reality. The gap between the vision and reality drives the employee to practice all necessary related activities to realize the vision.

• Shared Vision -Every employee should understand the vision of the organisation.

• Mental Models-the employees must identify the values of the company and what the business is all about.

• Team building/learning -It is crucial for the workforce to consider its colleagues as team members instead of rivals. It is the first step to set up dialogues wherein people dare to be vulnerable and express their real personality.
• Systems thinking     -  Instead of focusing on individual issues, systems thinking reflects the observational process of an entire system. Managers have to understand that every action and consequence is correlated with another.              

References 

• Argyris, C. and Schon, D.A. (1996) Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method and Practice, Addison-Wesley, London. Argyris, C. and Schon, D.A. (1978). Organizational Learning: A Theory in Action Perspective, Addison-Wesley, London.

• Senge(2006)'The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization'.New York,NY :Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

• Figure 1 : Learning Organisation : [Online] Available at :https://apessay.com/order/?rid=cc49f4f3231bb03f/[Accessed 8th September 2018].

• Figure 2 : Five Disciplines :[Online] Available at: https://www.toolshero.com/management/five-disciplines-learning-organizations.[Accessed 8th September 2018].