Holden's Organisational Goals and Strategy - Case Study Example

ORGANISATIONAL HRM CASE STUDY AND ANALYSIS By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Table of Contents ORGANISATIONAL HRM CASE STUDY AND ANALYSIS 1 Table of Contents 2 1.0 Background of Holden 3 1.1 Holden Vision, Mission, and Values 4  1.2 Holden’s Organisational goals and strategy 5 2.0 Analysis 6 2.1 Human Resource Planning 6 2.2 performance management 8 2.3 Learning and Development 11 3.0 Recommendations 13 4.0 References 15 4.1 Sources Relating to the Organisation 15 4.2 Materials used to Support Analysis 16 Organisational HRM Case Study and Analysis 1.0 Background of Holden Holden is an automaker based in Australia and its headquarters is located in Port Melbourne. In 1856, the company was instituted as a saddlery manufacturer in South Australia (Holden, 2014). These days Holden designs, manufactures as well as sells automobiles for Australia as well as the globe. Holden’s engine manufacturing plant is located at Port Melbourne and operations of vehicle manufacturing are carried out in Adelaide, and also the company is represented by over 200 dealerships all over the country. Currently, Holden Vehicle Operations (HVO) manufacture forty-five models from six styles of vehicle body as well as two main architectures of the vehicle for export and domestic clients.  For domestic market, Holden manufactures the Ute, Sport wagon, and Commodore, in addition to the long wheelbase cars such as Caprice. Holden’s Adelaide facility, in 2011 started producing Cruze, which is fuel-efficient, small, international automobile that has assisted in developing Holden’s know-how in small vehicle manufacturing as well as engineering (General Motors, 2014). What’s more, HVO entails a metal assembly as well as press plant operation, vehicle assembly and body assembly operations, plastics operation, paint shop, and body hardware facility. In 2013, the company started manufacturing the VF Commodore, which Australia’s most highly developed car. By incorporating lightweight technology, a new standard for vehicles in Australia has been set by the VF Commodore. The company is as well an expertise centre in engineering and design for General Motors worldwide. According to Holden (2014), the company is amongst the nine GM’s international design centres in charge of cars like the Chevrolet Camaro, Holden Commodore (General Motors, 2014). Additionally, Holden is the expertise centre for rear-wheel drive, large cars in the General Motors family and a key centre for power-train engineering with knowledge customer programs as well as in R&D in LPG and CNG applications. Global auto production continues to shift towards low-cost economies, and the global recession after hitting the export markets, Australians were turned away from big cars. In spite of increasing productivity (that is 20 vehicles per employee, an increase from 16 in 2001), General Motors and Ford failed to withstand the blows from economic recession. With most of car makers shifting to green technology such as making of electric and hybrid cars, Australian companies are still lagging behind; thus, being seen as underdogs in the global market (Minifie, 2013). Holden auto production akin to other Australian automakers has been declining in production. As compared to 500,000 vehicles made in 1970, the whole Australian industry managed merely 11,000 units in 2012. 1.1 Holden Vision, Mission, and Values Holden Vision is to become the leading automotive dealer of choice in Australia. Besides that, Holden mission is to provide high-quality automotive products as well as services that meet the expectations of the customers beneficially. In pursuing such goals the company tries to build associations that will far live longer than their services and products. What’s more, the company is built on important core values: dedication, integrity, quality, and Innovation. These aforementioned values are essential in fulfilling Holden’s mission as well as to the achievement of its customers, workers, together with partners. The company believes that they can realize their Vision and Mission by being devoted to their fundamental values. Holden organizational objectives include: To improve employee satisfaction by offering satisfactory remuneration for their services, and to foster the employee’s needs.  1.2 Holden’s Organisational goals and strategy Holden’s Strategic plan functions as road map for managing and carrying out improvement, do research, promoting the entire business undertakings crosswise the automobile industry as well as for intensifying the development of novel and exhilarating ventures anchored in acknowledgment of the automobile improvement prospect as well as issues. For this reason, Holden’s strategic plan displays an active or changing action course of planning and pulls in with multidirectional study, commonly with an interrelated set of strategies as well as goals for realising organisational strategic goals. Holden’s strategy was implemented in the uprightness for assessing and examining the strategies about its competence as well as attractiveness. Holden pursued strategy model can be restructured and tailored anytime when desired. In theory, organisational strategy is not just any set principle that any induction upon its set up cannot be modified: this reveals that any organisational strategy can be changed at any time needed (Adler, 2011, p.252). Unless it is modernized or changed, all stakeholders should follow the set strategy to realize the organisational goals. Considering that strategy failure can happen in any organisation, success at Holden is evident since the company has never experienced a strategy failure and they rarely change their organisational strategy. At Holden, there is an incessant supervision of the implemented strategy and set goals in an attempt to realise the effectiveness as well as efficiency of the set strategies, goals, and objectives. Considering that Holden’s management structural design is disseminated, each of its branches across Australia can put into practice any isolated strategic plan in order to level the pressure of localisation. Organizational goals as mentioned by Dauda et al. (2010, p.101) are essential for offering direction and guidance, enabling planning, inspiring and motivation workers, as well as helping organizations control and assess performance. Without doubt, organisational strategic goals offer organizations with a blueprint that establishes a route to follow and helps them in preparing for upcoming changes. This is evidenced by Holden’s intent of reduce turnover by 10 percent in the coming three years. At Holden, organizational goals enlighten workers where the organization is heading and how it is strategising to get there. Holden’s main organisational goal has forever been to make the best promising work of art for its clients. Holden main objective is to utilise the accessible resources more industriously and resourcefully. At present, the world is still on the road to recovery from aftermath of depression and there has been a substantial alteration in the customers’ buying patterns, as a result, it has negatively impacted the sales of vehicles. As a consequence, Holden’s resource management together with labour rates had to be re-strategized. Operating in the present economic challenges, Holden comprehends the importance of using their existing resources prudently. What is more, maintaining satisfaction amongst its customers has always been Holden’s top precedence and so more attentiveness is directed towards quality services for the satisfaction of its customers. 2.0 Analysis 2.1 Human Resource Planning Employment equity as per Rosen et al. (2005, p.122) supports the setting up of working conditions that are free of obstacles, corrects the disadvantage conditions while hiring as well as promotes the principle that hiring equity needs unique measures as well as the differences accommodation. Most companies are attracted to a person’s skills as well as abilities. They weigh up the candidacy of the potential employees together with his/her quality fairly and accurately compared with the vacant post demands. At Holden there is no fairness in hiring as well as recruitment, and the company recruits on account of worker’s own area of self interest. Holden’s interview pursues a behavioural based process, whereby they assess the professional as well as personal competencies that a person has which may be the success factor for the vacant position. Besides that, there is fairness as well as protection at the time of employment considering that Holden is dedicated to create a workplace rich in diversity. The company has a policy on equal opportunity for employment as well as harassment. Harassment anchored in gender identity, disability, gender, colour, ethnicity, and age factor is infringement of any organisational policy (Rospenda & Richman, 2004, p.224). Without doubt, harassment is an unpleasant behaviour which is strictly outlawed at Holden. The human Resource (HR) planning process at Holden works for design efficiency as well as product diversity which results in holding a firm position in automotive market. Basically, supply forecasting is extremely imperative. For internal movements, managers always recruit, hire, organise, motivate, and train workers, just as they organize and acquire material resources for manufacturing their product. Even though, Holden promotes itself as Australia’s finest automakers, it has failed to outsmart its competitors thanks to its outdated marketing strategies, and reduced productivity. At Holden, the components of HR planning include: training plans, which are offered by the company to its workers so as to further their career as well as make them capable of meeting global flexibility. Rewarding plans is another component and are extremely on high scale at Holden, and apart from salary the employees also gets investment options and medical facilities. Another component is promotional plans, which involves workers’ life insurance, disability benefits, annual paid holidays, and also Holden workers in addition to their family members can buy Holden cars at a considerable discount. However, they lack growth plans for skilled, competent, and talented staff, wherein they can offer the career experience to the workers. Also employee use plan is a missing HR planning component at Holden is, whereby the company has failed to offer workers with more authority as well as responsibility to decide and as a result realise their individual goals. 2.2 performance management According to Aguinis (2009, p.1) Performance management is an incessant process of identifying, analyzing as well as developing the performance of workers together with aligning performance with organizational strategic goals. Bearing in mind that high-performing workforce grants higher performance, presenting a competitive advantage to the company, performance continues to be a challenge for Holden’s survival in the international market, and that is why the company plans to close all its plants by 2017. Holden always make certain that its Performance management system is resourceful; support joint effort, collaboration, as well as communication. The performance system was at first espoused to recognize, classify, reward, as well as retain the best performing employees so as to get sustainable development. Holden’s management comprehends the significance of sustainable development, and that is why the company has invested lots of money in getting this system so as to make certain that they accomplish something. However, widespread disparity in performance of the workers is still prevailing in the face of this investment, and General Motors has as a result announced the company will close all its Australian plants by 2017 (Jones, 2013; Novak & Dowling, 2013). A study carried out by Zacharatos et al. (2007, p.249) established that more than 60 percent of workers in automotive industry feel their companies’ performance management system was unproductive. In essence, this observation is anticipated to make workers less motivated, resulting in feelings of exasperation or torment that damagingly impact their overall performance, and ultimately triumphing over the goal of designing as well as implementing a valuable system. According to expectancy theory, workers change their behavior in the organization on the strength of expected satisfaction of esteemed goals formulated by them (Salaman et al., 2005, pp.319-20). In Zacharatos et al. (2007, p.234) study, they discerned that most automotive companies invest in outstanding processes for their system of performance management; but still, they do fall short of noticing the importance of the human resources (workers). Since Holden’s managers have an effect to the human resources, they are not helping workforce to feel motivated and empowered, they do not pay tribute to employees' success’s, respect their workforce, in addition they rarely conduct dialogues with workforce. High performance work system (HPWS) is as well an additional means of explaining the state of affairs at Holden. Open systems, self-regulating work teams, as well as performance-based pay are recognised jointly as HPWS (Razi & More, 2010, p.56). In this regard, HPWS have emerged be recognised as work systems for high participation, flexibility, and high commitment (Harley et al., 2010, p.240). That is to say that they are merely work practice that may be intentionally brought in so as to improve the overall performance of the organisation. The HPWS main focus at Holden is reorganising work in order that the workers take part in making decisions that have an effect on the day after day organisational operations. However, there are three possible factors that may have an effect on Holden’s HPWS; employees’ retrenchment, utilised technology as well as layout design. The performance management systems together with tools have to be created in a way that it addresses certain organisational needs (Brudan, 2010, p.111). The process of design has to involve comprehensive consultation with key stakeholders and particularly with upcoming system users. Interaction and consultation are essential for building relationships as well as trust with workers and pertinent stakeholders (Sequeira & Warner, 2007). Holden understands that trust is an absolute necessity for performance management system success. Therefore, its performance management system was guided and tested in detail prior to it being used in the company. According to Pulakos (2009, p.32), making use of incomplete system results in loss of human resources, financial, time, and credibility, and intensifies change resistance as well as low recognition of the novel performance management system. Individuals involved in the system design should have performance management knowledge as well as a comprehension of the organisation’s context. Holden are yet to know that overdependence on outside consultants may be a costly path of system development, which time and again has other off-putting effects of reliance as well as lack of ownership to the novel performance management system. Performance management must be steered and supported by top management together with leadership. In this case, leadership must be devoted to put into practice the performance management system (Marr, 2009, p.221; Morgan & Anthony, 2008, p.28). What’s more, the performance management aspect of change management must be strategically managed, and the top leadership of the company have to drive the process of change (Dauda et al., 2010, p.98). Undeniably, organisations that have the best performance management outcomes have leaders who are vision-driven and who motivate staff, take risks, communicate the vision, as well as offer rewards and support. At Holden, resistance to change is always managed proactively, whereby the company has set up communication process which gives explanation to the progress of performance management system so as to reduce anxieties, fears as well as uncertainties. Managers must engage in planning, professional, systematic and careful performance management system implementation. Basically, the time frames of Implementation have to be valued, and each form and documentation has to be filled correctly as well as professionally, particularly in personal development plans in addition to performance agreements (Cheng et al., 2007, p.63). Setting up mechanisms to make sure the objectivity of performance judgements as well as ratings, and to lessen discrimination and unfairness is imperative. Thanks to problems endured by General Motors, Holden realised that performance management must be an incessant practice and not an undertaking performed once per year. Besides that, Holden performance feedback is always well-timed and nonstop, and the company has also developed a system for rewarding high performers. For nonperformers, the company has put in place mechanisms to handle them. 2.3 Learning and Development Training and development helps organisations improve customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, business development, employee morale, profitability, as well as success of the management (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009, p.454). These days’ organisations are experiencing great pressure to change so as to encourage and facilitate employee learning and development as well as fulfilment clear of conventional training  At Holden, any form of worker learning and development at all times comes second after the company’s main functions. For Holden this connotes realising profitability as well as watching over the bottom line. A study carried out by Poell and Woerkom (2011, p.28) assist demonstrate the challenges endured by employees based on learning and development, and as well points towards a vital but frequently ignored approach, known as workplace learning culture. Therefore, any learning or development activity that interrupts this key purpose will all the time be extremely hard to justify to managers, and consequently to offer (Akdere & Schmidt, 2007, p.172).  In general, it is turning out to be more and harder to offer employees training provision outside the place of work, for the reason that Holden cannot free them from productive work.  Regularly, it is acknowledged that employee learning is vital to company’s success, but this is countered by the existing proof (Wirtz et al., 2010, p.372). Every employee has contradictory preferences as well as histories, therefore, every individual’s dispositions towards place of work learning and development is not similar (Wirtz et al., 2010, p.363).  Bearing in mind that those personal dispositions have an effect on how and what worker’s learn at workplace. Factors like the economy buoyancy, the stock market, and products market all have an effect on the financial success as well as productivity more as compared to the employees’ learning as well as development.  However, this does not appear to be a consideration for Holden management does not understand that good management may boost areas of cohesion, but often there remain differences. Besides, not every employee yearns for the similar things.  3.0 Recommendations As a result of poor Human Resource Planning at Holden, 3 recommendations are suggested to improve the situation: First, due to lack of fairness in hiring and recruitment, Holden must consider creating a multi-year human resource plan as well as integrated business for the HR department that can be changed yearly so as to reflect the current year priorities. Second, with regard to lack of employee HR plans, Holden must standardize and formalize the process of performance reporting on HR plans so that the outcomes can enlighten ensuing plans. While developing HR department plan, Holden must consider the HR department priorities as well as the priorities of the employees. After ascertaining targets within their HR plan, Holden must make sure that employees recognise the organisational strategies so as to realise those targets. Third, it is recommended that Holden review its present HR policies to ensure relevance as well as completeness to the HR department; ensure ubiquitous communication as well as comprehension of HR policies by employees. Based on the performance management issues discussed above, three recommendations have been proposed: First, a well-defined strategic plan as well as mission statement should be in place to make sure that every work completed within the company is actually pertinent to the mission statement. Therefore, Holden should use performance appraisal to ensure the completed work focuses on the strategic goals of the company. Second, worker productivity is a fundamental element of the performance management process, so if the worker fails to meet the organisational expectations, it is supervisor or managers responsibility to find the reason behind the poor performance. Therefore, Holden encourage employees to share their ideas so as to look for means to improve their individual performance. Third, organisational goals must be adequately specific such that both the worker and the manager comprehend and settle on what the organisational goals are. Therefore, Holden must ensure that their organisational goals are measurable in order that both worker and manager can easily establish whether they have met and what is needed to meet the set goal. Learning and development is without doubt a determinant in the success or failure of any business organisation, therefore two recommendations are proposed for Holden: First, to overcome the localised challenges, Holden must espouse schemes for professional development given that it has worked for a number of employees in various organisations.  Other valuable means in this case, that can help Holden include personal support and guidance, sessions for groups learning, problem solving at workplace as well as access to university courses. Second, not anything works in every circumstance, or even for every worker in the similar circumstance; therefore, Holden must ensure that all learning and development interventions are tailored to strategic goals of the organisation as well as the concerned workers.  4.0 References 4.1 Sources Relating to the Organisation General Motors, 2014. About Holden. [Online] Available at: http://media.gm.com/media/au/en/holden/company.html [Accessed 4 September 2014]. Holden, 2014. About Holden. [Online] Available at: http://www.holden.com.au/corporate/inside-holden [Accessed 4 September 2014]. Jones, D., 2013. GM to close Holden plants: report. [Online] Available at: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/12/9/politics/gm-close-holden-plants-report [Accessed 4 September 2014]. Novak, L. & Dowling, J., 2013. Holden to end car manufacturing in Australia and import cars. [Online] [Accessed 4 September 2014]. Minifie, J., 2013. Crisis in the making. [Online] Available at: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/crisis-in-the-making-20131214-2ze45.html [Accessed 11 September 2014]. 4.2 Materials used to Support Analysis Adler, R.W., 2011. Performance management and organizational strategy: How to design systems that meet the needs of confrontation strategy firms. The British Accounting Review, vol. 43, no. 4, pp.251-63. Aguinis, D.H., 2009. Performance Management. 2nd ed. Patparganj, New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Aguinis, H. & Kraiger, K., 2009. Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams, Organizations, and Society. Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), pp.451–74. Akdere, M. & Schmidt, S.W., 2007. Measuring the Effects of Employee Orientation Training on Employee Perceptions of Organizational Learning: Implications for Training & Development. The Business Review, Cambridge, vol. 8, no. 1, pp.172-77. Brudan, A., 2010. Rediscovering performance management: systems, learning and integration. Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 14, no. 1, pp.109-23. Cheng, M., Dainty, A. & Moore, D., 2007. Implementing a new performance management system within a project‐based organization: A case study. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 56, no. 1, pp.60 - 75. Dauda, Y.A., Akingbade, W.A. & Akinlabi, H.B., 2010. Strategic Management Practice and Corporate Performance of Selected Small Business Enterprises in Lagos Metropolis. International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 5, no. 11, pp.97-105. Harley, B., Sargent, L. & Allen, B., 2010. Employee responses to 'high performance work system' practices: an empirical test of the disciplined worker thesis. Work, Employment and Society, vol. 24, no. 4, pp.740-60. Marr, B., 2009. Managing and Delivering Performance. Routledge: New York. Morgan, A. & Anthony, S., 2008. Creating a high-performance workplace: a review of issues and opportunities. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 10, no. 1, pp.27-39. Poell, R.F. & Woerkom, M.V., 2011. Supporting Workplace Learning: Towards Evidence-based Practice. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. Pulakos, E.D., 2009. Performance Management: A New Approach for Driving Business Results. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Razi, N. & More, E., 2010. The role of communication in the acquisition of high performance work system organisations. Australian Journal of Communication, vol. 37, no. 1, pp.55-74. Rosen, C.M., Case, J. & Staubus, M., 2005. Equity: Why Employee Ownership is Good for Business. Boston: Harvard Business Press. Rospenda, K.M. & Richman, J.A., 2004. The Factor Structure of Generalized Workplace Harassment. Violence and Victims, vol. 19, no. 2, pp.221-38. Salaman, G., Storey, J. & Billsberry, J., 2005. Strategic Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. 2nd ed. New York: Sage Publications Ltd. Sequeira, D. & Warner, M., 2007. Stakeholder Engagement: A Good Practice Handbook for Companies Doing Business in Emerging Markets. Northwest, Washington, D.C.: International Finance Corporation. Wirtz, J., Tambyah, S.K. & Mattila, A.S., 2010. Organizational learning from customer feedback received by service employees: A social capital perspective. Journal of Service Management, vol. 21, no. 3, pp.363 - 387. Zacharatos, A., Hershcovis, M.S., Turner, N. & Barling, J., 2007. Human resource management in the North American automotive industry: A meta-analytic review. Personnel Review, vol. 36, no. 2, pp.231-54. Read More