How Do High-Performance Work Systems Impact Individual and Organisational Performance - Example

Student’s Name Student’s Number Unit’s Name Coordinator’s Name Submission Date Word Count: 2688 Abstract Abase study of a German medicinal technology corporation (Aesculap) forms the basis of the impacts of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on individuals and organizations. In the study, the researchers found that HPWS always leads to increased productivity and sales volume. Notably, the system is highly dependent on trustworthy leadership, availability of avenues for personal development and growth, individual commitment and mutual trust. In relation with this, the author can extend the research idea of teamwork to create a win-win situation between individuals and organizations. Keywords: high-performance work system (HPWS), individual and organizational performance, impact Introduction In the today’s business management operations, individual and organizational performance has become a critical issue. In fact, many enterprises argue that staffs constitute a considerable proportion of business resources; thus, these firms should enhance an effective and efficient performance system that fosters high-performance practices. Evidently, the work performance system should create room for assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of employees’ actions so that supervisors can determine their organization’s level of competitiveness. Simply speaking, having the right systems in place enables a particular firm to have competitive advantage over other competing firms within the same industry (Applebaum, Barley, Berg, & Kalleberg, 2000). Usually, large corporations have sophisticated and complex systems; thus, the need to evaluate the systems’ performance. The following pyramid shows that there exists a correlation between an enterprise strategic plans and individual and organizational performance. Methodology The author uses an approach of a case study to help determine the impacts of high-performance work systems on individual and organizational performance. In this case, the researcher considers the success of the German medicine technology company named Aesculap and assumes that this firm is a fair representative of other firms within the health industry. This corporation of approximately 2800 employees has been an international and active player following its readiness to manage change and adopt up-to date technology. Regardless of the stiff international competition, Aesculap has been in a position of gaining and enjoying competitive advantages. In the 1990’s, Aesculap included production of more goods other than the surgical equipment. This had the effect of the company opening up a new branch (Benchmark Factory) to allow more production in an effort of meeting the increasingly becoming demand. It was not until 2001 when the business underwent firm restructuring that led to the continued high performance at the workplace. This major restructuring stemmed out of the cooperation of the board, employees, management, state, trade unions, councils, and the politicians. An important note is that the firm entered into a trade agreement that indicates its commitment to execute its prescribed duties. Findings a. High-performance workplace systems improve adaptability In the modern society, managers encounter challenges in the issues relating to change and change management because of the inhumane resistance from their sub-ordinates. Pfeffer (1998) has argued that high-performance workplace systems lead to improved change adaptability and sustainability. In this literature, Pfeffer has pointed out that many times people are unwilling to work and can only work if a coercing force acts on them as they are not willing to part with their usual ways of doing things. In its plans, the German corporation has devised a mechanism of handling and dealing with change. This is evident in the quick positive response from all stakeholders when it comes to the 2001 business restructuring. In view of this, various businesses are adopting new strategies of outdoing their competitors; thus, for named enterprise to remain competitive and successful, it must be ready and willing to adopt new ways of doing things. These new ways of doing things call for responding to change. Apparently, the use of high-performance work systems helps improve individual and organizational adaptability to this change, and so is the increased performance. b. The systems build a sense of mutual respect and oneness As mentioned earlier, high-performance work systems aid in change management. It is worth mentioning that the change management is effective due to the presence of mutual trust and respect; thus, a committed way of differently doing things. From the case study, the medicine technology company enters into an agreement as a symbol of its commitment to abide by the terms as well as to respect the interest of the other party. It is evident that the contract calls for mutual trust, loyalty, accountability and responsibility. In regard with this, it leads to mutual understanding; hence, cooperation and teamwork among the various organizational sectors and departments. c. High-performance workplace systems are responsible for an efficient communication process One of the big mistakes that management can make is ineffective communication (Belcourt et al., 2008).In a number of instances; communication takes place across and within departments not necessarily of the same region. The manner and haste with which an individual executes a task relies on the way one encodes or decodes his or her message. In its strategic plans, Aesculap has enumerated its target as well as communicates its commitment in the contract. According to Ulrich (1997), a two-way communication process is one of the key pillars of a successful organization. Ulrich has added that managers have a role of communicating their organizational mission and vision statements in the simplest way possible to boost understanding. Another importance of an effective communication is that it encourages participation and brings about clarity vital for executing the right duty in the appropriate way and at the right time. By regularly communicating, the supervisors comment on their organizational progress and advocate for need to correct particular deviations. d. The implementation of high-performance workplace promotes teamwork and oneness at the workplace After identified of a high-performance work system, it was very easy for Aesculap to change to a new business structure. It is important to note that Aesculap gained cooperation from the various stakeholders namely the government authorities, city council, town councils, politicians, board of directors, employees and trade unions. Here, one learns that high performance work systems foster active and meaningful ties among the concerned parties. Sometimes one may fail to distinguish between management and leadership. In this context, it is clear that high performance work systems foster leadership that further facilitates cooperation. The acts of cooperating in carrying out duties protect the organization from the adverse effects of resistance such as high turnover, increased absenteeism and reduced output. Luckily, firms that have systems of high-performance in place are in a better positioning of winning their stakeholders’ loyalty. Of importance, the high-performance systems do not only call for cooperation among the internal stakeholders, but also external parties. In line with this, parties such as trade unions amicably arrive at a conclusion without necessarily affecting the firm’s daily operation because the unions avoid acts of a mass strike. Accordingly, the continued collaboration saves on cost as the charges related to awareness and communication campaigns significantly reduces. e. The high-performance work systems boost fairness and equality In many nations, discrimination and unfair treatment of employees contradicts the law of the land. By the virtue of having high-performance systems, a corporation is in a position of protecting accusations against unfair dealings with employees. Aesculap does not dictate the ways subordinates and other parties should carry out duties, but instead request for their contribution and consent. One can learn from this incidence that the above medicine firm does not ignore any of the concerned parties; thus, Aesculap somewhat deals with its various stakeholders that make it an international active market player. Occasionally, one may assume the existence of trade unions and work councils only to find that his or her enterprise faces adverse effects. In the above case study, the involvement and participation of all including the minority groups have shown tremendous change in the accomplishment of the set goals. Instead of firms treating labor unions and town councils as their great enemies, they should use them to maximize on achieving their organizational goals and objectives. In fact, some corporations make a mistake of generating unnecessary energies and pressures with such authorities that lead to tainting of the business name. The fact that a firm signs a contract signifies that it shall be fair in its dealing and shall not condone any form of discrimination on the basis of, say, gender, political affiliation, religion, marital status region or even race. Consequently, the HPWS implementation creates a win-win situation for all the involved parties. f. The implementation of high-performance workplace systems paves a way for an individual and organizational invention According to Nadler and Gerstein (1992), change management leaves managers with unending questions. They argue that a considerable percentage of these bosses cannot effectively handle change. These scholars have suggested that a firm can gain competitive advantage over its competitors by being inventive, which creates room for advancement in technology. Furthermore, invention, creativity and innovation are essential to an employee because they help him or her remain relevant, up-dated, keen and open-minded. In 2008, the German government appreciated the Benchmark Factory efforts for producing user and environmental friendly artificial joints. Such awards foster information sharing that is vital for the going concern of a business enterprise. Invention aids in accordingly rewarding, training, evaluating and recruiting employees. Besides, it is the basis for the autonomous team works and production of unique goods and services. In addition, it indicates that the firm uses skilled labor force and appropriate technology. Another important thing to note is that the invention implies that a firm quickly and adequately switches its manner of doing things to meet the customer needs as and when they fall due. In 2007, Germany categorized Aesculap as one of the most innovative companies. This innovation led to the production of the products that pose no adverse impacts to individual and organizational surroundings. Therefore, an innovative enterprise does not intend to liquidate its operations in the near future because it timely meets the varying needs of its consumers. Moreover, the German company decided to use the overtime hours in training programs. Thus, high-performance work systems communicate the employer and customer needs, which aid in an invention. g. Improved economic performance stems out of adopting the high-performance workplace systems In his work, Ramsay (1996) found out that employees’ involvement has various components such as business awareness, motivation and self-drive. Aesculap involves its stakeholders in crucial matters such as those of the 2001 business restructuring. Ramsay further adds that the stakeholders’ involvement makes individuals comprehend the reasons behind the administration decisions because of the clear message communicated. To respond to this, the parties are flexible in the sense that they are ready and willing to fit into the new program that the management will effect. Further, these stakeholders assure management of the continued performance. Undoubtedly, the high performance work systems help in changing the employee behaviors and attitude; thus, they are willing and able to work towards the accomplishment of the organizational goals and objectives. For instance, these systems call for workers’ involvement; thus, they form part of motivation as the employees feel that they have contributed towards the system. Importantly, the systems help employees to develop an open mind that is vital for the success of an organization. This means that a firm is likely to use fewer costs in the awareness and training programs. Secondly, many organizations have experienced a notable fall in their realized gains following their employees’ absenteeism. However, the high-performance work systems create room for early detection of a problem as well as early intervention to help curb the repercussion of such a problem. Thus, organizations with the above systems can retain the right number of employees in their day-to-day operations, which leads to high-realized gains. h. The system facilitates sharing of information and performance measures that maximize employee flexibility and commitment Unlike the traditional approach, a high-performance workplace concept entails combining human resource practices, processes and work structures geared towards worker positive gains. Of importance, the system takes account of factors such as selective recruiting, employee involvement in decision-making, group work, training, information sharing and remuneration tools. As in the case study, the management team involved all parties before restructuring its business activities; thus, it created an avenue for sharing its information, which would not be possible were it not for the high-performance work systems. i. High-performance work systems form the basis of positive customer experience through the adoption of the total quality management The future of a vigorous business depends on the way the firm meets the varying tastes, needs and preferences of its shareholders. In its efforts, Aesculap involves various stakeholders so that it can determine the experience of its shareholders as well as identify the areas it has not met the client expectations. This makes the corporation to produce goods and services that are customer-driven. One uses a number of metrics such as customer satisfaction to assess the level of his or her customer experience. A high-performance workplace system ensures that one adheres to quality while achieving customer satisfaction. An individual can design to use either the bottom-up or the top-down approach in correcting a deviation within the customer experience circle or dashboard. j. The adoption of high-performance workplace systems ensure that the company use both end and means strategy in the achievement of its objectives According to Nadler and Gerstein (1992), a firm should check not only its objectives, but also the way or manner in which it achieves those goals. In the case of Aesculap, consensus and physical participation of the concerned parties are the techniques that the company employed to achieve its desired objectives. In this regard, one should not overlook how he or she achieves his or her company’s goals and objectives. In reality, the use of the high performance systems guarantee one to have a limit on the adoption of the means and the ends; hence, one does not hurt any party. For example, a firm may make huge profit through extending its working time and evading payment overtime. Knowingly, such acts are inhumane and contrary to the law of the land. Besides, the workers feel discouraged and are not ready to work more. Evidently, in this example, the company has a justified means, but unjustified ends. The remedy of such situations lies in the adoption of the high performance work systems because the system takes care of both sides such that no one gets harm. References APPLEBAUM, E., BARLEY, T., BERG, P., & KALLEBERG, A.L. (2000). Manufacturing advantage: Why high performance systems pay off. New York: ILR Press. BECKER, B.E., HUSELID, M.A., ULRICH, D. (2001). The HR scorecard: Linking people, strategy and performance. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press. BOXALL, P., & PURCELL, J. (2008). Strategy and human resource management. London: Palgrave. CASCIO, W. F. (2006). Managing human resources. 7th edition. 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