Human Resource Management Practices - Essay Example

Human Resource Management Practices Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Introduction Human resource system generally functions in a manner that the activities, the processes and the functions of an organization facilitate for the development of the human resources in the organization and consequently, enhance performance (Bratton& Gold, 2001: 49). In the currently, the ideal types HR practices are being developed and implemented in modern organizations to enhance organizational performance and consequently, lead to organizational competitiveness (McGunnigle & Jameson 2000: 403) Background In the early periods of the 1990s scholars made prepositions of about three models that could be used in understanding the ‘ideal types’ of human resource strategies. The first model that was used to describe the ideal types of HR practices is the control-based model. The assertion of the model is that, the measures through which managers or supervisors examine and control how employees perform influence the organization’s performance. The other model is the resource- based model which is focused on the interaction between employees in a way to influence the attitudes and the behaviors of the employees to promote a good relationship between the manager and the subordinates. The last model combines the assertions of the two models above to form the integrative model hence it is focused on monitoring as well as the relationship between managers and their subordinates (Bratton & Gold, 2001: 49) HR Practices By and large, there are several HR practices that have been proposed as the ‘ideal types’ of practices to be implemented in an organization for the purposes of enhancing performance and in turn enabling the organization to be competitive. The ideal types of HR practices have been focused on the process of selecting employees in relation to the culture of the organization. The issues of focus have included; the attitude, behavior and the technological ability of the employees (Ahmad & Schroeder, 2003: 20). Basically, there are several HR practices that have been described as ideal because; they improve performance of an organization. in particular, these practices include; Job security Discriminatory employment of new staff The chief principles of the design of the organization being; teams that are self managed as well as decentralized process of decision making Relatively high reimbursement contingent on the performance of the organization Intense training Reduction in distinction of status or reduced barriers e.g. dress code, arrangement of the office, differences in payments as dictated by levels, and language Increased distribution of information on performance and finance in the entire organization (Ahmad & Schroeder, 2003: 20) Considering the HR practices that are noted to be the ideal types of HR practices, it can be generalized that; the process of recruitment and selection of employees, training, provision of incentives collaboration between managers and subordinates are the main HR practices that exhibit ideal types of practices in an organization (McGunnigle & Jameson, 2000: 415). In the modern world, organization competitiveness is influenced by HR practices in one way or the other because; HR practices influence organizational performance. The organizational performance is largely concerned about unit price, quality, distribution, speed and elasticity as well as the commitment of the human resources. However, the most apparent thing about HR ideal- type practices is that; each company injects a varying amount of effort in harvesting the ideal- types HR practices. Therefore, an ideal state of an organization is determined by the harnessing, exploration and utilization of all the seven HR ideal practices; through the development, institution and the implementation of all the seven Hr practices in the organization. In that effect, an organization that has utilized all the seven HR practices is referred to having an HR system that if of ideal- type. Primarily, it is expected that, when the several practices are developed and implemented in an organization, then, the organization will exhibit the best performance and in turn, be able to compete effectively in the market. This is attributed to the reason that, when an organization’s HR system is the ideal- type, the organization’s performance is also ideal and thus it is able to be effectively competitive (Ahmad & Schroeder, 2003: 22). In one study that was conducted by Ahmad & Schroeder (2003: 37), it was found out that, the development and the implementation of ideal- type HR practices in a plant, led to the improvement of performance of the plant. In other words, the study found out that, when HR practices of the ideal- type are implemented in an organization, the performance of the organization improves and this enables the organization to compete effectively in the market. It is noted; when the plant under study deviated from the implementing the ideal-type HR practices, the performance of the plant begun to deteriorate. In studies that were undertaken in the UK, it was found out that organizations exhibited moderately extensive use of individual HR practices elements. Conversely, more organizations were continuing to integrate the strategic HR practices into practice. At the same time, the study found out that only a few of the companies in the UK were using the HR practice strategy with the aim of being competitive. On the other hand, some countries such as Canada and the United States were found to use the ideal-type HR practices in a limited manner (Bratton et al, 2003: 29). However, the development and the implementation of ideal- type HR practices have not been used by a number of organizations to achieve competitiveness in the market arena. There are some of the organizations that have concentrated on pricing and quality of products produced. That is, some of the companies in the UK have been found to concentrate on customer satisfaction rather than its HRM system. For example; a food production company e.g. the KASE stores, was found to experience loss of profits while competing to be at the top of the market yet it only focused on how it can compete but did not consider HR practices. Another food company; Lake Stores- focused on reducing prices of commodities to achieve competitiveness in the market. However, the exercise was found not to add any value to the company hence the store did not achieve its objective. Furthermore, it was found out that, when the food stores combined culture, strategy and HRM practices, the stores performed well in the market and thus they were able to achieve competitiveness (Ogbonna & Whipp, 1999: 85). Several studies have investigated the implementation of HRM practices in hotels in the UK. In the recent past, studies on hotel industry in the UK indicated that there was an increasing use of HRM practices in the hotels and generally in the hospitality industry. However, according to a study that was undertaken by McGunnigle & Jameson (2000: 415), it was realized that, the hotel industry in the UK has not fully adopted the ideal type of HR practices in the specific hotels. The study found out that there were some few hotel in the UK that developed and implemented HR practices while in most hotel, the implemented of best fit HR practices were implemented together with traditional structures. Therefore, in modern hotels in the UK, it can be pointed out that ideal type HR practices have not been embraced but some of the practices such as selective selection of employees have been implemented along with other organizational structures such as labor market situations; to enable for organizational performance. It can be realized from the various studies that HR practices of the ideal-types have a great impact on the performance of the respective organizations and in turn, they lead to organizational competitiveness. Storey (2007: 15) mentioned that, according to various tests, ideal type Hr practices have been found to be famous and immensely supported by a number of studies. For example; in a study by the University of Sheffield Institute of Work Psychology in the United Kingdom, the study which was undertake for ten years- found out that HR management had the most influential impact on organizational competitiveness when compared to other factors that may affect organizational competitiveness e.g. business strategy, investment, quality of products. In addition, the study also found out that; in companies where there were new HR practices, and high level of involvement of employees, the productively or performance of the company was rather high. For that reason, the study concluded that, when the best or ideal types of HR practices are implemented in a company, then organizational performance or organizational competitiveness is most likely to be achieved. When decentralization conditions are considered, under the ideal type approach of HR practices, a wide range of modern organizations are shifting towards decentralization and organizational structures. This is because; there is an increased level of diversification in companies. Therefore, in order for the companies to function in an organized manner, it has to decentralize its activities by assigning responsibilities to those at the lower levels and the managers. An example of the effectiveness of decentralization conditions of the ideal type HR practices is given by evidence obtained from the study of big companies in the UK. From the study, it was found that; out of the 500 companies that were studied, 144 had undertaken structural changes to allow for decentralization. This revealed that companies are gradually adopting the ideal type HR practices to contribute to the attainment organization effectiveness (Blyton & Turnbull, 1992: 132). Even in the studies undertaken in modern organizations, it has been found that ideal- types of HR practices to be effective. Although in the recent past, some of the scholars such as Lengnick-Hall highlighted that there is little evidence to support the possibility of HR practices having a direct impact on competitive advantage of an organization, recent studies have depicted comparative consistency in supporting the positive influence that HR practices have on competitive advantage? As noted by Storey (2007:15) notes that, in the latest studies, HR practices positively relate to the performance of any organization hence “we can now say with increasing confidence that HRM works”. This is attributed to the fact that ideal- type HR practices have been found to have a positive impact on the productivity and the profitability of the respective organization. HR practices are still applicable in modern organization due to their influence on the satisfaction level of employees. CIPD conducted a study and realized that workers who had been exposed to HRM practices perceived the practices in a positive way. A high percentage of the workforce in the UK has been exposed to HRM practices and the reception is positive in such that; the workforce has exhibited satisfaction with the practices (Storey 2007: 15). In general, there is a general agreement from various scholars and results from various studies that; ideal- type HR practices are necessary for the success of any organization. In other words, for organizational competitiveness to be achieved, best HR practices have to be developed and implemented in the respective organization (Storey 2007: 15). Internal growth of an organization has been found to associate positively HR practices. Orientation of HR practices influence innovation or growth of an organization by influencing how activities in the organization are executed. On the other hand, control has an external influence that leads to growth of the organization. This is because it enables the organization to implement an open system and more so, to undertake effective assessment and adoption of innovations. Through assessment, outcomes are evaluated leading to the augmented morale of the employees as well as their level of job satisfaction (Panayotopoulou & Papalexandris, 2004: 511) Since there are benefits that modern organizations can obtain from the adoption of the HR practices, the question is; why is it that some organizations have been successful in the adoption of the HR practices and enjoy the resulting competitive advantage? In accordance with Kane, John & Grant (1999: 501) there are some barriers that hinder Hr practices from effective in organization. One of the barriers has to do with the component of the ideal type HR practices of control and authority. The commitment of the senior management to HR practices influences the adoption of the practices in the company whereby; some to managements do not approve of the practices. Blyton and Turnbull (1992: 142) add that, in the British scenario, it has been generally difficult to adopt the ideal- type HR practices because of the absence of commitment by the HR management. Based on the study in Britain, the ideal type HR practices were not being adopted because they were thought to be “difficult to practice” particularly in relation to the commitment of the management. The other barrier includes the skills and the knowledge needed for the implementation of the HR practices. Personnel in some of the organizations do not posses the adequate know-how and the skills needed to effectively adopt HR practices. Some of the managers are skeptical about the strategy hence they do not adopt it into their organization. Primarily, irrespective of the positive impacts that ideal type HR practices can have on modern organizations, some organizations face a variance of challenges that impede effective adoption of the practices (Kane, John & Grant, 1999: 501). While the ideal types HR practices have been supported by various studies as being effective too for the attainment of organizational competitiveness, it is emphasized that, the HR practices cannot be easily implemented at the same time hence they ideal type of HR practices are applied in every organization depending on the situation of the organization. For example; in the hotel industry in the UK, the adaptation of the ideal type HR practices is still experiencing development and that is why several hotels in the UK have not fully embraced the ideal type HR practices (McGunnigle & Jameson, 2000: 419). Similarly, there are some of the organizations that have not fully adopted the ideal type HR practices because they are more focused on profits rather than human resources as investment. Based on the study on various developed and developing countries, there was a general realization that employees were used for the purposes of obtaining profitability and the companies largely neglected the perception of employees as fundamental investment in the HR. for instance; in the region of Asian Pacific; the study found that, the companies concentrated on producing products that could be offered at low prices and used cheap labor and unskilled human resources. In that case, as there are some companies that have accepted the Hr practices because of the competitive advantage that they offer to the respective organization, some modern organizations have not realized the benefits that accrue from the adoption of the HR practices in a company (Kane, John & Grant, 1999: 498). Conclusion Ideal type HR practices are the activities associated with the policies that influence integration in the organization; it influences commitment of the employees, their flexibility and the quality of work done. Since the 1990s, the concept of HR practices has been the subject of focus by scholars and in the modern organizations, the practices have been embraced due to their impact on organizational performance and consequently, organizational competitiveness. Largely, the ideal type HR practices influence matters associated with selective employment, training, and decentralization of power and decision making. The practices lead to employee satisfaction and performance and in turn, improved productivity which facilitates for organizational competitiveness. Therefore, ideal type HR practices are applicable to modern organizations. References: Ahmad, S & Schroeder, RG, 2003, The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Operational Performance: Recognizing country and industry differences, Journal of Operations Management, vol. 21, p. 19-43 Blyton, P & Turnbull, JP, 1992, Reassessing human resource management, New York: SAGE Bratton, J, & Gold, J, 2001, Human Resource Management, Theory and Practice, London: Routledge, Bratton, J, Mills, JCH, Pyrch, T & Sawchuk, P, 2003, Workplace Learning: A Critical Introduction, Toronto: University of Toronto Press Kane, B, John, C & Grant, D, 1999, Barriers to effective HRM, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 20, p. 494- 515 McGunnigle, PJ & Jameson, SM, 2000, HRM in UK hotels: a focus on commitment, Employee Relations, Vol. 22.4, p. 403-422 Ogbonna, E & Whipp, R, 1999, Strategy, culture and HRM: Evidence from the UK food retailing sector, Human Resource Management journal, vol. 9, p.75-90 Panayotopoulou, L & Papalexandris, N, 2004, Examining the link between human resource management orientation and firm performance, Personnel Review, vol. 33, p.499- 520 Storey, J, 2007, Human resource management: a critical text. 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