Organizational Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Organizational Human Resource Management Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Organizational Human Resource Management Introduction Organizational Human Resource development is critical if at all a company wishes to be growth-oriented and dynamic (Collins & Clark, 2003). As opposed to other organizational resources, the human resources possess unlimited potential capabilities. This potential pool of capabilities could be utilized to create such a climate that could continually identify, nurture, and use the people’s capabilities (Jiang et al., 2012). Thus, the concept of organizational human resource development entails aspects like the employees’ culture, training and development, diversity management, and performance management (Gelade & Ivery, 2003). The paper will involve an analysis of a case study about the ‘No Name’ Aircraft which deals with the four issues of organizational human resource management named above; culture, training and development, diversity management, and performance management. This aircraft company has been concerned with its corporate profits which have been deteriorating due to these issues. The paper will seek to evaluate the literature on the four areas critically; diversity management, culture, training and development, and international performance management using the case study of ‘No Name’ Aircraft to draw examples on the same. Diversity Management and Culture Recently, the typical organizational setting has become very diverse regarding culture, ethnicity, race, and age (Olsen & Martins, 2012). Following this, the modern Human Resource Managers have the significant responsibility of developing new solutions which will work towards embracing the constant growth of diversity while at the same time learn about how to manage the cultural diversity (Olsen & Martins, 2012). It is very beneficial to develop cultural competence in the workplace as well as manage diversity efficiently as it will lead to the enhancement of the ability to efficiently interact, communicate and understand individuals from a variety of cultures and at the same time work with them productively (Olsen & Martins, 2012). Diversity Management In simple terms, diversity entails cognitive style, race, tenure, gender, organizational function, ethnic group, education, age, background, personality, among others (Ng & Burke, 2005). Therefore, the aspect of diversity does not only concern the way individuals perceive themselves but also how they perceive other people as well. These perceptions are what affects the way people interact with each other in the workplace. The HR managers to address the issues concerning change, adaptability, and communication in an efficient manner so that they could ensure the wide assortment of staff members work competitively yet productively (Ng & Burke, 2005). It is evident that the workplace diversity will continue increasing over the years which forces organizations to identify the required actions that are required in ensuring proper diversity management (Bassett‐Jones, 2005). In the same light, the organization’s needs also to be willing and ready to spend a significant amount of resources in diversity management. Regarding the ‘No Name’ Aircraft, the company is just confined to the mere policy that every staff member will need to respect the other’s religious beliefs, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, physical abilities and other aspects of diversity. However, some issues still exist in the company concerning embracing the issues of the rich value of working with people who are diverse. This is primarily because the HR manager lacks a clear outline of the practices which will assist their staff members to understand one another. This is one of the very crucial factors that has jeopardized the profits that ‘No Name’ Aircraft has been having which has impacted its performance detrimentally. ‘No Name’ Aircraft needs to come to the realization that without proper diversity management, then the employees and the managers could probably unthinkably react on prejudices and maybe feel somehow threatened by the differences which exist among its employees (Bassett‐Jones, 2005). The HR manager at ‘No Name’ Aircraft also needs to understand that the intention of diversity management is to foster some amount of appreciation for the diverse personal histories and ideas which employees bring to the table in the workplace (Ivancevich & Gilbert, 2000). When the employees learn to value the diversity of each other as well as learn how to communicate and connect across the various lines of difference, then they will feel safer sharing their ideas which will, in turn, fuel innovation (Ivancevich & Gilbert, 2000). Additionally, diversity management is also essential for the sustainable growth of the company since the increasingly diverse pool of people in public also assess the diversity management of the company (Ivancevich & Gilbert, 2000). Therefore, if the public finds the company culturally insensitive, its ethics, as well as its functioning in the international marketplace, will be put into question. Culture Culture can be defined as the observable behavioral patterns that are consistent in an organization (Homburg & Pflesser, 2000). Just like diversity management, organizational culture affects the performance and productivity of a company while at the same time providing the guidelines regarding the concerns for the environment, punctuality and attendance, product safety and quality, and customer service (Homburg & Pflesser, 2000). Culture also extends to the new product creation, advertising and marketing practices, and the production methods. The concept of organizational culture is distinct and unique for every company and is also one of the most difficult things to change (Homburg & Pflesser, 2000). Going back to the case study, the teams of the home country which is Australia, ‘No Name’ Aircraft does not work well, and they are experiencing a communication breakdown across the different management teams. The culture in that company is negative where the employees have established a mantra which states that ‘near good enough is good enough.’ Additionally, the teams in the company work only in their specialization areas and the work relationships that exist among the existing teams are suffering significantly. The employees are also issuing complaints that they are not obtaining the adequate instructions to guide their work since the communication both horizontally and laterally are being compromised. Following this, the Manager, O’Meara, has been receiving emails consistently from Vietnam, Singapore, and China, which are seeking clarifications on various issues. It is clear that the organizational culture at ‘No Name’ Aircraft is very negative which is impacting its performance in the home country Australia and its subsidiary branches in China, Vietnam, and Singapore. The current culture in the company does not embrace a unique perspective on some of the important workplace issues like responsibility, teamwork, respect for the authority, as well as time management (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000). It seems that there are some conflicting interpretations when it comes to the communication methods, ethics and transparency, and the reluctance to either give or receive feedback. When the employees and the clients of the company base their operations on different belief systems and with attitudes that are conflicting, then it tends to develop barriers regarding job bonding (Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). Thus, there will be the need to break down these barriers so that the company could run harmoniously and efficiently. The responsibility of enhancing a positive organizational culture rests on the leadership of the company and precisely on the HR managers of all the company’s branches. They have the responsibility of ensuring that the issues regarding organizational culture are properly addressed and managed (Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). International Performance Management, Training, and Development Performance management is a crucial process in the practice of HR management. It entails an evaluation of the present or the previous performance or results of the organization, the team, or the employee (Hodge & Greve, 2007). Performance management forms the basis of various business practices which are related to the Human Resource Management which include the need for new recruitment, rewarding, career development, or training and development, among other practices (Hodge & Greve, 2007). There is a broad range of literature sources which have stressed on performance management as a rather complicated process, particularly when it involves the global market. International Performance Management International performance Management can be defined as the process which is developed by a company with the aim of ensuring that all its staff members know the degree of performance which is expected from them in their particular roles (Zahra, Ireland, & Hitt, 2000). The management of the performance of the employees based on the strategic requirements, organizational needs, and customer preferences is a central component of HRM. Many thriving companies often incur significant costs when it comes to HRM especially if the company is operating in foreign countries or has employed foreign employees (Zahra, Ireland, & Hitt, 2000). Employees are often aware of the cost that the management has incurred to ensure their efficiency and productivity, and therefore, they tend to take it upon themselves to phenomenally contribute to the strategies and goals of the company (Zahra, Ireland, & Hitt, 2000). However, many organizations often undergo so many challenges in their process of enhancing the international performance management. Various issues concerning performance management exist in ‘No Name’ Aircraft company. Although international performance management is linked to the international performance appraisals, the aspect of this management is lacking in that company. Although the HR Manager usually undertakes performance reviews of the company in the Australian branch of the company, the company’s subsidiaries do not undergo any performance reviews. Additionally, the company lacks a formal performance review process for its expatriates. Essentially, at the ‘No Name’ Aircraft company, a policy which underpins the international performance management does not exist. This presents the needs for better performance measures in that company so that there could be effective company management. The lack of proper performance management appraisal process at ‘No Name’ is a significant contributor to the failure and the lack of performance that the company is experiencing currently (Brignall & Modell, 2000). In organizing the meeting for performance management for the company, meeting needs to be organized in all the subsidiary companies of ‘No Name’ which will seek to discuss the performance of employees. Also, in the process of analyzing the performance of employees, the HR manager will be able to identify the underlying issues which they may not have known, and yet they impact the performance of the employees (Brignall & Modell, 2000). Examples of such matters include the lack of training and development, personality clashes, the domestic situations, among others. In the analysis of the performance of the employees, the company’s management will be in a position to evaluate whether the lack of performance of the employees is only related to performance or other issues are involved as well (Lu, & Beamish, 2004). In the same light, an efficient performance management will in one way or the other impact the way the employees will be focused on the company as well as the individual and departmental objectives (Lu, & Beamish, 2004). The process of performance management will successfully identify the needs of the employees regarding training and development and at the same time offer a platform for giving constructive feedback to the employees concerning their performance. ‘No Name’ Aircraft needs to understand that proper international performance management will significantly enhance and develop the skills of the employees which are set within their roles (Lu, & Beamish, 2004). This will also be a clear depiction of the commitment of the company to its employees through providing them with consistent training and career development opportunities as well as recognizing and valuing the contribution they make to the performance of the company (Lu, & Beamish, 2004). Training and Development Training and development is one of the crucial aspects of the professional lives of employees from all across the board (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Training is a form of learning which is widely perceived as the process of gaining new abilities, skills, knowledge, competencies, among others. Many successful companies have adopted the culture of training and development which positively impact the way their employees perform in the long run (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). The challenge comes in for many organizations when it comes to designing the most efficient approach to undertaking that training and development. So that companies successfully maintains a competitive edge and more so in the global marketplace, they invest heavily in training and developing their employees (Duhaney, 2004). The organizational human resource development typically concentrates on training their employees in their present jobs as well as seeks to develop their skills for the future responsibilities and roles (Duhaney, 2004). The activities of the organizational human resource development include undertaking training for the organizational teams, supervisors, and managers, as well as the customer service training. As the function of the HR manager of ‘No Name’ company, it is their responsibility to be concerned with various aspects of the activities of the organization. However, in the company, there is little to no training that is carried out for ‘No Name’s’ employees. For example, the expatriate training for the employees who are being transferred from the Australian company to go and work in either Vietnam, Singapore, or China, has just been limited to just half a day. Also, the HR manager usually refers the employees to the organization’s online sources and then assumes that every employee has similar needs when they agree to work in foreign country. No feedback avenues are provided for the employees which would allow them to issue their comments regarding the expatriate training. This degree of ignorance of the needs of the employees would lead to a decline in employee morale while at the same time enhance their being unproductive. HR manager of ‘No Name’ Aircraft needs to come to the realization that proper training and development will assist the company in retaining the right employees as well as grow its profits as well (Costen & Salazar, 2011). Since the battle for being in the top management has become more competitive, then the need for training and development for the employees becomes very crucial. Given that the hiring process of hiring people with competitive talents takes up significant organizational resources, then companies like ‘No Name’ could rather invest in the process of training and development to retain their existing employees and oversee business growth (McDowall & Saunders, 2010). Recommendations ‘No Name’ Aircraft needs to hold the management and leadership of the company accountable for cultural positivity and harnessing diversity. It should then build these components into a performance metric which could be measured regularly and ensure that the results are reviewed (Zahra, Ireland, & Hitt, 2000). This would increase employee productivity and oversee that the organizational goals are achieved sufficiently. The company needs to adapt a team-building culture which manages value cooperation either within or among the teams that are formed in the company (Homburg & Pflesser, 2000). These teams can consist of people from diverse cultures and cultural types. The effective cross-cultural practice of building teams is crucial in enabling the company to benefit from the advantages that are as a result of cultural diversity at work. The passion of the managers to coach their employees needs to be ignited so that the employees could obtain the insights knowledge, and skills, from their managers through mentoring and coaching (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Although the managers may feel overburdened with responsibilities, it is the role of the company to incentivize and support the managers to undertake this role. Conclusion Organizational human resource management plays a crucial role in the success of any organizations. Some of the essential concepts that fall under organizational human resource management include diversity management, organizational culture, international performance management, and training and development. ‘No Name’ Aircraft, which is an Australian company has more or less ignored these concepts of human resource development which have led to the decline in its performance and profits. The paper has efficiently evaluated what the literature provides regarding the above concepts and using the ‘No Name’ company as an example of the impacts of ignoring these factors. References Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations, and society. Annual review of psychology, 60: 451-474. Bassett‐Jones, N. (2005). The paradox of diversity management, creativity and innovation. Creativity and innovation management, 14(2): 169-175. Brignall, S., & Modell, S. (2000). 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Academy of Management journal, 43(5): 925-950. Read More