Human Resources Functions - Training and Performance management - Next
Human Resources Functions
E7
* Training And Performance Management in depth:
* Key aspects of training and development programme:
* Training and career development:
Next feel that Staff training is essential if people are to continue to be efficient members of the organisation.
It will:
* help employees achieve maximum efficiency in their current jobs;
* help the organisation meet its targets for developing and keeping people with the right skills to meet future needs;
* Balance the needs of the individual with those of the organisation.
It is no longer true that a job is for life and workers may need to be trained several times during their careers. The nature of their jobs will almost certainly change over time and it is likely that workers will move to other jobs, either in different organisations or through promotion within the same organisation.
It has often been the case that in harsh economic times training is one of the costs that can be cut immediately with no obvious short-term effects. This, however, is a short-sighted policy with predicted shortages in skilled labour training should be seen as an investment.
Next believe Training should begin as soon as a new employee joins an organisation.
It can take the form of:
* a general induction programme which introduces the member of staff to the organisation, its facilities, its people, rules and regulations;
* specialist health and safety training;
* specialist on-the-job training;
* off-the-job training.
* Induction Training:
Induction is an introduction to the organisation for new employees. It is designed to familiarise new recruits with the organisation, its rules, facilities, policies and key staff.
Next prefers to provide an induction pack which includes these details. An induction program may include:
* an introduction to the organisation;
* the policies of the organisation;
* specific rules and procedures including health and safety;
* benefits and terms of employment;
* job details;
* introduction to key staff;
* facilities available.
The programme may take the form of talks, discussion and familiarisation with the premises. The aim is to allow the employee to settle in quickly and work effectively and confidently from the start.
The induction period varies with the nature of the job. A Part-Time customer service advisor with Next Directory, for instance, has a four-week induction which includes practicing real life. This is to give an insight into the fitness levels required for the various jobs within the organisation.
Induction training is for new employees who are introduced to the company. Its main aim is to familiarise new recruits with the company
An induction programme may include:
* A Welcome to the organisation, plus a general introduction
* Any policies that the company may have
* Procedures relating to health and safety
* What the terms and conditions of employment are
* Details relating to what the job consists of
* Introduction to key staff
* What resources the company has
A pack usually accompanies an induction procedure enlisting details of the induction programme. Next do this to familiarise new employees what their objectives and strategies are.
Induction programmes are usually made up of talks with various key members of the company, plus familiarisation with the premises they will be working in.
The length of the programme can vary due to the position applied for within Next's organisation. Some companies have extensive induction programmes others have induction programmes that last roughly a day. All induction programmes seek to have the same outcome, to enable the employee to settle in quickly.
* Mentoring:
There are a number of different approaches that Management can take. It may involve an experienced member of staff supporting a new recruit through the initial stages after joining the organisation. The aim is to give a new member of staff a point of contact where problems can be taken and mentoring given. The meetings are usually informal and supportive and the mentor is often someone at the same level as the new recruit. Sometimes mentoring takes place as part of support and succession planning
Mentoring may also involve contact with members of other organisations who feel that they have experience and advice to give.
Next don't apply this to their employees because they use coaching.
* Coaching:
Coaching involves regular informal meetings between a manager and an employee, which allow discussion of the employee's performance in relation to the achievement of any objectives or targets. According to Next these informal performance assessment sessions enable a manager to identify an employee's strengths and weaknesses.
The Managers at Next do not use coaching solely as a means of criticising employees for their lack of progress or mistakes. They feel the Coaching sessions should be positive and employees should be encouraged to discuss any current problems with their manager. During the coaching session managers and employees should work together to identify potential solutions to any problems. Employees should be encouraged to explain the reasoning behind any solutions that they propose to use and managers should offer advice on possible implementation of the solutions. The employee and manager should work together to formulate a plan of action for the employee's future development.
Coaching provides managers with a means of both assessing an employee's suitability for promotion and analysing the way an employee has coped with any additional responsibility or extra authority. In order to be effective, coaching sessions should be properly structured. The manager's counseling and coaching skills clearly effect the success of any coaching programme, and managers should be encouraged to develop their skills if necessary. In order to maximise employee motivation and confidence, the manager should not simply issue instructions and make decisions on behalf of employees. Instead, the manager should fully explain any proposals they make and they should encourage employee participation.
In the 1990s, Next's employee development programme recognised the contribution a managers expertise and experience make to staff development. Next encouraged managers to take an active role in the coaching process.
* The Next Way:
'In our industry in particular, managers must understand that profits are made by people, not by products. Consequently they must effectively manage, invest in and develop their people if they and Next are to enjoy long term success'.
This approach requires Next managers to coach their staff by:
* rehearsing them through an important presentation and providing feedback during and after the presentation
* identifying and encouraging them to take on a new task which extends their job scope and provides experience in a new area
* discussing the qualities of a role model and getting them to identify the reasons for that person's success
* allowing them to go through a manager's in-tray and asking them to suggest how they might deal with each item
* discussing how the working environment can affect job performance and the factors that influence such an environment
* encouraging them to seek information relevant to their job and working environment by reading books, newspapers, magazines and internal publications
* delegating more responsibilities.
* Health and safety training:
It may be necessary for some jobs in Next that specialist health and safety training is given. The specific type of training will depend upon the job. It may involve working with machinery, working with chemicals or working in dangerous situations, for example, at great heights. In some organisations safety matters may be dealt with in the induction programme.
* On-the-job training:
Many jobs require no prior experience. In the workplace the job will need to be explained and perhaps demonstrated. For instance a cashier will need to know how to work the till at a Next Store, and to understand standard procedures for accepting cheques, store and credit cards. A new Clerical Assistant will need to understand the filing system, the computer software and the various forms and documents associated with the job. The main way in which this is achieved is through on-the-job training (OJT).
The closest thing Next come to is monitoring calls on a regularly or else training sessions are often held at their main head office, which is in Enderby.
* Off-the-job training:
Off-the-job training is literally any type of training that takes place away from the job.
Employees may attend college or a training agency, or courses may be held in-house in specially equipped training rooms. An organisation may have its own trainers or increasingly specialist staff are 'bought-in' for short courses. The growth in conference facilities, often provided at hotels, means that staff may be sent for specialist one-day or residential courses, particularly in the managerial field.
Training techniques used by other Organisations include traditional methods such as lectures, videos and demonstrations.
In addition, trainees are now more actively involved in training using methods such as:
* case studies involving role-play and discussion;
* simulations using state-of-the-art software, BR for example simulate the Channel Tunnel crossing;
* interactive video where the trainee, rather than passively watching, will be required to respond at various points. Depending upon the response the video will follow different sequences.
Games and outdoor pursuits may be used to develop qualities in staff such as team spirit, trust and initiative. These can bring benefits when transferred back to the work situation.
Next don't need to use this technique because they already possess the required facilities to conduct training.
* Check-list for the preparation of a training plan for an organisation such as Next:
* What skills do employees possess?
* What skills will they need to possess?
* Is some form of appraisal or assessment needed to see if employees are suitable?
* Can people be trained in-house?
* Does the organisation have to go outside?
* What training is available?
* Who should be trained:
* all staff?
* key staff?
* all managers?
* Should everyone be given total quality management training? (This means meeting the customers' needs at the right price at the lowest cost, first time, every time.)
* How important are these to the performance of the business:
* Training:
At Next they firmly believe that their success is thanks to their employees. Therefore, in order to maximise the contribution to our business they emphasise their commitment to our people through training programmes. The company's recruitment policy supports career progression by filling vacancies internally whenever possible.
They realise that only by recruiting and developing high calibre people will our growth and strength continue.
* Purpose of Performance Management:
Many people believe that they are motivated by earning money, but this is not entirely true, because other factors like variety of workplace and the need to be appreciated for the work they do like Next do.
The need to be appreciated for the work they do may be reflected in the prestige attached to their job, and while the need for a variety in the workplace may be satisfied by an interesting job.
A factor, which effects motivation, is that every individual has different needs. For example an employee may prefer to work on his or her own than in a friendly team. In order to have good motivation employees needs have to be found. This is shown in how lack of motivation equals reduced effort and lack of commitment.
An example of how employees' needs could be satisfied is through involving them in discussions so that they feel recognised and wanted. Next have set up a board where any issues the employees have regarding there working style they can raise by having discussions with management about goals and working practises which would make employees feel their opinion counts and also that their contribution is valuable. In the long term this may result in the employee being willing to work longer hours or take more responsibility.
* What is the purpose of performance management?
Next needs to manage the performance of its employees effectively if it is to remain competitive. This means that they must be using effective management control exercised at both individual and organisational level.
A range of processes and techniques need to be in place which allow individual employees to know how well they are doing and for managers to be able to monitor how well their subordinates are performing.
Performance monitoring provides information which is of value for identifying future training or promotion opportunities and areas ...
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* What is the purpose of performance management?
Next needs to manage the performance of its employees effectively if it is to remain competitive. This means that they must be using effective management control exercised at both individual and organisational level.
A range of processes and techniques need to be in place which allow individual employees to know how well they are doing and for managers to be able to monitor how well their subordinates are performing.
Performance monitoring provides information which is of value for identifying future training or promotion opportunities and areas where insufficient skills or knowledge could be deemed a threat to an employee's efficiency.
Managers exercise control at an individual and organisational level through:
* planning by setting objectives and targets
* establishing performance standards
* monitoring actual performance
* comparing performance against targets
* rectifying mistakes and taking action.
* Management by objective:
The process described above contributes to management by objectives, in which the performance of the individual and organisation is consistently being measured against objectives and targets which have been agreed jointly by managers and employees at Next. An objective relates to something which is to be achieved by a team or an individual.
For example, if Next launch a new product they may have an objective to sell every single product within a month through the internet. This objective may then be quantified as a target: the company wishes that 10 per cent of its annual sales should be generated from the internet in the next financial year. This maybe further refined in qualitative terms as a standard of performance: goods will be delivered to the customer within 24 hours of being purchased on the internet.
Objectives should be determined through discussions between managers and employees. This involves both a top-down and a bottom-up approach. The manager presents the corporate objectives and the individuals and team members then state what they feel can be achieved. A compromise is then to be struck.
This process is more likely to be successful for Next if the objectives meet the SMART criteria. They should be:
* Specific
* Measurable
* Agreed
* Realistic
* Time-related
* Monitoring performance:
The monitoring process requires the measurement of performance and then linking these performance measurements against the achievement of objectives (and targets).
Measurements may be made indicators such as output, sales and profits over a specified period. When comparing performance with targets, account has to be taken of the general context in which a particular operation is taking place. For example, a director who just falls short of his or her target profit figure may in reality have performed very well because, say, the company was operating in the face of a major economic downturn. The monitoring of quality standards is very often done against set criteria defining different levels of quality standards. These criteria are used to form the basis of a customer opinion survey, which could be undertaken by sending a questionnaire to a cross section of customers or through a telephone survey.
Next often find it helpful to make behavioural assessments, which measure an employee's approach and attitude towards his or her job.
Essentially, this focuses on the process of the job, on what an individual actually does. This is obviously more difficult to assess and measure. Very often a rating system might have to be used.
The data that is collected as part of the monitoring process is compared against the targets and contributes to any judgment regarding the overall performance of the organisation and the identification of where rectifying action needs to be taken at an organisational or individual level.
Next think highly of monitoring performance because they firmly believe that improvement would achieve better customer satisfaction.
* Individual performance review:
For individual employees, the monitoring process we have outlined is usually complemented by some or all of these review systems:
* Appraisal
* a self evaluation
* peer evaluation
* Appraisal:
An appraisal system is used to review the standard of work being undertaken by people within an organisation and to assess the value or contribution of individual employees.
Appraisal and performance review interviews are used by employers to:
* reinforce company goals
* identify training needs and career opportunities
* recognise good performance
* review and set targets.
Good appraisals have a positive effect on an employee's motivation, but bad appraisals can be costly, time consuming and have a negative impact on the manager-employee relationship. A poor approach is to simply appraise employees by rating their performance against specific factors such as knowledge of the job, accuracy, reliability and output capability. This system discourages employee involvement and does not identify the means of overcoming weaknesses. Much better is the personal performance review interview; this allows solutions and objectives to be identified by both the manager and employee.
Under this system, the formal appraisal interview should cover:
* a review of performance against objectives over the previous year
* an assessment of an employee's strengths and weaknesses based upon key job-related criteria
* a personal job improvement plan
* a career development plan
* a performance rating
* comments from the employee and reviewing manager
* agreement or reconfirmation of the objectives for the next year.
It is important that consideration is given during the appraisal interview to the extent to which an employee has reached objectives agreed at an earlier meeting (such as the previous year's appraisal interview).
Organisations such as Next categorises these objective into three areas:
* key results - reviewing the employee's contribution to the business objectives of his or her unit
* performance standards - contributing to an improvement in the employee's job performance
* Personal development - objectives relating to increasing the knowledge or skills of an employee.
Next requires that objectives should be SMART. The company recognises the need to have a system for measuring the extent to which the various objectives have been achieved. Next suggests that organisations should observe these guidelines when conducting performance appraisals:
* Appraisals should be regular. At Next, formal appraisals are held annually, while informal appraisals are treated as an ongoing process.
* Managers should be trained in conducting interviews and make an effort to place the employee at ease.
* The interview room should be neutral and a timetable should be organised to allow both parties time to prepare.
* Managers should assess if targets are still relevant and realistic, by considering how the company has changed and whether unavoidable factors such as inadequate resources have affected performance.
* Targets should be SMART and any numerical targets should be realistic. At Next managers negotiate between six and eight targets.
* Both parties must feel satisfied with the outcome and be clear about what is going to be achieved.
Following the appraisal interview, the manager of Next needs to help the employee to determine a suitable strategy and plan of action in order to help them to achieve their objectives and take advantage of future opportunities. This often involves the drawing up a personal job improvement plan and a career development plan.
The personal job improvement plan recognises that all employees can improve their performance. The plan deals with areas for improvement and considers the need to respond to new demands. It is effectively taking an overview of where the employee is now and how he or she needs to change in order to embrace the new context in which he or she is likely to be working in the future.
For example, a marketing manager may be required to improve his or her strategic planning, and in particular to do this in the context of a future which recognises the importance of internet selling.
The career development plan helps to identify the most suitable job progression for the employee. Career development takes account of the employee's aims but will also take into account the needs of the business. Development is not just concerned with promotion. An employee may aim to develop vertically through promotion or to move horizontally through the career structure by moving into different sections and functional areas or taking on a different role at a similar level. Career development might involve gaining beneficial experience or considering ways of increasing job satisfaction. Someone who has worked successfully as an administrator within the personnel function might be placed in another functional area in order to provide a broader range of experience that will eventually lead to move into management.
* Self evaluation:
Before attending performance review interviews, individual employees might be asked to consider their own view of their performance. This normally starts with identifying the extent to which they have achieved the targets which they have been set and then evaluating the factors which have either encouraged or hindered the achievement of performance targets. Self-evaluation enables an employee to decide what his or her objectives are and identify training and development needs.
The main problem with self evaluation is that it can be highly biased. Some employees overestimate their performance through a fear of admitting their weaknesses; others underestimate their performance because they do not want extra responsibility or because of false modesty. Employees might propose objectives which they are interested in but do not have sufficient ability to achieve. Managers can use self evaluations to gauge employees' expectations but must recognise the potential for bias.
Next feel this approach would not be helpful therefore they don't use it.
* Peer evaluation:
To inform the performance review process, many organisations also look at peer evaluations of the individual. This is based on the idea that the best people to provide feedback on an individual's performance are those who operate at a comparative level. Obviously this can only work if it is carried out in complete confidentiality, so that the people making the peer evaluation do not feel that there can be any come back.
Again, there is a danger about objectivity: peers may be in competition for a promotion or they may favour a friend in order to promote their own interests.
Obviously, the process suffers from the same potential weaknesses as the peer review, but because so many different views are incorporated into the assessment the danger of bias is reduced. It also helps to identify clearly the areas of individual performance which need attention and so an appropriate training and development plan can be established.
Next feel this approach would not be helpful therefore they don't use it.
* Managing performance in the modern business environment:
Approaches to performance management have to reflect the modem business environment which is dominated by the impact of consistent change factors and the effect of new legislation.
* Managing change:
Successful organizations like Next must constantly adapt to new ways and adopt new methods in response to the changes in the labour, consumer, world and technological markets. It is the manager's job to ensure that these changes are implemented smoothly and effectively, and that the level of employee resistance is minimised.
Next needs to embrace change to:
* improve profits
* respond to, or get ahead of, the competition
* adopt new technology
* introduce new products or services
* improve efficiency
* comply with UK and European Union regulations.
The organisational benefits that Next offer have implemented that changes are clearly increasing profitability, better products and faster growth than competitors, good public relations and more power in the marketplace.
It is important, however, that a manager understands why people resist change before devising a plan for its implementation. Failure to take into account and address people's fear can make the change more costly and time consuming, reduce employee morale and cause the business to receive the benefits of the change later than its competitors.
Resistance to change is common and is not just a fear of the unknown but derives from an employees fear that:
* they might lose their job
* additional responsibility might be too hard to handle
* they might lose their status and the success they have in their current job
* they might have to do work that they dislike or that they feel devalues their skills
* they might have to change their work and social group
* the change is futile and will not work
* they might have to work harder and will be under greater pressure.
Managers at Next need to overcome the conflict between an organisation's need to change and human nature's fear and resistance of the unknown. Managers need to develop a successful implementation strategy. The plan should ensure that information is made available on how the change will affect people from the first stages of implementation to the end. Employees should be encouraged to ask questions and, if possible, managers should provide any guarantees that can be given about job security, transfers, retraining, etc.
Simple language should be used to avoid excluding or misleading people through the use of technical jargon. The manager should not present the change as necessary because of past bad performance but as something that will contribute to continuing good performance. In implementing any programme of change, the manager's objective should be to deliver the change as quickly as possible with the least waste of time and money.
* Employee welfare:
An organisation has a duty to provides its employees with a good and safe working environment and must respect employees' statutory rights and interests. In order to be able to fulfil this obligation, an organisation must respond to new government legislation and regulation. If an organisation fails to comply with the law it can face prosecution or financial costs.
Some employers and business organisations have argued that recent legislation on working hours and working conditions has reduced their capacity to operate flexibly and made it more difficult to achieve improvements in performance.
* Working Time Directive:
The Working Time Directive was introduced into the UK in October 1998 as a measure designed to protect the health and safety of employees. The directive covers seven areas:
* maximum working weekly hours - the average working time for each seven- day period should not exceed 48 hours, however employees have the right to opt out of the regulation
* daily rest - employees are entitled to a rest period of 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period
* rest breaks - an employee that has worked six hours is entitled to a 20-minute rest period
* weekly rest - employees are entitled to an uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours in each seven-day period
* annual leave - an employer has a duty to provide an employee with at least four weeks paid annual leave
* patterns of work - an employer should ensure that employees takes regular breaks and that they are not subjected to any monotonous or high-risk tasks
* night work - night workers should not work more than an average of eight hours in any 24 hour period and they should have the option to move to day jobs if they become ill.
The Working Time Directive recognises that working hours are a health and safety issue and provides protection for employees. Organisations such as the retailer Next have been able to weaken the effect of the directive by encouraging its employees to sign an opt out form. However, the opt out only applies to weekly working hours. The added annual leave entitlement clearly increases an organisation's financial costs.
* Opening Hours:
Next Directory is open 7 days a week 7.30- 11.15 p.m. - during sales periods extended hours apply.
* Maternity and paternity leave:
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Employment Rights Act 1996 entitle pregnant employees to maternity leave regardless of their length of service or the number of hours they work. Under 1999 legislation, the maternity leave period has been extended from 14 to 18 weeks. The latest time leave can be taken is the expected week of childbirth itself, and the earliest 11 weeks before the baby is due. By law, employees must take at least two weeks maternity leave immediately after the birth of the child. Employers must continue to grant employees their statutory and fringe benefits (such as company car, health insurance, holiday entitlement) during the maternity leave period. Employees must be free to return to work after maternity leave.
At present, there is no legal requirement for organisations to grant paid paternity leave to the partners of pregnant women. To satisfy employee demand, however, some companies and local councils do grant paid leave. The average paternity leave period is currently ten days.
* The minimum wage:
The national minimum wage was introduced in April 1999 in order to provide employees with basic protection from exploitation. The minimum wage covers any UK employee who is aged 18 or older. The legislation covers agency workers, home workers, temporary and casual employees, and people on fixed-term or freelance contracts as well as all full-time and part-time employees. No exclusions are made on the grounds of region, size of company or type of industrial sector and employees cannot be excluded because of their hours, employment patterns, length of service or contract status.
At present (November 2002), there are three bands for the rates of pay for Next:
* Customer Service Advisor:
£5.10 per hour at 18 years, rising to £6.29 on completion of full training
£4.08 per hour at 17 years, rising to £5.02 on completion of full training
£3.57 per hour at 16 years, rising to £4.40 on completion of full training
* Flowers- Internet Administrator:
£5.73 per hour
* Home Customer Service Advisor:
£6.29 per hour at 18 years
£5.02 per hour at 17 years
£4.40 per hour at 16 years
* Additional Benefits:
Next offers competitive salaries and an impressive benefits package which includes:
* 25% staff discount from Next products.
* Access to the staff shops at Gedding Road and Enderby, giving you the opportunity to purchase samples and shop returns.
* Non-contracted bonus scheme.
* Savings related share scheme.
* A contributory pension scheme
* Subsidised restaurants at both sites.
* Staff holiday entitlement starts at 20 days in the first year and rises to a maximum of 31 days with service and grade.
Next want their employees to feel challenged and make a meaningful commitment to the business through their individual contribution. In return we will reward them well and offer good training with excellent opportunities for personal development and career growth.
Some people are not entitled to the minimum wage. These include:
* the self employed
* people less than 18 years old
* voluntary workers who are only paid expenses
* prisoners
* people who normally work outside the UK
* the armed forces
* people living in their employer's home
* members of an employer's family
* people on voluntary work ex~etience.
The implications of ignoring the minimum wage legislation are severe. Employers can face a fine of up to £5,000 and criminal prosecution.
The minimum wage can distort the market for labour, especially if it is higher than the real market rate for particular jobs. Opponents of the initiative have argued that it may reduce employment opportunities and lead to higher costs, which will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.
* Improving performance through raising employee motivation:
Motivation describes the extent to which an individual makes an effort to do something. Organisations are likely to improve performance, in terms of productivity, attendance rates, cooperation and quality, if they can find ways of increasing the willingness of their employees to make even greater efforts at work. This may be achieved through a variety of means - which, as we discuss in this section, are all aimed at increasing an individual's job satisfaction and are underscored by a different theoretical premise.
Job satisfaction is achieved through the work environment, and is influenced by factors such as target setting, responsibility, independence, teamwork, interaction and achievement. Motivation may be generated by a pay increase, by promotion or simply by the status and satisfaction associated with possessing a new skill and using the most up-to-date machinery and equipment. Managers use both financial and nonfinancial means to motivate employees. In doing so, they hope to minimise labour turnover, attract new recruits and create an effective, productive working environment
* What motivational theories is this based upon?
The following 4 people are Psychologists that looked at Motivational theories and how training and performance management team are important for the development of employees and how they could fulfill their needs.
* Frederick Taylor:
* FUNDAMENTALS OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT :
The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee. Next believe in this strategy.
The words "maximum prosperity" are used, in their broad sense, to mean not only large dividends for the Next or the owners, but the development of every branch of the business to its highest state of excellence, so that the prosperity may be permanent.
In the same way maximum prosperity for each employ, means not only higher wages than are usually received by men of his class, but, of more importance still, it also means the development of each man to his state of maximum efficiency, so that he may be able to do; generally speaking, the highest grade of work for which his natural abilities fit him, and it further means giving him, when possible, this class of work to do.
It would seem to be so self-evident that maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee, ought to be the two leading objects of management, that even to state this fact should be unnecessary. And yet there is no question that, throughout the industrial world, a large part of the organization of employers, as well as employees, is for war rather than for peace, and that perhaps the majority on either side do not believe that it is possible so to arrange their mutual relations that their interests become identical.
The majority of these men believe that the fundamental interests of employees and employers are necessarily antagonistic. Scientific management, on the contrary, has for its very foundation the firm conviction that the true interests of the two are one and the same; that prosperity for the employer cannot exist through a long term of years unless it is accompanied by prosperity for the employee and vice versa; and that it is possible to give the workman what he most wants-high wages-and the employer what he wants-a low labour cost-for his manufactures.
It is hoped that some at least of those who do not sympathize with each of these objects may be led to modify their views; that some employers, whose attitude toward their workmen has been that of trying to get the largest amount of work out of them for the smallest possible wages, may be led to see that a more liberal policy toward their men will pay them better; and that some of those workmen who begrudge a fair and even a large profit to their employers, and who feel that all of the fruits of their labor should belong to them, and that those for whom they work and the capital invested in the business are entitled to little or nothing, may be led to modify these views.
No one can be found who will deny that in the case of any single individual the greatest prosperity can exist only when that individual has reached his highest state of efficiency; that is, when he is turning out his largest daily output.
The truth of this fact is also perfectly clear in the case of two men working together. To illustrate: if you and your workman have become so skillful that you and he together are making two pairs of shoes in a day, while your competitor and his workman are making only one pair, it is clear that after selling your two pairs of shoes you can pay your workman much higher wages than your competitor who produces only one pair of shoes is able to pay his man, and that there will still be enough money left over for you to have a larger profit than your competitor.
In the case of a more complicated manufacturing establishment, it should also be perfectly clear that the greatest permanent prosperity for the workman, coupled with the greatest prosperity for the employer, can be brought about only when the work of the establishment is done with the smallest combined expenditure of human effort, plus nature's resources, plus the cost for the use of capital in the shape of machines, buildings, etc.
Or, to state the same thing in a different way: that the greatest prosperity can exist only as the result of the greatest possible productivity of the men and machines of the establishment-that is, when each man and each machine are turning out the largest possible output; because unless your men and your machines are daily turning out more work than others around you, it is clear that competition will prevent your paying higher wages to your workmen than are paid to those of your competitor.
Next believe the possibility of paying high wages in the case of two companies competing close beside one another is also true as to whole districts of the country and even as to nations which are in competition. In a word, that maximum prosperity can exist only as the result of maximum productivity.
If the above reasoning is correct, it follows that the most important object of both the workmen and the management from Next should be the training and development of each individual in the establishment, so that they can do (at his fastest pace and with the maximum of efficiency) the highest class of work for which are their natural abilities fit him.
Taylor's theory is also applied at Next that these principles appear to be so self-evident that many men may think it almost childish to state them. Let us, however, turn to the facts, as they actually exist in this country and in England. The English and American peoples are the greatest sportsmen in the world. Whenever an American workman plays baseball, or an English workman plays cricket, it is safe to say that he strains every nerve to secure victory for his side. He does his very best to make the largest possible number of runs.
The universal sentiment is so strong that any man who fails to give out all there is in him in sport is branded as a"quitter," and treated with contempt by those who are around.
'Scientific management'
* He believed workers actions could be programmed by managers Cut out the systematic soldiering
* Sought To establish work practices that made this impossible Carried Out a series studies
* Re-designed Jobs so that knowledge, expertise and control rested with management Believed Money was a motivating factor
* Higher Rates of pay for increased output
* Task of manager to devise a System that would maximize efficiency This Would generate profit, enabling the worker to be paid a higher wage People Were motivated by self-interest
* Manager could best motivate a worker by offering an incentive (a carrot) or a threat (the stick')
* Abraham Maslow:
908 - 1970
"I was awfully curious to find out why I didn't go insane," remarked Abraham Maslow, one of the founders of humanistic psychology.
He was born and raised in Brooklyn, the eldest of seven children. He was smart but shy, and remembered his childhood as lonely and rather unhappy. Maslow attended City College in New York. His father hoped he would pursue law, but he went to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin to study psychology. While there, he married his cousin Bertha, and found as his chief mentor Professor Harry Harlow. At Wisconsin he pursued an original line of research, investigating primate dominance behavior and sexuality. He went on to further research at Columbia University, continuing similar studies. He found another mentor in Alfred Adler, one of Freud's early followers.
From 1937 to 1951, Maslow was on the faculty of Brooklyn College. In New York he found two more mentors, anthropologist Ruth Benedict and Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer, whom he admired both professionally and personally. These two were so accomplished in both realms, and such "wonderful human beings" as well, that Maslow began taking notes about them and their behavior. This would be the basis of his lifelong research and thinking about mental health and human potential. He wrote extensively on the subject, borrowing ideas from other psychologists but adding significantly to them, especially the concepts of a heirarchy of needs, metaneeds, self-actualizing persons, and peak experiences. Maslow became the leader of the humanistic school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, which he referred to as the "third force" -- beyond Freudian theory and behaviorism.
Maslow saw human beings' needs arranged like a ladder. The most basic needs, at the bottom, were physical -- air, water, food, sex. Then came safety needs -- security, stability -- followed by psychological, or social needs -- for belonging, love, acceptance. At the top of it all were the self-actualizing needs -- the need to fulfill oneself, to become all that one is capable of becoming. Maslow felt that unfulfilled needs lower on the ladder would inhibit the person from climbing to the next step.
Someone dying of thirst quickly forgets their thirst when they have no oxygen, as he pointed out. People who dealt in managing the higher needs were what he called self-actualizing people. Benedict and Wertheimer were Maslow's models of self-actualization, from which he generalized that, among other characteristics, self-actualizing people tend to focus on problems outside of themselves, have a clear sense of what is true and what is phony, are spontaneous and creative, and are not bound too strictly by social conventions.
People from Next firmly believe in this theory.
Peak experiences are profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, when a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient and yet a part of the world, more aware of truth, justice, harmony, goodness, and so on. Self-actualizing people have many such peak experiences.
Maslow's thinking was surprisingly original -- most psychology before him had been concerned with the abnormal and the ill. He wanted to know what constituted positive mental health. Humanistic psychology gave rise to several different therapies, all guided by the idea that people possess the inner resources for growth and healing and that the point of therapy is to help remove obstacles to individuals' achieving this. The most famous of these was client-centered therapy developed by Carl Rogers.
Maslow was a professor at Brandeis University from 1951 to 1969, and then became a resident fellow of the Laughlin Institute in California. He died of a heart attack in 1970.
In 1954 Abraham Maslow identified five classes of needs these included: physiological needs,
* safety needs,
* love and belonging,
* esteem needs,
* Self-actualisation.
The needs, which Maslow identified at the bottom of the pyramid, are based on basic needs concerned with survival, and these must be satisfied before a person can go to the next level. For example some people may be more concerned with basic needs such as food, than anything else. Although it must be noted that once each need has been satisfied the ones below become less important, with exception to self-actualisation at the top, Maslow argued that although everybody is capable, very few actually reach this level.
* Douglas McGregor:
McGregor's X-Y theory is a salutary and simple reminder of the natural rules for managing people, which under the pressure of day-to-day business are all too easily forgotten.
Mcgregor maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing people. Many managers tend towards theory x, and generally get poor results. Enlightened managers use theory y, which produces better performance and results, and allows people to grow and develop.
* Theory X Propositions:
A manager from Next holding to these would be inclined to believe and state that:
* On average Next's staff really do not want to work. If they had a choice they would not want to commit themselves to work for the employer in the employer's time. They avoid it wherever possible. Basically they are self-interested and prefer leisure rather than working for someone else.
* Because of this Next have to structure work and energise their staff. Tasks need to be well-specified. Even then many need pushing and more direction and control so that they apply adequate effort towards what has to be achieved. Even though Next provide good rewards - many of Next's staff are still disinclined to apply consistently the kinds of effort the organisation needs. Many accept the rewards, complain that they need more and yet behave in ways that are less than fully committed. Next have to resort to more checks, instructions and exhortations - sometimes even punishments.
* Indeed most people prefer to be directed. They do not really wish to carry the burden of responsibility indeed they tend to avoid this. They have little ambition and prefer a secure, steady life.
If Such a thing occurs then Next's manager would give close supervision and defines jobs and systems that structure how a worker allocates and applies their time. They place stress on workers being calculative.
The above statements are spin-offs from McGregor's originals but the sense remains the same. McGregor felt that such managerial views led to behaviours and organisational systems which relied on rewards, promises, incentives, close supervision, rules and regulations, even threats and sanctions all designed to control workers.
* Theory Y:
A Theory Y manager from Next tends to believe that:
* Given the right conditions for employees, their application of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as rest or play. Work is play, offers satisfactions and meaning.
* There are alternatives to reliance on external controls, pushing and threats - implied or real. These are not the only means for linking individual effort with organisational objectives. If people feel committed, they will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of the firm's objectives.
* Their objectives will complement the firm's and commitment is a function of the "intrinsic" rewards associated with their achievement i.e. not just extrinsic rewards/punishments.
* The Theory Y manager recognises the influence of learning. He/she believes that if the right conditions are created the average person learns not to accept and seek responsibility.
* The capacity to exercise imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely not narrowly distributed in the work force
In modern organizations like Next, the intellectual potential of the average person are only partially utilised. People are capable of handling more complex problems.
Like Herzberg and Maslow, Douglas McGregor carried out his research in the late 1950's but his ideas continued to have a great influence. Most modern managers know about McGregor's ideas. As a result of research into styles of management McGregor identified two types of managers - Theory X and Theory 1' managers.
These two types of managers have different views about employees attitudes to work.
A management style is the typical characteristics and behaviours of a manager over a period of time. Typically, their ideas will fall into the Theory X or the Theory Y category and this will shape the way that they manage.
The Theory X manager will be inclined to be autocratic - telling employees what needs to be done, punishing and telling off when they step out of line, and giving rewards for conforming to requirements.
The Theory Y manager will be more democratic, giving more responsibility to employees, and trusting them to work independently
The Theory X manager is most likely to create a
climate based on simply meeting Maslow's lower order needs, focusing on what Herzberg termed movement and hygiene factors.
The Theory Y manager will seek to create opportunities for employees to be motivated through fulfilment of higher order needs and genuine motivators'.
* Frederick Herzberg:
An amusing story, about how fear might serve as a motivating factor. But, of course, Frederick Herzberg would not have seen fear as a motivating force. Herzberg's ideas were very influential in the second half of the twentieth century in providing a useful rationale for workplace motivation. His essential message was that real motivation comes from within.
Herzberg liked to draw a distinction between what he called 'movement' and 'motivation'.
He said that he could get his dog to move by kicking it. He said that most people move if you apply a force known as KITA (kick in the ass) to them - however, it did not motivate them. To create hard working and motivated people YOU need to apply genuine motivators to them.
Herzberg's ideas were a direct rejection of the Scientific Management ideas that prevailed at the start of the 20th century.
In the early years of the twentieth century, approaches to managing employees were radically different to those used by enlightened managers today The first few decades of the twentieth century saw the creation of an Industrial system in which machinery was seen as the predominant factor of production. Huge new industrial systems were created such as Henry Ford's pioneering Ford Motor Company.
Ford was the ultimate control freak. He created a mass production system for producing cars in which ordinary workers did not have to think. They did not have to understand the processes that they were involved in - they simply had to follow routine manual operations. The role of the manager working in this system was to plan and control work and to give orders, while other employees were meant simply to carry out orders. The belief was that workers were only motivated by money
Frederick Herzberg, in his book 'The Motivation to Work', '1959' showed that managers rewarding workers for efforts as suggested by the scientific management approach rarely works in practice. He said that you can move people by a range of rewards and punishments which he termed positive and negative KITA. However, movement is different from motivation.
Herzberg argued that the problem with moving people is that it is only a short-term solution and usually stops once the force is removed. Outside force only generates movement.
In contrast, Next believe motivation is a drive that comes from within an individual, and is a function of individual will. People do things because the outcome is appealing to them. Motivation is a goal-directed behaviour.
The implication is that if you want to motivate someone you need to find out about what drives that particular individual and thus motivate them.
Herzberg felt that true motivation stems from providing satisfiers in work such as making jobs more interesting or giving employees more responsibility A genuinely motivated person doesn't need to be told to work, or for supervisors to check on them - they willingly set about a. task and will usually put far more effort in than is expected or required. The challenge for modern work processes and systems is to create the types of work and work settings that are most likely to motivate people.
In his Two Factor Theory Herzberg identified:
* A range of dissatisfiers which can lead to bad feelings about work. These factors are ones which surround the job - rather than the job itself. There are nine of these:
* Company policy and administration.
* Pay
* Working conditions.
* Relationships between different levels in the hierarchy
* Relationships at the same level in the hierarchy
* Management and supervisory practices.
* Unfair treatment.
* Feelings of inadequacy
* Impossibility of growth and development.
Herzberg regarded each of these factors to be important. He called them hygiene factors' because if they are tended to carefully then employees will not be dissatisfied in their work. However, removing dissatisfiers does not create motivation.
Motivation stems from a range of satisfiers or motivators. These are:
* Recognition of effort and performance.
* The nature of the job itself- does it provide the employee with the
appropriate degree of challenge?
* Sense of achievement.
* Responsibility
* The opportunity for promotion and improvement.
On the basis of his research, Next suggest that jobs could be given more meaning if they incorporated elements of responsibility, a more creative use of abilities and opportunities for a sense of achievement.
Frederick Herzberg's 'Twofactor Theory
Frederick Herzberg carried out some important research into motivation. He identified a range of dissatisfiers associated with the context and satisfiers associated with the content of jobs.
Dissatisfiers include the following:
* Autocratic or arbitrary company policy and administration.
* Low pay.
* Poor working conditions.
* Antagonistic relations between different levels of employees.
* Unfriendly relationships within the hierarchy.
* Unfair management and supervisory practices.
* Unfair treatment of employees.
* Feelings of inadequacy.
* Impossibility of growth and development.
McGregor sees the potential to make organisations far more effective by unleashing the people who work for them. Organisations need to see themselves as interacting groups of people enjoying supportive relationships' with each other.
Ideally, members of an organisation will see the organisation's objectives as being personally significant to them.
Herzberg suggested that the existence of the above, to any great extent, would cause dissatisfaction which would, in turn, lead to absenteeism, poor levels of output, resistance to change and negativity in the workplace.
In contrast, Herzberg identified a range of satisfiers associated with the content of the work that would encourage motivation:
These are:
* Recognition of effort and performance.
* The nature of the job itself - does it provide the employee with the appropriate degree of challenge?
* Sense of achievement.
* Assumption of responsibility.
* Opportunity for promotion and responsibility.
A2
* An Evaluation of the potential Conflicts between different Human Resources Management activities within the business:
* Conflicts between Human Resources Functions:
The order in which conflicts can be identified:
HR Planning>
Recruitment and Selection>
Training and Development>
Performance Management.
Conflicts can occur if employees fail to work hard enough to meet certain objectives. Employees go through various stages to being employed.
The HR team plans whether or not they need to employ or how many they should.
Then it is up to the recruitment and selection team to try and find suitable candidates by using different procedures and techniques to find the best one.
Then once the employees have been recruited they would be given training and the team would try to develop them to do the job efficiently.
Then employee's performance would be monitored constantly to see if they are coping well in the organization or not.
Conflicts start to occur when employees mess up at certain stages of any procedure. For E.g. the performance of the employees could interrupt the system if the performance management team think that they are not performing.
Performance Management team would start to assume that they were not trained or developed properly and they would start acquisitions against the Training and Development team.
The training and development team would then go on to say that their training is perfect but the performance management team aren't managing them well enough or they might accuse the recruitment and selection team for not selecting the right candidates.
Then the Recruitment and selection team may refuse to take any blame and start blaming all the other functions.
The Hr dept might get a few fingers pointed at them but they would swiftly shift the blame as well.
These conflicts would be essential to avoid and Next try to avoid these by investing heavily in each procedure in order for the system to work and find the perfect employee. By doing this they would prefer to get it right first time rather than waste time later on and this would also avoid any sort of conflict.
It is essential that Next avoid any sort of Conflict, however this is not that easy, because if one resources team may not be doing their job properly then it is virtually impossible to avoid.
When conflicts arise, the first line of communication for staff on job-related matters is your supervisor. Discussions with your supervisor usually can solve problems that may develop and often leads to a better working relationship. Below are some tips that may be helpful in resolving employee and/or work related problems:
* Analyze the situation
* Define the problem
* Talk about your interests: What do you really care about?
* What you need to have happen?
* Develop goals and objectives.
* How would you like things to be?
* Generate ideas/options for satisfying interests or achieving the desired outcome
* Discuss, evaluate various options, negotiate, and decide
* Make sure there is a clear plan for implementation-and then, implement.
* Review and evaluate how things are going
* An evaluation of the the potential conflicts between different Human Resources Management activities within the business:
* Resolve Conflicts at Work:
Conflicts at work can be stressful and counterproductive for everyone involved. Any HR Function would normally confront the other team and resolve the situation rather than it cause the business's atmosphere any harm.
* It is vital to confront the other team who is bothering you. It is usually better to air grievances in the open than to let them fester.
* Speak to the other team calmly, politely and rationally. Focus on the situation and facts, avoiding gossip and personal attacks.
* Be careful not to express hostility in your posture, facial expression or tone. Be assertive without being aggressive.
* Listen what the other Functions team carefully: What are they trying to say? Be sure that you understand their position.
* Express interest in the other teams statements. It can acknowledge their ideas without necessarily agreeing or submitting. Saying, "We understand that you feel this way. Here's how we feel," provides the needed acknowledgment.
* Communicate clearly what it is that you want, offering positive suggestions and recommendations.
* Speak to your Managers or shareholders if a problem with arises and seriously threatens your work - but avoid whining.
Unit 4 Human Resources
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