Workforce agility refers to the ability of labor to contribute in a rapidly changing environment, also means that the ability of a company’s own employees to be assigned a greater variety of tasks.((Narendar Sumukadas, Rajeev Sawhney) The quick response ability, more flexible and efficient operation offer company a strong competitiveness to win in rapid changing of global market. The role of EI practices, been using as enhancing efficiencies of business operation and fostering multi-skilled workers. Sharing are information about business plan, goal and current operational performance will lead better communication within a whole of the company, and potentially improvement of switching and collaborative efficiencies.(Hopp and Van Oyen,2003)In order to practice the multi-skilled labors, training and reward practices, use job rotation or job redesign to practice employee’s skills of problem solving, leadership skills etc; or use skill-based payment system to enhance variability skills of workers. Power sharing practices, especially high-power of practices like self managed team which refers to a group of workers have responsibility on decision making, purchasing, quality control. This practices foster efficiencies involved training, switching, multi-tasking, and collaborative efficiencies. However, there also exists limitation when implement EI practices to build workforce agility. Information sharing practice will be inefficient due to constrains which come from the formal of channel; the benefits of training be overstated and can only perform flexibility when employee has sets of skills. Self-managed team need labor who has a high level of autonomy. Even these, EI practices are positive associate with shaping of workforce agility, and further contribute on gaining of the operational efficiencies and flexible multi-skilled labors. Finally, encouraging whole organizational performance. ((Narendar Sumukadas, Rajeev Sawhney).
It is impossible that firms can get a long-lasting improvement of economic or operational performance by EI practices and TQM. Their effects and business efforts made at employee involvement will be limited by the adoption of practices, time period and the intensity of practices use. Firms adopting appropriate mix of EI practices and TQM could help organization get a significant economic performance, for example, the studies found that return on equity is most majority related with EI practices and TQM use. By contrast, another studies found that TQM and job enrichment combination will weaken the positive effect that get from job enrichment, show a negative consequence on job satisfaction. The previous studies also pointed put that EI practices and its effect on organizational economic performance would have limitation on the time period, the research that the studies did from 1987 to 1993, figures collected, and finally analysis seems like no obvious improvement on economic performance. Another studies also claims that Employee involvement would have short run improvement on productivity, even from this studies and its examination on 25 manufacturing plants report that EI had no impact on economic performance. This is because EI practices and TQM are a new business concept and business need more time to learn and try how to implement them into real operation effectively. Additionally, effect of EI practices and TQM on employee involvement rely on the intensity of using of this program, one studies and its statistical table prove that high intensity of EI practices is positively with organizational economic performance. Apart from these, a long-run improvement of organizational performance whenever it reflects on economic, operational even the achievement of business objective, “ deeply joint in” and the degree of participation becomes the key. At the same time, managerial and structure of business, especially does manager certainly share powers to workers when they desire to be involved in will become the wall of long-run improvement of employee involvement and its achievement.
To sum up, when business recognize the benefits can get from using of EI practices, it would be a better choice the most appropriate mix of EI practices and the level of intensity use. Balance the degree of job satisfaction and operating efficiencies. Ensure the maximum participation of EI practices between employees and employers. In the end, business can get economic and operating improvement of organizational performance substantially.
Reference
<Total Quality Management Practices and Performance >Dr. Esin Sadikoglu, Gebze Institute of Technology, Kocaeli, Turkey
<The relationships between organizational culture, total quality management practices and operational performance> Kevin Baird Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Kristal Jia Hu Ernst and Young Centre, Sydney, Australia, and Robert Reeve Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
<Job satisfaction and quality management: an empirical analysis > Lilian M. de Menezes
Faculty of Management, Cass Business School, City University London, London, UK
<Workforce agility through employee involvement >NARENDAR SUMUKADAS1∗ and RAJEEV SAWHN
<The exploration of employee involvement model > W.-B. Lin *EY2
<An Examination of the Effect of Employee Involvement on Teamwork Effectiveness: An Empirical Study> Mahfuz Judeh
<Employee involvement and quality management > Hongyi Sun Ip Kee Hui Agnes Y.K. Tam and Jan Frick
<empirical research on employee involvement : a critical review for labor> Tom Joravich