Leading and Managing People Assignment
Aim:To develop a critical awareness of current factors affecting leading and managing people and to demonstrate how effective policies can add value to the business’ strategic goals.
Learning Outcomes:
To be able to
- Make constructive contributions to the development or enhancement of Leading and Managing and People strategies
- Assess the nature and extent of the people related factors that inhibit the achievement of organisational success within their own organisations.
- Critically evaluate existing work practices and propose cost effective improvements
- Optimise the use of available tools and techniques in the field of research and IT
Context:
High performance working (HPW) is one response being made by organisations to meet the demands of change and the increasing needs faced by many of mass customisation and fulfilment of individual customers’ needs. The OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) definition of HPW refers to flatter non-hierarchical structures; moving away from reliance on management control towards team-working; autonomous working based on high levels of trust,communication and involvement. Jeffrey Pfeffer in his bookThe Human Equation, claimednot only werepeople at the heart of business success, but that the management requirement could be reduced to a set of key HR policies.Pfeffer argued that the closer organisations get to this list, the better performance is likely to be. This seems to characterise most if not all of the systems producing profits through people.
HRM Policy (input) Company Performance (output)
1. Employment security and internal labour markets
2. Selective hiring and sophisticated selection
3. Extensive training, learning and development
4. Employee involvement and participation, worker voice
5. Self-managed teams/team-working
6. High compensation contingent on performance
7. Performance review, appraisal and career development
8. Reduction of status differences/harmonisation
9. Work-life balance
Source: Compiled from a number of sources but initially adapted significantly from Pfeffer, J.‘The Human Equation’. Boston Press 1998
Produce a professional report of no more than 3000 words, addressed to your organisation’s MD/CEO, on the tasks stated below. Include cost-effective recommendations and an action plan to improve effectiveness, add value to the business.
Ensure your report has sufficient academic rigour to support your arguments and conclusions and to guarantee its credibility in the eyes of the organisation.
NB: Appendices should not be included unless they add substantial benefits; Recommendations should pass the ‘immediate implementation test’.
Key Tasks:
1. Critically discuss what is meant by High Performance Working (HPW).
2. Given the nine key areas identified above, critically discuss the extent to which any three of these high performance working areas is evident in your own organisation.
3. Make recommendations leading to an action plan based upon your findings, to improve performance in your organisation, clearly stating how it can add value to the business performance. Recommendations must be timely and fully justified stating clearly costs and benefits and any further implications to the organisation.