Human resources management is aimed at enhancing good performance among the many employees of an organization. Empirical results have shown that performance of employees has a relationship with the level of productivity. It is important for one to understand these two concepts in order to know the actual relationship between them. Performance is the actual execution of duties allocated by the employer in an organization (William 2012). It is the process of accomplishing work that has been assigned by the top management. Productivity is the rate at which output is produced using a given set of outputs.
Performance of employees has a positive relationship with productivity. This is because increased performance by employees will to an increase in the total output from the production process. Performance of the workers can be measured by the ability to conduct many activities within a given time frame (Martin 2011). If this capacity increases, then it is said that the performance of a worker has increased. If a worker is able to perform more production activities in a given time frame, more units of output will be produced within the period. This will lead to an increase in the rate at which final goods are produced.
Employees cannot perform well without getting proper treatment from the top management. The management should ensure that all the needs of the workers are addressed in order to enhance their morale. Motivation is one of the most important factors that enhance the morale of workers (William 2012). There are various ways in which the management can motivate its employees. However, it should not provide excess motivation that can instill excess costs to the company. The use of motivation to enhance morale has been supported by various motivation theories. The basic concept depicted in these theories is the same, although they differ in minor aspects.
One theory that has explained the relationship between these concepts is Abraham’s Maslow Theory of Motivation. In this theory, Abraham argues that employees have to be motivated in order to generate increased performance. According to him, workers can be motivated to perform well by satisfying their various needs. Some of these needs include basic, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs (Martin 2011). If these needs are not met, workers will have poor interest in conducting their activities. They will work less since they have fewer expectations from the company. This will lead to low performance, which translates into lower output from the production process.
Remuneration of workers has played a big part in enhancing the performance of employees in an organization. For this reason, the human resources department usually sets a salary that induces the employee to work well. If this salary is increased on the basis of good performance, workers will put their best effort in their activities. This will translate to an increase in the overall output realized by the company. Increasing the salary of the workers will help the organization in retaining some of the most productive workers in the company (Bob 2010). This action will prevent them from searching for jobs in other competing companies.
The relationship between the managers and the workers also affect the performance of employees in an organization (Martin 2011). If this relationship is good, the workers will perform better. There should be effective organization and leadership in order to have improved performance. Bad leadership makes workers to lose hope in their managers, which lowers their morale. In this case, performance will decline, which will translate to lower production.
In order to realize a high level of productivity, the management has to conduct strategic management. High productivity is realized when there is full utilization of resources in the organization. Proper utilization of production machinery requires high level of skill and competence by employees. This means that an employee may be willing to perform well in the organization, but may lack the necessary skill to work effectively. In order to enhance efficiency, the management should ensure that its entire staff is highly trained on how to use production equipment effectively.
Providing good working environment for the employees will also enhance excellent performance in the organization (William 2012). In some organizations, employees are promised higher posts if their performance generates good results in the industry. This induces the workers to improve their performance since they anticipate promotions in the future. In this case, the workers are committed to see that the total output of the firm is beyond the set limit. If the employees are able to produce beyond the targeted production, there will be increased productivity in the organization.
There are certain factors that have led to a decrease in the total productivity. Decreased productivity is associated with a reduction in the performance of the employees. One cause of poor performance is poor strategic management. The management may indulge into poor planning practices in regard to the utilization of human resources, which may lead to lower production. Poor motivation may also lead to reduced performance by the workers (Moses 2011). In some organizations, there are cases whereby the workers work for some months without getting paid. At some point, they start forming strikes within the organization. During the strikes, little production takes place due to little utilization of production materials. This leads to a decrease in the total output produced
In conclusion, every organization should design ways of improving the performance of employees. This will enhance higher productivity, which will increase the overall profitability of the company. The human resources management should evaluate the workers in terms of their performance. This will enable them to maintain high output production in the organization. Generally, high productivity in an organization is realized through effective and excellent performance of workers.
References
William, K. (2012) Issues in Human Resources Development. London. Palgrave Macmillan.
Martin, G. (2011) Organizational Behavior: Performance and Productivity. New York. Mc-Grade Publications.
Bob, K. (2010) Motivation in the Organization. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
Moses, M. (2011) Human Resources Management: Employee Performance. London. Palgrave Macmillan.
