Q1. Most contemporary Australian organisations any set of generic best practices'.
Ans. 1. In today’s highly competitive framework, organizations need to develop and maintain competitive advantages and this could be acquired through developing efficient and committed work forces that have the capability to perform in accordance with the specific organizational goals. So strategies befitting institutional context would be appropriate for mobilizing the work forces in to desired action. High commitment human resource strategies are found to be effective in improving organizational performances especially by motivating the work forces to perform in alignment with the organizational requirements. Committed work forces can be developed by adopting appropriate strategies that are applicable within the organizational culture, structure and framework (Iverson and Zatzick, 2007). But adopting strategies or tactics that were found to be effective in other industries or institutions might not bring about same levels of effectiveness, if implemented directly. Human Resource (HR) managers need to adapt the strategies in alignment with the organizational objectives as well as based on specific requirements in order to maximize the benefits of the implemented strategies.
High commitment approaches mainly aims at supporting and encouraging the work forces to remain committed as well as to perform their organizational tasks effectively and to develop the needed levels of proficiency. To be effective, these strategies need to facilitate in developing positive attitudes in the employees, which in turn could encourage the employee to act responsibly and effectively for the attainment of common goals (Farndale, 2010). As these strategies are aimed at developing proper rapport with the organization and its employees, there is need for evolving the strategic measures in line with the specific requirements and organizational goals or purposes. Theoretically there might be some proven practices and approaches for instilling the level of motivation and job satisfaction among work forces. But practically even the best practices or the successful models need to be altered contextually to befit organizational goals, purposes and setup in order to be successful and functional to the core.
Though high commitment HR strategies need to be applied at different stages of the HR processes, right from recruitment to employee development and retention, the applicability of the approaches can be enhanced only through proper customizations. Employee commitments towards the organization can be enhanced through establishing greater association between employees and the organization, which might encourage them to identify their roles and tasks in achieving common goals and objectives. Such levels of commitments can be developed only through appropriately adapting or evolving the strategies contextually (Zeiden, 2006). The levels of commitment required, organizational goals, organizational requirements, work force specificity, dynamism and other organization specific factors need to be considered prior to adapting the strategies. Efforts like this could increase the reach and extent of its influence on the work forces.
In short, the HR strategies adopted need to be complementary and synergistic in order to bring greater levels of success. Since the effectiveness of these strategies relies on the capability to integrate in to the organizational culture, the strategies need to be better adapted to suit the organization structure and framework.
Ques 2. The traditional approach to recruitment and selection based on the processual model.
Ans 2. High commitment organizations can be developed only through adopting effective strategies right from recruitment and selection until employee retention and development. As greater levels of motivation and task appropriate capabilities are required of the work forces in high commitment organizations, the strategic initiatives adopted for recruitment and selection also has to be exceptional in order to capture right and potential talents. For this purpose, there is need to identify the specific talents, abilities and levels of motivation required for performing different organizational functions under changing organizational conditions (Dawson, 2005. Necessary skill sets that are required for performing the differential tasks and responsibilities need to be identified in order to make the right selections. But recruitment and selection should not entirely be based on the specific skill sets alone but should also be based on their capability to expand and build in line with the organizational requirements as well as based on the differential responsibilities and tasks they need to perform.
In order to develop and maintain leading edges, organizations need to continuously evolve to accommodate relevant changes. Changes in an organization always need to be complemented with the support of the work forces who are capable enough to perform their altered tasks and responsibilities (Huegens, Kapein and Oosterhout, 2007). So recruitment and selection based on the processual model would be appropriate as this model recognizes the need to develop progressive steps. In processual model, there is scope planning for the unexpected or contingency planning is possible. If recruitment and selection is based on this model, then there is the advantage of building up capable work forces who can perform even under unexpected situations. As a result of which the performances of the individuals as well as organizational performances would remain almost the same even under stressful conditions. The work forces could also evolve appropriately based on the requirements of the times.
In the HR planning stage, there is need for forecasting the possible changes that could occur in an organization both through the interferences from external and internal sources. Such planning could be useful in the recruitment stages for selecting the most appropriate and capable candidates. These approaches could enable to select the work forces who have the ability and talent to adapt and remain productive even under altered conditions. As a result of which the objectives of high commitment organization could be rightly met through adopting appropriate strategies in recruitment and selection process as well. Adopting processual model in recruitment and selection could ensure that the process was not for mere filling a vacancy but becomes an initiative for developing capabilities as well as for building up capabilities for enhancing the performances at individual and organizational levels. The role of recruitment and selection could be further enhanced to identify the prospect for skill development and competency building (Huegens, Kapein and Oosterhout, 2007). These approaches in recruitment and selection could ensure that the work forces selected would possess the essential traits for performing their basic or diversified tasks even when drastic changes occur.
In short, recruitment and selection would not be just fulfilling the work force requirements in numbers but processual model could enable the organizations to select potential employees who have the capability to expand their capabilities and reach to higher levels in alignment with organizational goals and requirements, as and when needed.
Ques 3. If handled appropriately, teams can supports devolved decision making and initiative.
Ans 3. Developing and maintaining functional teams has become a necessity for organizations to remain competitive as well as for enhancing their functional capability and reach. Presence of skilled, talented and capable work forces in a team does not ensure that it could excel in their performances. In addition to the presence of efficient work forces, a fully functional team requires optimum levels of coordination, cooperation, interactions and knowledge sharing for maximizing their performances (Worland and Manning, 2005). There is need for developing a learning environment in order to promote the growth and development of individuals and groups. The work forces have to be made compliant to the organizational standards and practices in order to perform well within organizational constraints. There are various structural and functional aspects that facilitate the smooth functioning of teams or groups.
Organizational structure and culture influences individual, group and organizational performances as these factors act as a medium through which the organization functions. The power structures as well as the work environment need to be designed in such a way as to develop the needed synergy for team functioning. Decentralized or flexible or flat structures in fact provides more opportunity for the work forces to get involved in the decision making process and enhances the involvement of individuals in the daily functioning (Gupta, 2011). As high commitment organizations aims at enhancing individual and organizational performances by appropriately motivating the work forces to perform their tasks and responsibilities in alignment with organizational goals, the various organizational factors need to be designed for optimizing interactions and involvement of the work forces.
The role of leader in team building and its functioning has been well illustrated. In high commitment organizations, the leader needs to ensure that all the members remain motivated and committed to the performance as well as remain sensitive to the organizational needs. The ability or skills of the leader in building proper rapport between team members also form integral to team functioning. There is need to ensure that the team members are properly empowered to perform as well as to grow in accordance with common goals and purposes. In these type of organizations the leader need to possess all the essential skill sets and capabilities for motivating the team members in to consistently performing relevant tasks and responsibilities in accordance with organizational goals (Gupta, 2011). Leadership should be such that it gives opportunity for each member to grow and develop in line with the requirements of the times. Proper freedom should be given to the members to increase their involvements as well as to empower them to positively associate with the organization. Such efforts could enable them to develop core competencies and expertise for carrying out complicated tasks. Leaders need to inspire the teams to continuously perform and evolve in relation to organizational need.
In short, functional teams form integral to organizational performances and competency development and it is seen that various factors like leadership, organizational culture, structure, work force motivation, attitudes, etc play a major role in deciding the success of teams and even functioning of high commitment organizations.
References
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Farndale, E. (2010). High Commitment Performance Management: The Roles of Justice and Trust. Personnel Review, 40 (1): 5 – 23. [Online]. [Accessed 8 April 2013]. Available at https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/1826/5095/1/High_commitment_performance_management.pdf
Gupta, V. (2011). Cultural basis of high performance organizations. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 21 (3): 221 – 240. [Online]. [Accessed 6 April 2013]. Available at http://themag.info/journ_com_man/Cultural_basis.pdf
Huegens, P. P. M. A., Kapein, M. and Oosterhout, J. V. (2007). Contracts to communities: A processual model of organizational virtue. Journal of Management Studies 45 (1): 100 – 121. [Online]. [Accessed 8 April 2013]. Available at http://econ.au.dk/fileadmin/Economics_Business/Currently/Events/PhDFinance/Kauttu_REF_Contracts_to_Communities-_A_Processual_Model_of_Organizational_Virtue.pdf
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Worland, D. and Manning, K. (2005). Strategic human resource management and performance. School of Management, Victoria University of Technology, Working Paper Series. [Online]. [Accessed 6 April 2013]. Available at http://vuir.vu.edu.au/121/1/(121)Strategic_Human_Resource_Management_and_Performance.pdf
Zeiden, S. (2006). Workers affective commitment and their willingness to perform discretionary work behaviour: The impact of commitment oriented human resource management practices. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 1 (1): 13 – 23. [Online]. [Accessed 7 April 2013]. Available at http://www.jbsge.vu.edu.au/issues/vol1no1/zeidan.pdf
