Human_Resources_Practices

Arab academy for science and technology Business department 3rd year Names of student MAHA AHMED ABD ELAZIZ PROF. DR. GHADA EL KOTT 2011 Analysis of Questionnaire HRM Practices * 60% of employees disagree that the council tries to fill new positions with people from inside the organization * 40% of employees are neutral that organization provides opportunities for employees to express views about work * 40% of employees disagree that organization keeps employees informed about business issues * 40% of employees agree that their pays are performance related * 60% of employees disagree that received training and development courses to update skills within the last 12 months * 60% of employees agree that they involved in decision making in work teams and programs within the last 12 months Job satisfaction * 40% of employees strongly disagree or neutral that they are satisfied with the sense of achievement they get from their jobs * 40% of employees are neutral that they are satisfied with the scope for using initiative * 40% of employees agree that they have influence over their jobs * 80% of employees agree that they are satisfied with their pays * 60% of employees strongly agree that they feel their jobs are secure * 40% of employees disagree that they are satisfied with the training they have received * 60% of employees disagree that they are satisfied with the work they do * 60% of employees disagree that their manager involves them in decision making Employee Commitment * 60% of employees are neutral that they feel loyalty towards the organization * 40% of employees agree that they feel loyalty towards their immediate supervisor * 80% of employees agree that they feel loyalty towards their fellow employees * 80% of employees are neutral that they feel loyalty towards customers and clients * 60% of employees are neutral that they are proud to tell people they work for the council Work-Life Balance Satisfaction * 60% of employees agree that their jobs requires that they work hard * 60% of employees agree that there is never enough time to get their work done * 60% of employees disagree that they worry about their work outside working hours * 40% of employees agree or neutral that their manager understands about their family responsibilities * 60% of employees disagree that flexible working options are available to them if needed Supervisory Support * 60% of employees agree that they receive help from their line manager which improves their performance * 40% of employees agree that they are given feedback by their immediate line manager on how they are doing * 60% of employees agree that their line manager provides praise and recognition when they do well * 60% of employees disagree that their line manager supports them when necessary * 60% of employees disagree that they feel fairly treated Trust in Management * 60% of employees agree that they trust management to look after their best interests * 60% of employees are neutral that there are good relations between managers and employees Discussion HRM Practices The overall purpose of human resource management is to ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people. As Ulrich and Lake (1990) remark: ‘HRM systems can be the source of organizational capabilities that allow firms to learn and capitalize on new opportunities.’ Specifically, HRM is concerned with achieving objectives in the areas summarized below. Organizational effectiveness ‘Distinctive human resource practices shape the core competencies that determine how firms compete’ (Cappelli and Crocker-Hefter, 1996). Extensive research has shown that such practices can make a significant impact on firm performance. HRM strategies aim to support programmes for improving organizational effectiveness by developing policies in such areas as knowledge management, talent management and generally creating ‘a great place to work’. This is the ‘big idea’ as described by Purcell et al (2003), which consists of a ‘clear vision and a set of integrated values’. More specifically, HR strategies can be concerned with the development of continuous improvement and customer relations policies. Human capital management The human capital of an organization consists of the people who work there and on whom the success of the business depends. Human capital has been defined by Bontis et al (1999) as follows: Human capital represents the human factor in the organization; the combined intelligence, skills and expertise that give the organization its distinctive character. The human elements of the organization are those that are capable of learning, changing, innovating and providing the creative thrust which if properly motivated can ensure the long-term survival of the organization. Human capital can be regarded as the prime asset of an organization and businesses need to invest in that asset to ensure their survival and growth. HRM aims to ensure that the organization obtains and retains the skilled, committed and well-motivated workforce it needs. This means taking steps to assess and satisfy future people needs and to enhance and develop the inherent capacities of people – their contributions, potential and employability – by providing learning and continuous development opportunities. It involves the operation of ‘rigorous recruitment and selection procedures, performance-contingent incentive compensation systems, and management development and training activities linked to the needs of the business’ (Becker et al, 1997). It also means engaging in talent management – the process of acquiring and nurturing talent, wherever it is and wherever it is needed, by using a number of interdependent HRM policies and practices in the fields of resourcing, learning and development, performance management and succession planning. The process of human capital management (HCM) is closely associated with human resource management. However, the focus of HCM is more on the use of metrics (measurements of HR and people performance) as a means of providing guidance on people management strategy and practice. Knowledge management Knowledge management is ‘any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to enhance learning and performance in organizations’ (Scarborough et al, 1999). HRM aims to support the development of firm-specific knowledge and skills that are the result of organizational learning processes. Reward management HRM aims to enhance motivation, job engagement and commitment by introducing policies and processes that ensure that people are valued and rewarded for what they do and achieve and for the levels of skill and competence they reach. Employee relations The aim is to create a climate in which productive and harmonious relationships can be maintained through partnerships between management and employees and their trade unions. Meeting diverse needs HRM aims to develop and implement policies that balance and adapt to the needs of its stakeholders and provide for the management of a diverse workforce, taking into account individual and group differences in employment, personal needs, work style and aspirations and the provision of equal opportunities for all. Job satisfaction Specific employee attitudes relating to job satisfaction and organizational commitment are of major interest to the field of organizational behavior and the practice of human resources management. Attitude has direct impact on job satisfaction. Organizational commitment on the other hand, focuses on their attitudes towards the entire organization. Although a strong relationship between satisfaction and commitment has been found, more recent research gives more support to the idea that commitment causes satisfaction. However, most studies treat satisfaction and commitment differently, especially in light of things like downsizing that are part of modern organizations. Locke and Lathan (1976) give a comprehensive definition of job satisfaction as pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience. Job satisfaction is a result of employee's perception of how well their job provides those things that are viewed as important. According to (Mitchell and Lasan, 1987), it is generally recognized in the organizational behavior field that job satisfaction is the most important and frequently studied attitude. While Luthan (1998) posited that there are three important dimensions to job satisfaction: • Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation. As such it cannot be seen, it can only be inferred. • Job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcome meet or exceed expectations. For instance, if organization participants feel that they are working much harder than others in the department but are receiving fewer rewards they will probably have a negative attitudes towards the work, the boss and or coworkers. On the other hand, if they feel they are being treated very well and are being paid equitably, they are likely to have positive attitudes towards the job. • Job satisfaction represents several related attitudes which are most important characteristics of a job about which people have effective response. These to Luthans are: the work itself, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision and coworkers. Job satisfaction is so important in that its absence often leads to lethargy and reduced organizational commitment (Levinson, 1997, Moser, 1997). Lack of job satisfaction is a predictor of quitting a job (Alexander, Litchtenstein and Hellmann, 1997; Jamal, 1997). Sometimes workers may quit from public to the private sector and vice versa. At the other times the movement is from one profession to another that is considered a greener pasture. This later is common in countries grappling with dwindling economy and its concomitant such as poor conditions of service and late payment of salaries (Nwagwu, 1997). In such countries, people tend to migrate to better and consistently paying jobs (Fafunwa, 1971). Explaining its nature some researcher (e.g. Armentor, Forsyth, 1995, Flanegan, Johnson and Berret, 1996; Kadushin, and Kulys, 1995) tend to agree that job satisfaction is essentially controlled by factors described in Adeyemo's (2000) perspectives as external to the worker. From this viewpoint satisfaction on a job might be motivated by the nature of the job, its pervasive social climate and extent to which workers peculiar needs are met. Working conditions that are similar to local and international standard (Osagbemi, 2000), and extent to which they resemble work conditions of other professions in the locality. Other inclusions are the availability of power and status, pay satisfaction, promotion opportunities, and task clarity (Bolarin, 1993; Gemenxhenandez, Max, Kosier, Paradiso and Robinson, 1997). Employee Commitment High levels of employee commitment of individual projects or to the business as a whole are considered to be indicators of an organisation’s success. Commitment, however, cannot be assumed. Rather, it requires continuing, credible and confident actions that gain employees’ trust and support. Although there is no single way of gaining commitment, there are some key considerations: 1. Be clear about what is required There are many examples of the lengths people are prepared to go in support of causes to which they are committed. As a manager, you can’t expect your employees to be committed to something that they, and perhaps you, don’t understand. So before your employees commit their time and resources, they have every right to know exactly what it is they are letting themselves in for. And, of course, any confusion you have will soon be communicated to employees – so be clear about what you want. 2. Focus on action goals Assemble those employees whose commitment you are seeking, explain the situation as you see it, and describe the outcomes envisaged. Explain any short-term goals and the specific actions needed for their achievement. Outline the benefits (including what’s in it for them) to be derived from successful accomplishment of those goals. The noblest dream and the most appealing strategy are worthless until those involved make a commitment to achieve the objectives. 3. Adopt a problem-solving approach Use group facilitation skills (eg a force-field analysis) to identify blockages preventing achievement of goals. Involve employees in planning for the elimination or reduction of those blockages. Allocate responsibilities to agreed actions and confirm individual commitment. Document all actions agreed on and circulate them to everyone involved. 4. Measure progress If possible, decide how goals and their progress can be measured. Rarely will employees be prepared to make or maintain a commitment when there are no measures of their progress and achievement. You will need to use measures as a means of assessing levels of commitment – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. 5. Monitor employee responses Employees will be waiting to see what you do. Even if they appear to show little interest towards your proposal or project, they will be keeping your subsequent actions under observation. Gaining and building commitment cannot be rushed and what you do will lead the way. If you find that commitment is not forthcoming, you will need to decide whether to persevere, to adopt another approach, or to scrap the idea. 6. Foster interdependence among employees The development of strong links among employees benefits you and the organisation. One of those benefits, for example, is a decrease in absenteeism – staff realise how others are affected by their non-attendance. Interdependence helps to build ownership, trust and commitment among employees as they see how their individual contributions affect, or are affected by, fellow workers. 7. Develop a work environment where commitment grows Make your workplace one where employees want to be. A harmonious working environment brings out the best in people. Employees will be prepared to commit to a project or organization they feel part of. 8. Recognize achievements When employee commitment has resulted in goal achievement, provide rewards and other forms of recognition that individual employee’s value. Recognition should cater for individuals, work groups and even families. After all, the success of many projects depends, in part, on the support provided by life partners and other family members. 9. Find reasons for declining commitment When working on a new project, the initial exuberance and commitment of employees can sometimes wane. One of the following factors, or a combination, could cause this problem: • Did you take too long to get the project started after the planning phase' In the meantime, other demands might have intervened and “cooled off” your employees. • In the initial planning stage, did you account for any events or conditions that might distract your employees' Did you spend time trying to foresee and plan for such obstacles' • Has the momentum slowed down because of vacation periods, e.g. Christmas holidays, or the shorter breaks' Timing is an essential ingredient in any new project. • Did you set attainable objectives' Or were your employees running around in circles' • Are your employees having difficulty with some activity early in the program' • Did you plan periodic feedback sessions to identify and remedy any difficulties encountered' Feedback and evaluation keep commitment high. Work-Life Balance Satisfaction We do not consider balance to be a work–family linking mechanism because it does not specify how conditions or experiences in one role are causally related to conditions or experiences in the other role (Edwards & Rothbard, 2000). Instead, work–family balance reflects an individual’s orientation across different life roles, an inter-role phenomenon (Marks & MacDermid, 1996). In contrast to the prevailing view that individuals inevitably organize their roles in a hierarchy of prominence, Marks and MacDermid (1996), drawing on Mead (1964), suggest that individuals can—and should—demonstrate equally positive commitments to different life roles; that is, they should hold a balanced orientation to multiple roles. Marks and MacDermid define role balance as ‘‘the tendency to become fully engaged in the performance of every role in one’s total role system, to approach every typical role and role partner with an attitude of attentiveness and care. Put differently, it is the practice of that evenhanded alertness known sometimes as mindfulness’’ (Marks & MacDermid, 1996, p. 421). However, they also note that this expression of full engagement reflects a condition of ‘‘positive’’ role balance, in contrast to negative role balance in which individuals are fully disengaged in every role. Although Marks and MacDermid (1996) are understandably more concerned with positive role balance than negative role balance, they acknowledge that it is important to distinguish the two concepts. Other scholars have defined work–family balance or work-life balance in a manner similar to Marks and MacDermids (1996) conception of positive role balance. For example, Kirchmeyer views living a balanced life as ‘‘achieving satisfying experiences in all life domains, and to do so requires personal resources such as energy, time, and commitment to be well distributed across domains’’ (Kirchmeyer, 2000, p. 81, italics added). In a similar vein, Clark views work–family balance as ‘‘satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home with a minimum of role conflict’’ (Clark, 2000, p. 349). According to Kofodimos, balance refers to ‘‘a satisfying, healthy, and productive life that includes work, play, and love. . . ’’ (Kofodimos, 1993; p. xiii). These definitions of balance share a number of common elements. First is the notion of equality, or near-equality, between experiences in the work role and experiences in the family role. Clark (2000), Kirchmeyer (2000), and Kofodimos (1993) imply similarly high levels of satisfaction, functioning, health, or effectiveness across multiple roles. Perhaps, Marks and MacDermids (1996) notion of ‘‘evenhanded alertness’’ as a characteristic of positive balance is most explicit with regard to equality of role commitments. Even negative balance, to use Marks and MacDermids (1996) term, implies an evenhanded lack of alertness in different roles. To draw an analogy from everyday life, a measuring scale is balanced when there are equal weights on both sides of the fulcrum, whether the weights are equally heavy or equally light. Moreover, the definitions of work–family balance implicitly consider two components of equality: inputs and outcomes. The inputs are the personal resources (Kirchmeyer, 2000) that are applied to each role. To be balanced is to approach each role—work and family—with an approximately equal level of attention, time, involvement, or commitment. Positive balance suggests an equally high level of attention, time, involvement, or commitment, whereas negative balance refers to an equally low level of attention, time, involvement, or commitment. These inputs reflect an individuals level of role engagement—in terms of time devoted to each role or psychological involvement in each role. It is difficult to imagine a balanced individual who is substantially more or less engaged in the work role than the family role. The other component of balance refers to the resultant outcomes that are experienced in work and family roles. One outcome frequently included in definitions ofbalance is satisfaction (Clark, 2000; Kirchmeyer, 2000; Kofodimos, 1993). Positive balance implies an equally high level of satisfaction with work and family roles, and negative balance suggests an equally low level of satisfaction with each role. Again, it is difficult to picture individuals as having achieved work–family balance if they are substantially more satisfied with one role than the other. In fact, one of Marks and MacDermids (1996) measures of positive role balance assesses the extent to which an individual is equally satisfied in all life roles. We offer the following definition of work–family balance: the extent to which an individual is equally engaged in—and equally satisfied with—his or her work role and family role. Consistent with Marks and MacDermid (1996), our definition is broad enough to include positive balance and negative balance. Because role engagement can be further divided into elements of time and psychological involvement, we propose three components of work–family balance: • Time balance: an equal amount of time devoted to work and family roles. • Involvement balance: an equal level of psychological involvement in work and family roles. • Satisfaction balance: an equal level of satisfaction with work and family roles. Each component of work–family balance can represent positive balance or negative balance depending on whether the levels of time, involvement, or satisfaction are equally high or equally low. We view work–family balance as a matter of degree, a continuum anchored at one end by extensive imbalance in favor of a particular role (for example, family) through some relatively balanced state to extensive imbalance in favor of the other role (e.g., work) as the other anchor point. In addition, we conceptualize balance as independent of an individuals desires or values. Bielby and Bielby (1989) observed that married working women may emphasize their family ‘‘in balancing work and family identities’’ (p. 786) and Lambert (1990) discussed ‘‘maintaining a particular balance between work and home’’ (p. 252). These researchers appear to be using the term balance to represent a range of different patterns of commitment, rather than an equality of commitments across roles. Supervisory Support Supervisory support is a strong indicator of the quality of exchange relationships between employees and supervisors (Stinglhamber & Vandenberghe, 2003). When supervisors express concern for their employees’ well being, help them with career development, and value their work, they signal to their subordinates that they are interested in a close and social exchange relationship. To equalize or ensure a balance in their exchanges, employees will feel obligated to reciprocate the good deeds and goodwill of the supervisor. By discharging their obligations for services provided, they demonstrate their trustworthiness and the gradual expansion of mutual services (Blau, 1964). Reciprocation between supervisors and their subordinates reinforces and stabilizes trust, the axis upon which social exchange revolves (Blau, 1964). Trust relationships further enable people to make emotional investments, because they believe in the intrinsic virtue of such relationships and that these sentiments are reciprocated (Lewis & Weigert, 1985). Trust in Management Trust is defined as “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other party will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control the other party” (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995). Lewicki, McAllister, and Bies (1998) proposed that trust is confident positive expectations regarding another’s conduct, while distrust is confident negative expectations regarding another’s conduct. Trust in another party reflects an expectation or belief that the other party will act benevolently; trust involves a willingness to be vulnerable and to assume risk; and trust involves some level of dependency on the other party because the action of one party influences the outcomes of another (Whitener, Brodt, Korsgaard, & Werner, 1998). Trust also may be viewed as an attitude held by one individual—the trustor—toward another—the trustee (Robinson, 1996). This attitude is derived from the trustor’s perceptions, beliefs, and attributions about the trustee, and it is based upon his or her observations of the trustee’s behavior. Trust in an organization is a global evaluation of an organization’s trustworthiness as perceived by the employee (the trustor). It is also the employee’s belief that the organization will perform an action that is beneficial, or at least not detrimental to him or her (Gambetta, 1988; Tan & Tan, 2000). The employer, as the “trustee” in the relationship with employees, can develop and sustain a high level of trust by improving the employees’ confidence in the organization and increasing the employees’ indebtedness to the employer through certain human resource management practices such as extensive welfare benefits or investments in employees’ careers (Creed & Miles, 1996). To date, most studies on trust in organizations have focused on trust among members of an organization, such as trust between an employee and his/her direct supervisor or the organizational leader (Aryee et al., 2002; Deluga, 1994; Dirks, 2000; Dirks & Ferrin, 2002) or between peers (Dirks, 2000; Langfred, 2004). Studies of trust in an organization as a system, an institution, or an exchange partner are quite limited (except Creed & Miles, 1996; Huff & Kelley, 2003, 2005). Even though trust in the leader has been found to correlate with organizational trust (Aryee et al., 2002), the antecedents of trust in the organization are different from those of trust in the leader (Tan & Tan, 2000). Findings from some studies suggest that the insecure future of the organization, inadequate working conditions, and poor treatment (Kiefer, 2005) or job insecurity (Wong, Wong, Ngo, & Lui, 2005) could lead to employees’ distrust in the organization. Conclusion Human resources management practices in AMOC are not much better as we found the following: 1. The employees are dissatisfied with their jobs and work condition 2. The employees are not proud to tell people they are work in AMOC 3. The employees are dissatisfied with the pay they have 4. The management is weak in building mutual trust relationships with employees 5. There is a weak supervisory support to employees 6. The employees are imbalance in work-life 7. The employees have less commitment to the company 8. The employees are having less training development Overall, the company has weak HRM practices regarding its employees