Bus301 Human Resource : About Assessment Answers

1.Using examples from a minimum of two actual organisations, critically evaluate the impact of contemporary HR practices on employee motivation. These practices may include areas such as employee engagement, training and development and reward management.

2.You work as an HR manager for a firm whose CEO thinks Only Hard HR works”. Your line manager (the HR Director) has asked you to educate your CEO on how both Hard and Soft HR practices can be used in organisations. Create five slides in PowerPoint, with accompanying notes, setting out the content that you would cover in your presentation. Your slides and notes must be appropriately cited.

Introduction

The employee motivation is critical in the success of a business organization. The motivation of the employee refers to their will to accomplish their job duties and more for the organization. While working in an organization, the employees have predefined job duties and operations. Moreover, they are given some monthly or daily targets which they have to achieve. The motivation plays a critical role in the achievement of these targets. The business organizations employ different strategies to increase the employee motivation (Price, 2011). The employee motivation is fundamental in achieving the organization’s objectives.

If the motivation level of the employees is high, the employees go out of their way to achieve the objectives of the organization. Therefore, employee motivation is critical in achieving the objectives of the organization. As a result, the business organizations employ a large number of strategies to enhance the motivation among the employees (Martin, 2010). The employee motivation is dependent upon several factors. The present report will discuss the importance of the employee motivation and the role of various human resource practices in increasing the motivation level among the employees.

Impact of Contemporary HR Practices on Employee Motivation

One of the primary function of the human resource management department is to provide employee motivation within the organization. There are several factors which can be used to increase the motivation level among the employees. The source of motivation can be divided into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. The intrinsic motivation is the motivation type in which the employee is motivated by the type or the nature of work. On the other hand, the extrinsic motivation is the type of motivation which is achieved with the help of external factors such as financial or non-financial benefits (Armstrong, 2006). The financial benefits include bonus, incentives and other benefits. The non-financial benefits include recognition, promotion or work-life balance. Different employees are motivated by different factors; however, it is important for the organization to make efforts to enhance the employee motivation. The organization must devise strategy to equally motivate the employees who are motivated by different factors so that the overall performance of the organization enhances. There are several methods such as training, remuneration and recognition which can be used to increase the performance of the employees (Baker & Doran, 2007). These strategies are key in enhancing the performance of the employees and increasing their overall performance level.

Google is one of the leading technology company in the world. The success of the company lies with its extremely talented workforce. The work culture of the organization is transparent and the focuses on the results rather than on the way to achieve it. The aim of the organization is to create happy and productive workplace. Google offer a variety of extrinsic benefits to the employees such as cost-health benefit, shopping accounts, dental benefits, insurance, vacation packages and tuition reimbursements. The company reimburses the payment for the legal expenses. The company also provides maternity expenses and leaves of 18 weeks off to the new parents. It also offers various unique opportunities such as car wash, bike repairing, massage therapy and hair styling services. These benefits increase the work-life balance of the employees sand motivates them to work hard for the organization. The employees realize that the organization is working for the welfare of the employees and acknowledge the efforts. As a result, the employees are also motivated to work hard for the organization. Google has also maintained an open organization culture and provides a great discretion over the working hours to the employees (Simons, 2011). There are several fun and leisure facilities in the organization so that the employees can have some fun or leisure time during the work. The company also allows employees 20% of their time in doing activities as per their choice. The employees can spend time in leisure activities, at work or at any other project. The employees can work at any time wearing any clothes which increases the psychological benefits for the employees. The employees remain motivates, dedicates and productive with the help of these strategies (Martin, 2014).

The Impact on Employee Engagement, Training and Reward Management on Employee Motivation

A business organization can motivate the employees with the help of total reward policies and programs. In the employee motivation approach, the organization first conduct a survey with the employees regarding their attitude towards the organization. The employee attitude survey are efficient in engaging the identifying the change requirements and implementing it within the organization. The management should listen to the employees’ feedback and use it to take action against the organization (Bach & Edwards, 2012). The compensation of the employees is significant in developing his engagement with the organization. The total reward method is also significant in increasing the engagement of the employees with the organization. The employee engagement method of total reward can reduce the employee complaints about the fairness of pay, turnover, and absenteeism and reduced employee problems (Boxall, Purcell & Wright, 2007). These programs have a positive impact on the organization competitiveness, building relationships with the customers, increasing the financial performance of the organization and increasing the innovation capabilities of the organization.

The organizations also develop performance metrics to measure the extent to which the employees are engaged to the organization. The supervisors and the manager play a critical role is engaging the subordinates and peer within the organization. Therefore, employee engagement should a significant part of the strategic plan of the organization (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002).

The performance management is another method to keep the employees motivated. The performance management is the technique of monitoring the workplace performance of the employees and giving them feedback so that they can perform better at the workplace. The direct managers or the HR managers evaluate the performance of the employees and gives feedback to them. The focus is on improving the performance of the employees, so regular constructive feedback is given to them (Saks, 2006). Other than that, the attractive compensation is given when the employees achieve their targets.

Employee training is also significant in increasing the motivation level of the employees. When an organization implements different training programs, it sends a message to the employees that the organization is concerned for the growth and development of the employees. Moreover, the employees are also concerned about the growth opportunity present in an organization. The training programs assure that the organization has growth opportunity for the employees.

The business organization should also focus on developing the training and development program which addresses the business objectives and goals of the organization (Macey & Schneider, 2008). The companies should train their employees to work at optimal level so that their profitability and productivity.

The human resource management also implement several other strategies to increase the motivation of the employees. The leader should communicate with the employees the vision of the organization. They should also communicate the roles and the responsibilities with the organization’s success. The leader or the management of the organization should also implement training programs to increase the efficiency of the employees. It increases the engagement and the commitment of the employees with the organization. Leadership training is also integral in motivating the employees of the organization (Kompaso & Sridevi, 2010).

The training programs of GE are quite extensive and have resulted in increasing the efficiency and operations of the organization. Once the employees are recruited in the organization, they undergo various training programs. Each year, the organization selects a large number of recruits which are considered the best for the growth of the organization. The trainee program is designed for the new recruits who have just passed the bachelor’s, masters or PhD degree. Once, the new recruits are inducted in the training program, the new recruits are rotated through various functions and departments, they are given periodic training and mentoring. When the employees are provided one-year training program, they become efficient in working with the organization. The employees become ready to work for long haul for the organization. The entry-level programs are integral in developing the talent within the organization. These programs establish a link between the theoretical knowledge of the employees with the organization’s operations. GE is a multinational company and operates all across the globe. The company recruits and work in various different countries. However, it is challenging for the organization to recruit the people who align with the culture and the expectations of the organizations. Therefore, the training programs of GE are integral in acknowledging the employees with the culture of the organization. The company also has several programs to address the training requirements of people acquired through different companies, bring leaders to in between of their career or hiring a large number of people who have entered the organization at the mid-career and do not have the opportunity to formally enter the organization.

The mid-career training program of GE is quite famous for training the employees at their mid-career. The training programs of the organization should grow the talent pool, enhance the skill set of the employees and accelerate their growth in the corporate world. The leadership program at the mid-career can accelerate the growth and bridge the skill-gap of the employees (Cartwright & Holmes, 2006). The leader is given training by inculcating in different departments of the organization. The entry-level programs treat every candidate as equal as most of the participants have the same skills set. The mid-career programs do have a more personalized approach and they can address the individual needs of the different participants. For instance, a mid-level manager may need international experience or assignments if he has never moved out in his previous experience. In another example, a participant may require shop-floor experience as he had no direct contact with the front-line employees. It means that he has no knowledge to handle a large amount of people (Krishnamoorthy, 2014).

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the employee motivation is significant in business operations of the organization. One of the critical function of the human resource management in business organizations is to increase the motivation of the employees. Various companies employ diverse strategies to encourage the employees and keeping them engaged with the organization. The motivated employees perform better and go beyond their job duties to achieve the objectives of the organization. Performance management, remuneration, training and development are several strategies to encourage the employees to achieve their target and keep them motivated. Google, one of the leading technology organization in the world is reliant on the performance of the employees. The business organization employs different strategies such as flexibility at the work place, attractive remuneration and recognition to keep the employees motivated. On the other hand, GE employs attractive and intensive training programs to attract the young talent. The workplace is fairly popular among the young individuals as the training programs give them opportunity to develop their skills and talent.

References

Armstrong, M. (2006). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Series. Kogan Page Publishers.

Bach, S., & Edwards, M. (2012). Managing Human Resources: Human Resource Management in Transition. John Wiley & Sons.

Baker, R.B., & Doran, M.S. (2007). Human Resource Management: A Problem-solving Approach Linked to ISLLC Standards. R&L Education.

Boxall, P.F., Purcell, J., & Wright, P.M. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management. Oxford University Press.

Cartwright, S., & Holmes, N. (2006). The meaning of work: The challenge of regaining employee engagement and reducing cynicism. Human Resource Management Review, 16(2), 199-208.

Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: a meta-analysis.

Kompaso, S. M., & Sridevi, M. S. (2010). Employee engagement: The key to improving performance. International journal of business and management, 5(12), 89.

Krishnamoorthy, R. (2014). How GE Trains More Experienced Employees. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 1 December 2017 from https://hbr.org/2014/05/how-ge-trains-more-experienced-employees 

Macey, W. H., & Schneider, B. (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and organizational Psychology, 1(1), 3-30.

Martin, J. (2010). Key Concepts in Human Resource Management. SAGE.

Martin. (2014). The Google Way of Motivating Employees. Retrieved 1 December 2017 from https://www.cleverism.com/google-way-motivating-employees/ 

Price, A. (2011). Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning.

Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of managerial psychology, 21(7), 600-619.

Simons, R. (2011). Human Resource Management: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities. CRC Press.