$pagename = “Free Essays”;
= “North-East Health Care Essay | Business”;
$description =”Business Essay – In this report, a critical analysis on the introduction of the working principles in the North-East Health Care is presented to the reader”;
$subject = “Business”;
Working principles as argued by Derek Torrington and Laura Hall (2003) is the critical element that contributes to the smooth functioning of an organization. Alongside, the effectiveness of the working principles and the strict adherence to the policies is the major ingredient for effective employee performance and the overall organization. In this report, a critical analysis on the introduction of the working principles in the North-East Health Care is presented to the reader.
The report presents a critical analysis on the key issues identified from the North-East Health Care case study with arguments from previous research in the form of journals and reports to support the statements. The report then concludes the analysis with constructive recommendations to the implementation of the working principles in North-East Health Care. The report embraces the question on how to implement new working practices at North-East Health Care.
2.0: Working Practices at North-East Health Care
2.1: Communication on a ‘Need to know basis’
The existing approach of communicating to the staff members on a need to know basis which is evident from the statement of the managing director ‘you tell staff what they need to know to perform their given task and no more’ makes it clear that the company is not maintaining free-range communication at all levels of the organization. Michael Armstrong and Tina Stephens (2003) argues that the communication among the employees at all levels is essential for not only accomplishing effective personnel management but also enabling the staff to perform efficiently in their day-to-day job. This is because of the psychological factor involved where the employee is treated as important to the organization through communicating the organizational goals and other news on success or failure to the staff members. This is justified by Sally Fagan (2005) who argues that the effective communication by the management to the staff members is the essential ingredient for success.
Alongside, it is also interesting to note that effective communication is regarded as a motivating factor to achieve higher level of employee performance which will not only increase the productivity of the company but also the employee involvement in the development of the organization. This approach will not only increase the stability for the organization but also help overcome the issues of high level of absenteeism in the company. Alongside, the fact that the staff members of North-East Health Care are devoted to their job and expect support from the management which is evident from the unfavourable comments during exit interviews which proves that the staff were devoid of adequate support proves that the communication on a need to know basis should be eliminated. This must be replaced by effective communication by the corporate to the employees at all levels so that the ‘them and us’ barrier line can be erased within the organization.
Furthermore, the effective corporate communication will not only eliminate the differentiation but also provide an opportunity for the top-level management to reach the staff members at all levels providing them equal importance. This can be accomplished by circulating corporate communication in the form of magazines or electronic mails periodically on a monthly or fortnight basis. Alongside, an appraisal on the management by the staff members keeping their identity anonymous will encourage the staff members to provide vital information on the management methods, which will help refine the management approach towards the staff members.
2.2: ‘Family-Like’ management approach
Even though the case-study says that the company considers itself as a ‘family-like’ organization, the practices within the organization do not reflect upon this policy of the company. For example, the introduction of new IT infrastructure and systems without ample training to the staff members is a classical example from the case study. Furthermore, the arguments of Derek Torrington and Laura Hall (2003) that employee support and training is an essential element to the success of an organization both in performance and staff turnover.
This is naturally because of the fact that the staff members perform effectively with ample training and support, which will increase their involvement in the business as well as accomplish teamwork within the departments. Furthermore at the operational level both at shop floor and the administration it is essential to provide support and training to the staff members in order to achieve strong work practices.
Furthermore, the introduction of the new systems and other infrastructure changes as well as lack of training to the staff members affect the work practices of the organization as argued by S. Rahimifard (2005) . This is evident in the case study as well where the switchboard staff was unable to answer the customer queries due to lack of training on the product lines in the company. This proves that the training and support is not a factor for the staff at shop floor or production section but essentially across the board.
The aforementioned barrier of lack of training can be overcome through the effective training methods within the organization. The training can be provided either on a formal basis where the organization should invest on the resources. On the other hand the organization can accomplish training of the staff informally through conducting informal training session where an experienced member of staff will provide the training to new recruits or other members of staff who require training. This method is believed to be successful not only because of the cost savings for the organization but also because of the motivation factor involved where t he experienced staff member is recognised for his/her skills and expertise.
Furthermore, the process of informal training will also incorporate the flexibility element where the staff members are comfortable in asking queries to their colleague rather than a formal trainer. Apart from the aforementioned arguments on training, the company can also accomplish the ‘family-like’ organization structure through the effective deployment of the communication strategy as discussed before. This is because of the fact that through effective communication across the board the organization can quickly win over any obstacles arising within sections of the organization. North-East Health Care being a relatively small organization with staff members just over a 100 the communication can be effective to create the ‘family-like’ atmosphere within the organization.
2.3: Equal Opportunities
Francois Maniquet (2005) argues that the equal opportunities is not only a legal requirement but also essential to maintain a balance between the staff members itself since discrimination on pay based upon sex will increase the gap between the staff members eventually making the organization vulnerable to loose efficient staff members. From the case study it is clear that the company is not adhering to the equal opportunities. For example the emphatic response of the line manager to one of the female member of staff who approached the manager regarding equal pay. This approach of the organization is not a healthy sign for development and organizational growth. This is also evident from the high level of staff absenteeism due to the lack of support by the company along with the in-efficiency of the managers through breaking the equal opportunities policy.
Furthermore the blocking of the harassment policy by the senior management as well as the denial of the involvement of ACAS in developing the company policy makes it clear that the organization is not deploying effective work practices in the company. This is essential not only at the workshop or production section of the organization but across the levels of the organization in order to accomplish enhanced performance for the organization. Furthermore, the dismissal of an employee by the line manager at his own discretion without the approval of the senior manager further makes it clear that the organization lacks the enforcement of the policies and regulations within the organization and define the authority. This is discussed in a later section.
The breach in the equal opportunities will hinder the organization growth through poor staff response and non-cooperation amongst the staff members as argued by Francois Maniquet (2005). Furthermore, the fact that the equal opportunity is a legal requirement makes it clear that the adherence is essential for the existence of the organization in business itself. Hence the work practices must include the deployment of equal opportunities through the organization not only through overcoming the pay discrimination but also in effective management of the staff members and following protocols in disciplinary actions, which will be discussed in later section.
Apart from the advantage of accomplishing effective work practice through the enforcing equal opportunity the organization can also enjoy the benefit of effective performance by all the staff members with motivation. Since the financial remuneration is a direct element contributing to the performance as argued by Dominic Casserley (2005) makes it clear that the equal opportunity deployment in the company will motivate the staff members to perform effectively in the organization. Alongside, it is argued by Dominic Casserley (2005) that the equal opportunity in the work practice is the essential element that helps achieve the communication across the board. Alongside the ‘family-like’ practice of the organization can be accomplished only through the strict adherence of the equal opportunities throughout the organization.
2.4: Implementation of Company handbook and Grievance procedure
The case study has justified that the company handbook and the Grievance procedures published by the organization for the first time in twenty years is not adopted within the organization. This makes it clear that the organization is reluctant in accommodating changes in the management structure whilst introducing rapid changes in the technology and working methods like the new technology in workshop that realised a 75% increase in production. This approach of the organization that the company is dependant more upon the machines and new technology rather than the human resource is the cause for the failure in adopting the company policies and grievance procedures.
Furthermore, the framing of the grievance procedure according to the likes and dislikes of the directors of the organization which is evident from the blocking of the harassment policy makes it clear that the company policy developed is biased in nature and aims to satisfy the management more that the staff members to whom it should actually benefit.
The UK business law for employment contracts makes it clear that an organization through enforcing performance related pay should not violate the statutory rights of the staff members like the pensions and basic pay. The performance related pay (PRP) approach by North-East Health Care was a failure because of the fact that the company promoted the policy as a sugar coated pill rather than the ‘Carrot or Stick’ method of management. Furthermore the violation of the equal opportunities and the biased company handbook are the major obstacles for implementing effective work practices in the company.
It is recommended to involve ACAS in framing the company policies, which will not only result in an unbiased company procedure and policies for employee benefit and grievance but also enable efficient implementation of the work practices. This is because of the fact that the organization can benefit through effective performance only through the effective implementation of the company policies as a work practice itself as argued by Martin Loosemore and Tom Waters (2004) .
Although the involvement of ACAS in forming the policies will be unbiased the effectiveness of the policies so formed will be only in its rigorous implementation, which apparently requires the organization to practice the policies as part of the work practices itself. In other words North-East Health Care can benefit through effective work practices only by embracing the company policies and procedures formed with overall business process itself. This will also help overcome the differences of ‘them and us’ as well as enable effective communication among the staff members.
2.5: Semi-hierarchical organization structure
Lowell Bryan and Claudia Joyce (2005) argue that an organization should establish certain level of hierarchy especially in the distribution of power and defining the extent of influence of managers from senior managers. This is essential for the effective management of the company and the staff itself that will overcome any subjective decisions by the line managers like the dismissal of the staff members in the company under consideration (i.e.) North-East Health Care. Even though the company policy clearly defines that the disciplinary action and dismissal of the staff is only with the decision of the senior manager, the dismissal by line manager proves the level of non compliance to the policies by the line managers. The work practice should thus include strict enforcement of the policies and define the boundaries of power and equity between the managers, senior managers and the senior management. The effective deployment of the company policies and the governance by the senior management focusing upon the organizational structure and information flow will help achieve the aforementioned.
Furthermore, the carrot or stick management approach that was proposed earlier is the ideal method of implementing the performance related pay by the organization. Under this approach the organization can not only accomplish the statutory requirements of the employment law but also accomplish the employment contract that clearly defines the level of the company’s approach to performance related pay. In essence the performance related pay through the carrot or stick approach would become an adhoc to the payment system for the staff thus providing the security of basic pay and bonus for effective performance. This approach again can be accomplished through the contractual agreement that the company has put forward along with the company handbook and procedures. An added advantage of this approach is that not only the organization can achieve efficient staff performance but also gain the staff confidence which is essential for establishing long-term relationship with the staff members. Alongside, this will also increase the employee participation in the company thus increasing the stability of the organization.
3.0: Conclusion
From the analysis in section 2 it is clear that efficient work practices are necessary for the stability and performance of an organization. In relation to the case study under consideration it is clear that the work practices form the critical element to the success of the business as well as the team working among the staff members. Alongside, it is also established that the equal opportunity and unbiased company policies are essential for the successful implementation of the work practices and only through embracing the work practices with the aforementioned, North-East Health Care can accomplish successful staff turnover and utilise the human resource effectively.
References:
Books
Derek Torrington and Laura Hall (2003), Personnel Management HRM in Action, UK: Prentice Hall
Michael Armstrong and Tina Stephens (2003) A handbook of employee reward management and practice, London Kogan Page
Journals
Dominic Casserley (2005), Helping Britons work smarter. McKinsey Quarterly, 2004 Issue 3, p112-115
Francois Maniquet (2005), On the equivalence between welfarism and equality of opportunity. Social Choice & Welfare, Aug2004, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p127-147
Lowell Bryan and Claudia Joyce (2005), The 21st-century organization. McKinsey Quarterly, 2005 Issue 3, p24-33
Martin Loosemore and Tom Waters (2004), Gender Differences in Occupational Stress Among Professionals in the Construction Industry, Journal of Management in Engineering, Jul2004, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p126-132
Sally Fagan (2005), Prepare yourself for success. British Journal of Administrative Management, Feb/Mar2005 Issue 45, p17-17
S. Rahimifard (2005), Semi-hierarchical production planning structures in the support of team-based manufacturing. International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 42 Issue 17, p3369-3382