How has the workplace changed over recent years? – Discuss
Introduction
Hong Kong's workplace position as one of the world's most important economic centers as it has served as a major port of entry and trade for China, which uses Hong Kong as a primary link to the world economy. Furthermore, Hong Kong has a favorable atmosphere for business and trade, despite the uncertainty associated with its return to China, which has a Communist government, Hong Kong continues to thrive economically and attract new migrants. Hong Kong's economy has always been based upon commerce, trade and shipping (, 2006) Moreover, despite the recognized importance of human resources to Asian enterprises and successful economic development, industrial relations have never reached a high status in either academic or practitioner circles. One reason for this is that most Asian scholars and practitioners have negative images about Western models of industrial relations because they see these models as focusing much and narrowly on the role of conflict and its resolution through formal bargaining in the workplace. Likewise, HK labor-management relations and human resource policy were being treated as separate domains in the country (1994 p. 666).
Discussions
For HK workers, unionization emerged as the key to their plight. Changes in the workplace spurred the growth of trade unionism in this country and as early as 1860’s, unions affiliated with the HK Labor Union raised the issue of the need for a bureau to sponsor legislation and presidential initiatives on behalf of workers because of organized labor's ambivalence toward state power, consolidated its power and became the main force behind the creation of the labor dept. despite advocacy of non-partisanship. (1996 p. 182)
Location of work
In terms of the location of work, the shifting in office workplace is the most notable story told in the HK workplace manner in recent times. As HK people work in a variety of settings from the home to mills and stores and large-scale worksites, such as the multistoried office building, the hospital complex and the sprawling plant, dominate the landscape, but small to medium size enterprises persist and proliferate, finding niches in our protein and layered market, receiving small-batch orders on contract from larger core sector firms. An array of services and products are produced in various environments, slightly less than the work force was engaged in agricultural pursuits. ( 1996)
Demographic profile
The demographic characteristics of the workplace have also changed. The age profile of the labor force has thus changed, with a contraction of labor force participation at both ends of the age scale. The changing role of women in the workplace is an even more dramatic story. Women have not only entered the labor market in greater numbers, but they have remained there for longer periods. The addition of women to the workplace certainly represents a major transformation. The ethnic composition of the work force has also changed. Large-scale immigration at the turn of the century as immigrants reached these shores and swelled the foreign born components of the laboring population. The enactment of quota restrictions slowed immigration to a trickle and the proportion of foreign-born came to represent a declining proportion of workers, although new generation immigrants continued to dominate certain industries. ( 1996)
Conditions and standards
Furthermore, improvements during the last years in the conditions and standards under which workers have labored represents a third way in which the HK workplace has been transformed. The days worked each week and the hours worked each day have declined; safety on the job has improved; employment is more regular; various extra awards, such as paid vacations and sick leave, have been institutionalized and a range of protections is offered from grievance procedures, promotion systems, and seniority rights to unemployment, workplace injury, medical, life and pension insurance. Some workers now hold positions that are relatively well paid, safe, stable, rewarding, and open-ended in terms of advancement and responsibility. Other workers are confined to a sphere of dead-end, casual jobs that have none of these advantages. Ad bifurcated labor market based on standards and not just on skill is a feature of modern-day work ( p. 35).
Work experience
Henceforth, diversity of work settings and pursuits makes generalizations on this subject open to qualification. Still, research evidence attests to the reality that few HK workers drive inherent pleasure or satisfaction from their work; work is not an end in itself, but a means towards greater income and consumption and social interaction at the workplace is valued more than the work itself. In the last years, there have been precious little changes the nature of the work experience. The long-range cause of modern workplace alienation can be traced to transformations in the organization of work; production of goods according to divisions of task on the basis of wage labor and with the use of machinery began then and evolved, albeit in an uneven work ways. The overburdening of the workplace with new layers of hierarchy and bureaucracy added to the sense of powerlessness for workers. ( 1999 p. 37) Thus, for some employees, work has become meaningless and dispiriting. At the turn of the millennium, Hong Kong is critically re-examining its competitive strength and identifying the opportunities the new millennium has got to offer. The Government is continuing to invest heavily in the territory's infrastructure, while Hong Kong re-positions itself as the financial, tourism and trading centre of the region and a leading metropolis of the world. ( 1999)
There were also painful economic adjustment is that many firms are left with the legacy of excess manpower and an unaffordable payroll. Downsizing, cost-cutting, retrenchments and redundancies have become virtually the order of the day. The good news, however, is that human resource (HR) managers are given renewed importance. For one thing, most of the challenges of downsizing are people-related issues that often require sophisticated HR interventions and support. (, 2002 p. 4) Hong Kong is forging ahead on various fronts as the process will reinforce Hong Kong's position on the international tourist map. It will also have an important impact on HK’s employment scene. However, some local firms are still seeking to regain their competitive edge by cutting costs. The commonly used approaches to cut labor costs include downsizing, out-sourcing and reduction in wages and fringe benefits. HR managers in Hong Kong seem to have done a better job, according to a survey conducted by the International Survey Research on staff morale in leading companies in seven countries and territories in this part of the world. Most leading companies in Hong Kong have handled the thorny problems of downsizing and pay cut with consideration and sensitivity as some cases in fact lend themselves as best practices. (, 2002 p. 2)
The HK workplace management has every opportunity to identify and line up the best performers and give them a pep talk before the announcement of the voluntary exit package. Although the management has the prerogative not to approve his application, it would not be advisable to do so as this would adversely affect management's goodwill. One option is to seek the understanding of the staff concerned by inviting him to stay on for another three to six months. In the final analysis, no one should be indispensable in a well managed company. HR managers must therefore, try to win the confidence of the top management and secure his place in all major discussions and decisions affecting a large number of staff to advocate for a win-win situation, instead of starting off from the wrong foot of a win-lose situation and ending in a lose-lose situation. (, 1998 p. 22) HK Innovation perhaps offers the greatest potential for productivity gain. Innovation changes the whole perspective of looking at a problem. It may come up with a totally different approach. For instance, the change of the billing cycle from one month to two months enables an electricity company to achieve productivity gain by reducing handling costs. The new millennium will be an era of rapid changes. The ability to handle and analyze management and market information in a more speedy way will ensure speedier and more frequent modifications and improvements. Organizations that are able to lead the changes will emerge as industry leaders. (, 1998)
In order to handle with continuing changes in HK economic, political, social and technological environments, and HK management team in an enterprise must itself stand ready to change. How to ensure that changes are implemented smoothly without impacting on morale and productivity as well as the company's goals is an important agenda for human resource managers. Effective communication is crucial to managing change. To illustrate, there was a success story of how a multinational company relocated part of its operation to the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. To ensure that the relocation exercise was implemented smoothly, the company set up a Focus Group comprising representatives of both management and staff well in advance of the target date. (, 1998 p. 24) Surveys were conducted to collect the employees' views on various issues of concern to them such as transport arrangement, working hours, the new working environment, procedural changes, structural changes, arrangement during inclement weather and others. The advantage of a participative approach to managing change is that each participant can bring a unique perspective to the discussion of workplace changes. If changes have become necessary because of a crisis situation, it is important that employers can inform employees of what the crisis is and how it will affect them and search for its solutions and such moves can be presented to the employees as a change for the better. ( 1998 p. 30)
Conclusion
Therefore, in conclusion, successful HK entrepreneurs as well as executives share one thing in common as they succeed in building up a team of highly talented, innovative and dedicated staff. Today, the share of manufacturing employment has remained stable at the turn of the century and less as today. The proportion of workers in the service sector, largely in shops and stores, has stayed equally static, growing from such percentage of the labor force in HK. More importantly, they genuinely see their human resources as valuable asset and in turn manage with a human touch and enable to manage a sense of proportion and compassion, disrupted by a sense of practicality and realism respectively.
_________________
REFERENCES
0 comments:
Post a Comment