Research Korner: Recruitment & Selection

RESEARCH METHODS & DISSERTATION PROPOSAL: Multinational Culture: The implications for selection, development and introducing new employees in a multinational organisation, Toyota Europe Brussels Head office, Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM)

RESEARCH METHODS – DISSERTATION PROPOSAL   1.         Title   Multinational Culture:  The implications for selection, development and introducing new employees in a multinational organisation, Toyota Europe Brussels Head office, Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM) Section only.   2.         Research questions and objectives   Research Questions:   	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What are 	the demands when selecting employees for Human Resource professional?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What 	expectations after selection, do new members have to ‘live up to’?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What 	methods of development are in place for employees?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What are 	the causes of failure for employees?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What is 	done to prepare new recruits into the organisation?</li>     Research Objectives:   1.    To establish what criteria is used for the recruitment process (skills, knowledge or ‘fit’). 2.    To identify any development tools for employees. 3.    To investigate the causes of employee failure in Brussels head office. 4.    To consider the effectiveness of Toyota’s introduction of new employees into the head office.     3.         Rationale   Over the last 20 years, multi-national culture has been a topic of significant interest in studies and there continues to be recent items, which support my case for this paper.  Kranias, 2000 states culture is always an important aspect within an organisation.  Its importance is further emphasised in the case of the Japanese multinational companies and how their culture affects the relationship between the Japanese parent companies and their subsidiaries overseas.  From 3rd February 2003, I will commence employment with Toyota Head office, which is a Japanese subsidiary in Brussels.   The reason behind my proposal is based on the experience I had during the recruitment process, what my experience has been during the acceptance of my contract and the process for me when joining a multinational company – my first day and onwards.  The other factor, which has been of interest to me when completing additional literature review, is the impact that Japanese cultural requirements may have on the employees at Head office, Brussels, including myself.   I will commence with the recruitment process, which took 6 months and involved three interviews and an assessment day.  Toyota’s recruitment process objectives appeared to be aimed at selecting the right people for the roles available and this could be said that all organisational objectives should be to recruit the right people that match the skills and knowledge required for the vacant position.          My experience during the interview process posed some difficult hurdles due to the questions posed and I felt this was due to language and cultural differences.  During all interviews, there was a panel of three interviewers who were Japanese, German and Dutch.  Various questions had to be repeated or expressed in a different manner for all individuals to completely understand the context, even between the interviewing panel.  The main focus around questioning during my interviews was based on my values rather than technical competence.  This questioning technique came predominately from the Japanese interviewer.   Due to this experience it led me to question if some people may be unsuccessful to join Toyota predominately due to potential cultural differences that may be deemed not to fit with the corporate philosophy.   During the assessment process whereby there were six delegates, the assessors informed us that they were looking for strengths that match the ‘Toyota Way’ but no one to date has informed me what that is and once again is this more a cultural fit rather than on technical ability?   Currently at Toyota head office there are approximately 250 employees and have over 10 nationalities working within the company.  Predominately the mix is British, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Turkish, Polish and Spanish therefore there is a large mixture of different cultures within the head office and potential major differences in cultural backgrounds.  I anticipate experiencing some of the difficulties posed by cultural diversity, which based on the literature research may include communication, values and social culture.  Based on this information I feel these three area’s will be of significances to me as the team I will join consists of 11 human resource employees and I will be the only English person within this team and I do not speak another language.      However, the complexity of cultural differences eludes easy understanding and remains obscure in the complexity of daily life and as this is my first international assignment and based on the significant research already completed regarding multinational culture, this leads me to know there is further research into how culture plays a part in recruitment and development and how individuals fit within the organisation.    Kranias, 2000 states ‘The use of cultural control has great implications for the selection and training and selecting employees is critical’, and this research will aim to establish the basis of selecting employees, what development takes place and what form of assistance does Toyota provide when you join the company.   4.         Theoretical Underpinning   There are many different definitions of multinational business and Frayerweather, 1978 says that multinational business has ‘only one central distinguishing characteristic – it is business, involving two or more nations’.  Dresser and Carns, 1969 states ‘Culture is the way of life of the group of people’.  Does this mean the group of people are from the same nationality?   Handy, 1999 makes a statement that different nationalities prefer different organisational cultures and that this should not be a surprise but it is only recently that organisational studies have been able to spell out the difference in any detail. For example, cultural theorists like Hofstede believe that cultural influences play an enormous part in the way employees behave in organisations.     Therefore prior to being offered a contract with Toyota that is owned by Japanese, I worked for an American company.  Will I be able to support this with evidence obtained during my research when I review the selection, development and the introduction of the new employee into the workplace?   Recent research carried out by Miroshnik, 2001 regarding culture of multinational business states certainly the economic and physical environments are important issues but the cultural environment - communications, religions, values and ideologies, education and social structure has special importance in multinational business.    Analysis of problems and failures of multinational business abroad has shown that the first dominant factor is culture.  The old Japanese parable about monkey’s and fish’s management style dramatises the consequences of ignorance of the cultural factor in business and it is an appropriate metaphor for the kinds of problems that can arise when people of diverse cultures come into contact without preparation.   Employers should understand this, as culture is an integrated phenomenon and by recognising and accommodating taboos, rituals and many other components they may pave the way toward greater harmony.  Sherman, et al., 1995 states ‘Managing relations between multicultural organisations is a matter of accurate perception and appropriate adaptation.   A large part of the literature review was concerned with the failure of assigning and devising methods to prevent failures.  Much of this is focused on the difficulties in terms of culture clash, Torbiorn, 1982.  Failure of assignments does also impact the company regarding costs, image of the organisation and will potentially affect the individual concerned.     Based on the research it is evident that considerable attention should be given to recruitment, selection and training, and introduction into the organisation for employees to reduce the risk of failures and costs.   During the module Human Resource International, we reviewed a report held in Teesside University library, 658.311 GLY 02, issued by Roffey Park Management Institute.  The title was ‘Towards Global Leadership, Recruiting and Developing International Managers’, Glynn and Holbeche.  Their literature research showed the issues that surround international assignments from selection, training, development and repatriation to the impact of the family and the importance of career management.  They also state the criteria on which successful international employees are selected is still an issue which has not been resolved.  They also found that most multinational companies agree that their managers need international expertise; but their survey revealed that more than half of the large European corporations participating in the study lacked a strategy.  It does not provide which organisation participated.   Based on the findings during the literature review and my own current experience there remains gap in multinational organisations regarding preparing for cultural difficulties during selection, when developing and especially for the preparation and introduction into the organisation.  This report will explore the gaps and provide recommendations to Toyota Head Office, TMEM section.         5.         Methodology   Due to the change in my employment, I have based the methodology on the following.  I commenced employment with Toyota on 3rd February 2003, and due to the lack of in depth knowledge, I will commence my research from induction – building theory due to requiring building knowledge at this stage about the organisation and the culture.  I will commence collecting primary data by meeting people and interviewing a sample of the employees who have had the experience of joining this company and I will commence with the expatriate population of approximately 40 employees (the number concerned had been obtained from the Human Resource department).  My basis for this decision is to establish and gain a feel of issues (understand what is going on), so as to understand better the nature of the difficulties regarding culture people face during the selection process and when joining a new company.  I will then commence to make sense of the interview data by analysing the information and the result from this will be the basis of my theory.    The interview will be based on semi-structured interviews with employees who have joined as expatriates and are from TMEM, which is the division I have joined.  The interviews will last approximately one hour and will be semi-structured.  I will use an a list of themes and questions based on my own experience and issues obtained during the Roffey Park research but during the interview process I will use follow-up questions when relevant if further exploration is required.    To aid my research I will establish from the Human Resource department if they conduct any form of analysis in order to record the different nationalities that have joined the company and if they conduct any exit forms when assignments have failed to establish reasons.  This would assist with researching different cultures and problems that have been encountered.  I know they do not have at this stage a Human Resource database but I will establish if they record using excel or access package.   To establish how recruitment is conducted, I will conduct a semi - structured interview with the head of the recruitment and selection team to verify the criteria they use and to confirm if they are looking for the ‘fit’ rather than based on a criteria of establishing a persons skills, experience and technical ability.  Again the interview guide will be based on my own experience with follow-up questions when necessary.   The interviews which I will undertake of the expatriate populations will be aimed at establishing a variety of aspects of their experience during the recruitment process and when joining the company by giving personal experiences.  Thus the interviews will consist to some extent of story telling; personal accounts of an experience.  Bruner, 1986 and Polkinghorne, 1988 state ‘story telling is a generic human approach aimed at structuring and ordering reality and individual experience and is a deliberate research method increasingly used in organisation studies.  Gabriel, 2000 has used story telling when researching organisational communication and culture.  I will use this information to formulate the image of the culture and the ideas and beliefs and group the views, for example, managers will be in one group.   A problem that may arise when carrying out interviews is if the interviewer is inexperienced with the possibility of interviewer bias.  I intend to carry out the interviews myself, I am a trained and experienced interviewer, (for recruitment and industrial relations), and would therefore hope that these problems could be minimised.    The other factor, which I felt was evident during my interview process, is an individual’s perception of the question posed.  I must continue to establish the question asked in English means the same to the individual during interview.   The current methods of managing selection, development and preparing new employees will be identified and reviewed prior to structuring the interview process and I will also use my own experience for this process.    There is also an intention to carry out qualitative interviews with other parties including the HR Manager and HR Director and will be conducted face to face as I have been informed the department structure is open plan and regular open communication meetings take place therefore I do not envisage a problem organising time to hold these interviews.    It is my intention to use Excel to analyse my data.  Excel will be used to produce graphs and tables.  The data gathered via the qualitative interviews will be used in a descriptive way to enhance the quantitative data gathered by evaluating the information obtained from the semi-structured interviews, and recording which of the experiences were referred to by the expatriate employees.  This will show the frequencies clearly experienced by the sample group.   6.         Timetable   February      analysis of current procedure for selection, development and introducing new employees into the organisation. March           identify gaps, prepare script for interviews and classify them. April              Complete interviews collate and analyse results and record results. June             first draft, proof reading and rewriting August          final proof reading, final copy printed and bound     7.         Resources   Access to tutor, which will be by telephone and e-mail due to geographical reasons. Time (of researcher and those to be interviewed) Computer facilities, (will use own laptop)   8.         Ethical Considerations   Due to people providing their own experiences and the fact that the interviews will seek their own personal experiences, reassurance must be given to all participants that confidentiality is of the utmost importance.  They may be concerned if they are critical of the process, that this may affect their future with the business and relationships with their manager.   It will be made clear that the purpose of this research is purely a study for the purpose of this dissertation and that recommendations will be made.  They will be notified that findings will lead to recommendations to help with future selection, development and introducing individuals to the organisation to achieve a better process.   It must also be made clear that invited participants have a right to refuse to participate, or to answer any particular question during the interview.     9.            References   Dresser, D & Carns, D., 1969, Sociology the Study of Human Interactions, Intercultural Press   Glynn, C & Holbeche, L., Towards Global Leadership: Recruiting and Developing International Managers, Roffey Park Management Institute, 658.311 GLY 02   Frayerweather, J., 1978, International Business Strategy, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA   Handy, C., 1999, Organisational Changes,   Harvey, F., 1997, National cultural differences using Hofstede’s national culture, Information Technology & People Journal Vol.10 No.2, pp132 –146   Helms, M., Exploring the factors that influence employees’ perceptions of their organisation’s culture, Journal of Management in Medicine, Vol.15 No. 6, 2001, pp. 415-429   Hofstede, G., 1980, Culture’s Consequences. International Differences in Work Related Values, Sage Publications   Holden, R., Managing people’s values and perceptions in multi-cultural organisations, Employee Relations Vol.23 No.6, 2001, pp.614-626   Miroshnik, 2001   Sherman et al., 1995   Torbiorn, 1982   Roffey Park Article, GLY 02

RESEARCH METHODS & DISSERTATION PROPOSAL: Multinational Culture: The implications for selection, development and introducing new employees in a multinational organisation, Toyota Europe Brussels Head office, Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM)

RESEARCH METHODS – DISSERTATION PROPOSAL 1. Title Multinational Culture: The implications for selection, developme...

Human resource planning on Contemporary organization

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING ON CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION         Human resource management in a traditional organization requires traditional works including planning, organizing, directing and controlling these four fundamental foundation will definitely amount to a load of work in a certain traditional organization. This involved a thorough and wide formal incorporation of works in an organization to fully demonstrate a reliable and integrated structure of management initiative to implement such function to the organization.       The solid human resource foundation plan and other works will serve as the guide of their employees. A traditional organization must comply with the abiding rules set by the management to a strong and beneficial employee to employer relation and this are the usual setting in a certain company and organization.         In a contemporary organization which do not comply much to a traditional type of work and an organization that has been redesigned and innovated because of globalized and technological pattern, the foundation of this business draws a different pacing of workflow and sometimes the structure maybe even disseminated in an informal settings thus the human resource function may decline in certain restriction and advantages and disadvantages of works.       In this type of organizational structure information and ideas may come from different direction and therefore it is the decision of the human resource management to deal or follow such ideas but not necessarily be implemented in the organization.  The contemporary organization may lessens the works of most employees because the traditional demand of internal amount of work may also decline or associated in a different pattern than the usual is it also assumed that their revenue may rise and fall depending on the outcome of the disseminated lines of work, to further understand the scenario let us identify a certain contemporary company or organization and how the traditional work has been disseminated.         Amway is typical organization but have adopted a contemporary organization structural based network for their customers. They have expanded their business in other countries to recruit people and teach them the strategy of their business to buy and sell their products this recruit will also recruit their people and this people will also recruit and so on until all people are working for their company.       It you already know about Multi-level marketing this is an example of a contemporary organization where the core company do not have the obligation to their recruits but rather they have the obligation to propose a business strategy to be adopted by their recruits and therefore they will become independent distributor but not necessarily associated in their company.           Another example is www.elance.com, www.freelance.com, www.odesk.com. Try visiting these websites and you can see various job opening and job posting, their contemporary organization reaches all over the world and visitors can apply in the job but these organizations do not necessarily belong to the company who posted the job. They can never even be considered as a job placement agency but these websites organization are able to provide a job controlled solely by advertiser but not the organization. The human resource management potential job description is simply hiring people or job posting and nothing more and therefore diminishes their work but retain their earning in a more systematic manner.       Human resource planning in a contemporary organization does not require much work to maintain about employees but their usual works requires maintaining about their system. Their work is directing their activities to their partners so that they can also establish their own business so they both benefit and simply earn, there may not be any employee employer relation involve in their system that is why it is called contemporary.       You may also presume that contemporary organization is an open system structure and the workflow involve divide the task into independent system adoption. Everyone who can understand the line of work of a certain company can simply be involved in their organization to adopt their system, therefore planning, organizing, directing and controlling is in the hand of the person who have adopted their system and therefore reduces the line of work of human resource management in their company but passed on to their customers and their partners. Direct selling, Networking, Referral marketing companies like Avon may also be considered as another form of contemporary group.       This contemporary approach may also reduce employees, overhead cost and labor cost but may promote technology adoption, radical expansion, incremental changes and re engineered business. Sometimes they cannot even be controlled by the government because they can reach from various places. More and more firms have been engaging with this kind of strategy but some companies have taken advantage about the system to perform illegal activity that questions its advantage but that is another issue.

Human resource planning on Contemporary organization

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING ON CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION Human resource management in a traditional organization requires tradition...

A Sample SWOT Analysis

We can help you with your assignment. Just provide your assignment instructions. We write it for you. Only $18 per page. Click to learn more. The Way Forward: Arden Racing Company SWOT Analysis Strengths     1. Good Reputation – Arden Racing Company has been in the business for many years. The company has built a good reputation for building sports car. The company has many loyal customers. 2. Strong Brand – Arden Racing Company has a brand name that is famous all over the world. Weaknesses 1. High Price and Poor Reliability – The company’s reputation is declining because of high price and poor reliability. 2. Insecure Workforce – The employees are uncertain about future job prospects. Career planning programs are inadequate as well as mentoring and coaching. The employees are not aware of different career opportunities in the company. 3. Weak Relationships – Because of different challenges that the company is facing, the relationship between the managers and employees is weak. In addition, different projects and programs that aimed to improve the company’s performance failed. 4. Poor Communication – The employees are complaining about the ineffective communication systems. Opportunities 1. Growing Products – the revamped version of ARC-03, the ARC-04 and ARC-06 are selling quite well. These products are promising. 2. Acquisition by GAL – ARC has been acquired by Grace Autos Limited, one of the world’s largest automotive group that is known for quality luxury cars. Threats 1. Aging Product – one of the sports cars, the ARC-03 is reaching the peak of its maturity and is close to decline. 2. Low Quality Commitment – aside form the ISO 9001:2000, there are no other quality systems in the company. Most of the employees and managers see quality management system as a nuisance. Structure and Culture             The organizational structure is hierarchical with different functional departments. According to Quinn (1988) organizational structure systematizes the interaction between the people in an organization (cited in Prasad and Thorn 1999). It defines the power relationships and the flow of communications. The company has a hierarchical structure wherein management control is strengthened through the centralization of decision-making. The top management has total control over the company and the employees have little discretion and flexibility. The employees have limited understanding of the business process and they are dependent on the top management when it comes to decision-making and problem solving. Communication and control is vertical, meaning the employees are dependent on their superiors.             Organizational culture is the set of beliefs and assumptions held relatively commonly throughout the organization (Bate 1984). These beliefs are embedded in the minds of the members of the organization. These beliefs are also shared (Hofstede, 1980). Leadership Evaluation                Leadership is centralized. The top management controls every aspect of the organization. Decision-making and planning occurs on the top level of the organizational hierarchy. Because of the hierarchical structure and culture of the organization, both the team leaders and the team members are finding it hard to adjust to team-based work. The relationships between members are weak and both managers and employees display low commitment. We can say that the leadership style is ineffective and inefficient. Employees complain about the lack of involvement and participation. Improving through Transformational Leadership Leaders must be Charismatic             One component of transformational leadership is charismatic leadership. In order to encourage change, cooperation, commitment, development and loyalty among employees, the leader must be charismatic; he must be a role model. The leader must earn the admiration, respect and trust of the followers. The leader must do the right thing, demonstrate high standards of ethical and moral conduct (Bass 1998). Leaders must Inspire and Motivate             Leaders must be able to inspire and motivate employees. This is done by giving them challenging yet rewarding and meaningful work. Inspired and motivated employees are the key to success. Leaders must Stimulate the minds of the Followers             Effective leadership requires leaders to stimulate the minds of their followers. An effective leader encourages innovation and creativity. Followers are encouraged to try new approaches, and are allowed to share their ideas. Leaders must be Considerate             Leaders must act as mentors and coaches. They must pay attention to the followers’ development and growth needs. Leaders must support their followers. They must facilitate continuous learning and development. An effective leader recognizes that every one has special needs. Team Relationships and Teamwork             A team is defined as a distinct set of two or more people interacting dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively toward a common and valued goal or mission. Each member in a team has a specific role or function (Salas et al 1992). Evaluation             Because of different challenges and problems, the relationship between employees and managers is weak. Efforts to improve the organization have failed because the employees are not committed. The operations and personnel department promotes team working but there are departments that are not committed. The senior management wants to move from individual-based work structure to a team-based structure. Team relationships according to Fairholm (1994) help groups identify and create a positive culture that is identified by high trust levels, broad communications and enhanced opportunities (p. 155). The hierarchical structure and nature of the organization hinders active participation from employees. Because decision-making are centralized and the power rests almost entirely at the top, problems in motivation and commitment arise. The hierarchical structure of the organization has encouraged a dependent attitude among the employees. Stages of Team Development             Teams in organizations undergo a maturation process called the life cycle. In order to build effective teams and facilitate teamwork, a leader must first understand the stages of team development. 1. Forming – during the forming stage, the members are introduced to each other. on this stage of development ground rules are established. During the forming stage, members are usually uncertain on how to act and how being a member of the team will benefit them. The forming stage will be completed once the members accept their team membership. 2. Storming             During the storming stage, conflicts arise in the team. Members are usually hostile toward each other. The control of the team leader is also resisted. The storming stage is complete once the issues and conflicts have been resolved and the leader’s control has been accepted. 3. Norming             During this stage, cohesion is strong in the team. Members develop string relationships and shared feelings. The storming stage is complete when the members accept a common set of expectations forming a satisfactory way of doing things. 4. Performing             When the team reach this stage of development, the issues and problems have been resolved. The team is now ready to work. The team is able to perform the tasks at hand effectively because the members have good relations and the control of the leader is accepted. 5. Adjourning             The team may adjourn abruptly or gradually once its goals are already met (Sims 2002a). Building Effective Teams 1. Diversify Team Membership             Effective teams are composed of a diversity of individuals with varying skills and experiences. Having a diverse membership can be an effective strategy. 2. Keep the Team Small             In order to be effective, teams must be kept small. Small numbers of people are easier to manage and coordinate. 3. Select the Right Team Members             It is important to understand that people have different personalities. Some people take pleasure in working in teams, other on the other hand prefer to work individually. It is also important that team members are selected based on their skills. The skills of the members must be complementary. 4. Train Members             Effective teams have members that possess the necessary skills needed for them to perform their tasks. 5. Clarify Goals             A well-defined mission and goal is a prerequisite for a team to function effectively. Team goals must be articulated clearly. 6. Use Appropriate Performance Measures             In order to function effectively, teams must develop their own success metrics. These measures must be process-based. 7. Encourage Participation             The more team members participate in the decision-making process, the more likely they are to feel committed to those decisions. Every team member must be involved in order for them to feel committed. 8. Foster Communication and Cooperation             Team members must communicate and cooperate with each other so they can coordinate their efforts toward the common goal (Sims 2002a).              Employee Empowerment             Employee empowerment requires commitment from the top management. The company must provide means for employees to participate not only in production but at the office and higher levels of the organization as well.Empowering employees is popular in organizations today. Employee empowerment means giving employees the ability, means, and information needed in order for them to have greater autonomy over their jobs. Empowerment also builds the employees’ confidence to perform new jobs. Empowerment is an approach in employee motivation. The aim of empowerment is to make employees feel self-efficient. Empowerment allows employees to realize their full potential. Satisfaction of needs for achievement, recognition and self-actualization are among the aims of employee empowerment. Empowerment also changes beliefs and behaviors. Through empowerment, employees feel effective and efficient. Through empowerment both the goals of the individual employees and the organization as a whole are achieved (Sims 2002). Evaluation             Empowering employees is one way of motivating them. Employee empowerment and participation are low. Employees have little opportunity to decide about the nature of their work and how to accomplish their tasks. The employees are not empowered because they are restricted to realize their full potential. Employees have little authority. The opportunity for employees to develop and acquire new skills and knowledge is limited. Employee Motivation and Performance             Because of low motivation and because the company fails to motivate its employees, the organizational performance is suffering. Low motivation results in low commitment, absenteeism and high turnover. The absence of programs and schemes that motivate employees has caused different problems. There is a high turnover rate and employees are dissatisfied. Employee motivation affects performance. Motivated employees improve their performance. They work harder, longer and more efficiently. In order to improve employee performance, the company needs to motivate employees first. Motivating Employees             Below are different programs and schemes that the company can use to motivate employees. It ranges from simple award and recognition schemes to job redesign.  1. Spot Awards             A spot award is given to an employee who rendered a commendable performance. Spot awards are good motivators. When the rewards are dependent on excellent performance and are given immediately, they are consistent with the expectancy approach and provide the recognition that humans want to achieve (Sims 2002a). 2. Recognition             Feeling appreciated is what most people like. Being recognized for a job well done, financially or otherwise is a source of employee motivation. Immediate recognition strengthens motivation and can provide some immediate outcomes to counterbalance the employees’ inputs and efforts. Recognition also underscores the performance-reward-expectancy link, and it helps appeal to and satisfy the need people have to achieve and be recognized for their achievement. LeBoeuf (1991) gave eleven types of employee behavior that must be recognized by organizations and individual managers. These are: <ul type="disc" style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Aiming at solid solutions rather than quick repairs </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Readiness to take risks</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Being ingenuous instead of complying mindlessly  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Decisive action rather than  paralysis by analysis  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Smart work rather than busywork </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Simplification of complicated tasks </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Quietly effective behavior instead of squeaky wheels  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Quality work instead of fast work  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Loyalty instead of turnover  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Working together instead of working against  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Lack of absenteeism and tardiness (cited in Sims 2002a p. 70).</li></ul> 3. Pay for Performance             Pay for performance is a method of tying pay to the level of a person’s productivity. In order to ensure the success of a pay-for-performance plan, the organization must: 1. Ensure that effort and rewards are directly related             The incentive plan should reward employees directly as their production increase. Employees must also believe that the task is achievable. The employees must view the standard as attainable. The organization and the management must provide the necessary tools, equipment, and training to enable the employees to meet the standards.  The plan must also be understandable and the easily quantifiable by the employees. It should be easy for employees to calculate the rewards they will receive for various levels of effort. The organization must set standards that will aid in the achievement of its performance goals. The standards must be viewed as fair by employees. They should be high but reasonable; that is, there should be about a 50–50 chance of success. The organization must set specific goals. Guarantee the program. The rewards offered for a particular level of work should be viewed as a     contract between the organization and the employees. Once the plan is operational, great caution should be used before decreasing the size of          the incentive in any way. The base rate must also be guaranteed. It is often advisable to give employees a safety net by providing them with             a base pay. They will know that no matter what happens, they can at least             earn a guaranteed minimum amount (Sims 2002a). 4. Merit Pay             Most employees, when they do a good job, expect to be rewarded with at least a merit raised at the end of the year. A merit raise is a salary increase – usually permanent – that is based on the employee’s individual performance. It is different from a bonus in that it represents a continuing increment, whereas the bonus represents a one-time payment. To the extent that it is actually tied to performance, the prospect for a merit raise may focus the employee’s attention on the link between performance and rewards, which is in line with the expectancy approach to motivation (Sims 2002a). 5. Job Redesign             Managers have long been concerned about the monotonous and boring qualities of highly specialized, short-cycle, assembly-line jobs. In an effort to respond to these concerns, many employers set up programs aimed at redesigning their workers’ job. Job design refers to the number and nature of activities in a job; the basic issue in job design is whether jobs should be more specialized or, at the other extreme, more “enriched” and no routine. Job enrichment means building motivators like opportunities for achievement into the job by making it more interesting and challenging. This is often accomplished by giving employees more autonomy and allowing them to do much of the planning and inspection normally done by their managers (Sims 2002a). 6. Performance Management             Performance management is important in employee motivation and performance improvement as it helps organizations maintain or improve performance, facilitate consistent performance evaluation and promotes the provision of high-quality feedback. Performance management serves as the basis for coaching and coaching (Gilley and Maycunich 2000). Management of Change             Organizational change needs commitment from both the employee and management. Managing change is not a simple task. The management needs to make sure, above anything, that the employees understand the reasons for change. The employees must realize the importance of change and how they can contribute to the success of organizational change. Below are some strategies that can help the organization to be successful in its change efforts. 1. Build a Climate for Change             Successful change in the new economy will result from a climate that welcomes, initiates, and manages change. In such a climate, risk is accepted as a natural part of doing business. A premium must be placed on innovation and creativity. Employees have to be encouraged to try new and different approaches to the job and other work processes (Sims 2002a). 2. Improve Communication             Improving organizational communication is one of the most important strategy an organization can employ. Effective organizational communication is important as it aids in overcoming resistance and maximizes employee participation. The employees need to understand the whole change process and the reason behind such a strategic move. The organization must make sure that the right kind and amount of information is gathered and communicated throughout the organization in a clear and easy to understand manner (Sims 2002a). 3. Encourage Employee Involvement             Today more than ever, employees are more active in issues that affect the organization and they seek to be more involved in decisions that affect their job and well-being. Employees are now more assertive. They are confident that they know the critical operational problems, and they want to share their insights (Sims 2002a). Recruitment and Selection         The fierce competition between firms to attract qualified job applicants and the increasing skills shortage has a tremendous impact on recruitment and selection. Moreover, the problems and issues as well as the management inadequacy in the organization have led to increase employee turnover. In order to cope with skills shortage and to attract qualified applicants more effectively, the organization needs to develop strategic recruitment and selection methods and policies. Recruitment             The organization must develop new recruitment methods that will support its goals and objectives. The organization’s policy must also reflect the organization’s desire to employ female workers. The recruitment method of the organization needs to be restructured. Selection             In order to make organizational change successful, the selection method must also be restructured. The organization needs to design new selection methods that adhere to its new business objectives and goals. The selection method must also be aligned with the new business strategy. Training and Development             Training and development is an important consideration. The aim of training and development is learning. Let us consider different learning principles. Learning is a change in behavior that results from direct or indirect experience. Training and development aims to make employees learn more effective behaviors. One learning principle that must be considered is motivation. In order to learn a person must want to learn. In the context of training and development, motivation influences a person’s enthusiasm for training and development, keeps attention focused on the training and development activities, and reinforces what is learned. Reinforcement is also important. The learning that occurs during training and development must be reinforced in the organization. Employees learn best with immediate reinforcement of appropriate behavior. In addition, the behaviors that the individual is attempting to learn must be meaningful. The individual who is undergoing the training and development must recognize that behavior and its associated information as being important and relevant to the job situation (Sims 2002b). What Should ARC Do? Facilitate an Environment that Values Continuous Learning             Organizational learning is considered as a source of competitive advantage. Organizational learning happens when the employees of an organization is learning in a continuous manner. Continuous learning as defined by Tannenbaum (1997) is a method of fostering learning on a continuous basis.             The organization needs to establish a culture that promotes continuous learning. An organization’s culture includes its values, beliefs, attitudes, practices, procedures and customs. A learning organization’s culture emphasizes the significance of continuous learning. The management must encourage continuous learning at all levels, functions and divisions throughout the firm. The organization must make learning everyone’s responsibility. A culture of learning encourages individual and team growth and development by valuing creativity, teamwork, continuous improvement and self-management (Gilley and Maycunich 2000). Career Development         One of the problems of Arden Racing Company is the lack of effective Career Planning and Development Programs. Because employees are not properly trained and because they do not possess the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform their jobs, the organizational performance is affected. The employees also feel uncertain about the career opportunities that are available for them in the organization. In addition, the organization fails to train the employees in order to prepare them for future job assignments. What should ARC Do?             The company needs to restructure its career development programs. Career development involves both the organization and the employee. The employee is the one that is responsible for career planning while the organization handles career management (Eggland and Giley 1998). Mentoring             In mentoring, the ‘mentor’ coaches, advices and encourages, employees of lesser rank. In mentoring, the mentor and the person being mentored builds a relationship wherein relationship is built. Under a good mentor, learning focuses on goals, opportunities, expectations, standards, and assistance in fulfilling the employee’s potential (Sims 2002b). The mentor is described as a manager who is experienced, productive and able to relate well to a less experienced employees (Kram 1985). The mentoring relationship is intended to be supportive and non-threatening. The mentor provides advice related the protégé’s job, career aspirations and development, clarifies misunderstandings and ambiguities the less experienced employee might encounter, builds confidence in the protégé and encourages him or her to take developmental steps (Rudman 2003). Coaching             Coaching is a one-to-one process. The coach may be the manager, a more experienced colleague or a specialist. Communication in coaching is two-way and focuses on discussion, discovery and understanding. Coaching also aims to solve problems. Coaching is essentially an on-the-job supplement for training and development. It aids in the application of the skills and knowledge that the employees gain on or off the job. Because coaching uses everyday incidents as the occasion for learning, the new skill or knowledge can be applied immediately, observed and checked by the manager and correct feedback given. In order for coaching to be successful, the coach must: <ul type="square" style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Show interest in people</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Look for potential</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Be aware of the interests, desires and capabilities of their people</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Show person-centered interests instead of work-centered</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Demonstrate confidence and trust in subordinates</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Allow the subordinate to decide for themselves (Rudman 2003)</li></ul> Work-Life Balance         Part of the parent company’s policy is to recruit female employees. However, there are different concerns that must be considered. One of the issues that must be considered is work-family balance. Many people, especially women, choose not to be promoted to a more time consuming job because they value their home life. Introducing a flexible work plan can be beneficial to both the organization and the employees. In order to make the integration of female workers successful and rewarding for female employees and in order to make them more productive, the organization must set family-friendly (work-life) programs. Some of these programs are: Job Sharing             Job sharing enables two employees to share a full-time position. The salary and benefits become prorated. The two employees participating in job sharing are called ‘partners’. In job sharing, the partners share the tasks and responsibilities. Job sharing is principally intended for women with young children (Avery and Zabel 2001).             The employees can be given job-sharing options. This option must be intended toward those employees who are having a hard time balancing their work and family lives. Job sharing enables sharers to balance work and home responsibilities. Both partners can also learn from each other through job sharing. Flexi-Time Flextime (flexi-time) is a scheduling option that allows workers to select their starting and quitting times within limits established by management. There are generally core hours when all employees must be present. Although starting and quitting times vary, employee are required to work a standard number of hours within a given time period (Avery and Zabel 2001). There are several variations on the use of flextime such as fixed starting and quitting times that vary daily, variations in the length of day with required core hours, and variations in the length of day without mandatory core hours. Some flextime programs allow workers to bank hours for the future (Olmstead and Smith 1994). Quality Management Six Sigma             The parent company is devoted to Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a set of powerful tools for improving processes and products. It is also an approach for improving both the process and people-related aspects of business performance. Six Sigma is used to link people, processes, customer and culture. Six Sigma Tactics Define – The first step in Six Sigma tactics is Define. In the define step, the project team is formed, a character is created, customers, their needs and requirements are determined and verified, and a high-level map of the current process is created (Eckes 2003). Measure – In the Measure step, the current sigma performance is calculated (Eckes 2003). Analysis – During the Analysis step, the team analyzes data and the process itself, finally leading to determining the root causes of the poor sigma performance of the process (Eckes 2003). Improve – In the Improve step, the team generates and selects a set of solutions to improve sigma performance (Eckes 2003). Control – In the Control step, a set of tools and techniques are applied to the newly improved process so that the improved sigma performance holds up over time (Eckes 2003). References Bass, B M 1998, Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and             Educational Impact, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ. Bate, P 1984, 'The Impact of Organizational Culture on Approaches to             Organizational Problem-Solving', Organization Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, pp.         43-66. Eggland, S 1998, Principles of Human Resource Development. Addison Wesley,             Reading, MA. Fairholm, G W 1994,  Leadership and the Culture of Trust,  Praeger Publishers,        Westport CT. Gilley, J and Maycunich, A 2000, Organizational Learning, Performance, and             Change: An Introduction to Strategic Human Resource Development,        Perseus, Cambridge, MA. Hofstede, G 1980, 'Motivation, Leadership and Organization: Do American             Theories Apply Abroad?' Organizational Dynamics, 42-63. Kram, KE 1985, Mentoring at Work: Developmental Relationships in             Organisational Life, Scott Foresman, Glenview, Ill. LeBoeuf, M 1991, The Greatest Management Principle in the World, Putnam,             New York. Olmsted, B and Smith, S 1994, Creating a Flexible Workplace: How to Select             and Manage Alternative Work Options. 2d edn, AMACOM, New York. Quinn, R E 1988, Beyond rational management, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco,             CA. Rudman, R 2003, Performance Planning and Review: Making Employee . Allen             and Unwin,  Crows Nest, N.S.W. Salas, E, Dickinson, T L, ‘Converse, S A, and Tannenbaum, S I 1992, Toward an             Understanding of Team Performance and Training’, in R W Swezey and E     Salas (eds.), Teams: Their Training and Performance (pp. 3-30), Ablex,           Norwood, NJ. Sims, R 2002a, Managing Organizational Behavior, Quorum Books, Westport             CT. Sims, R 2002b, Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources             Management. Quorum Books, Westport CT. Tannenbaum, S. 1997. ‘Enhancing Continuous Learning: Diagnostic Findings             from Multiple Companies’, Human Resource Management, vol. 36, pp.           437-452. Tata, J, Prasad, S and Thorn, R 1999, ‘The Influence of Organizational Structure             on the Effectiveness of TQM Programs’, Journal of Managerial Issues, vol.     11, no. 4, pp.  440+.

A Sample SWOT Analysis

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