400 words with references In recent years, we have observed an increase in foreign production throughout the world. What PEST factors would you consider to be most relevant to H & M’s HR managers when
5/26/2020 Print Preview https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222998&nbId=116383&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101& 1/3 Chapter 16: Implementing HR Strategy: High-Performance W ork Systems: 16.4b Establishing a Communications Plan Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric T urner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning 16.4b Establishing a Communications Plan Building support for an HPWS and implementing it will be more readily accomplished if a member of top management plays the role of sponsor , or champion, and spends a substantial portion of his or her time in that role communicating with employees about the reasons and approaches to change. The champion and top managers then need to work closely with middle managers to make the change happen. According to research by Dr .Ethan Mollick at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, because middle managers operate in the trenches of an organization amid both its people and processes, they can have a big impact on a firm’s performance and how fast changes take place.
Nonetheless, major transformations should not be shouldered by middle managers alone.
Rather, the CEO and the senior management team need to establish the context for change and communicate the vision more broadly to the entire organization. For example, executives at Harley-Davidson tried to institute employee involvement groups without first demonstrating their own personal commitment to the program. Not surprisingly , employees were apathetic and in some cases referred to the proposed changes as just “another fine program” put in place by the personnel department. The executives learned the hard way that commitment from the top is essential in order to establish mutual trust between employees and managers.
Similarly, the CEO of a business consulting company was adamant that his 24 vice presidents understand a new initiative and give a short speech at an introductory session.
On the day of the program’ s launch, however, the CEO himself did not show up. The message to the vice presidents was clear . The CEO did not think the change was important enough to become an active participant. Not surprisingly , the change was never implemented.
Although we have emphasized the importance of executive commitment, top-down communication is not enough. Two-way communication not only can result in better decisions, it may help to diminish the fears and concerns of employees when facing changes. For example, prior to being purchased by a competitor , Solectron Corporation, a winner of the Baldrige National Quality Award, tried to implement high-performance work systems to capitalize on the knowledge and experience of its employees. A pilot program showed immediate gains in productivity of almost 20 percent after the switch to self- managed teams and team-based compensation. Although Solectron’ s rapid growth of more than 50 percent per year made it unlikely that middle managers would be laid of f, the loss of control to empowered teams made many of them reluctant to implement a high-performance work system. 5/26/2020 Print Preview https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222998&nbId=116383&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101& 2/3 If the managers had participated in discussions about operational and financial aspects of the business, they might not have felt so threatened by the change. Open exchange and communication at an early stage pay of f later as the system unfolds. Ongoing dialogue at all levels helps reaffirm commitment, answer questions that come up, and identify areas for improvement throughout implementation. Recall that one of the principles of high- performance work systems is sharing information. This principle is instrumental to success both during implementation and once the system is in place.
Navigating the T ransition to High-Performance W ork Systems Different organizations implement high-performance work systems in dif ferent ways. In start- up firms, managers have the advantage of being able to put everything in place at once.
However, when organizations have to be retrofitted, the process can be a bit more cumbersome. For example, when Honeywell switched to a high-performance work system in its plant in Chandler , Arizona, employees attended training programs and participated in the redesign of their jobs while the plant was shut down to be reequipped with new technology. When the new plant was reopened, self-managing teams were put in place, and a new pay system was implemented for the high-performance workforce.
Not every organization has the luxury of suspending operations while changes are put in place. For example, in already existing organizations, the pieces of the system often have to be changed incrementally rather than as a total program. Nevertheless, establishing an implementation plan that provides a timetable and process for mapping key business processes, redesigning the work flow , and training employees can keep the ef fort from bogging down.
Communication at all levels is the key to successful implementation of a high- performance work system. 5/26/2020 Print Preview https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?eISBN=9781285872643&id=30222998&nbId=116383&snapshotId=116383&dockAppUid=101& 3/3 © Andrey_Popov/ Shutterstock.com Adhering to New Procedures Following the new procedures required to implement an HPWS is often the hardest part of the job. As Ruth W right, manager of the Council for Senior Human Resource Executives, puts it, “Procedure is the ‘rug’ on which alliances [between the firm’ s stakeholders] stand.
Pull it out by making a unilateral management determination or otherwise changing the rules of the game, and the initiative will falter. Procedure keeps the parties focused.” HR managers are in a good position to help employees in transition handle what they are going through in terms of changes. When the old ways of doing things are abandoned, many experienced employees begin to feel like beginners again on the job. This can be stressful and sometimes polarizes employees. As a coping mechanism, many are likely to fall back on older routines. Texas Instruments created its High Performance Organization Development unit to facilitate the transition to a high-performance work system. Other organizations such as Merck, Ford, and Deutsche Bank have also developed special HR units to manage organizational change. Unilever created a transition team of senior line and HR managers to oversee the implementation of high-performance teams and develop an implementation road map. Chapter 16: Implementing HR Strategy: High-Performance W ork Systems: 16.4b Establishing a Communications Plan Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric T urner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning © 2020 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder .