Human Resources Management T 9 Flexibility and empowerment

1. Human Resources ManagementT 9 Flexibility and empowerment D. Borisova

2. Definition “The flexible working arrangements (FWAs) are different means, by which the organisation adapts itself to a change in the demands made upon it”

3. Need of flexibility Growth of advanced technology and cellular production systems Response to, and creation of, higher degree of “customized mass-production” in consumer demand Shift from production to service economy Globalization of the labor market Political initiatives to sharpen competition and create efficiency: Compulsory competitive tendering in public sector De-nationalization s of the 1980’s-1990’s

4. Flexibility of what? • Labor: • Wider range of tasks, jobs or skills; • Variability in the amount of labor force. • Technology: access to know-how, new ideas or different types of machinery • Organizations: general ability to adapt • Systems and processes: national economy, regions, industries, global economy

5. Flexibility for whom? • FOR employers – OF employees • FOR employees – in their interest

6. Historical development • Up to 1950’s - scientific management (F. Taylor): fragmentation of work, workers do not participate in the decision making • Up to 1980’s – motivation and employee satisfaction through: • job rotation – horizontal • job enlargement – vertical

7. Charles Handy – the Shamrock Organisation Later Views of the Flexible Firm Atkinson’s Flexible Firm Core and peripheral workers AN ONION VIEW

8. The flexible firm(John Atkinson, 1984) • Core group – primary personnel in the company, provide functional flexibility • First peripheral group – numerical flexibility in order to meet fluctuations in the demand of company products • Second peripheral group – short-term, multi-tasking, job sharing, part time work • Subcontracted and outsourced work • Agency workers (leasing of personnel) • Self employment

9. Professional core Contractual fringe Flexible workers The Shamrock Organization (Charles Handy, 1996)

10. Types of Labor Flexibility • Functional: skill variety & task diversity; multi-skilling – generally reserved for core workers on “permanent” time contracts • Numeric:hiring and firing workers according to business needs – peripheral workers, sub-contracting and self-employment • Temporal:adjusting working hours and times to meet business demand – both core and peripheral workers; used in cyclic businesses

11. Types of Labor Flexibility contd. • GEOGRAPHIC: home working, teleworking, telecommuting, hot-desking; distance-working, “location-independent” working • Approx. 2m teleworkers in the UK today • Mobil Oil, Co-operative Bank, Royal Mail • ATTITUDINAL: flexibility of approach to work; the encouragement of an attitude of adaptability and preparedness to learn new skills and/or change working practices rapidly in line with business need. • The “learning organisation” concept • Ford and the EDAP scheme

12. Schemes for Flexible Working • Shift work • Overtime • Weekend work • Annual hours contract • Part-time work • Job sharing, job splitting • Flexi-time • Temporary/casual • Fixed term contracts • Compressed working week • Home-based work • Tele-working • Outsourcing, outtasking, sub-contracting

13. Types of FWAs

14. Bundles of FWAs

15. Economic reasons for flexibility • Cut in exploitation, operational and fixed costs • Rise in efficiency and profit • Better distribution of resources • Use of new opportunities • Stimulation of business • Chances for additional income

16. Social reasons for flexibility • Decrease of unemployment • Better opportunities for realization of special minority groups • Better combination of family responsibilities, work duties and free time

17. Advantages for employers • Focus moved from job to tasks and specific assignments • Better use of working time • Decrease of absences and leaves • Better balance between offer and demand of labor force with certain rare or specific qualities

18. Advantages for employees • Opportunities for training and development • Opportunities for realization in new areas • Satisfaction of personal and cultural interests • More freedom and better use of spare time • Attention to family and to special groups

19. Approximate proportion of workforce employed on shift work (% of organisations, 2003)

20. Approximate proportion of workforce employed on part time work (% of organisations , 2003)

21. Approximate proportion of home based employment (% of organisations , 2003)

22. Main Findings about FWAs in the CRANET International HRM survey • Traditional forms of FWAs are still dominant over new forms of flexibility. • The use of temporary/casual work and fixed-term contracts has dropped over the 10-year period. • Less than expected rise in some of the well-established forms of FWAs such as shift work and part-time work. • Slight growth in new forms of FWAs. Annualized hours, job sharing, home-based work and tele-working are yet to become major features of working life.

23. Main Findings about FWAs in the CRANET International HRM survey (continued) • Significant region and country variations in use of certain types of FWAs: • Non-standard work patterns are widely used in most regions, although less popular in Asian companies; • Non-standard work hours and work away from the office are more common amongst English-speaking, Northern and Central European regions; • Work outsourced is most common in Mediterranean and Asian companies, while work away from the office is yet to take hold there.

24. Main Findings about FWAs in the CRANET International HRM survey (continued) • The restrictive state regulations in some countries for certain forms of FWAs explain the high use of other forms of flexibility there: • Annual hours contracts in France; • Part time work and fixed-term contracts in Netherlands; • Shift work in Spain and Turkey. • When combined in bundles, FWAs have better results on organisational effectiveness and performance. • There is ample room for an increase in FWAs in future.

25. Empowerment: Definition Broadly empowerment is about ‘allowing them (the workers) to retain sufficient autonomy over work performance and/or involvement in broader workplace/decision making co-operation and draw upon their latent skills, but not so much as to forfeit managerial control’. Adapted source: Marchington et. al., 1993 and Wilkinson, 1998, cited in Hales, 2000.

26. Essence • Delegation of responsibilities to employees • Employee participation in decision-making • Not redistribution of power, but enhancement of employee contribution to the organization • Emphasizes on quality, flexibility and productivity • Could be both individually and team-based • From employee suggestion schemes to self-managed teams

27. What is it about? • Power • To make decisions influencing performance • Information • About organisational performance • Rewards • Based on organisational performance • Knowledge • Enabling workers to understand their contribution Schneider & Bowen cited in Redman & Wilkinson pp347-8

28. Work study tradition Scientific management De-skilling and alienation Prescribed methods Measured performance Rewards for achievement Work psychology tradition Human relations school Herzberg, Maslow Select, train, motivate and lead well “Willing” performance ‘ENRICHMENT’ APPROACH ‘CLASSICAL’ APPROACH “..active co-operation..” Hales C, 2000. “..passive compliance..” Hales C, 2000. Empowerment, changing a dominant philosophy …?

29. How to empower? • Participation and motivation of workforce • Task involvement and attitudinal change • Focus on quality and productivity • TQM, quality circles • Team working, autonomous work groups • Better communication • Workforce attitude surveys • 360° or upward appraisal • “The managerial equivalent of Viagra”

30. Why empowerment? • Workers are closer to work situation and may be able to suggest improvements that management is unable to see • Empowerment increases satisfaction, reduces labor turnover and enhances commitment • Reduces the need for complex control system • Better quality of products and services

31. Applied empowerment It could be argued that there are a number of application processes, but here is an example: 1. Diagnosis: identify the conditions existing in the organisation that lead to feeling of powerlessness on the part of the organisational members. 2. Implementation:via participative management, establishing goal setting programmes, implementing merit-based pay systems and job enrichment through redesign 3. Action: a two-step element • remove conditions creating ‘powerlessness’. • increase ‘self-efficacy’. 4. Increase the perception of successful performance 5. Increase task orientated job activity

32. 5 Main types of empowerment • Information sharing • Upward problem solving • Task autonomy – restructuring of work units into cells taking some operational decisions • Attitudinal shaping – employees are trained to ‘feel’ empowered and more confident in their interaction with customers • Self-management in relation to a set of work tasks

33. Forms of empowerment in UK, 1998 • Participation in teamwork 65% • Team briefings 61% • Staff attitude surveys 45% • Problem-solving groups 45% • Quality circles 45% • Regular meetings of entire workforce 37%

34. HRM empowerment initiatives • Open management style • Open-doors days • Flexi-time • Removal of clocking • Payment system based on skill acquisition and individual performance • Two-way communication • Suggestion schemes, etc.

35. Do not forget! Next lecture N10: “Equal opportunities and diversity” will be held on 10th of December, Wednesday, from 18:30, for both groups A31 and A32