Assignment 1
Assignment 1
Assignment 1
Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 General Background .................................................................................................................. 3 Employee Participation and Employee Involvement .................................................................. 4 Direct Employee Involvement Quality Circles ......................................................................... 6 Indirect Collective Representation Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee ................. 6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 7 References................................................................................................................................. 8 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 9 Appendix 1 The Psychological Contract ............................................................................... 10 Appendix 2 Harvard model of HRM ...................................................................................... 11 Appendix 3 The 10 C model of HRM .................................................................................... 12 Appendix 4 Creating an engaged workforce (CIPD 2010) ................................................... 13
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General Background
The relationship between employer and employee has undergone a profound change in recent decades. The view has emerged that the management of people gives an organisation competitive advantage. This is driven by a number of factors the rise of consumerism, globalisation, market economies and the need to be more focussed on quality. Much of the development in employee relations arises from the concept or philosophy of the psychological contract (Schein 1965) (see Appendix 1) Modern theories of HR and HRM suggest that the goal of the organisation should be to achieve high levels of employee commitment and loyalty and that the most effective methods of achieving that goal is through EP and E!. The Harvard model (Beer et al 1984) (see Appendix 2) suggests that EI is pivotal to achieving engagement. The 10 C framework described in Human Resource Management in a Business Context (Price, 2003) (see Appendix 3) also places employee commitment as central aim of effective HRM. According to Creating an Engaged Workforce (CIPD, 2010) (see Appendix 4) Engagement is clearly associated with high levels of performance, reduced intent to quit and raised levels of personal well-beingemployees need to be given opportunities to express their views and to know that their opinions will be taken seriously.* The prevailing view is shown to be that to engage the commitment of employees, employers need to understand and fulfil expectations through processes that support EP and EI.
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Work councils and worker directives Joint Negotiating and Consultation (Collective bargaining)
L e v e l in O r g a n is t io n Communication
Make decisions
Participation
Quality Circles Problem-solving groups
Financial Involvement
No decisionmaking
D IR E C T
F o rm s o f E I
IN D IR E C T
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Conclusion
Employee engagement is a legitimate objective for management but the evidence shows that both the direct and indirect forms of EI described have limited success in achieving this. Quality circles have limited scope and depth and generate little sense of involvement or satisfaction. Collective bargaining, though set in a more robust framework is similarly constrained in its ability to influence decision-making. Neither address the imbalance of power between management and employee.
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The iceberg model illustrates how much is involved in the psychological contract that is not explicitly described in the formal employment contract.
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The Harvard Model places employee involvement as central to the HRM system.
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The 10 C model shows that to achieve employee commitment and meet the challenge of change that HRM must drive a comprehensive and coherent strategy with regards to management of people.
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Engagement
Voice, being able to feed voice upwards Management, communication and vision
Line management
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