The purpose of this report is to critically analyse the theoretical management of people with reference to structure, culture and conflict. It also examines organisational behaviour and how companies manage its people in real life contexts. It criticizes human resource approaches in a case study based on theory and understanding of human resource practices.

1.2. Outline of the Report

The report is divided into three patches which include exercise 1, exercise 2, and exercise 3. Each exercise is concerned with HRM and is aimed at understanding HRM theories and practices. Exercise one compares two articles in terms of methodology and conclusions. Exercise two then examines the benefits of HR practices to organisations. Lastly, exercise three uses a case study to identify HRM issues and link them to theories.

2. Exercise 1

2.1. Methodology used in the two articles

Research articles usually have different methodologies depending on the nature or type of research pursued by the authors. Ramachandran et al (2011) used a primary research method which collected data from 594 members of the faculty in Higher Education Institutions. These institutions were subdivided into private and public schools, and 33.9% participants were selected from public schools while 52.8% were selected from private higher education institutions. The sampling method was based on the assessment of private and public higher education institutions to determine those that will respond and those that may not. The researchers sought permission from the administrations of various College universities in Malaysia and included only those that responded in the study. Responses from 594 faculty members from 6 institutions were used for analysis in the study.

The organisational culture assessment instrument (OCAI) developed by Cameron and Quinn in 1999 was used in this study to form the basis of questionnaire. Six dimensions were used in this approach, each dimension with four descriptive statements on market, adhocracy, hierarchy and clan cultures. So in total there were 24 questions in the questionnaire. This data was analysed using face validity and construct validity.

On the other hand, MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) examined the external perception of organisational structure using a study on the clients of a company in the fitness industry of Canada. The corporation selected was a private fitness organisation. The participants of the study were selected through random sampling of clients in five clubs out of 100 clubs of the private fitness organisation. The selection was based on geographical breadth of the organisation and the researcher’s travel requirements. The sampled participants used a survey questionnaire to respond to the survey questions, and would return the survey immediately or post them through pre-paid post mail. They were required to provide 7-scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly disagree).

From this analysis of methodology for both articles, it is clear that there are differences of the articles in terms of methodology. One of the differences is that Ramachandran et al (2011) collected perceptions of the faculty or management of the institutions on organisational culture, while MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) examined the perspectives of external stakeholders (customers) on organisational culture. Secondly, MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) use random sampling to identify participants in which each member of the population has an equal chance of being included while Ramachandran et al (2011) used stratified method whereby the population is first classified into private and public institutions before the participants were selected.

2.2. Conclusions of the Studies

According to MacIntosh and Doherty (2007), the clients of the company perceived the organisation’s culture in three perspectives: success in the industry, commitment to fitness and health, and positive attitudes of the staff. Furthermore, the organisation did not show the values of innovation, trust, communication and integrity as part of the organisational culture. The study also concluded that the external perceptions of organisational culture shape the impression of clients on the organisation. Organisational culture is also determined mainly through contact and exchange with employees, because clients noted that the employees’ attitudes contributed the organisational culture.

Customers also consider corporate integrity as the most important value for organisations (MacIntosh and Doherty, 2007). It affects customers’ satisfaction with the organisation and enhances customer retention. This study also suggests that the client’s image of the firm is influenced by how the company keeps its promises and the accountability and transparency of the organisation. Furthermore, the study observes that clients do not focus on the performance and success of a company in the industry, but they focus on their service or product experience with the company.

One of the conclusions of Ramachandran et al (2011) is that public higher education institutions primarily have hierarchical management style and should in addition develop clan, adhocracy and market cultures. The study also found out that cultural innovation is difficult in organisations because it involves the introduction of new elements to replace old ones. Ramachandran et al (2011) found out that higher education institutions have strong organisational cultures which affect innovation by suppressing the innovative ideas of employees, leading them to develop groupthink instead of developing different ideas or new ways of thinking. The strong cultural values of organisations are also important in change management because they enhance adaptive learning that lead to adaptation to changes in the dynamic environment. Hierarchical culture is also found to be common in both private and public institutions, with set of rules and policies that govern activities.

In order to manage culture change effectively, academics should be convinced about the gains rather than losses. Ramachandran et al (2011) also conclude that higher education institutions should utilize their status of poor financial or non-financial performance to introduce change. They should also understand resistance to change in order to implement cultural change effectively. Cultural change also needs to be introduced gradually rather than drastically so that academics can adjust to such changes appropriately.

2.3. Analysis of Similarities and Differences of the two Studies

The two articles are similar because they use primary research involving survey questionnaire instruments to determine the perception of participants on organisation culture. Both articles also suggest that innovativeness is lacking in organisations as part of organisational culture because organisational culture allows groupthink that limits unique ideas from different employees. Furthermore, the two articles highlight the importance of managerial commitment and collaboration of employees in enhancing effective organisational culture.

In terms of differences, Ramachandran et al (2011) analyse the internal perceptions of organisational culture by focusing on the responses of faculty members in higher education institutions while MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) examine the external perceptions of customers on organisational culture. Ramachandran et al (2011) are also concerned with organisational change more than the types of organisational culture in the organisation. On the other hand, MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) provide the key aspects of organisational culture including integrity, transparency, commitment, and attitudes. Lastly, MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) categorised organisational culture in terms of clan, hierarchical, and market cultures while MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) categorised organisational culture in terms of performance, peak and fitness cultures. This shows that organisational culture in MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) is driven by management while organisational culture in MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) is driven by the entire members of the organisation including customers.

3. Exercise 2

3.1. Critically examine the benefits that effective HR practices can bring to an organisation

Human resources are some of the most important resources of an organisation because they are responsible for controlling and coordinating all the other resources of the company to achieve organisational objectives. Innocenti et al (2012) suggests that human resources are an important source of competitive advantage. Given the importance of competitive advantage, it follows that human resource (HR) practices should be effective in order to benefit the organisation. The business world has evolved from the reliance on physical tasks and work design to a new era of knowledge and skill based job performance, and technology-based human resource management. Organisations are utilizing a lot of resources to support human resource practices as a way of boosting competitiveness and developing employees.

Several researchers suggest various impacts of HR practices to organisations – lower job satisfaction and affective commitment (Innocenti et al, 2012); leads to reduced problem and situation uncertainty (Cannings and Hills, 2012); enhances effective adjustment to global business environment (Choo et al, 2010); drives optimal value from employees and increases competitive advantage (Inyang, 2011); increases employee needs satisfaction and higher HRM outcome (Marescaux et al, 2013); and improved decision making effectiveness (Parker and Caine, 1996). This clearly shows that there are arguments that support the benefits of HR practices and those that oppose.

Research by Rynes et al (2002) shows that managers fail to implement human resource practices due to lack of awareness about the existing research findings about the issue. The study also found out that there is a big gap between research findings and HR practitioner beliefs concerning human resource practices. Managers do not have knowledge about the impact of practices such as: how to choose employees, how to motivate them, and how to implement effective performance management. Despite the gap between knowledge and practice about human resource practices, human resource practices offer significant benefits to organisations.

Generally, effective human resource practice improves organisational performance. Effective human resource practice increases organisational performance. Cannings and Hills (2012) suggest that the audit of HR practices promote rather than undermining organisational performance. HR audit is intended to reshape HR practices in order to align them to the business. This shows that effective human resource practices improve organisational performance. Human resource practice allows managers to bring together several skills and knowledge of individuals in order to create unique ideas and produce innovative products and services that will improve the overall financial performance of the organisation. Indeed, the performance of an organisation largely depends on the ability of human resource management to manage human resources using appropriate human resource practices in order to allocate resources effectively.

Human resource practices also offer productive solutions in order to improve the organisation’s performance (Cannings and Hills, 2012). For instance, training and development of human resources can be used to improve the knowledge and skills of employees and enable them to produce quality goods and services for the benefit of the organisation. Implementation of productive solutions requires the services of skilled and trained employees. Furthermore, HR practices enhance efficient utilization of individual abilities, leading to great opportunities of future stability and effective change management. All these benefits generally enhance organisational performance.

More specific benefits of HR benefits can be seen through the work of Inyang (2011) who suggests that human resource practices drive employees’ value and enables the company to achieve competitive advantage. This study observed that human resource practices play a significant strategic role in organisations. Inyang argues that human resource function practically builds human capita in order to promote success in an organisation’s operational and managerial activities. Training is an essential HR practice for enhancing employee performance. A properly and continuously trained and developed workforce leverages the company in order to achieve a competitive edge against competitors in the market. In the competitive business environment, employees play a crucial role in creating unique value for customers through customer service and innovative production. In this case, human resource practice enhances effective competition management of employees to realize competitive advantage.

As organisations seek opportunities for growth and higher performance through globalisation, integrating HR practices in their business strategy leads to sustainable competitive advantage in the global market. Choo et al (2010) carried an interview on HR manager of Park Royal on Beach Road and found out that HR practices are used by multinational companies to achieve positive outcomes in the global market. “Mr. Leong uses HR practices like selection and recruitment, and performance appraisal to align the employees to business outcomes” (Choo et al, 2010). Human resource function is used for the development of competent managers to run international business effectively. The competitiveness of an organisation in the international market depends on its ability to implement effective human practices such as recruitment, development, and motivation. Transformational HR practices such as strategic planning, organisational development, and knowledge management are considered as differentiating factors for sustainable development. One of the motivating factors for multinational corporations to use human resource practices as sources of competitive advantage is because development of human capital can neither be imitated nor replicated in other organisations.

Competitive advantage of an organisation is developed when the human resource practices of the organisation can effectively achieve the following: add value to the organisation; develop rare skills among employees; create inimitable combined human investments in employees; and encourage human capital that cannot be easily substituted. These outcomes can be achieved by multinational corporations because the impact of globalisation causes them to look for sources of competitive advantage. International human resource practices provide such competitive advantage.

The performance of an organisation can also be achieved by human resource practices through basic need satisfaction. Presence of HR practices in organisations results in higher basic need satisfaction because HR practices ensures that the talents, interests and expectations of individuals are taken into consideration during job performance in the workplace (Marescaux and De Winne, 2013). Career planning and development assures employees of their career security, reduces the problem of external control and consequentially increasing autonomy satisfaction. Training also allows for autonomy satisfaction by increasing one’s internal control through the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Direct employee participation in decision making encourages direct employee involvement, giving them the thought that the organisation is concerned about their interests and they achieve autonomy satisfaction. Development appraisal is the process of giving employees positive and negative feedback about their performance. It enables employees to attain autonomy or needs satisfaction because it encourages participation from the employees and a feeling of control.

Marescaux and De Winne (2013) claim that the feeling of autonomy and needs satisfaction achieved through developmental and empowering human resource practices leads to improved work engagement, higher affective commitment and lower employee turnover. Employees stick to their current organisation if they have autonomy satisfaction because they expect the achievement of desirable outcome. However, the presence of soft HR practices without proper implementation may not be successful in enhancing desirable human resource outcomes. Human resource practices such as compensation and recognition are important in motivating employees and improving their commitment, engagement and involvement in the company in order to achieve positive business outcomes.

Human resource practices also promote effective decision making and allows organisations to survive through complex planning processes. Human resource practices such as development and training enables employees to develop knowledge and skills that can be used in decision making. Most decision making and problem solving processes involve quantitative techniques that require mathematical knowledge. This causes the tools of decision making to become inapplicable. The analytical power of decision makers is mainly achieved through human resource practices.

Although human resource practices are widely considered to be beneficial to organisations, some researchers have found that they have negative effects on organisational performance.

“HR development practices on the positive work attitudes of older employees questions existing practices as they are not able to effectively influence the whole workforce population, as they are mainly tailored according to younger employees’ needs and expectations” (Innocenti et al, 2012: p.738).

This lower effect of human resource practices result from the fact that they are targeted on younger population who are quick to learn and able to adjust to changing development needs in the human resource function. This limits job satisfaction and affective commitment among the older population. This was explained by the social exchange theory which explains that the promotion of retirement increases the value that older people will place on the organisation.

This essay clearly shows that HR practices especially development and training practices lead to improved organisational performance as a result of increased positive impact on various aspects of employees. HR practices lead to the development of knowledge and skills that can be used by employees to leverage the organisation and run it effectively to achieve competitive advantage. Such knowledge and skills can also be used to promote effective decision making at workplace, leading to improved strategic performance in the organisation. HR development and empowerment practices also enable employees to develop autonomy satisfaction, leading to improved work engagement, higher affective commitment and lower employee. However, training and development affects older populations negatively if they are mainly targeted for young people. This can be corrected by avoiding discrimination when implementing HR practices in the organisation.

4. Exercise 3

4.1. Introduction

Human Resource Management is an important function in an organisation that plans major transformations. Structural changes in HR function and the business as a whole usually result in great impacts on the employees. Universal Manufacturers Group (UMG) is one of the organisations that have undergone transformation in the recent past. With a workforce capacity of 140,000 across the world, business transformation was not easy for the company. The transformation of the company involved two simultaneous transformation projects. First, the three businesses of the company which are food, home and personal care businesses merged and were transferred to a single headquarters in Reading, Berkshire where the 2,500 employees would have a pleasant and environmentally friendly workplace. The second transformation project was the Human Resource ambitious transformation. This transformation, like the wider business transformation, was intended to achieve a simpler, cost effective, and globally aligned HR function.

4.2. Key HRM/People issues faced by managers in UMG

The two transformational projects implemented by UMG manifests essential HR issues that affect employees at the company’s workplace. Such issues are experienced as a result of the need to change the management strategies and operation systems within the human resource function and the larger organisation. Some of the HR issues that can be identified from the case are indicated below:

Job insecurity or job losses have been caused by flatter organisational structure achieved through merging of the three companies.
Change of HR functions will change the jobs, teams and groups of employees as a result of outsourcing HR functions, limiting job satisfaction (Redman et al, 2007).
The transformations also caused loss of in-house shared services from UK’s HR service centre due to the HR outsourcing services.
HR learning and development in lower-level jobs is also limited by the outsourcing of HR functions (UMG Case Study).
Loss of organisational culture may also change in the organisation due to the structural changes and outsourcing of HR functions (Wang and Wang, 2007).

Job insecurity, redundancy or turnover in the company is now becoming high due to the structural changes. Merging the three organisations led to a flatter organisational structure which requires fewer managers, so half of the senior management would lose their jobs and the existing managers would be given a greater level of responsibility. This is a challenge to the HR function because it will require a thorough selection process to identify the right talents and skilled people to retain the increased senior management responsibilities in the organisation.

The jobs of employees and their teams and groups will also change as a result of outsourcing transactional work, recruitment, and learning services to global reach. Employees who have been performing outsourced activities will experience a significant change in their jobs, and they will work with different teams and groups. The UK service centre staff will also have to adjust to the changing ways of doing things in the new teams. This will lead to the loss of employees by the HR department in the UK as the in-house shared service is changed through outsourcing of services. Outsourcing of HR functions also led to the loss of development opportunities for the lower-level staff. People may opt to leave the company for other companies where they can develop their careers and gain experience before returning to the company to work as senior managers. UMG is no longer expected to develop its own people, indicating a significant change from the company’s past practice of growing its own people.

Shared services are considered as an essential approach to standardise and consolidate common HR functions across organisations. Wang and Wang (2007) say that, “Shared services reduce information process duplication and increase information and knowledge sharing through standardization and consolidation of these service processes” (p. 282). Outsourcing eliminates information and knowledge sharing, causing limited talent development within the organisation.

4.3. Linking the HR Issues with HRM and Organisational Behaviour Models

The above human resource management issues affecting UMG’s transformation can be examined using key theories and models of HR management and organisational behaviour. Some of the theories related to these issues include: organisational structure, organisational culture, and key factors of job satisfaction.

4.3.1. Organizational Structure

Organisational structure is the design of an organisation to determine how tasks are allocated, coordinated and supervised in order to achieve organisational goals. An organisational structure depends on the objectives and strategies of the company. In centralized structures power and authority is held by the top management while in decentralized structures power is distributed to different management levels of the organisation (Jacobides, 2007). An effective organisational structure should support the key objectives of the organisation.

There are some different types of organisational structures including functional structure, divisional structure and matrix structure. Functional structure focuses on coordination, supervision and allocation of tasks (Jacobides, 2007). It determines how the organisation operates and it involves organising people according to function. Some of the functions in organisations include production, marketing, accounting and human resources. A divisional structure is a structure that consists of different divisions with a collection of functions. In most cases, these divisions are geographic or organized by product. This structure involves a high level of delegation of duties. Matrix structure combines divisional and functional structures to enhance cross-functional communication and coordination of activities. This enhances integration of activities in the organisation.

Before transformation, UGM used a divisional structure that was organised on the basis of products. There were three divisions with distinct functions: food, home and personal care divisions. According to Jacobides (2007), divisional structure enables an organisation to give responsibility for specific services or products to specific employees in order to enhance flexibility when there are changes in the market. This approach also allows the company to delegate authority in order to enhance effective performance measurement for each group, increasing employees’ morale and higher performance at the workplace. The divisional structure also enables the company to promote efficient work coordination in different divisions. One of the disadvantages of this organisational structure is that it may encourage rivalries among divisions. It also incurs a lot of costs because it requires several qualified managers who should be paid high salaries. Lastly, divisional structure causes duplication of staff services and resources due to over-emphasis of organisational rather than organisational services.

Flat or horizontal organisational structure was adopted by UGM after transformation of its business and human resource functions. The company introduced flatter organisational structure across its global businesses with fewer managers. This reflects a theoretical flat organisational which should have few or no middle management between the staff and senior managers. The reason for a flat organisation is that it qualified and skilled workers are likely to be more productive when there is little supervision and they are engaged in decision making (Pugh, 1990). Reduction of middle management also enables the top management to pass information and receive feedback quickly from the employees involved in decision making.

4.3.2. Organizational Culture

Organisational culture the system shared values, beliefs and assumptions that define the behaviour of people within the organisation (Walsh, 2008). Shared values among employees within organisations determine their behaviour and performance. Organisational culture also determines the way different members of an organisation interact and how employees identify themselves with the organisation.

The transformation of UGM resulted in a performance-based culture which requires new sets of behaviours and more responsibilities. The company’s employees are required to participate in decision making and focus on outcomes of their jobs. These changes towards a performance-based culture require the organisation to develop its people so that they can behave in a manner that will result in higher performance. The method of assessment and rewarding of people’s performance also determines their behaviour within the organisation.

Edgar Schein’s model of organisational culture provides three levels of organisational culture to determine the factors that influence the culture of an organisation. According to the model, each organisation adopts a culture over a long period of time as employees undergo changes and adapt to changing environmental situations (Schein, 2010). As they go through these changes, the employees gain experiences and solve problems as they participate and interact every day, leading to the development of a workplace culture. This organisational culture is believed by Schein to be in three levels as shown in the figure below.

Schein’s model of organisational culture (Schein, 2010)

UGM’s organisational culture can be explained using this model. First, the company has some “artifacts” which represent the first level of Schein’s model. They include the behaviour of its employees, vision and mission of the organisation. In terms of employees’ behaviour, it is clear that the company’s employees are required to have performance based behaviour in order to reflect the performance-based culture of the company. Secondly, the employees exhibit values that affect the company’s culture, including negative attitude towards the human resource function. Due to the structural changes, several employees lost their lives and caused job insecurity among employees. As a result, employees lost confidence. They think that they may lose their jobs through the structural changes.

4.3.3. Job Satisfaction

The theories of job satisfaction explain the key factors influencing job satisfaction including pay, promotion, recognition, training and development, and supervision. Without job satisfaction, employees’ turnover will be high. From the case study, it is clear that UGM’s employees leave the company to get training from other companies before returning later to work as senior managers. Sometimes employees go and never come back, causing the company to lose talented and qualified staff. According to Asegid et al (2014), the most important factors that influence job satisfaction include work environment, team cohesion, and work.

Parvin (2011) also suggests that job satisfaction is influenced by factors such as management style and culture, employee involvement, pay, benefits, social relationships, promotion and work conditions. A favourable management style and culture of the organisation increases employees’ job satisfaction. The change in management style and culture of UGM from hierarchical to a flat performance-based management culture may influence the job satisfaction of employees. However, employee involvement is increased by the flatter organisational structure and may lead to increased job satisfaction.

4.3.4. Conclusion

The case study of transformation at Universal Manufacturers Group (UMG) shows that the company’s transformation was in two forms: transforming the entire business and transforming HR functions. The HR functions were changed by outsourcing transactional work, training and selection, and shared services of the HR function. This replaced the in-house shared services and led to job losses in the organisation. The business was also transformed to a flatter organisational structure where the mid-level management was removed and managers lost their jobs. The organisational culture also changed to become a performance-based culture. HR learning and development in lower-level jobs was also limited by the outsourcing of HR functions.

These issues were analysed using theories of organisational behaviour and HR management. Organisational culture has been considered as a key aspect in the case study. The company developed unique performance-based culture which reflected changing behaviour, attitudes and assumed values of employees. Organisational structure of the company also changed from a hierarchical divisional structure to a flat organisational structure which involved more delegation of duties to lower level employees in order to improve the involvement of employees in decision making. The organisational structure is also good because it enhances cost effectiveness. In terms of factors influencing job satisfaction, it is clear that the job satisfaction of employees at UMG was influenced by changed team work, less work, uncertain working conditions, changed management culture, low level of training, and development and higher employee involvement.

4.4. Recommendations

Due to the issues noted in this report, it is important for the management of UMG to implement actions that will improve job satisfaction in the organisation. First, the company should develop an in-house HR function which will be involved with training and rewarding employees in order to develop effective teams and motivate them to improve their work performance (Furåker et al, 2012). The outsourced HR functions should just include transaction work. Secondly, the management should develop an effective communication strategy with feedback loops to allow the management to communicate the new culture of the company in order to win the support and engagement of employees (Papa et al, 2008). Communication creates a good relationship between the top management and the employees, and it enhances teamwork in the organisation.

The issue of employees’ job insecurity can also be solved by absorbing HR employees who have lost their jobs through outsourcing in other functions, and including others in the in-house HR functions that will be developed as recommended above. Furthermore, mid-level employees should be promoted to senior management by creating other functions. The problem of costs can still be solved through this recommendation because the new functions will enhance higher work performance and increased productivity.

5. Conclusion

5.1. Key Learning Points

From this discussion I have learned a lot concerning the analysis of articles, benefits of human resource practices and the identification of HRM issues from a case study. Exercise one involved the analysis and comparison of two articles. I was able to identify various differences and similarities between the two articles, and I realized that different authors of HRM use different methodologies and arrive at different conclusions. However, they use the same HRM theories and concepts. It is clear from the articles that research on HRM is mainly based on primary survey or use of questionnaire. Target population is randomly sampled and interviewed based on predetermined survey questions. From the conclusions of the two articles, the key learning point is that the views of the internal stakeholders about HRM practices are different from those of external stakeholders. Perceptions of organisational culture shape the impression of clients on the organisation. The internal stakeholders also develop a culture that will form a good organisational culture for the success of the company.

From exercise two I have learned a lot of benefits of HRM practices. I have learned that HRM practices enhance competitive advantage for organisation. This is possible because it enables members of the organisation to be work together effectively and leverage their knowledge and skills through development to improve the company’s competitive advantage. HRM practices also increases the overall performance of the organisation. HRM practices include compensation, recognition and motivation which improve employee engagement and performance.

From assignment 3 I have also learned how to link human resource management concepts and theories to a real life example. The HR functions of UMG were changed by outsourcing transactional work, training and selection, and shared services of the HR function and transforming to a flatter organisational structure where the mid-level management was removed and managers lost their jobs. It is also clear that training and rewarding employees in order to develop effective teams and motivate them.

5.2. Skills I Need to Develop

In order to be able to work well in the field of HRM, I need to develop some skills related to HRM. First, I should develop research skills to enable me conduct a primary research that will enhance a good understanding of the key concepts and theories of HRM to a specific organisation. I also need good communication skills so that I can be able to communicate effectively with different external and internal members of an organisation for the purpose of developing an effective organisational culture and behaviour. In order to enhance the benefits of HRM practices, I also need to develop teamwork skills so that I can work effectively as a member and a leader of team. This is necessary because it enables team members to become motivated and leverage their core competencies to perform well at work and achieve organisational objectives.

Effective decision making and problem solving is also needed so that I can be able to address HRM issues such as those experienced in UMG. When business environment changes and competition increases, it is necessary to respond adequately by implementing key changes in the human resource practices of the organisation. However, this may come with heavy resistance, and may even fail. In this case, I need good skills on decision making and problem solving so that I can handle the issues successfully for the benefit of the organisation. Sometimes I may also need to be patient and tolerant when dealing with changes in HRM. To overcome resistance, I need to work hard and collaborate with various stakeholders. Patience is needed because things may not work as expected at first, but with persistence and engagement with the right people they may work out well in the end.

5.3. Future Plans

In order to succeed in future assignments, I need to develop my understanding of HRM issues. I should be able to identify HRM issues that may affect businesses because it is important to link HRM theories to practice in order to enhance a good understanding of the field. I also need to develop my skills on critical analysis so that I can be able to identify differences and similarities of ideas provided by different authors on a given topic, and to synthesise information appropriately in HRM. Furthermore, development in terms of understanding of HRM concepts and theories is needed so that I can be able to explain business scenarios easily in relation to human resource management. For instance, I may need to develop my understanding of training and development so that I can understand how organisations use it to leverage the skills and knowledge of employees for increased competitive advantage. Understanding of HRM concepts and theories also enables me to identify the benefits of HRM practices to organisations and how organisations adapt to changing environments through HRM practices.

References list

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Appendices

Article 1

READING EXERCISE

What was the title of the article?

Extending the Scope of Organisational Culture: The External Perception of an Internal Phenomenon

What did the abstract suggest its objectives and outcomes were?

To examine the external perceptions of organisational culture according to clients of a private organisation in fitness industry of Canada

The outcome would be that organisational culture is associated with customer satisfaction and loyalty

What were the key points in the literature review?

· Organisational culture has an impact on external environment

· Organisational culture influences firm’s image

· Transparency is important for outsiders

· The sport and physical recreation industry involves a great deal of interaction with clients on a daily basis

· Client perceptions on organisational culture affect the company’s performance

What was the methodology?

· Primary research involving customers of private company

· Random sampling of clients in five clubs out of 100 clubs of the private fitness organisation

· Survey questionnaire to respond to the survey questions

What were the key conclusions?

Organisation’s culture in three perspectives: success in the industry, commitment to fitness and health, and positive attitudes of the staff

External perceptions of organisational culture shape the impression of clients on the organisation

Organisational culture is also determined mainly through contact and exchange with employees

Customers also consider corporate integrity as the most important value for organisations

The client’s image of the firm is influenced by how the company keeps its promises and the accountability and transparency of the organisation

Article 2

READING EXERCISE

What was the title of the article?

Organisational culture: An exploratory study comparing faculties’ perspectives within public and private universities in Malaysia

What did the abstract suggest its objectives and outcomes were?

The objective would be to study the organisational culture of private and public higher education institutions

The outcome would be that hierarchical, clan, adhocracy and market cultures are different in public and private schools but hierarchical culture is common and highly practiced

What were the key points in the literature review?

· Organisational culture defined – set of values and beliefs widely practiced in the organisation

· Artefacts such as dress code, language and technology are more solid in culture

· Organisational culture enhances internal coordination and create sense in organisations – consistency hypothesis

· Competing values framework is used to measure organisational culture – because it has key implications on decision making, strategic management and leadership

What was the methodology?

· Primary research involving faculties of private and public higher education institutions

· Stratified sampling of private and public schools

· Survey questionnaire to respond to the survey questions

What were the key conclusions?

Public higher education institutions primarily have hierarchical management style and should in addition develop clan, adhocracy and market cultures

Cultural innovation is difficult in organisations because it involves the introduction of new elements to replace old ones

The strong cultural values of organisations are also important in change management because they enhance adaptive learning that lead to adaptation to changes in the dynamic environment

In order to manage culture change effectively, academics should be convinced about the gains rather than losses

Higher education institutions should utilize their status of poor financial or non-financial performance to introduce change.

People and Organizations: critically analyse the theoretical management of people with reference to structure, culture and conflict

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose of the Report