Introduction
An apparent mechanism behind the concept of employee involvement is its long-term prevalence in Human Resources Management (HRM) and workplace dynamics, often under different definitions in different eras. Foy (1994: 17) commented on the notion of empowering employees in the workplaces of the 1990s, noting the similarities behind the ideas of ‘involvement’ in the 1980s and ‘participation’ in the 1970s. In order for a company to reach its potential, it was believed its employees had to be directly involved in the pursuit and implementation of strategic objectives, resulting in cost efficiency and effective market practices (Hyman and Mason, 1995).
Employee involvement in the past has been identified by the use of influence, sharing of information and interaction (Wall and Lischerson, 1977), with a general consensus that these would include either company-led instructions or fully democratic processes. The ideas of empowerment are defined but tend to be simplistic, such as Cook and Macaulay’s definition which focuses on the concept as a management tool to enable individuals to use their skills and abilities for the purpose of customer satisfaction (Cook and Macauley, 1997: 54). In this sense, the use of involvement and empowerment is different – empowerment invokes the presumption of influence i.e. the ability to suggest ideas that are the will of the employees rather than the will of the management – while also seemingly to overlap as the theory developed over time.
Studies and surveys show support for the hypothesis behind the use of employee involvement incentives – the ‘components of the psychological contract’ table (Wilton, 2013: 36) displayed various criteria needed to foster greater commitment, satisfaction, m...
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Wilton, N. (2013) An Introduction to Human Resource Management, 2nd Edition, London: Sage.
Workers feeling, which includes competitive compensation and reward strategies, professional growth and development, career paths and succession plans and the organizations leadership and culture are contributing factors of employee engagement
Dabscheck, B. , Griffen, G. and Teicher, J. (1992), Contemporary Australian Industrial Relations, Longman Chesire, Melbourne.
“If workplace voice and civic voice are compliments, in the sense that they foster a shared understanding of democracy’s value and common cause, then we would expect the decline of union representation to affect the civic attitudes and democratic behavior of individuals outside the workplace as well.” (Bryan, Gomez, Kretsckmer & Willman)
The balance of power between management and labor has long been an issue. Historically, employers had the upper hand, and workers were afforded few rights in terms of pay, working conditions, or fair treatment (Fossum, 2012). Individual workers found that they had little influence over their own work situations and were frequently at the mercy of employers. Over time though, some progress was made in drawing attention to the plight of workers. The power of organizing began to give groups of workers some voice in workplace matters. Unfortunately, however, initial attempts at unionization of workers during the nineteenth century were short-lived and often marked by violence (Fossum, 2012). It was not until the twentieth century that major legislation gave unions a sense of legitimacy and workers slowly gained some leverage in the employer-employee relationship.
The creation of a strong working psychological contract is dependant on the commitment and effectiveness of the employee within in the organisation. The extent to which their own expectations of what the organization will provide for them and what they owe the organisation in return must match the organisation’s expectations of what it will give and get in return (Schein, 1965).
In his study about psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work, Kahn have shown that there are three psychological engagement elements that can influence an individual’s behaviour in relation to their job function. The elements are 1) meaningfulness - rewards from engagement, 2) safety - higher willingness to engage, and 3) availability - readiness to engage (Kahn, 1990). Because of his work, Kahn is widely regarded as the pioneer of employee engagement and his findings are still engaged and found in many references about employee
Here are some figures that display how Employee engagement practices have bolstered up the efficiency and productivity of the employees and in return have augmented the profits of the companies. According to a new meta-analysis that was conducted by the Gallup organisation amongst 1.4 million employees, the organisations that focus on employee engagement practices to a large extent have reported 22% increase in productivity. These practices even impr...
I was formerly employed by a supplier of automobile parts where in addition to using compensation as a means of motivation; they too were dedicated in ensuring their employees had maximum job satisfaction. This was achieved by giving autonomy in their job functions and assigning significa...
The current labor movement in human relations, business and industry has deep roots in the past and is continuing to evolve in the present. The struggle for survival and the drive to become successful in society, and the business world, fuel the current activities. Grassroots movements for fair wages and tolerable working conditions bring workers together to collectively affect change through the formalized organization of labor unions. Social theorists have over the past century, attempted to explain the complex processes that occur within labor movements. Mishel & Walters theorize that collective bargaining units have a positive impact upon human relations, and labor negotiations within business, industry and politics. While some of their views are supported by popular social theories, other theorists’ suggestions contrast sharply with their opinions.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is fundamentally another name for personnel management. It is the process of making sure the employees are as creative as they can be. HRM is a way of grouping the range of activities associated with managing people that are variously categorised under employee relations, industrial/labour relations, personnel management and organisational behaviour. Many academic departments where research and teaching in all these areas take place have adopted the title department of human resources management. HRM is a coordinated approach to managing people that seeks to integrate the various personnel activates so that they are compatible with each other. Therefore the key areas of employee resourcing, employee development, employee reward and employee involvement are considered to be interrelated. Policy-making and procedures in one of these areas will have an impact on other areas, therefore human resources management is an approach that takes a holistic view and considers how various areas can be integrated.
Colvin, A. S. (2013). Participation versus procedures in non-union dispute resolution. Industrial Relations, 52(S1), 259-283.
Empowerment is a simple idea, but often misunderstood or misused by many. "It means granting latitude of action for how the work is done to those who do the work.” (R.E Sibson, Strategic Planning for Human Resources Management). This paper will define, describe and discuss Employee Empowerment used in today’s team based organizations. The paper looks at how this concept affects the company's diverse workforce. I will discuss the potential impact of these practices and the performance.
Companies work towards reducing the control and limits that they place on employees in order to let them feel more comfortable, provided that they are working efficiently. This is to encourage employees to have their own sense of authority. In the past, formal communication was important, although as the business industry has evolved a more informal sense of communication has taken its place. The largest impact which this business model has affected businesses, is the informal attitude and involvement that employers have with their employees. In the past employees were simply seen as machines who were “programmed” to do simple repetitive tasks for an incredibly long time, but nowadays employees are given opportunities on a regular basis in which they can contribute their creative ideas towards the company, and even possible get more involved in order to move up the chain of
Suffield, L., & Templer A. (2012). Labour Relations, PH Series in Human Resources Management, 3rd Edition
The laws and regulations surrounding Industrial Relations since the 1900’s have, at each reform, placed tighter constraints on the amount of power unions are able to exert. The reforms have also radically increased managerial prerogative, through an increased use of individual bargaining, contracts and restrictions imposed on unions (Bray and Waring, 2006). Bray and W...