High Performance Work Organizations
Since the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) issued its report in 1991, organizations have been urged to become "high performance workplaces" and vocational educators are considering how best to prepare workers for them. What are high performance work organizations (HPWOs)? Do they exist? Are they really the wave of the future and the best hope for organizational survival into the next century? The myths and realities of HPWOs are explored in this publication.
I'll Know It When I See It
The first problem in clarifying the reality of HPWOs is trying to find consensus about what they are. Theorists and researchers of the phenomenon use various phrases to describe its features: "high skills, high wages," self-managed teams, restructuring, reengineering, reinventing. The most common characteristics appear to be as follows (Byrne 1993; Galagan 1994; Marschall 1991; SCANS 1991):
Flatter, horizontal structure instead of vertical hierarchy
Work done by teams organized around processes; teams empowered to make decisions so management is decentralized and participative
Empowered workers with high skill levels and cross-training; rewards for team performance
Collaboration among teams, between labor and management, with suppliers
Focus on customers, quality, and continuous improvement
Flexible technologies
The new work organizations described in "Reinventing America" (1992) are networked and interdependent; they feature inspirational leadership rather than micro-management. White (1994) characterizes them as "extraordinarily capable people working in teams, equipped with proper technology, focused on satisfying customers and improving performance" (p. 162)...
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For centuries Homo sapiens have been considered the most unique species in the primate order. Researchers have shown that Homo sapiens are not the most unique in the homo genus, there have been ancestors that have the same traits that many people consider unique to human. One of these traits is the ability to walk bipedal, which no other primate can do well. It is difficult to state which of the ancestors were the first “humans”, but through various evidence, it can be determined that the Homo neanderthalensis or Neanderthal, were the first to show signs of being human.
As the earliest extinct human relatives to become known to science, the Homo neanderthalensis have snatched a relatively iconic influence in human evolutionary investigations. A significance that has been enormously reinforced by the substantial behavioral and fossil record that has expanded since the original Feldhofer Cave skullcap and partial skeleton were unexpectedly uncovered in 1856, by miners working in Germany’s Neander Valley (Tattersall & Jeffrey 1999: 7117-7119). ‘The Neanderthals’ is the informal classification of a particular group of large-brained hominids whom inhabited Europe and Western Asia between 130,000 to around 35,000 years ago. Complementary human populations lived at the same time in Africa and Asia. The Neanderthals were a highly successful race for a substantial period of time, but this situation chang...
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The origin of modern humans is one of the most widely debated concerns in the area of paleoanthropology. Ever since the discovery of the Neanderthal in the mid 1800’s, scientists such as Charles Darwin and many others have been overly curious about the similarity of man to certain great apes and how over long periods of time have evolved from different archaic forms of humans up to today’s homo sapiens.
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The traditional administrative role of human resource practices are a thing of the past and new roles for HRM are emerging at an alarming rate in the 21st century. HR is increasing its support for business goals and objectives while at the same time becoming strategic business partners. Challenges for the 21st century include, changing roles, shifting demographics, and globalization. In order for HR to stay current they must adapt and make necessary changes in retraining, alternative work schedules and technological advancements. Then, these successes have to be analyzed and evaluated for effectiveness.
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In Today’s world, the composition and how work is done has massively changed and is still continuing to change. Work is now more complex, more team base, depends greatly on technological and social skills and lastly more mobile and does not depend on geography. Companies are also opting for ways to help their employees perform their duties effectively so that huge profits are realized in the long term .The changes in the workplaces include Reduction in the structure of the hierarchy ,breakdown in the organization boundaries , improved and better management tactics and perspectives and lastly better workplace condition and health to the employees. (Frank Ackerman, Neva R. Goodwin, Laurie Dougherty, Kevin Gallagher, 2001)