Communicating to Reach Human Resources Objectives, Essay Example

Communicating to Reach Human Resources Objectives

In human resources management it is essential to have a line of communication that extends beyond the ordinary employer-employee relationship. Whereas the average company implements a hierarchical type of structure that consists of managerial staff being above staff workers, the relationship between a supervisor and his staff must go beyond his ability to delegate in order to reach the climax of human resources management. Such is what Samuel Culbert conveys in his article, ‘Get Rid of the Performance Review!’ as published by the Wall Street Journal.

Culbert’s Claim

The author presents the claim of annual appraisals being ineffective for seven reasons. According to Culbert, no individual is the same which inevitably means that there will be varying goals in the workplace. If there are two different ambitions within the managerial sphere, then it will not be possible for subordinates to satisfy the requirements of the job and receive high marks on evaluations.

Culbert also points out that one model of approach does not agree with all members of a group. Whereas one side of the team may see the rationale behind marketing online, the other side of the group may find such activity as a complete waste of time. It would be unfair to rate a person’s performance on their acceptance or rejection of such proposed action of marketing, though many supervisors place more emphasis on an employee’s perception of work rather than on the quality of labor put forth.

An example of such biased practices is clearly shown in Jan Kirkendall’s evaluation of Suzanne Ray. Although Kirkendall knows full well that Ray is an expert at her job and puts her best foot forward with every task assigned, she refuses to give her subordinate an upstanding review simply because of Suzanne’s attitude that is rather negative. Such decision of Jan to rate Suzanne below average is a prime example of why Culbert believes that appraisals should be done away with.

The author instead presents the idea of daily communication being hailed as more effective than written appraisals. Culbert expresses his belief that people should be valued and directly informed of the expectations of the job at hand. Also presented is the concept of poor performance being the result of poor management. In other words, employees who do not complete tasks well are only following the leadership, and lack thereof, they receive.

A Closer Look at Culbert’s Case and Human Resources Objectives

While some would dismiss his theory as ambitious and a bit foolish, Culbert’s view is not too far fetched. Rosemary Batt and Alexander J.S. Colvin recently conducted a study in which two workplace environments were studied. Whereas the environment with high managerial involvement had fewer dismissals and resignations, the atmosphere with short-term, performance-based ambitions experienced higher volumes of terminations and voluntary departures. In the instance of managers pushing short-term satisfaction, the study found that customer service was left out. Managers who worked alongside their staff to accomplish the long-term goal of progress delivered more personalized service to patrons.

In many ways, the subjects in the study point to John Bratton’s view of management in his book, Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. The author presents a model that places the needs of the company above that of the short-term personal goals of managerial staff. According to Bratton, “The strategic management process is typically broken down into five steps:

1. Mission and goals
2. Environmental analysis
3. Strategic formulation
4. Strategy implementation
5. Strategy evaluation” (Bratton 39).

It is not possible for a manager  or administration to evaluate a strategy without first understanding the mission of the company. In the same manner, it is not plausible for non-administrative staff members to carry out the strategy established if such plan has not been relayed to them. Communication lines must be open in order for a positive and productive work environment to be founded.

Such is what Culbert was saying in his article. The piece was not so much of a call to eliminate evaluations altogether as it was an attempt to promote the objectives of human resources management that has communication at its helm. Several studies have proven that the relationships that workers have with administration is important. Rebecca Kehoe further supports the concept with her study conducted in ‘The Impact of High-Performance Human Resource Practices on Employees’ Attitudes and Behaviors.’ The evaluation used a model that addressed employees’ attitudes towards management and how it affects performance. As Kehoe explains in her article,

“Although strategic human resource (HR) management research has established a significant relationship between high-performance HR practices and firm-level financial and market outcomes, few studies have considered the important role of employees’ perceptions of HR practice use or examined the more proximal outcomes of high-performance HR practices that may play mediating roles in the HR practice–performance relationship” (1).

The researcher puts an end to wondering and speculation with her study that provides evidence that an employee’s perception of administration is as equally important as high-performance managerial staff. A manager may be a team player by his terms but it is not until the employee believes that he is a part of the group that customer service and overall productivity improves. This is why supervisors with performance-only based mindsets are constantly losing members of their staff. The stress involved with such hierarchy becomes overwhelming and the demands become impossible to complete. It is for this reason that partnership is a vital objective in human resources management.

The Need for Partn

Studies show that high and average performers “work harder (and seem happier) when they work for a company that rewards people who deserve it” (Snell 385). It is incredibly difficult, however, for a manager to reward someone according to the amount of labor invested if he is not an active member of the team. Superiors must, therefore, create a bond with employees that goes beyond placing demands and expecting such orders to be completed. There must be, as Culbert points out, a commitment to two-way conversations that involve administration expressing expectations and employees appealing decisions that they view as unfair. Such relationship building leads to the high-performance environment that every human resources department aims to create when hiring individuals to work for a company.

Amy Harp hails communication as the central ingredient that holds society together and presents data to support her claim in ‘Effective Change Communication in the Workplace.’ Her study divided 1,000 men and women in a healthcare facility, and analyzes the effects of relationship. Whereas those workers who have positive bonds with managerial staff were more inclined to go the extra mile, those with supervisors who failed to communicate did not have the harmony needed to accomplish the company’s goals. Since “the practices in human resource systems work together” (Jiang 1), it is essential to have human resource objectives that extend beyond annual appraisals. There must be constant conversation with employees about performance and expectations in or

Works Cited

Batt, Rosemary; Colvin, Alexander. ‘An Employment Systems Approach to Turnover: Human Resources Practices, Quits, Dismissals, and Performance.’ Academy of Management Journal. 2015. Web.

Bratton, John; Gold, John. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Palgrave MacMillan. Print. 2012.

Harp, Amy L. ‘Effective Change Communication in the Workplace.’ The University of Tennessee Knoxville. 2011. Web.

Jiang, Kaifeng; Lepak, David; Han, Kyongji; Hong, Ying; Kim, Andrea; Winkler, Anne-Laure. ‘Clarifying the construct of human resource systems: Relating human resource management to employee performance.’ Elsevier B.V. 2015. Print.

Kehoe, Rebecca; Wright, Patricia. ‘The Impact of High-Performance Human Resource Practices on Employees’ Attitudes and Behaviors.’ Cornell University. 2013.

Snell, Scott; Morris, Shad; Bohlander, George. Managing Human Resources. Cengage Learning. Boston, MA. 2016. Print.