Introduction
Nowadays, numerous organizations need to improve the performance of their employees as a way of ensuring that they achieve their business objectives. However, it has often been a challenge for most of them since they lack the necessary information on the aspects of the organization and the employees that they can change or implement to achieve the desired performance. Chanda and Shen (2009) assert that the success and realization of any organization’s goals largely depends on the productivity of its employees. As such, the top management in any organization ought to ensure that there are high performing and effective employees in the organization. However, researches have shown that the effectiveness of employees in their duties, as well as their performance, is utterly linked to the effectiveness of the management of the organization itself, along with the human resource management practices that the management adopts. As such, the effects of employees is a factor of them being hardworking and committed towards the realization of the organization’s goals. For this reason, there should be an effective workforce in any organization, which refers to the combination of productive working conditions and a good skill set.
Organizational Behaviour and HRM
An organization is defined as any productive enterprise that has goals and a mission, definable purposes, parts, outputs, process, and inputs. For this reason, an organization should layout strategies that are aimed at ensuring the different components of the organization work towards the realization of its goals and objectives (Chanda & Shen 2009). Nowadays, numerous organizations need to improve the performance of their employees as a way of ensuring that they achieve their objectives. However, it has often been a challenge for most of them since they lack the necessary information on the aspects of the organization and the employees that they can change or implement in order to achieve the desired performance. Chanda and Shen (2009) assert that the success and realization of any organization’s goals largely depends on the productivity of its employees. As such, the top management in any organization ought to ensure that there are high performing and effective employees in the organization. However, researches have shown that the effectiveness of employees in their duties, as well as their performance, is utterly linked to the effectiveness of the management of the organization itself, along with the human resource management practices that the management adopts (DelCampo 2011). As such, the effectiveness of employees is a factor of them being hardworking and committed towards the realization of the organization’s goals. For this reason, there should be an effective workforce in any organization, which refers to the combination of productive working conditions and a good skill set.
DelCampo (2011) points out that several factors are responsible for the effectiveness of employees. Managers need to know some of the factors that determine the effectiveness of employees within an organization. Such knowledge is important since the managers play a significant role in ensuring that the employees are effective and committed to their duties, as well as the goals of the organization. As such, managers’ effectiveness is very important in maintaining high performing employees that are necessary if the organization is to achieve both its business and organizational goals (Garofano & Salas 2005). Generally, human resource management in an organization is an important aspect that ensures a smooth operation within the organization. This paper, therefore, will focus on two aspects of organizational behavior and human resource; managers’ effectiveness and human resource development. The primary aim of the study will be to evaluate the extent to which these two human resource management practices influence the performance of employees within an organization. To achieve the above objective, the study will focus on the case study of NOKIA Corporation.
Managers’ Effectiveness
The management of any organization is termed as effective or ineffective based on the types of managers in the organization. As such, the effectiveness of the management determines the success of any given organization. For this reason, if an organization has effective managers, there is a high possibility that such an organization can achieve its objectives. A review of the human resource management at Nokia Corporation reveals that this organization can achieve its goals and objectives through the employment of robust human resource practices. Harrison (2000) points out that one of these practices is ensuring that the managers are effective in their management duties. Although many managers tend to associate the failure to achieve organizational goals to employees’ underperformance, Jones (2011) asserts that numerous workers have the desire to contribute successfully to the organization’s goals and objectives. However, the problem comes about when the management does not play its part as expected.
For example, employees at Nokia Corporation have the desire to know what they are supposed to do within a given organization, as well as how they are required to deliver on various tasks within the organization. The problem is that the management does not guide the employees through the necessary process of orienting themselves with the goals and objectives of the organization, their roles, as well as what strategies they can employ to achieve the set organizational goals (Harrison, 2000). A company that suffers from poor management is likely to face enormous challenges while trying to achieve its objectives and goal (Jones, 2011). On the other hand, effective management is likely to ensure that the employees are satisfied with their working conditions. Such satisfaction, according to Kirkpatrick (2006), is what translates into effective employee performance and hence, the realization of the set goals and objectives for the concerned organization.
What then, is the role of managers in improving employee performance? Just as pointed out by Kirkpatrick (2006), it is not about the availability of resources and the right strategy that makes an organization successful. The success of the organization is tied to the management’s ability to support, direct, as well as harness individuals and teams to participate in the achievement of the objectives and mission of the given organization (Werner 2014). As such, managers have a crucial role to play in ensuring high employee performance. For this reason, they are supposed to be consistent in their results and performance to ensure that they get the necessary and reliable performance from the employees. Effective performance management thus is the process whereby the managers are tasked with the role of engaging their employees and directing them towards avenues aimed at achieving the goals set by the organization. According to Armstrong and Baron (2005), performance management is the process of overseeing the activities of individuals and teams within an organization to ensure that they are focused on the organizational and business goals. In addition, performance management can be looked at in the aspect of an organizational dependency in the capacity of workers and their potential in achieving the set objectives. However, Armstrong and Baron (2005) stress that performance management considers the effectiveness of managers in the line of following a given strategy that has a close link to all activities of an organization, and implemented in the form and context of the organization’s communication systems, style, culture, and policies of its human resource.
As seen in the context of Nokia Corporation, its performance management is based on the company’s strategies. The company approaches employee performance on a wider perspective and aligns its management with the long-term business goals. With that, it is evident that the managers have a role to play in ensuring that the set goals are achieved. Therefore, they provide a form of network that connects individuals, teams, people management, and the aspects of the business, and direct them towards a common goal. As such, managers’ effectiveness results in performance improvement, development, and behavioral improvement (Armstrong & Baron 2005). Such management is important since it helps workers in any given organization, as well as other key players in comprehending the goals, along with the objectives of the organization. Also, through its effectiveness, the management identifies the contribution of team and individual’s outputs within an organization towards the realization of an organization’s goal. In this case, the employees can integrate their individual and organizational goals with the values set by the organization. As such, effective management calls for such integration, performance, as well as strategic planning aimed at the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization (Werner 2014). This form of effectiveness on the side of managers is necessary since it develops organizational capacity, teams, and individuals towards a higher performance.
Kompaso and Sridevi (2010) point out that managers’ effectiveness is important in any organization since, through such a work environment, it becomes easy to develop and enhance a cordial relationship between employees’ daily tasks, actions and the strategic objectives of the organization. As such, there is a need to embrace a system that can be used to set organizational goals with the aim of developing the organization further. Such an efficient setting coupled with strategies that the organization can use to track its progress is vital in contributing to the performance of a team, individual, and general organization. Similarly, the effect of managers is likely to ensure that there is the necessary evaluation and measure of the extent of a team and an individual’s performance within the organization. Such measure and evaluation ensures that there is an optimization, as well as keeping track of employees’ productivity. In the long-run, the organization is able to maintain a high performing and productive employees (Kleiner 2014). Arguably, the primary role of human resource development in any organization is to improve the performance of the employees and that of the organization. Such an assertion is based on the premise that human resource development, strives to directly enhance the achievement of an organization’s goals if it is practiced in the right manner. An organization can never achieve its goals if it lacks a purposeful system that is performance-oriented, effective and adopts the minimum efficiency survival strategies.
Human Resource Development (HRD)
There has been a running discourse among researchers and practitioners about the role of human resource development in an organization. A number of the researchers assert that human resource development ought to emphasize increasing the requirements that an organization has to meet to be productive. According to such a group of researchers, the focus is on the employees’ productivity (Kompaso & Sridevi 2010). However, others are for the idea that HRD should be geared towards the development of an individual in all perspectives without necessarily having to examine the individual’s worthiness in the organization. As such, it would be important to find out the role that HRD plays in the general performance of the employees in any organization, and the general productivity of the organization.
In the context of Nokia Corporation, it is evident that for an organization to maintain a high performing and productive employees, human resource development should be a critical player in the organization’s activities. Its strategic position in the organization is important in that, human resource development assumes significance that is of the same level as the organization’s marketing, production, and finance (Kleiner 2014). As such, HRD aligns itself with the organizational goals of growth, return on investment, and survival. Human resource management, therefore, aims at the provision of goods and services that are of high quality, maintaining a high market share, and keeping a skilled workforce. In this context, human resource management focuses on issues that help the employees of the organization to gain the necessary attitude, expertise, and knowledge to be productive within the working environment. For instance, for any organization, its variables for goals, as well as the set mission are concerned with the possibility of them being suitable in outside as well as inside realities. In an event where they do not, then there is an aspect of performance impedance. In a scenario where the culture and the goals and objectives of any organization do not fit well, human resource development can solve such a problem through structural intervention. This is possible because, through the application of human resource development strategies, a change in any given cultural process can be implemented and thus the realization of the organizations expected level of performance.
Conclusions
The paper analyzed the role that managers’ effectiveness and human resource development play in improving the performance of the employees and the subsequent realization of an organization’s goals. From the analysis, it was evident that HRD and the effectiveness of managers are vital in any organizational setting. As such, organizations should work hard to ensure that they maintain an effective performance management. Such management involves the establishment and building of a culture among individuals and team members that can be used in the development of employee’s skills, improvement in their performance and behavior. All these aspects can be achieved through the application of the right human resource management practices. Such practices have been identified as robust and effective management, along with human resource development.
From the foregoing, it suffices that the realization of an organization’s goal is a combined effort of both employees and the management. Even though the employees are tasked with the daily activities of the organization, their input would be in vain without the help of the managers. For this reason, the managers and the employee in any organization should work together towards the realization of the set goals and objectives in an organization. As such, it is evident that the success of any organization has to take into consideration both the employees and the management. However, the management plays a greater role when compared to the employees. This is because the managers have to decide, direct, and offer the necessary support that the employees may need to accomplish their tasks within the organization. For this reason, the top management in any given organization has the task of making sure that it hires and trains employees to the level that is best suited in steering the organization towards success.
Therefore, the managers of any organization should be effective for the organization to achieve the set goals. In this context, thus an effective management is one that puts into consideration the engagement, retention and job satisfaction levels of employees. Such an approach ensures the challenges that employees have in their work are taken care of while providing learning and career development avenues. All these strategies are aimed at improving the performance of employees.
Recommendations
As outlined above managers’ effectiveness and human resource development play a significant role in the improvement of employees’ performance within an organization. It is often challenging for the two practices of human resource management to be applied well in an organization’s setting. However, with the right strategies in place, such practices can be of much help in improving the productivity of employees in an organization, which translates to the achievement of an organization’s goals and objectives. However, such success can be achieved if the top management in any organization ensures that they are responsible for high performing and effective employees in the organization. This follows several researches that have tried to prove that the success of employees is tied to the managers’ effectiveness. For this reason, an effective workforce is required in any organization for it to achieve its goals. The effectiveness of managers thus can be implemented by ensuring that the managers are willing and ready to provide the necessary support and incentives to employees. Therefore, any given organization is in a position to ensure effective management, as well as an improved employee performance if it adopts some of the following strategies.
Offer prompt feedback: The managers should provide teams and individuals with feedback that is constructive and clear on any emerging issue within the organization. This helps the employees to take the necessary action and measures aimed at ensuring that such an issue does not affect their productivity.
Have room for communication: The management should define, as well as offer clear communication concerning the performance standards and objectives. Encourage the employees: The managers should review performance and deliver incentives in a manner that is consistent and fair. In addition, development and learning avenues are important for the improvement of employee performance. As such, an effective manager should have opportunities for growth through development and learning.
Promotion and compensation: Employees require recognition, and for this reason, management should come up with ways of recognizing hardworking and performing employees in the organization. Such a strategy allows for competition among the employees and team members, which translates to improved individual and team performance.
Career development for employees: Most of the time, employees fail to perform because they have not developed their careers. Therefore, the management ought to offer avenues for career development to its employees in a bid to enhance growth in the employees’ performance. Career development opens avenues for employees to apply their potentials and can translate to an increase in their level of productivity.
For the case of human resource development in an organization, it is recommendable to implement strategies that take consideration of employee learning, diversity training, as well as enhancing them through team building. These strategies are vital especially in the case of effective employee engagement. Through team-building, employees get to understand their potentials in different areas of their work and thus, can perfect on these areas to improve their performance. Also, employees underperform in any area of their work if they lack the improved skills and expertise in that field. However, with diverse training, such employees are likely to increase their productivity. Therefore, diversity training can be a suitable way through which an organization can enhance the improvement of employee performance. Learning, on the other hand, can be looked at in the aspect of the employees’ total lack of information on a given field. For this reason, offering employees lessons on different fields within the organization can be a better way to enhance their performance.
How to measure these recommendations to show improvement in employee performance
The level of an employee’s performance can be looked at in the aspect of the employee’s general productivity. Since performance is viewed as a variable that is governed by a team or individual’s outputs of production, work process, and the organizational form, it is evident that performance can be used to analyze an organization’s possibility of achieving the set goals and objectives. As such, to show an improvement in employees’ performance, a number of the following measures can be instituted: quality of output, cycle time, and the rate of returns. Additionally, since performance can be measured based on different levels such as individual, process, and organizational level, it is necessary to find out all the contributive factors. For any management to be sure that their strategies and policies are effective, they should implement the necessary measures.
For example, learning, diverse training, and team building can be measured from the employees’ output. A survey on what performance improvement strategy worked for the employees can as well be used to evaluate the effectiveness. Also, employees can perform better where there is competition. As such, the organization should set strategies for identifying the employees that are frequently rewarded on the basis of improved performance. Such measures can help the organization establish whether compensation and employee recognition are playing any role in improving the performance of the employees in the organization.
Reference List
Armstrong, M & Baron, A 2005, Managing performance, London: Institute of Personnel and Development.
Chanda, A & Shen, J 2009, HRM strategic integration and organizational performance, Los Angeles: Response Books.
DelCampo, R 2011, Human resource management demystified, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Garofano, C & Salas, E 2005, “What influences continuous employee development decisions?” Human Resource Management Review, vol.15, no. 4, pp.281-304.
Harrison, N 2000, Improving employee performance. London: Kogan Page.
Jones, S 2011, “Improving Employee Engagement to Drive Business Performance”, SSRN Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 23-25.
Kirkpatrick, D 2006, Improving employee performance through appraisal and coaching, New York: American Management Association.
Kleiner, G 2014, “Systemic management in a transforming economy”, Journal of business, vol. 6, no. 5, p.54.
Kompaso, S & Sridevi, M 2010, “Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance”, IJBM vol. 5, no.12.
Werner, J 2014 “Human Resource Development: Human Resource Management: So What Is It?” Human Resource Development Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 2, pp.127-139.