You will choose one global organization. It is recommended that you pick an organization in which you have access to its documentation. Once you have selected your organization, review their policy development processes, determine how they are implemented, and then examine the outcomes resulting from the policies being deployed. You will need to consider various forces that affect HR policies, including the needs of global environments, organizations, and employees. Explain each step of the process to ensure that there is alignment to each of the various dimensions discussed throughout this course.
Your comprehensive paper should include the following:
Policy implementation plans that include the necessary steps
Resource allocations
Measurement of outcomes
Length: 12-15 pages, (not including title and reference pages)
References: Include a minimum of 5 scholarly resources.
Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA 7 standards.
Info:
HRM Policy Issue
Today’s competitive labor market, economic uncertainty, and globalization are some of the key issues that will shape the workplace and the HR profession in the future (Human Resources MBA, 2018). Finding the best employees will continue to be a challenge as organizations seek talented, skillful recruits. Competition to attract the best talent is also shaping the distribution of compensation for organizations, as benefits packages are created to lure potential recruits (Bender, Contacos-Sawyer, & Thomas, 2013). The development in technology has also enhanced security concerns for both the employer and employee. The fear that workers may one day be in a physically dangerous situation is very possible as the nation continues to witness more incidents of workplace violence. Many organizations are dealing with the strain of managing their budgets. With increased globalization and political unrest, economic uncertainty is now considered the new normal. These and many other issues are the current challenges that HR professionals have to manage.
HR professionals address these and other concerns through organizational policies. Policies are both a proactive (addressing issues as they arise) and reactive (addressing issues to ensure they don’t happen again) means of confronting issues. Policy exists to establish and maintain consistent practices in the workplace. They also address benefits that could include health insurance, paid time off, short and long-term disability insurance, dental and vision insurance, and life insurance (Hansen, 2010). These are important matters for employees and often serve as reasons for taking a position. Changes in things that affect employees such as benefits, schedules, and responsibilities can create the risk of making the workforce dissatisfied, which can lead to conflicts.
For every employee, HR is a potential recruit first impression of the organization. Having guidelines and procedures presented in writing through policy provides clear expectations for employees upfront. For organizations to make the assumption that employees know the organizational culture or expectations can create frustration. To retain the best personnel HR must be creative in developing non-financial rewards to motivate employees (Haider, Aamir, Abdul Hamid, & Hashim, 2015). A satisfied workforce is a more productive one. Technology today also serves to assist the HR professional in streamlining responsibilities becoming more efficient and effective. These cases require a policy to establish transparency for all employees. HR has to ensure they are enforcing the rules fairly and consistently across the organization. Even when employees do not like certain policies, if they’re enforced consistently, it makes it much more difficult to be questioned.
References
Bender, M., Contacos-Sawyer, J., & Thomas, B. (2013). Benefits strategies for attracting and retaining employees. Competition Forum, 11(2), 165–169.
Haider, M., Aamir, A., Abdul Hamid, A.-B., & Hashim, M. (2015). A literature analysis on the importance of non-financial rewards for employees’ job satisfaction. Abasyn University Journal of Social Sciences, 8(2), 341–354.
Hansen, F. (2010). Currents in compensation and benefits. Compensation & Benefits Review, 42(1), 3.
Human Resources MBA (2018)
Additional Resources:
Ananthram, S., & Chan, C. (2013). Challenges and strategies for global human resource executives: Perspectives from Canada and the United States….
Akingbola, K. (2013). A model of strategic nonprofit human resource management. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit…
Binyamin, G., & Carmeli, A. (2010). Does structuring of human resource management processes enhance employee creativity? The mediating role…
Davidson, M. C. G., McPhail, R., & Barry, S. (2011). Hospitality HRM: Past, present and the future. International Journal of Contemporary…
Tissen, R. J., Deprez, F. R. E. L., Burgers, R. G. B. M., & van Montfort, K. (2010). “Change or hold: Reexamining HRM to meet new challenges…
Van Buren, I. H. J., Greenwood, M., & Sheehan, C. (2011). Strategic human resource management and the decline of employee focus. Human Resource…
Previous info:
Flexwork Policy
Diversity in the global workplace has challenged organizations to seek alternative means to attract employees. A flexwork policy, which is a work plan that differs from the standard work week (Bornstein, 2013), is one of those means. A standard workweek usually consists of five consecutive 8-hour workdays with a consistent start and end time for each workday. Typically, an employee will request a flexwork arrangement. Sometimes this can be a condition of employment.
Many organizations have incorporated the flexwork policy which requires the approval of the supervisor (Almer, Cohen, & Single, 2003). Participating organizations that have incorporated this type of polity are universities, Google, and NASA to name a few. The purpose of the arrangement is intended to benefit the employee without burdening company operations. To help ensure the employee is working effectively and efficiently under a flexwork arrangement, supervisors develop a telework plan (Bornstein, 2013). This plan establishes guidelines of work, while also benefiting the employee and the organization. Flexwork often improves job satisfaction by increasing job flexibility. It also helps recruit and retain employees.
There are two types of flexwork arrangements, alternative and flexible (Richardson, 2009). The alternative work arrangement is considered a regular work schedule, but not consisting of five consecutive 8-hours a day. For example, working four consecutive 10-hour workdays during the week. The flexible work arrangement differs as it has the employee working a consistent number of hours each day. However, the start and end times vary around a fixed set of core hours. For example, an employee can work four consecutive 10-hour workdays during the week. There can also be combinations of flexible and alternative work arrangements. Supervisors make the final decision about an employee’s flexwork request after evaluating its feasibility.
The construction of a flexwork policy can be devised with the assistance of a design process. The purpose of a design process is to assist in developing policies to achieve your desired outcome (Galinsky, Sakai, & Wigton, 2011).
Steps to consider in a policy design process.
Figure 2 displays the steps to consider in a policy design process. A design process supports the development of policy from concept to completion.
Employee Suggestion Program
Engaging employees toward identifying and suggesting ways to improve the company can be attractive. Employee suggestions have shown that simple ideas can have a huge impact on company revenues, costs, and safety (Lasrado, Gomiseck, & Uzbeck, 2017). It can also drive employee desire towards creativity and identify best practices. One example of employee suggestions came from an employee at British Airways who suggested a plan to reduce airplane weight by descaling toilet pipes, which reduced the airline’s annual fuel price by almost one million dollars.
One goal of a leader is to help employees identify job factors and work conditions that will help motivate employees to work harder and give more to the company. Workers know what they find motivating and they will often inform leaders if asked. As a leader, following through on information provided by employees is key to developing relationships.
An employee suggestion program often comes with a cash incentive if the implemented plan motivates employees. Examples of suggestions submitted that have received awards are those that reduce or eliminate expenses or improve the safety of operations within an organization. Thousands of suggestions have been adopted across the nation since the program began in 1950, resulting in millions of dollars saved by the company (Fairbank & Williams, 2001). Participation in the program should not be difficult and every employee should be able to get involved if they desire to do so.
There exists a variety of ways to incorporate an employee suggestion program within an organization. A carefully constructed employee suggestion program that is promoted with organizational commitment, clarity, and ongoing communication can positively impact the bottom line and employee motivation and enthusiasm.
Employee suggestions can range in topics from better processes, security, information technology, support, and many more. The program should exist to encourage workers to become proactive and invest in doing their jobs better while strengthening the company’s ability to meet its mission (DuPont, 1999). Employee suggestion programs should be established through buy-in to help eliminate any barriers to improve or create something needed that is unique to the organization’s culture (Lasrado et al., 2017). Developing the program requires research and looking at how other organizations are addressing the same issue or challenge. Guidelines must be established to obtain the desired suggestions from employees. Some organizations have a dropbox, while others use email to receive submissions. Rewards and incentives help to produce more suggestions. Once the guidelines have been established, the program must be promoted throughout the organization. Teams should be established within the organization to review the suggestions submitted. Once suggestions are reviewed, a follow up with the submitter should be initiated. If employees request a change or offer suggestions, they expect to see something change due to a result of their response and efforts. Leaders risk wasting efforts if suggestions are not reviewed or changes are not made (Lasrado, Arif, & Rizvi, 2015).
One of the program’s goals is to promote the sharing of creative solutions and suggestions, which will improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the company’s operations. It also serves as a creative attempt to foster a culture of reward and recognition for those who develop beneficial suggestions.
Developing and Implementing a New Company Policy
For employees, new company policies whether they are designed to address HR requirements, regulatory compliance mandates, or formalize IT processes, can be difficult adjusting to. As for many individuals, adapting to change is not easy. Finding effective ways to implement new policies and procedures requires time.
Employees needing to complete new policy requirements requires a time adjustment in many cases. Identifying the best steps toward implementation of policy management can help ensure a smooth transition for employees when the time arises to introduce a new policy or revise changes to an existing one. Steps can consist of scheduling a consultation with stakeholders, tailoring the policy to your organization, creating clear and realistic requirements, making the policy public, training employees, being consistent in the implementation process, and finally reviewing and enforcing policy procedures regularly (Woolcock, 2018).
It’s important to understand that policies and procedures play a large role in creating the culture within the company. They can also prepare you to meet the company’s strategic goals, reduce risk, and identify opportunities for improvement.
By now, you have identified different ways to create a policy, which indicates that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Policies serve as the foundation for a company’s daily operations and a reflection of shared values. Compliance with policies allows employees to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities within predefined limits. The policy also allows management to guide operations without constant management intervention. This attention equates to increased operating expenses that serves as a detraction from the company’s success.
Creating a New Policy
In order for policies to be effective, they need to address real needs within the company and be presented in a way that employees can easily follow to produce productive results. Therefore, the policies should be clear and consistent. The absence of clear policies can lead to inconsistent decision making.
Considering organizational leaders (managers/supervisors) policies provide useful and necessary assistance in their absence. The manager cannot be everywhere all the time to ensure their staff is implementing their required tasks correctly and responsibly. Policy in the absence of direct guidance provides standards that apply to everyone and guides actions.
The policy should also ensure there are reasonable exceptions for conditions beyond an employee’s control or occasional lapses in judgment to deviate from. A policy should provide a clear understanding of what is to be accomplished, and how it fits within the company’s overall culture and standards to ensure they are agreeing with the company’s broader goals and mission.
Today, society is faced with many challenges due to the changes in the way we live following the Industrial Age. The Information Age has changed the social life of society. This has required a change in how society does things. The development of new policies aids in this process (e.g., the impact of social media and the challenges it has brought along with it).
Consider how “privacy” is now a big topic in society as information sharing has posed detrimental effects. Negative effects can consist of stolen identity, unwanted distribution of private information on predator sites, inappropriate information and other content that one would like to remain private (Keith & Steinberg, 2017). This has required the development of new policies that was not needed prior to the Information Age. These policies enable society and organizations to function in a civilized manner.
Policy Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Policy change within any organization is a process shaped by a large number of connecting forces and personnel. It consists of implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Policies are revised or constructed accordingly based on evidence requiring the need (Jacobson & Lambright, 2018). This evidence can come in the form of surveys done by department leads or management.
The standards that every organization thinks about when developing a policy is whether or not it is useful and relevant to the organization. To design policy, the issue must be identified, along with the goals it is created to meet. An organization cannot implement policies, and then not provide enough time for them to succeed. A policy is used to solve an existing problem or lesser known issue. Therefore, a policy should be carried out in a manner that benefits the company.
After putting policy into effect, consistent monitoring should be managed usually by regulatory guidelines or company board of directors to ensure the policy meets the intent it was designed for (Buffardi, Pekkanen, & Smith, 2017). Employees are creatures of habit, therefore, time is required to change pre-policy behaviors. During the monitoring phase, it’s important to identify how the policy is progressing with the use of surveys, or other information-gathering tools to assist in determining how well the policy is received by the employees of the organization.
Policy evaluation examines the content, implementation, and impact of the policy (Rashidian, 2017). Evaluation is the activity that examines individuals’ understanding of the merit, worth, and utility of the product being considered. This phase is important because it provides indicators of success and failure that will be used in determining the policy effects. Most of the policy supervision [change/implementation] is conducted at the team level with data recorded and delivered by the report to leadership personnel (Frank, Penuel, & Krause, 2015). Effective policy oversight provides first-hand data and survey information about what’s working and what isn’t.
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Policy analysis is the well-thought-out process that identifies the worth, amount, or quality of something using different approaches presented to solve a problem. Conducting a policy analysis ensures a well thought-out process has been conducted to choose an option that may produce the best outcome. An example of this is the sustainability of energy on a global scale. The analysis process for energy policy has found new threats, and the outcome has been the development of new planning models that may have an essential part in supporting energy systems (Gacitua et al., 2018).
Who are the most appropriate individuals to be involved in this process? Consider those that can provide and understand information about policy consisting of HRM personnel, subject matter experts, finance personnel, and community partners (Trochim & Cabrera, 2005). These groups provide an understanding of information in what is known as policy analysis while considering the process of carefully thinking about the issue and those who will be affected by it.
Consider how policy analysis is managed and built. An example is a military and how it uses drones in dangerous environments. Key personnel research and identify possible policy options; describe and rank them, and finally decide on the one they think is best. The importance of these policies within organizations is that they simplify the decision-making process so that outcomes will be in agreement within the limits established by the policy. In this example, the military uses drones according to the requirements of the mission to be conducted based off of the analysis process (Argumentation-based Policy Analysis for Drone Systems, 2017).
Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments. You are also required to search the NCU library for additional resources and incorporate them into your assignment.
Introduction to Policy and Implementation
Think about the purpose of policies and how they are used within any company. They are usually implemented to establish boundaries or accepted rules to follow within the organization (Kokemuller, 2018). They serve as another way for management to convey to employees how to act at the workplace. Examples that convey the type of behavior expected is the dress policy. Other examples within the organization consist of acceptance of cultural diversity and time attendance. Other policies promote worker participation such as the policy suggestion program and flex-work policy. These policies allow workers to share best practices towards enhancing company production and efficiency.
One role of human resource management is to provide policies and procedures to help the organization maintain a consistent way of doing things at work (Coburn, 2016). Unpredictable changes in employee benefits, schedules, and responsibilities create the risk of making employees unhappy, angry, and dissatisfied, which may lead to conflicts.
Policies are usually written rules, laws, regulations, and plans of action presented by the human resource department to be followed by all members of the company. Think of policy as implementing the process following the passing of a law, or the action taken to put it into effect. When the policy is not implemented, this can detrimentally affect the organization (Marhefka, Sharma, Schafer, Turner, Falope, Louis-Jacques, Wachira, Livingston, Roig-Romero, 2019).
Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments. You are also required to search the NCU library for additional resources and incorporate them into your assignment.
