Grounding the organizational workforce
Employees are the most important assets within an organization because they provide relevant skills and experience aimed at achieving the goals of the business. An organization can achieve good results if it taps appropriate skills provided by its employees. It is important for an organization to establish sound human resources management practices that would ensure that the welfare of employees is catered for.
There are several differences between management based approaches that value their employees and those that do not prioritize the welfare of their workers. If employees are treated well, they are likely to perform well but if neglected, their productivity is likely to go down (Conaty & Ram, 2011).
Management based Approaches
Management based approach favors the welfare of employees. The most important strategies that management approach uses when safeguarding the needs of its employees are motivation, training and development, and job security. Under this management system, the satisfaction level of the employees is high and cases of dissatisfaction and work related problems are usually low. Effective acquisition, management, and support of work force are essential for an organization that wants to attain tremendous growth and reputation in a challenging environment (Merkle, 2003).
Effects of approaches that neglect employees
People are hired because of their skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities of performing specified tasks. When employees are treated poorly, their positive input is affected negatively and their discontent may be risky to both external and internal health of the business. Many organizations have mission statements that recognize employees but others do not value their workers (Conway &Briner, 2005). Poor treatment of employees involves poor working conditions, lack of job security, low salary, poor leadership, lack of opportunities for advancement and growth, and abuses such as sexual harassment. These types of human resources approaches usually result in poor employees’ productivity and may have negative effects on general performance and reputation of the organization (Ulrich, 2006).
Psychological contract
Psychological contract is an informal agreement between the employer and the employee on how each of the parties should honor the terms of employment. While in the working environment, employees develop interpersonal skills among themselves, which in turn enable them to understand their rights and duties. Employees gradually negotiate for what they expect from their jobs. Through psychological contracts, both the employees and the employers explore and establish boundaries of expectation to ensure that both parties benefit from the agreement.
Each party has its interests which it expects to be met by the other party and so when both parties execute their obligations, a good working relationship is likely to be established. When loyalty and ethical values exist, there will be commitment and trust between employers and employees. Psychological contract is beneficial to employees because it guarantees them a good working condition, good remuneration, career growth and development, and a good job security.
Well managed psychological contract promotes trust between employees and the employer which in turn assists the organization in achieving its goals. On the other hand, negative psychological contract may not motivate the employees who may resent the goals of the organization. Breach of psychological contract affects both the employee and the employer negatively because it erodes trust between the two parties. In order to develop a good relationship with the employees, the employer has a duty of ensuring that employees are given appropriate incentives that motivate them to work hard (Rousseau, 2000).
References
Conaty, B & Ram, C. (2011). The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. Boston: Crown Publishing Group.
Conway, N & Briner, R. (2005). Understanding Psychological Contracts at Work: A Critical Evaluation of Theory and Research. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Merkle, J. (2003). Management and Ideology. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Rousseau, D. (2000). Psychological Contracts in Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten Agreements. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Ulrich, D. (2006). Human Resource Champions. The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.