The success of organisations is determined by how managers and other employees use their skills and company resources to improve productivity in their areas of specialisation. Employees should realise that the roles they play contribute to the improved performance of their organisations. All organisations expect to perform better than their competitors do and get higher profits. However, it is not easy to be successful if employees do not follow the policies of their companies. This essay presents various issues about organisational design, the roles of the human resource and line managers and high-performance work systems.
A high-performance work system is the practice of using different approaches to improve the productivity of employees (Kates & Kesler, 2011). It is not easy to implement this policy because of the nature of organisations and employees. The most common and successful high-performance systems are those that involve service delivery to a designated population that can be tracked easily. Not all organisations can use this practice to succeed because it requires integrated skills and approaches. This system requires organisations that have experienced, committed and dedicated employees, who understand their roles and what their employers expect from them (Kim & Ryu, 2011).
The following aspects are important in implementing and achieving the success of a high-performance work system. Organisations must change their designs to meet the demands of today’s world. Human resource managers are responsible for significant structural changes that affect the design of an organisation. They should work together with line managers to ensure the traditions of an organisation are integrated into its new design.
Changes in organisational design do not mean that a company should abandon all its old practices (Heffernan, Flood, & Liu, 2011). Organisational design involves the structuring of the roles of employees and ensuring the maximum use of their resources and expansion of high-performance opportunities. Companies that outsource agents to redesign their structures may not achieve maximum benefits because outsiders do not understand the politics or job descriptions of an organisation. However, line and human resource managers should work with these agents to guide them on the expectations and traditions of a company.
Human resource managers understand their organisations better than other employees. They are placed strategically and get a bird’s view regarding the activities of their organisations. Therefore, they are in a better position to offer guidance and direct employees on what should be done in order to improve performance (Brewster & Mayrhofer, 2011). Line managers understand the practices and qualities of employees under their areas.
They have a detailed description of all employees under them and can predict the outcomes of their efforts. Line and human resource managers have different perspectives regarding employees and their organisations (Sanders & Frenkel, 2011). Competition and threats of job displacement threaten the unity of line and human resource managers, especially when designing the structure of an organisation.
High-performance work systems cannot achieve their objectives if there is a poor organisational design. Employees should understand their roles and have access to the required opportunities to offer the best services (Armstrong, 2006). On the other hand, line and human resource managers should work together and integrate their perspectives into a single objective. These departments are important in ensuring that high-performance systems are efficient. The effectiveness of organisational designs depends on how line and human resource managers combine their efforts to maximise the abilities of subordinate staff.
References
Armstrong, M 2006, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page, London.
Brewster, C & Mayrhofer, W 2011, Comparative Human Resource Management, Sage, London.
Heffernan, M, Flood, P C & Liu, W 2011, High-Performance Work Systems– International Evidence of the Impact on Firms and Employees, Sage, London.
Kates, A & Kesler, G 2011, ‘Why organizations design?’ People and Strategy, 34, 4, pp. 4-5.
Kim, S & Ryu, S 2011, ‘Social Capital of the HR Department, HR’s Change Agent Role, and HR Effectiveness: Evidence from South Korean Firms,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22, 8, pp. 1638–1653.
Sanders, K & Frenkel, S 2011, ‘HR-line management relations: characteristics and effects,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22, 8, pp. 1611-1617.