HRD - OCTAPACE culture

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In designing a HRS, it is necessary to take into account several factors significant to the organisation.There cannot be one standard design of HRS.

Organisations in the same country differ on various dimensions, which should be taken into account while developing a design of HRS.

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN HRS DESIGNING

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN HRS DESIGNING

• The most relevant context for HRD is the business environment.

• The culture (both societal & organisational)• Finally,

– The business environment– Organisational characteristics– Organisational culture

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THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

• Increasing Competition with external companies (Foreign Countries)

• Decreasing Government control & subsidies (This results in sharp rise of prices of several products)

• Creating Competent, Impatient, & Demanding Employees.• Dealing with Conscious & Demanding Customers.• Increasing Unemployment as well as Unemployability is

downsizing.• Flattening Structures – Dehierarchisation is also necessary

to speed decision making, and giving higher satisfaction to the employees.

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• Increasing Decentralization & Delegation – some organisations are attempting to give autonomy to workers for decision making. This trend is likely to increase.

• Increasing Organisational Mortality (death rate) - with increasing competition & demanding customers, several units are likely to close down, because they would not be able to meet such demands. This is an interesting challenging reality for HRD to manage.

• Resistance to Radical Change – Companies which have tried out unconventional approaches (AV Birla Group, Reliance, Infosys, even Tatas) have emerged as winners.

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THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

ORGANISATION CONTEXT

• Each orgn. Develops an identity.• It has a history & a tradition.• Its size & the field of operation makes it unique.• Its members may have some preferences &

commitments.• All such factors are important & need to be taken

into consideration while designing HRS• So for this we need

– Orgn. Characteristics & Culture5

ORGANISATIONAL CHARACTERISITCS

• SIZE– The size of an organisation will be an important

consideration for the design. – An orgn which is comparatively small may combine several

functions into one, whereas an organisation which is fairly large, may require specialized functions within the HRS

• TECHNOLOGY– The type of work being done in the orgn & the tech followed

does influence the design of the HRS. – Eg: universities & other educational institutions may

emphasize some components of HRS much more than others. Or, the government system may not contain some components. 6

ORGANISATIONAL CHARACTERISITCS

• SKILL LEVELS– Organ’s differ in the level of their sophistication of workers.

Some orgn have high levels of skills of people, whereas in others, the levels may be low.

– If the orgn has had no experience at all of appraisal , special attention may be paid to introducing simple appraisal methods, followed by a more sophisticated system.

• ORGANISATION SUPPORT– If there is enough respect for HRS, it can be introduced at a very

high level, which will help in the proper implementation of the system.

– On the other hand, if the respect is low, the system may not get its due credibility., & therefore some work needs to be done for such organisations. 7

ORGANISATIONAL CHARACTERISITCS

• AVAILABILITY OF OUTSIDE HELP– Finally, one factor which may be considered while designing any

system is whether ‘expert help’ is available to the orgn from outside.

– If such help is available, the sub-systems introduced can be monitored properly, and outside consultation can be sought.

• EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS– Different orgns have different tradition.– In some orgns, personnel function may alreasy include some

aspects like general admn, while in others, it may have other special features.

– Similarly, some functions may not be in the personnel & may form part of the role of the company secretary. Such special features will certainly influence the design of some aspects of HRS 8

What is Organizational Culture?

• A system of meaning shared by the organization’s members

• Cultural values are collective beliefs, assumptions, and feelings about what things are good, normal, rational, valuable, etc.

Culture’s Overall Function

• Culture is the social glue that helps to hold an organization together by providing appropriate standards for what employees should say or do.

• An optimum level of “Development Climate” is essential for facilitating HRD. Such a climate is characterized as consisting of the following characteristics i.e. known as OCTAPACE :

Culture’s Overall Function

• An optimum level of “Development Climate” is essential for facilitating HRD.

• The most important aspect of organisational culture are the values it practices.

• Eight values may be examined to develop the profile of an organisational culture:

• OCTAPACE

OCTAPACE

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Openness • Employees feel free to express their ideas & the organization is willing to take

risks & experiment with new ideas & new ways of doing things. • The degree of openness of the organization is an important factor in

determining the nature of various dimensions of HRD being designed.

Confrontation (A bold challenge)• Employees face the problems & work jointly with others concerned to find its

solution. • They face the issues squarely without hiding them or avoiding them for fear

of hurting each other.

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Trust • A minimum level of trust may be deemed necessary for

the introduction of the performance appraisal system and other elements of HRD.

• Employees department & groups trust each other & can be relied (trust) upon to ‘do’ whatever they say they will.

Authenticity • Authenticity is the value underlying trust. • It is the willingness of a person to acknowledge the

feelings he/she has, and accept himself/herself as well as others who relate to him/her as persons. 13

OCTAPACE

Pro-activity (actively thinking in advance)• Employees are action – oriented, willing to take

initiative & show a high degree of Pro-activity. • They anticipate issues and act or respond to the

needs of the future. Autonomy

• Autonomy is the willingness to use power without fear, and helping others to do the same.

• Employees have some freedom to act independently within the boundaries imposed by their role/job

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OCTAPACE

Collaboration • Collaboration involves working together and using one

another’s strength for a common cause. • Individuals, instead of solving their problems by

themselves, share their concerns with one another & prepare strategies, work out plans of action, & implement them together.

Experimenting • Experimenting as a value emphasizes the importance

given to innovation and trying out new ways of dealing with problems in the organization. 15

OCTAPACE

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING HRS

• FOCUS OF THE SYSTEM

• STRUCTURE OF THE SYSTEM

• FUNCTIONS OF THE SYSTEM

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FOCUS OF THE SYSTEM• Focus on Enabling Capabilities

– Enabling means development of HR, development of total orgl. health, improvement of problem solving capability, diagnostic ability (to solve problems quickly), open system(maxi. Commitment of employees)

• Balancing Adaption To And Changing Organisational Culture– There is no standard form of HRS, it should be designed based on nature &

culture of an orgn.• Attention to the Contextual Factors

– Culture & tradition, size, technology, levels of existing skills available support for the function, availability of outside help

• Building Linkages With Other Functions– Like long range corporate planning, with marketing, finance & production etc.,.

• Balancing Specialization And Diffusion Of The Function– Since HRS is a specialized function should not result in lack of involvement.

Since action is the sole responsibility of the line people. 17

STRUCTURE OF THE SYSTEM

• Establishing the Identity– In some orgn. One of the top persons takes the responsibility of this function, in

addition to his own responsibility. This is wrong practice. Multiple responsibility produce several kinds of conflict.

• Ensuring Respectability for the function– In many co’s HR function does not have much credibility for several reasons,

and considered at a very low and this is ineffective. For this reason it should be in very high level in the orgn to increase visibility & its usefulness.

• Balancing Differentiation & Integration– Personnel administration, orgn development and training & IR : these 3 needs

clear identity. Time is the differentiation between these 3 & inter linkages between these 3 are integration and hence requires mutual support.

• Functional Designations For The Roles– A combination of managerial & functional designations can achieve this very

well. Managerial designation should reflect thro the level of responsibility. Importance should also be given to functional responsibility in the designations.

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• Use of Linkages Mechanisms– Semi permanent & temporary systems serve a useful purpose in this

regard. Standing committees for various purposes (with membership from various parts, levels & systems of the orgn), task groups & ad hoc committees for specific time bound tasks are egs. for these mechanisms.

• Use of Monitoring Mechanisms– A systematic monitoring mechanism is needed to review the progress and

level of effectiveness of the system. A thorough annual review may be very useful, a more detailed system appraisal in every three yrs may also help in reviewing & replanning.

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STRUCTURE OF THE SYSTEM

FUNCTIONS OF THE SYSTEM• Building Feedback & Reinforcing Mechanisms

– Reinforcement means Strengthen and support with rewards. Eg. Performance & potential appraisal should provide the necessary leads for training. While OD & OD programmes may provide the necessary leads for work redesigning.

• Balancing Quantification & Qualitative Decisions– While promoting people, various available quantitative data and even a print

out by a computer may be useful. These may be used as necessary inputs, but some other factors which cannot be quantified will have to be taken into consideration while taking the decision. Such a balancing is necessary.

• Balancing Internal & External Help– Development of both internal & external expertise and resources is necessary

in a judicious blend.

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• Planning Evolution Of The Function– HRS cannot be established overnight in an orgn.

Different aspects can be introduced at different stages depending on the stage, size, & sophistication of the orgn.

• Geographical phasing• Vertical phasing (creation of sub systems)• Functional phasing (sub system for various other

functions)• Sophistication phasing ( simpler forms of sub system)

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FUNCTIONS OF THE SYSTEM