- Organizing the workforce
- Abstract
- Various changes in the environmental factors have affected the way the different organization plan their work force. Most of the businesses nowadays have dropped the traditional method of organizing the workforce. This essay presents some of the possible challenged that are associated with the use of this traditional approach of organizing the workforces. The major reason why various organization have dropped this tradition method of organizing is the fact that this method is based on a wrong assumption that the prevailing market condition will remain for a long period. However, it is important to note that the business environment constantly undergoes various changes due to the changes in technology and the economic condition. Moreover according to finding in this essay it is evident that the political factors can negatively affect a business that is using the traditional approach of organizing the workforce. This is because the politics in a given country constantly undergoes various changes and hence the business must organize their workforce according to these changes. Due to the various challenges associated with traditional approach of organizing the workforce various organizations have established new method of organizing the workforce. In this case the essay present some of the way in which some of the Nationalized oil firms in France have organized their workforce in different levels to ensure that the organization adapts to the prevailing market conditions. Most importantly the essay also presents the possible terms that need to be included when signing of a new contract. In this case, from the finding in the essay it is evident that the employment contract should be among other thing be legal so that both parties are bound by the terms of the contract.
- Introduction
- Work force planning is an essential component in ensuring that a business is able to achieve its objectives. This is because the workforce planning help in linking the employee with the organizational goals and objective. The objective of this essay is to therefore is to present the various ways in which the management should treat their employee. The essay will also try to analyses the tradition approach of organizing the workforce and establish some of the limitations associated with use of this method in organizing the workforce. In relation to this one of the objectives of the essay is to analyze the influence of the socials economic factors has on the tradition approach to organizing the workforce in an organization. Another major objective of the essay is to analyze some of the modern methods used in organizing the workforce in different organization. In this case the essay analyses the method of workforce organization used in the UK public sector and the nationalized oil firms in France.
- Moreover, another objective of the essay is to analyze the current liberalization as introduced by the European community. In relation to the essay also analyses the two major reason that the led to the European Union issuing the directives. In addition, the essay also presents some of the possible terms of contract that the employer needs to put in the terms of the contracts. In this case the essay argue that the terms of the contract of employment should include among other thing the termination date of the contract.
- Research method used
- In order to achieve the various objectives set, the case study analyses will be used to determine the most effective methods of organizing and treating the workforce in an organization. The secondary data available in the books will therefore be used in the analyses of the case study. The use of the secondary data will help to ensure that the data collected is accurate. In addition, the secondary data collection methods are also time saving and cost effective since it involves analysis of the already available data. However, the primary research methods will also be used where the data will be analyzed from different companies’ website. This is will help to supplement the already available secondary data in the books. In this case therefore the use of the both the primary and the secondary data will help in establishing the most effective ways of treating and organizing the workforce in an organization.
- The traditional approach to organizing the workforce
- Work force planning refers to the various methods of aligning the needs and priority of the organization with the workforce in order to ensure that it meets its legislative regulatory and the organizational goals and objectives. Work force planning in most cases must be directly linked to the strategy and business planning of the organization. In this case in order for an organization to have an effective work force planning strategies the mission and the goals of the organization must be represented during planning. The major purpose of the workforce planning is to indentify future human resource requirement and to develop action plans that can help to eliminate the discrepancies between the demand and supply of the labor that may be foreseen. The workforce planning also helps to reduce the labor cost through ensuring that an organization has enough workforces at all the time.
- The tradition approach to organizing the workforce is based assumption that the talent need of an organization can easily be predicted. In this case the management assumes that the skills needed two or three years ago are the same (Baker, 2009). Moreover, the tradition approach of planning also assumes that the employee will stay in the organization for several years. Most of the tradition approach does not provide room for an organization to respond to the various changes happening in the business world. In addition the tradition approach to organizing the workforce, the turn over prediction is based on the performance of the previous year. However, the approach fails to predict what would happen if the organization lost key staff member or fails to achieve its business target. The tradition approach was also influenced by other factor such political, social economic among others
- Political influence on the tradition approach to organizing the workforce
- The political influence is can be termed as a key component of the business environment. This is because whatever happens in the politics of a country may affect the performance of the business. In relation to the stability of the government may affect the business since it defines the environment where the business is operating (Burke & Cooper, 2012). The international relation the government has also affect the business environment since the presence of a bad relation with foreign government may affect the export of the business.
- Considering the tradition approach to organizing work force it is evident the political environment can greatly affect the performance of the business. This is because the political environment is currently changing across the globe this therefore implies that an organization using the tradition approach to workforce planning may not be able to adapt to various changes since it is based on the assumption that the business environment will not change. Moreover implementation of new government regulations may also negatively affect the operation of a business using this approach. This is due to the fact that the business may be forced to adopt new regulation for recruiting the workforce different from the traditional approach. This therefore implies that a business needs to ensure that they have a flexible workforce planning that can allow and support the business to adapt to the changes in the political environment (Burke & Cooper, 2012). However it is important to note that the traditional approach to the workforce planning cannot allow the business to adapt to the changing business environment.
- The various policies of implemented by the government can also affect the performance of the business in several ways (Vigoda-Gadot, & Drory, 2006). First the government can lower the taxes for the business and therefore ensure that the business is able to achieve to achieve tremendous growth. This therefore implies that in such a situation the business may be forced to employee more people in order to continue benefiting on the current economic conditions. However, it is important to note that a business using the traditional approach of organizing may not be able to benefit from such as an offer from the government.
- Social economical influence on the tradition business approach
- The social factor refers to the various changes in the society and other social structures. The various changes in the population and the consumer lifestyle also affects the business in various ways and therefore may in turn affect the business using the tradition approach to organizing the workforce. The economic factors on the other hand influence the business in several ways. First the various changes in the demand and supply of the product may affect the business model. This is because the management of the organization may be forced to implement strategies in order to meet the prevailing demand and supply. The strategies that a business may implement in this case may include hiring of more staff in order to cope up with the prevailing demand and supply. However, a business using the tradition approach to organizing the work force may have a problem adjusting to the changed in the demand and supply (Baker, 2009).
- Inflation is another economic phenomenon that can negatively affect a business that is using the tradition approach of organizing of the workforce. This because in the situation where inflation occurs the business may be forced to reduce on its production rate due to the high prices of the raw materials. In this case therefore a business using the tradition approach may not be able to make these kinds of adjustment in their operations. Moreover, the income and unemployment rate in the country also affect negatively a business that is using the tradition approach of organizing their workforce. This is due to the fact that change in the income rates in the country may therefore force a business to adopt new measures to cope up with the new change. However the business using the tradition method may not be able to adapt to such changes.
- Modern methods of organizing the workforce
- In order for a business to succeed in the modern economy the management must ensure that they integrate the knowledge in the human capital management into their operation. This therefore implies that the business must be able to organize and plan for their workforce to ensure that the business continues to earn profit (Bechet, 2008). It is evident that the modern methods of organizing the business has helped reduced barriers and opened the business for international market this has in turn allowed the business to import some of their staff in the international market. In relation to this there has also been an increased pressure from other business. This has therefore resulted to various businesses losing some of its important managers. In this case various businesses have been forced to develop measures to ensure that the business adopts new strategies of organizing their staff (Baker, 2009). This is to help reduce the loss associated with losing an important staff member. The manager in various organizations therefore needs to ensure that they fight against the pressure of modern economy and technology to ensure that they continue making profit. The following are some of the response the management of different organization has been forced to implement in relation to organizing their workforce to ensure that they deal with the influence of the external business environmental factors.
- Workforce organization in the Public services in UK
- The public sector in UK has over 6milloin people who work in various organizations. The people working in the public sector comprise of professionals from different fields, for instance in the local government there are over 80 different professionals working there (Wallace, Fertig, & Schneller, 2007). Workforce organization in the UK public sector has helped the government in several ways. First it has helped in the distribution and allocation of the resources in the manner that has allowed the government to meet their objectives. The workforce planning has also helped in the preparation of contingency plans to help ensure that the various government departments are able to meet the goals of the organization. Moreover, the presence of a good workforce planning has helped the government to prepare for a framework for growth and progress. In addition organization of the workforce in the public sector has helped to ensure that the different departments in the government are able to make proper decision regarding growth and development. Most importantly organizing the workforce has help to ensure that the needs of the workers are met. This has in turn helped to reduce the number of strikes that are associated with poor workforce planning.
- Most of the government departments have been forced to incorporate the modern workforce planning comprising of eight major steps. In the first step the management of each department must ensure that they understand the business and its direction (Wallace, Fertig, & Schneller, 2007). After analyzing the goals of the department the management must ensure that they analyze the workforce in the department. This is to help identify the existing workforce demand and the progression root. Moreover the management of the government department must also ensure that they indentify the skill gap in the existing workforce. In relation to this the department must ensure that they asses the future workforce demand. The management must also ensure that they understand the labor market. This is to help ensure that the organization is able to respond to the prevailing market conditions. In addition, the management must also ensure that they carry out training plans to the new employee. This is to help in ensuring that the new employee understands the goals and objectives of the organizations.
- Nationalized Energy firms in France
- Most of the nationalized energy firms in France have also implements modern approach of planning the workforce in an organization (Lequiller, 2006). This is to help ensure the organizations are able to deal the problems associated with the tradition approach of organizing the work. This is because this tradition approach to planning was affected drastically by the social economical and the political factors. In this case therefore most of the naturalized energy firms in the France have developed new work force planning methods. According to the new work force planning strategies the entire levels of the management must be involved in the planning and implementation phase. This therefore implies that before an organization undertake work force planning and the management must ensure that they consult all the key stakeholders involved. In relation to this organization must ensure that they assess the various services they are offering before implementing new services. The organization and human resource logistics must also be considered in the initial step of the human resource planning.
- Moreover, according to the new method of workforce organization practiced in the nationalized energy firms in France the key business drivers must also be put into consideration (Lequiller, 2006). This is to help ensure that the organization of the workforce is in line with various business drivers such as the technology and budgetary allocations. In addition the future demand of labor must also be put into considerations. This is to help in ensuring that the business is able to meet its future goals and objectives. In relation to this the firms also assess the current labor supply in order to evaluate whether the current labor market can help in meeting the labor demands of the business. The management of the various nationalized firms also analyzes the gap and issues related to work force management issues. In order to maximize the production the management of these companies have ensure that they pay attention to the various competing priorities to ensure that the organization is able to implement the best possible strategies of managing the organization. Most importantly the management of these organizations has also implemented clear strategies that anticipate the changes in the market conditions. This helped to ensure that these organizations are able to adapt even in the situation where there is global economic recessions.
- Features of an employment contract should have
- A contract of employment is an agreement between an employee and employer that outlines all business relationships and the specific compensation an employee will receive in exchange of work performed. It is a written agreement that specifies terms and conditions that an employer and employee will portray for a certain duty to be carried out. This contract of employment is issued during the time an employee is hired the work. All requirement of an employment contract should be spelled out in the specific terms or indications. For any contract to be valid it must portray the following features:
- The contract of employment should indicate the names of both the employee and employer. In addition, the name of employee who is being employed should clearly be listed down. It should also contain the contact address of employee. It should also contain the name and contract address of employer. These are essential components that make the employer to communicate well during the specific contract time. Contract of employment should also contain the exact date of employment. The contract of employment should also contain the date when the contract will terminate. This will help the employer to know when to start calculating the entitlements of the employee. It should also contain the working hours of an employee (Reitz, 2007). This entails that the number of working hours of an employee in a day should clearly be stated. It should also have a confirmation, meaning that the number of months or years an employee will serve before his or her appointment.
- Another essential feature of contract of employment is the title of the job. The title of employment should give a brief description of the work offered. It should also include the main aim of the work and a description of the work expected from the employee. It should also indicate the job tasks. This means that the kind of job offered. The number of days or months should be written before the contract is terminated. In addition, employment contract should indicate the period of notice of certain employment. Both employee and employer are entitled for a specific notice on termination of the contract. In this case the employee should be paid his or her payment when the notice period has ended (Hardy & Butler, 2011). The salary that is agreed on should be indicated in the contract of employment. It should also indicate the methodology used to calculate remuneration. In addition, the interval of payment should be clearly written may it be weekly or in the end of the month. Contract of employment should also contain the employee’s leave entitlements. In addition, the number of days he or she is entitled to. It is also necessary to indicate the type of leave entitlements. These may include those days the employee is sick or has an agent appointment. It must contain the leave allowances. The contract of employment should also indicate the employee’s pension entitlements.
- All contract should be legal, this entails that the contract should be legally binding. In this part both employee and employer should agree whether the contract is legally acceptable. In case there is a disagreement between the employee and employer this part will help them to seek assistant from the law for the disagreements to end. The contract should be certain. This means that the terms and conditions of the contract should be clear and certain for an employee to understand them fully. It should not be vague on the essential characteristic. In this case if the contract seems to be ambiguous or does not contain critical information it should be considered as an invalid contract. In this part of an employment contract it is where an employee should ask him or herself some questions. For example, one should ask himself or herself whether the payment is equal to the kind of work that is offered. It is necessary for an employee to understand the contract very well to avoid signing a contract that he or she does not understand wholly.
- The contract of payment should also contain a section where the employment is accepted by the employee. This is where the employees signs in that he or she has accepted the terms and conditions of the contract. This section is divided into portions; the employee should indicate whether he or she has accepted all responsibilities that are indicated in the contract. The contract of an employment should contain the specific place where work will take place. In addition, it should indicate the name of the exact place where the job will take place. The other main feature that the employment contract should contract is the type of contract. In this case the contract may be temporary or rather it should indicate the duration of the contract. The contract of employment should indicate the duration of the probation. This means that the specific time that one will undergo for training. Another important feature that an employment contract should contain is the disciplinary and grievances information. It is necessary for any contract to have disciplinary information and the offences that are carried out if one does against the contract. In this part one should write all procedures and disciplinary rules that are expected from the employee. In addition, these rules should clearly state the expected and unexpected behaviors that an employee should portray. Grievances procedures are frameworks that are followed in case disagreement arise among the employee and employer. The main aim is to solve the problem without recourse from the employment contract.
- Conclusion
- From the above it is evident that the tradition approach to organizing the workforce has several limitations when used in an organization. This is because it is based on the assumption that the talent need of an organization can easily be predicted. However, this is not the case since the market conditions are currently changing hence the need for more talent people in an organization. The tradition approach to organizing the workforce is also based on a wrong assumption that all the skilled employee will remain in the organization, however it is important to note that there are chances that the employee may leave the organization and hence the need to factor in such concept during the workforce planning. Moreover the political and social factor also negatively influences the traditional approach of organizing the workforce. One of the major reasons attributed to this is the fact that the tradition approach is based on a fault assumption that the current condition will remain the same. Due to the limitations of the tradition approach of organizing the workforce most of the organizations today have been forced to implement the new method of organizing their workforce.
- According to the modern methods used in managing the workforce the manager of various organizations must ensure that they analyze all the external factors that affect the business when organizing their workforce. This is to help ensure that the organization is able to respond to the forces of demand and supply. In addition according to the new approach the management is supposed to ensure that they take into consideration all the political and economical factors that can affect the business. Analyzing the work force organization methods in the UK public sectors it is evident that the sector has well-organized workforce. In this case the workforce in the UK public sector has been organized in a way that it is able to utilize the available resource efficiently in order to ensure that the government is able to achieve its objectives.
- Considering the above presented essential features of a contract of employment and what is, it is therefore necessary for everyone to be careful when signing any employment contract. It is also important for a person to go through the contract of employment and read it carefully. This will reduce the chances of getting an invalid contract (Barancova & Olšovská, 2011). One should ensure that all the above features are indicated in the employment contract. In order to avoid disagreement between the employer and employee it is necessary for one to understand the contract of employment. In this case all vague contracts will not come into existence. In addition one should be keen when signing out the employment contract. This is because some employment contract may be ambiguous this means that the information contained is not valid. A contract of an employment can be used when one wants to control the time when an employee leaves. In case there is confidential information regarding to services, one should spell out the non compete agreement. This will actually provide some protection of employees leaving without any notification thus minimizing loss of property.
- Reference
- Baker, T. (2009). The 8 values of highly productive companies: Creating wealth from a new employment relationship. Bowen Hills, Qld: Australian Academic Press.
- Bechet, T. P. (2008). Strategic staffing: A comprehensive system for effective workforce planning. New York: American Management Association.
- Wallace, M., Fertig, M., & Schneller, E. (2007). Managing change in the public services. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
- Burke, R. J., & Cooper, C. L. (2012). Human resource management in the nonprofit sector: Passion, purpose and professionalism. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
- Lequiller, F., Blades, D. W., Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development., & SourceOECD (Online service). (2006). Understanding national accounts. Paris: OECD.
- Vigoda-Gadot, E., & Drory, A. (2006). Handbook of Organizational Politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub.
- Barancova, H., & Olšovská, A. (2011). Labour law in Slovak Republic. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International.
- Hardy, S., & Butler, M. (2011). European employment laws: A comparative guide. London: Spiramus Press.
- Reitz, A. E. (2007). Labor and employment law in the new EU member and candidate states. Chicago: American Bar Association.
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