HRM Techniques II: Organizational Culture, HR Policies, and Communication

COMMUNICATION IN COMPANIES CASE REVIEW  Pattern of values, norms, Organizational beliefs, attitudes and culture assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the ways in which people a...

COMMUNICATION IN COMPANIES CASE REVIEW  Pattern of values, norms, Organizational beliefs, attitudes and culture assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the ways in which people and the organizations behave Armstrong (2006, p. 303)  Culture is a system of informal rules that spells out how people are to behave most of Organizational the time. Deal and Kennedy (1982) culture: Other definitions Culture is the commonly held A system of shared values and beliefs beliefs, attitudes and values that about what is important, what behaviours exist in an organization. are important and about feelings and Put more simply, culture is ‘the way relationships internally and externally. we do things around here’. Purcell et al. (2003) Furnham and Gunter (1993)  Areas of agreement of the concept: Organizational It is difficult to define (often a pointless culture exercise) It is multidimensional: many different components at different levels It is not particularly dynamic, and ever- changing (being relatively stable over a short period of time) It takes time to establish and, therefore, time to change corporate culture  Development of organizational culture Organizational Culture is formed by the leaders in the culture organizations -> visionary leaders Culture is formed around critical incidents Culture develops from the need Culture is influenced effective working relationships by the organization's among organization members, and environment this establishes values and expectations  Diversity of culture Organizational culture There may be different cultures within organizations There may be some common organizational values and norms, but in some respects, these will vary between different departments  Components of organizational culture Organizational Values culture are beliefs in what is best or good for the organization and what should of ought to happen. norms artefacts the visible and tangible aspects Unwritten rules of behaviour, 'the rules of an organization that peopel of the game' that provide informal hear, see or feel (working guidelines on how to behave. environment, tone and Leadership style language., etc.  Charismatic/non-charismatic Organizational culture Enabler/controller Leadership styles Autocratic/democratic Transactional/transformational  Classifying organizational culture Harrison (1972) Organizational culture Handy (1981) Schein (1985) Williams, Dobson and Walters (1989)  Classifying organizational culture William, Dobson and Walters (1989) Organizational culture Power orientation Role orientation Task orientation People orientation  Armstrong (2006) HR Policies HR policies are continuing guidelines on the approach the organization intends to adopt in managing people. They define the philosophies and values of the organization on how people should be treated, and for these derived the principles upon which managers are expected to act when dealing with HR matters.  CIPD (2022) HR Policies HR policies are a written source of guidance on how a wide range of issues should be handled within an organisation. They include a description of principles, rights and responsibilities for managers and employees. They play a key role in supporting fairness and consistency across an organization, as well as potentially helping to protect the organization against legal claims.  Why have HR Policies? Important role in supporting cultures HR Policies of trust, fairness and inclusion Impact on employee motivation, organization reputation and the ability to attract and retain talent They can support the attitudes and behaviours needed for sustainable performance, creating mutual benefits for employees and organizations.  Why have HR Policies? HR or employment policies help to ensure that HR Policies when dealing with matters concerning people, an approach in line with corporate values is adopted throughout the organization.  They serve as the basis for enacting values – converting espoused values into values in use  Provide guidance  Facilitate empowerment, devolution and delegation  They should fit the corporate culture  can help to shape it   To reflect and comply with existing or new legislation HR Policies and case law.  To support business strategy.  To follow the latest developments in effective people management.  To deal with internal change.  To comply with head office/parent-company guidance to keep up with competitors –e.g.: reward policies may be reviewed in order to attract or retain employees  When operating in a different international market.  For smaller organisations, a desire to develop a more formal and consistent  approach that will meet their needs as they grow.  Do policies need to be formalized? There are some obvious advantages, like HR Policies consistency But… There are disadvantadges too: They can be seen as inflexible, constrictive or platitudinous Could use abstract terms (managers do not care for abstactions..) Useful in induction Help participants to underestand FORMALIZED HR processes, philosphies and values of the org. POLICIES And expected behavour within that context team leader and Aid to define the employment relationship management training and the psychological contract  HR POLICY AREAS It is an expression of its Overall policy values or biliefs about Formulating and how people should be implementing treated policies Covering Specific policies different areas… Substance abuse Work-life balance Rewards Equal opportunity Age and employment Employee development Discipline Managing diversity Promotion Emails Sexual harrasment New technologies Health and safety Bullying Employee relations  The following steps should be taken to formulate and implement HR policies: Formulating and 1. Gain understanding of the corporate culture and its implementing core values. policies 2. Analyse existing policies, written and unwritten. HR policies will exist in any organization, even if they are implicit rather than expressed formally. 3. Analyse external influences. HR policies are subject to the influence of national employment legislation, EU Regulations, and the official codes of practice issued by bodies at country level. The codes of practice issued by relevant professional institutions, such as the CIPD, can also be useful.  4. Assess any areas where new policies are needed or existing policies are inadequate. 5. Check with managers, preferably starting at the top, on Formulating and their views about HR policies and where they think they could be improved. implementing 6. Seek the views of employees about the HR policies, policies especially the extent to which they are inherently fair and equitable and are implemented fairly and consistently. Consider doing this through an attitude survey.. 7. Seek the views of union representatives. 8. Analyse the information obtained in the first seven steps and prepare draft policies 9. Consult, discuss and agree policies with management and union representatives. 10. Communicate the policies, with guidance notes on their implementation as required (although they should be as self-explanatory as possible). Supplement this communication with training.  The aim will be to implement policies fairly and consistently. Formulating and Line managers have a key role in doing this. implementing As pointed out by Purcell et al (2003), ‘there is a policies need for HR policies to be designed for and focused on front line managers’ The role of HR is to communicate and interpret the policies, convince line managers that they are necessary, and provide training and support that will equip managers to implement them. As Purcell et al emphasize, it is line managers who bring HR policies to life.  We are talking about the communication between… Communication  People who are employed in an organization in companies  Parts of an organization  Managers and employees  Achieve business goals Leadership Communication Employees  Meet social needs  Psychological needs Downward communication Upward communication Communication in companies Communication process  +Engagement Good internal +Empower Employees +Involved Communication communication +Emotionally in companies attached  HORIZONTAL VERTICAL COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION Downward Upward Same org. communication communication level Bottom up comm. Top-down comm. They have same position and Employees send equal influence on decisión- Managers send making information to their sup. employees information -Improve coordination -Results about between groups, depts... -Ideas -Business policies Is the most common form of -Requests -Guidelines communication -Sugestions -Plans Promote cooperation -Complaints… … Important for decision-making Via: Meetings, visiting employees Surveys… Communication in Forms of formal communication networks companies Star  Informal communication in the organization  Connect individuals who are at different levels in the organization: ignore rank and authority and connect employees in all possible directions - horizontally, vertically and diagonally;  They are difficult to control: People can transmit information of their choice and to whom they want; informal information is difficult to be verified if they are not based on facts;  Informal communications transmit informal information: information that, as a rule, are not related to the business of the individual;  Thy are faster than the formal communications: do not respect organizational boundaries, information is transmitted orally by the principle, "she said – she told," "from mouth to mouth" or " by bush telegraph";  Techniques that are used are created by the users themselves; employees informally communicate in different ways according to the type of information and the aim sought to be achieved.  QUESTIONS 1. In your opinion, what are the most important axes of Nestlé's HR CASE STUDY: policy? The Nestle 2. Considering that policies defined Human Resource in a certain way the values and Policy* culture of an organization, what conclusions can you draw regarding the Nestlé company's policies? *Available on 3. What objectives do you think Moodle Nestlé pursues through its HR policies? (What do you think they want to achieve?)  References* -Armstrong (2006) Chapter 21: Organizational culture (pp 302-316) Chapter 10: HRM policies (pp. 147-157) -CIPD (2022) HR policies -Nestlé (2012) The Nestlé Human Resources Policy *All documents are available on Moodle platform