Instructions: Choose one of the below organisations: St Mary’s Hospital St Mary’s Hospital is a community hospital in New York. It employs around 3000 staff and has 250 available beds for patients. The facility provides general medical and surgical services. Their mission is to provide comprehensive health care services in a compassionate, caring and cost-effective manner while maintaining the highest level of professional excellence. The hospital is currently experiencing a number of issues related to the changing demographic, epidemiological and social context but the issue they have recently identified as most problematic and disturbing their daily operations is the decreasing level of job satisfaction among nurses and nursing shortage. Many of their nurses are leaving to work for a local competitor that offers better pay but also is known from better organisation and communication structures that enable improved interaction among nurses and with doctors, freedom to organise their own work and to make decisions. In fact, the high impact of management on decision-making was negatively perceived by all medical staff. Hence, the hospital struggles to recruit and retain talented nurses. LockPost LockPost offers logistics services in Germany. Throughout its 20 years of operation in German market, it has created a network of +5 000 Parcel Lockers – self-service parcel dispatch and collection points, open 24/7. LockPost however is not just Parcel Lockers, they also offer high-quality courier services: from traditional deliveries to a specified address to express delivery on the same day. At the outbreak of Covid-19, the company started to experience an unprecedented increase in orders which very quickly affected efficiency of their logistic services and the brand. In May 2020 less than 50% of shipments were delivered the next day after posting (compared to 98% before Covid-19), parcel tracking system was not working properly and 1% of parcels got lost. It was clear that they had to reorganise themselves in order to meet the increased demand but the management is concerned that the demand is temporary and any long term changes to increase their capacity might be too risky. At the same time, the existing staff work excessive hours, and under huge stress. Every day, at least couple of drivers must quarantine or do not show up at work because their motivation and morale has always been low due to their lowest status in the company. Consequently, the company continues to operate in big chaos but with hopes for a better tomorrow. The company’s mission:”We create the future” and what they have always stood for (to create a world of simple solutions, using modern technologies, knowledge, passion and creativity of German engineers and specialists) is now a phrase at the company’s website only. 3 | P a g e Scenario: As an HR Specialist with 10 years of experience you have recently been employed by St Mary’s Hospital/LockPost. With a job title of HR Business Partner you need to pursue a strategic approach to human resource management in the company. To start with, you will prepare a report for your first meeting with the company owners to address the company’s problems and contribute to strategic decision-making. In order to do so, you must: a) Evaluate the company’s formal structure and recommend changes that will address the identified structural deficiencies/strategic needs (40%) b) Assess organisational culture and recommend changes (20%) c) Evaluate existing recruitment and selection process and design a process that suits the company’s current needs and strategic plans (40%) It is recommended that you supplement the case study information with additional data that you think is required to perform critical analysis and offer recommendations. Your arguments will be supported with the following evidence: – Organisational data (e.g. facts, figures, statistics or other; make use of appendices if needed) – Stakeholders values and views (employees, managers, customers) – Scientific evidence (academic journal papers, books; coursework of this type/length normally contains 12-15 references, and it is expected that your literature will go beyond the readings covered in the module) – Your expertise and experience as an HR practitioner · The report should be clearly divided into three sections as each section has its separate weighting (40%, 20%, 40%). · The report must be a well-presented paper with a cover page, an introduction and conclusions sections. · Harvard referencing style should be followed throughout the paper with a final list of references provided at the end of the paper.
Abstract
This paper investigates and reports the challenges facing St Mary’s Hospital and Lock Logistics Company. Drawing insights from secondary data, this paper analyzes the organizational structure, leadership culture, HR planning, and retention techniques to determine the best suitable HR framework, organizational structure, and leadership culture to redress the emerging issues. St Mary’s Hospital is a community hospital located in New York. In the recent past, the hospital has faced numerous problems due to its inability to cope with changing demographics, epidemiological, and social context. However, the most problematic issue is the decreased level of job satisfaction amongst the nurses causing a very high attrition rate. Lock Logistics, on the other hand, is a successful logistics company with more than 20 years of operation in Germany. However, with the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic, the company has experienced an unprecedented increase in orders, which has drastically affected their logistic services and brand’s efficiency. Simultaneously the existing staff works excessive hours and is under immense stress.
This paper employs Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory to unravel the psychological needs pertinent to employees to devise strategies to ensure overall job satisfaction. The report recommends a complete overhaul of the existing recruitment and selection process. Anchored on the HR plan the selection process should offer flexible staffing, provides incentives, and enhances employee satisfaction to build an inclusive and comprehensive culture. It is also pertinent to enact a decentralized organizational structure to allow senior and junior staff participate in the decision making process.
Introduction
Organizational Structure
In the contemporary world of business, organizational structure refers to the distinct way individual model input and teamwork is coordinated. The organization structure is orchestrated and ingrained in the organizational goals and objectives based on its mission and vision (Ahmady, Mehrpour, and Nikooravesh, 445, 2016). The organizational culture establishes direction and is a critical determinant in the success or failure of a business. Simultaneously, the organizational structure requires defining the job, role, and coordinated effort from all the members during the decision-making process. A participative and inclusive organizational structure facilitates all employees to participate in the decision-making process and work towards the organizational goals and objectives. Grunig (1984, 10) opines that a decentralized organizational structure streamlines activities dealing with dynamic structural and internal systems and processes. Traditionally the organization structure can reduce workload as it’s anchored on effective communication models, allows departmental involvement in the decision-making process, instills motivation, and drives the organization to success—however, there two distinct organizational structures; centralized and decentralized. In a centralized organizational structure, the senior leaders are the key decision-makers, and their decision is final.
On the other hand, a decentralized organizational structure involves subordinates in the decision-making process. This process consists of delegating tasks and decisions towards the downward chain of command so that our employees are interested and can make informed decisions regardless of their Organization position. The critical major building blocks of a decentralized organizational structure include a horizontal decentralization and vertical decentralization model. St Mary’s Hospital should operate on a decentralization structure that creates a comprehensive growth model both externally and internally with a rigid model to shape its management style and employee’s behavior and attitude.
Consumer-centric Model
St Mary’s Hospital faces numerous social and demographic changes. From this perspective, it is pertinent for the organization to devise measures and strategies that drive customer-centric ideas and behaviors. The move to fully implement a customer-centric organizational structure will drastically alter the centralized organizational structure’s core foundations in order to focus on its needs of the customer rather than the senior managers (Shah, 2006, 120).
Motivation at work
The healthcare industry is a highly oriented field that requires influence and motivation to thrive. In this new millennium, employees are expected to work a minimum of 40 days a week with only a few exceptions. With this statistics, it is estimated that an average worker a larger part of their lives working. Therefore it is of paramount importance for an organization’s official courses, on-the-job training, rational programs, incentives, and rewards to motivate employees. Workers need to feel a sense of care, love, and belongingness to feel like part of a community that values them. From this perspective, it is of paramount importance for the organization to encourage employee understanding and production and establish ways to measure employee satisfaction, communication, and motivation to increase workout per production. Organizations need to embrace Maslow’s hierarchy of needs follow five-tier steps based on the necessity to fulfill human needs that dictate human behavior and attitude towards work (Hopper, 2019,1). An organization that highly relies on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs establishes and drives the organization to its success and growth. In its capacity, the Maslow hierarchy of needs shows a good working relationship with the employees. There is a cohesive and integrated culture that caters to an individual’s needs and welfare. The Maslow theory bridges the existing gaps as individual transitions to the workplace and renders the employees’ working environment conducive.
Similarly, it allows employees to commit more time to their job. It will enable them to take risks, work in highly competitive environments, and incorporate activities that are internally rewarding without the prospects of monetary returns. On the other hand, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory cultivates a comprehensive and integrated work theory based on achievement and enjoyment of monetary gains accumulated from tasks completed. Alshmemri (2017, 13) presents that job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is influenced by two main factors: hygiene factors and motivational factors. This theory focuses on motivation and the ability to create a fulfilling environment. Furthermore, it showcases the need to fulfill employees’ extrinsic needs by providing monetary returns on completion of a task.
Turnover Analysis
Employee turnover can have adverse impacts on the performance of a company. It is driven by several factors: lack of development, poor employee selection, overworking employees and stiff competition in the labor market, (Li et al. 2016, 1436). A turnover analysis determines the health of the HR plan the nature and extent at which pull factors triggering the exit interview. In this case, the competition in the labor market is the critical driver of employee turnover. Employees in St Mary’s Hospital left for better opportunities. In essence, employee turnover is driven by various factors in the companies that may need improvement. Therefore St Mary’s Hospital should adopt strategies based on the three stages of turnover management; gather and analyze data on turnover patterns, and identifying factors that contribute to the high turnover rates. Opportunity for progression is vital for retaining skilled workers. Failure to promote their growth could result in increased turnovers. Furthermore, selecting a poorly matched employee is dangerous for a company as well as the employees. Competition in the labour market increases employee turnover.
Companies should adopt strategies to retain their talent. The companies should make the Company’s expectations and objectives clear to the employees. It is essential to have job descriptions so that the employees know what is required of them. In case of any changes, the Company should communicate directly to the employees. Moreover, the Company should foster a working environment that makes the workers have a sense of belonging to the business. Goal-setting should be encouraged and allow the workers to make decisions as often as possible. Companies should also provide employees with opportunities for continuing education and professional development. The firms should keep the employees updated and offer them reliable access to professional development prospects.
Retention Strategy
Employee retention defines various policies and practices utilized in an organization that allows employees to stay with the organization for a more extended period. To maintain a successful retention strategy, organizations must invest their resources when acquiring a new workforce to adequately prepare them to be on par with the existing workforce. Organizations are compelled to find different ways to be more adaptive, accommodative, and cooperative as the challenges and pressures of competition in the global changing markets are nerve breaking and highly intense (Park, 2015, 1). Therefore, organizations put in various measures that ensure that employees keep their jobs for an extended period, and therefore, the organization can maintain competition. This measure includes providing financial incentives, offering attractive benefits packages such as life and health insurance. In this regard, a retention strategy is a pertinent element in strategic human resource management as it contributes immensely to the organization’s growth and performance.
Employee Communication Mechanism
Communication is critical in the running and operation of a business venture. St Mary’s Hospital needs to implement an effective communication framework that integrates internal and external systems. One of the essential principles adopted in a functional mechanism is personal, specific, and actionable strategies. Anchored on the three principle variables, effectiveness, efficiency, and actionable this communication mechanism allows smooth flow of information (Venkataraman and Jagadeesha, 2015, 64). Most times, senior management employs strategies that deluge employees with unnecessary details. This resonates with the widely held outcome that creating awareness is communication. In essence, communication must have a purpose that prompts the employees to action. For the most part, messages should be curated according to the existing organizational structure to serve all members at their various capacities. The communication model should also be collaborative and enabling. This can be achieved by honing skills and talents that embrace work-friendly environment s that appeals to the employees to increase work output per production. With a rigid communication framework, it is paramount for the management to cultivate an autonomous environment that fuels self-drive, self-innovation, and independent thinking. A well-integrated communication strategy provides the employees’ freedom to express themselves without fear of reproach and increases employee participation and involvement to feel part of an entity. There is also a need to create a transparent and honest channel to give accurate and viable information on employees’ issues (Benn, Teo, and Martin, 2015, 1).
Organizational Culture
In the age of the new millennium, organizational culture has become a crucial element for the growth and development of a business. Its complexity and diversity have elicited both top-level management and junior staff’s interest in equal measure. Organizational culture involves integrating intrinsic beliefs and ideologies to form a system or ecosystem engrained in good working relationships within a complex socio-economic framework and values towards achieving its goals and objectives. Traditionally, an organization can choose to teach an individualistic or collectivist culture depending on the management’s preferences and objectives. Martinez (2015, 334) posits that an individualist culture exists in the social realm and require people to fulfill the values and principles orchestrated for each individual. On the other hand, collectivism is associates with a group of people or the level at which people are termed interdependent. Based on the two distinct cultures, the individualist culture is the best fit for St Mary’s Hospital. For the longest time the organization has maintained a close knit culture of the top leaders without the input of the employees. This has given rise to a huge menace that is associated the deep rooted challenges employees are facing due to the high dependence on decisions made with the input of top management leaders. Moreover the corporate culture should embrace diversity and support the different personalities, identities by use of the division of labour and specialization. For instance the decision making process should involve all the employees ftom th senior positions to the junior level irregardless of their capacity and position in the company. This will transform the mindset in the company and at the management level of the skilled and talented personnel to needed to solve the system’s underlying problems. Generally an individualistic corporate culture will lead to the improvement of the labor conditions in the company.
The best aspects of an individualistic corporate culture is the significant way of executing a corporate strategy since it defines and measures aspiration, engagement, and implementations of the process. All the aspects of the culture ensure inclusion. However, the Company should change several elements. The Company should adopt the culture of transparent communication to enhance interaction among nurses and doctors, freedom to organize their own work and make decisions to promote a better organization. The high impact of participative decision making will minimize turnovers and reduce recruitment and retention struggles. Generally, St Mary’s Hospital should withdraw its widely held policy of not involving employees in the decision making process.
Employee Retention Strategy
High rate turnover rates can have adverse impacts on the performance of St Mary’s Hospital. Therefore it is of paramount importance for the management to adopt strategies to retain their talents. Initially, the management should identify the core drivers that allow the employees to perform well. In the contemporary business world these include financial benefits health insurance, and other incentives geared to stimulate employee satisfaction. Through this, the management will work towards the provision and facilitation of a healthy working environment. In collaboration with the Human resource department, the management should evaluate the underlying psychological needs that build on the employees’ potential and knowledge for the organization’s betterment (Li et al. 2016,1436). Implementing a retention strategy could be challenging since an increase in turnover could lead to the collapse of the Company. Various internal and external factors within which the organization operates can cause very high attrition and turnover rates which ultimately makes retaining talents to be a formidable task. However a effective talent management systems guarantees a comprehensive and detailed system to maintain talents even the midst of global pandemics or turbulent times. With proper utilization of the functional tools and programs the company will adapt proper engagement styles, staffing policies and maintain a competitive edge to ensure to maintain the most valuable talents.
Lock Post Organizational Structure
Lock Post transitioned from high-level operation management to a poorly managed system. This is due to the numerous organizational structure challenges and the inability to increase its structural and physical operational capacity. The delay and little effort from the management to reorganize and increase its capacity contributed to the multiple challenges the company is facing. Conceptualized to facilitate changes at the different levels of an organization, decentralized organizational culture will guide the company towards restructuring to accommodate all the new clients (Ahmady, Mehrpour, and Nikooravesh, 2016, 455)
Customer-centric Model
Galbraith, (2011, 1) states that a customer-centric organization structure increases the customer relationship and forms a new foundation for profitability and boosting a robust product design. With a consumer-centric design, the organization will leverage customer relationships, critical and constructive feedback, and establish an inclusive culture and organization. Customer centricity allows the formulation of a close-knit community that is motivated and positively-oriented to meet the goals and objectives. Through a consumer-centric model, an organization accumulates vast information and knowledge pertinent to drawing flexible and well-integrated communication frameworks.
Flexible Staffing
Lock post faced several challenges that were related to staffing and management. Following the unprecedented increase of orders, the employees were continually being overworked under immense stress. Even after the company started to experience a drastic increase in orders, the company still relied on the existing staff to handle all the new workload. This led to frustrations and conflicts from the team members. Thus the company has to reconsider its strategy as a result of increased stress amongst employees. In this regard, the company must derive a strategy that incorporates operational staff to offer flexible working hours and allocate work to high work priorities and demands (Barrett, 2018, 96). The right strategy should also incorporate a flexible contract that can be easily altered to compensate employees fairly. The number of employees is proportional to the product/service in demand.
Another major problem ailing the Lock Post logistics company is the low commitment and engagement levels of the existing employees. Amidst the ongoing COVID 19 crisis, the top company is experiencing a very high attrition rate due to a lack of top management communication. Lock Post operates on a dependent culture that requires the people in authority to make critical decisions (Aydın, 2018,269). Thus, the top leaders’ lack of protective measures has significantly decreased engagement and commitment, simultaneously affecting work output per production
From this perspective, it is critical to cultivating an inclusive culture that caters to all the employees’ needs. Lock Post is becoming an independent culture that is not suitable for running a logistic company amidst a pandemic. Therefore, there is a need to establish an all respectful culture (Ali, 2015, 162). The best approach to strategic human resource management is to create a human resource strategic plan, align HR activities with the organization’s goals, and use data-driven solutions to achieve competitive advantage by deploying highly skilled and talented personnel. All aspects of strategic human resource management ensure value addition and work towards accomplishing its goals and objectives (Hecklau, 2016, 5).
Reference List
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