�Reflect on what you have read about organisation design, HR and line manager roles and
responsibilities and high-performance work systems (HPWS). Consider the implications of implementing
HPWS for HR leaders, line managers and the organisation�s design.
�Critically analyse the notion of high-performance work systems, including the important aspects of such
systems, their potential value for an organisation and how they might be implemented. Use examples
from organisations you know well as appropriate.
�In formulating your essay, consider the following questions:
�What aspects of high-performance work systems, in your view, are most likely to contribute to
employee performance and business performance?
�What aspects of organisational design might have to be changed in order to implement a high-
performance work system?
�In the organisations with which you have experience and which do not already use the HPWS
approach, who would be responsible for implementing these changes? How could line managers and HR
managers work together to implement a high-performance work system, or aspects of one?
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HRM.W7.KCE
Precedent studies have consistently demonstrated that high-performance work systems (HPWS)
play a significant role in promoting company productivity. This means that in the contemporary
world where competition is constantly amplified, companies must seek to adopt HPWS in order
to derive such benefits. This paper is a discussion on the concept of HPWS; including their
importance, value adding potential and how organizations could best implement them in order to
leverage their unlimited benefits.
Modern organizations are moving from the traditional hierarchical systems of management and
adopting high performance work systems which encourage greater involvement and thus place
employees as the force behind high performance. These may be characterized by selective hiring,
decentralization of management and self-managed teams, extensive training, employment
security, attractive compensation and extensive sharing of information (Kling, 1995). Bholander
and Snell (2010) note four principles that assure efficient HPWS including: employee
engagement, knowledge development, shared information and performance-reward alignment.
HPWS combine HR practices including compensation, training, workforce participation to
complement work processes and structures in order to promote efficiency (Boxall and Purcell,
2008). HPWS must be driven by strategy, which defines the kind of realignment that
departments within the organization will undertake in order to support the strategy.
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Companies that use HPWS are often associated with high performance and productivity,
employee competence, lower employee turnover and overall improvement in performance
(Bohlander and Snell, 2010).Greater involvement of employees in decision making is also a
major aspect of HPWS, which is known to promote motivation, self drive, productivity and
employee engagement. There is less power distance between the top management and employees
and this makes the work environment collaborative and team-based; thus leading to employee
satisfaction.
An example of a company that has derived value from the concept of HPWS is FedEx Courier;
which has demonstrated that investing in employees and empowering them can create high value
and promote company performance. The company invests greatly in employee motivation,
training and skill development to create a high-performance work system and considers
employees the most important asset in the organization. In order to motivate their employees, the
company seeks to engage employees more through empowering them to participate in decision
making and designing a HR policy that promotes employee satisfaction and high value
productivity (FedEx, 2012). Their drivers for example are considered highly important because
they are a direct link to the customer. Accordingly, they have been offered training on customer
service in order to sell the company’s image during their errands. They are able to perform
marketing roles and would thus pass for sales representatives. This HWPS approach has been
beneficial to both employees and the company, who have acquired skills and profitability
respectively.
Implementation
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Transition to HPWS is a considerable organizational change and caution must be exercised to
ensure that the intended benefits are derived without causing disarray in the organization. It is
noteworthy that various aspects of organizational design may change; hence the need to revise
organizational design and effectively communicate changes employees. Examples of
organizational design aspects that may change include the job design, the need for training, need
for increased remuneration, the need for additional workers as well as the investment in supplies
to facilitate efficiency.
Who is responsible?
Implementation of HPWS affects the whole organization and each employee would have a
relevant role to play during the change. The line managers and HR managers are however
considered as the main drivers of the strategy because they are responsible for ensuring that the
new organizational design is adopted. Line managers play the role of implementation while the
HR takes a supportive role to ensure that employees are comfortable in adopting the new
changes. The most disconcerting question however would be, “why is the HR so important for
organizations that are utilizing the HPWS?
The HR system can promote or jeopardize the process of implementing a HPWS. This is because
the HR system is responsible for influencing the employees’ behaviors and attitudes through
creating a more positive work environment (Boxall and Purcell, 2009). The HR should not only
help employees transit through the change process but also ensure that investment in training,
employee selection, information sharing, performance management and compensation processes
are well streamlined. This brings forth the notion of job design, given that the organizational
design affects the content of jobs. It is therefore imperative that the job design is revised to
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promote task identity, task significance, autonomy, skill variety and feedback mechanism
(Armstrong, 2007). The HR should work towards ensuring job rotation, enrichment,
enlargement, high performance work design and self-managing teams. Creating a rewarding
work environment will avoid issues such as industrial relations which may result due to
employee dissatisfaction with the work-versus benefits package. In its attempt to implement a
HPWS for example, S.D. Warren, a Scotland-based company owned by Scott Paper Company
failed to convince its largest union on why it needed to reorganize work to create a high
performing organization. The union felt that the mill management could not be trusted to give the
best for the workers as this meant greater responsibilities (Hillard, 2005). The management was
deemed to be the one to benefit from the changes as opposed to the workers.
Line manager and HR manager collaboration
While the role of line managers and HR managers are different, it must be noted that their roles
complement each other and they must therefore work in collaboration in order to ensure
efficiency of the HPWS. According to Boxall and Purcell (2008), HR practices are responsible
for workplace participation, abilities and motivation; which lead to higher work performance. On
the other hand, the line manager plays a significant role in promoting employee performance by
executing HR practices. HR-line manager consensus is therefore imperative. Boxall and Purcell
(2008) note that if workers are not motivated, they are unlikely to perform exceptionally. This
means that for the line manager to successfully implement the process the employees would need
to be motivated and this falls under the HR’s docket; which essentially means that they must
work hand in hand (Frenkel, Sanders and Bednall, 2009). In order to implement a successful
HPWS, the line managers can work together through promoting open communication of
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employee expectations, communication of job descriptions and clearly defined roles, such that
the HR always ensures the availability of qualified staff and fairness in remuneration. Line
managers on should be proactive in communicating employee issues that need to be addressed in
order to enhance efficiency; which the HR should give priority (Frenkel, Sanders and Bednall,
2009). At the management level, the HR should be responsible for instilling people management
skills among line managers to ensure they can manage employees effectively and thus promote
job satisfaction. Furthermore, most line managers may be promoted on the basis of their
knowledge and experience but may not necessarily be good people managers.
References
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Armstrong M 2007, A Handbook of Employee Reward Management and Practice, London,
Kogan Page Publishers
Bohlander, G & Snell, S 2010, Managing human resources. Ohio: South-Western, London,
Cengage Learning
FedEx 2012, People and Workplace, Global citizenship and progress update.
Boxall, P & Purcell, J 2008, Strategy and Human Resource Management (2nd ed.),Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Frenkel, S, Sanders, K & Bednall, T 2009, How Do Employees Perceptions of Management and
HR-Line Relations Affect Employee Attitudes to Work,’ paper presented at International,
HRM conference, Amsterdam, November 13–14.
Hillard, MG 2005,The Failure of Labor-Management Cooperation at Two Maine Paper Mills: A
Case Study, in David Lewin, Bruce E. Kaufman (ed.) Advances in Industrial & Labor
Relations (Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations, Volume 14) Emerald Group
Publishing Limited, pp.127 – 171
Kling, J 1995, High Performance Work Systems and Firm Performance, Monthly Labor Review,
118(May), 29-36.
Sanders, K & Frenkel, S 2011, HR-line management relations: characteristics and effects. The
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International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 22, No. 8, pp. 1611-1617.
