HR, Culture, and Business results

HR, Culture, and Business results Surveys show that Human Resources (HR) can add value and affect firms’ performances in other organizations than in others. HR may help a firm in several ways depending on changes in economic activities, employees’ challenges, employees, and other factors.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on HR, Culture, and Business results specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Evans, and Pucik, HR has three faces in enhancing an organization culture and performance (Evans and Pucik, 2002). HR has the face of a builder. HR has to get the basics of managing human resources right and at the same time, ensure internal coherence. HR also serves the function of realignment. This ensures that the firm meets the demands of dynamic external environment. Changes in market activities, competition, or technological innovation require strategic realignment in an organization. In this regard, attention shifts to HR so as to adjust to the new techniques and strategies. This requires partnership with various departments. HRs third role is navigation or steering an organization. HR must focus on developing the capabilities of the firm and its workforce in order to excel in a dynamic business environment. This is a crucial and delicate role. HR must manage competitive forces of an organization in relation to long-term and short-term results, global realignment, and local changes. Mathis and Jackson note that HR must be at the center of enhancing a firm’s culture (Mathis and Jackson, 2011). Firms have the ability to use their employees as their core competency depending on the organizational culture. Employees must share values and beliefs that enhance meaning and behavior so as to promote the organizational culture. We can notice a firm’s culture in its values, behavior, ideologies, and symbols. Culture of an organization takes time to evolve and stabilize.Advertising Looking for cas e study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are HR values and cultures of an organization that are present in ways an organization treats it members both inside and outside the firm. These values and culture must exist among the senior executives of an organization. The firm may use its values to define business strategies, opportunities and focus on operational issues. Organizational culture becomes stable over time. Employees learn these cultures from senior management. We must note that values and cultures of an organization may or may not promote business results, and at the same time, may affect employees’ morale and performance, particularly in resolving conflicts. Organizational culture must enhance competitive advantage of the organization. Employees, executive and firm’s external customers must experience the culture of an organization. Organizational culture affects its servi ces, quality, productivity and business results (financial). Employees view culture of an organization as a factor that may influence attraction and retention of employees. In this regard, HR must align the organizational culture and its performance in the selection and retention of competent workers. Most organizations thrive on a culture of creativity and innovation as indicated by Google, UPS and Scripps Networks. Innovation and creativity can enhance an organizational culture. Organization should develop new products, acquire new businesses and strive to achieve globe presence with its competitive advantage. Google, Scripps Networks and UPS all have cultures of productivity. HR plays the essential roles in creating a culture that focuses on productivity and effectiveness. Organizations must reduce the cost of producing it services and products through effective processes. This way, productivity becomes a competitive advantage by enhancing business revenue growth. HR must recogni ze that productivity does not depend on a reduced number of employees. However, HR must look at productivity in terms of unit labor cost i.e. â€Å"dividing the average cost of workers by their average levels of output† (Mathis and Jackson, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on HR, Culture, and Business results specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This helps the HR notice that relatively high wages still can make a firm economically competitive provided that the firm maintains high productivity levels. In order to create competitive advantage and business growth through productivity, HR should focus on a strategy of low unit labor cost. Firms with the regional and global presence like Google, UPS, and Scripps must evaluate their productivity and unit labor costs in all levels i.e. individual, departmental, organizational, country and global levels using HR metrics or key performance indicators. Google Lazio Bock, Google HR insists on enhancing business objectives through its works and creativity. Google HR focuses on the company’s organizational culture and business objectives. Google enables its employees to focus on productivity by being flexible to allow them work on various jobs. The company considers every employee a contributor. Google HR has innovative strategies that enhance the performance of the HR department by eliminating errors, and encouraging communication. Google encourages open innovation by encouraging every employee to be open and share ideas and opinions. Open innovation comes from the company culture of encouraging open communication. HR at Google encourages ability over experience in the selection and recruiting employees. The global presence also forces the company to focus on selecting a team that reflects global customers of the company. HR insists on selecting a team that aims at creating perfection. Google also encourages leisure activities when emplo yees are not at work. Google HR communicates organizational strategies, business results, and information of benefits to the employees regularly. Most of the company’s employees are also shareholders.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, they continuously want to know the company’s business results. Google’s HR shows how aligning the company’s objectives and strategies with the organizational culture can enhance performance and business growth. Scripps Networks This firm has a strong HR culture. The HR is responsible for creating the firm’s strategic goals and business efforts. HR of Scripps Network, Christopher Powell says that the company culture is â€Å"very inclusive, collaborative work place, with core values that include diversity, openness and shared responsibility†. In addition, Powell adds that â€Å"we pride ourselves on fostering an entrepreneurial environment. We work closely with leaders across the company to create opportunities for new approaches and new ideas to surface, including providing financial rewards to employees who offer creative solutions to problems or initiate new ideas that pay off†. The company also insists on enhancing leadership a t all levels. At the same time, the company strives to inculcate work-life balance by using technology and flexible schedules. UPS UPS focuses on customer service and attention to details. Mathis and Jackson notes that the company has corporate integrity, culture combined with the HR and employees. UPS strives to link its business objectives with the HR. the company has enhanced its communication by intranet to keep employees informed art all time. The company has a trend of creating a well-rounded management team, maintain its culture, and its customer service. The HR culture ensures that the employees review code of conduct relating to ethical difficulties and how they may respond in such circumstances. The three firms have different approaches in of using HR effectively to enhance business productivity. However, they also share aspects of innovation and creativity in enhancing productivity and business results. These firms also demonstrate how HR department is increasingly becomi ng vital for a success of an organization. References Evans, P. and Pucik, V. (2002). The Global Challenge: Frameworks for International Human Resource Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Mathis, L. R. and Jackson, H. J. (2011). Human Resource Management, 13th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

The Geography of Detroits Decline

The Geography of Detroit's Decline During the mid-20th century, Detroit was the fourth largest city in the United States with a population of over 1.85 million people. It was a thriving metropolis that embodied the American Dream - a land of opportunity and growth. Today, Detroit has become a symbol of urban decay. Detroits infrastructure is crumbling and the city is operating at $300 million dollars short of municipal sustainability. It is now the crime capital of America, with 7 out of 10 crimes unsolved. More than a million people have left the city since its prominent fifties. There is a multitude of reasons as to why Detroit fell apart, but all the fundamental causes are rooted in geography. Demographic Shift The rapid shift in Detroits demographics led to racial hostility. Social tensions were further perpetuated when many desegregation policies were signed into law in the 1950s, forcing residents to integrate. For years, violent racial riots engulfed the city, but the most destructive one occurred on Sunday, July 23, 1967. A police confrontation with patrons at a local unlicensed bar sparked a five-day riot that left 43 dead, 467 injured, 7,200 arrests and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. The violence and destruction only ended when the National Guard and Army were ordered to intervene. Shortly after this 12th street riot, many residents started to flee the city, particularly the whites. They moved out by the thousands into neighboring suburbs such as Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Auburn Hills. By 2010, whites only made up 10.6% of Detroits population. The Size Detroit is particularly difficult to maintain because its residents are so spread out. There is too much infrastructure relative to the level of demand. This means large sections of the city are left unused and unrepaired. A scattered population also means law, fire, and emergency medical personnel have to travel greater distances on average to provide care. Moreover, since Detroit has experienced consistent capital exodus for the past forty years, the city is unable to afford an adequate public service workforce. This has caused crime to skyrocket, which further encouraged rapid out-migration. Industry Many of Americas older cities faced a de-industrialization crisis starting in the 1970s, but most of them were able to establish an urban resurgence. The success of cities like Minneapolis and Boston is reflected on their high number of college graduates (over 43%) and their entrepreneurial spirit. In many ways, the success of the Big Three inadvertently restricted entrepreneurship in Detroit. With the high wages earned on the assembly lines, workers had little reason to pursue higher education. This, in conjunction with the city having to reduce the number of teachers and after-school programs due to declining tax revenues, has caused Detroit to fall behind in academics. Today, only 18% of Detroit adults have a college degree (versus a national average of 27%), and the city is also struggling to control the brain drain. Ford Motor Company no longer has a factory in Detroit, but General Motors and Chrysler still do, and the city remains dependent on them. However, for a large portion of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Big Three did not react well to changing market demands. Consumers started to shift from power-driven automotive muscle to more stylish and fuel-efficient vehicles. The American automakers struggled against their foreign counterparts both domestically and internationally. All three companies were on the verge of bankruptcy and their financial distress was reflected on Detroit. Public Transportation Infrastructure Unlike their neighbors Chicago and Toronto, Detroit never developed a subway, trolley, or intricate bus system. The only light rail the city has is its People Mover, which only encircles 2.9-miles of the downtown area. It has a single set of track and only runs in one direction. Although designed to move up to 15 million riders a year, it only serves 2 million. The People Mover is considered an ineffective rail, costing taxpayers $12 million annually to operate. The biggest problem with not having a sophisticated public infrastructure is that it promotes sprawl. Since so many people in the Motor City owned a car, they all moved away, opting to live in the suburbs and just commuting to downtown for work. Additionally, as people moved out, businesses eventually followed, leading to even fewer opportunities in this once great city. References Okrent, Daniel (2009). Detroit: The Death- and Possible Life- of a Great City. Retrieved from: time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1926017-1,00.htmlGlaeser, Edward (2011). Detroits Decline and the Folly of Light Rail. Retrieved from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050204576218884253373312.html