Discussion Topic 3 Prompts

Prompt 1: What did you learn about organizations, and/or the behavior of individuals
within an organization? How do the ideas presented in Part Three (the Human
Resource Frame) of the B&D textbook enrich your understanding of the ways in which
organizations and the people working in them function?

With the focus on the HR frame this week, what stuck out to me is that people
and relationships between organizations is important (B&D, 2017, p. 134). People are
influenced by their management, work culture, and their workplace peers; all of which
has an impact on performance. In fact, chapter six points out that motivation is an
important factor when it comes to performance (B&D, 2017, p. 120). Bolman and Deal
(2017) mention that incentive and rewards are linked to motivation and effort, and that
“motivating people requires understanding and responding to the range of needs they
bring to the workplace” (p.120). They also note that because companies with a skilled
and motivated workforce have a competitive edge over others, investing time and
resources into employees cannot be overlooked (B&D, p. 131). Recognizing and
appreciating employees goes a long way to enhance employee morale and boosts the
drive to achieve workplace goals (B&D).

Prompt 2: How can you apply the concepts that you have learned about in the
readings to your personal or organizational life? Be specific.

From personal experience, I have found that there is not greater incentive for
employees than a reward that matches their needs. The biggest failure/mismatched
attempt that I’ve seen to incentive employees to meet goals through reward happened
last year in my workplace. Corporate passed along an enthusiastic letter to employees
stating that if we surpassed our stores sales goals by 2% for a certain number of weeks,
then we would be awarded some funds to throw a party for our team. I’m not sure if this
incentive was motivating for other stores or not, but I can tell you it did not touch the
motivation of my team. The first thing out of their mouths when I mentioned the
possibility of being awarded money for a party was whether we could skip the party and
divide the money out between the team like we do our tip money. My team did not want
a party. They wanted the money. They needed the money. Most of the team members at
my store were young people or college students. They were working a minimum-wage
paying job where making ends meet is a struggle. They didn’t want a party…they
wanted to pay their bills.

This example, to me, circles back around performance-based raises. While my

co-workers find natural motivation to help meet sales and customer service goals
through the fondness of their job, they have also mentioned how much more they would
be motivated if pay raises were performance-based rather than streamlined once a
year. While Bolman and Deal (2017) mention early in chapter six that money can be a
“powerful incentive” (p. 120), in the end, reading the need of the people is most
important…and being able to read your people comes from building a relationship with
them.

Prompt 3: As outlined by Bolman and Deal (Chapter 7), although every organization
with productive people management has its own unique approach, most of their
strategies can be captured in six general strategies. What are these six basic human
resource strategies? How have you experienced these general strategies in your own
work life (please elaborate)?

The six basic human resource strategies listed by Bolman and Deal (2017) are:

1. Build and implement an HR strategy

2. Hire the right people

3. Keep them

4. Invest in them

5. Empower them

6. Promote diversity

While the “party funds” incentive didn’t really hit the nail on the head for my store,
the company I work for gets it right in just about every other HR aspect (in my opinion).
The biggest, most important and most prominent aspect of my company is that they
respect and value humanity. In fact, their mission is to create connection and inspire
and nurture the human spirit through coffee.
 They hire the right people by selecting individuals who match their mission and
values and fit in with their culture.

They keep their people by rewarding them raises, double bonus points in their
rewards program for purchases, partner of the quarter (there is a small monetary reward
involved with this), and occasional goal-based incentives. They promote from within and
encourage development/upwards mobility. Most importantly, to me, in this category is
that Starbucks shares the wealth with their partners. The reason Starbucks employees
are called partners is because Starbucks gives their employees free shares of their
stock. A few years ago those stocks split and doubled in value. In addition to this,
Starbucks shares their wealth by paying for their employees to obtain their bachelors
degree. This to me is HUGE because not only do they pay for you to show up to work
and represent their company, they pay for a quality education. (I feel so lucky!)

The free education leads to the third HR strategy: invest in them. Like I previously
mentioned, Starbucks will pay the tuition for any employee who works 20 hours or more
a week. Additionally, during the development process of promotion partners are require
to show improvements and work towards personal development before advancing with
the company.

The company I work for empowers their employees by not only providing access to
any information about the company, and support in a variety of ways (mental, medical
and dental healthcare, HR support, financial support through an employee donation
system), but encouraging participation both in the workplace and in the community.

Finally, Starbucks is adamant and unwavering in their diversity policy. In fact, their
diversity philosophy is large part of who they are as a company. Their number one goal
in customer service is to make everyone feel welcome, included, appreciated, valued,
and recognized. Their coffee shops are aimed towards creating a space of belonging for
everyone. Outside of their brick-and-mortar stores they strive to have a positive social
impact around the world.
Prompt 4: Throughout your progression in the Organizational Leadership program, you
have had a number of courses that include content complementary to the human
resource frame – perhaps more connections here than with any other frame (in your
various leadership courses – and courses like OGL 220 Behavioral Dynamics in
Organizations, or BIS 343 Social Processes). Please highlight what you would consider
to be two of the most important things (ideas, concepts, theories, models, processes,
skills, etc.) that you have learned in previous coursework that you can relate to the
Human Resource frame. Briefly discuss each key learning, the course where you
learned it, and its connection with the Human Resource frame.
One of the key concepts I’ve learned about in terms of the HR frame from
another course (OGL 300) refers to different leadership approaches. According to this
concept, the relationship between a leader and their followers is directly affected by the
manager’s approach to leadership. Ultimately this relationship impacts the followers
work performance, and thus the overall performance of the organization. A leadership
approach that stood out to me in this course (and other courses) is the theory of
transformational leadership. A transformational leader acts as a role model inspiring
their followers, stimulating their innovation and creativity, and providing a supportive
climate for followers (Northouse, 2016, pp. 167-169). This type of leader shows a
genuine interest in their people and inspires them towards goals through creating a
shared vision. Because the HR frame focuses on the impact of individuals finding
satisfaction and meaning in work on an organizations ability to profit from the effective
use of their talent and energy (B&D, 2017, p. 156), the relationship between a leader
and their followers is important.

Organizational culture is another concept that stands out to me in terms of the

HR frame. In several of my courses I have learned about how organizational culture
impacts the motivation/work ethic of employees. Bolman and Deal (2017) mention that
“when the fit between people and organizations is poor, one or both suffer: individuals
may feel neglected or oppressed, and organizations sputter because individuals
withdraw their efforts or even work against organizational purposes (p. 133). Because
the HR frame focuses on the needs of individuals within organizations being met in
order for organizations to thrive, work culture is an important consideration in terms of
performance.
 Frame or Reframe an Organization from a Human Resource Perspective

Prompt 5: How do the Human Resource aspects discussed work in an organization

with which you are (or have been) affiliated? What sorts of personnel policies and
management strategies are espoused theories versus those in use? (This is about the
concept/frame not an HR department.)

The main idea of the HR frame that relationships between employees and
organizations impact performance (B&D, 2017) is reflected in the failure of success of
every workplace. While my workplace has some obviously great marketing strategies,
their success could not be as great without recognizing the effort of their employees to
fulfill their mission and live the company values. Without a great relationship with their
employees, Starbucks could not have the welcoming, friendly environment in their
stores that they desire.

Bolman and Deal (2017) mention that “managers typically see themselves as
more rational, open, concerned for others, and democratic than others see them” (161),
and I’ve recently had an experience with a manger where the belief of who she was did
not align with how I saw her. B&D mention that the importance of recognizing the
discrepancy between espoused theories and theories-in-use is the opportunity for
personal growth and learning experiences. When managers do not hold themselves
accountable and displace blame onto others for their actions, there is “minimal learning,
strained relationships, and deterioration in decision making” (B&D, 2017, p. 163). And
what I’ve found to be true, and as Bolman and Deal state: this is not a happy place to
work (p. 163).

Prompt 6: How does morale or other human resource issues affect outcomes in your
place of employment (for customers, employees, stockholders, surrounding community
and/or any other stake-holders). Describe enough of a situation concretely to provide
context and use concepts from the readings in your response. If you don’t think there
are healthy or unhealthy aspects in your organization relating to the human resource
perspective going on, think again more carefully and perhaps revisit the readings to
broaden your definition and understanding.
 In my place of employment when the employees aren’t happy, neither are the
customers. When the employees at my workplace are stressed, start feeling oppressed,
unappreciated, or overworked, their morale and their work ethic decline. When this
happens, customer service ratings also start to decline. For example, two years ago
during the summer our company drastically cut the number of hours our manager was
allowed to schedule for our store. Employees were excessively frustrated, stressed, and
complained about the lack of labor available for busy shifts. As a result, we scored in the
lowest quadrant for customer service that summer. I often overheard the employees
explaining to customers that we were understaffed and the frustration was evident in the
atmosphere of the store. It was clear to me that summer that our employees felt like
cogs in a wheelhouse just working for “the man” who had no reverence for the little
people.

Bolman and Deal (2017) mention that “when satisfaction and meaning are
lacking, individuals withdraw, resist, or rebel” and that “in the end, everyone loses” (p.
156). While we were eventually afforded more labor and I can’t remember another time
since then when the labor situation was that bad, that summer was a clear indicator of
how employee satisfaction can affect organizational operations beyond their labor force.

Reference:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice. Los Angeles: SAGE

Publications.