Human Resources Management (HRM)
Research an organization you have worked for or the one you are currently employed at.
Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper, written in the third person voice, and address the following issues:
Identify and diagnose a problematic organizational issue that you are aware of or have observed.
Describe the history of this problem, including the roles of any relevant personnel involved. Use fictitious names for individuals to maintain confidentiality.
Evaluate any actions that the organization has taken to resolve the situation. What could the organization have done to prevent the situation, and what more can the company do to ensure that this type of situation will not occur in the future?
Using Table 1.2 “Types of Organizational Change” in Organizational Change, identify and explain the type of organizational change necessary to remedy the issue.
Determine an organizational framework that can be used to help direct change management processes. Refer to any of the processes or models in Chapters 2 and 3 of your text, and support your choice of the process or model.
Include a conclusion that summarizes your research and provides a potential remedy for the issue.
Include justification for your responses by citing your Organizational Change text as well as a minimum of two of the Week 1 Electronic Reserve Readings sources in your paper. These sources must also be identified in your APA correctly formatted Reference page.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
ANSWER
Organisations are commonly made of people and as such, are subject to problematic organisational issues. Some of these problems are natural and present in all organisation while others reveal poor decisions and ethics that people or groups of people apply in the day to day running of different organisations globally. The 21st century has certainly marked a revolution in how organisations operate with the digital industrial revolution that continues to date. The promise of artificially intelligent systems bares with it a future where humans work alongside robots. One such company is on the frontline of this breakthrough and is on the verge of coming with artificially intelligent systems that can perform a majority of common repetitive tasks that would unburden human beings. The organisation issue with this is that as XYZ Ltd pushes the bounds of technology, it abandons the requirements of its human workforce. Coming up with artificial intelligence is a race amongst technology competitors and for this reasons, engineers have to work round the clock to make this dream a reality before others do. The problematic organizational issue that accompanies this phenomenon is a lack of work-life balance for most people who work in such organisations.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines work-life balance as “the state of equilibrium where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one’s career and the demands of one’s personal life” (ILO.org). The concept of work-life balance is vital to any profession because it facilitates the reduction of stress and helps in the prevention of burnout at the workplace and chronic health issues that could result from this. Research indicates that absence of this balance has physical consequences such as hypertension, chronic pains and aches, digestive issues, heart disease and most importantly, mental issues such as depression, insomnia and anxiety (Forbes.com). ILO explains that for these reasons every company must attend to its workforce to ensure this balance is met.
At XYZ Ltd, software engineers and data scientists employed to build systems and analyse data that is the foundation of machine learning, a facet of artificial intelligence, do not have this luxury. These employees are glued to their computers round the clock responding to targets and rising issues from the systems. Most days they work overnight or take the work home with them. In the field of development, such pressure is expected during crucial projects but the problem here is that this is a never-ending project that could continue exponentially into the future. The effect of this imbalance is health issues such as eyesight problems from the blue light emitted from computer screens, back strains from operating on desks all day, weight gains from consumption of high sugar food and snacks offered in the company as energy boosters during work. Additionally, social issues have resulted from this. For instance, a few employees have had to quit the job once they discovered that the long work hours were compromising their relationships to their families. This has also resulted in a high turnover rate for the company which is an expensive endeavour to interview, hire and train new employees over and over as the ones who have been there quit. Luckily, so far, none of the employees has identified mental issues resulting from the imbalance but it can be expected all the same.
The company, in an attempt to remedy this problem, tried to install gyms in the office and encourage people to work out during their breaks. A pool and a playroom were also installed in the roof for both employees and their children should they visit the office. Additionally, most employees are encouraged to work from home and use video communication tools while collaborating in projects as teams. These measures aimed at resolving work-life balance issues and did but not entirely. For instance, working at home or working in the office is not any different in the amount of work is similar and the targets very high. You can spend the day at home but on the computer all day meaning that the social part of being at home will not be achieved.
However, to make a difference to the benefit of the employees, working time is a key factor. Working time according to ILO could either help facilitate work-life balance through flexibility and reduction or hinder it through long and unpredictable schedules (ILO.org). A framework that allows different forms of leave such as annual leave, sick leave and maternity, family or paternity leave that does not hinder salaries could work towards the achievement of work-life balance. It would also be crucial for XYZ Ltd to accept the fact that people are more productive if their fundamental needs are met first. These needs include peace of mind, enough sleep, proper compensation and the feeling that they are working towards something important rather than being used as tools to achieve a company’s business goals.
References
International Labour Organisation. Work-Life Balance. Retrieved on 24th January 2020 from http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/working-time/wl-balance/lang–en/index.htm
Forbes.com. The Evolving Definition of Work-Life Balance. Retrieved on 24th January 2020 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/03/27/the-evolving-definition-of-work-life-balance/?sh=694a91dd9ed3
