MBA401 Assessment

MBA401

People, Culture and

Contemporary

Leadership

Workshop Week 1

Driving Organisational

Performance through People

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2

This subject aims to:

• detail the key concepts in managing the human resources

within an organisational system

• explain how to evaluate and apply human resource

considerations when making business decisions in line with

an organisation’s strategic goals

• provide an overview of current models of talent management,

culture change, and the ethics of people management

• list and explain contemporary approaches to leadership

• provide students with the opportunity to practice leadership

across a variety of domains.

MBA401

Workshop Objectives

LO1 • Discuss why people are an important resource

that should be understood and measured.

LO2

• Explore the role that Human Resources play in maximising the contribution people make to organisations.

LO3 • Explain why successful organisations need to

have a range of performance measures in place.

What is Organisational

Performance? A complex relationship involving seven performance criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, quality, productivity,

quality of work, innovation and profitability. (Rolstadas, 1998)

Performance should consider quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of actions (Neely, 2002)

“Performance management is a complete process which throws light on the overall

organisational performance to the departments and at the employees’ level” (McNamara, 2006)

Multidimensions of Organisational

Performance

• In recent years, organisations have

attempted to manage performance where

it can be measured in areas such as:

• Financial performance (e.g. shareholder

return)

• Customer service

• Social responsibility (e.g. corporate

citizenship, community outreach)

• Employee stewardship

Introduce Yourself

7

GROUP ACTIVITY:

• Which organisations have

you worked for?

• Were they good to work for?

(why or why not)

• All organisations rely on the availability and

effectiveness of three kinds of resources: finance,

technology and people.

• Human Resources (HR) are almost always the key

ingredient for organisational success.

• People are the most unpredictable factor, and often

the largest ongoing cost factor. They may also be

the most valuable asset in any organisation.

• Both the nature of work and workplaces are

currently transforming.

People and Organisations

The Strategic View of People

• Employees are human assets.

– Increase in value to organisations when

investments of appropriate policies and

programs are applied.

• Effective organisations recognise that

employees have value.

– Much as organisations’ physical and

capital assets have value.

• Employees are a valuable source of

sustainable competitive advantage.

Zappos

10

GROUP ACTIVITY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifV7Pn-zIxU

• In groups of 4 or 5 discuss the

following question:

What are the key lessons we can

learn from Zappos about people and

organisations?

• Elect someone to report the highlights

back to the class.

Driving Performance Through

People Management

• Getting people management right is vital in driving long-term performance of an organisation.

• Five key insights for HR practitioners to adopt that support/drive organisational performance: – Anticipation

– Organisational values

– Alignment

– Simplicity

– Sustainability

Employee Value Proposition

• Employee Value Proposition is an ecosystem of support, recognition, and values that an employer provides to employees to achieve their highest potential at work.

https://blog.smarp.com/6-steps-to-build-your-employees-value-proposition

(Bin, Klein & Whitworth, 2020)

The Link Between Organisational

Performance and People

High-performing organisations are better

places to work because people are more

satisfied with their working conditions, more

engaged with their organisation and

generally happier at work. High-performing

managers see that helping staff reach their

full potential while achieving the

organisation's aims is good for people and

good for business.

High Performing Workplaces

(HPW)

• High-performing workplaces (HPWs) differentiate

themselves through the value-adding performance of

leaders and managers at all levels.

• They understand the bottom-line value of investing

a significant proportion of their time in people.

• Their value is strongly associated with attention to the

organisation's ‘intangible' assets such as:

– Culture, morale, staff skills and innovation capability

– Financial and other quantitative measures of

performance

What Do High-performing

Managers Focus Their Attention On?

• Where the day goes – Time allocation

– Personal agenda reflects the key objectives

• Focus on people – Employee engagement and staff satisfaction

– Plenty of informal performance feedback

• Communication matters – Consult with staff

– Masterful in effective communication

• Cultural considerations – More than ‘the way we do things around here'

– Culture is continually evolving

Performance Through People

Seven Steps to Performance Through People

1. Leadership that moves people

2. People relationship management

3. Alignment and communication

4. Training

5. Rewards and recognition

6. Measurement

7. Technology

High Performance Workplace

18

GROUP ACTIVITY:

• In groups of 4 or 5 come up with at least

one high-performance workplace and

discuss why you have selected it.

• Elect someone to report the highlights

back to the class.

Looking at Organisational Effectiveness

• Helicopter View

– Ability to rise above the specifics of a

particular situation and to see it in its

overall context and environment

• Binocular View

– Ability to focus more narrowly, segment

by segment, but in greater detail

Measuring People’s Contribution

• Measurement is not solely the

domain of finance and accounting.

• Understanding the ROI of human

capital helps to determine how to

invest most effectively.

• Use metrics and analytics to help

predict how people contribute to

organisational performance and to

manage organisational talent.

Role of Metrics

• Quantitative measures of the costs or

benefits of aspects of HR processes.

• Measurement standards and benchmarks.

• Important to a range of stakeholders for

different reasons.

• It is a complex task.

• There are issues of causality.

• Pitfalls include linkage, lack of

understanding of value, and difficult to

implement measures.

Measuring Productivity and

Success

1. Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

2. Management by Objectives (MBO)

3. Measuring Productivity Quantitatively

4. 360-Degree Feedback

5. Measuring Sales/Service Productivity

6. Time Management Productivity

7. Measuring Productivity by Profit Measuring productivity and success is a continual process – not

a one-off

Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

https://balancedscorecard.org/bsc-basics-overview/

Advantages of BSC

https://www.latestquality.com/advantages-of-balanced-scorecard/

Management by Objectives (MBO)

• Performance management seeks balance

between the objectives of employees and the

objectives of an organisation

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/management-by-

objectives-mbo/

360-Degree Feedback

In 360-degree feedback, the peers, subordinates and managers (and often the clients – depending on the industry) fill in a questionnaire describing the employee's performance

https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/how-to-implement-360-feedback-initiative/

Measuring Organisation

Effectiveness?

28

GROUP ACTIVITY:

In groups of 4 or 5, using Zappos as

an example:

Discuss how you could use the

tools we’ve discussed to measure

their effectiveness.

Measuring Organisation

Effectiveness

• Lagging indicators

• Leading indicators

• Measures and plans

• Is the real purpose engaging people?

Other HR Measures

“Efficiency is doing the thing right; effectiveness is doing the right thing.” Doing the right thing at the right time and having people responding in a

positive way is a win-win-situation. (Drucker, 2006)

https://www.peoplestreme.com/blog

HR Measures

31

GROUP ACTIVITY:

In groups of 4 or 5, select TWO of

the HR measures and discuss: • What the measure means?

• How is it calculated?

• Why is it valuable?

• How can it be implemented (and

monitored) within an organisation?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP_cSA9UhH0

Video – Employee Turnover

Employee Turnover

33

GROUP ACTIVITY:

In groups of 4 or 5, discuss:

• What does employee turnover mean?

• What are the advantages and

disadvantages of turnover as a

measure?

Strategic HRM

• Strategic human resource management (SHRM)

emphasises the need for HR plans and

strategies to be:

- Formulated within the context of overall

organisational strategies and objectives

- Responsive to the changing nature of the

organisation’s external environment

- Aligned with the organisational strategy

• Workforce planning

• Employment law

• Talent attraction and selection

• Talent development

• Succession planning

• Training and development

• Performance management

• Reward management

Operational HRM

Operational/SHRM

36

GROUP ACTIVITY:

In groups of 4 or 5 focus on one operational

HRM area.

• Develop an argument as to why your

allocated function is the most important

one of all.

• How does it contribute to SHRM?

• Select someone from your group to

present this back to the class.

Ulrich’s 4 Roles Model

https://blog.mettl.com/managing-hr-

roles-david-ulrich-model/

"People too often see the structure part of theories as a ‘solution’ – something

which, once implemented, will automatically deliver brilliant HR. As with anything, the

reality is of course much more nuanced. As with anything, it’s often not what you do,

but how – or rather how intelligently – you do it" (Ulrich, 1996)

Basic Principles of ‘Ulrichism’

• Define a clear role for HR.

• Understand how it provides competitive

advantage for the organisation.

• Create a structure that delivers value.

• Then measure it.

3 Stages of Building HR

Summary

• People are an important resource that should be understood.

• People are an important resource that should be measured.

• HR plays a key role in maximising the contribution people make to organisations.

• Successful organisations need to have a range of performance measures in place.

• Next time we look at how to create a positive organisational culture and engaged people.

Workshop Objectives

LO1 • Discuss why people are an important resource

that should be understood and measured.

LO2

• Explore the role that Human Resources play in maximising the contribution people make to organisations.

LO3 • Explain why successful organisations need to

have a range of performance measures in place.

References

• Brady, A 2016, Organisational performance - how can HR move the needle? Page Up, Melbourne

• Cole, K 2019, Leadership and management: theory and practice, 7th Edition, Cengage, Australia

• Fulkr, J, Raman, M, Wallenstein & de Chalendor, A 2019, Your workforce is more adaptable than you think, Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 118-126

• Klein, M & Whitworth, B 2020, 10 principles of modern employee communications. International Association of Business Communication, London

• Nankervis, A 2020, Human resource management: strategy and practice, 10th

Asia-Pacific edn, Cengage, Australia

• Robbins, S 2020, Organisational behaviour, 9th edn, Pearson Australia, Melbourne, Victoria

• Samson, D, Donnet, T & Daft, R 2021, Management, 7th edn, Cengage, Asia- Pacific

Supplemental Resources

• Boudreau, J & Ramstad, P 2007, Beyond HR: the new science of human capital, Harvard Business School Press, Boston

• Drucker, P 2006, The effective executive: the definitive guide to getting the right things done, Harper Business, California

• Fitz-Enz, J 2009, Predicting people: from metrics to analytics, Employment Relations Today, Autumn, vol. 36, no. 3, pp.1-11

• Ulrich, D 1996, Human resource champions: the next agenda for adding value and delivering results, Oxford University Press, London.