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Table of Contents 1 The issues 2 1.1 Recruitment Problems 2 1.2 No awareness of organization’s vision among the staff 2 1.3 Strong Labor Union 3 1.4 Hierarchical Structure 3 1.5 Lack of inter-personal Trust and mutual co-operation 3 1.6 No Staff Participation in Planning 3 1.7 No Performance based rewards 4 2 The Recommended Changes 4 2.1 Hiring on Merit 4 2.2 Communication of Organization’s vision 4 2.3 Problem Solving at Every Level 5 2.4 Dialogue with Labor Unions 5 2.5 Better Communication between Staff 5 2.6 Employee Participation in Planning 6 2.7 Performance Based Incentives 6 2.8 Improvement in Work Environment 7 3 Benefits of implementing the changes 7 3.1 Productivity 7 3.2 Profitability 8 3.3 Better Quality of Products 8 3.4 Satisfied Workforce 8 3.5 A Better image for the Organization 9 4 Costs of the Changes 9 4.1 Strained Relations with Union 9 4.2 Complexity in Hierarchical Structure 9 4.3 Flawed Appraisals 10 5 The impact on the organization 10 5.1 Employees taking personal responsibility 10 5.2 Self-Monitoring 10 5.3 Continuous Improvement in Performance 10 5.4 Proactive Approach 11 5.5 Helping the groups for better productivity 11 6 Bibliography 12

Supersavers Ltd.
The issues
It is the responsibility of a person working as Head of Human Resources (HR) department to formulate an ideal HR strategy, which may result in the optimum level of participation from the staff and achievement of desired business objectives in an efficient manner (Garavan, et al., 2001). At present, Safeway is running like an old-fashioned organization and the control structure is strongly hierarchical in nature. It is useful to identify the key weaknesses before suggesting any changes to introduce improvement in the organization culture.
Recruitment Problems
“Supersavers Ltd.” is a chain of supermarkets that has operations spread over different areas. They are constantly growing in terms of network but they are facing constant problems in hiring of suitable staff due to the increased competition. In a competitive environment, there is a frequent routine of switching between the companies, which result in dearth of suitable workers.
No awareness of organization’s vision among the staff
The only communication of top management with the employees is about their respective jobs. They are not taken into confidence about the vision, and goals set for the future and the way forward. This factor plays a very negative role in setting the standards of overall employee commitment as he remains focused only on his immediate job and does not care for plans of the company (Barney, 1986). This in turn affects the productivity in an adverse fashion.
Strong Labor Union
The existence of labor unions increases the legal risk for the organization due to their active involvement in employee affairs. They resort to strikes and possible legal actions against the company in case of even breach of labor law. Most of the times, management is willing to negotiate better terms with employees at their own accord but the act as intermediaries and in the pursuit of their own benefits, hurt the interests of both the parties.
Hierarchical Structure
There is a culture of centralized control that is manifested by a strict line of hierarchy that cannot be breached at any cost whatsoever. Owning to this structure, no employee is interested in solving problems at his level due to fear of reprimand by his seniors. As a result, there are chances of delays in even the trivial matters.
Lack of inter-personal Trust and mutual co-operation
The staff refrains from sharing any responsibility with his fellows due to lack of trust. Furthermore, the organizational culture does not ask for any collaboration between the employees and they stick to the assigned work. This practice is hazardous as it transforms the organization into a disintegrated framework of activities. When employees cooperate, they learn each other’s jobs and in case of need, become a replacement for the missing staff. In the absence of this practice, the organization is deprived of a knowledge pool (Beijerse, 1999).
No Staff Participation in Planning
The superiors at all levels abstain from consultation with their juniors. This routine turns the organization into a pool of dead water that serves no purpose (House & Howell, 1992). It is evident that one-way communication never brings the people together and both the sides remain oblivious of the facts and factual position. Management remains ignorant of latest market trends that can be a useful input while making the strategic plans and at the time of reviews, which may result in a competitive disadvantage (Barney, 1991).
No Performance based rewards
The wages are fixed and there is no concept of any increase due to any special performance or an improvement in skills. This creates a lack of motivation for employees for enhancing their skills, as the promotions are not performance or skills based. An employee has to spend minimum time in a grade or a functional position before movement to the next level. It results in discouragement of committed workers and undue benefits for lesser productive staff (Fehr & Schmidt, 1999).
The Recommended Changes
Management needs to address these issues and bring the following changes in order to improve the culture and bring innovation in the system and processes:-
Hiring on Merit
The hiring needs to be done on merit and should be made under any influence. In the present case, labor unions can exert pressure on management for hiring of the people of their choice. These tactics should be dealt with stern disapproval. Once the appropriate staff is hired, it is essential to groom and motivate him to become an effective part of the family.
Communication of Organization’s vision
The employees should be made aware of the overall vision of the chain. There should be a formal message sent to all the staff members mentioning the future needs and goals. This should not be a vague message and instead contain the figures and specifications of the targets. Management should define milestones of the journey with description of methods and techniques to achieve the desired objectives (Riege, 2005). Once the staff members are aligned with corporate vision, they will take extra interest in their work as they would be able to assess the productivity of their contribution in the light of management’s aspirations (Cary & Eisenberg, 1988).
Problem Solving at Every Level
The staff should be encouraged to take initiative at their level without asking their superiors. This authority can be restricted to certain thresholds to ensure better control. This practice will result in employee empowerment and save a considerable time wasted by delays in getting approvals of small matters of little significance. The staff feels itself an integral part of the team and his involvement through decision-making enables him to perform in a more liberal way (Pan, et al., 2007).
Dialogue with Labor Unions
Labor Unions should be taken on board for better implementation of HR initiatives. There should be a meaningful dialogue and a comprehensive framework of rules and responsibilities should be designed. This will help in better HR practices while guaranteeing un-interrupted flow of work.
Better Communication between Staff
The staff should be provided with an opportunity to interact with one another on regular basis in order to develop a culture of mutual trust and respect. This purpose can be achieved through a number of ways. There should be regular inter-department meetings to give the staff an opportunity to socialize and reduce distance. Another good strategy is frequent rotations of functions and departments. This policy envisages a group culture in which the members are aware of mutual obligations and support each other through collective effort (Mills, 1988). It also facilitates the organization by offering a ready replacement pool of skills.
Employee Participation in Planning
Once a staff is made part of the strategic planning, he considers himself among the owners and works with more dedication. The staff participation can be obtained through different channels. The most important is their feedback of the company’s products that they receive from the customers. This gives an important avenue to the top management for gathering information regarding target market, trends, the consumer tastes and any quality issues. Another way to get the staff’s input is through a suggestions initiative. The employees send their suggestions on any issue that carries importance for the company. The suitable input is accepted for further action and the employee gets a reward for his effort.
Performance Based Incentives
The work ethics should be promoted to encourage the growth of staff in relation to their contribution instead of their seniority or their good relations to their superiors. A culture of appraisal based on performance should be adopted and increments and promotions should be awarded strictly on merit (Schultz, 1961). For this very purpose, a concrete set of criteria should be in place elaborating the key traits and metrics of achievement. The present culture has the similar attitude towards a performing and a non-performing worker. The rewards will motivate the employees to work harder and increase their skills by pursuing higher qualification and pursuing higher standards of work.
Improvement in Work Environment The organization should deem workers as part of the ownership structure and they should be made realize this approach (Zeitlin, 1983). In a conservative organization, the workers act as an agent for the benefit of principal i.e. owner (Grossman & Hart, 1983). The innovative organization ensures their participation by abolishing the formal lines of hierarchy. The employees should be capable of embracing challenges of the coming times and ready to offer a joint response. The culture of trust prepares the employees to accept change as an essential part of the progress. They do not get scared of the revisions in the structure and instead accept it as a tool of getting competitive advantage. There should be more focus on knowledge and skill as compared to the length of service and age.
Benefits of implementing the changes
The suggested changes will contribute towards achievement of many objectives and bring a positive impact to the organization. Following is brief description of these benefits:-
Productivity
The motivated staff can play a vital role in improvement of productivity. They give their best to work, as they are aware of the implications of the good results. Due to their reformed understanding of the organization’s vision and mission, they perform with a sense of ownership and often go beyond the formal set of duties. They also remain attached to other workers and extend helping hand whenever required. This ensures a reduction in wastage of materials and efforts and the efficiency improves at great length.
Profitability
The Quality HR performs with zeal and possesses capacity to deliver above requirement. Furthermore, there are lesser chances of losses due to any unwanted delays in the work. These factors decrease the costs and result in achievement of better profits. In a culture of rewards, there remains no place of idle workers who prove a burden for the organization and act as an undesired expense that can be avoided. Another source of increase in profitability is lesser warranty and return costs of defective products due to better employee feedbacks.
Better Quality of Products
In a participative organization, the whole team works in unison to achieve the new heights. In a bid to get better market acceptability and growth, the employees keep a track of the customer’s views about the company and its products. The employees carefully record their complaints and try to resolve them at their end if they are not substantial owing to the power given to them after the implementation of suggested changes. If the problem is significant, that is communicated immediately to the supervisor following the formal line and in case of urgency, the “suggestions” channel can be adopted. It gives enough space to management to incorporate the changes avoiding further losses.
Satisfied Workforce
The staff feels a new passion in the new situation. To begin with, they now have better compensation arrangements due to the initiation of performance based rewards and salary raise. They form emotional attachment to the company due to their share in every phase of decision-making. The empowerment exercise gives them confidence and prepares them for further responsibilities in future. These satisfied workers never leave jobs merely due to an increase in compensation and focus on additional benefits they enjoy.
A Better image for the Organization
A superstore has an environment of frequent contact between the staff and the customers. The recommended changes improve the company’s image in the eyes of the customer due to better quality of products and an ever-willing staff to extend the helping hand. This positive perception prompts him to express his satisfaction in front of other prospect customers and may increase the opportunities for the firm. The better HR policies and Quality in operations also result in good response from society and media.
Costs of the Changes
There can be some minor problems arising out of these changes in policies:-
Strained Relations with Union
The Union may not be willing to compromise on these initiatives as they can result in huge reduction in their importance. They can try to motivate the non-performing workers to sabotage the campaign and create hurdles in the process.
Complexity in Hierarchical Structure
There is a possibility of disturbance in formal line of authority. When every staff member has the access to top management, this ease of approach can be used in negative manner. The staff can indulge in black mailing of immediate superiors to get extra benefits. They can also increase the work of top management in an undesired fashion.
Flawed Appraisals
The performance appraisals are subjective in many respects and the discretion of manager plays a key role at the time of final assessment. They can award wrong evaluation to a staff member based on their personal differences and compromise the transparency of the exercise.
The impact on the organization
The study envisages following outcomes of the suggested changes on the organization:-
Employees taking personal responsibility The employees assume themselves personally responsible for the work and, instead of looking elsewhere, they hold themselves responsible for the results of their work. This is start of a culture of self-accountability. In case of any deviation from the desired results, a person looks at his work first before criticizing the other’s performance.
Self-Monitoring
Employees keep a track of their performance and ready to improve if required. They ask their fellow workers how well they are going and respect their opinions instead of confronting them. This practice helps in awareness of their respective pace of achievement of goals.
Continuous Improvement in Performance When a staff member notices that he needs to make corrections in his work in order to remain on the right track, he immediately adopts the corrective measures. He is not shy about suggesting the improvements to his fellow workers and contributes to their individual as well as group performance through a productive feedback.
Proactive Approach Employees identify their requirements beforehand and seek the support of the organization for guidance and assistance. They also ask the management for any resource requirement in case the company does not give the same. They do not shy away from mentioning their demands, as they understand that this can disturb the quality patterns. The management is always willing to help to ensure collective achievements.
Helping the groups for better productivity In the reformed organization, the employees are ready to help the people in their group to achieve the desired objectives. This practice involves a steady pursuit of assigned work in order to avoid any burden for other group members. If a teammate is slow or incapable of meeting the group speed due to any reason, he helps him by extending guidance and sharing his work. This participative attitude is also offered to the other groups in individual as well as group capacity. There are certain assignments in which some groups are better equipped with resources in comparison to the others. It is imperative for the group with better resources to help the one with fewer means to perform.

Bibliography
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