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Equity and Rewards

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HPWS have emerged in response to international competition, new technology and increased customer demand resulting in a requirement for higher flexibility, higher product quality and higher performance (Lloyd, 2000).

On one hand HPWS have been hypothesised as ‘win win’ systems that benefit both the employer and the employee whilst on the other hand their value seems to have been decreased by an increase in work-related health issues caused by work intensification and job insecurity. The aim of this report is to find out if this is factual.

The report will be structured as follows, section one will discuss the background and principals of HPWS, section two will identify the outcomes and section three will discuss the conclusions.

This report will discuss High Commitment/High Performance (HCHP), both of which theorise high levels of autonomy and discretion but both theorise different mechanisms.

HCM is said to be the vehicle to HPM and emphases ’soft’ aspects of HRM such as job security, trust, and a strong psychological contract whereas HPM emphasises ‘hard’ aspects of HRM such as restructuring, performance related pay by linking employee effectiveness towards organisational performance.

The premise behind HPWS according to Ramsay et al (2000) entails management ceding a degree of control to the workers, thereby attaining the commitment and motivation of the workers through specific ‘bundles’ or ‘systems’ of HRM practices that are mutually supportive and reinforcing, thereby creating a competitive advantage and enhanced organisational success’ (MacDuffie 1994).

Basically, the argument is, that while individual practices – for example, self managing teams, total quality management (TQM), performance-based pay systems – might be beneficial in their own right, suites of practices that are mutually consistent will deliver performance outcomes greater

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