Introduction
The concept of organizational management is very important with regard to driving employee performance and achieving prolonged success. The manner in which people operate within an organization plays a crucial role in determining the success of crucial processes such as decision-making, change management, and promotion of diversity (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2015). Human resource management personnel have the responsibility of promoting good relationships among employees because they form the basis for the development of various organizational structures.
The ability of an organization to achieve prolonged success and competitiveness depends a lot on the cohesion in its workforce in terms of promoting a culture of diversity, as well as an inclusive corporate culture (Nickels et al., 2015).
Human resource management in the contemporary world is very challenging due to the impact of technological advancements and increased competition. This phenomenon can easily affect the ability of an organization to effectively, meet the objectives of crucial processes such as change management because employees tend to stage some resistance. Some of the essential skills for employees working in the 21st Century include conflict resolution, critical decision-making, negotiation, leadership, as well as good interpersonal and written communication.
The dynamic nature of organizational management in the contemporary world also focuses a lot on promoting the safety and general welfare of employees within the workplace (Nickels et al., 2015). Some of the strategies applied in achieving this feat include employee physical fitness programs, stress management, as well as career development and training. According to management experts, these strategies help organizations in increasing the rate of employee retention (Nickels et al., 2015). This paper will discuss the dynamics of management in contemporary organizations using Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Google as examples.
Change management at TMC
Effective change management entails promoting good relationships between employees because their support during this process is very important (Cole, 2011). Whenever an organization intends to introduce changes, there is always a certain degree of resistance shown by employees. This happens due to lack of effective communication, poor relations, and ignorance with regard to the benefits of the proposed changes (Nickels et al., 2015).
In order to achieve effective change management within an organization, leaders should focus their efforts towards identifying the elements that will allow the entity to respond effectively to internal and external pressures (Nickels et al., 2015). In addition, the leaders also ought to focus on increasing productivity. Productivity is an essential ingredient for organizational development that entails the ability of leaders to motivate, utilize and integrate associate skills, talents and intellectual capacity into the change management process (Cole, 2011). TMC has one of the most effective change management plans that develop along the concepts of operational strategies, effective human resource management, and meeting the dynamic needs of the contemporary market (Toyota Global Newsroom, 2013).
TMC is a multinational company that makes vehicles for various markets. Its operations are based on the need to identify and meet the recurrent needs in the diverse motoring markets across the world. It has also invested a lot in good human resource management practices geared towards promoting its international brand across the world. Human resource management approaches applied by TMC are premised on the need to prepare its employees to seize opportunities in its constantly changing markets and consequently maximizing on returns (Toyota Global Newsroom, 2013).
In 2009, TMC went through a very challenging time that threatened to hurt its reputation and financial success after it recalled several cars that it had released to its various markets. The recalls were driven by safety concerns raised by its customers and the company’s leadership had to act swiftly to protect its market operations (Cole, 2011). This development triggered a new change process at TMC that mainly focused on adapting to the realities of the contemporary markets. The change management policy at TMC develops on its capacity to cope with the changing demands in the global motor industry and consequently coming up with a system that guarantees total compliance (Cole, 2011).
The company’s change management plan encompasses the demands of its both local and international markets. The commitment to change applies to change three element of the company’s organizational structure, namely affective, normative, and continuance (Cole, 2011). The affective element entails the ability of leaders at TMC to get the support of all employees with regard to having non-Japanese board members for its international subsidiaries. The normative element entails the efforts of the company to promote a collectivist culture of supporting operations that focus on improving the results of its operations in international markets (Toyota Global Newsroom, 2013).
The continuance element entails the company’s commitment to making change that starts from within as part of its long-term aspiration, especially for its international subsidiaries.
In order to meet the objectives of the change process, TMC has invested a lot in human resource management initiatives focused on meeting the quality demands of the contemporary markets, and increasing its capacity for mass production (Cole, 2011). These efforts are crucial in ensuring that the company increases its revenue and market dominance. Second, TMC focuses on building a workforce with diverse technical abilities (Toyota Global Newsroom, 2013).
In the past, the company used to focus a lot on meeting its administrative duties, which led it to outsource a lot of labor that did not contribute much towards uplifting the quality of its products. Analysts argue that little investment in the technical capacity of its workforce was one of the factors that contributed to the high number of recalls commissioned by TMC in 2009. Due to factors such as globalization, TMC had to initiate a change process that would allow its products to meet the rapid and unpredictable nature of contemporary markets (Cole, 2011). The changes have been witnessed in both domestic and global business environments where policies geared towards managing the effect of globalization have forced most manufacturers to comply with environmental regulation legislation.
Change management at TMC applies the major steps outlined in the Kotter change management model. In the first step that involves identifying the urgency of change, TMC has focused a lot on the need to re-evaluate it human resource management strategies in a bid to create a workforce with the capacity to meet the quality demands of the contemporary markets (Cole, 2011). In the second step that involves forming a change management team, TMC made a number of fresh appointments to its board following the recalls made in 2009. The company needed people who could inject fresh ideas and offer the right guidance on the way forward with regard to the inevitable changes (Toyota Global Newsroom, 2013).
TMC also applies the third step of the model very well by creating a vision to guide the change process by ensuring that all employees understand the proposed changes and the positive effects they will have the company’s operations. The company has also put in place an effective communication system that allows it to initiate the change process from within and in an effective manner (Toyota Global Newsroom, 2013).
In addition, effective communication helps to reduce chances of employees resisting the changes in a bid to maintain the status quo. According to management experts, the success of a change management process within an organization depends a lot on the quality of communication made to employees with regard to the proposed changes, their role in the initiative, as well as the various ways in which they will benefit from the new dynamics that will be introduced (Nickels et al., 2015).
Diversity management at Google
One of the key dynamics in the management of human resources in an organization is creating a highly diverse and innovative workforce. According to management experts, a culture of promoting diversity within the workforce is usually the main ingredient for prolonged success and competitiveness within organizations (Nickels et al., 2015). In order to have a diverse workforce, it is important for organizational leaders to ensure that they create an inclusive workplace environment that will encourage employees to interact and express themselves freely (Nickels et al., 2015).
One of the companies that have achieved great success with regard to building a diverse and innovative workforce is Google. Over the last couple of years, the internet giant has invested hundreds of dollars in a program geared towards diversifying its workforce by identifying and nurturing young innovative people. In 2014, Google spent more than $110 million on initiatives geared towards increasing the diversity levels within its workforce (Guynn, 2015).
The main motivation for starting this program was to bridge the innovation gap in the technology industry compared to other fields such as entertainment that boast of high level of ingenuity. According to Nancy Lee, the company’s Vice President of people operations, the main objective of the program is to have more female innovators (Guynn, 2015). In addition, she says that Google seeks to increase the capacity and opportunities for people belonging to minority communities because their potential has been ignored for a very long time. This is the reason behind the investment of $ 150 million in 2015 by the company as it sought to take the program beyond its workplace. They have mainly targeted historical African American institutions of higher learning (Guynn, 2015).
Many analysts have commended Google’s diversity management approach because of its holistic nature, sense of urgency, and ambitious plans. There is an urgent need for various market players to come up with innovations that will help people meet various demands as well as improve the quality of life. Google is making tremendous efforts in reducing the diversity gap within the technology industry by starting with its own workforce.
A 2014 report by Google highlighting the status of its workforce indicated a huge racial and gender gap in its employees. There were very few women, as well as a significant low number of Latinos and African American employees (Guynn, 2015). Following the report, Google found it necessary to start securing its future by balancing the gender and racial composition of its workforce because it would help in creating a greater appeal in its numerous markets across the world. The contemporary business environment is best suited for organizations that embrace a culture of diversity because it places them at a strategic position compared to its competitors (Nickels et al., 2015).
Diversity breeds innovation, thus the reason leaders at Google took the bold step to speak about the need to change the dynamics of managing the technology industry and build products that factor in the realities of the contemporary world. In order to maintain their desired levels of innovation in its employees, Google often conducts performance evaluations where the best performing individuals are rewarded (Guynn, 2015). In addition, the internet giant uses a fair compensation program to reward its employees in a bid to avoid killing the spirit of innovativeness. Investing in a diverse workforce that lacks motivation, as well as works with a biased remuneration and compensation program is a waste of resources because the value for invested resources will not be felt (Nickels et al., 2015).
One of the strategies applied by Google in promoting multiplicity is the diversity core, a program that allows its employees to dedicate some of their time on a variety of innovative projects (Guynn, 2015). These projects are usually based within the company, while others are operated in conjunction with various communities. Another strategy used by Google is employee workshops geared towards helping them bust unconscious bias towards ideas that can actually make a huge impact if pursued (Guynn, 2015).
Through these programs, Google employees get opportunities to interact with various business people who have ideas that can do better with a little injection of technological power. In a bid to bridge the gender gap within its workforce, in 2014 Google launched a campaign dubbed Made with Code. The initiative mainly targets women with the aim of encouraging them to learn more about coding and probably other technologies. The company saw the need to launch the initiative after the number of women they had recruited to do engineering jobs had risen by 8% in four years since 2010 (Guynn, 2015).
This was a clear indication that women have the potential and will to take up technological courses as long as they have an opportunity. Effective management of diversity and innovation within a workplace depends a lot on the ability of a company to understand its market leadership position and the people that use its products (Nickels et al., 2015). Google has a department that deals specifically with issues of diversity and inclusion within the workplace (Guynn, 2015). This is a very effective management initiative because it shows that the company understands the value of having a workforce with the capacity to meet the dynamic needs of the contemporary markets.
Conclusion
The dynamics of management have changed a lot since the turn of the century. The contemporary global and domestic business environments are very dynamic, thus the need to change the approaches used in managing human resources within organizations. Human resource management personnel have a huge role to play with regard to ensuring good employee relations in contemporary workplaces characterized by high level of diversity and introduction of regular changes. Change management is an integral part of organizational success that should be applied using the right management personnel and with the support of employees.
The success of the change process depends on the ability of organizational leaders to determine the urgency for change, get the right people to guide the process, make timely communication to employees, and ensure they have the capacity to meet the demands of its various markets. On the other hand, effective diversity management entails the ability of an organization to understand its market needs, the people using their products, their needs, and the right people to incorporate into the workforce in order to meet the dynamic needs of its consumers.
References
Cole, R. (2011). What happened to Toyota? MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(4), 29-35.
Guynn, J. (2015). Exclusive: Google Raising Stakes on Diversity. Web.
Nickels, W., McHugh, J., & McHugh, S. (2015). Understanding Business. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Toyota Global Newsroom. (2013). TMC Announces New Organizational Structure and Executive Changes. Web.
