Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management

Paper Info
Page count 3
Word count 992
Read time 4 min
Subject Business
Type Essay
Language 🇺🇸 US

In the book Strategy & Human Resource Management by Boxall and Purcell, the authors have singled out three fundamental elements that constitute the framework of a Human Resource Management policy that can be expected to be successful in the long run (Boxall & Purcell 2007). It is for the same reason that this paper shall present a discussion on the implications of productivity, flexibility, and legitimacy on Human Resource Management Practices and shall highlight the role that each of these elements plays in the functioning of High-Performance Work Systems.

Productivity

The constant measurement and assessment of an organization’s productivity is a vital constituent of an organization’s human resource management framework. Once the human capital has been placed into the positions it was designated for, it is necessary to ensure that the working elements are working the way they had been appointed to work and are yielding the results and the levels of productivity that were expected of them at the time of appointment.

In this regard, the frequent performance of productivity assessments is integral since an absence of productivity assessments can lead to scenarios where either additional human resources have to be engaged, which eventually become surplus because of the continued absence of productivity checks, or the fall of productivity to a point where losses cause the organization to disengage human resources that could otherwise be highly productive, in light of the loses.

Productivity is an essential part of Human Resource Management practices because one cannot deny the fact that unless the human resource of a firm matched yielded the levels of productivity that were required and expected of it, there was hardly any rationale that could justify the engagement of such human resource or the investment of capital in such an enterprise. Another aspect that is of imperative significance in this regard is the fact that productivity is an aspect to which almost all of the constituents of Human Resource Management boil down. Almost every practice in Human Resource Management is one that is designed to increase productivity levels.

Sine High-Performance Work Systems are fundamental practices that are established to train employees so that they excel exceptionally in skills, information usage, and motivation, therefore it is essential to monitor motivation all the more closely since there is almost no margin for shortfalls left if the High-Performance Work System is expected to deliver the desired results.

Flexibility

The implementation of flexibility in Human Resource Management practices is integral to the successful execution of Human Resource Management policies. If one was to consider the implementation of flexibility in Human Resource Management from a dynamic contingency point of view, it is apparent that the incorporation of flexibility in Human Resource Management policies allows organizations to seek out and establish a balance between the organizations the numerous variables of the environment within which the organizations are operating (Bratton & Gold 2001). In this regard, flexibility can be integrated into Human Resource Management policies either internally or externally.

It is essential to highlight at this point that flexibility does not necessarily have to be a degree of tolerance in the human resource management policy towards errors. Instead, flexibility can also be a degree of comfort that is provided to the employees in terms of the seemingly insignificant elements that are present in the day-to-day activities of the workforce (Armstrong 2000).

The development of flexibility in the Human Resource Management framework can be made possible only if through the development and promotion of dynamic capabilities in the Human Resources of the organization (Carvalho & Cabral-Cardoso 2008). A Human Resource infrastructure that incorporates flexibility allows the organization to attract and recruit better talent and allows the organization to exercise turnover rates that are relatively more favorable than those that were attained before the incorporation of flexibility in the Human Resource Management practices of the organization.

A High-Performance Work System actively incorporates aspects such as aligned interests, experience sets, participatory mechanisms, and alternate strategy generation. To develop these areas, flexibility is a key element since it allows for elements such as spontaneous decision making and innovation to take root in the framework of the High-Performance Work System.

Legitimacy

Employer legitimacy is one of the most integral of factors, particularly in smaller firms. If one was to delve into the actual presence of legitimacy in an organization, it is evident that legitimacy is the general perception that employees hold towards the appropriateness of the organization. It is the acceptance of the genuineness of the policies, values, norms, and beliefs of the organization. However, this is only the internal dimension of the perception of the organization’s legitimacy.

The external dimension of the perception of the legitimacy of the organization is one that is associated with the social perception of the acceptance of the organization and its norms and values. Needless to say, norms and values differ from organization to organization and therefore, from industry to industry. It is therefore imperative that the organization builds itself in a manner such that it satisfies the criterion that prevails for the industry within which it is operational.

Also, we can deduce that the higher the degree of legitimacy of an organization, the better the human resource management infrastructure is able to perform since the increased degree of legitimacy instills confidence in the hearts of the organization regarding the organization itself and serves as a source of positive motivation.

Hence, legitimacy allows for the establishment of broad repertoires of skill and behavior in the workforce and by doing so, paves the way for entrepreneurs and innovators in the workforce. From the above discussion, we can see how there can be hardly any doubt left in the fact that legitimacy, productivity, and flexibility do indeed serve to build the human resource management infrastructure of the organization to a point where the internal and external variables of the organization are maintained and coordinated through the High-Performance Work System at a degree that is feasible to the organization.

List of References

Armstrong, M. (2000). Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action. Kogan Page Publishers.

Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. (2007). Strategy and Human Resource Management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2001). Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Routledge.

Carvalho, A. and Cabral-Cardoso, C. (2008). Flexibility through HRM in management consulting firms. Personnel Review , 37 (3) 332-349.

Cite this paper

Reference

EduRaven. (2021, November 5). Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management. Retrieved from https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/

Reference

EduRaven. (2021, November 5). Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/

Work Cited

"Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." EduRaven, 5 Nov. 2021, eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.

References

EduRaven. (2021) 'Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management'. 5 November.

References

EduRaven. 2021. "Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." November 5, 2021. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.

1. EduRaven. "Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." November 5, 2021. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.


Bibliography


EduRaven. "Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." November 5, 2021. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.

References

EduRaven. 2021. "Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." November 5, 2021. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.

1. EduRaven. "Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." November 5, 2021. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.


Bibliography


EduRaven. "Productivity, Flexibility, and Legitimacy in Human Resource Management." November 5, 2021. https://eduraven.com/productivity-flexibility-and-legitimacy-in-human-resource-management/.