Work, people and productivity mgt

Work, people and productivity Number: Lecturer: Work, people and productivity Question examine yourself as an HRO and what you can do to be more mindful, increase productivity and assure high performance within yourself?
High Reliability Organization (HRO) is an organization that has relatively low errors in its operations over a period of time. It also makes good decisions consistently that result in high quality and reliability operations. As shown by research, the successful organizations continually re-invent themselves. HROs are adapted to recover from failures through training and reliance on the availability of experienced and trained persons to help recover from the failure (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001).
High reliability organizations have several characteristics defined by Weick and Sutcliffe (2001) that are responsible for the mindfulness that enables them to work well when faced by unprecedented situations. These include;
Preoccupation with failure, sensitivity to operations, reluctance to simplify interpretations, deference to expertise and commitment to resilience. People in HRO work in recognition of the high risk environments and occupations. In order to enhance productivity and reliability the HRO must carry out self-assessment and evaluation. These characteristics provide a guide to the thinking and mindfulness in the organization (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001).
Sensitivity to operations:
It is important to recognize that policies and manuals in an organization constantly change; the HRO should be mindful and be sensitive to the complexity of the systems and environment of the HRO. The HRO should quickly work to identify and anomalies and problems and quickly eliminate potential problems. As an HRO it is important to always be aware and have updated information on the state of the systems and processes in the organization. This is key to identifying possible problems and preventing them (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001).
Reluctance to simplify
It is important that the HRO offer concrete and detailed explanation and documentation of processes in the organization. Simple explanations to processes and activities are not ideal for proper diagnosis of problems in the organization. This eliminates the problem of not knowing what’s going on in the organization until it’s too late. Concise and clear explanations of processes improve reliability and productivity of the organization (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001).
Preoccupation with failure
Failures and errors are bound to occur in any HRO, it is the roles of the HRO to identify, predict and eliminate possible catastrophes rather react to them. An HRO constantly keeps in mind that they might have omitted something that might put the organization at risk. This should be viewed as opportunities to improve current systems by determining weaknesses, examining strengths and deploying resources to improve and address these issues (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008).
Deference to expertise
High reliability and productivity in the organization can only be realized if the leaders and supervisors are willing to listen and respond to insights and suggestions from the other staff who are in contact with real activities and processes in the organization. Productivity and reliability can further be enhances by creating a culture where each member of staff should feel free to share information freely with top level management and other staff members (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008).
Resilience
High reliability organizations emphasize on their ability to quickly identify and contain errors and improvise in tiles of difficulties. This ensures continued functionality despite setbacks that inherent in the organization. It is the belief of the HRO that despite the measures, there system may still fail. HRO prepares for these failures by; equipping the leaders and staff with knowledge and skills and train them on how to respond to system failures in the organization (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008).
Question 2: How could/would you build others to be more productive and become a high reliability organization?
Training and education
Increasing skills and abilities through trainings in particular areas will increase productivity of the other employees in the organization. When people in the organization are trained, their ability to perform particular tasks is enhanced and thus operations become more effective and efficient (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).
Motivation
As a leader I can also increase productivity by promoting positive attitudes and motivation. Positive attitudes entail providing good working environments and establishing cordial relationships with the subordinates thus increasing their zeal and ambitions. Employees are further motivated by good leadership, understanding and responding to their needs and requirements thus increasing their productivity (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).
Empowering
Delegation and empowering others to exercise their abilities goes a long way to increase their productivity in the organization. Increasing their responsibilities and empowering them enables them to make full use of their skills and abilities. It also shows a level of recognition of their skills and abilities (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).
Rewarding
As a leader it is important to define a scheme that will be used to reward performing employees in order to increase and enhance their productivity. An elaborate compensation system that is equivalent to the extra effort and excellence is important. This recognition of extra effort makes them more productive (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).
These are conventional methods that are used by human resource managers to improve the efficiency and productivity of the human resource force. As a leader with the intent and objective of becoming a High Reliability Organization, one must in cooperate additional strategies to enhance productivity among other people in the organization.
As a leader it is important to create awareness and equip others and make them to be sensitive to the operations and activities in the organization. Through this awareness every employee will be vigilant and will always be sensitive to organization activities and processes that could bring problems in the future. Additionally, equipping them with skills and expertise to address these problems increases their productivity and the productivity of the organization at large (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008).
It is also important to create and establish a trust environment as a leader. When there is trust in the organization, information is freely shared and tasks can be accomplished more efficiently. It also creates harmony and fosters team work which is a major ingredient towards productivity and becoming a High reliability organization (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).
Productivity can further be improved through commitment and improved engagement. The saying goes ‘ no involvement no commitment’ (Delaney & Huselid, 1996)A leader should therefore enhance increased engagement with the other employees in the decision making process (Delaney & Huselid, 1996). Cultivate a culture of interacting and engaging with the team. This way, the people will feel they are part of the team and their contributions are appreciated. Additionally, they will feel that they are working with the leader and not for the leader. This creates positive attitude and increases productivity.
Creating a conducive working environment for the other subordinates also enhances their productivity. A leader should ensure that the working environment for all the employees is conducive which increases their productivity. It is also important that the leader establishes a culture where work is given a higher purpose. Through this culture the employees will be focused on ensuring that they effectively accomplish their assigned tasks (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008).
Finally, communication is an important aspect of leadership that ensures productivity and becoming a High Reliability Organization. People under your leadership should understand the goals, approaches and reasoning behind the decisions and choices made. This way, they will be sure of the what, why, when and how. Effective communication also allows productive engagement (Hines, Luna, & Lofthus, 2008).
Reference
Delaney, J., & Huselid, M. (1996). The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. Academy of Management journal, 949-969.
Hines, S., Luna, K., & Lofthus, J. (2008). Becoming a High Reliability Organization: Operational Advice for Hospital Leaders. VA: AHRQ.
Weick, K., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2001). Managing the unexpected: Assuring high performance in an age of complexity . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.