High Performance Work Systems and Employee Well-being

The provided assignment delves into the concept of high performance work systems (HPWS) and their effects on employee well-being, organizational innovation, and professional development. It cites research papers and studies that explore how HPWS influence employee job satisfaction, intention to quit, and learning and innovation in organizations. The document also touches upon the importance of HR practices, such as training effectiveness, continuous learning, and balancing organizational and professional commitments. Furthermore, it discusses the role of high performance cultures in building a positive work environment and the need for organizations to invest wisely in employee development. Overall, this assignment offers insights into how HPWS can be leveraged to improve employee well-being, enhance organizational innovation, and promote professional growth.

UNIT 35 Developing
Individuals, Teams and
Organisations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
In today’s contending business environment, it is important for the businesses to develop
such effective strategies that in turn assist them to combat the intensive state of rivalry in the
market. For this, not only the operations, but the employees are also required to be handled in a
strategic way. This indicates a foremost responsibility of the human resource personnel for an
efficient management of teams working for an ultimate attainment of set organizational
objectives (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). It together necessitates the adoption of high
performance work practices also termed as HPWP to enhance the overall performance of the
firm. The current report has discoursed upon a similar aspect of developing team and individuals
to further contribute in the development of entire organization. It is based on a given case of
Whirlpool that is presently facing certain operational issues for being fewer active employees
who finds it hard to believe on shared goals.
P1
HR professionals plays an integral role in the organisation to effectively handle the
employees considering all regulatory and non regulatory aspects. They have a huge contribution
in developing individuals to form efficient teams who can work for successfully attaining the
undertaken objectives of organisations like Whirlpool. Although, they are together required to
possess certain effective skills depicting their key professional areas of knowledge and
behaviours. Below are the professional areas with several distinct skills and behaviours, that are
also required to exist in the HR professionals of Whirlpool- Professional areas include-
o Organisational design- This requires the HR professionals of the cited entity to
assure a suitable designing of the organisation in terms of serving to its set goals
and objectives in both long term as well as short term run (Coetzer and et.al.,
2017). Any requisite change in the structure is also needed to be managed in an
effective manner.
o Organisation development- This is basically to ensure having a committed
workforce who is fit for the future and is capable in terms of delivering the
organisation’s strategic ambition. It is done by assuring a supportive culture that
respects the organisational values by being assistive in continual enhancement of
its performance.
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o Resource and talent planning- In this, the HR’s are required to ensure
Whirlpool’s ability in determining as well as attracting such talented people who
will be able to achieve contending benefits for them (George, 2015). This also
states the need of balancing the resources to meet out the changing market
demands for fulfilling the entity’s both long term and short-term ambitions.
o Learning and development- This is basically to ensure a continual development
of skills and knowledge in workers employed in Whirlpool with an urge of
learning in themselves. However, for this, the HR’s are constantly required to
motivate them to steadily grow and perform in the most desired manner.
o Performance and reward- A high performance culture plays an utmost important
role in the accomplishment of organisational goals (Ford, 2014). For this, the
HR’s are required to plan and deliver such effective programs that are helpful in
recognising and rewarding critical skills of the workers. They are together
required to ensure a market based, cost effective and equitable reward systems at
the workplace to retain the talented workforce.
o Employee engagement- This is to ensure that all hired workers are positively
connected to each other at an emotional level. They are holding a considerate
nature towards one another which is required to work in groups and attain the set
targets. Skills and Behaviours involve-
o Curious- This necessitates the HR’s of Whirlpool to stay focussed about the
future and open minded to seek out evolving and inventive ways for adding
value to the enterprise (Jørgensen and Becker, 2015).
o Driven to deliver- This depicts the determination of the HR professionals and
their ingenuity to serve to the purpose of the companies like Whirlpool to further
deliver best possible outcomes.
o Collaborative- This is most significant behaviour of an HR where he or she
should be able to work efficiently as well as inclusively with a wide range of
individuals who may be inside or outside of the establishment (Mackay, 2017).
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o Decisive thinker- This is known to demonstrate the capability of HR’s in quickly
assessing the information and use it in a structured form to ascertain varied other
options that are robust and made out of dependable verdicts.
P2
This is to carry out a personal skills audit of mine to determine the suitable skills,
knowledge and behaviour of myself as an HR assistant. It will be done using a well-known skill
audit model called SWOT that will help in assessing my own skills and weaknesses to become a
successful HR professional in the future (West and et.al., 2014). It will also assist me in
discovering the future opportunities and upcoming threats in my specialised area to create a
professional development plan. Below is my undertaken SWOT analysis, considering my present
role of HR assistance and future aspiration of HR manager-
 Strengths- Being ab HR professional, I believe possessing effective skills of
communication with an added advantage of good interpersonal skills that helps me to
interact with others in the most desirable manner. Also, this assists me in maintaining
effective employee relations.
 Weaknesses- A foremost weakness in me is in terms of handling disputes where I am
often unable to give timely reactions and fails miserably in managing the entire
conflicted situation.
 Opportunities- Technical advancement is referred to be a foremost opportunity for me
to develop my technological skills and improve in the areas of practical working. This
is mainly on considering the progressive advancements in today’s competitive world
that is day by day increasing to a great extent (Strode and et.al., 2012). Due to which,
the HR’s are now compelled to use some uniquely designed software’s that also ease of
their work in terms of preparing the salary sheets and recording other such related data
about the employees, etc.
 Threats- An increasing level of competition is referred to be a major threat for me
where the new comers applying in the post of HR are known to possess various
advanced skills and are also aware of the new legislative norms to be applied at the
workplace.
On the basis of above conducted SWOT analysis, I have hereby framed a professional
development plan for me to become a successful HR professional in the future.
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Skills to be improved Activities Time frame
Conflict management
skills
 I will hereby refer
attending emotionally
centred training
sessions.
 Other than this, I will
also prefer using
simulations to
emphasise upon the
significance of non-
verbal communication.
2.5 months
Team handling abilities  I hereby believe
acquiring the art of
delegating power and
responsibility to the
teammates.
 For this, I am
intending to get more
into official meetings
and discussions to
innovate and inspire
people to believe in
themselves and enable
one own- self to work
hard and achieve
whatever goal they
want to attain in their
life.
 This will need building
a sense of confidence
1.5 months
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in them to trust their
own instinct with a
belief of making
everything possible to
attempt.
Capability of scheduling  This is basically to
improve upon my time
management skills that
hinders my ability of
making schedules at
the workplace.
 I will intend to do this
by using several time
management tools and
making my own
personal schedule that
involves planners that
are also available
online, in the form of
apps and are named as
ToDolist, Scoro or
Trello, etc.
3.5 weeks
Gap Analysis
Skills gap analysis is a tool used to determine the training andor hiring requirements of an
employee, group of the organization. The analysis helps in revealing the variances between the
existing and the required skill levels, as well as identifying the best strategies to close the gap or
reduce the variations.
Skills Importance Skill Level Required
Conflict management skills High Excellent
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Team handling abilities High Excellent
Capability of scheduling Moderate Good
P3
Learning being a pivotal aspect of almost each and every individual has a greater
contribution of training and development. However, it can be done at both individual and
organisational level with similar importance at all 2 stages. There exists a slight difference in the
criterion adopted by both and is as demonstrated below-
Basis of comparison Individual learning, training
and development
Organisational learning,
training and development
Meaning  This refers to the
opportunity of learning
at an individual level.
 It is also known to
define the career path
of the individuals
undertaking it in a
realistic way (Rahim,
2017).
 This in turn help them
to perform actively and
with competent skill
sets of their own.
 Individual learning is
also known as an act of
knowledge
management.
 Learning, training and
development at
organisational level
showcases an
opportunity of evolving
the existent skills
through feedback and a
practical experience of
work.
 Also, the training and
development provided
by the organisation is
highly specialised that
in turn assists an
individual to perform
exceptionally (Sung
and Choi, 2014).
Resources required  This is to discourse
upon the resources
needed to undertake
 This mainly involves
training sessions at the
workplace in the form
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learning, training and
development at an
individual level, that
includes e-learning
portals, classes for
coaching, etc (Belbin,
2012).
of conferences,
meetings and seminars,
etc., in which
professionals from
different fields are
being invited to train
and develop
employees.
Benefits  A foremost benefit of
this is to develop
oneself individually in
terms of progressing in
the chosen career path
(Chang, 2015).
 This is advantageous in
terms of performing
remarkably well in the
workplace and earn
high end rewards and
incentives that includes
both monetary and
non-monetary benefits.
Agenda  It is evident to assists
in self growth of an
individual by together
assisting him or her to
fulfil any future
aspirations.
 The main agenda of
this type of learning,
training and
development is to grow
as a professional.
 It together assists in
combating the state of
competition in the
market due to growing
skills and an urge
towards learning new
things (Fabi,
Lacoursière and
Raymond, 2015).
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P4
Skills Evaluation
Need to work on it. Not totally sure Confident
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KNOWLEDGE
Technical knowledge
Ethical standard
International HR
SKILLS
Communication
Multi-task
Leadership
BEHAVIOUR
Adaptability
Adding value
Continuous professional development, also termed as CPD and learning is of utmost
importance for not only the individuals, but also for the enterprises like Whirlpool. It is basically
referred to be a procedure of documenting as well as tracking the skills that are gained either
formally or informally as per the work done and experiences gained on the basis of that. It
basically represents a record of what has been experienced, learnt and applied (Fu and et.al.,
2015). CPD is important in terms of ensuring a continual competency in the profession and is an
ongoing procedure during one’s professional career. It is important at both personal and
professional level where at a personal stage, continuous learning is all about constantly
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expanding the skills and skill sets by raising knowledge. However, at a professional level, it is all
about growing the acquired skills sets to respond the fluctuating demand, depicting newer
developments in the market.
In Whirlpool, strong continuous skills of learning are needed for a successful adaptation of
changed work to meet the changing life demands. It thereby involves observing the recorded
experiences as potent learning to reconsider values, assumptions, methods, policies and
practices. CPD consists of several number of benefits from both perspective of employees and
employers. From employee’s viewpoint, CPD is beneficial for career progression by keeping the
skills UpToDate (Heffernan and Dundon, 2016). It together contributes in creating a professional
sense of direction in the workers by building the sense of credibility and confidence in them.
From employer’s point of view, there exists a primary benefit of CPD that enables them to
ensure high and consistent standards across the workplace. CPD together encourages a greater
engagement at work among the employees with a better sense of commitment towards their
respective job roles. At last, CPD is known to maximise the potential in staff members by
improving them morale of employees and provide a valuable benchmark to them for yearly
reviews and drive sustainable business performance.
P5
The system of HPW system is specifically designed to enhance the efficiency of the
workers to help them create productive results. However, an operative utilization of this can
result in reducing the costs for Whirlpool by together creating values for the workers. The factors
of HPW system includes job engagement, organisational identity, employee creativity, voice and
proactive behaviour (Mackay, 2017). The interrelationship among all of these factors directly
influences the employees and their performance at work affecting the organisation’s intended
outcomes. An HPW system is known to emphasise more upon involving the employees by
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reflecting a greater sense of commitment in them to create a positive organisational culture
which is not based upon control.
This type of culture is often in pursuit of excellence in work with a major stress of hiring
as well as retaining well qualified employees who are highly competent and are continually
engaged in the practices of improving the organisations like Whirlpool. Apart from this, an
extensive investigation of this concept has revealed facts which state HPW system to have some
very common administrative practices which leads to create contending benefits for the
organisation to raise its performance and produce huge profits by engaging employees. With a
similar consideration of HPW system, the HR’s of Whirlpool are together required to undertake
certain effective practices to engage workers and achieve competitive advantages. This includes- Ensuring the security of employees- The HPW system is known to advocate the creation
of high trust partnership with the workers to build a sense of greater commitment in them
(Peleman and et.al., 2018). Considering the same, Whirlpool is also required to create
some effective employment security related policies that in turn shows a dedicated
outlook of the quoted entity towards its employees. This will not only build trust of their
workers but will together lead to create a superior sense of responsibility in them.
 Making selective hiring’s- This is yet another important aspect of HPW system in which
a careful evaluation of new hiring is needed to be made. For this, the HR professionals of
the cited enterprise will be required to critically identify the skills and traits of their
workers. This will lead to a better hiring system to employ workers who fit into the job
requirements, avoiding the selection on the basis of their academic pedigrees.
Both aforesaid measures are apparent to create an HPW system to engage the workers and
creating a competitive edge for the company to perform effectively in the marketplace (Sessa and
London, 2015).
P6
Performance management is stated to be a rapidly fluctuating part of talent management system.
It is generally done using various methods of performance appraisal and is meant to be a
procedure, through which, an employee’s performance can be administered within a specific
period of time to further search some effective ways for bringing improvement (ABDALLAH
and AHLUWALIA , 2012). Although, in today’s modernised world, it is important to adopt the
advanced methods of performance management that should completely differ from the
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traditional means. This is on considering the typical arrangement of traditional performance
management procedure that is too much focussed on the organisational aspects, rather taking
care of the individuals. Before choosing the most suitable mean, the expected outcomes must be
clearly known to the HR’s of Whirlpool. The new approaches are hereby expected to focus more
upon the employees and their welfare to perform competently. The new approaches to
performance management thereby involves-
 Shifting the frequency of feedback- This is basically to eliminate the review done
annually on the basis of employee’s performance. It must be replaced by real time
and frequent feedback from the peers, managers as well as the customers. For which,
several software platforms are required to permit immediate feedback, consisting of
positive criticism and actionable perceptions. It can be done using the method of
360-degree feedback. This involves multiple raters to assess the performance of a
worker through a specially designed questionnaire for them who regularly interacts
with the employee.
 Better conversations- This request for a much more disciplinary approach to speak
with the workers about their carried performances (Dewar and Keller, 2012). It also
being a part of frequent feedback shows a great role of managers to assist workers
perceive their roles that further impacts upon the goals.
 Bottom up approach- This is referred to be yet another important aspect of making
employee responsible. It is also on referring to the fact of top down approach while
setting the business goals, However, once it is done, the HR’s of Whirlpool can
consider giving the ownership of individual target setting to the workers to
themselves set their priorities and align the same with the set organisational
objectives. It can be done with assistance of a well- known appraisal method called
Management by objective (MBO) that has a greater contribution of managers.
All the above specified approaches are also expected to create a high-performance culture at
the workplace for being collaborative in nature (Ford, 2014). This in turn will build a greater
sense of commitment in the workers to perform in a well competent manner and help achieving
the undertaken goals of Whirlpool.
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CONCLUSION
The above report is based on the undertaken practices of Whirlpool to resolve its ascertained
issues at work. It is with a special consideration of developing team, individuals and organisation
to with assistance of proficient HR professionals at the workplace. It is thereby divided into 4
essential parts with a foremost assessment of HR’s knowledge, skills and behaviour. This has
been followed by the evaluation of those factors that are important for driving a sustainable
business performance that is also encompassing the practices of learning and development. After
which, a trend-based contribution of HPW has been applied to contribute in effective employee
engagement to gain contending benefits. Lastly, this report has evaluated several effective ways
of managing performance through a cooperative work culture and thorough communication to
build up a supportive and committed culture of work.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Belbin, R. M., 2012. Team roles at work. Routledge.
Chang, Y.Y., 2015. A multilevel examination of high‐performance work systems and unit‐level
organisational ambidexterity. Human Resource Management Journal. 25(1). pp.79-101.
Coetzer, A. and et.al., 2017. Challenges in addressing professional competence expectations in
human resource management courses. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. 55(4).
pp.454-475.
Fabi, B., Lacoursière, R. and Raymond, L., 2015. Impact of high-performance work systems on
job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit in Canadian
organizations. International Journal of Manpower. 36(5). pp.772-790.
Ford, J.K., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.
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George, C., 2015. Retaining professional workers: what makes them stay?. Employee
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