Contemporary People Management: Work Design Report - [University Name]

This report delves into the realm of contemporary people management, focusing on the critical aspect of work design and its intricate relationship with employee alienation. The analysis commences with an examination of the concept of alienation, as defined by Marchington et al. (2016), highlighting its detrimental effects on workplace performance and employee well-being. The report then explores the theoretical underpinnings of alienation, tracing its origins to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807) and subsequently examining Marx's theory, which connects alienation to the capitalist mode of production and class struggle. The report also incorporates Erich Fromm's perspective on alienation, emphasizing its psychological dimensions and its impact on human interactions within social hierarchies. The report integrates key insights from Bratton and Gold (2017), Klikauer (2013), Vance and Paik (2014), and Wilkinson, Redman and Dundon (2016) to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Report writing on Work design
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
CONTEMPORARY PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Research
Insight into alienation
According to Marchington et al. (2016), alienation is when the individuals are
marginalized from the mainstream society. This alienation generates the feeling of
depression, adversely affecting the workplace performance. If an employee encounters
alienation, they experience incapability in terms of performing the allocated duties and
responsibilities in an efficient and effective manner (Klikauer 2013).
Hegel’s theory of alienation
The theme of alienation first appeared in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit (1807).
Hegel’s links modern life with alienation, which signifies materialistic world. As a matter of
specification, in this postmodern society, people strive to overcome the existentialist
struggles and end up finding the fragile existence in which they are just mere actors. Here,
alienation is the (futile) self discovery of the human in terms of fulfilling the basic needs.
Within this, the labours can be placed. This is in terms of the exploitation of their capability
by the selfish managers. In return, they get a fractured and worthless existence (Klikauer
2013).
Marx’s theory of alienation
The society is a mixture of people from different class and culture. This is the main
reason for generation of conflicts within them. These conflicts raise the feeling of seclusion
and marginalization, as they lack the ability to contradict the beliefs of the others. Marx has
adopted this seclusion for proposing the theory of alienation. Specifically, Marx proposes that
alienation from the self relates to the mechanism of the social class. Delving deep into the
aspect, “alienation from the self”, distorts the existence of the individuals, which raises

2
CONTEMPORARY PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
doubts over their classification into groups (Wilkinson, Redman and Dundon 2016). In terms
of business, Marx correlates alienation with the capitalist mode of production. In this, the
workers experience incapability towards determining the outcome of their actions. This
incapability adversely affects their thought process, which stalls the productivity.
Erich Fromm’s theory on alienation
Fromm proposes that the alienation affects the psyche of the individuals. The source
of this alienation is the interactions, which the individuals conduct with the people belonging
to the other people in the social hierarchy. His thoughts align with the usual characteristics of
the humans in terms of preferring the comfort zone for ensuring their security (Bratton and
Gold 2017). This affirms the fact that humans with similar characteristics can be grouped into
similar groups and classes. In terms of workplace, the workers seek help from the senior and
the experienced employees. This contradicts the feeling of alienation and adds value to
teamwork. However, during conflicts, the influential and the powerful people overpower the
weak employees. This generates the feeling of alienation, seclusion, ultimately landing in a
meaningless existence (Vance and Paik 2014).

3
CONTEMPORARY PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
References
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Klikauer, Thomas (2013). Marx and alienation - essays on Hegelian themes [Book Review],
Labour & Industry, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2013: 182-186
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A., 2016. Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Vance, C.M. and Paik, Y., 2014. Managing a global workforce: challenges and opportunities
in international human resource management. Routledge.
Wilkinson, A., Redman, T. and Dundon, T., 2016. Contemporary human resource
management: text and cases. Pearson Higher Ed.