Management of People and Organizations: Employee Management Report

This report provides an executive summary analyzing employee management strategies within different organizational structures, focusing on case studies of ALDI and W.L. Gore & Associates. It explores the merits and limitations of each company's approach, highlighting the impact of liberal versus command-and-control work environments on human resources. The report delves into strategic approaches, including ALDI's high-salary, part-time employment model and W.L. Gore's lattice structure, evaluating their effects on employee motivation, productivity, and company culture. It also assesses challenges faced by both organizations and provides recommendations for improving employee management, emphasizing the importance of leadership, communication, and fostering a healthy work-life balance. The report advocates for a collaborative environment that encourages innovation and employee autonomy while addressing the need for structured guidance and consistent performance standards. The conclusion stresses the significance of adapting management strategies to foster both employee well-being and organizational success.

Management of People and
Organizations

Executive summary
Every organization needs a structure to operate systematically. The main aim of the
report is to analyze the various approaches of employee management in different organizational
structure. In the present report provides the two different organizational scenarios in which one
company offer a liberal work environment, on the other hand, another company operated in strict
command managed the working environment. The findings reveal that both the organizational
structures are facing human resource issues due to their working conditions and control applied
over the human resources. Here, the case of Gore company reflects that employees are working
without the support of leader and any strict command authority whereas ALDI follows the robust
approach wherein employees do not get a chance to work with collaboration. Here, it has been
suggested for the businesses to improve its company culture and provide employees with healthy
working and personal life. Moreover, the structure of Gore company can be ineffective because
the employee will not get continues improvement in their performance and the business might
face the issue in its growth. Therefore, approach leadership, strong culture and consistent
communication are suggested for the successful operation of the company.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR EMPLOYEES’ MANAGEMENT............................................5
Merits and limitation of ALDI’s people management.................................................................5
Merits and limitation of W.L Gore & Associates, Inc.................................................................7
Advocating the level of employee control in both case studies...................................................8
CHALLENGES FACED IN THE IN CASE OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS.................................9
Challenges faces by W. L Gore & Associates, Inc......................................................................9
Challenges faces by ALDI organization....................................................................................10
RECOMONADATION.................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human Resources Management (HRM) is the process of handling workforce in the
organization and planning for their growth and development so they can support towards the
successful operation of the business (Llorens and Battaglio Jr, 2010; Lengnick-Hall, Beck and
Lengnick-Hall, 2011). In this context, the department of HRM deals with potential issues faced
by the personnel, performance review programs and training and development which ensure their
active involvement in the corporation (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). In this context, the present
report discusses the HRM approaches used in different case studies. For this purpose, leadership
or employment management approaches used in each case study are critically analyzed by
referring relevant academic sources. Furthermore, challenges faced by the organizations of case
studies in managing the workforce are also examined along with the suggestions to improve the
current way of management. Moreover, recommendations have been provided for the next phase
of the businesses by the support of critical engagement with the relevant concepts and theories.
STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR EMPLOYEES’ MANAGEMENT
In the given case scenarios both companies follow the different strategic approaches to
manage the human resources which have their benefits and limitations. These are explained as
follows-
Merits and limitation of ALDI’s people management
The case study of ALDI shows that paying above average salary to workers tends to
reduce the labor cost because it does not have to pay the extra wage for the overtime. Although,
it is crucial for the business since it aims to offer to discount pricing for customers in the food
retail where the approaches for reducing the cost must be implemented better. This makes it
possible for a business to offer the products and services at a relatively low price. In this context,
Yukl (2008) asserted that offering product in the lower price is the effective aspect to obtain the
competitive edge, but it must not be the result of employee exploitation. However, it has been
evidenced in the case study that employees are not being offered the benefits for the overtime
work rather they are exploited by paying relatively higher wages for the basic working hours. For
example, in the quest for competitive advantages, ALDI hire and pool employees on higher
salaries as compared to other food companies which are the biggest benefit provide by the

company to attract the employees. However, instead of the higher salary company took extra
effort from the employee and did not compensate for extra working life. This overtime may help
in increasing the productivity of the company and profit maximization but influences employee
working life negatively. In this context, Caruso (2014) asserted that this long hour work shifts
directly impacts both physiology and psychology of employees. According to that shift work and
long work, hours impacts the employee's health which increases the risk of reduced performance.
Furthermore, the company continues the effort on the more on part-time staff instead of
full-time job seekers. In this context, Joyce, Pabayo, Critchley and Bambra (2010) stated that
company who follows the part-time employment policy are high in the productivity because this
part-time policy reduces the labor cost and provides the flexible working environment. Further,
this flexibility attracts more workers by which a manager can schedule them whenever work is
needed. However, this part-time employment reduces the chances of unionization which is
beneficial for the company but harmful for employees in the long run. This is because part-time
employees often receive no benefits like sick benefits, retirement benefits. On the other hand,
employing more and more employees on part-time contracts in its shop enables ALDI to get the
higher level of work performance at lower labor cost. This indicates that although business is
effectively contributing towards profit maximization the approach of taking more part-time
employees might affect the future performance.
Furthermore, ALDI case shows that to encourage the higher rate of performance ratio, the
company follows the up or out principle. According to that employees are bound to grow faster
rather they would be redundant. However, the policy of up and out affect the motivation of
employees since it does not allow them to work in the team as it increases the intrateam
competition. In this context, Macky and Boxall (2007) asserted that command-and-control is not
always counter-productive. However, many managers in a position of authority target other
employee and monitor their mistake to report upper management to maintain owns position. In
this regard, on one side this approach generates insecurity in the employees for a job and they try
to work in a more disciplined manner. On the other hand, it also generates mistrust and grievance
in employees for the company. Here, Ohly and Fritz (2010) stated increasing complaints and
distrust among personnel has a negative impact on the overall performance of the business. This
does not promote the innovation and creative instead force personnel to stay in their boundary to
perform their job.

Merits and limitation of W.L Gore & Associates, Inc
The case study of W.L Gore & Associates, Inc shown that the lattice structure in
management play a significant role to encourage the communication and innovation but it also
creates challenging situations as it seeks to respond to changes faced by the business to obtain
the competitive edge in the marketplace. As shown in case, to maintain the collaborating
environment in Gore Company people work as associates, not as employees or managers. In this
regard, Kompaso and Sridevi (2010) asserted that the productivity of the business is increased
when employees are treated as the business associated. However, Stone and Stone (2013) argued
that it is not necessary that all workforce can work independently which may affect the overall
progress of the business to a great extent. Besides, Malmi and Brown (2008) stated a company
must have a balanced ratio of employees and managers then it may affect the operation of the
business. This indicates that it is crucial for the business to appoint a manager to monitor the
performance of the workforce effectively. This, in turn, increases productivity as well as the
performance of employees.
According to the case in Gore Company employees have no specific leader as they all
are associates and initially they work in the different teams In this context Meyer (2008) asserted
that the flexibility of the lattice organization structure enables employees to shape their career by
working in the multiple units. However, in such a scenario, it is hard to find specific roles which
result in the compensation and performance standards. In this regard, Gumusluoglu,
Karakitapoğlu-Aygün and Hirst (2013) stated that due to a lack of standardization in lattice
structure it becomes hard for the business to provide the appropriate bonus from a performance
of the workforce. This might have a negative impact on the competitive edge of the company in
the long-term.
Furthermore, to enroll every employee as the innovator and create collaborative
environment Gore Company implies the innovation democracy approach. According to this
approach, everyone communicates directly to each other without following any particular
hierarchy of instruction and they become their leader. In this context, Widhiastuti (2012)
asserted companies without effective leader might face an issue in the long term because the
employee will not be able to work with a higher level of motivation. Also, the leaders play an
essential role in dealing with the issues of employees and promote the teamwork to increase the
business performance. This reflects that Gore company needs effective leadership through which

employees can work with a higher level of standards and accomplish the set objectives at the
right time. Also, the scope of improvement will not be found if they will work without any leader
or manager.
By following the lattice structure, Gore company have highly trained employees and they
are free to make their own decisions. In such a condition when the employee feels that they have
power and responsible for company operation and progress, they work harder and take personal
interest to ensure the success of the business. However, it is not always possible that all
employee possessed equal expertise and specialized in their field of work. This is because the
workforce has to put efforts to derive the outcome in term of their development and getting the
financial and non-financial incentives. According to Medina (2012), a lattice organization
requires employees whose discipline and motivation is extremely high. It is challenging to find a
group of workers that can show the motivation needed for this lattice structure. Creating
motivation is difficult in a structured lattice organization because there is no one to provide
motivational activities (Benko and Anderson, 2010; Men, 2014). Another limitation associated
with this type of organizational structure is the timeliness that decisions are made. In this lattice
structure decision is based on a large amount of interaction between the associates and who come
up with the best answer. This procedure tends to be time-consuming which affect the operational
activities of the business (Costanzo et al. 2009).
Advocating the level of employee control in both case studies
In the present case study, both the approaches increase the company productivity, but
W.L Gore & Associates, the higher level of employee autonomy is more suitable in the current
business scenario. As for today's competitive edge in the employee control structure everybody
tries to snitch each other position to maintain their goodwill whereas in the lattice structure all
are at the same level without any boss. According to Harris (2005), the organizations with the
collaborative environment tends to increase innovation and creativity. This needs the extensive
support from the management and leader who ensure to provide the training and development
facilities for workers so they can accordingly ensure their career growth (Bailey, Mankin,
Kelliher and Garavan, 2018). AS in ALDI case, employees work in the pressure that upper
management may complain about their silly mistakes like improper office management time, etc.
which reflects in their performances. Also, in the ALDI approach, titles are significant they are
the sign of their performance, power and way of increasing value in the labor market.

On the contrary, in the Gore approach everyone is associate; however, the additional title
that Gore’s employee earns is the leader who only used to identify people who have developed
followers naturally. This reflects that employees do not have any authority instead of completing
the given objectives from teams. In this regard, ALDI rigorous employee control encourages the
high level of politics which builds major grievance in employees. This may also affect
organizations ethical standards. In this perspective, W, L, Gore lattice structure managed
employees seem comparatively useful and the direct communication at every phase reduces
conflict. In this way, ALDI might follow certain practices of Gore' structure for boosting the
confidence of the workforce.
CHALLENGES FACED IN THE IN CASE OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS
Organization structure is based on the company’s vision and long-term goal. In the
success of any business their organizational structure plays a crucial role (Daft, Murphy and
Willmott, 2010; Armstrong and Taylor, 2014) In developing global business environment W. L
Gore & Associates, Inc and ALDI both implies a different type of organizational structure which
have their own merits and challenges shortly. Here, the significant challenges that can be faced
by the companies on the basis of the given scenario are as follows-
Challenges faced by W. L Gore & Associates, Inc
As shown in the case of Gore Company everybody is associates and there is no
traditional bureaucracy. In such condition, the major challenge faced by the company will be the
seeking legitimacy from outside partners or clients. Also, Gore company have no such specific
job descriptions due to its structural design which might become difficult for the growth of the
business since the appropriate strategies might not be formed in the absence of manager or
leader. In this regard, Downs and Adrian (2012) asserted that it is easier to communicate if
people have a rigid job description whereas less systematic structure creates barriers in
addressing the issues of the workforce. At this juncture, employees should be well informed
about their job or tasks to be done through which they can ensure their career growth also
become can effectively operate with the more significant level of success (Cooren, Kuhn,
Cornelissen and Clark, 2011). Apart from this, the case study reflects that consumers will also
find it difficult to get their queries resolved due to an absence of a specific department. This may
create the situation of switching from one to another brand.

Furthermore, another challenge that company may face is major internal conflicts due to
unequal distribution of power and less empowerment. As shown in case that Gore Company
discards manager and the all workforce work from balanced approach without any specific span
of control. Such a system may produce confusion about who is in charge in connection to make
the critical decision which causes the middle manager to feels powerless even though company
states that employees have more freedom to make the decision. This scenario may deviate
business from its purpose and it will be tough to determine the success of the company
conclusively. In this regard, Mowday, Porter and Steers (2013) asserted that it is not necessary
that all employees will have the ability to self-discipline which is needed to operate in such an
organizational structure. At this juncture, the semi-skilled workers might affect the productivity
and they may also have lower motivation without any learning at the workplace.
Another challenge which may be faced by the Gore organization will be attracting and
retaining talent. As Gore Company is associated in a way that employees are confused about
their roles and responsibilities. This confusion about the self-positioning increases dilemma in
employees mind over their career development and results in employee dissatisfaction. Here,
Medina (2012) asserted that employee dissatisfaction is the basis of increasing employee
turnover. This will challenge the organization market position.
Challenges face by ALDI organization
The ALDI corporation operates with higher control over its employees by following the
hierarchy of instruction. The organization may face the major challenge would be high employee
turnover. In this context Manson, (2014) mentioned that high employee turnover is the result of
employee dissatisfaction and organizational ineffectiveness. Also, it increases the overall cost of
the business of hiring the new employees and giving them the training to be expert in their field.
However, the ALDI company presently high in the productivity but due to its rigorous employee
control management such as heavy workload, performance issues and the employee politics may
increase the psychological pressure on the employees. These circumstances lead grievance in the
employee and they tend to seek another opportunity for their career growth (Briscoe, Tarique and
Schuler, 2012). Therefore, the current pattern of the corporation to focus on profitability and
customer satisfaction will have an adverse effect in the future.

As studied ethical standards should be followed by the business for offering them
overtime payment and providing them appropriate working condition (Bratton and Gold, 2017;
Wright and McMahan, 2011; Chelladurai and Kerwin, 2017). This may increase the aggression
of workforce in term of strike and lockouts with a demand for paying the overtime payment. At
this juncture, the company may face ethical issue because ethically it is not right to exploit the
workforce. These ethical issues may have a negative impact on the overall performance of the
business shortly. It is because the workforce requires a portal to discuss their concerns and
determine their well being on the cost of their efforts put for the organizational effectiveness. In
this regard, Carroll and Buchholtz (2014) asserted that business who are not efficiently following
the ethical code or carrying out their social responsibility leads to broader consequences.
Unethical behavior may damage a company's reputation in the future and make it less appealing
to stakeholders. However, Bowie (2017) argued that in a free market economy the profit is to
ensure maximum social benefit, so business ethics are not needed. Employees most fundamental
obligation is loyalty to the company regardless of the ethics. Although, in the current competitive
environment this scenario does not work and ALDI may need to increase its cost of paying even
the higher payment including the overtime payment by considering the issues related to
employee turnover and aggression among the workforce.
Another challenge that ALDI company could face shortly is lack of collaboration and
teamwork. In this regard, Galegher, Kraut and Egido (2014) stated that cooperation in the
workplace is one of the most critical influences on productivity, especially in the team-based
environment. In ALDI corporation management control that limits the team bonding would hurt
the motivation level of the workforce. Although, the less motivation personnel negatively affect
the reputation of the business through offering poor quality of services to end users. However,
Belbin (2012) mentioned that lack of cooperation adversely affects employee's productivity
which directly reflects in the company performance in the long run. This demands business to be
positive and supportive towards the workforce to determine their extensive support for increasing
customer satisfaction.
RECOMMENDATION
From the above discussion, both the companies can face some significant performance
challenges shortly due to its organizational structure which needs to be resolved sooner for long-

run sustainability of an organization. The suggested strategies would be effective in securing the
competitive edge of the business-
 Flexible work environment-In this context, ALDI employee turnover could be
influenced in upcoming years due to its rigorous controlling management structure. In
such a state, the company should reform their human resources management in which
they should change their approach to managing employees. For this company should
adopt flexible working life approach as adopted in case of Gore company. This strategy is
beneficial to increase the keen interest of the workforce towards the given tasks as it
boosts their morale to improve their performance (Kotter, 2008). W. L Gore Associates
had adopted this flexible work-life strategy from the very beginning which is the main
reason for their smooth human resources management. Nonetheless, ALDI should apply
several changes such as flexible working hours, compensate on overtime and sick leaves,
etc. to both full time and part-time employees. This changes in structure create a healthy
working life through which employee can enjoy both personal and professional growth
and feel connected to the organization.
 Situational leadership-As ALDI has powerful leadership control whereas Gore
company lacks in the lead due to its structure. Several studies show that strong leadership
plays a crucial role in maintaining and smooth run for the business. In this context Men
(2014) asserted that effective leaders bring people together and enable them to work
together to achieve a common goal. In such a scenario, companies should focus on the
leadership qualities of employee and apply for the situational leadership program.
According to that program leader of the companies should establish a vision,
communicate by a various strategy to the employee to resolve their issues.
 Employee engagement- Both case studies show the requirement of engaging employees
to the managerial decision-making process to increase their expertise and boost their
motivation level. Here in such circumstances company should improvise their human
resources managerial skills. In this company should appoint a specific spokesperson on
certain issues and a supervisor who can monitor employees’ performance and get their
feedback. This would be helpful in understanding the viewpoint of employees and also
determining their growth by assessing the scope of improvement. These changes will

ensure employee that their career graph is consistent in the organization and they feel
satisfied.
 Active company culture- As ALDI has employees control management structure which
put pressure on the employees to grow upward instantly. This will increase top
competition and lack of collaboration behavior. This further influence company ethical
and socio-culture in future which can be harmful to the brand image. In such a scenario, a
company should promote such type of company culture where the collaboration and the
cooperative environment can develop. In this regard, Kompaso and Sridevi (2010)
mentioned that to increase the productivity in business management should set specific
goals and encourage competition among team by setting the motivators.
Moreover, the company should state company vision and demonstrate various ethical
standards promptly. Management should also behave as a role model on moral grounds.
Besides, a company should arrange different training and team building activities which
can encourage cooperative behavior. Here, both companies should focus on their human
resource management and maintain the balance between their organization structure. In
this regard, ALDI should adopt a sort of leniency for employees stressful working
condition as evidenced in the Gore lattice structure. On the other hand, Gore company
should foster positive leadership and command operated management skills for the
smooth run of business in future.
CONCLUSION
The report mentioned above stated that every organization needs a structure to operate
systematically. Any organization can use the organizational structures if the structure fits into the
nature and maturity of the organization. In most cases, organizations evolve through structures
when they progress through and enhance their processes and workforce. According to several
studies, it has been concluded that employee control management can increase productivity at the
individual level, but it improves the stressful working life. On the other hand, lattice structure
encourages innovation and creation in the organization by direct communication process, but it
lacks the specific designation which may impede the future growth of the business.