Managing People In A Global Context Assignment Sample

Introduction of Umpdfl-15-M Managing People In A Global Context Assignment

Get free written samples by our Top-Notch subject experts and Online Assignment Help.

Until recently, organizations have indeed been known to have difficulty balancing their workers' workloads with their own. Managers typically find it difficult to create an atmosphere where workers are driven to accomplish their goals, as per Jain and Pareek, (2019). Werner et al., (2021) also highlight that inadequate performance management (PM) is a major cause of an unbalanced workplace culture. In Dobre (2013), the word "Performance Management" refers to the communication between a manager and an employee to achieve a specified Organisational objective. Managers utilize this method of employee evaluation and motivation to help them meet the company's goals.

Even while PM is well-known for providing several benefits to various firms when well-organized and controlled, it may also have numerous negatives when poorly planned. According to Jain and Pareek, (2019), an organization's failure to establish an effective PM may be attributed to management's lack of clarity and the inability of the employee and manager to communicate honestly. In addition, Franco-Santos and Otley (2018) note that workers' perceptions of their supervisors might lead to errors or misinterpretations that harm the company's CEO. Performance management at Amazon has given rise to a number of problems, some of which are the subject of this article. This significantly lowers the organization's prime minister. Additionally, it is well-documented that a disorganized staff, poor communication, and a lack lustre assessment system impact the organization's PM.

Background of the Organisation

Formed in 1995 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon has now grown into one of the world's biggest e-commerce enterprises, engaging over 224,000 people globally (Ti and Huang, 2019). With a market capitalization of nearly $900 billion, Amazon surpassed Apple as the second-largest corporation in the world in 2018. The firm's success is largely due to its innovative business strategy and effective management of its employees. Cadabra was the initial name for Amazon.com (from Abracadabra). Because of this advice from Bezos' legal counsel, Bezos decided to remove the magic reference. Founded by jeff bezos Bezos as an online bookshop, with the company's headquarters in Seattle, Washington. A lack of sales tax in Washington State has made it such that Amazon may operate without collecting sales tax from its consumers in practically every state.

With $10,000 of his own money, Jeff Bezos started Amazon in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, together with a small crew, ran the company out of that garage. Including a $165 million Beverly Hills house and its own golf course, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has expanded his real estate portfolio, with properties throughout the United States and overseas (Sarapalo, 2020). As a retailer online, a maker of e-readers, and a supplier of Web services, Amazon.com has become a symbol of electronic commerce. Seattle, Washington, is home to the company's headquarters.

With millions of customers around the world, Amazon.com is a massive Internet-based company that offers everything from books to music to movies to housewares to gadgets to toys. Data storage and processing resources, referred to as "cloud computing," are among the company's Web offerings. According to Amazon.com, one percent of all North American Internet traffic passed through its data centers last year.

Part 1

Identification of appropriate People Management issues in Amazon

Unorganized workforce and miscommunication

As a start, inadequate and uncontrolled performance management in the company has led to a lack of organization amongst personnel and misunderstandings amongst them. Figure 1 below illustrates the "Justice theory of performance management", which states that elements such as voice, esteem, interpersonal contact, and the authority of power may affect an individual's performance (Bauwens et al., 2019). As Vajda (2019) says, workers may be influenced favorably or adversely by various elements. Justice theory's voice factor illustrates how hearing the opinions of workers offers them the opportunity to express themselves and become empowered. Employees' self-esteem and productivity might rise sharply of being treated with respect, which then in turn improves their relationships with their superiors. Finally, the management's decisions have an influence on the authority of the organization. Employees who are treated with dignity and respect and their sentiments properly understood may help the management of an organization make better decisions about how to organize the workforce. Misunderstandings between management and workers have contributed to the decrease in the use of performance management in the company.

“Justice theory of performance management amended from Barber and Simmering”

(Source: Bauwens et al., 2019)

Figure 2 below illustrates "Leon Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory", which proposes that people may alleviate psychological distress by reshaping their beliefs and behaviors in the direction they want (Harmon-Jones, 2019). Belief disconfirmation, forced compliance, and effort justification are the three key domains in which humans form assumptions, according to this theory. Disconfirmation of a person's belief might lead them to try to convince or compel others to endorse their own ideas in order to obtain support. Since there are problems with communication amongst workers, it may be said that a lack of organization at work might lead to conflict. Since little or no incentive is offered to the person, they further defend their views and stand with them. This is explained by the theory of induced compliance Byrne et al. (2017) claim that without a belief system, people are more likely to believe in anything.

“Cognitive Dissonance Theory”

(Source: Byrne et al., 2017)

It's possible that the organization's incentive structure contributes to employee burnout, which has a negative impact on productivity across the board. By increasing employee motivation and performance, it's easy to see how rewarding good work may influence their perspective. It is also said that if somebody is determined to attain their objective, they will exaggerate it to the point of drawing attention to it. Meaning that the employee who is already being misunderstood or who already has a strong belief that they are correct will further influence all rest of the workers by persuasively sculpting the reality in this scenario.

A misunderstanding in an Organisation, according to this notion, necessitates many perspectives and time periods. As a result of workers standing firm in their convictions, the job they were tasked with is completed with a high degree of accuracy and precision (Karim, 2019). This may lead to a significant decline in the performance of many employees, which has a direct impact on the success of the company as a whole.

Poor performance appraisal system

Using departmental metrics, the organisation is able to assess how well its people are doing their jobs. Furthermore, the departments are graded depending on the overall performance of its employees, and the individuals who have the lowest scores are occasionally fired from the organisation in order to save money. A drawback with this approach is that it fails to demonstrate how an employee's performance may be improved from inside. In the words of Saxena and Gupta, (2018), Rank and Yank's performance management approach outlines the procedures for evaluating employee performance assessments. As part of this plan, the employee who ranks lower than the others is dismissed, as explained by this strategy further (Byrne et al., 2017). As a result, the Bell Curve in Figure 3 is used to do this.

The Bell Curve

(Source: Parshuram and Hegde, 2021)

It's being used to rate the performance of workers using the bell curve. According to the bell curve, 70 percent of workers are portrayed as having average performance and meeting the expectations of the organization's performance evaluation system. The workers in the top 20% of the performance evaluation system are those who have gotten the most out of it. It is common for them to get financial incentives, such as a raise in salary or a monthly bonus. Employees that aren't productive make up the remaining 90% of those shown. Those personnel are more likely to be fired at the conclusion of the performance evaluation.

Using the forced ranking approach, as mentioned by Parshuram and Hegde (2021), is advantageous to those who do well. Because this strategy demoralises the employee's mentality, it complicates the employee's work performance. This is supported by Saxena and Gupta (2018), who claim that workers who are continually afraid of being dismissed would perform worse than those who are more driven in the workplace. That's why the use of an automatic ranking system isn't ideal for measuring staff productivity.

Inefficient goal setting and an organisational structure that is hierarchical

Function-based plus geographic divisions are common features of Amazon's organisational structure. The S Group is a team of top executives who report to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Everyone on the S Team is in charge of a certain department or business unit they are assigned to. The company's hierarchical organisational structure, which serves as the basis for the organisation, is detailed in Appendix A of this report. Managers will have a limited span of influence and a tiny number of subordinates in a hierarchical system (staff). As a result, employees' performance may decrease significantly as a result of a lack of coordination and an unhealthy work environment (Saxena and Gupta, 2018).

Employees directly report to middle management who do not have line supervisors, as shown in Appendix A of this report. Numerous difficulties have arisen in this organisation as a result of a lack of clear goal formulation and unachievable human targets. Appendix A demonstrates unequivocally that the majority of employees are not engaged in project activities, which implies they will be unable to perform their allocated obligations and hence lose motivation.

Edwin "Locke's goal-setting theory of motivation," shown in Figure 4, explicates on the preceding argument by arguing that improved performance may be attained by clearly articulating the purpose and offering honest feedback to the employees (Clements and Kamau, 2018). As a consequence, Swann et al., (2020) suggest that goal-setting theory can help individuals do their jobs more efficiently, eventually contributing to the company's overall success. The five pillars of goal-setting philosophy are "clarity, difficulty, devotion, input, and task complexity".

“Edwin Locke’s Goal-setting theory of motivation”

(Source: Swann et al., 2020)

According to clarity theory, goals should be presented in a clear and intelligible way in order for the action to be accomplished efficiently. Additionally, stated objectives must be difficult for workers to accomplish, and personnel should be committed to attaining the state's goals, as defined by challenge and commitment. Finally, this theory emphasises the critical nature of feedback and how tough tasks may motivate employees because they can be broken up into smaller sub-goals.

As a consequence, the previous techniques may be used to construct an objective. As a consequence of the hierarchical organisational structure, management is under pressure to develop goals for its employees. Management is worried that by defining objectives, employees with creative attitudes and experience will gain a competitive advantage in the future (Swann et al., 2020). Due to a lack of communication throughout the organization, employees are unsure how to do their duties, which has a detrimental effect on production.

Part 2

Recommendations to address the HR issues that Amazon faces

Establishing a Flat organisational structure

The flat organisational structure that was constructed was among the primary reasons for the decline in performance inside the organisation. A flat organisational structure might consequently be used by the organisation. There are several benefits to having a flat organisational structure, including the fact that each department's staff will specialise. It sets the standard for workers in terms of their responsibilities inside the company. Removes unnecessary managerial levels and increases staff communication and collaboration. Employees are able to make more informed decisions when there are fewer layers of management.

It is more difficult for criticism or ideas to be misunderstood in an organisation built on personal touch. By collecting information from the source instead than using an intercessory, C-Suite executives are able to reduce the amount of misinformation that might be spread in the workplace. Additionally, the C-Suite communicates directly with front-line employees, enabling them to make explicit modifications to their duties as required.

As a result of an organization's flat organisational structure, people feel more empowered in their jobs every day. Workers may concentrate on their strengths instead of trying to impress a boss whose evaluation goes into their personnel file, since there aren't as many people watching their backs or critiquing their ideas. Due to the lack of room for innovation in hierarchical workplaces, highly-skilled professionals typically suffer. Their inventiveness flourishes under a flat hierarchy. Career fulfilment isn't merely a matter of money for many people. It also gives them the opportunity to follow their hobbies, which is possible thanks to the organization's framework.

A flat organisational structure is also needed to implement the change process, which the management must decide on. Figure 5 depicts Kurt Lewin's model of change, which argues that there are three stages of change: unfreeze, change, and refreeze (Hussain et al., 2018). Preparing organisations for change is an important part of unfreezing. Challenge the workers' ideas and ideals, and also their attitude and behaviour. Management should also bear in mind that this stage might be the most demanding and challenging to achieve. This is due to the fact that people are accustomed to the way things have always been done, and they aren't prepared for a sudden shift.

Lewin’s 3- Stage Model of Change

(Source: Hussain et al., 2018)

This stage also explains how people explore for new approaches to accomplish things because they have confidence in the change. However, it is important for management to bear in mind that certain workers may still be resistant to the change. Finally, the refreeze stage shows how people begin to accept the new change and begin to implement it. To take this out even farther, the management may hold educational workshops and teach the staff on how to distribute the materials to their relevant departments as a result of this procedure.

Creating a well-managed, regulated system across the organisation

As shown in Figure 6, the "Control theory of performance management" shows how a company's performance management system may be sustained by developing or holding control over the system. Three sorts of control systems are mentioned in this theory: behaviour and output control systems and input systems. To begin, this idea of behaviour control emphasises the need of closely monitoring and assessing workers' every move. As there is only one section manager who is responsible for monitoring the workers in the organisation, it becomes difficult to do so. Behaviour control is essential under this idea because it provides managers with a clear picture of how effectively their workers are doing their duties (Ivanov et al., 2018). However, supervisors who are unable to assess their staff may have prejudiced opinions and treat the workers in the organisation unjustly.

Control theory of Performance management

(Source: Shafagatova and Looy, 2021)

As a result, output control emphasises the need of evaluating the performance of staff and rewarding them accordingly. Management is known to award incentives to workers unjustly because of a lack of assessment in the organisation. This leads to a decrease in productivity as a result. Last but not least, feedback determines how people are rewarded and trained to do their jobs better. In order to do this, management must monitor and reward workers in order to get insight into their thoughts and sentiments (Shafagatova and Looy, 2021).

Introducing a 360-degree performance appraisal system

A 360-degree performance evaluation system may be implemented instead of the rank and curve technique now used by the organisation. Using a "360-degree performance evaluation system", supervisors may anonymously submit feedback to workers, according to Zondo (2018). Accordingly, Figure 7 shows the components of this system in further detail.

– 360-degree performance appraisal

(Source: Craig and Hannum, 2006)

In the first place, the self-component is recognised to focus on assessing an employee's strengths and weaknesses. Once a functional organisation has been established, it will be simple to assign line managers to the various departments. Employees' perspectives are also captured via the use of peer reviews. This may assist identify the employee's understanding of the given job assignment, which will have an impact on the employee's performance. Internal customers may make up a portion of customer feedback, which may be useful in assessing an employee's overall skill set. Subordinates will provide feedback to their superiors, who will then bring it to the attention of the top management. Because it's done in a systematic manner, this has the potential to be much more successful in the workplace. Because of this, managers will make fewer mistakes and workers will be evaluated more fairly than with the Rank and Yank method.

As a result, having a 360-degree performance evaluation system may be fair, but it may also put the connection between co-workers at risk (Zondo, 2018). The reason for this is because workers may not be able to deal with the bad comments about their performance and so, they will be able to recognize which boss offered them the negative remarks. As a result, prior to rolling out this technology throughout the whole company, management must concentrate on these issues.

Conclusion

To put it simply, the problems that have emerged under PM have a deeper cause. First and foremost, inadequate goal formulation and a flat Organisational structure are major challenges facing PMs in the organization. This is why it is important to have a well-functioning Organisational structure in place. Furthermore, it is advised that this be done in accordance with Lewin's 3-Stage Model of Change, as discussed in the book.

Additionally, in order to avoid an uncoordinated workforce and misunderstandings, it is suggested that the management take charge of the company's personnel. The "Control theory of PM" will be used to analyze this from now on, highlighting the measures that must be taken to keep things under control. In addition, suggestions have been made for the establishment of a 360-degree performance assessment system to offer staff with appropriate feedback due to the organization's weak performance appraisal system.

To begin, this study makes it clear that in order to effectively manage performance management, the company must maintain rigorous control over its personnel. To ensure the long-term achievement of the company, they need also build an appropriate Organisational structure and rules for a better manager. In order to decrease injustice, tension, and unjustified internal competition, Amazon is urged to change its performance management system. Amazon, for example, could enhance its support network to assist employees better balance their work and personal lives. Amazon has to understand the true requirements of its workers in order to provide the right spiritual incentives to encourage excitement and creativity.

References

Jain, T. and Pareek, C., 2019. Managing cross-cultural diversity: Issues and challenges. Global Management Review, 13(2), pp.23-32.

Werner, C., Li, Z.S., Lowlind, D., Elazhary, O., Ernst, N.A. and Damian, D., 2021. Continuously managing nfrs: Opportunities and challenges in practice. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

Franco?Santos, M. and Otley, D. 2018. Reviewing and theorising the unintended consequences of performance management systems. International Journal of Management Reviews [Document]. 20(3), pp. 696-730. [Accessed 26 March 2022].

Ti, H. and Huang, L., 2019. Amazon Big Data Thinking-from Big Data Operations to Operational Data.

Sarapalo, J., 2020. Digital content popularity counting with Amazon Web Services.

Bauwens, R., Audenaert, M., Huisman, J. and Decramer, A., 2019. Performance management fairness and burnout: implications for organizational citizenship behaviors. Studies in Higher Education, 44(3), pp.584-598.

Vajda, É., 2019. Perceived justice as a crucial factor of performance management systems. Vezetéstudomány-Budapest Management Review, 50(5), pp.25-37.

Harmon-Jones, E.E., 2019. Cognitive dissonance: Reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology. American Psychological Association.

Byrne, Z.S., Manning, S.G., Weston, J.W. and Hochwarter, W.A., 2017. All roads lead to well-being: Unexpected relationships between organizational politics perceptions, employee engagement, and worker well-being. In Power, politics, and political skill in job stress. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Karim, D.N., 2019. Relationship between HRM Practices, Public Service Motivation, and Knowledge Sharing Behavior (Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Utara Malaysia).

Saxena, P. and Gupta, E., 2018. FAILURE OF ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND WAY FORWARD: A STUDY OF FEW SELECT COMPANIES. Advance and Innovative Research, p.49.

Parshuram, H. and Hegde, S. 2021. Bell curve appraisal: A critical view. Journal of Management Research and Analysis [Article]. 3(4), pp. 184-86. [Accessed 26 March 2022].

Zondo, R.W., 2018. The influence of a 360-degree performance appraisal on labour productivity in an automotive manufacturing organisation. South African journal of Economic and management sciences, 21(1), pp.1-7.

Hussain, S.T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M.J., Hussain, S.H. and Ali, M., 2018. Kurt Lewin's change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), pp.123-127.

Clements, A.J. and Kamau, C., 2018. Understanding students’ motivation towards proactive career behaviours through goal-setting theory and the job demands–resources model. Studies in Higher Education, 43(12), pp.2279-2293.

Swann, C., Rosenbaum, S., Lawrence, A., Vella, S.A., McEwan, D. and Ekkekakis, P., 2021. Updating goal-setting theory in physical activity promotion: a critical conceptual review. Health Psychology Review, 15(1), pp.34-50.

Ivanov, D., Sethi, S., Dolgui, A. and Sokolov, B., 2018. A survey on control theory applications to operational systems, supply chain management, and Industry 4.0. Annual Reviews in Control, 46, pp.134-147.

Shafagatova, A. and Van Looy, A., 2021. A conceptual framework for process?oriented employee appraisals and rewards. Knowledge and Process Management, 28(1), pp.90-104.

Craig, S.B. and Hannum, K., 2006. Research update: 360-degree performance assessment. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58(2), p.117.