TABLE OF CONTENTS When you have read this chapter and carried out the activities, you will be able to:
Understand the role of human resources (HR) in creating an effective working environment.
Grasp the significance of the psychological contract in influencing high-employee performance.
State the various motivation theories and their effect in practice.
Distinguish between the different strands of flexible working practices temporal, numerical, geographical, occupational and family-friendly.
Analyse in what circumstances these practices contribute to organisational effectiveness.
Demonstrate the value of an organisation where Total Quality Management (TQM) is practised.
Explain the importance of developing the culture of team-working.
We have seen in Chapter 1 that the competitive nature of the global economy combined with the changing social and demographic forces have led to organisations having to adapt their shape, structure, culture and ways of working. No longer can they expect a reliable and subservient market to allow them to grow and prosper in a steady and predictable rate. One of the major responses to this situation is to place more emphasis on effective ways of working, especially those that lead to the most efficient use of HR. An initial analysis of high-performance organisations was set out in Chapter 1, and you may wish to refresh your memory here before reading this chapter.
Building on the concept of high performance, this chapter will examine the concept and operation of the psychological contract, including research into the state of the contract in practice. All forms of high-performance working depend upon...
