The result achieved by effectively using these principles and practices help provide a blueprint o identify an organization’s needs, as well as the needs of its employees. With this information it is then possible to develop a work atmosphere in the best interest of both parties. By doing this, an organization Is likely to have a more motivated workforce, which in turn reduces turnover, increases productivity, and in some cases increases profit.
In the case study, Bartlett the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street, a polytonal character named Bartlett Is hired to work for a nameless lawyer, who falls on many occasions to utilize these principles in his dealings with his employees; this s especially the case in his efforts with Bartlett. Even still, his failure to utilize these practices Is revealed long before the Introduction of Bartlett, who simply exposes his failures to the fullest.
The lawyer’s lack of knowledge in HARM eventually costs him a lot more than his new hire is worth. Although, the effective use of HARM principles and practices would have allowed the lawyer to identify many of the problems he encountered beforehand, and the possibility of avoiding them all together. As previously mentioned, the organizational problems presented in the story began long before the hiring of Bartlett.
When the lawyer, who Is also the narrator, introduces the reader to his staff, prior to Barterers hiring, he describes in great detail many of the undesirable behaviors he allows two of his employees, Turkey and Nippers, to engage In on a regular basis with little to no regard (Melville, 201 1, pig. 6-7). Menarche and Jenkins explain “if a company’s success is measured by the skill, energy and dedication of its “human capital,” then surely managers need to start thinking about how to create a cultural Infrastructure that defines, nurtures, and harnesses the power of this critical resource” (as cited in Eroded, 2002, Para. . Additionally,J. Panache and E. Caber address how human resource planning can lead to a company culture that identifies with the success of the organization, and the hiring of employees who strengthen that culture (as cited in Eroded, 2002, Para. 9). The lawyer’s behavior is consistent throughout the entire story, which allows Barley’s Insubordination to fit right Into a company culture lacking necessary discipline.
In the beginning of the story the lawyer introduces, to the reader, several issues he has with his employees, but he fails to do anything about correcting their behavior. He consistently overlooks their behavior by Justifying It with the “good work” they do some of the time (Melville, 2011, pig. 6, 7). Aids defines discipline as “the process that corrects undesirable behavior,” and the lack of it allows the punishment, but a development process utilized to achieve organizational goals and expectations (2013, pig. 220).
According to HARM principles, the person in charge has a duty to correct undesirable behavior in order to have it consistent with the goals of the organization. Although in this case, even if the lawyer attempts to discipline his employees, he has no policies to reference if there were ever a disciplinary proceeding, and the absence of these policies helps to identify why the lawyer has no control over the employees within his organization. Work policies, or human resource policies are vital to the success of any business organization.
These policies should be developed at the formation of the business, and they should be based on its strategic plan in an effort to assist managers in achieving the goals and expectations of the company; they are the blueprint of how daily communications with employees should be handled. When questions or problems need to be addressed, due to these policies managers are able to effectively determine the appropriate way to deal with a particular situation. It is not expected for managers to know every aspect of every policy, but it provides them with knowledge that assists in effectively managing their employees.
These policies are Just as important to the employees of an organization as well; they help new employees understand what is to be expected of them within the organization, while giving current employees a reference to consult in their everyday work matters (Allergen, & Klein, 2000, Para. , 3). As the story shows, the lawyer did not have any policies in place to address the performance issues of his employees; therefore, any performance issues that were demonstrated continued to remain unresolved.
Unresolved performance issues can cause extended problems in the workplace because they may not Just affect the individual’s work, but can also have a negative effect on the attitudes and opinions of their co-workers as well. This may lead to other employees imitating the same issue with the thinking that it is not a behavior the company finds undesirable, which means that any performance issues need to be dealt with early on to help prevent a larger problem later. It is the HER professionals “Job to develop policies and procedures dealing with such problems” (Aids, 2013, pig. 219).
A clear indication of how important it is for human resource policies to be developed before actually hiring employees. Also, with these policies in place a manager is able to effectively evaluate the performance of his or her employees. In Melville story, the lawyer fails to evaluate the performance of his employees. The reader is allowed to know his Houghton about some of the performance issues within his organization, but the issues are rarely, and if ever addressed, very passively to the employees themselves. As Melville identifies, “though indeed, occasionally, I remonstrated with him.
I did this very gently’ (2011, pig. 6). The lawyer’s passive communication had little to no affect on the behavior he deemed undesirable, which allowed the continuation of this behavior. As Aids explains, “a performance appraisal is a method by which Job performance is measured” (2013, pig. 39), and “the exercise should also provide the organization with a dynamic control measure especially so when the integration of the administrative, developmental, and strategic needs of the firm is intended” (Carrot, & Humphreys, 2008, Para. 3, 5).
In this particular case, strategic control measures are not administered, specifically performance appraisals that For instance, problem-solving interviews in which the “employee and the manager discuss the things that are going well and the things that are not” (Aids, 2013, pig. 263). By having this discussion an improvement plan can be developed “to address any performance deficiencies” (2013, pig. 62). Upon addressing any performance deficiencies, training can be implemented to help employees develop and achieve the desired performance standards. As discussed by P.
Gain, “the training of employees is regarded as one of the most important functions of effective resources management. In order to obtain a competitive edge in providing the best services to the customer, training which will develop a well-trained workforce is vital to improve productivity’ (1999, Para. 1), “whereas a lack of training can cause frustration and lack of Job satisfaction” (as cited in Gain, 1999, Para. 2). In regards to Bartlett, from the moment the lawyer introduces him, up until the moment he is hired, it simply reveals more of the human resource chaos that plagues the lawyer’s organization.
The story does not acknowledge much about the lawyer’s recruitment strategy, except that it was an advertisement for a scrivener. Bartlett was the first and only person to inquire about this advertisement, and he was promptly hired on the spot after a brief conversation about his qualifications (Melville, 2011, pig. 8). Although it is recommended that the interviewing process should be well thought out in order to explain the duties of the position, clearly define what will be expected in the position, and detail which duties should take priority over others (Cravings, & Klein, 2002, Para. 3, 14, 15). In the lawyer’s brief interview with Bartlett, he again fails at his attempt in managing his human resources by neglecting to do his due diligence in the interviewing process. Melville story is possibly one of the best examples of what not to do as a human resource professional. It depicts an employee who literally refuses to work after only a short time on the Job. How this employee makes it passed the interview process can be easily identified by the state of the organization before he even applies for the Job.
The lawyer’s constant failures in utilizing effective HARM principles and practices are evident, and his organization suffers due to this. The culture of his organization was one that lacked discipline, with no policies for him or his employees to abide by. There were also no performance assessments, training, or development involved in his management style. Bartlett was the epitome of a bad employee, and had the lawyer effectively utilized the principles and practices of HARM, he would have not made it passed the interview process and been hired in the first place.
