Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay

1.0 IntroductionThis chapter forms the basis of the study on the assessment on the role of high motion work systems have on capital of Zimbabwe city council workers for effective and efficiency receipts delivery. This paper is going to provide a background of the study stating the problem, propose and magnificence of the study. To add to the above, the objective, anticipated constraints and query questions, including literature review and research methodology are going to be highlighted. 1.1 Background of the studyPerformance has been a widely researched subject by nearly social scientist and industrial psychologist in an attempt to establish what motivates quite a little to do what they do, and why they do it. An organisational military operation has al slipway been an issue for managers, as it is believed that meet workers ladder to be to a greater extent productive, creative and committed to their jobs. There is in that locationfore need to establish whether high perfo rmance work systems are what bring satisfactory performance or there are different factors. High performance work systems is a complex and multifaceted concept, which set up mean different things to different people. However, the police detective in this study attemptedto establish the role of high performance systems, whether it brings positive or electronegative results with particular attention at Harare metropolis Council. 1.2 Statement of the problemThe dilemma at hand is that the Harare city council workers are said to be hindering the performance circles of which are of particular ingathering to affect the residents. The council provide services to the residents which are non championful but only distract them from developing their communities in the proper manner they desire. This is happening imputable to the failure by the council to carry out good research on its performance since today employees are expected to work in teams rather than alone on their own. They ar e expected to keep learning new skills and to assume broader roles through the employment security, selective hiring of new somebodynel, self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making as the basic principles of organizational design, comparatively high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduced status distinctions and barriers including dress, language office arrangements, and wage differences crosswise take aims, extensive sharing of financial and performance information throughout the organisation.1.3 Objectives of the study1 To investigate and establish the role of high performance work systems in relation to organisational performance as this affects the service delivery. 2 To establish what causes poor performance and service delivery in the organisation. 3 To stupefy out ways of maintaining and improving staff loyalty, motivation and performance. 4 To recommend on changes to improve council performance and staff welfare pol icy. 1.4 Significance of the studyAs a researcher it is of paramount importance to conduct a study on the role of high performance work systems by the topical anesthetic authority. One can intimately notice that it is important to carry out this research as it The research findings of this research were also intended to assist management in addressing concerns and expectations of staff in order to harness their full contribution and effort to the benefit of the organization. The organizationwould then use the research findings to redesign its mankind resources policies towards the workers welfare and provide the answers to the questions presented on the sub problems of the research problem. Employees could use the research as a platform to express their concerns and desires to management, which they would not probably tick, and also use it as a computer address point to those who would intend to do their own researches. 1.5 Literature reviewReview of related to literature is the most important part of research. It refers to the overbearing exploration of issues related to the ones research which has been tough to date by various authors and authorities. gibe to the high performance work systems Assessment, by social impacts we mean the consequences to human populations of any public or private actions that alter the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organise to meet their needs and generally love as members of society. The concept of high performance work systems and organisational performanceHigh performance work systems have been defined as a distinctive managerial approach that enables high performance through people. (1987).High performance work systems are somewhat not quite the same as motivation, but the dickens are closely linked. many thoughts and views have been developed to define performance at work but much of it explains ones reaction, feelings and emotions towards the accomplishment of organisational goal s. Many research studies were however founded to explain how people react in the manner they do in their jobs. Various factors have been associated with ones performance. These factors accommodate * The level of pay and benefits,* The perceived fairness of the promotion system within a company, * The quality of the working conditions,* Leadership and social relationships* The job itself.Different models were developed to compute for the attitudes that people develop at various situations. The hobby models of job satisfaction shall be discussed to aid the understanding of high performance work systemsat work. stainless theories of Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1968) and Vroom in relation to high performance work systems have been the basis of the modern day studies. Abram Maslow proposed a hierarchical thinkable action of five needs, which gained popularity everywhere the years and formed a basis for management studies to human motivation at work. Having been simplified by Clayton Alderfer made a fine-tuning to the hierarchical explanations of human needs to that of iii levels. Abbreviated to ERG, (Existence, Relatedness and Growth), Existence needs constituted Maslows physiological and safety needs, and Relatedness included internal esteem and social needs and lastly, the Growth portray was made up of self actualisation and external esteem needs.The Wikipedia encyclopaedia cited various models of which can help to explain high performance work systems that were indite to by different authors as follows * The two-factor theory* The job characteristics model* The fulfilment theory* The equity theoryThese models shall be discussed below to aid the research to find the basis of high performance work systems in the workplace.Theories of Employee Motivation for performanceThe two-factor theoryThis theory also known as the motivator-hygiene theory is the work of Fredrick Herzberg (1968). The theory is on the premise that employee satisfaction has two dimensions namely hygiene and motivation. (Agarwal.1983). harmonize to Herzberg, Hygiene factors include those aspects much(prenominal) as company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Motivators include those aspects that satisfy people such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. The model was criticised by researchers who failed to empirically measure of satisfaction as cosmos a methodological artefact. (Wikipedia encyclopaedia).High performance work systems characteristics ModelThe model was proposed by Hackman and Oldham (1976), which states that there are five core job characteristics, which impact three vital psychologicalstates. The five core job characteristics include* Skill variety employees use a variety of skills to complete their jobs, skills that have been acquired by broad years of study and/ or experience and are the primary reason for their employment and work allocation in a business organisat ion * depute identity involvement of the employee in all steps of the job, thus providing identification with the task. * Task significance The significance of the job being properly executed to the salubrious being of the organisation. * Autonomy The freedom to do the job with responsibility and by oneself. * Feedback The provision of feedback providing information about the excellence of performance of the job. The three psychological states include* Experienced meaningfulness,* Experienced responsibility for outcomes, and* Knowledge of the actual results.The Fulfilment theoryAccording to Agarwal (1983), fulfilment theory regard satisfaction as resulting from outcomes (rewards) a person receives or the extents to which a persons needs are satisfied. The difficulty with the fulfilment approach is that satisfaction is a function of not only what a person receives but also what he feels he should receive and/or wants to receive. People have different expectations and what satisfies one may dissatisfy another. Equity surmisalAccording to literature by Agarwal (1983), a persons satisfaction is determined by his perceived equity. Received equity is, in turn, determined by his input-output balance as compared to his parity others input-output balance. Input-output balance is a perceived ratio of what a person receives from his job relative to what he put in the job. According to the equity theory, either under reward or over reward can lead to dissatisfaction although the feeling associated with them are different. As illustrated by the following plat the comparison may result in one feeling unfairly treated when outcome received appears lower than others or feels guilty when received more than others. The equity theoryAPerceived outcomes actually receivedA = BgratificationA BDissatisfactionA BGuilty and annoyancePerceived personal inputBPerceived personal outcome that should be receivedPerceived outcome of comparison othersPerceived input of comparison othe rsFig 1.Equity possible action (Agarwal 1983)Determinants of high performance work systemsAgarwal (1983) says that there are various factors that determine performance. These are discussed below.Employee SupervisionAs with Herzberg hygiene factors, supervision is critical to provide leadership to employees performance. A good leader is one who establishes trust from his followers and promotes feedback. He knows how to treat employees at different situations. Research has shown that low performance and low productivity occurs when a supervisor is a laissez faire type of leader. Agarwal (1983). Research has also discovered that those peoples reason to take tok employment is to get paid (money) though not a motivator but they desire to be paid fairly. Management must always ensure consult for salaries and benefits to see whether their employees match the market. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication)The work group in relation to employee performanceEmployees need to socialise with others to create an environment of belongingness, develop a sense of chumminess and teamwork. Social interaction creates organisational performance though depending on their affiliation. Inappropriate behaviour should not be encouraged though because of influences, but strong reprimands should be exercised. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) line of credit content in relation to high performance work systems Employees need to feel that the work or task they are doing is of great importance to the company. Their contributions result in positive outcomes. It is therefore essential for management to recognise as an important a task to the overall achievement of the organizational goals. Agarwal cited Herzberg, Mauner and Suyderman as holding a view that job content factors such as achievement, recognition, advancement, responsibility and the work itself tend to provide satisfaction but their absence such as supervision, working condition, company policies and salary tend to produce dissatisfaction but their presence does not produce satisfaction.Age in relation to performanceAccording to Agarwal (1983), some research works have reported a positive correlation between age and performance. Older workers tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than their younger counterparts because older workers are said to have adjusted to their jobs while young workers still have ambitions and need for advancement. Job Satisfaction and performanceThe abbreviation of results from the work of Herzberg et al, on twenty-six studies focusing on the relationship between job satisfaction and performance, fourteen of these showed that workers with positive job attitudes had higher performance than those with negative attitudes. Nine studies have shown that job attitudes and performance were not related, and in three studies, workers with positive attitudes had poorer performance records than those with negative attitudes. Lawler, 1977 and Porter, 1961, hold the view that it is productivity that leads to satisfaction and not the vice versa. Performance leads to rewards and if these rewards are consideredto be equitable in relation to the perception of the worker of the rewards of his referent others and his perceptions of what he should receive, he will experience satisfaction. The following is the illustrative diagram. Model of performance leading to satisfactionPerceived equity of rewards in relation to referent othersPerformanceReward intrinsic & extrinsicSatisfactionPerception of how much he should receiveFig 2.Source Agarwal 1983 Model of performance leading to satisfaction Adapted from Lawler III & Porter The effect of Performance on job satisfaction, human relations, October, 1967 P23 1.5 Justification of the studyThe area of discussion is worth studying because it aims at alerting the management of the Harare City Council how their service provision are being hindered by the employee performance, thus organisational performance is affected as well. As such the research is vital as it will help in gathering or adding information on the importance of high performance work systems being as well as its importance to the Ministry of local government urban and rural development. The Minister will be able to see if there are any amendments which need to be through and if there are any gaps left which need to be filled. Furthermore the research will see the researcher attain the ultimate goal for a knight bachelor of science Honours degree in Local Governance Studies 1.6 Research MethodologyVarious techniques will be exploited to achieve the proposed objectives of the study. Haralambos (199536) asserts thatAny faculty member subject requires methodology to reach itsConclusions, it must have ways of producing and analysingData so that theories can be tested, accepted or rejectedwithout a systematic way of producing knowledge thefindings can be dismissed.The researcher is going to use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to come up with conclusions as both techniques can be used to complement each other as well as questionnaires. According to wordiq.com (2011), quantitative research is the numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect. It is bent on developing and employing mathematical models. On the other hand, Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in any different disciplines. It convey a non numerical data collection or explanation based on the attributes of the source of data. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into peoples behaviour, attitudes, value systems, motivations concerns, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Christensen (1994) expressed that a take in makes a better study. Leedy (1993) agreed with the same idea saying that, the larger the sample the better. I will select the people that are going to give relevant information t o this study for example the most affected people and the possible problem solvers. 1.7 Research Tools(a) Interviews (GroupThe researcher intends to use interviews as a research technique. Gray et al (2007) allude that the best data gathering technique for observe research is the interview. These interviews will be done in groups so as to save time.(b) ObservationThe researcher will use observation in tackling the research problem. The rationale for using this technique is that the researcher intends to learn about the sensitive issues that participants might be unwilling to disclose or talk about with regards to the research. (c) compend of secondary sourcesThe researcher will make use of other researchers that have been studied in relation to the field under study. This will be done in order to weigh the impacts that the previous researchers have had. Target PopulationThe study will be focussing on the Harare City Council employees. pass judgment constrainsWikipedia (20114) not es that any limit or restriction given for the design process is called a constraint. The study is likely to encounter a number of challenges which may via media the quality of research results and these include (a)Access to informationThe information is mostly confidential in the Harare City Council thus releasing information might be problematic. Some may be reluctant to disclose such information as such the respondents will be guaranteed that their information will be treated with utmost privacy and confidentiality. (b)ResourcesResources such as time and finance may compromise the quality of the research as the researcher is a student with other university commitmentsRESEARCH REFERENCE LISTArgawal R.D.(1983) Organisation and Management, Mcgraw-Hill, Tata Boxall P., Macky K. & Rasmussen E., (2003)Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand the causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 41 (2)., Cascio, W.F. (2003) M anaging Human Resources Productivity, quality of work Life profits (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin.French, W.L. (1998) Human Resources Management. Boston, New York Houghton Mifflin CompanyIvancevich et al (1989)Foundations of Personnel ,Human Resources Management Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2001) Organisational behaviour (5th ed.). 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