Relationship Of Employee Voice And Employee Performance

Relationship Of Employee Voice And Employee Performance Human resource is a very essential part of any company and the people within the company play a very important role. This paper aims at analyzing the relationship of employee voice in an organization and the employee performance. The paper will firstly deal with the various methods that the employees can express themselves and be heard. This will be followed by the importance of employee voice, and the various views that have been presented by authors about the importance. A thorough analysis of the impact of employee voice on the performance has also been made. Employee Voice: Over the years, there has been a high interest in the notion of employee voice both in terms of higher levels of performance and also better employee representation (Beardwell 1998, Sako 1998, Benson 2000; Roche, 2000). There has been a vast amount of literature that has been set down on the topic of Voice. A study by Professor Margaret has highlighted that collective voice achieves what the lone voice could never do: it humanises and civilises the workplace, arguing that collective representation is the foundation of a partnership relationship that brings positive benefits for business (Prosser, 2001). There have been several different meanings that have been set down for the term Employee voice. Each definition and explanation of the terms has provided a different view on the purpose and underlying meaning of employee voice and the need of one rather than an individual voice. For an organisation to develop and be successful it is essential there is a freedom to speak and participat e for all employees. The twentieth century has seen numerous initiatives to involve employees and has also tried to promote better performance. According to Lavelle, Gunnigle and McDonnell, have defined employee voice as, as any type of mechanism, structure or practice, which provides an employee with an opportunity to express an opinion or participate in decision-making within their organization (Lavelle, Gunnigle and McDonnell, 2010). Employee voice can be distinguished into two main types, Direct Voice: this refers to any mode of mechanism where the employees can directly involve and work with the management in various aspects like their jobs. Work environment, teams, appraisal systems, and even the meetings between the employees and the managers. Here most of the involvement of the employees is through the individual themselves rather than via any other intermediate. Indirect Voice: This form of voice is one where there is a collective employee representation and these include representation like trade unions, non union structures of collective representations like work councils, and consultative committees. There are several different mechanisms that are available for employee voice within an organization. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the various mechanisms of employee voice can be classified into two main headings, a) Upward Problem Solving and b) Representative Participation. These two also fall into the above categories that have been discussed, i.e. direct and indirect voice. The CIPD has also brought out the various mechanisms that are complementary to employee voice and these are as discussed below: Upward problem-solving or Direct Method: This refers to any technique that is adopted by the managers to gain the ideas of the employees and also to gain an opinion of the employees, This allows for a two way communication and it encourages the employees to participate by setting up through communication systems. Here the communication is more between the individual employee and the managers rather than with any kind of representatives. There are numerous methods and techniques that can be used to allow this form of communication. One of the first methods that can be used is the Electronic media. This allows disseminating and also permits for ideas to be shared and provided using an online medium. Here as compared to the face to face medium, there is very less interaction and all questions and proposals are sent out using emails. The other form of communication is a two way communication, where the staff and managers can get together and discuss their views and opinions on various is sues. These are mostly in the form of regular meeting and these not only allow for improved issue management but also work on the improvement of performance of the team as such. Here employees can suggest problem solving for issues that are faced or even discuss ideas to improve the processes. Another very famous and presently adopted method is the suggestion schemes. These allow the people to discuss and make suggestion and contribute to the growth of the team. Here however there are incentives for the contributors if the suggestions are accepted and implemented. Another very effective form of encouraging the employee voice is using questionnaire surveys. Here the company can discover the levels of satisfaction of the staff particularly in terms of work and work environment. This is a very strong way of increasing the employee voice and being able to reach out to the employees. Another effective manner of direct communication includes the project teams. Here a group of people can b e brought together on a regular basis and the team can work on discussion of the quality of work within the organization. Representative Participation or Indirect Method: This form as mentioned is more of an indirect method. Here there is no interaction between the individual employee and the managers however are more based on the employee representative and the managers. A few of the possible methods that are used in companies include as follows. The partnership scheme is one where an emphasis is made on a mutual gain and a mutual gain and a tackling the issues and problems in a cooperative manner. Another form is referred to as joint consultation. This has been expressed as, to consider issues that are deemed to be of common interest or of key importance to the parties (CIPD, 2010). Also the last form is the collective representation. This is where employees negotiate and work together work towards the pay. Here they act as employee representatives. These mechanisms only permit a better chance for the employees to voice their requirements. There is a high need for the employee voice to be heard and these have a major impact on the performance of the company and the employee themselves. The next section will deal with the impact of providing employees with a chance to have their voice heard and how it would affect the working and performance of the employees. Impact on Employee Performance: As said very rightly by Dulewicz (1989), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a basic human tendency to make judgements about those one is working with, as well as about oneself. It is noted that appraisals are inevitable and is universal. People evaluate how well a job is done to set performance standards. The process was linked to the material outcomes, i.e. if an employees performance is to less than ideal then there would be a cut in pay, however if the performance was better than the ideal level set by the supervisor, then there would be a rise in pay. In the current situation the definition of employee contribution is not only dependent on the output i.e. the end results achieved but also depends on the inputs by the employee i.e. what the employee is willing to contribute to the business. Several studies have highlighted that the performance of employees is based not only on the level of pay that they receive but also equally on the level of motivation which in turn is related directly to the level of motivation of the employees. The performance of a company and its relationship with the employee voice has been a topic of high debate over the last decade. The voices of the employees of a company affect the performance of the company directly. Performance here is in terms of two mains aspects, a) the employee performance and b) the company performance. These are inter related in a way that the better the employee performance the better will be the company performance. Human Resource Management mainly aims at ensuring that all aspects of employees from recruitment to retention are taken care of. The HR team would take all necessary steps to ensure that the employee performance is better. The HR has a very clear and very big affect on the performance of the company and t he employees, as they bare in some form a major point of contact for the employees (Boselie, Paauwe and Jansen, 2000). The HR has a direct influence on the performance of the company. Since the HR is responsible for recruitment and selection of the employees, it is completely dependent on the HR teams to select employees who would perform, also they are the ones who need to ensure that the employee needs and voice are heard and met and should also support the managers and the top management to encourage and hear the voices of the employees. This is mainly because employee performance is directly related to the needs of the employees and if an employee is not heard the employee can feel disheartened which would cause levels of distress. According to Beale (1994) employee involvement represents, a significant challenge to the traditional influence of trade unions in the workplace. Employee involvement programmes provide an alternative source of information, ideas and interpretation of workplace experiences, an alternative to that provided by the union. Employee involvement programmes actively promote a new culture in competition with the traditional explanations and culture communicated by the union (Beale, 1994). It is also essential to understand that irrespective of how much the management might try to avoid any form of unions or representative participation, the level of commitment is not seen to have increased. In the current times employees prefer to have a representative participation, i.e. part of unions, and other representative structures. Hence when a company does not allow or pay head to the employee voice through the indirect measures, it is seen that there is also a clear reduced commitment to work and lowered levels of motivation. It has also been explained by Storey and Sisson (1994), highlight the same point and explain that the enhanced worker commitment will reduce directly if the management attempts to overlook the unions and try to go in for a direct form of contact with the employees. Ackers, Marchington, Wilkinson and Dundon (2003) explain, On the other hand, where unions stand outside the EI [Employee involvement] initiative, their indifference or hostility may be a maj or reason for its failure. Social partnership theory suggests that union involvement can make EI [Employee involvement] work better, for both management and employees. The main intension of any firm is to have high performance working within the organization. Having high performance working in an organization is in a number of ways the opposite of the employment practices set down by Taylor. CIPD explain high performance working as, HPW can be characterised as everything that Taylorist employment practices are not. This is an unfair reflection on the substantial influence of F W Taylor on management thinking in the early part of the last century. However, HPW is the diametrical opposite of employment strategies based on short cycle times, skill minimization and one right way. This approach is appropriate to the high volume repetitive working usually associated with products and services sold on the basis of low cost and narrow range. HPW is better suited to product and service sectors that are at least concerned with mass customization and more often designed to meet the needs of individual customers (CIPD, 2010). Several authors over the years have provided several different views and notions on the topic of the relationship between employee voice and employee performance. Several authors also concentrate more on the direct voice effect. It has been studied that direct employee voice is relatively much more effective and than the indirect employee voice and shows higher, better and enhanced performance outcomes. Heller (1998) observed that high degrees of influence sharing are associated with a better quality and effectiveness of decisions and a significant reduction in the underuti ­lization of peoples experience and skills (p. 1439). Also Cotton et.al (1988) explains that in the case of direct voice, the employees tend to feel more satisfied and also gain a feel of involvement in the decision making. They also explain that when the employee influence is high, there is a higher level of group cohesion and the level of commitment to those decisions is noted to be enhanced and improved. In another research conducted by Bryson, Willman, Gomez, and Kretschmer (2007), the hypotheses has highlighted that there is a strong link between employee voice and HRM. This as mentioned earlier also has a direct impact on the employee and the performance of the employees. A research conducted by Freeman and Medoff (1984) and adapted Hirschmans (1970) model. Hirschmans (1970) model of exit voice has been the base of the research by Freeman and Medoff and this has mainly be done to link the union voice, higher levels of productivity and lower quit rates. Kim, MacDuffie Pil, (2009), explain, Without collective voice through the agency of worker representation, employees lack the incentive to pursue public goods, such as enhanced working conditions and workplace policies that affect the well-being of all employees, for example, grievance and arbitration procedures, just cause for discipline and discharge, and seniority clauses (Batt et al., 2002) (Kim, MacDuffie Pil, 2009). Conclusion: Based on the research and the extensive discussion that has been presented above, it is clear that the various researches that have been presented in the past it is clear that the relationship between the employee voice and productivity is ambiguous. Kim, MacDuffie Pil, (2009), explain, Union presence may lower labor productivity via restrictive work practices or lower firm investments due to lower firm profitability. On the other hand, it has also been noted that the union voice can also be associated with the adversarial relations within the industries and the if there is no clear flow of information between the workers and the management, there is also a clear lack of complete diversity in terms of the input of the workers. There have also been other findings from studies by Brown and Medoff, which suggest that the unions have a close relationship with the employee morale, needs, motivation and also cooperation (Metcalf, 2003). There have thus been several positive and negative v iews on this topic and there has not been any clear evidence on the certainty of the effect of employee voice on employee performance.

SROP Personal Statement Essay

As a young child growing up in the African countries of Cameroon and Gabon, I witnessed diseases such as malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, tetanus, and HIV/AIDS ravage villages and devastate local family members with horrible deaths. This early exposure to such suffering in my life encouraged a strong desire within me to do something useful to battle these horrific diseases. My first introduction to patient care came from voluntary work at local hospitals in Cameroon and in the United States where I worked assisting with patient transportation, providing food and water, and doing necessary tasks needed by each patient. This experience helped me develop good communication skills and medical technical skills in the hospital environment. I also had the responsibility of caring for a family member with a serious brain injury following a car accident. Assisting this family member allowed me to gain awareness of what is required when caring for patients on a day-to-day basis. These experiences allowed me to realize that not only do patients need research to provide cures for diseases, but that the patients already suffering from diseases also need adequate care. As a junior in the molecular biology program, my long-term goal is to dedicate myself to research in the fields of human biology. In order to achieve this goal, I plan to acquire a MD/PhD degree with research focusing on immunology, cardiovascular, or infectious diseases. A MD/PhD degree would enable me to combine my interest in medical patient care with the rewarding challenges of scientific investigation. The SROP program will help me prepare for a MD/PhD program by providing a platform to develop superior problem solving skills, practice research techniques, and conduct my own research project. I am determined to strive for excellence in all that I do and feel that the SROP program will give me essential tools I need to continue my quest in developing a career in the practical and theoretical aspects of the medical research field.

One Lonely Evening Essay

Do Sunflowers have a faster grow faster when watered with clean drinking water from the tap or with rain water collected outside? Hypothesis If both plants receive the same amount of water each day, then the plants receiving rain water would have a faster growth rate. This is rain water has more nutrients in it then regular drinking water. These nutrients would make the sunflowers grow at a faster rate than the sunflowers with regular water. Variables Independent: the type of water, either clean drinking water from the tap. Dependent: the growth of the sunflower. Control: Each plant will receive the same amount of water as any other. Also the plant will receive the same amount of sunlight as each other, lastly the plants will be measured and water at the same time every day. Control of Variables The way that the variables will be controlled are the plants will receive the same amount of water ( ¼ cup daily). This is to insure that they receive a proper amount for the plant to survive. The amount of light that the plants will obtain will be from the sun. The plants are to be placed in the same window to receive the same amount of lights (preferably a bay window). The plants will be measured the same time daily and also watered the same time daily so that there is no confusion that the plants could have had more growth time one day. Also, the plants will be measured with the same ruler every time they are measured to ensure the measurements are equal. Materials The materials needed for this biology lab are: * 10 sunflower seeds per type of water (total of 20) * 20 separate planters * A ruler (for measurement) * Two  ¼ cup for watering the plants * Source of rain water * Source of clan drinking water * Light source, the sun * Soil | Ruler ¼ Cup of waterSunflowerSunflower seedSoilPlanter| Method For starting the lab first place the even amount of soil into the 20 planters. After the planters are equally filled with soil dig a hole in the center of the each planter, 3 cm deep. Place the seeds into the holes that were just dug in the planters, and separate the planters into 10 rain water planters and 10 drinking water planters. When lining the planters up place the planters every other so that they will receive the same amount of light and one not the other receives more than the other (ex. Rain, Tap, Rain, Tap†¦). Be sure to place the planters to a window that receives a large amount of natural light. After the lab is all set up then the plants are to be watered with  ¼ cup every day at the same time daily (a good amount for them so they are not over watered). The seeds will take time to germinate; they should be checked every day. The measuring is to be started after the sunflowers have broken through the soil and are showing above the soil. For the lab the plants are to be measured everyday at 7pm for the growth from the previous day. After the Experiment has gone for 31 days, look at the results and calculate the average for each of the days and also calculate the standard deviations. Conclusion The following experiment supported my hypothesis of sunflowers watered with rain water will grown faster than those watered with clean drinking water from a tap. This is shown in the data I have collected; it is shown when you compare the average heights of the sunflowers during the trials. The average height of the sunflowers being watered in rain water was higher than the flowers being watered in tap water the last day the average height for the flowers watered with rain water was 19.28 cm while the flowers being watered with tap water was only 13.59. Another indication is that the error bars that are shown on the graph are not as large in the rain water as they are in the tap water and also the rain water flowers heights where closer to one  another than the flowers being watered in tap water. The flowers being watered with rain water broke the soil earlier and had a much more rapid increase in height than the flowers watered in the tap water. With all this evidence, it is clear that the experiment supported my hypothesis and rain water allows plants to grow faster than regular clean drinking water. Evaluation Evaluating Errors One of the errors is that the length of time that this experiment was conducted in. The experiment was conducted in 31 days; this amount of time was too short because it takes on average for sunflowers to germinate from7-14 days. This length of time is valuable time that is being wasted from the waiting for the flower to geminate. Another error that can be spotted in the experiment is the lighting. This experiment was done in the month of December. This month has one of the shortest day light hours which created some problems with how fast the plants grew because of the lack of light that they have received. Improvements One improvement in that can be made in my experiment is how the plants were watered. They were all watered with a  ¼ measuring cup, but it is hard to have precisely  ¼ cup for each plant. This can be better measured with a larger cup that has the labelling of  ¼ cup on it. This improvement will allow the water to be measured more precise and will allow equal measuring to each plant. The temperature of the water is another improvement that can be obtained in this experiment. The water that was given to the plants during the 31 day duration was not measured for temperature. The temperature of the water can help the plant with its growing. The way that this can be fixed is prior to watering the plants be sure to measure the temperature so that the temperature is always the same and there is no flexibility in the temperature of the water. Last improvement that could be made to allow the experiment to be more precise and accurate is for the collection of more data to occur. The way that this improvement could be placed into the experiment is by either extending the length of time of which the collection of data is recorded, another option would be to collect the data twice daily to allow more measurements to be recorded.

My Reading On Reading Disabilities, And The Impact That...

I choose to do this topic because I had a lot of problems reading during school. When I was in Kindergarten I was held but because I could not read. I had difficulties sounding out words, and putting them together to make a word. The fact is that to this day I still cannot sound out words. I read by memorizing words or typing them into the computer and use a text to voice programs. I wanted to learn more about reading disabilities, and the impact that they have on students’ education. I was lucky that my reading problems did not impact my education, and I was able to read very well. Reading is one of the most important skills that students learn in school. Being able to reading is paramount to student’s success throughout school and†¦show more content†¦In the journal article Predicting Reading Disability: Early Cognitive Risk and Protective Factors a study was completed to determine the early cognitive risks and other factors that lead a student to develop a r eading disability. The first risk factor they explored was dyslexia in families. They found that â€Å"Developmental dyslexia runs in families and the risk for dyslexia increases to about 40%† Eklund (2013). Throughout the study the researchers found some interesting facts about students’ that develop learning disabilities. Eklund (2013) states, â€Å"Students with good reading skills have more shared reading with their parent.† The conclusion of this study was â€Å" lack of task avoidance seems to act as a protective factor, importance of keeping children interested in school work and reading† is very importance is helping some students not develop reading disabilities. The study also found that â€Å"less time engaged with reading compared with peers increased risk† Eklund (2013) of reading disability. There are many different signs that a student can have a reading disability. On the PBS parents website they list signs that a student could be s uffering from a learning disability. The most common signs of a reading disability are in decoding, comprehension, or retention. Dyslexia is one of the most common decoding reading disabilities and affects about 15% of Americans. According to PBS parents, dyslexia â€Å"is a simple inability to decode