What is a high-performance work system? What are its elements? Which of these elements involve human resource management?
A high-performance work system refers to a set of administration practices which enable the establishment of an environment within an organization which enables employees to have greater involvement and accountability. Some of the elements of establishing a high-performance work system include enhanced opportunities of participation in decision making processes which results into empowerment of employees which end up to more commitment. Training is also an element of establishing a high-performance work system because it enables employees to develop necessary knowledge and skills for their contemporary job positions easing the achievement of organizational goals ( Jiang and Liu, 2015) . There are also elements like employee incentives which can be either in monetary or non-monetary forms and also the set-up for information sharing within an organization thus making the incorporation of technology in everyday life mandatory. All the aforementioned elements of building a high-performance work system are very vital in human resource management ( Jiang and Liu, 2015) .
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As it has become clear that HRM can help create and maintain high-performance work systems, it appears that organizations will need two kinds of human resource professionals. One kind focuses on identifying how HRM can contribute to high performance. The other kind develops expertise in particular HRM functions, such as how to administer a benefits program that compiles with legal requirements. Which aspect of HRM is more interesting to you? Why?
The aspect of HRM that is more interesting is the aspect that focuses on how HRM can contribute to high performance because maximization of productivity of an organization by enhancing the efficiency of its employees while concurrently enlightening the work life of the employees as well as considering them as valuable resources is one of the fundamental goals of HRM ( Fu, Flood, et al., 2015) .
Summarize how each of the following HR functions can contribute to high performance.
Job design
The performance of an organization immensely depends on job design practices as a component of HRM practices. Job design involve the process of assigning tasks to a particular job by equally taking into consideration the interdependency of those tasks with other jobs. Generally job design influences work motivation and the performance of the employees by increasing the efficiency by specialization ( Fu, Flood, et al., 2015) .
Recruitment and selection
The function of HRM of recruitment and selection is very important because it makes a great impact on the growth of revenue as well as the profit margins of an organization. An effective recruitment and selection process can benefit an organization in various ways which may include employee commitment, unremitting job performance, withholding employee as well as low levels of employee turnover ( Fu, Flood, et al., 2015) .
Training and development
Training and development provide plentiful opportunity to enlarge the knowledge base of employees within an organization. Generally, training and development help in the improvement of employee performance, the enhancement of the level of satisfaction of employees and even their morale because it opens up opportunity to address the employee weaknesses. Development and training of employees within an organization also help enhance the consistency of employees therefore increasing the level of production and adherence to quality criteria ( Fu, Flood, et al., 2015) .
Performance management
Performance management is very vital for any organization that is looking up to establishing an empowered and skilled staff of employees. This implies that organizations should implement performance management with the sole purpose of enhancing employee support and improvement at the work place. Some of the benefits of conducting performance management include the fact that it enables the process of setting and revising organizational goals, allowing for the establishment of development plans and the fact that enables the opportunity to recognize and reward employees which helps the employees in receiving a balance of positive and negative feedback ( Fu, Flood, et al., 2015) .
Compensation
Generally compensation refers to the reward to employees in return for their rendered services and it is vital in determining the productivity of a workforce. The quality and level of performance of an organization depends directly on how their compensation plans are executed. Compensation does not only refer to monetary reward but also benefits like medical care cover, work-life balance and even employee bonuses. A good compensation plan helps achieve high performance by ensuring employee retention hence low turnover rates and can even be an incentive for the employees to continue thriving to greater heights of achieving organizational goals ( Fu, Flood, et al., 2015) .
How can HRM technology make a human resource department more productive? How can technology improve the quality of HRM decisions?
Technology plays vital responsibility in reaching out to achieve organizational targets by enabling the achievement of business goals by optimization of work processes. Technology that relates to information and communication for instance the internet, media and even mobile communication have been regarded very productive in contributing to personnel policies of organizations hence making a huge impact on a human resource department of an organization. Generally, technology changes the manner in which human resource departments engage their employees, how they conduct storage of files and analysis of employee performance hence making the quality of HRM decisions more efficient ( Stone and Deadrick, et al., 2015) .
Why should human resource departments measure their effectiveness? What are some ways they can go about measuring effectiveness?
Human resource departments should measure their effectiveness in order to improve the performance of organization employees as well as the efficiency of the organization. Some of the ways which human resource departments can use to go about measurement of effectiveness include setting specific goals for the performance of human resource department which would help measure the effectiveness of the efforts made towards the achievement of those goals and enable adjustment where necessary ( Stone and Deadrick, et al., 2015) .
Part Two
Based on the information given, what measures did Echo Global Logistics use to measure the success of Echo Engage?
Echo Global Logistics a specialist known as HighGround which ensured the analysis of employee information so as to enable the achievement of high performance by its employees. The specialist HighGround developed a program which facilitated employee engagement by frequently checking in with the employees by demanding reports of their satisfaction level. The assessment by HighGround enabled the human resource department even to identify the high-performing workforce which was not earlier recognized as a result of the measurement information.
How is this use of data different from an HR audit?
A human resource audit is different from this use of data in the sense that this use of data helps to identify even the potential high-performing employees whereas the use of human resource audit is only meant to review the human resource policies and systems in order to identify the areas that need improvement and to conduct an assessment of compliance with the dynamic regulations.
References
Fu, N., Flood, P. C., Bosak, J., Morris, T., & O'Regan, P. (2015). How do high performance work systems influence organizational innovation in professional service firms?. Employee Relations , 37 (2), 209-231.
Jiang, J. Y., & Liu, C. W. (2015). High performance work systems and organizational effectiveness: The mediating role of social capital. Human Resource Management Review , 25 (1), 126-137.
Stone, D. L., Deadrick, D. L., Lukaszewski, K. M., & Johnson, R. (2015). The influence of technology on the future of human resource management. Human Resource Management Review , 25 (2), 216-231.
