Chapter 6
Human Resource
Practices
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Toyota Georgetown
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“We’ve got nothing, technology-wise, that
anyone else can’t have. There’s no secret
Toyota Quality Machine out there. The
quality machine is the workforce -- the team
members on the paint line, the suppliers, the
engineers -- everybody who has a hand in
production here takes the attitude that we’re
making world-class vehicles.”
Key Idea
Businesses are learning that to satisfy
customers, they must first satisfy
employees.
Objectives of HRM

To build a high-performance workplace
and maintain an environment for quality
excellence to enable employees and the
organization to achieve strategic
objectives and adapt to change.
Key Activities in HRM
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Determine organization’s HR needs to
build a high-performance workplace
Assist in design of work systems
Recruit, select, train & develop, counsel,
motivate, and reward employees
Act as liaison with unions & government
Handle other matters of employee
well-being
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Leading Practices
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(1 of 2)
Promote cooperation and skill sharing across
work units and locations
Design work and jobs to promote
cooperation, initiative, empowerment,
innovation, and organizational culture
Empower individuals and teams to make
decisions that affect quality and customer
satisfaction
Develop effective performance management
systems, compensation, and reward and
recognition approaches
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Leading Practices
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(2 of 2)
Effective processes for hiring and career
progression
Make extensive investments in training and
education
Motivate employees to develop and use their
full potential
Maintain a work environment conducive to the
well-being and growth of all employees
Monitor extent and effectiveness of HR
practices and measure employee satisfaction
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Teams
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Team - a small number of people with
complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, set of performance goals,
and approach for which they hold themselves
mutually accountable
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Types of Teams
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Management teams
Natural work teams
Self managed teams
Virtual teams
Quality circles
Problem solving teams
Project teams
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Key Idea
The three basic functions of quality
circles and problem-solving teams are to
identify, analyze, and solve quality and
productivity problems.
Functions of Teams
Identify
problems
Implement
solutions
Select
problem
Identify
Develop
follow-up
plan
Collect
data
Solve
Analyze
Pick best
solution
Develop
solutions
Focus
attention
Find
causes
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Key Idea
The key stages of a team’s life cycle are
called forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning.
Ingredients for Successful
Teams (1 of 2 )
Clarity in team goals
 Improvement plan
 Clearly defined roles
 Clear communication
 Beneficial team behaviors
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Ingredients for Successful
Teams (2 of 2)
Well-defined decision procedures
 Balanced participation
 Established ground rules
 Awareness of group process
 Use of scientific approach
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Six Sigma Project Teams
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Champions – senior managers who promote
Six Sigma
Master Black Belts – highly trained experts
responsible for strategy, training, mentoring,
deployment, and results.
Black Belts – Experts who perform technical
analyses
Green Belts – functional employees trained
in introductory Six Sigma tools
Team Members – Employees who support
specific projects
High Performance Work
Systems
Work and Job
Design
Health and
safety
Suggestion
systems
Training and
Education
Flexibility
Innovation
Compensation
and
recognition
Knowledge and skill
sharing
Empowerment
Organizational
alignment
Customer focus
Rapid response
Employee
Involvement
Teamwork and Cooperation
Designing High Performance
Work Systems
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Work design - how employees are
organized in formal and informal units
(departments, teams, etc.)
Job design - responsibilities and tasks
assigned to individuals
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Key Idea
The design of work should provide
individuals with both the intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation to achieve quality
and operational performance objectives.
Hackman/Oldham Model
Core job
characteristics
Critical
psychological
states
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance
Experienced
meaningfulness
of work
Autonomy
Experienced
responsibility
Feedback
from job
Knowledge of
actual results
Moderators
Outcomes
High motivation
High satisfaction
High work
effectiveness
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Enhancing Work Design
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Job enlargement – expanding workers’
jobs
Job rotation – having workers learn
several tasks and rotate among them
Job enrichment – granting more
authority, responsibility, and autonomy
Employee Involvement
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Employee Involvement - any activity by
which employees participate in workrelated decisions and improvement
activities, with the objectives of tapping
the creative energies of all employees and
improving their motivation
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Key Idea
EI approaches can range from simple
sharing of information or providing input on
work-related issues and making
suggestions to self-directed responsibilities
such as setting goals,making business
decisions, and solving problems, often in
cross-functional teams.
Advantages of EI
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Replaces adversarial
mentality with trust
and cooperation
Develops skills and
leadership abilities
Increases morale
and commitment
Fosters creativity
and innovation
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Helps people
understand quality
principles and
instilling them into
the organization’s
culture
Allows employees to
solve problems at
the source
Improves quality
and productivity
Empowerment

Giving people authority to make
decisions based on what they feel is
right, to have control over their work,
to take risks and learn from mistakes,
and to promote change.
“A sincere belief and trust in people.”
Successful Empowerment
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Provide education, resources, and
encouragement
Remove restrictive policies/procedures
Foster an atmosphere of trust
Share information freely
Make work valuable
Train managers in “hands-off” leadership
Train employees in allowed latitude
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Key Idea
Meeting and exceeding customer
expectations begins with hiring the
right people whose skills and attitudes
will support and enhance the
organization’s objectives.
Training and Education
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Quality awareness
Leadership
Project management
Communications
Teamwork
Problem solving
Interpreting and
using data
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Meeting customer
requirements
Process analysis
Process
simplification
Waste reduction
Cycle time reduction
Error proofing
Key Idea
Customer needs and strategic directions
should drive training strategies.
Compensation and
Recognition
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Compensation
– Merit versus capability/performance
based plans
– Gainsharing
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Recognition
– Monetary or non-monetary
– Formal or informal
– Individual or group
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Key Idea
Recognition provides a visible means of
promoting quality efforts and telling
employees that the organization values
their efforts, which stimulates their
motivation to improve.
Effective Recognition and
Reward Strategies
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Give both individual and team awards
Involve everyone
Tie rewards to quality
Allow peers and customers to nominate
and recognize superior performance
Publicize extensively
Make recognition fun
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Motivation
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Motivation - an individual’s response to
a felt need
Theories
– Content Theories (Maslow; MacGregor;
Herzberg)
– Process Theories (Vroom; Porter &
Lawler)
– Environmentally-based Theories (Skinner;
Adams; Bandura, Snyder, & Williams)
Key Idea
There is no such thing as an unmotivated
employee, but the system within which
people work can either seriously impede
motivation or enhance it.
Performance Appraisal
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How you are measured is how you
perform!
Conventional appraisal systems
– Focus on short-term results and individual
behavior; fail to deal with uncontrollable factors
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New approaches
– Focus on company goals such as quality and
behaviors like teamwork
– 360-degree feedback; mastery descriptions
Key Idea
Performance appraisals are most effective
when they are based on the objectives
that support the strategic directions of the
organization, best practices, and
continuous improvement.
Measuring Employee
Satisfaction and Effectiveness
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Satisfaction
– Quality of worklife, teamwork,
communications, training, leadership,
compensation, benefits, internal suppliers
and customers
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Effectiveness
– Team and individual behaviors; cost,
quality, and productivity improvements;
employee turnover; suggestions; training
effectiveness
Key Idea
HR measures allow companies to predict
customer satisfaction, identify those
issues that have the greatest impact on
business performance, and allocate
appropriate resources.
Human Resources in the
Baldrige Award Criteria
The Human Resource Focus Category examines how an organization’s work
systems and employee learning and motivation enable employees to develop
and utilize their full potential in alignment with the organization ’s overall
objectives and action plans, and how the organization builds and maintains a
work environment and an employee support climate conducive to performance
excellence and to personal and organizational growth.
5.1 Work Systems
a. Organization and Management of Work
b. Employee Performance Management System
c. Hiring and Career Progression
5.2 Employee Learning and Motivation
a. Employee Education, Training, and Development
b. Motivation and Career Development
5.3 Employee Well-Being and Satisfaction
a. Work Environment
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b. Employee Support and Satisfaction