Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Dec 22; Section:Education Times; Page # 40
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TURK TALK
New strategies to keep up with the times
Ashok Som, director, India Research Centre at ESSEC Business School, Paris, in his recent book Organization Re-design and Innovative HRM, says that firms need to re-design and align themselves with the environment in which they operate
Surbhi Bhatia/TNN
The current economic downturn has brought about significant changes in the way organisations work. In fact, most of them are thinking of new strategies of operating in the market. But according to Ashok Som, professor at the ESSEC Business School, Paris, it is not the economy alone that affects the manner in which organisations function. “Organisations get affected by the environment they operate in. There are four types of environment — political, economic, technological and social. Any change in any one of the elements can affect the way in which organisations operate. So, it is imperative that organisations re-design their strategies in order to align with the environment. Hence, designing is an ongoing activity and all designs are merely transient states in this activity with respect to the environment in which the firm operates,” Som elaborates. Som adds that the Mumbai attack is reason enough for the luxury or retail organisations to think about the way they operate. “It is a change in social environment. Many international organisations will henceforth find it risky to do business in the city or send people to Mumbai. Those who expanded earlier will now have to think of ways to survive. It is the same with technological changes. For instance, the launch of Nokia Iphone will change the way mobile phones operate and many organisations will have to re-design their strategies with the Iphone in mind,” he says. When it comes to changes in the economic environment, it is all the more important for organisations to re-think or redesign. “Each act of designing produces routines that generate systems about how the organisation in the designing process perceived and interpreted the system they were trying to influence. Therefore, with the economic downturn that has resulted from the systems that are today “misunderstood and misperceived,” it is very important for the firms to re-design themselves in keeping with the change,” he says. In the present scenario, an increasing number of companies will have to confront the essential question: given the changing business environment, how do we redesign the organisation for superior performance? “It has been observed from the case narratives that the role of innovative human resource management (HRM) practices and its alignment with re-design mechanisms is probably the key to enhanced performance. Identification of these innovative HRM and re-design mechanisms is a critical factor for improving organisational performance,” Som says. However, there are three main strategies to keep in mind while redesigning — uncertainty or risk avoidance, differentiation in terms of recruiting people and spending money, and integration of various company processes so that the control is more centralised. While listing some of the innovative HR practices, Som mentions that with the economic downturn, the HR has to be even more prudent because employees either leave organisations or, even if they stay on, are not confident. “In either of the case it is the role of the HR to instil confidence. It can do it by sharing information from top management to the employees. But then, it has to be extremely wise. The HR of an organisation can think of recruiting more professionals than spending more money on making people professional. The managerial personnel can be given choices in terms of working hours, workplace or parttime service, rather than being sacked altogether.”
TURK TALK
New strategies to keep up with the times
Ashok Som, director, India Research Centre at ESSEC Business School, Paris, in his recent book Organization Re-design and Innovative HRM, says that firms need to re-design and align themselves with the environment in which they operate
Surbhi Bhatia/TNN
The current economic downturn has brought about significant changes in the way organisations work. In fact, most of them are thinking of new strategies of operating in the market. But according to Ashok Som, professor at the ESSEC Business School, Paris, it is not the economy alone that affects the manner in which organisations function. “Organisations get affected by the environment they operate in. There are four types of environment — political, economic, technological and social. Any change in any one of the elements can affect the way in which organisations operate. So, it is imperative that organisations re-design their strategies in order to align with the environment. Hence, designing is an ongoing activity and all designs are merely transient states in this activity with respect to the environment in which the firm operates,” Som elaborates. Som adds that the Mumbai attack is reason enough for the luxury or retail organisations to think about the way they operate. “It is a change in social environment. Many international organisations will henceforth find it risky to do business in the city or send people to Mumbai. Those who expanded earlier will now have to think of ways to survive. It is the same with technological changes. For instance, the launch of Nokia Iphone will change the way mobile phones operate and many organisations will have to re-design their strategies with the Iphone in mind,” he says. When it comes to changes in the economic environment, it is all the more important for organisations to re-think or redesign. “Each act of designing produces routines that generate systems about how the organisation in the designing process perceived and interpreted the system they were trying to influence. Therefore, with the economic downturn that has resulted from the systems that are today “misunderstood and misperceived,” it is very important for the firms to re-design themselves in keeping with the change,” he says. In the present scenario, an increasing number of companies will have to confront the essential question: given the changing business environment, how do we redesign the organisation for superior performance? “It has been observed from the case narratives that the role of innovative human resource management (HRM) practices and its alignment with re-design mechanisms is probably the key to enhanced performance. Identification of these innovative HRM and re-design mechanisms is a critical factor for improving organisational performance,” Som says. However, there are three main strategies to keep in mind while redesigning — uncertainty or risk avoidance, differentiation in terms of recruiting people and spending money, and integration of various company processes so that the control is more centralised. While listing some of the innovative HR practices, Som mentions that with the economic downturn, the HR has to be even more prudent because employees either leave organisations or, even if they stay on, are not confident. “In either of the case it is the role of the HR to instil confidence. It can do it by sharing information from top management to the employees. But then, it has to be extremely wise. The HR of an organisation can think of recruiting more professionals than spending more money on making people professional. The managerial personnel can be given choices in terms of working hours, workplace or parttime service, rather than being sacked altogether.”
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