Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

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BUSI1546: Foundations of Scholarship Topic review (September 2013 starters) EJ Lethbridge

Course School/Level Assessment Weight Submission Deadline

BU/PG 0.00% 31/10/2013

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Anil Kondrakunta

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Anil, Kondrakunta

000798884

Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

Contents
Meaning of employee engagement..2 Introduction..2 Decision making...2 Discussion.....3 B&Q plc ...........3 Employee engagement in B&Q....3 Flight Centre.5 Employee engagement in Flight Centre5 Conclusion....6 References.6

Anil, Kondrakunta

000798884

Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

Employee engagement is crucial for effective, corporate decision making. Discuss using examples from two global companies. Meaning of Employee Engagement:
Employee engagement is that the notion of fascinating condition, has organizational structure purpose, and connotes involvement, commitment, passion, enthusiasm, targeted effort, and energy, thus it's each attitudinal and behavioural elements . The antecedents of such attitudes and behaviours are situated in conditions below which individuals work, and also the consequences are thought to be valuable to organizational effectiveness (see Erickson, 2005). WH Marcy referred the term employee engagement is employed at totally different times to check with psychological states and behaviours .

Introduction:
The term employee engagement was most likely originated in the 1990s by the Gallup organization (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999). Employee engagement has become a rather popular term and an ambiguous subject in both academic researchers and among practitioners. The advancement in quality or efficiency has achieved through the new ideas in the current economy. To compete effectively, companies and business firms not only recruit the high talent employees, but must inspire their employees to work with their full capabilities and with enthusiasm in their work. Hence, employees were expected to be proactive and show initiative and be committed to the high quality performance standards in their particular fields. The existing research shows that the attitudes of some employees called engagement are resulted in turnover and productivity of the organizations (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). Some of the propositions regarding the effects of job attributes and leadership as main effects on state and behavioural engagement and as moderators of the relationships among the three facets of engagement. The relevant literatures, propositions about Psychological state engagement; Behavioural engagement; and trait engagement.

Decision Making:
The ability of good decision-making is so valuable in the companies, as in turn earn profits. Often, the companies all important decisions were made by the higher-ups in the company, who are not available quickly enough or not available with enough time to make the required decisions.so it is important that employees make good decisions and management be full confident that employees decision was right in a crucial times. The criteria of decision should be consistent across all levels in the company and in all locations of the company. The only way to achieve this end in the current and prospective business environment is by compelling employee engagement. The success of the company could be depends on the measurable and general level of employee engagement in the company. Companies that saddle employee engagement in values-based approach are likely to be on the up side of the curve.

Anil, Kondrakunta

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Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

Discussion:
At a minimum, the question remains as to whether engagement is a unique concept or merely a repackaging of other constructs, in divergence a recent review by Macey and Schneider (2008) documented the build-up of various definitions of engagement, and many of them bring old wine in new bottle. In a recent study of Forrester stated that only 24percent of employees are engaged, and essentially enjoying their works. A recent study of Wirthlin Worldwide/ LRN stated the relation among management, employee and public views of corporate values, and ethics. They questioned managers, employees, and members of the public whether corporations operate ethically. Although 8 executives among 10 (79 per cent) believe that most of the top 1,000 U.S. companies operations are in a fair and honest manner, and 7 of 10 (71 percent) members of the public say that only some operate fairly and honestly. Almost all executives (94 percent) agreed that there is a positive connection between ethics and company performance. Here the issues are clear that managers believe the values are important and also believe that the situation is still in their hands. Employees believe that values are important but also believe that only few managers operate in consistent with appropriate values. Employees are rarely given opportunities to require care of things to do, albeit they\'re generally expected to require the correct issue to try and do on their own, they\'re not supported with the desired tools for higher cognitive process and frame work to decide on right call. Conclusive, compelling relationship between engagement and profit- ability through higher productivity, sales, client satisfaction, and employee retention are established during a company. As a folk theory, engagement is applied in a manner that implies the opposite of disengagement. For example, a variant number of popular views of engagement connote that engaged employees not only contribute more but also are more loyal and therefore less likely to voluntarily leave the organization.

B&Q: History:
B&Q plc. is a British multinational DIY and home improvement retailing company, originally known as Block & Quayle has its head quarters in Eastleigh, England. This company is founded by Richard Block and David Quayle in 1969(Company Information. B&Q, retrieved 23 August 2011). B&Q is now available in Mainland China, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, Taiwan, and in United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest DIY retail chains in the world and second largest in Europe and the largest in China and United Kingdom. Combination of mergers, acquisitions and expansions lead the company grow rapidly in the global market.

Employee Engagement in B&Q:

B&Q made improving employee engagement an integral component of its performance management process since 2005. B&Q is one of nine companies to be awarded

Anil, Kondrakunta

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Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

a second Gallup Great Workplace award. The company placed employee engagement at the heart of the business by incorporating it into our employee-customer prot chain, said Martyn Phillips, HR director. This prot chain demonstrates that employing the most talented people and engaging them in the business and its values will deliver customer loyalty, which will give true business growth. Each manager is provided with employeeengagement action plan, which is built using input from his or her team(Melkonyan, n.d.). The B&Q intranet, inter.com, is central to the free ow of information throughout the business. It contains all company policies and procedures, as well as news and information on all issues regarding the business, which is open to every B&Q employee, it receives around 12,000 visits each day (Martyn Phillips, HR director). The active engagement of B&Qs workforce has now hit an all-time high of 60 percent, against a global average of 28 percent. The company also offers the employees for job-share who do not want, or are unable, to work full time, and an online job-share register to help people to find a partner with whom to job-share and a guarantee that if a job-share partner leaves, the company will find an alternative partner or accommodate existing working hours the company also provides employees with staggered starting and finishing times. Split shifts and dual-store contracts, are available which allow employees to work at more than one store, as long as their hours do not exceed full time, and so benefit from full-time work when only part-time roles. A one employee, two roles scheme, is provided in the job which allows employees to work in more than one area of the business and so develop new skills. Home and remote working for some employees, on an occasional basis and career breaks that enable an employee to take a break from work, for a minimum of three months and for up a year. The opportunity for fathers, in place of mothers, to extended maternity leave, where both partners work for B&Q. The option for mothers on maternity leave to work keep in touch days and take time off in lieu later. Up to one week paid time off for IVF treatment and up to one week paid compassionate or carers leave each year(Melkonyan, n.d.). The company also offers: B job-share for employees who do not want, or are unable, to work full time, and an online job-share register to help people to find a partner with whom to job-share; B a guarantee that if a job-share partner leaves, the company will find an alternative partner or accommodate existing working hours B staggered starting and finishing times B split shifts B dual-store contracts, which allow employees to work at more than one store, as long as their hours do not exceed full time, and so benefit from full-time work when only part-time roles are available B a one employee, two roles scheme, which allows employees to work in more than one area of the business and so develop new skills B home and remote working for some employees, on an occasional basis B career breaks that enable an employee to take a break from work, for a minimum of three months and for up a year

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Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

B the opportunity for fathers, in place of mothers, to extended maternity leave, where both partners work for B&Q B the option for mothers on maternity leave to work keep in touch days and take time off in lieu later B up to one week paid time off for IVF treatment B up to one week paid compassionate or carers leave each year

Employee engagement in flight centre:

Flight Centre Limited regards its people as its greatest asset and has consistently been recognized as an employer of choice internationally. The employees believe Our Company is our people. The company takes care for their employees health and wellbeing, their personal and professional development and their financial security. The Flight Centre believe each individual in company should have the opportunity to share in the companys success through outcome-based incentives, profit share, BOS (franchises) and Employee Share Schemes. The structure of the company is simple, lean, and transparent, with accessible leaders. There is a maximum of four and sometimes five layers. The family is the team with minimum three, maximum seven members, and similarly Villages, Areas, Nations and Global Executive Team/Board are the teams according to their quantity of members.

Supportive help from Flight centre:

Flight Centre takes care of each and every employees health issues by providing them with free health and wellness assessment and nutritional guidance, discount exercise classes, onsite massage, reflexology, osteopathy and acupuncture. There are also provided with social team activities, sports events, fun runs and in-house competitions. Financial support such as free financial consultants, debt management, Mortgages, the company also provided investment portfolios, insurances and private medical scheme. Employees are provided with entertainment programs like buzz nights, Christmas party, UK Awards Ball, global gathering, Conferences. The career development plans were provided to the employees such as employing local people, industrial training, personal development sessions, Global career opportunies, and overseas familiarisation trips. Remuneration & Incentives such as uncapped sales earning potential, Contributory pension scheme, Company share purchase scheme, Business ownership scheme.

Conclusion:
In a world that is changing both in terms of the global nature of work and the aging of the workforce (Erickson, 2005), having employees with engaged behaviour may be a key to competitive advantage. This will be especially true if we can show how the employee engagement construct produces effects at levels of analysis of concern to management. Once again, there seems to be no silver bullet. Companies that get these conditions of employee engagement right will have accomplished something that competitors will find very difficult to imitate. It could be easy to change price and product to compete but it is another thing to create a state and behaviourally engaged workforce.

Anil, Kondrakunta

000798884

Foundations of Scholarship: Topic Review

MBA-IB

References:

1. (Melkonyan, n.d.)Corporate Reputation and People Management [WWW Document], n.d. Scribd. URL http://www.scribd.com/doc/3963536/Corporate-Reputation-andPeople-Management (accessed 10.31.13). 2. Melkonyan, M., n.d. ARMSTRONGS HANDBOOK OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE. (Corporate Reputation and People Management, n.d.) 3. G. Schiuma, S. Mason, M. Kennerley, Assessing energy within organisations, Measuring Business Excellence, 2007, 11, 3, 6.9. 4. Alan M. Saks, (2006) "Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 21 Iss: 7, pp.600 - 619 5. Kahn, W.A.,1990, Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 33, pp.692-695 6. Harter, J. K., & Schmidt, F. L. (2006). Connecting employee satisfaction to business unit performance. In A. I. Kraut (Ed.), Getting action from organizational surveys. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 7. W.M Greenfield, decision making and employee engagement, pg 14).

Anil, Kondrakunta

000798884