New Models of High Performance Work Systems - Equality Authority
New Models of High Performance Work Systems - Equality Authority
New Models of High Performance Work Systems - Equality Authority
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Part 1The Search for <strong>High</strong> <strong>Performance</strong>1.1 IntroductionEconomic and social indicators havefor some time now charted Ireland’sprogressive emergence as a knowledgebasedsociety. The changing structure <strong>of</strong>the economy and increasingly globalisedcompetition has exposed Irish-basedcompanies to greater levels <strong>of</strong> competitionfrom across the globe. Across theeconomies <strong>of</strong> the OECD, companies arepursuing strategies for building competitiveadvantage through higher productivitylevels and better product and serviceinnovation. In this search for competitiveadvantage, organisational or workplaceinnovation is widely seen as being a keyfactor in allowing companies to design andimplement workplace policies and practicesthat support higher levels <strong>of</strong> productivityand innovation.Over recent years, a clear view has emergedin terms <strong>of</strong> public policy in Ireland, whichadopts the perspective that sustainableimprovements in organisational performancewill be determined by the interaction <strong>of</strong> awide range <strong>of</strong> factors within the workplace.The National <strong>Work</strong>place Strategy (2005)articulated a comprehensive workplacedevelopment framework that encompassednine organisational characteristics: agile,customer-centred, networked, highlyproductive, responsive to employee needs,knowledge-based, continuously learning,involved and participatory, and proactivelydiverse.For several decades, researchers have beendeveloping increasingly effective approachesto examining how behaviours and practiceswithin organisations relate to businessperformance. The general propositionunderlying much <strong>of</strong> this research is thathigh-performing companies that competesuccessfully on the basis <strong>of</strong> productivityand innovation levels also tend to havemore sophisticated, extensive and effectivemanagement systems. In examining thisproposition, the concept <strong>of</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>Performance</strong><strong>Work</strong> <strong>Systems</strong> (HPWS) provides a usefulmeans <strong>of</strong> describing and explaining theobserved differences in workplace behavioursbetween high-performing organisations andaverage-performing organisations. Put simply,HPWS are bundles <strong>of</strong> work practices andpolicies that are found more extensively inhigh performing organisations.This report examines HPWS found inmanufacturing and services companiesoperating in Ireland, and describes how thesepractices are related to labour productivity,product and service innovation, and< 13