The Role of Human Resource Management in Achieving Organisational Agility

Whilst uncertainty and change has always been the focal point of strategic management theories, the increasing rate of change and uncertainty that organisations have been experiencing during the past few decades has stimulated new approaches to the strategic management of firms. ‘Agility’ has been introduced as an appropriate paradigmatic approach to integrative strategy making ((Doz and Kosonen, 2008, 2010; McGrath, 2013a, 2013b; Sharifi, 2014). The concept has been considered as providing a comprehensive and cohesive platform for addressing the new conditions in the business environment, epitomised in notions such as hyper-competition, hyper-turbulence, and the continuously morphing business environment, through the perpetual process of altering and adjusting the firm’s direction and courses of action (Doz and Kosonen, 2008). The main aim behind the concept is to maintain strategic supremacy and competitiveness by anticipating and taking advantage of change ((D'Aveni, 1994; Thomas, 1996; Doz and Kosonen, 2007; Jamrog et al., 2006), and coping with and surviving unexpected changes (Zhang and Sharifi, 2000). Agile organisations rely on a series of agility capabilities such as strategic sensitivity, decision making prowess, learning aptitude and resource fluidity and flexibility (Hamel and Prahalad, 1993; Dyer and Shafer, 2003; Doz and Kosonen, 2008; Lengnick-Hall and Beck, 2009), many of which are human-related. A review of the agility literature revealed that achieving agility, similar to other value-based management philosophies, is heavily dependent upon various human factors such as Human Resources (HR) strategy, management approach and the prevailing culture of an organisation (Harper and Utley, 2001; Street et al., 2003; Dyer and Ericksen, 2006). However, the review of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) literature indicated that the SHRM studies have not responded to the agility agenda, thus, little is known about human resource management strategies and systems enabling organisational agility. In an effort to fill this gap, this research has focused on exploring the people aspects of organisational agility aiming at: 1. Identifying the HRM critical roles in developing organisational agility 2. Developing a theoretical model for crafting and implementing a HR Strategy which assists organisations in acquiring agile attributes. The conceptual model delineates the key constructs and features of an Agility-Oriented Human Resource Strategy (AOHRS). The research was conducted through exploratory qualitative research, collecting data mainly through semi-structured interviews with HR directors, agility professionals and senior managers from 17 large public and private organisations in the UK. The research explicated the need and developed a conceptual framework for AOHRS, which gives explicit attention to an array of external environment forces. The framework proposes the need for ongoing reinterpretation of contextual information, frequent review of necessary individual and organisation-wide skills portfolio and capabilities profiles, and frequent re-evaluation of HR principles, policies and practices-in-use to reflect the persistent uncertainty and continuously morphing business conditions. The framework also offers for a dynamic HR system which can analyse capability needs continuously and have appropriate policies and practices in place to easily and quickly reconfigure the firms’ human assets. The study contributes to the knowledge in the field of SHRM and organisational agility by presenting a comprehensive conceptual framework for AOHR strategy, complemented by an expansive definition for an Agility-Oriented SHRM suitable for an uncertain business environment. As part of this, the attributes and capabilities of the agile workforce, a series of Agility-Oriented HR Principles and a series of widely-adopted Agility-Oriented HR Practices are also empirically identified in addition to the characteristics and dimensions of an Agile HR Function

Final report of work-with-IT: the JISC study into evolution of working practices

Technology is increasingly being used to underpin business processes across teaching and learning, research, knowledge exchange and business support activities in both HE and FE. The introduction of technology has a significant impact on the working practices of staff, often requiring them to work in a radically different way. Change in any situation can be unsettling and problematic and, where not effectively managed, can lead to poor service or functionality and disenfranchised staff. These issues can have a direct impact on institutional effectiveness, reputation and the resulting student experience. The Work-with-IT project, based at the University of Strathclyde, sought to examine changes to working practices across HE and FE, the impact on staff roles and relationships and the new skills sets that are required to meet these changes

Approaching VUCA Environment with Enterprise Agility in Government Organization : Case Business Finland and COVID-19

As we live in a VUCA world, many have experienced what crises can cause in business life. To be resilient and thrive in this increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, top companies are gaining sustainable competitive advantages by embracing agility at scale. Those that fail to keep up with the rapid pace of change risk falling behind the competition. However, with crises come opportunities for change. Businesses of all sizes have never sensed so much pressure to make their business models fit changing requirements. This study aims to discover how a government organization embraced enterprise agility when the global pandemic (COVID-19) added another dimension to the already VUCA environment. Of particular interest is how the role of a public organization has affected a company’s agility in such a dynamic environment and what kind of capabilities are essential for agility. The study constructs a tentative theoretical framework based on existing research on a dynamic environment and enterprise agility considering the public context. The framework outlines the foundation for the exploratory qualitative case study on a single case from Business Finland, a Finnish government organization for innovation funding and trade, travel, and investment promotion. The primary data for the empirical study was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with 12 knowledge representatives who were actively involved in Business Finland’s operations during the COVID-19 outbreak but who worked in different units and regions, thus providing various lookouts on the same phenomenon. The novelty of this study lies in the combination of dynamic environment and agility, and it contributes to both research fields. The findings show that Business Finland has embraced enterprise agile practices to respond to the volatility and uncertainty that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. Altogether six agility providers with several embedded practices emerged from the findings. A burning platform for change replaced the cultural aversion to risk-taking and highlighted empowered teams that worked within and across agencies to achieve rapid results. The findings indicate that these providers and practices did not only help Business Finland to navigate through the COVID-19 crisis but also pointed to more agile operating practices to be more resilient and agile in the future. It became evident that the driver behind various operating rules and practices that might have hindered government organizations’ agility is more often a habit, not law. Given the high environmental velocity, the findings suggest that Business Finland should incorporate the Lean Startup mindset and practices that emerged during the crisis into its daily operations to prepare for future changes and potential shock waves. Moreover, the study confirmed the primary capabilities of agility, of which flexibility and responsiveness, in particular, became essential during the COVID-19 pandemic

An innovative framework for implementing lean principles in product- service system

The aim of this research project is to develop an innovative framework to implement lean principles in Product-Service System (PSS) with the capability of assessing the leanness level of the services offering process. The framework comprises three implementation phases namely: assessment of the current state, developing a future state, and stabilising the new way of operations. Additionally, the framework covers the enablers, factors, and appropriate lean tools required for the successful implementation of lean practices in Product-Service System (PSS), as well as, the challenges that may obstacle the implementation process. The proposed framework has integrated an assessment model that provides a quantifiable measure of the leanness level of Product-Service System (PSS). Five main enablers and thirty three factors emerging from these main enablers deemed to be critical for the successful implementation of lean practices in Product-Service System (PSS). Moreover, a series of eight inhibitors appeared to block the implementation process. The Product-Service System leanness assessment model was developed upon three main levels, namely: enablers, criteria, and attributes. The first level contains five enablers. These enablers are supplier relationship, management leanness, workforce leanness, process excellence, and customer relationship. In the second level there are twenty one criteria such as: supplier delivery, culture of management and process optimisation. Finally, the third level consists of seventy three attributes. By using multi-grade fuzzy approach the PSS leanness index was computed and areas for further improvement were identified. A combination of research methodology approaches has been employed in this research. Firstly, an extensive literature review related to lean and PSS was conducted. Secondly, the qualitative approach and the case study were selected as an appropriate methodology for this research, using semi-structured and structured interview techniques to gather the required data from experts who are involved in lean projects in their companies. Finally, validation of the results was carried out using real life industrial case studies and experts judgment. Case studies demonstrate that the framework provides guidelines for manufacturing companies that aim to implement lean principles in Product-Service System (PSS). The framework enables manufacturing companies to better satisfy their customers’ needs through responding quickly to their changing demands; to improve the service offering process through reducing the creation of wastes and non-value added activities; and to improve competitiveness through increasing customers’ value. Additionally, the PSS leanness index is useful for improving the service offering process. The index provides manufacturing companies with a real insight into the leanness level of their service offering, as well as, it provides managers with a quantifiable measure of how lean their PSS is. The index identifies the gap between the current state and the future state and this helps in determining areas for further improvement

ADAPTING THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN CAPITAL PROJECTS ORGANIZATIONS

Organizational change can be defined as an alteration of a core aspect of an organization’s operation, structure, or culture. Previous research on organizational change mainly has focused on different types of technical changes, such as alternative project delivery methods and strategies to adopt the design-build approach successfully. Also, previous studies have focused on the project level changes instead of organizational level responses. Here I show using a proposed change model and performing thematic, and analysis, that there exist common responses, and challenges across different types of capital projects organizations studied. The results show that responses to change will differ as a function of the type of change, and the organization’s capabilities and resources. Furthermore, when performing organizational changes, the impact on “people” within the organization should be closely studied and monitored, while taking into account other challenges that might impact the organization. For drivers of change, the main themes were related to Market shift. Clients/owners’ needs, and Sustainability. On the other hand, the organizational responses’ main themes were related to Restructuring, Communication, Partnerships, Training, Recruitment, Internal capabilities, organizational design, and supportive leadership. While for challenges, the main themes were mainly related to Resistance to change, the nature of the industry, and retaining the workforce. One of the major challenges faced during the research was motivating the organizations to participate. Various organizations showed interest and then decided not to join, while others that participated had to review their responses multiple times, and were concerned about revealing their “Trade secrets”. Future work should build on this effort and consider the responses and analyze them as a function of types of change, Moreover, future research should consider asking the interviewees to “weight” the responses to avoid wrong conclusions due to the low number of in-text mentions. This research will help capital project organizations to be aware of the main areas of concern during the journey of change and help them to learn from previous experiences from other organizations

Massive Open Online Courses for Employability, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: a Rapid Assessment of Evidence

This report summarises the evidence base regarding the use of open online learning for supporting employability, innovation and entrepreneurship within the European area. It was written as part of the European MOOC Consortium – Labour Markets project (EMC-LM). MOOC platforms in the European MOOC Consortium (EMC) look for solutions to reach better the labour market. This streamlined review of literature draws on scientific literature, project reports, policy documents, case studies and other resources to describe the potential for MOOCs to stimulate and empower organisations to use open education as part of their programs of continuous education (CE) and continuous professional development (CPD) or continuous vocational training (CVT). This report identifies several interstices where the worlds of higher education, vocational educational, training and open online learning come are converging. Evidence is provided for the contention that, through enhancing opportunities for flexible delivery of education, MOOC can innovate the way that we approach degree programmes, lifelong learning, CE and CPD. The information gathered in this report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of relevant material but does not claim to be exhaustive. This report was written as part of the EMC-LM project as a way to establish a shared understanding of the possibilities for collaboration and innovation. The references provided are nonetheless a great starting point for any investigation of the potential of MOOCs for workplace and lifelong learning. Approaches which emphasize the flexible delivery of learning are especially suited to workplace upskilling. For greatest impact and relevance, collaboration should cross disciplinary and professional boundaries, involving a wide range of stakeholders. Employability can be supported through improved management of work transitions; more flexible training options; new routes between education and work; building credibility in CPD; enhancing soft and transversal skills; and developing new mechanisms for authenticating non-formal learning. Innovation can be encouraged by working with greater transparency and sharing; improved dialogue between stakeholders; adopting a reflective attitude towards technology; and through policies which support and motivate new approaches. Entrepreneurship can be moving beyond the knowledge transfer model of entrepreneurial education; drawing stronger connections between theory and practice; promoting collaboration between researchers and practitioners in education and entrepreneurship; and encouraging entrepreneurial culture

Promoting conflict management competencies within informal structures and informal networks

Conflict typically is associated with negative and destructive connotations within organizations. However, a shift is taking place in workplaces to view conflict through a positive frame and to consider conflict as an opportunity to establish an environment that is more creative and innovative while identifying ineffective policies, behaviors or actions. This study was developed to examine how organizations can enhance conflict management competencies to empower leaders and employees to manage conflict by employing problem-solving tactics and collaborative approaches. Furthermore, this study was designed to understand what strategies and practices leaders and specialists in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution utilize to promote conflict management skills. Additionally, the research sought to identify the challenges these individuals encountered when implementing conflict management interventions in organizations, understand how success was measured, and determine recommendations to develop conflict management competencies. Fifteen Alternative Dispute Resolution leaders and specialists participated in this phenomenological study by voluntarily responding to 12 semi-structured interview questions. Based on the participants’ responses 46 themes emerged across the four research questions. Strategic conflict management planning, engaging stakeholders in the process, consensus building, and convening and inquiry were the top strategies and practices mentioned by the participants in the study. When facing challenges during an implementation of conflict management interventions the theme commonly mentioned was lack of stakeholder engagement and how participants managed obstacles was through being agile and emphasizing positive communication. Measurements of success used by the participants that ranked highest were receiving feedback on process and outcomes, metrics on conflict/issue, and organizational performance metrics. The top theme that surfaced among all participants was how they developed conflict management competencies through a combination of experience and various formal training. The participants indicated the desire to have further conflict management training and education earlier in the career. Based on the research the following three frameworks were developed to enhance conflict management competencies in organizations (a) problem-solving culture framework, (b) conflict management intervention model, and (c) conflict manager competency paradigm

Biomanufacturing Technologies for Engineering Biology

Engineering Biology seeks to apply engineering principles to design, modify, and produce customized biological components and systems. The recent advent of tools such as the CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene editing and gene regulation has sharply accelerated development in this exciting field. However, several challenges need to be addressed in order to transition laboratory-scale results to commercial-scale solutions. This report identifies emerging platform technologies that, if matured, will accelerate the growth in the rapidly changing field of Engineering Biology. The conclusions in the report are intended to guide stakeholders from government, industry and academia as they seek to further develop innovations in this field.The technologies that clearly met the selection criteria include: • The key platform technology—Standardized Verified and Tractable Host Cells or Strains for Biomanufacturing—will provide industries with host cells and strains that are amenable to engineering for scale-up or scale-out. The standardized and verified nature of these hosts will streamline regulatory processes and significantly de-risk aspects of the biomanufacturing process. • Several enabling tools are needed to fully realize the potential offered by the development of tractable host cells or strains. These tools will also enable more rapid Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycles, which is critical for the development of new host cells or strains. These tools include: (i) High Throughput Omics; (ii) Low-Cost and Error Free DNA Elements and DNA Assembly; and (iii) Efficient, Host-Neutral Gene Editing.National Science Foundation, Grant No. 1552534https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144782/1/EngineeringBiology_Final.pdfDescription of EngineeringBiology_Final.pdf : Repor