Competitve Advantage: Breaking New Ground

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Competitve AdvantageBreaking New Ground

• Dr Larry OConnell
• NCPP

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Breaking new ground on the economic high road

• External pressures
• Competition and Operating Costs
• Broader range - new pressures
• 50 - intense pressure on between 2 and 5 items
• 6 - intense pressure on 6 or more items
• Demands from employees seen as pressure in ¼ of
  firms
• 4 in 10 in manufacturing sectors
• Managing external pressures
• Examples

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How are organisations responding?

• What is in?
• Innovation
• Introducing new products (72)
• Improving Quality (82)
• Customisation (80)
• New production technologies (70 of manufacturing
  companies)
• Cost
• Reducing Costs (60)

• What is out?
• Labour reduction
• Reducing the number of employees (20)
• Structural solutions
• Mergers/ de-mergers (10)
• Outsourcing (18)
• Re-configuring divisions/ departments (15)

Employment Practices
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Employment practices New Frontiers

• Human capital
• Training and development (66)
• Encourage flexibility (56)
• Staff involvement (55)
• 70 of manufacturing companies
• Increase to over 60 in all sectors over the next
  3 years
• Staff involvement
• Arrangements for direct involvement in problem
  solving 63
• Employee discretion in the way their work is
  carried out 70
• Information and consultation with staff on change
  61

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How are employees responding?

• Satisfied workforce
• 89 satisfied with physical working conditions
• Committed workforce
• 80 will work to help the organsiation succeed
• Willing to change
• 74 will accept an incease in their
  responsibilities
• 44 wil accept increased pressure
• 78 will accept an increase in skill levels

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Is the workforce under-utilised?

• Level of information and consultation
• Employee financial participation 15 of
  companies
• Response to progressive HR
• 70 see positive benefits from partnership
• Satisfaction, performance, pay, security, trust
  in management
• 85-90 see participation as benefical
• BUT
• Only 23 of employees said partnership is present
  in their companies

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Key questions for Conference Panel

• To what extent can these pressures be contained
  and managed by a focus on internal organisational
  dynamics and work practices?
• What type of leadership and action is required to
  enable further development of high performance
  business practices?
• What do we need to do to ensure that employee
  participation leads to concrete gains for
  organisations and employees?