Human Relation Approach

In any organization, the human relation approach is critical in defining the intended objectives and goals. This is owing to the critical role it plays in ensuring that the essential aspects of the company organization are brought to book within the time range specified. In any business, human relationships serve as a driving force in determining the organization's success. To be more specific, the strategy utilized in human relations in any organization precisely identifies the organization's success and failures. The result of a proper human relation approach is a clear indication of the performance of the various tenets of an organization.

Human relation approach makes use of all the essential parts and stakeholders of the business organization. There are numerous important departments in any organization that need appropriate management to contribute to the success of the organization actively. The approach used in the organization should be an inclusive ensuring collaboration between the departments to achieve the goals set (Martocchio, 2017). Examples of such departments include the finance, employee management, external coordination among others.

Therefore, human relation approach plays a significant role in controlling and management. Controlling, in this case, involves the use of appropriate strategies to ensure that the business activities run as desired by the stakeholders aimed at realizing the objectives of the organization. Control and management through human relation approach ensure that the employees of the organization articulate the concepts control to ensure organizational stability. Controlling as one of the main activities of human relation that guides the information system, financial system, employee management, and even benchmarking. The collaborative cooperation of these section contributes to the smooth running of an organization. However, this depends on the human relation approach applied in an organization to facilitate the departmental processes as claimed by Diggs-Brown (2012).

Varied ideas of human relation often used in many organizations result in different outcomes. The choice of a human relation approach used should, therefore, be effectively selected to help the organization move forward in achieving the set goals. The choice should be to help in the stabilizing of the myriad fundamental sectors of the business organization. This will ensure that the departments are fully controlled and managed effectively to help in the realization of the organizational goals, aims, and objectives. This should be followed up using a proper mechanism that makes use of the many contemporary concepts in the day to day operation of the organization. In this context, the discussion of coming up with ways of considering human relation approach better compared to the classical approach of human relation.

How Human Relation Approach can be made Superior to Classical Approach to the management of an organization

Management of an organization can be facilitated through human relation approach that allows working in groups and organizations. Group working offers a better opportunity to learn new skills, knowledge, and sharing of experiences that yields a better business organization. The approach offers and opportunity where work is divided into sections and finally combined as a finished product. For instance, the use of the division of labor and specialization in an organization. In such a case, working in groups helps people achieve the desired output within the shortest possible time hence able to meet their specific deadlines as stated in their SMART objectives. Working in groups as an approach in human relation is very important since it ensures workers are effectively managed not only by the managers but also by the members of a group. This implies that groups can be assigned specific group leaders that will be in charge of maintaining order and ensuring efficiency is achieved within the groups. In this regard, the managers of the business organization have relived the duties of following up and down the rogue workers in the organization. This is because non-performing individuals are motivated immediately at group levels. Since it is group work, every individual expresses his/her abilities through by creating an impact through contribution (Martocchio, 2017). This is opposed to the state where individual workforce tends to work individually at their offices or place with the control of the organization manager.

In group work, step by step operation of the organization is enhanced beginning from the bottom to the top-most. The workforce is therefore controlled by the help of group members ensuring that every part of their work is done perfectly. This is applied uniformly across all the departments of an organization. For instance, the track of the organization funds can be tracked right away from the deposit level to the balancing level. This is effective compared to when people work individually to achieve the organizational goals. This is supported by the fact that managers usually look at the final output presented to them unlike going through the simple steps that contributed the presented outputs. Group working is a clear indication of the concept that the ‘process is as important as the results.' Group processes such as conflict management, decision-making, and communication help in ensuring a manageable business organization.

Group working can also be converted it into teams Team working is essential due since it defines members focused to work on common goals specified to their positive synergy intensively. In an organization, this helps in creating individuals that are capable of accounting for another member's accountability and complementary skills mutually. Work teams can either be problem-solving, self-managed, virtual or cross-functional. Working teams leads to sharing of leadership roles. Sharing leadership roles leads to the creation of an inclusive working environment where everyone contributes towards the management of the firm. This motivates the human resource in the firm giving them an opportunity to come up with creative measures of solving the organizational problems. Work teams are effectively created through enhancing their negotiation skills, good communication, appropriate leadership and internal and external support (Diggs-Brown, 2012).

Furthermore, working teams helps in identification of social networks that can help the development of the organization. Through this, working teams helps identify the critical importance making use of other social platforms that can help in managing the business operations. Current trends in affecting the operation of the organizations can also be exploited through the use of working teams. The collective responsibility of the individuals in a team is the greatest measure of the work output characterized by the ability to discuss the challenges of the organization openly and collaboratively to solve the problem (Henderson, 2013).

Creating workable organizational structures is very important for the growth and development of a firm. In modern business environments, the structure of the firm can define he performance compared to the existing structures the competitors are using. Therefore, proper selection of the structure contributes to the well-being of the organization since it offers an ample time in managing the operations (Robbins, 2017). Some of the contemporary organizational designs include the virtual, boundaryless, project structured, leaning and network. The selection of a specific design as its consequences regarding the products and services provided by the organization.

In conclusion, classical human relation focuses on altering the behavior of the workers to get motivated. Workers are motivated by means that will alter their behavior such as increased salaries and wages to improve their performance hence the performance of the organization. In other theories, the focus is on utilizing the workforce resource through collaboration with one another. Individual's groups, organizations, and teams are the enough to ensure a smooth running of the organization that will identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Treats (SWOT) towards the organization. Therefore, human relation theory critically examines the needs, contributions, and values of the employees.

Part 2

Nissan’s Approach to Supplier Development

Q1. Compare Nissan’s approach to performance improvement with that advocated with proponents of the Classical approach.

Nissan’s Sunderland assembly plant formed the Supplier Development Team (SDT) as an approach that will ensure that their suppliers are come up with workable strategies. This is a form, of human relation theory whose fundamental aspect is focused on the needs of its suppliers. Nissan’s Sunderland plant is one of the leading car assembly plants based in Sunderland hence the need to protect its business interests is imperative. Unlike Classical approaches that are aimed at ensuring a good organization, Nissan's creates an SDT. Contrary to the basic concepts of the classical approach, human relations theory plays an essential activity that supports the well-being of the stakeholders that contributes to the performance of the Nissan Plant. According to the organization of the assembly plant, the success of the plant depends on the myriad activities that take plant in and out of the plant. As stakeholders, ensuring proper management of their interests contributes either directly or indirectly towards the management of the plant. As stated in the case study, SDT aims at developing their businesses to maintain the present and future expectations of the assembly plant (Miller, 2014).

There are other activities done for the benefit of facilitating the organization's performance. This evident through the sending of two engineers to Japan for training. The engineers through the training will contribute to a lot of human relation activities through sharing of skills, knowledge, and experience. In human relation theory, the needs, value, and contributions of the employees are the main areas of focus unlike in classical approach where the organization is the main area in question.

Q2. What are the benefits of Nissan’s bottom-up approach to shop floor performance improvement compared with the benefits of the classical approach?

Nissan's Sunderland assembly plant has been able to work with the supply through the SDT program collaboratively. This has helped increase the performance of the plant through identification of the areas to be improved by the suppliers. This is a kind of team working where the SDT group contributes to the performance and monitoring of the Nissan assembly. Also, the SDT has devised a program that trains the suppliers on the importance ensuring quality and productivity improvement initiatives.

The approach has contributed towards the creation of a positive relation with the employees. This has resulted in free consultancy that Nissan is offering to its suppliers. The use of initiatives has changed the nature of antagonism experienced in some firms between the customers and their suppliers of goods and services.

The approach makes use of factory assessment through the use of reviews from the suppliers. This is one of the greatest contributors to the business performance since the negatives associated with the business is likely to be mentioned. An action plan on how to make the improvements can be made through this approach (Head, 2003).

On the other hand, the approach makes use of other stakeholders in the management of the organization. This is done through ensuring good communication is maintained between the company and the suppliers. This ensures that the managers of the company are involved in a collaboration with other participants of the firms to achieve its set goals and objectives. The various continuous improvement strategy is emphasized through a multifunctional team as claimed by Henderson (2013).

Q3. If Frederick Taylor's perception of human beings is as ‘greedy robots,' what is Nissan's? What is the implication for this on how staff should be managed?

Nissan's perception is summarized as ‘cooperation relationship.' The implication of this statement is clear given that Nissan appreciates the importance of suppliers in ensuring the competitiveness of the organization. This means that good work done by the suppliers replicates itself in the performance of the Nissan's assembly plant.

However, the statement warns that the cooperation should not be misunderstood. Engaging in a cooperative supplier relationship does not imply a smooth side of the Plant to the suppliers. The cooperation is sometimes harder to meet their implementation strategies, and agreements hence require enough efforts between the two companies. The former managing director of the Nissan states that ""cooperative supply relationships are not an easy option' to differentiate it from the traditional buyer-seller relationships.

References

DIGGS-BROWN, B. (2012). Strategic public relations: an audience-focused approach. Australia, Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

HEAD, S. (2003). The new ruthless economy: work & power in the digital age. New York, Oxford University Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=281166.

HENDERSON, G. (2013). Human relations approach to multiculturalism in K-12 schools: selected issues and strategies.

MARTOCCHIO, J. J. (2017). EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. [Place of publication not identified], MCGRAW-HILL.

MILLER, K. (2014). Organizational communication: approaches and processes.

ROBBINS, R. H. (2017). Cultural anthropology: a problem-based approach.