Integrated Pastoral & Academic Support System

I Pass

Integrated Pastoral & Academic Support System

MSc in HRM pre-entry academic writing exercise

Purpose

One of the areas in which students are supported within the MSc in HRM/ IHRM is in relation to the development of academic skills, including the evaluation of information sources, critical reading, essay writing and referencing.

In order to allow us to provide support at an early stage of the programme, you and all the other new students are being given the opportunity to submit a piece of writing and to receive qualitative feedback on that writing. Please note that this is entirely voluntary and there is no requirement for you to undertake the task. This piece of work will not be formally markedbut will allow staff to identify any particular challenges which you may face regarding academic writing. You will then be offered full support through face to face meetings with programme staff and the University’s Effective Learning Service, access to online study skills information and a personal “academic writing skills” development plan.

This hopefully means that you can begin the MSc in HRM programme with more effective academic skills and strategies and also with more confidence in your own abilities to successfully complete and enjoy the programme.

Task

Please answer the question belowand prepare a 1000 word answer. Normal academic conventions allow your word count to be up to 10% under or over this limit, not including the reference list.

Your answer should make reference to appropriate literature to support your arguments. Some information sources have been provided for you. You may use some, all or none of these but your answer should include references to at least 5 sources of information. The following material containsa guide to referencing material within academic workand the article below demonstrates good practice in referencing information taken from other sources.

Your answer should be typed. Please send your completed answer to Margaret Masson or post it to Margaret Masson, Dept of Management, Glasgow School for Business& Society, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 OBA.

Question:

Discuss the need for effective attendance management within organisations and critically evaluate the contribution of HR professionals to the management of attendance.

Feedback

You will receive written individual feedback and will also have the opportunity to meet a tutor to discuss your answer and the feedback in more detail.

Queries

If you have any queries regarding this writing exercise, please contact Margaret Masson, the programme’s Pastoral and Academic Support Coordinator at the email address shown above.

Possible information sources

Absence Measurement & Management CIPD factsheet July 2009

Absence Management: 9th Annual CIPD Absence Survey

Effective Absence Management Measures, Nadia Williams 19 March 2009

Health & Safety Executive website, Sickness Absence homepage

Metro News Report, Call for Workplace Rehabilitation, 14 July 2008

Articles

Revolutionary absence management system for 3PL

Website: LogisticsManager.com, Published Feb 2009

Wincanton has saved thousands by implementing an absence management system from Active Health Partners (AHP).
The system, which was brought in to cut down on employee sickness across a number of its sites, reduced absence by 10,000 days in the first six months.
The 3PL says it is now saving £178 per employee per year.
Previously, evaluating absence rates and trends throughout the business was difficult because of the sheer number of employees working at different locations (30,000 based across 400 sites). Differences in the customer reporting requirements across the company also meant that some sites included staff on long-term sick leave while others excluded these figures.
Wincanton wanted a system that would help improve consistency across the business. The system involves the provision of nurse-led medical advice that assists employees back to health quickly. It analyses trends across each site while providing real-time management information.
With the solution in place, instead of calling their line manager to notify an absence, employees contact a 24-hour nurse-staffed call centre. Based on the symptoms provided by the employee, medical advice is given, along with an anticipated return-to-work date. The line manager is then notified via email or text with an overview of the information, and relevant data is collated to enable comprehensive online management reports.
“We are delighted with the success of the scheme and it has resulted in tangible cost savings for both the business and our customers,” said Claire Webber, human resources manager, strategic projects, Wincanton. “The real-time reports are a real benefit as they enable us to identify trends and manage any staffing issues more promptly and effectively. As a result of the service, the average duration of short-term absence fell from seven days to four and the nurse-led approach has been very well received by employees.”
Initially, the absence management service was trialled for six months on 11 contracts, involving 5,500 staff based at 20 sites. This period was then extended to nine months to allow the system to become fully embedded. In the first eight months, the AHP nurses handled over 22,000 calls, with 90 per cent of employees feeling that their call had been dealt with politely and appropriately.
Due to the success of the pilot scheme – at one site the average absence rate was halved – the scheme is being rolled out to additional sites across the business

Wish you were here: managing absence

Caroline Dunn, VNU Business Publications Ltd, Adrian Wilkinson, Business School, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK

Abstract

Management texts abound on how to develop effective techniques to manage absence, but what actually happens in practice? Aims to shed light on how organisations try to cope with the “problem”. Examines the practices of seven companies from three sectors (financial services, retail, and manufacturing) and has drawn upon the views and opinions of personnel practitioners, line managers, occupational health advisers as well as employees themselves. Focuses on how organisations are addressing the issue of absence and the organisational factors which make up the day-to-day policing of absence levels. Three themes are relevant to the context of this study. First, when is absence perceived to be a problem? Second, how do companies manage absence and do line managers view the management of absence as being within the remit of their responsibilities? Finally, the issue of negotiated discipline is considered. How are rules applied in practice?

Journal: Personnel Review Volume: 31 Number: 2 Year: 2002

Introduction

Management texts (Taylor, 1982; Sargent, 1989) abound on how to develop effective techniques to manage absence but what actually happens in practice? This paper aims to shed some light on how organisations try to address the “problem”. It examines the practices of seven companies from three sectors (financial services, retail, and manufacturing) and has drawn upon the views and opinions of personnel practitioners, line managers, occupational health advisers as well as employees themselves.

Although there is a wide literature on causes of absence, there is much less available on the management of absence: how managers define and police acceptable standards (Edwards and Whiston, 1993). In this paper, we focus on how organisations are addressing the issue of absence and the organisational factors which make up the day-to-day policing of absence levels. Three themes are relevant to the context of this study. First, when is absence perceived to be a problem? Second, how do companies manage absence and do line managers view the management of absence as being within the remit of their responsibilities? Third, how are rules applied in practice?

In the next section we analyse the existing literature in relation to the management of absence and discuss our approach to the research. The section following presents the findings of our case study research. Finally, we review the issues arising from this work.

Managing absence: a review

Absence, as a problem, comes to managerial attention when it appears to cost money (Edwards and Whiston, 1993). Much of the literature lays emphasis on this economic perspective and Nicholson brings this out well when he remarks: “Absence, in the language of economics, is an unpredictable variation in the firm’s labour supply and in labour-intensive and technologically primitive settings this can produce costly concomitant variations in output” (Nicholson, 1977, p. 237).

It has been described as the largest single source of lost productivity in business and industry (Harvey and Nicholson, 1993, p. 841). Absence can generate costs in a number of ways. One of the most immediate and substantial costs resulting from absence is the direct payment of sick-pay to employees. Sick-pay can prove costly to the organisation, because, if it is bringing in staff to cover for the absentee, it is, in effect, paying twice – for the absent employee and the replacement worker. The 1994 changes in Statutory Sick-Pay saw the costs of absence shift from state to employer; reimbursements to employers for Statutory Sick-Pay (SSP) payments to employees were abolished, with the exception of small employers. According to the government at the time, the one percentage point reduction in the lower rates of employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NIC), together with the 0.2 percentage point reduction in the standard rate to 10.2 per cent to balance the SSP changes, would more than offset the additional costs to employers of unreclaimable SSP payments (IDS, 1994). Nevertheless, the 1994 changes meant that absence cost became more prominent.

There are also myriad indirect costs which are often more intangible and difficult to measure, such as reduced productivity, as work is done by people who are less experienced and/or tired, lower product quality if replacement staff are not sufficiently competent, loss of customers due to failure to meet deadlines or through an inferior service, management/ supervisory time used in revising work schedules, etc. (Huczynski and Fitzpatrick, 1989, p. 16).

In their review of the literature, Steers and Rhodes (1984) suggest that organisational control systems which aim to reduce absenteeism can be powerful tools. Schmitz and Heneman’s (1980) review of positive incentive plans showed that it had led to a reduction in absenteeism. Effective reinforcers included bonus points (Baum and Menefee, 1978), bonuses (Grove, 1968; Lawler and Hackman, 1969; Orpen, 1978; Panyan and McGregor, 1976) and participation in lottery (Stephens and Burroughs, 1978; Johnson and Wallin, 1976).

The use of positive incentives raises a major issue surrounding the management of absence. Huczynski and Fitzpatrick (1989) note that the useof attendance bonuses is the most common type of financial incentive. They noted a degree of “ambivalence” as to the relative merits and effectiveness of attendance bonuses. Some managers believe that employees should not receive any additional income to attend work and others felt that many of the attendance bonuses were so small that the value of the scheme was criticised.

Whilst recognising that positive incentives are a method used in the management of absence, the use of sanctions is the focus of much attention within organisations. Disciplinary action remains the usual sanction against persistent absentees and this is recognised by most of the major reviews on methods of organisational control techniques. But the use of negative (punishment) techniques does not imply holistic, homogeneous methods to punish absentees. Instead, the term relates to a variety of practices such as withholding company sick-pay, reducing annual leave entitlement, dismissal for poor attendance and others. Whilst recognising the positive and negative actions taken by organisations to manage absence, the issue of legal compliance is an important factor in their effectiveness. Specifically, absence control programmes involving procedures and sanctions are most effective when based upon patterns of “legal compliance” (Rosenthal, 1979; Katz and Kahn, 1966; Baum and Youngblood, 1975). Thus, as Latham and Napier (1984) conclude:”It would appear that an attendance control policy, established by a legitimate source authority and implemented with clear-cut progressively enforced legal sanctions, should lead to significant improvements in employee attendance”.

Much as an organisation can seek to exert influence in monitoring and controlling levels of absence, ironically, these can encourage higher levels of absence. Sargent (1989, p. 15), states that: “it needs to be faced that a number of personnel policies effectively encourage people to take time off”.

For example, if an absence trigger level is set whereby action is taken after ten days’ absence, this could encourage individuals to take up to nine days. It is important to consider the evidence available on the impact of negative sanctions. Edwards argues that, whilst there has been a shift towards self-discipline, the use of sanctions is still common and widespread: There is thus strong evidence that unions continue to perform their role of providing ways for employees to be managed without the threat of sanctions. And, not surprisingly, large and well-paying firms have alternatives to sanctions (Edwards, 2000, p. 325).

The notion of organisational control policies also relates to wider issues of personnel policy and the role which personnel occupy in managing absence. However, organisational rules are not “tablets of stone”, but can be subject to micro variables at shopfloor level which can determine how they are interpreted and applied in practice.

Edwards (1989) sees discipline as having three faces: The first is the application of punishment for breaches of the rules. Second, there is the formulation of the rules themselves, together with the procedures to be followed in their application. Third is the creation in practice of the expectations, norms and understandings that govern behaviour (Edwards, 1989, p. 297).

The issue of control is central to such analyses. As Edwards (1994) points out, rules, together with the sanctions that follow their breach, encompass the wider relations of conflict and control. Edwards (1989), Edwards and Whiston (1989) and Henry (1987) argue that organisational control is an important ingredient in considering the issue of absence and such control can be generated through policies and procedures defining the limits and boundaries of employee behaviour. Edwards (1989), in reviewing previous research, found that: “The safest conclusion is that disciplinary issues are often discussed with shop stewards, even though the rules themselves are rarely negotiated” (Edwards, 1989, p. 304).

Managerialist accounts of how to control absence abound, but tend to ignore workers’ points of view (Harvey and Nicholson, 1993). Edwards (1989), in his third “face”, does give consideration to informal rules governing behaviour and touches on a major theme that has developed in the absence-discipline literature – the way in which realities of the work situation can seriously undermine the design and execution of disciplinary action. Furthermore, execution of these rules has to be kept within the boundaries of acceptability amongst the workforce, since the manager is dependent on co-operation by his workers in order to get the job done. Edwards and Scullion (1984, p. 569) argue that much research in this area sees absence as reflecting the “inadequate adjustment of the individual employee instead of understanding absence as part of a conflict-laden relationship between employer and worker”.

The study

Research in 1997 was conducted with seven companies from the retail (Shopco, Superco, Foodco), financial services (Consultco and Bankco) and manufacturing sectors (Prodco, Manufco). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel/human resources managers, line managers, health and safety managers and occupational health managers. Some 50 interviews took place in total, lasting on average an hour each. Documentary data were obtained in the form of written absence policy and procedures, company information, disciplinary procedures and other background information. In essence, the aim for each of the interviews was to explore respondents’ feelings and opinions about certain issues and not our own interpretation of their values and opinions. Furthermore, interviews with different sets of people allow for an appreciation of the different constructions and meanings that people place upon their experience.

Findings

The following sections set out the central themes which arose from our findings. The data are organised in five main sections:

1. (1) The profile of absence. We focused on the importance of absence management to the case study organisation. We found that this varied according to the operational needs of the company, employee profile and industry sector (see Table I).
2. (2) Monitoring absence. We examine the problems the case study organisations faced in achieving equity and consistency via formal methods of monitoring absence. Again, the importance of employee profile and nature of the organisation resulted in varying methods of monitoring.
3. (3) Controlling absence. In this section, we look at formal and informal methods of absence control and the importance attached to them by the case study organisation. We also focus on the uses and difficulties in using positive and negative incentives in controlling absence as well as the wider focus of health promotion at work.
4. (4) Defining responsibilities and ownership. The material in this section addresses three issues. First, it stresses that, in all the case study companies, line management is seen to be primarily responsible for the management of absence. Second, in some of the companies, there have been moves to reinforce this responsibility. Third, the way in which line management accepted and complied with their responsibilities varies between the companies for a variety of reasons.
5. (5) Discipline and the dynamics of line management discretion. Whilst organisations could in theory see the distinction between the enforcement of disciplinary rules and procedures and the exercise of discretion, in practice this was problematic as there were a number of organisational variables.

The profile of absence

Some research suggests that the 1994 changes in SSP raised the profile of absence as an issue, since the employer has to take full financial responsibility for the first four weeks of absence (IDS, 1994). However, in our case studies such changes had a minimal impact on heightening the profile of absence, sick-pay arrangements and absence control procedures. At Shopco the introduction of no payment for the first day of sickness reflected a need to curb one-day absences. The formalisation and current implementation of the new Attendance Policy at Prodco reflected responses to the need to promote consistency. A higher profile was attached to absence within the food retailing sector, which resulted from a need to maintain good staffing levels for operational reasons. Within the financial services sector, the need to manage absence was given a low profile. Many of the interviewees remarked that this was primarily due to a view that “We don’t have a problem here”. Furthermore, it was argued that the professional nature of the company and the employees who reflected this played a large part in determining the significance of absence as a phenomenon. One HR partner at Consultco commented: “I wish I could say more. Absence is not a phenomenon which is part of my mind-set and I just don’t have conversations about absence or absenteeism at all. Absence is almost a non-issue for me. I don’t have strong views on it”.