Smart working. The impact of work organisation and job design Essay

Smart working. The impact of work organisation and job design - Essay Example It is claimed that the most significant resource of any business is the people it employs, its manpower or workforce. As the world adopts technology at a faster rate with more sophisticated applications and as products tend towards greater similarity there is a growing awareness that a business may differentiate itself by creating a quality, focused and well-motivated workforce. In addition, the world labor market is become more flexible with greater mobility for well-qualified staff to move between major business centers. It is therefore of greater significance than ever before to keep good staff and to continue to attract the best recruits possible. Due to the importance of the people of the company it is equally important and difficult for the managers to manage these people. With the passage of time, the world of work and the workers in it are becoming more and more competitive and aggressive about their success at work. The advent of globalization has demolished the economic barriers that once existed and has opened doors to markets that were once thought to be too out of reach to cater. The change in the attitude towards workforce management has been great and fundamental since the early years of the twentieth century and the introduction of mass production. There are still firms and factories that 'hire and fire' workers on an almost daily basis and offer no training and staff development at all. However, these are now the exception rather than the rule. Modern Human Resource Management has been developed not just in response to the legal constraints on how workers are treated but also as a recognition that a truly successful and competitive business depends on the support and co-ordination of a well trained and suitably motivated team of staff.