Reference no: EM133161777

One way to manage human resources effectively is to treat each member of the organization as the "member of the family deserving respect and recognition". There should be no class system or social status differentiation among all the employees from the president down to floor worker. The tendency of successful organizations is towards participative style of management and workers' participation in making operational decisions. Nothing is more motivational to workers than to know that there are no barriers between them and the management and there are no 'ivory towers' where managers get special and superior treatment than the workers. This style of management is especially prevalent in the Japanese industries where there is open and free communication between management and workers. This open interaction among all is highly encouraged by one Japanese company which has established a reputation for quality, service and human relations in the whole world. That company is SONY.

To break down barriers between management and staff, Sony has instituted common cafeterias, known as on-site dining. On-site dining is perceived as more than merely a pleasant dining experience. According to Sony's director of facilities management, "When employees eat in, they tend to exchange work ideas. They walk the work at a different level."

On-site dining also saves time as well as abuses of lunch hour time because workers do not have to commute to different restaurants for lunch.

Morita, a onetime highly successful Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sony, once explained: "I have always made it a point to know our employees, to visit every facility of our company and to try to meet, and know every single employee." He himself socialized with the employees because he considered them as a part of Sony Family. To him, it was not human resource management; it was respect, for one's family.

The on-site dining facility helps to strengthen work-related relationships and thus increase employee morale and productivity. It is a one-class cafeteria and there is no special place or special food reserved for top management. All the employees eat in the same place under the same environment. It. brings employees together in a more relaxed setting, outside the work environment, so that they have the opportunity for social bondage. This, in turn, can create work relationships and enhance productivity. Workers get to know each other on a first name basis and then try to help each other in the work environment. This also helps in providing easy access to management and this is a morale boosting element. This is due to the fact that on site dining encourages intra-company networking by bringing together people at different positions in the structural vertical as well as horizontal hierarchy from different departments. Such networking can ultimately facilitate internal communication since people get, to know each other with respect and affection.

Such Japanese work ethic is being adopted by more and more American companies. They are beginning to realize that human resource management is not moving the people to work, but motivating the people to work and motivation comes with respect and recognition rather than financial incentive or comfortable working conditions alone.

Questions:

1. How can you describe performance .management at Sony?

2. How the career path in managed at sony?