Final Research Paper Draft

Final Research Paper Draft
TELECOMMUTING 8 How does the practice of telecommuting impact employee experience, organizational success and workplace culture? Student’s name Institution affiliated Impacts of telecommuting on impact employee experience, organizational success and workplace culture: Outline Introduction Thesis statement; the use of telecommuting in workplace in America is increasingly becoming popular; therefore it is necessary for an organization to look into the impact of telecommuting. Body Paragraph: Telecommuting Telecommuting refers to an arrangement where workers undertake their responsibilities away from the ordinary workplace by the support of technological connections. Telecommuting is practiced on the basis of three principles (Pinsonneau, 1999). Telecommuting depends on manipulation, transformation as well as processing of information. This therefore means that information technology is a very important component of telecommuting because it enables employees to be in constant communication with other colleagues as well as the organization (Pinsonneau, 1999). Telecommuters always have ties with the organization that they are working for. Individuals working on contractual basis can also telecommute. The manner in which permanent employees telecommute and the contractual employees differ. Not all the contractual employees are allowed to telecommute; in most cases the employees who do clerical work on contract basis are allowed to telecommute (Pinsonneau, 1999). Telecommuting is not limited by space and time. Delocalization of work is done in different forms; satellite offices which is done through setting affiliate offices that are not far from the residence of the employee and besides a place where communication between the affiliate office and the organizations headquarter is maintained, mobile work, home base telecommuting which is done in specific area in the employees place of residence, as well as the neighborhood work centers (Pinsonneau, 1999). Body paragraph: Impact of telecommuting on employee experience. A well managed telecommuting enhances the efficiency of employee when it comes to work performance. Telecommuting succeeds as long as the employees are well aware of their roles and responsibilities. The advantages that come with telecommuting to the employees include; the workers have control of the work environment; the employees achieve closer proximity as well as the involvement with their families; with the elimination of the physical commuting that the traditional practice of workplace imposed on the employees, the workers are now in a position to reconcile different aspects of their lives such as the family, leisure and work. Thus resulting into better health of the employees since the stress that come with commuting to workplace, and other related stresses are eliminated through telecommuting hence a balanced life. Through these advantages, the employee’s morale is boosted due to job satisfaction as they develop a sense of control of their work environment (Mamaghani, 2012). Despite having positive impact on the employee’s experience; telecommuting also has negative impact on the employee experience. Through practicing telecommuting, employees in most cases are over burdened with a lot of work since they can work beyond the normal working hours without the interference of commuting. This therefore results into negligence by the employee of other roles in the family despite their presence at home; which results in invasion of the employee’s personal life. Telecommuting especially home based telecommuting leads to the loss of confidentiality since an employee performs the roles and responsibilities in an environment with other individuals who are not employed by the organization. Adequate feedback that is often needed for a successful work performance is not achieved through telecommuting (Mamaghani, 2012). Employee isolation is one of the major drawbacks of practicing telecommuting. The isolation is always felt by employees which result into low morale which has resulted into poor performance of employees thus affects the overall performance of the organization. Besides the employees hired to work through telecommuting often feel the absence of organizational support (Mamaghani, 2012). Body paragraph: Impact of telecommuting on workplace culture Workplace culture can be defined as a set of understandings that employees share and affect the way they perform their duties as well as their reactions to their environment. The culture of a workplace rests in the mind of the employees; values beliefs, and norms that constitute a culture of a workplace do not exist in a written form (Gainey, 1999). Telecommuting reduces the organizations cultural strength because of the employee isolation brought about by telecommuting. The effect of this practice has varying impact on different cultures that organizations have. The level of influence of telecommuting depends on the social interaction of employees in an organization; for instance in the case of Dionysus culture, telecommuting thrives because this type of culture operates on the basis of employee isolation to build self reliance and the individualistic environment that promote the culture (Gainey, 1999). Body paragraph: Impact of telecommuting on organizational success. Telecommuting is in a position to bring transformation in an organization; telecommuting reduces the rate of employee absenteeism instead employee loyalty to the organization is greatly enhanced hence the satisfaction of the employees is increased. Retention of employees becomes easier through telecommuting. Employees that leave an organization can be convinced to continue working for the organization wherever they are. Besides, through telecommuting, an organization is in a position to hire individuals with high skills needed especially those who are not willing to relocate to the organizations premise (Pinsonneau, 1999). Telecommuting results into improved quality of work as well as the productivity; this is the most important benefit of telecommuting in the organization success (Pinsonneau, 1999). Telecommuting enables the organization to cut down the cost of expenses; some of the cost reduced include that of energy consumption, managing overcrowded offices as well as that of maintaining large office space (Pinsonneau, 1999). Telecommuting enables an organization to be flexible and be in a position to respond effectively to the unexpected situations that may arise; the organization can decentralize their operations to which enhances their management much easier. Many of the organizations in the countries prone to earthquakes have resorted to practicing telecommuting so as to continue with their operations during the time the organization experiences damages as a result of earthquakes. Besides telecommuting allows organizations to be flexible with their working hours. Also the organization can hire more workers on a contractual basis (Pinsonneau, 1999). The negative impact of telecommuting on an organization may be; the resistance developed by the managers who are forced to change their management styles as a result of telecommuting citing reasons of information of the organization landing in the wrong hands since the transfer of the information is done over the internet. (Pinsonneau, 1999). On the other hand achieving motivation of employees under telecommuting practice is still a challenge because the individuals who work in the organizations premises always benefit from such activities because they do not require constant supervision to be evaluated. Telecommuting falls short when it comes to maintaining the culture of an organization due to employee isolation with minimal interaction that is well maintained through the traditional workplace (Pinsonneau, 1999). Conclusion Telecommuting has several advantages than disadvantages as highlighted above especially in the event that the practice is well managed by an organization. The management of telecommuting includes proper training of the managers as well as the employees to understand their roles and responsibilities that they are expected to perform. Telecommuting helps in the transformation of workplaces especially from the traditional workplace where employees are expected to be physically present at work. Telecommuting operates on the basis that the employees work away from the workplace. Despite the transition of the old practice of workplace, telecommuting requires a transition to result base as well as project management evaluation from the current time and activity based evaluation. References Gainey, T. W. (1999, September 22). Telecommuting’s Impact on Organization Culture and Individual Workers: Examining the Effect of Employee Isolation. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from FPO: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/SAM-Advanced-Management-Journal/57829884.html Mamaghani, F. (2012, September 22). Impact of telecommuting on organization productivity. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from FPO: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/European-Journal-Management/312171947.html Pinsonneau, A. (1999, November). The Impacts of Telecommuting on Individuals and Organizations. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from Expertise: http://expertise.hec.ca/gresi/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/cahier9909.pdf
Final Research Paper Draft
Running head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 0 Annotated Bibliography: Telecommuting Marshakie Applewhite ENG122: English Composition II Instructor: Dr. Paula Hayes June 26, 2017 Telecommuting: Annotated Bibliography Working thesis statement: Telecommuting is a significant workplace innovation that allows an increasing portion of the work force to work from home or work at a location remote from the central workplace. Cross, T. B., & Raizman, M. B. (1986). Telecommuting: The future technology of work. Homewood, Ill: Dow Jones-Irwin. Telecommuting builds an office without walls, permitting individual working at satellite offices or home to commute using computers, wireless and wired broadband connections, as well as telephone lines instead of cars. Telecommuting offers an outlook for long-range scenarios as well as simulations based on management trends and current business. (Cross, & Raizman, 1986) present concepts for designing work environments via computer-assisted systems, and they present creative applications for assimilating telecommunications technology to increase productivity as well as develop new business opportunities. From finding out which jobs are suitable to remote locations, to identifying individuals who are likely to be successful, to selecting appropriate equipment, Telecommuting explores the specific issues managers as well as executives must address when creating such a program. Telecommuting refer to working from any location whenever work is needed. Telecommuting is an important resource for companies that want to improve programs that already exist or develop telecommuting programs. Cox, W. (2009). Improving quality of life through telecommuting Winnipeg, Man: Frontier Centre for Public Policy. The numerous number of jobs filled by telecommuters may grow nearly four-fold to 19 million as well as deliver substantial economic, quality of life and environmental benefits for the United States over the next 15 years. Thanks to its potential to expand the supply of potential employees, increase productivity, and cut costs, telecommuting is evolving as an ordinary business strategy for a numerous number of companies (Cox, 2009). Encouraged by advances in information technology, particularly the spread of broadband services, telecommuting is the fastest emerging mode of getting from home to work. Assisted by continued expansion in broadband, particularly higher speed broadband, telecommuting is assured to become more popular than non-household and transit car pools as a means of accessing work. Having the range of potential benefits, including the chance that it could aid create new employment opportunities among middle-income Americans who don’t have the mobility to access many existing jobs, government should pursue policies to maximize as well as accelerate telecommuting. At a minimum, the possible benefits of telecommuting deliver one more reason for policies to spur the deployment as well as adoption of broadband, which is an important facilitator of telecommuting. Hamilton, E. (2002). Bringing work home: Advantages and challenges of telecommuting. Chestnut Hill, MA: The Center for Work & Family. Although it has yet to transform the American workforce to the level originally expected, the popularity of telecommuting arrangements in today’s companies is rapidly increasing. In this paper (Hamilton, 2002) tried to provide a complete explanation of the various issues that need to be considered when formulating as well as implementing telecommuting arrangements. For example assessing job-fit and person to a telecommuting arrangement is important, discussion and analysis of both disadvantages and advantages of telecommuting to companies and the employees is critical before implementing a telecommuting work arrangement, and training is important to the success of a telecommuting program. Improvements in information technology, increase of a global workforce, and the increased need to balance work as well as family are only three of the many elements that will serve to increase the popularity of telecommuting work arrangements. Companies that distinguish that work is something you do, not someplace you go as well as who adequately prepare for the application of telecommuting arrangements should benefit from greater employee productivity, commitment, and job satisfaction. Hansen, M. (2004). Implementing and managing telework: A guide for those who make it happen. Personnel Psychology, 57:4, 1091-1094. Telecommuting, also called telework, is the utilization of telecommunication technologies to permit employees to execute their job duties at any place, away from their central workplace, in accordance with work agreements. A remote work locations might range from a park, the beach or even a coffee shop, although it is usually conducted from an employee’s home. Telecommuting as a business practice has grown significantly, since the 1990s due to the increasing pressure on companies to increase employee productivity as well as to cut costs. Companies are now tested to initiate more flexible thinking for the new corporate office. Furthermore, the expansion of broadband Internet services to employee’s homes as well as the convergence of voice, video and data over a common IP framework have made telecommuting a feasible option and sometimes a requirement for medium to large-sized businesses in today’s marketplace (Hansen, 2004). The benefits of telecommuting, both perceived and actual, are well-documented: increased quality contact with customers, increased employee productivity, better work-life balance for employees, reductions in traffic congestion and air pollution and reductions in corporate real estate expenses. Furthermore, the ability to telecommute is also considered an attraction to job candidates. Meanwhile, companies employing telecommuting programs may also face several challenges. For example, collaboration inefficiencies due to a lack of proximity among workers, difficulties in supervising as well as managing remote workers, feelings of isolation on the part of the employees, and increased security risks. Williams, J. C., Blair-Loy, M., & Berdahl, J. L. (2013). Cultural schemas, social class, and the flexibility stigma. Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 209-234. doi:10.1111/josi.12012 The above source is an article published in the Journal of Social Issues, where it gives an account of the rise of flexibility programs in most workplaces in the United States. Based on a recent study, around 70 per cent of organizations allow their employees some flexibility times while another 37 per cent allow most of their employees a periodic amount of time to change or quit times. However, the most shocking thing is that despite the rise in the flexibility programs their usage has not changed a lot. As much as having these policies in an organization shows their commitment in the welfare of the employees, it does not always mean that the employees require and feel comfortable using the policies. The reason for the low usage rates stem from fears among the workers that they bring in negative repercussions, with some of the fears being well founded. In most organizations, suing the flexibility programs leads to penalties in wages, low performance evaluations, and scarce opportunities for promotions. Thus, it has led to undocumented claim, that these flexibility programs are “shelf paper” and for public relations stunts only.