Women in Dell's IT workforce: HRM strategies and organizational culture change

HRM and Culture

I have explored the case in the article regarding the experiences of Korean women. This paper has discussed how women are discriminated and established a workforce based on diversity. After going through the article about the plight of the Korean woman, I have been inspired to select the Korean woman working in a male dominated IT industry. This paper has explored HRM approaches and practices as well as their alignment with the company's business strategy. It leads into a discussion about how Dell can benefit from promoting and hiring more women. This study further provides a recruitment plan for the corporation whose primary target is recruiting more women in the IT industry. Obstacles are inevitable in any plan: this study identifies the possible obstacles the corporation will probably face. In addition, the last study presents the recommended HR strategies that can be employed by the corporation in improving women visibility at the company (Susan, E. 2011).

How the HRM practices align with the company's business strategy

Crack in particularly thick glass ceiling is a mini case revolving around a Korean woman who is determined to change the corporate culture. In this mini case, Korean men are still in strong opposition and have resisted working alongside women. The Korean women featured in this article are working hard and even developing projects so that the company can recognize them. One of the women claims that men are increasingly becoming preoccupied with the idea that women cannot be compared to men. In order for her to get ahead, the woman is forced to work extra hard to attain 120% just as her male colleagues. This woman has also spared time, which she has dedicated to playing basketball and drinks with her workmates in order to fit the society. Anyone who considers introducing a change at this company is required to try making a cultural change. It is evident that this company is in dire need of external help (Blyton & Turnbull, 2009).

Outsourcing a HR company has enabled the company to develop frameworks describing practices and policies that focus on aligning the company's strategic initiatives of the company. In addition, these practices have been aligned with the creation of global leaders while at the same time, addressing the tensions between integration of workplace diversity and attaining organizational goals. Under these frameworks, the corporation's HR practices have been perceived as a way of effectively managing and controlling the company's operations and workplace diversity. Further, the current HRM practices and models are systematic but do not adequately address issues related to management of human resources at the corporation's network. It has rather focused on explaining policies and practices used by the company in controlling and coordinating the hierarchy of the company's operations (Jackson, 2007).

The company's HR managers are implementing HRM systems within their social crossborder units. The human resource manager is primary involved in activities of selection of appropriate HRM strategies, influence the working context of the corporation and provide leadership roles as the organization embraces cultural change with conditions of acceleration of the ambiguity of strategies. HR managers have enacted HR systems within the corporation, which are obligated to manage collaboratively while maintaining responsibility and discretion for the function of human resource within the corporation. This network model of HRM and the company's human resource system has facilitated flexible operations, innovation capacity, and developing valuable and unique relational capabilities (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2010).

2. How hiring more women and promoting them could improve the competitive advantage of this company

Great workforce diversity, which includes more women at the Dell Corporation, can lead to improved performance and greater business results. With more women at the company, a competitive advantage is created which is essential for the company's prosperity. Some of the best practices can be adopted by this company in ensuring women are welcomed in the workforce. The company can engage in activities such as funding education initiatives, maintain hiring practices that are positive and ensuring women are given fair opportunities in their career development (Susan, E. 2011).

Societal change is slow: however, Dell corporate should accelerate the pace of societal change. No single size fits all solutions of the company's structures as well as a background full of diver cultures. Nevertheless, by publicly stating the corporation's commitment to progress from the current situation fielding all companies, the firm can stimulate discussion, raise awareness, and develop effective practices aimed at advancing women in the business and industry. The Dell Corporation is aware that they need to make a significant boost in the percentage of women qualified and prepared to hold positions of non-executive managers and supervisory boards (Jackson, 2007).

Innovative programs aimed at promoting hiring and promotion of women in non-executive positions and supervisors could work in collaboration with leading executive firms such as Spencer Stuart. The company can recommend that all qualified top female executives should be included in their database. This database should be made accessible to the executive search firm, which is responsible of expanding the pool of female candidates by proposing hiring and promoting them in suitable executive and board positions (David, 2007).

The corporation should support the initiative within its structures because all the clients' minds have focused on gender diversity. Their training programs should seek to increase the number of women at different levels of the company. The company is embracing different strategies regarding gender diversity in their boardroom from the broad guidelines presented by the governance. Such initiatives recognize the importance of addressing the challenge of board diversity. As a result, they have acknowledged that hiring and promotion of qualified and skilled women in executive positions will embrace the roles of the board in a positive manner that enhances workplace diversity (Blyton & Turnbull, 2009).

3. A recruitment and retention plan for the company that specifically targets women employees

The Goal of the project:

Increasing women representation and participation in areas where they have been under-represented. These are areas such as trade, engineering, science, and technology where women have been less represented.

Project description:

This 12-month project makes participants adapt and develop innovative supports and strategies. This results in increased employment and retention of women candidates in the fields where they are under-represented. In addition, it will engage trainers, employers and stakeholders in the industry in ensuring that they provide reasonable training and employment opportunities for women in these industries (Jackson, 2007).

Available funding

Maximum of $150,000 for a 12-month project

Key activities

1. Planning the project and adapting to specific target group, sector and local needs:

I. Conducting an analysis based on gender and a needs assessment, this should entail success factors and recruitment profiles. This will identify all barriers including institutional barriers to recruitment of women and the current employment practices in the industry.

II. Identifying and consulting potential project partners and allies including employers, training institutions and industry associations.

Deliverables of the project

I. Month 3 -- a detailed budget and work plane, a list of all the partners and allies of the project, frameworks for managing the results and evaluation plan.

II. Month 6 -- interim strategy and report of sharing knowledge

III. Month 12 -- evaluation and final report

5. Potential obstacles that this company could face in its quest to diversify its workforce in this particular culture

Obstacles in the progress of women at this corporation are derived from a number of sources: the society, women themselves, employers, and family have imposed constrains to the progress of women. There are various obstacles why women have been under-represented in the company. Some of the most powerful obstacles include behavioral expectations concerning the role of women within the family reflect a strong obstacle to women's upward mobility at the company. The major burden of rearing children has been instilled on women this has imposed extra responsibility on women professionals, which are not experienced by their male counterpart in the company (David, 2007).

Discrimination based on organizational policies and structures. Informal cultures and networks that are dominated with men are potential barriers to the progress of women. Inequalities in corporate in opportunities to advance and rewards demoralize women from going for top managerial positions in the company. These pose a challenge to manage workplace diversity. Managing a diverse work population requires more than just acknowledging the variations seen in people. It entails realizing the value of these differences, promotion of inclusiveness and combating workplace discrimination. In addition, managers are likely to face the challenge derived from losses in work and personnel productivity because of discrimination, complaints, legal and discrimination actions against the corporation (Jackson, 2007).

Negative behaviors and attitudes are potential obstacles to attaining workforce diversity because they can damage work productivity, harm employee morale, and working relationships. The managers should not use negative behaviors and attitudes such as discrimination, stereotype, and prejudice as the basis for employing, retaining, and terminating practices; they are likely to result into costly litigation (Diane, 2011).

6. Analysis and Recommendation of HRM strategies that this company could enforce to improve the visibility of its women employees

Dell Corporation should provide women with cross training and line experiences. Women at the company should concentrate in staff functions. The company has effectively designed 'glass walls' to counter the barriers that many career women encountering before their upward mobility efforts are impeded. In order for the promotional structure to have a crucial mass representation of women, the company needs more women to hold the positions of plant managers and more senior line supervisors with loss and profit responsibility (Blyton & Turnbull, 2009).

In order for women to be recruited at the top positions, the company must manage services and products, customers and clients as well as the business of the corporation. Line positions relating to loss and profit responsibility are crucial to company's finances. Nevertheless, not many women in the corporate sector are likely to hold positions with such responsibilities hence they are not included in the pipeline for executive positions. Research findings reveal that, women occupy only 8% of executive line managers within 500 companies under Fortune magazine. The above obstacles to access of women to line managerial positions have been referred to as the common 'glass walls' (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2010).

In this situation, the glass walls are because of the constant unexamined beliefs regarding the commitment and abilities of women. They include family commitments, which cause distractions and the tendency to be reluctant in taking risks. These are some of the artificial constraints to the capabilities of women. Some of the achievements of women within the corporate level have been dissipating numerous distractive behaviors and attitudes. However, in some cases, prejudices prevail under decentralized operations. The aforementioned practices like networking, awareness mentoring, and training are effective in countering these effects. However, in some cases, managers must proactively provide roles to women by presenting them with opportunities for development and credibility of line responsibility (David, 2007).

Employees must be assisted to balance personal and work responsibilities. Career women have emphasized that they love their job because it took them hard work to get to their position. They do not averse risks. Instead, they opt for the most challenging responsibilities. These women show total commitment. They rarely have breaks for their babies: they have families to feed. Careers women have been restricted to advance in the organization because of family responsibility. They restrict the women to work-related activities and tasks: they are held to restrict the time for women to work related activities and tasks. In addition, the employer views these facets to hinder the commitment of women employees to their responsibilities (Diane, 2011).

These forces have been applied to both women and men. However, because it is common that women are expected to carry the huge burden concerning family responsibility, they tend to be greatly disadvantaged. UK-based organizations have conducted a research, which has revealed that nine people out of ten, are able to balance their personal lives with work responsibility. This has been used as a critical factor in establishing the commitment of female employees to their employers. In order to recruit and retain more women, enhance their production capability and facilitate their progress into more powerful positions, Dell Corporation should implement 'family friendly' or 'work life' program that seeks to counter the negative attitudinal and behavioral influences. Such initiatives are always time-based, attachment-based or childcare-based (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2010).

Work life programs and benefits bring positive result for companies in terms of recruiting and retaining female employees. Attitudinal factors impede their effectiveness. Researchers have established that if Dell Corporation adopts family oriented programs such as flextime and family leave. They are likely to experience low rates of take-up on the benefits and poor records for promotion of women employees. This is because of the unexpressed and unwritten rules that do not benefit employees who utilize such family oriented benefits. Facets such as the culture of long hours are likely to undermine the intended positive impact of these family friendly programs (Susan, E. 2011).