Policy Awareness

organisation means that management still regard it as their prerogative to dominate these decisions and that they believe the values, interests and objectives of the organisation should be foremost in mind when developing policy.

employee' s contract of employment. This means that the onus is on employees to fmd out about the policies by consulting the various sources or the Human Resources department itself. So despite the fact that employees are unable to participate

in

the process, they are then not even given the opportunity to be fully informed about the policies and practices that will govern them within the organisation. Torrington and Hall (1991) address this issue by acknowledging the importance of making a policy work by ensuring that the contents are known, understood and accepted, especially by those who have not participated in the policy development but will be affected by it. They stress that "it is not sufficient to simply send a copy to all concerned; (rather) briefing will be needed and possibly training sessions"

(1991: 44). I agree with this proposition and suggest that organisations should follow the example of one of the research subjects whose organisation places the onus on managers to ensure that each and every employee is well informed about the policy. Managers and supervisors need to take time to present the policy to employees; answer any questions and explain any misunderstandings so that at the end of the day, the whole organisation is aware of what is permissible and what is not permissible regarding a certain issue. This provides for greater commitment to the policy and ensures that employees will keep management ' on their toes' in the execution of a policy of which they are now fully informed.

The discussion has shown that the present situation in South African organisations regarding the policy development process is one of

unilateral decision making. There is very little

attempt, both by Human Resource practitioners and management, to involve employees at this level despite the benefits that may be gained from their participation or the more positive relationship that has emerged between management and employees. With the effect of both systems theory and competing values approach, this means that a situation develops where a change initiated at Human Resource level has an effect on individual employees as well as various departments and functions within the organisation. This is because of the

interconnectedness of the parts of the organisation as an open system.

Therefore, a decision made in one part of the organisation in which employees are not able to

participate, governs the functioning of the organisation and their roles in it. This also means that the values and beliefs of one individual or group of individuals dominates the

development of a policy or practice that will be applicable to all members of that

organisation, governing their behaviour and thinking. Due to the diverse nature of the South

African popUlation, it is impossible to allow one set of values and beliefs to run an entire

workforce where people are from different racial, gender, cultural and social backgrounds.

One value system will not be right for the organisation and for everyone. So there is a need here to allow the diverse values and interests to work towards a common goal, such as a decision about policy, through finding out what is common between the different value systems that can be brought to the process. The need to involve all parties through a

co-determined effort towards policy development is evident and because this is not happening in South African organisations, it is an area that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

I would like to suggest a possible 'best practice' for the policy development process as set out by one of the research subjects. This large, well established, service sector organisation has recently devised a framework for developing Human Resource policies and practices by involving all parties in the process. The new, young, black Human Resources manager has single handedly changed the whole process of policy development by allowing

representatives of employees, trade unions, management and Human Resources to sit as equals on a steering committee to develop policy. The committee themselves structure the policy from a blank piece of paper to an approved document. There is a degree of ratification required from the Board of Directors before the policy is implemented but this usually poses little problem for the parties involved. The benefits of this approach are invaluable. Involving employees in the initial stages of policy development means that the policy is acceptable to them and they own the policy. This has removed the previous antagonistic relationship that existed between management and employees in the organisation by ensuring that all parties are allowed equal access to the development of policies.

This approach to the policy development process has a huge amount of merit as it allows the values and beliefs of all parties in the organisation to be expressed. It ensures commitment to the policies and practices by all parts of the organisation whilst still ensuring that the

profitability of the organisation does not suffer through the ratification by top management. I believe it is an approach that all organisations, no matter what industry, should aspire to when dealing with Human Resource policy development. The importance of external consultation as discussed above should also be noted so as to gain expert opinion on the subject matter of the policy.