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Managing the Organization as a Community of Contributors *
Author(s) -
Saul Peter
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
asia pacific journal of human resources
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.825
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1744-7941
pISSN - 1038-4111
DOI - 10.1177/103841119603400302
Subject(s) - casual , business , workforce , productivity , public relations , service (business) , alienation , service organization , work (physics) , duration (music) , marketing , knowledge management , political science , economics , engineering , economic growth , mechanical engineering , art , literature , computer science , law
Today's service and knowledge organizations, which employ around 80percent of the Australian workforce, are no longer managed most effectively as hierarchies of full‐time employees. Today's (and tomorrow's) organizations are diverse communities comprising a mix of highly committed, core workers; flexibly employed casual and part‐time workers; consultants, contractors, and business partners. Clients, themselves, now do some of the work in service organizations and must be ‘managed’ as contributors to corporate success. These different groups can have very different types of legal, economic and psychological relationships to the organization and, therefore, to its goals and values. This article proposes a classification of the different types of contributor in today's organizational community based on the intended purpose and expected duration of the relationship between a contributor and the organization. It is argued that the classification can be used as a practical guide by managers at all levels in aligning their management and human resource practices with the characteristsics of the different contributor relationships for which they are responsible. This should result in more realistic mutual expectations on the part of managers and contributors; greater contributor productivity; more flexible and appropriate career paths; reduced levels of workplace stress and alienation—and organizations that are more successful in attracting and keeping the best talent.