Las Pinas College MBA Program

Victorio D. Berrey

Human Behavior in the Organization company. The types of personnel

(HBO): The Urgency of Personnel issues which should be included in
Policy in Business Organization the manual include vacation policy,
performance review process and
corrective counseling. Other issues
I. Introduction which are of concern to the
company's human resource
management should be included in
The personnel capital is probably the
a personnel policy manual.
most important asset in any
business organization. It is a
resource which is comprised of a
II. Central Problem
wide spectrum of dimension that
governs the day to day existence
of any given business
In any business organization
organizations.
environment, there exist individual
differences in personality, values,
Although with no doubt it is a very
perception and attitude. Most often, this
valuable resource of an
diversity is based on every personnel’s
organization, it may also be viewed
education, skill, experience and
as a source of serious liabilities, if
expertise which lead to a changing
this particular resource not
perception on their roles within the
correctly and properly handled and
organization.
taken cared of.
In the middle of this ever present and
The diversity of personalities involved,
existing nature of diversified individuality
which day in and day out continuously
within the framework of a business
interacts with one another creates
organization is a personnel policy which
conflicts, which if not urgently addressed
governs and gives direction to both the
and properly managed can cause
business organization and personnel in
severe challenges which may lead to
order to work as one. However,
the eventual downfall of the business
business organizations tends to veer
organization. These complexities of
away from the importance of instituting
understanding the key theories about
personnel policies. Often, even though
personnel and social dynamics of
it’s importance is highlighted within the
organizational life can easily be
business organization, it is not treated
accomplished by the establishment of a
with a sense of urgency, hence
personnel policy.
eventually creating liabilities out of
personnel capital, rather than making
In fact, according to Mrozek Ramey
them an important asset or as a prime
(1984), even a Small Company
source of capital.
Needs a Personnel Policy Manual.
It is most important for a small
company to establish a written
III. Objectives of the Study
personnel policy. A personnel
policy manual should be created to
suit the needs of an individual

Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports 1
 Las Pinas College MBA Program
Victorio D. Berrey

It is important to fully understand and develop their managerial

explain the nature and role of diversity in competencies through
today’s organizations. This can be done interactions wit others at work.
by knowing the nature of communication 3. Understand and apply the
within organizations, to understand the principles, concepts, and theories
knowledge of severe diversity between of motivation and leadership in a
personalities involved in a group and to business organization
be able to recognize and analyze characterized by imperfect and
organizational issues with incomplete incomplete environment which is
and ambiguous information. balanced by an existing
personnel policy.
Given that, therefore the overall
objectives of this paper is to develop an
IV. Discussion
understanding of the enabling potential
of an organization’s social architecture,
particularly for empowering Business organizations may be
organizational members classified either as sole
proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, joint-venture or in any
Must other forms of agreements. This
classification is basically defined
1. To present a clear understanding
based on the organization’s
of the business organization and
financial standing, liquidity stability
the importance of having a clear
or continuous business growth.
and urgent requirement for
Each particular classification is
setting up a personnel policy.
also based on the manner of its
2. To explain the scope and details
establishment or formation as
of each personnel policy needed
provided under existing laws, rules
in the business organization.
and regulations.
3. Increase business organization’s
awareness of managerial as well
On the other hand, given these two
as personnel competencies for
scenarios, equally important with
interacting with others in a work
the financial dimension or legal
organization.
aspect of existence and
incorporation of the business
Want organization is the classification
based on its strength coming from
1. To enhance teamwork,
the composition of its people
participation and leadership of
environment.
every member of an organization
through guidelines coming from
To illustrate, as a sole proprietorship is
the establishment of a clear
governed by a single individual,
company personnel policy.
the number of personnel working
2. To empower all members of a
within this type of business
business organization by
organizational framework is
enhancing their awareness of the
obviously smaller than that
personnel policies in order to

Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports 2
 Las Pinas College MBA Program
Victorio D. Berrey

compared with a corporation. description of its organizational

Therefore, personnel policies structure.
existing between the two differ in
various ways not only in terms of 2. The policies should include
the number of personnel it covers, comprehensive information about
but as to the requirements set in it workplace rules; for example,
substantial provisions of the policy. hours, attendance, pay, benefits,
To elaborate on this, a corporate supervision and discipline.
business organizational structure
requires a more tedious personnel 3. Personnel policies should also
policy which incorporates the include discussion of sensitive
explanation for instance of various legal issues like sexual
structures relating to the mother harassment and employee safety
corporation or any of its regulations.
subsidiaries. Therefore, the 4. To be effective, the policies must
governing provisions of the policies be distributed to every employee.
shall be wider in scope as to The policies should be reviewed
provide for provisions on this during employee orientation and
structure, as opposed to the during periodic training sessions.
personnel policy of a single
proprietorship business 5. Employers should avoid making
organizational structure. unconditional promises in their
personnel policies. Implying that
According to Kate Fogle, personnel an employee who follows the
policies, also called employee rules will never be fired, for
handbooks, are a set of statements that example, may result in a lawsuit
explain what the employer expects from even when an employee is fired
its employees and what employees may for good reason.
expect from the employer. Policies offer
guidelines for decision-making and
V. Analysis
reflect a business' values.
S – Strength
In creating a personnel policy, here are
Personnel policies promote individual
the basic provisions which must be
growth among employees. They create
incorporated. It is important to have the
a sense of ownership for employee
introductory materials which will give a
which builds attachment to the
brief glimpse about the organization and
organization. It increases the quality
shed light on its good legal standing.
and quantity of effort people give, as
After which, these provisions must
well as the creativity by giving people
follow:
the freedom to think for themselves and
try things based on the concept of self-
1. Personnel policies often begin
accountability. It also help an
with a welcome, a brief history of
organization keep people and attract
the business, a statement of the
others to join and be added to the roster
company's values and a
of prospective employees. Hence,
generally speaking, personnel policies

Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports 3

greatly benefits an business
organization in the long term basis on a
very minimal cost.
W – Weaknesses
It is very much essential to have
contained within the personnel policy
manual a statement regarding
confidentiality of practice information.
Employees are exposed to sensitive,
confidential and patently critical
information. Business organizational
practices is under certain strict scrutiny
of national or local laws regarding
protection of confidential information.
There are times when there is a
complete failure on the part of business
oranizations to fully implement the clear
guidelines of the personnel policy,
especially on confidential information.
As human nature tends to discuss
things, especially confidential matters
outside the office, failure to implement a
cut throat mechanism on divulging
confidential information about the
business organization could result to
serious problems.
O – Opportunity
Policy manuals are an excellent
opportunity to spell out certain job
requirements. As the appearance of
employees reflects upon the business
organization’s professional reputation, it
can choose to include in the personnel
policy a statement regarding expected
professional conduct and professional
appearance at work. If the policy has
adopted a certain dress code, it is
appropriate to state this dress code in
the policy manual and the
consequences of violating the dress
Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports
Las Pinas College MBA Program
Victorio D. Berrey
code. Personnel policies are great tools
in addressing the present needs of the
company. It may also be the proper
mechanism to address to all personnels
various concerns regarding
developments in the future, to ensure
the continous growth of the busines
organizaiton.
T – Threat
The increasing reliance on computers
and the Internet have opened a whole
new array of employment-related liability
claims. Computer related offenses and
violations of the company policy,
including local and national lawsn by the
use of technology are oftentimes not
dealt with with immeidacy because of
lack of concrete provisions in the
personnel policy punishing them.
The policy manual should address each
employees' obligation to use for
instance company computers and
software programs solely for business.
It should describe that the employees
are not allowed to make copies of any
computer materials without the express
written permission of the office manager
or the managing officer.
If the organizational practice provides
Internet access to employees, policy
manual should contain an Internet
usage policy. This policy will affirm that
Internet use is restricted to practice
business. If communications is made via
the Internet or email, the Internet policy
should require the employees who are
responsible for such communications to
make a safekeeping of these data or if
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necessary to print out a copy of each
communication and place a copy of
these in a safe and secured file. The
Internet and computer policy should also
clearly inform all employees that they
have no expectation of privacy with
regard to their Internet usage or their
email. It should state that, just as the
company has the right to monitor
employees' phone calls and voice mail
messages, it also has the right to
monitor employees' Internet usage
and/or email usage.
VI. Findings and Conclusion
The business organization must
understand that there is an urgency to
instill a clear, accurate and updated
personnel policy. Personnel policy’s
success depends, in part on each
actions consistent application of the
policies. Prior to implementation of each
policy specified in the policy manual,
consider whether or not the provisions
of the poersonnel policy can realistically
uniformly adopt and enforce the policies.
As explained in the discussion of this
paper, each personnel policy must
specfically adapt to the classification of
an established type of business
organizatin. Any policies that are
inconsistent which this is consideted as
a problem policy and should
immediately be addressed.
By structuring clear employment policies
now, and communicating these policies
to the employees, the business
organization’s practice will hopefully
avoid employment-related liability
claims. If, however, the organizational
practice does have a complaint filed by
a current or former employee, the
Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports
Las Pinas College MBA Program
Victorio D. Berrey
employee manual can be a useful tool in
the defense of such litigation or claim.
VII. Recommendation
A personnel policy isn’t a guarantee
against such problems, of course. But a
written policy forces the employer to
make decisions and to regularize
personnel matters. It offers a measure
of protection for both employer and
employee. The utility of a personnel
policy goes beyond simply drawing
lines. It’s extremely useful for clarifying
expectations, and this, again, is a two-
way street. The policy may be directed
at the employee, but a good policy also
addresses what the employee can
expect from the employer.
As reiterated by Jane Dutton of the
Michingan Business School, business
organization should develop a clear and
strategic vision. This involves helping
people know what the organization is
trying to accomplish and what they, as
individuals can do to contribute to this.
Also, personnel policies in business
organizations creates a culture that
supports and encourages openness.
The sharing of information and
resources, teamwork that will help to
build empowerment. Lastly, although
empowerment is organic and mutable, it
is not sloppy and therefore requires
discipline and control. Therefore,
business organizational structures must
support employee’s sense of
empowerment and promote a sense of
security among employees so that they
are not afraid to act empowered.
5

However, it must be kept in mind that
while these conditions can facilitate
empowerment, having them in place
does not guarantee that employees will
be empowered. People aren’t
empowered unless they feel empowered
so it is up to the business organization’s
personnel policies to help assess and
develop this kind of feeling to its
personnel.
VIII. Anticipated Future Problems
and Remedies
One of the main anticipated future
problems in terms of the application of
company personnel policies in any
business organization is the fast phased
change and growth of a business
organization.
The current economic environment is
driving organizations to undergo
massive business changes. Mergers
and acquisitions, corporate downsizing
or system consolidation events each
present significant security implications
for the IT organization.
Restructuring can leave personnels in
transition without access to the
resources they need or in a worst case
scenario, when they are no longer with
the organization, they retain access to
sensitive resources or critical resources
are left unmanaged.
The large scale personnel changes that
accompany reorganizations frequently
leave companies scrambling to
understand who has access to what
and, as importantly, reconciling this with
who should have access to what. These
events also trigger a combination of
Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports
Las Pinas College MBA Program
Victorio D. Berrey
Role Management and Identity
Compliance tasks – each of which must
be performed immediately. Existing role
structures must be quickly updated in
light of personnel changes while
compliance processes, such as access
certification, often become necessary to
maintain appropriate security in these
times of change. (Liou, 2009).
Resources:
1. Ramey, A.E., Mrozek, R.A. (1984)
http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Business-
general/Yes-Even-a-Small-Company-
Needs-a-Personnel-Policy-Manual-THE-
TAX-BITE-ON-AMERICAN-
BUSINESS.html#ixzz0iIpHJw8F
2. Kate Fogle. What are personnel
policies?
http://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_5753162_p
ersonnel-policies_.html
3. Michael Liou. Role Management and
Identity Compliance: The Business
Imperatives.( 2009)
4.Mary McVicker. Personnel Policies:
Protect your company and your
employees.
http://www.cleanlink.com/cp/article/Pers
onnel-Policies-Protect-your-company-
and-your-employees--102
5.Jane E. Dutton (2003) Human
Behavior and Organizations. University
of Michigan Business School.
6. Joan M. Roediger, JD, LLM (2002).
Developing Personnel Policies that
Work. Physicians News Digest
6
 Las Pinas College MBA Program
Victorio D. Berrey

Methodology of Research (MOR): Techniques and Strategies of Research in Writing Business Reports 7