GREEN HRM

 

A few decades ago organizational development ultimately measured by economic values.  But now organizations need to focus on environmental factors and policies on how they can promote the same in order to compete with other organizations in the corporate world. So this encourages organizations to operate in a more environmentally friendly manner.  Green Human Resource Management is an emerging new concept for organizations to involves undertaking environment-friendly initiatives like job-sharing, teleconferencing, and virtual interviews, recycling, online training, energy-efficient office spaces, etc. resulting in an increase in organizational efficiency.

Since this concept, There are two main theories that can be used to apply the Green HRM concept to the organizational culture.

·         Ability Motivational Opportunity Theory (AMO Theory)

·          Cognitive Social Theory

Ability Motivational Opportunity Theory (AMO Theory)

AMO theory was proposed by Olander and Thosgersen. According to the AMO theory organization performance determined by employees’ ability, opportunity, and motivation. More competitive advantage organizations have and thus organizations provide more opportunity to participate in value creation and thus increases productivity and performance. The significant feature of the AMO model is that it integrates ability, motivation, and opportunity factors into a single model of pro-organization behavior and thus increases companies’ performance and worker outcomes.

How AMO theory related to the Green HRM?

According to the AMO theory, Green HRM increases individual ‘Ability’ through attracting employees towards green policies, enhancing employees’ ‘Motivation’ and commitment by including green policies. In practices such as recognition, appreciation, and effective appraisal process; and providing employees with the opportunity to share green knowledge among themselves via employee engagement programs. This can be defined in three stages.

1)      Developing ‘Green Abilities’ by specifying green issues in a job description, providing training to employees to increase awareness, skills, and expertise of environment, recruiting green employees, green employer branding, and by developing green leadership style.

2)      Motivating green employees by incorporating green performance indicators in the performance management system and appraisals, setting green targets, goals and responsibilities, providing green benefits rather than pay benefits, monetary-based green reward system and monthly bonuses for implementing green policies.

3)      Providing green opportunities by encouraging employees to use telephone/video conferencing and increasing employee involvement in green activities.

Cognitive Social Theory

   This theory was proposed by Bandura. It states that individual behavior gets affected by personal factors, social factors and motivational factors.

Personal Factor: An Individual’s personal thoughts and actions play an important role in inducing new behavior. Individuals identify goals and adopt and maintain their own strategies for reaching those goals. They assess themselves and feel good or bad depending upon their accomplishments.

Social Factors: Individual learns the usefulness and appropriateness of behaviors by observing others and started behaving in accordance with other beliefs.

Motivational Factors: Reward or punishment also influences individual behavior

 Cognitive Social theory and Green HRM

   In an organization, the implementation of Green HRM depends on the unique and identifiable patterns of green decisions and behaviors of HR managers. Thus, the HR manager’s action can be either promotive or preventive. As per the cognitive social theory, the HR manager should create an environment that is conducive to Green HRM. It could be a process of hiring employees with Green behavior, specifying green aspects in the job description, and selecting candidates that fit green behaviors and decisions. They might be required to carry out activities to educate the employee about the value of Green decisions, train them to work in accordance with green policies. This will increase employees’ ability to adapt to change and develop proactive attitudes towards environmental issues.

Empowerment, participation, and engagement activities will facilitate self-monitoring. The individual will compare their attitude towards Green HRM with the others and which may lead them to transform their decisions to green behaviors.

HR managers can also influence or generate green behavior by including green behavior in the performance management system and rewarding employees who are sensitive to green policies. It will motivate and increase an individual’s commitment to green policies. Rewards discourage undesired behaviors and reinforce preferred ones.

HR has a huge role to play in implementing greener HR practices in an organization. They have to motivate employees to work for greener decisions. Organizations might be required to go the extra mile and take new initiatives on the Green movement. Some of the benefits that the organization can attain as a result of introducing.