SAMPLE CASE STUDIES FOR PGDBA(HR)/PGDHRM Case Study 1 Satish was
a Sales Manager for Industrial Products Company in City branch. A
week ago, he was promoted and shifted to Head Office as Deputy
Manager - Product Management for a division of products which he
was not very familiar with. Three days ago, the company VP Mr.
George, convened a meeting of all Product Managers. Satish's new
boss (Product Manager Ketan) was not able to attend due to some
other preoccupation. Hence, the Marketing Director, Preet - asked
Satish to attend the meeting as this would give him an exposure
into his new role. At the beginning of the meeting, Preet
introduced Satish very briefly to the VP. The meeting started with
an address from the VP and soon it got into a series of questions
from him to every Product Manager. George, of course, was pretty
thorough with every single product of the company and he was known
to be pushy and a blunt veteran in the field. Most of the Product
Managers were very clear of George's ways of working and had
thoroughly prepared for the meeting and were giving to the point
answers. George then started with Satish. Satish being new to the
product, was quite confused and fared miserably. Preet immediately
understood that George had possibly failed to remember that Satish
was new to the job. He thought of interrupting George's questioning
and giving a discrete reminder that Satish was new. But by that
time, George who was pretty upset with the lack of preparation by
Satish made a public statement "Gentlemen, you are witnessing here
an example of sloppy work and this can't be excused". Now Preet was
in two minds - should he interrupt George and tell him that Satish
is new in that position OR should he wait till the end of the
meeting and tell George privately. Preet chose the second option.
Satish was visibly angry at the treatment meted out by George but
he also chose to keep
mum. George quickly closed the meeting saying that he found in
general, lack of planning in the department and asked Preet to stay
back in the room for further discussions. Before Preet could give
any explanation on Satish, George asked him "Tell me openly, Preet,
was I too rough with that boy?" Preet said "Yes, you were. In fact,
I was about to remind you that Satish is new to the job". George
explained that the fact that Satish was new to the job didn't quite
register with him during the meeting. George admitted that he had
made a mistake and asked his secretary to get Satish report to the
room immediately. A perplexed and uneasy Satish reported to
George's room after few minutes. George looking Satish straight
into his eyes said "I have done something which I should have never
even thought of and I want to apologise to you. It is my mistake
that I did not recollect that you were new to the job when I was
questioning you". Satish was left speechless. George continued "I
would like to state few things clearly to you. Your job is to make
sure that people like me and your bosses do not make stupid
decisions. We have good confidence in your abilities and that is
why we have brought you to the Head Office. For everybody, time is
required for learning. I will expect you to know all the nuances of
your product in three months time. Until then you have my complete
confidence". George closed the conversation with a big reassuring
handshake with Satish. Questions: 1. Was it at all necessary for
George to apologise to such a junior employee like Satish? 2. If
you were in Satish's place, how would you to respond to George's
apology? 3. Was George correct in saying that Satish is there to
correct the "stupid mistake" of his boss and George? 4. Would you
employ George in your company? 5. Did Preet make a mistake by not
intervening during the meeting and correct George's misconception
about Satish?
6. As an HR man, how would you define the character of George -
bullying but later regretting? Does his attitude need to be
corrected? 7. Would you be happy to have George/Preet as your boss?
Possible solutions 1. Yes, it was necessary for George to apologise
to Satish. Even though Satish is new to the Head Office and is much
junior to George, in order to keep up the morale of Satish, George
should apologise. This will not only reassure Satish's attachment
towards the company but also motivate him in learning things
faster. 2. If I were in Satish's place, I would thank George and
promise him to learn things well within the given time. 3. The word
'stupid mistake' creates confusion. George only meant that Satish
should not make the top-authorities feel that they have made a
wrong decision by promoting Satish. What George wanted was Satish's
support. Hence, the bosses expect Satish to work according to the
policy (both written and unwritten) of the company. 4. Yes, I would
employ George in my company. The ability of one to realise his
mistake is truly appreciable especially if he is in a much senior
position. 5. Not really. It was alright for Preet to remain quiet
during George's talk. But he made it a point to remind him after
the meeting. 6. George is a natural task-oriented leader. He
becomes people oriented only when stimulated. When he is into a
task he does it with full dedication. He is a trustworthy person.
He has to enhance his soft-skills by making himself an equally
task-oriented and people-oriented leader. 7. Yes, I would be happy
to have George or Preet as my boss. A general comment: Satish's
boss should have familiarised Satish with the formalities of the
meeting with George. Conclusion:
When a person goes up in a career ladder, he has to have an
overall view of the people and the processes. He has to understand
that it is people who do the processes. He has to understand the
importance of HR Management. At the same time, he should be
uncompromising in the processes and quality. This would make a
leader a class apart.
Case Study 2 Adam, fresh from school was a newly recruited HR
practitioner. During his one month into the job, he was asked to be
in-charge of the orientation programme for the entire organisation.
Being new, he followed closely to the processes. Recently, Roy
joined the organisation and Adam was required to orientate him. On
Roy's first day of work, Adam brought him around the organisation
for introduction to the rest of the staffs. Unfortunately, Roy's
assigned mentor was not around hence, Adam was unable to make an
official introduction for Roy to meet up with his mentor. In the
afternoon, during the HR briefing, Adam mentioned to Roy that there
is a buddy system in place but it is only on an opt-in basis. Roy
requested to opt for a buddy. Adam was rather surprised by Roy's
request as according to Adam's manager-Jean, no one in the
organisation has requested for a buddy. Hence, Adam checked with
Jean on the criteria in getting a buddy for Roy and according to
her, Adam found out that it needed to be someone preferably from
Roy's department. Having clarified on the criteria, Adam was
supposed to get a buddy for Roy, unfortunately, this issue was
clearly forgotten by Adam due to his busy schedule as he was
involved in other HR matters as well and he did not follow up with
Roy's request promptly. One week later, Adam met Roy in a lunch
gathering and Adam greeted Roy and asked him casually how is he
doing and if he has adapted well to his job. Roy, asked Adam
blatantly and angrily where is his buddy that he had requested. At
that moment, Adam recalled on the existence of this request and
unwittingly told Roy that he thought Roy was joking with him on the
request for a buddy as he did not want to admit to Roy that he had
clearly forgotten about the whole issue. Roy was very angered by
Adam's response and told him off that he was very serious in
getting a buddy and that its Adam's responsibility to do so. Adam,
clearly embarrassed and guilty about his mistake, apologised
immediately and promised to get him a buddy. On the very day, a
buddy- Sam, was found for Roy. Roy was
very unhappy with Adam and confronted Adam and his buddy when he
was able to have an official meet up session with his mentor. Adam
explained to Roy that the organisation has no current practice in
place for meet up sessions to be arranged between mentors and
mentees and its a practice for mentees to take self-initiative to
do so in arranging for meetings with their mentors and also that
his mentor is currently out of town and will only be back the next
day. Adam, himself being a new staff also was at that moment in
time speaking on personal experience and also based on what Jean
had told him. Sam, who was present agreed and helped to explain to
Roy on the practice. Roy kept quiet and Adam unknowingly thought
that Roy has understood the organisation practice. Hence, Adam did
not continue to check with Roy on this aspect. The following day,
Roy had a feedback session with his manager and Adam was called
upon to sit in as a part of the orientation programme. Roy brought
up the issue on Adam's failure to get him a buddy promptly and that
he was not introduced to his mentor at all. He complained about the
poor management of the HR mentor and buddy system and that it was
not effective at all and that he expressed that he is very unhappy
with Adam as he felt that he was not doing his job at all. Adam
tried to explain to Roy and his manager about what happened and
also reassured Roy that he will take his suggestions of improving
on the system and was apologetic about the issue. He told Roy's
manager that he will bring Roy to see his mentor after the session
as his mentor is back in the office after being on leave for the
past week. Roy was still very unhappy with Adam and continued
telling Adam off in front of his manager. Questions: 1. On an HR
practitioner point of view, what should Adam do to resolve the
issue? 2. Roy is very unhappy with Adam and holds it against him
even though all has been done and followed up. What should Adam as
HR do to resolve this and should Jean, as Adam's
manager do something? 3. What role does Roy's manager play in
this issue and should he be implicated? Possible solutions Adam was
new to the job, therefore he himself was in the process of getting
oriented to the job. However he did falter by not taking the buddy
request by Roy seriously. This was probably the only mistake that
he committed....for which he later apologised. As an HR
practitioner, Adam should let Roy know the whole situation and
apologise, which he does. As far as Roy's manager is concerned, it
is upto Roy whether he wants to implicate him or not. Implicating
him will only complicate the situation which is not needed. As for
Roy, he should get a life and move on in the organisation rather
than harping on a single fault by Adam. It is understandable that
he felt disappointed by the firm, but he should consider the fact
that in an organisation sometimes these lapses happen. That is not
to say it doesnt matter but after Adam apologised, he should
forgive. Fair enough, he complained about Adam, I think Jean should
just warn Adam, as he is new. Also, Jean should make sure Adam goes
through the necessary procedure and knows them well, lest he should
repeat such a mistake.
Operational Management: John Deer Case Study The company that
has been chosen for this case study is John Deere Equipments. This
company was founded by John Deere in 1837 and was incorporated in
1868 as Deere & Company. John Deere started this company as a
one-man blacksmith shop and it is now a worldwide corporation that
has its offices in more than 160 countries and employs more than
46,000 people. John Deere is one of the oldest industrial companies
in the United States and it is guided by the original values of
quality, innovation, integrity, and commitment that John Deere
instilled at the beginning. The business strategy of John Deere, in
their own words is: We aspire to distinctively serve customers
those linked to the land through a great business, a business as
great as our products. To achieve this aspiration, our strategy is:
Exceptional operating performance, Disciplined SVA growth, Aligned
high-performance teamwork Execution of this strategy creates the
distinctive John Deere Experience that ultimately propels a great
business and, for all with a stake in our success,
delivers...Performance That Endures (1). The company is always
striving to give its stakeholders the maximum value for their money
by continuous improvement and growth in all sectors of the company.
The company is organized into four manufacturing divisions:
Agricultural Equipment products for farms; Commercial and Consumer
Equipment equipment related to lawn and ground care, residential
needs, golf and turf, and commercial operations; Construction and
Forestry Equipment; and John Deere Power Systems products involved
with developing engines for other John Deere products.
John Deere is a listed company and its stock is traded on the
New York, Chicago, and Frankfurt, Germany, stock exchanges. The
following is a summary of its operations around the world: Products
and Services: John Deere, with the help of its many subsidiaries,
is involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and financing of a
large and complete line of agricultural equipment. The product line
also includes a very broad range of forestry and construction
equipment, and various other consumer and commercial equipment.
Other features of the company include the provision of credit and
managed health-care plans for other businesses and also for the
general public. Marketing: The products of John Deere are marketed
throughout the world via a large network that
consists of many independent dealers, which are supported by a
decentralized marketing organization. These dealers have their
offices in many countries such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
Canada, China, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico,
South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and Uruguay.
Manufacturing: The factories for John Deere are located in various
countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland,
France, Germany, India, Mexico, New Zealand, The Netherlands, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. John Deere products
in the United States and South America are produced by affiliated
companies. Research & Development: Research and investment has
always been one of the key interest points
for John Deere as the company is known to have invested in large
quantities. The various areas of research and development include
activities for support of current product development, the
development of new products and also for the search for new
product-oriented businesses. Many of the factories run by John
Deere have a product engineering department whose responsibilities
include the design and development of the products.
Diversity:
Deere & Company considers diversity to be a vital part of
the companys core mission
and goals. Deere & Company believes in building a vast and
great building, one that would strive to cater to all the various
stakeholders, including the consumers, the employees, shareholders,
business partners, and communities all over the world. Since Deere
& Company is a global company with its offices and production
factories situated all over the world, it has a very large
responsibility to all its stakeholders all over the world. More
than 20,000 of this companys employees reside outside the United
States and 45% of the total sales incurred come from outside of
North America. Deere continues to expand its production and
products worldwide and is making its presence known in various new
markets all over the world. This also means that new and diverse
employees, suppliers, and business partners from various ethnic,
social, and cultural backgrounds have to be continuously
incorporated in the business strategy of Deere. Deere has to remain
committed to its stakeholders all over the world and in the various
dimensions for them to be able to remain the market leaders. For
this, they have to continuously incorporate people from diverse
backgrounds into their company to keep the global leading team of
employees so that they can better deal with the needs and
expectations of the companys customers. Deere has followed certain
paths and guidelines that have enabled this company to grow beyond
a one-man operation into the large corporation that it has today.
One of the key aspects that have contributed to this huge growth
has been because of the companys comprehension of the importance of
diversity in running a global company. One other thing that has
contributed to the vast success of this company is that it was able
to recognize the importance of globalization very early and was
successfully able to tap into the vast market around the world when
the time was ripe. This is why this company enjoys huge
opportunities for growth and has come to realize many of the goals
set up by its core mission values and vision. Many critics note
that Deere has made considerable progress in the area of diversity
and it is continuously improving its business initiatives in order
to incorporate all
aspects of its existence. Accountability for diversity starts at
the very top of the organization; diversity and inclusion are an
integral part of the business agenda. Deere believes that diversity
is good business and is essential to maintaining the company's
market leadership and sustaining its reputation as one of the most
ethical and respected corporate citizens (2). Some of the areas
that Deere is especially involved in include: Senior Leadership and
Accountability Supplier Diversity Dealership Diversity Employment
and Retention Employee Networks Community Involvement (2)
Product Diversification: Even though John Deere is very
committed to its core businesses, it sternly believes that growth
in the future not only depends upon carrying on with the current
businesses, but also by introducing new products and services to
the markets. This is why John Deere has ventured into the areas of
finance and leasing by opening up John Deere Credit, which is one
of the largest equipment finance and leasing companies in the
United States. It provides financing of farm and construction
equipment, recreational and homeowner consumer products, commercial
equipment, and revolving credit financing for agricultural
purchases. John Deere Health provides health-care
benefit-management services to more than 4,400 client companies and
covers nearly 505,000 members. With these and future business
developments, John Deere is positioned to take full advantage of
tomorrow's growth opportunities (2).
Technology:
Deere has also realized that in order to be leaders in this
world and in order to remain
the leaders, advancement in technology is also very important.
This is why Deere & Company has kept technology as the jugular
of its business innovation. Deere & Company works with the
latest software and other cutting-edge technological equipment to
provide its consimers with state-of-the-art products and services.
For example, product development uses the latest virtual
prototyping techniques to produce John Deere products. Other major
initiatives include precision-farming systems and global vehicle
communications systems, designed to help customers become more
productive and profitable. These technological initiatives will
provide a major competitive advantage and continued industry
leadership position to John Deere (2). Commitment to Employees:
Deere & Company believes in treating its employees with as
great a concern as their customers. Deere greatly values its
employees and provides them with very high quality employee
benefits. Deere has adhered to these excellent conditions since the
conception of the company. Health and pension benefits were offered
to the employees of Deere company as long as a 100 years ago. Deere
continues to provide excellent support to its employees through
various programs and benefits that have evolved over the years in
accordance with the changing environment. The employees can choose
their own preferences and can chose their benefits. Some of the
benefits that are offered include: Continuing Education Financial
Planning Fitness Flexible Work Arrangements Health Benefits Other
Benefits
Resources for the Parents Other Services and Discounts John
Deere has a unique personality when it comes to its image as a
business in the global
market. One of the first things that any stakeholder would
notice about this company is that it has been around for more than
165 years. Ever since the conception of this company, certain core
values and contents have been included in the corporate image and
culture of this company. These include: Quality: John Deere, the
man behind this company, was a rugged blacksmith who started
business as a one-man shop. He is known to have quoted in 1837:
I will never put my name on any product that does not have in it
the best that is in me. This statement has become one of the core
values of the company today and this idea of striving for the best
and to be the best is still followed by the company managers, 165
years later. All of the employees at John Deere are trained to be
extremely quality conscious and to put quality before anything
else. Innovation: As with the obsession with quality, the company
also believes in innovation through
thinking out of the box. It is related that John Deere chanced
upon a shiny, discarded sawmill blade and he suddenly imagined a
way to solve the problem plaguing Midwestern farmers of wet gumbo
soil sticking to their plows. The next day he used the saw blade to
fabricate a crude self-scouring steel plow that ushered in modern
agriculture. You might say John Deere was founded by thinking out
of the box. John Deere employees are innovative (3). Integrity:
Money and profits are not everything at John Deere. The Deere &
Company was around
during the American Great Depression of the 1930s and it saw
that many of the customers of the company were not in a position to
pay back their machinery debts. Deere & Company decided to
carry these customers for as long as necessaries and even though it
suffered heavy losses, it kept its promises to the customers.
Eventually, all the debt was paid back and Deere retained its
goodwill amongst its
stakeholders; this goodwill still runs deep and strong in the
companys veins. John Deere employees strive for long-term win-win
relationships. Commitment: The John Deere trademark is one of the
worlds most trusted and distinctive brands. Since all brands are
simply promises in short-hand, their name recognition speaks
directly to a great many promises made and kept. John Deere
employees understand shared commitment is powerful. Nothing runs
like a Deere (3). Some of the ways in which the Deere & Company
was able to achieve its success through operational management
includes two of its most famous systems. The environmental
management system and the safety and health management system. The
John Deere Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of
formal, documented processes for controlling environmental impacts
and driving continuous improvement. It provides the framework for
John Deere facilities to meet legal obligations and company
standards everywhere we do business. The John Deere EMS closely
parallels ISO 14001, and also incorporates elements of the
company's business conduct guidelines. The John Deere EMS is
composed of four sections -- assessing, planning, implementing, and
reviewing -- and fourteen elements *see table below] (4).
Table Taken from (4) The John Deere Safety and Health Management
System (SHMS) is a set of formal, documented processes for
controlling safety and health impacts and driving continuous
improvement. It provides the framework for John Deere facilities to
meet legal obligations and company standards everywhere we do
business. The John Deere SHMS Standard draws elements from the OHSA
18001 and the ANSI Z-10 Standards, as well as our business conduct
guidelines. The John Deere SHMS is composed of four sections
assessing, planning, implementing, and reviewing and thirteen
elements *see table below+ (5)
Table Taken from (5) Other operational management parameters
that make Deere & Company unique and the purpose of this study
include its extensive audits and assurance programs. Both the above
mentioned systems run strict audits and assurances based in three
elements: an annual compliance assurance letter, a corporate/third
party audit program, and a self-audit program. The compliance
assurance letter
allows the company to keep track of its parts and distribution
facilities for financial risks. The managers are required to fill
some forms that are related to the safety of the working
environment as well as the management of risks involved in the
working conditions. A third party audit is held that checks with
the safety and health of the employees. These audits provide
assurance that adequate safety and health policies and standards
are implemented worldwide. The self-audit program complements the
formal third-party audit program. The scope of a unit's self-audit
is dependent on the safety and health risk of the facility.
Conclusion Perhaps one of the most important reasons why John
Deere has been chosen for this case study is because this company
has strived to keep up with the changing times and has successfully
grown itself in the various markets all over the world. It took
many companies a long time to realize that the global market was
the market of the future but Deere & Company had envisioned
this growth a long time ago. And the best thing is that they were
successfully able to strike while the iron was hot and take home
the winning prize of global growth and customer care. The Deere Co.
has also been very successful in its endeavors of providing the
stakeholders what they need world wide.
Business Ethics: Enron Case Study Introduction Enron was a very
powerful company that was doing very well in the market. The value
of its share was high and the company was enjoying an overall
healthy position as a business. The employees were happy and new
recruits would have killed to get a job at Enron. However, this was
not to last. Enron enjoyed so much success that it got to its head
and it started making all sorts of problems. Enron decided to
change its organizational structure by employing new people at high
posts who were given the opportunity to make big decisions that
could directly affect the organization. Thus, their organizational
design was altered. The reward system within the organization was
also changed since the top performers were given the opportunity to
receive many bonuses and stocks options. This new system was to be
controlled by an internal controlling authority but this did not
work well because the people who were reviewing and those who were
being reviewed were working on the same levels and this caused them
to form alliances among themselves. They all looked out for each
other and were not honest with their reviews, and everyone was
given good reviews. Employees were scared to do something that
would anger their superior and this is why they all became yes men.
This created a very unstable culture that was based on dishonesty
and this caused Enrons downfall.
Division of Workers and Executives: The Culture at Enron Enrons
earlier organizational structure was different and it based its
ideas on constructivism, where the employees were encouraged to
achieve more. But the new system failed because it gave too much
authority to the new and young managers. These people did not
really have any close ties with the company and were given a lot of
power before they could become aware of the core company values
and norms. The employees were not given sound guidance and this
led them to make many wrong decisions that cost the company
millions of dollars. Since the top performers were given a lot of
bonuses, the young managers tried to hard to perform well and made
many mistakes on their way. This is bred individualism and
perfectionism at Enron.
This culture led to socialization being rare and mentoring being
nonexistent. There was unethical corner-cutting, there was no
teamwork, and there was too much competition. New entrants into the
company were given too much authority and they could make huge
deals without higher approval. Layers of management were abolished
making decision making decentralized. People were only motivated by
the numbers. An emphasis was placed on growth earning and employees
looked forward to huge bonuses and were motivated to have good
relationships with the PRC. There wasnt much institutional
commitment because teamwork was undermined by individual
ambition.
Social Implications The company ultimately went bankrupt. The
demise of the company resulted not only from improper accounting
practices and the alleged corruption at the top but also from the
organizational culture that resulted due to the corruption. The
organizational culture can be described as being very competitive,
individualistic, perfectionistic, and power-seeking. The
organizational culture wasnt as effective as it could have been.
There should have been more emphasis placed on doing things well
and valuing members who set and accomplish goals. The organization
should also have valued creativity, quality, task accomplishment
and individual growth. They should also have been motivated and
encouraged. The company should also have been managed in a
participative way and there should have
been teamwork prevalent. A lot of authority shouldnt have been
given to new employees. Employees should have been friendly, open,
supportive, and constructive.
Employees must have faced a lot of stress specially during the
end of the year when their performance would have been evaluated
and bonuses decided for. In Enrons case, bonuses made a big bulk of
an employees compensation. It would have been only natural for
employees to be more competitive and trying to make good
impressions. The managers were given the incentives of cash as well
as stock rewards if they were found to be performing at a very high
output. This caused many of them to act as entrepreneurs as well as
intrapreneurs. They did not have to undergo any special training
before joining the firms and they were straightway given the
opportunity to make important large scale decisions. The hierarchy
was also dissolved within the organization and the junior manager
had just the same powers as a senior manager. This also caused some
excitement amongst the newer employees and they were initiated to
act in a manner fir for entrepreneurs.
Rather than being constructive, Enrons organizational culture
can be described as being aggressive-defensive. For one thing, the
culture could have been seen as being very competitive. There was a
pressure to make the numbers. People would not share critical
information with others and there was a lot of unethical
corner-cutting. Employees were also competitive when it came to
compensation and bonuses. The employees wanted to maintain a
favorable impression with the performance review committee and the
decisions were believed to be mainly based on their relationships
with each other. Many employees of Enron wouldnt object to anything
and there became prevalent a yes-man culture. People were afraid to
get crossways with someone who could screw up their reviews. The
PRC would
also use this as a way of getting back at people who expressed
disagreement or criticism. Negativism was rewarded.
Many of the old employees as well as new entrants had been given
too much power and authority. They were able to make huge deals
without any higher approval. There was an emphasis placed on
earnings growth and there were no checks and balances. There was
too much decentralization, layers of management were wiped out, too
much leeway was given to young, inexperienced managers, and there
was completely off hand management.
Conclusion Things should have been handled differently at Enron.
The emphasis should have been on doing things well and valuing
members who set and accomplish goals. They would have also been
encouraged to work in teams and set challenging but realistic
goals, establish plans to meet those goals and pursuer them with
enthusiasm. The employees should have been encouraged them to
interact with others and to work on tasks and projects in ways that
will assist them in satisfying their needs to grow and develop. The
organization should also have valued creativity, quality, task
accomplishment and individual growth. The employees should have
been encouraged to gain enjoyment from their work, develop
themselves, and take on new and interesting activities. They would
also be motivated to work not only to make huge bonuses and impress
the PRC but would also have worked for the betterment of the
company.
Human Resources Management Case Study Perhaps the biggest
problem that would come with expansion is that there will not be
enough labor and skills available to produce good quality products.
Also, making the rules strict for the employees is not a good move
as it decreases the level of good human relationships and can cause
a lot of disloyalty as well as dissatisfaction amongst the
employees which can result in poor performance. In the past five
years, many companies around the world have shifted their
organizational model from the traditional to various other ones to
enhance their firms and to make them into a better place to work
at. Today, more and more companies are realizing that a traditional
way of running a business is not so effective in the changing
workforce that exists today. There are many different ways that
such companies are changing their workforce and their organizations
in order to incorporate the new ideas of human resource
managements. Viewlite also has to come up with new organizational
models. Perhaps the most significant change that it can make to its
workforce is to implement a transformed organizational model
instead of the traditional one. This basically consists of
completely changing the way that the firm works. Some of the
changes that companies make are such like in the areas of the
department of human resources. By implementing change in the
assembly line and financial management to their departments,
companies have been able to affect their sales as well as their
rapport with their customers as well as employees. By implementing
change and financial management tools, companies like Oticon
Internationals, a Danish company that manufactures hearing aid,
have been able to increase and boost their sales. By such
strategies, Viewlite will be able to decrease their time-to-market
by a long shot and are
also able to open up new markets for their upcoming and modern
products. Change and Financial management basically deals with
eliminating many of the functional departments that a company might
have and by removing job tides and other physical barriers, like
office walls. This kind of change helps the employees to grow and
to think of their companies as their own. This is a very effective
tool in the HR Department as it keeps the employees at bay and also
helps them to help the company grow further. The employees are
happier and thus their work is more productive and more efficient.
Also, financial management deals with completely revising the
working ethics in a more modern organizational model as compared to
the traditional one. The financial statements of the companies are
available on record and the employees that are working in the
financial departments have their own specific agendas and work
ethos. Viewlite should not make the rules for the employees as
strict as they have done. At Viewlite, the employees feel that they
are not a part of the company. By giving the employees more
participation rights in the affairs of the company and by giving
all the employees a different set of powers, thereby eliminating
the number of bosses in the company, makes the employees feel more
accepted in the workforce. This also gives the employees a
reassurance of security in the job and also motivates the employees
into working better since they feel that it is their own company.
Many companies today are encouraging their own employees to buy
their shares and stocks so as to make the whole company one unit
and as one entity. This gives the employees the confidence of
saying that they work in their own company and this kind of an
attitude is a very healthy one for the employees to maintain as
they work harder and
without too much constraints and complaints. The HR department
of Viewlite should consider this so as to get more productivity out
of the employees. Another area where Viewlite needs to change its
policies is with the teams and the job designs that are being
handed out to employees at the company. The work that used to be
handled inside the offices is being divided differently now. In the
newer models of organization, ones that are other than the
traditional ones, workers were assigned work by the upper
management on the basis of who the management thought was best for
the job. A new approach is to organize the work and the workload by
setting up project teams consisting of workers who join these teams
because they think they are compatible to their competencies and
interests. Companies that follow such models usually also change
the levels in the companys organization, and mostly keep only three
levels: project sponsors (the former management team); project
leaders; and project coworkers. All the employees in the company
are expected to work on many different projects at the same time,
where at least one of the projects is one in which they are
competent in and one in which they think they would be able to
produce more efficiently because of their competencies or
interests. This kind of an organizational structure, a flat,
project-focused teaming structure that created a knowledgebased,
networked organization, has been dubbed the spaghetti
organizational structure. Many people might argue that this
spaghetti structure is a weak one since it is flat, fluid and thus
haphazard since so little hierarchy, and no central or top-down
control, will not cause the firm to have a focus and to move more
cohesively in the right direction. But as we see, this has been
implemented by many companies and many of them are known to have
very secures
support systems based on shared values and goals that keep the
company and its employees motivated and on their way to success.
Another new way that Viewlite can improve employee performance is
by using more effective and efficient performance management
programs. Viewlite has failed to correctly gauge and ascertain the
behavior of their employees and this has been affecting the total
productivity and efficiency of the company. Not only that, Viewlite
has also failed to take in account the affect that the employees
and their behavior might be having on the representation of the
company on books, that is, in the stock market, auditors books etc.
This has to be changed as Viewlite needs to be more conscious of
their image in the market and would need to constantly reevaluating
its ranks in the competitive market. This would lead them to
evaluate their employees by measuring their practices. This has
come about as a very significant change as now many companies
require peer evaluations as well as evaluations of the employees by
their superiors as mandatory. These measurements of practices then
help Viewlite to find out which of the employee is working at what
quality level and thus aids them into deciding raises and bonuses.
This also keeps the employees in check as they work harder and
better to project themselves better. This also increases the level
of motivation in the employees and helps keep the company operating
at a healthy rate. As it has been previously mentioned in the last
paragraph, companies today are coming up with various new ways in
evaluating the performances of their employees. In the past, the
employees were motivated to work by giving them motivational pushes
like salary raise, vacation packages, health and dental plans,
bonuses etc. Although these are still the push factors in
motivating the employees to work harder and more efficiently, the
methods of
employee selection for these rewards have been altered. Now the
competitive work force has become even more competitive because
companies today are driving their employees further by creating
more competition amongst them. Employees who work harder are
rewarded more. And now, it is not just the matter of working hard,
i.e. quantitatively. Quality also matters and employees are being
encouraged to give a better service to their customers by adapting
new behavioral changes. These include more personal content to the
dealings, giving more time to the consumers and also keeping up to
date with the movements and preferences of regular clientele. This
helps the company grow because the clients feel more at home with
the people who work there and the employees work harder and better
because they have more incentive to do so. All in all, this is also
different from the traditional training that employees used to get
and this is also becoming a normal part of the activities of the HR
department and Viewlite should incorporate all this into its Human
Resource Management Strategy.I think that since Viewlite now needs
more skilled employees, it should use different staffing methods.
Staffing is probably the biggest and the largest of the worries of
Vewilite. Without a proper staff, a company cannot hope to run any
better than a mule in a horse race. Getting the right kind of
people into the company is the biggest issue that the Human
Resource department of any company has to face. The HR department
of Viewlite should carefully realize what are the jobs available
and what kind of people would fit in best so that they are able to
do their job properly and efficiently. Once the needs and
requirements set by Viewlite have been decided, the workers should
then be inducted on a skill based criteria. Viewlite can either
recruit the people as organizational-based teams, or outsource the
work to a separate firm for that particular job.
The most modern HR Departments in many companies are not just
involved with the internal affairs of the businesses that involve
selection and recruiting. Many companies HR
and marketing departments are working side by side to help the
country grow. The heads of these departments are usually meeting
and considering the new ways that the company and its image should
be marketed not just in order to attract more clientele but also to
attract the best workers. Finding good workers is becoming a very
hard task these days because of the continuously changing working
environment and the huge amount of competition in the workforce.
Research has shown that the moral and the attitude of the workforce
of companies is a very big contributing factor to the companys
overall image in the trading market. The marketing and the HR
department at Viewlite should work together to not only change the
way the company works and operates on the inside rather they also
work in collaboration to determine how the company is going to
affect the local communities. Viewlite should become more consumer
oriented, and focus more on the consumers. Viewlite should
advertise heavily not only to attract customers but also attract
better employees. Both these are vital for the companys success and
growth. Most companies today are advertising on the bases of making
the life of people better, and they show their nicely setup offices
and working environment in their ads. Better employees would be
attracted to Viewlite if they have a good marketing strategy and a
more competitive workforce is established. This would cause
Viewlite to work better and add to its efficiency and
productivity.
Submitted by: Joseph Kay T. Sabio