Reference no: EM132834587

Scenarios: 

Root of the Problem Landscaping is a small yard-maintenance company that got its start in 2006. The company specializes in small-scale operations, including installing and maintaining flower beds, ponds, hedges, and lawns. The company employs five site supervisors and approximately 30 groundskeepers. The owner, Daniel Black, is himself involved in the work performed at most sites and is the sole negotiator of terms with clients.

Originally serving only Halifax, Nova Scotia, the company has grown to accommodate clients as far away as the Moncton, New Brunswick area. Now in its third season of operation, however, Black has noticed a decline in his company's rate of growth because the gains associated with opportunities afforded by new clients have been offset by the loss of older ones and also because he is having difficulty maintaining lasting employer-employee relationships.

You have been hired on a consulting contract by Root of the Problem Landscaping to investigate why business growth has stalled. You begin by interviewing Black and his site supervisors to establish what, if any, customer feedback they have received, to find out what qualifications both Black and the supervisors have, and to investigate the state of employment satisfaction.

Some negative customer feedback is associated with lack of knowledge and skills on the part of both the supervisors and the groundskeepers. Clients have noted that there have been instances where flowers have been removed that should not have been and weeds have gone unnoticed. In addition, there have been some instances where trees and shrubs were not properly planted and cared for. There has been a lack of attention paid to sun/shade and/or depth considerations, so some plants did not survive the winter. Most negative feedback that has resulted in a lack of repeat business is associated with job sites where Black had little or no involvement in the actual landscaping.

You notice a tendency for Black to attribute customer dissatisfaction to the customers' own personality flaws as opposed to anything his company may be doing wrong. The supervisors can provide little or no additional information because, as instructed by Black, they rarely communicate with clients.

Your interview with Black has revealed that he has extensive knowledge and skills associated with landscaping as a result of a lifetime of hands-on experience. He is also passionate about his work. You also notice that he doesn't know where his knowledge came from and sometimes thinks specialized knowledge that he has should be common sense to others.

Black's employees have limited knowledge of landscaping compared to Black's knowledge, and what they have seems to have been gained by learning on the job with Root of the Problem Landscaping. You have noticed that many of the employees seem to be dissatisfied with their workplace environment, and some report that they find Black to be unprofessional and inconsiderate as an employer. Jobs are often interrupted or delayed because of a lack of proper inventory procedures, resulting in frequent trips to hardware stores, etc.

You notice some employees having difficulty with lifting tasks and the operating of machinery. Some employees are working with two gloves and others with only one or none. Some employees seem to be suffering from aches and pains, and you can see bad sunburns on their bodies because of a lack of sunscreen use. Some older and less agile employees seem to be attempting physically demanding tasks while the younger, fitter employees are engaged in less strenuous activity.

You have been observing Root of the Problem Landscaping both when Black is there and when he is not. When Black is present, the job seems to get done, but you notice he often has to go back and work on tasks that were not completed properly by his employees. When fixing a problem, he tends to complain to the employees but does not instruct them on how to do it properly in the future. You observe instances where Black is unduly harsh in his criticisms of the employees and seems to lack some people skills. There is evidence that the employees do not have respect for Black and his business when you observe them "cutting corners" on the job when he is absent. As a result, there is ongoing turnover.

Here are the sections of the report:

Executive Summary

• Provide an overview of the company and situation, the key issue(s) to be addressed and the solution(s) that you recommend.

Company and Situation

• Provide an analysis of the company, its strategy, and relevant facts about the current situation.
• Examine the external and internal factors in the organization that may influence your analysis. Identify the key stakeholders and their positions.
• What is the company's brand?
• What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, or risks in this situation and why? What is working and not working? What are the gaps?

Key Issue(s):

• Explain the key Human Resources issues or challenges facing the organization. What makes them important? Why do they need to be addressed? What impact are they having now?
• What are the legal considerations or employment legislation that is relevant in this case? Be specific.

Alternatives:

• Identify at least three (3) possible options to resolve the issue(s) at hand.
• What are the advantages, disadvantages, costs, and benefits of each alternative?
• How well would each alternative solve the problem?

Recommendation:

• State your recommendation. What makes this solution the best one? How will this help solve the problem?
• What resources are required to implement this recommendation? What will it cost the organization?
• What is the return on investment? How will you measure the success of your recommendation, if it is implemented (provide metrics)? Provide a specific plan of action to implement and measure the effectiveness of your recommendation.