Reference no: EM133242145

Assignment - Case Study Analysis

Purpose: To identify emerging issues in human resources management [HRM] and apply comprehension of course material in resolving matters presented in the case. Students will demonstrate knowledge of behavioural and organizational consequences of specific HRM strategies, policies, and practices.

Length:2-3 pages (Double Spaced - Not including cover page and references).

Case 1 - Management Trainees

It's that time of year again at Vandelay Industries! Each year, Dinesh Mano, recruitment officer at the head office of the retail chain, visits colleges and universities across Canada to recruit graduates for sales, marketing, human resources, and purchasing management-trainee positions for its 26 locations.

In order to predict the number of management trainees required, HR planning is done each year based on the budget and sales forecast. The previous year's plan is also reviewed. There has been virtually no change in the HR plan over the past 10 years.

Julia Martinez, Vice-President of Human Resources, is feeling rather concerned about what happened last year and is wondering how to prevent it from happening again.

Based on the HR plan, 50 new management trainees were hired. Unfortunately, six months after they started, the company experienced a drastic drop in sales due to a downturn in the economy, combined with increased foreign competition. Half of the recently hired management trainees had to be laid off.

Dinesh started at Vandelay as a management trainee when he had completed the Human Resources Management program at CentennialCollege. He has just returned from an on-campus recruitment campaign, which happened to be at his alma mater and reported that his experience was not as pleasant as usual. One of the candidates that he interviewed knew someone who had been hired and laid off last year. She indicated she was rather worried about considering a position with Vandelay in light of that fact, despite the company's excellent reputation for promotion from within and overall stability. (Vandelay, which currently employs more than 8000 people in its head office and retail stores, has been in business for more than 70 years.)

Dinesh has just finished telling Julia how embarrassed he was by this candidate's probing questions about job security and how uncomfortable he felt. He ended up simply reassuring the candidate that such a situation could never happen again. Julia is now wondering how to make Dinesh's reassurance a reality.

Question 1. What are the consequences of poor HR planning?

Question 2. What problems do you see with Vandelay's current HR planning process?

Question 3. What should Julia and Dinesh do to more accurately forecast the demand for management trainees for the coming year before any more on-campus recruiting?

Question 4. Which method of HR demand forecast would be most effective? Explain your answer.

Case 2-Secretary's Job Description

Until the CEO's secretary retired, no one in theKramerica Industries' HR department realized how much variation there was in the compensation of the company's secretaries.

To Wei Chen, Compensation Specialist, there were inconsistent standards for secretarial pay. With advancements in office-automation technology, Managers' delegation styles and secretaries' varying degrees of willingness to take on increasing managerial responsibilities, the job assumed a variety of tasks. Two secretarieslikely performedvery different tasks.

Wei knew that updated job analysis information was essential. Hence, he prepared for resistance from those who may want to protect their status and pay. Wei decided to use an objective method to gather information about all secretaries' jobs. He planned to have a brief explanatory interview and then distribute questionnaires tothe firm's secretarial staff and their managers. The interviews would potentiallygive her a chance to dispel fears on the part of any of the secretaries or managers, demonstrating that the purpose of the analysis was to eliminate jobs, reduce salaries, or lower the grade level of positions.

Before finalizing the questionnaire, Wei shared it with a small group of secretaries in his own department. Based on their input, he made some modifications, such as adding questions about the use of office technology and its impact on the job.

The questionnaire now covered nearly every aspect of the secretarial role, from processing mail and making travel arrangements to editing and preparing company correspondence, budgets, and reports. The questions also captured information about how much time was spent on each activity and how much supervision each task required. Wei hoped that in addition to establishing standards on which Kramerica Industries could base a more equitable pay structure, the survey would allow the HR staff members to assess training needs, examine the distribution of work, determine accurate specifications for recruitment and selection, and develop employment tests to be used in the future.

Just as Wei was about to begin the interviews and the distribution of questionnaires, he got a phone call from Linda Yang, vice-president of sales. She had heard about the upcoming analysis and was very upset. Linda claimed to be worried about how much time Avril, the secretary assisting her, would have to take away from her work in order to meet with Wei and fill out the questionnaire. She also expressed concern that Avril might feel that her job was threatened and start looking for a position elsewhere. Weiagreed to meet with Linda to discuss her reservations, for which Linda thanked her profusely. Just before hanging up, Linda added, "You know, Wei, I sure wouldn't want to see Avril's job rated at a lower grade level than the secretary assisting the vice-president of operations!"

Question 1: What do you think is the real "problem," from Linda's point of view?

Question 2: How should Wei address each of Linda's concerns?

Question 3: What can methods can Wei use to gather information about the Secretary position? In your opinion, which would be the most effective? Explain.

Question 4: Based on the case, would you suggest that a job analysis was ever conducted for the Secretary role at Kramerica Industries? Explain your answer. What are consequences to other areas of Human Resources Management as a result of not having job analysis conducted?