Reference no: EM133335844

Question 1. Imagine that you have a friend who owns and runs a family restaurant that specializes in plant-based whole foods. At capacity, the restaurant requires four wait staff to wait on all the tables. While the restaurant has been getting busier and busier, your friend has found it challenging to have the right number of wait staff working. Sometimes when only one person is working, he or she is overwhelmed, and other times the three or four people working stare into a mostly empty restaurant. When staff aren't working, the restaurant is losing money, and the wait staff aren't earning tips. Without a full income from waiting tables, the better wait staff move to busier jobs, so the quality of workers is suffering from this poor scheduling. Using what you know about forecasting demand, what advice would you offer to solve this scheduling issue?

Question 2. The Delphi technique and the nominal group technique (NGT) are often used to facilitate creative and innovative solutions to HR demand issues. What are the similarities and differences between the two methods? List the conditions associated with successful employment of each of these two demand forecasting techniques

Question 3. This chapter discusses some of the reasons for giving preferential consideration to your own workforce to fill job openings. Are there any disadvantages? What can management do to mitigate these potentially negative effects?

Question 4. Employee segmentation involves grouping employees by similar characteristics or preferences for the employment contract. Discuss how a company like Canadian Tire might segment its store employees.

Question 5. Ganong Bros., a manufacturer of candy and chocolates, is based in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. In 2008, for the first time in its 135-year history, an outsider succeeded a member of the Ganong family as president of the company. (Two children who work in the business were deemed "not ready.") This decision is a result of two years of succession planning by the Ganong board, which is dominated by outsiders. What are the advantages and limitations of choosing an outsider to head the company?

Question 6. About half of all Canadian companies offer paid leave for volunteering, ranging from one day to two weeks annually. According to Mario Paron, KPMG's chief HR officer, "Employees return with a fresh perspective-new skills learned in a nontraditional environment and learning and sensitivity in dealing with people from different backgrounds, that is invaluable when they return to work." Do you think that volunteering is a good management developmental tool? Why or why not?

Question 7. This chapter has focused mainly on managers, implying that they are the key talent that needs to be managed. However, there are people who believe that the organization's most critical employees are not those who make the highest salary, but those who have the most impact on the customer: e.g., the couriers at FedEx and the street sweepers at Walt Disney World. Describe why these people should be considered key talent, and what succession management plans could be used for them.