Chap 1 case (Done 3x)
Read the following case study and reflect your managerial thoughts within the following word count limits:
- Answer each question separately-->do not blend all your answers in 1 paragraph
- Don't retype the questions! I already know the questions and retyping chews up your word count
- Only 1 peer review per case
- Case analysis max 150 words
- Peer Review max 75 words
- Read the chapter to learn the concepts, theories, techniques, etc. before you start writing your answers
Grading
Case Analysis
Your replies to my case analyses questions must be substantive, insightful, and meaningful incorporating analysis, logic, ethics, management decision/direction, on what you would do as a leader.
Peer Review
In your peer review, reply to 1 fellow student's post and provide substantive prose. Don't reply with 3 or 4 words such as “Nice job, Steve” or “I completely agree, Julie.” Your reply must have substance, proper sentence structure, punctuation, and grammar (75 word max). View this as submitting a business report to your executive for review/decision making.
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Do not summarize the case study. I want to hear how you would handle the event from an HR leadership perspective.
I want to hear your voice and thoughts through this discussion.
Case Study: Peterson Cleaning Services
Introduction
HR management activities such as: recruiting, selecting, training, and rewarding employees—is not just the job of HR but all professional managers. As future leaders, this will be part of your job. This is very apparent in small businesses as all leaders must wear many hats or duties. The owners/managers usually have no HR staff support. That means success of the small business often depends on the effectiveness of how workers are recruited, hired, fired, trained, evaluated, and rewarded. To illustrate the front-line manager’s HR role, the text uses a continuing case study based on an actual small business in the cleaning services industry.
Each chapter’s segment of the case will illustrate how owner/manager Jennifer Peterson confronts and solves personnel problems at work by applying the concepts and techniques of that particular chapter.
Background information you will need to answer questions.
Peterson Cleaning Services
Jennifer Peterson graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management in 2000 and joined her father’s business.
Jack Peterson opened his first laundromat in 1990 and his second in 1995. The main attraction of these coin laundry businesses was they were capital intensive rather than labor intensive. That means once the investment in machinery was made, the stores could be run with just one (1) unskilled employee and not have the labor problems normally expected from being in the retail service or dry cleaning business.
But…Jack decided in 2000 to expand the services in each store to include dry cleaning and pressing of clothes. He broadened the offerings by “related diversification” consistent with his existing coin laundry activities. Jack diversified his offering to increase sales and profits. Jack then opened four (4) more of the same type of stores over the next five (5) years. Each store had its own on-site manager and about seven (7) employees and annual revenues of about $5,000,000.
Jennifer was hired to learn the business, bring modern management concepts and techniques for solving business problems and facilitate growth and sales.
Questions
- What would you do first if you were Jennifer? Consolidate / computerize all existing HR records? Meet with all employees? Tell me 2 more action items for Jen and why you think the 2 are important
- Should Jennifer be line or staff management and why?
- What sort of basic metrics can be measured in a laundry services business? Example, reduce employee turnover. Name 2 more metrics that are very important
- What should Jen obtain from her Dad before she “engages” with the employees? Why?