Overview
Chapter 1 Case - Changes, Changes
Jennifer, the owner and manager of a company with ten employees, has hired you to take over the HRM function so she can focus on other areas of her business. During your first two weeks, you find out that the company has been greatly affected by the up economy and is expected to experience overall revenue growth by 10 percent over the next three years, with some quarters seeing growth as high as 30 percent. However, five of the ten workers are expected to retire within three years. These workers have been with the organization since the beginning and provide a unique historical perspective of the company. The other five workers are of diverse ages. In addition to these changes, Jennifer believes they may be able to save costs by allowing employees to telecommute one to two days per week. She has some concerns about productivity if she allows employees to work from home. Despite these concerns, Jennifer has even considered closing down the physical office and making her company a virtual organization, but she wonders how such a major change will affect the ability to communicate and worker motivation. Jennifer shares with you her thoughts about the costs of health care on the organization. She has considered cutting benefits entirely and having her employees work for her on a contract basis, instead of being fulltime employees. She isn’t sure if this would be a good choice. Jennifer schedules a meeting with you to discuss some of her thoughts. To prepare for the meeting, you perform research so you can impress your new boss with recommendations on the challenges presented.
1. Point out which changes are occurring in the business that affect HRM.
2. What are some considerations the company and HR should be aware of when making changes related to this case study?
3. What would the initial steps be to start planning for these changes?
4. What would your role be in implementing these changes? What would Jennifer’s role be?
Chapter 2 Case - We Merged…Now What?
Earlier this month, your company, a running equipment designer and manufacturer called Runners Paradise, merged with a smaller clothing design company called ActiveLeak. Your company initiated the buyout because of the excellent design team at ActiveLeak and their brand recognition, specifically for their MP3-integrated running shorts. Runners Paradise has thirty-five employees and ActiveLeak has ten employees. At ActiveLeak, the owner, who often was too busy doing other tasks, handled the HRM roles. As a result, ActiveLeak has no strategic plan, and you are wondering if you should develop a strategic plan, given this change. Here are the things you have accomplished so far: • Reviewed compensation and adjusted salaries for the sake of fairness. Communicated this to all affected employees. • Developed job requirements for current and new jobs. • Had each old and new employee fill out a skills inventory Excel document, which has been merged into a database. From this point, you are not sure what to do to fully integrate the new organization.
1. Why should you develop an HRM strategic plan?
2. Which components of your HR plan will you have to change?
3. What additional information would you need to create an action plan for these changes?
There is a 500 minimum word count for both responses