Human Resources Case Questions Which

Human Resources

CASE QUESTIONS

Which of the HR objectives facing Mr. Brush are really the most important to the success of the business? Prioritize them and justify your list.

I would prioritize Mr. Brush's listed HR objectives as follows, in order of highest to lowest priority.

Safety and Occupational Health Improvement

Regardless of how pressing the other objectives seem when taking into account the bottom line, nothing trumps safety in way of priority. The company has taken on the attitude that "people just get hurt," which is a completely unacceptable way to manage the situation. The management knows that their workforce is aging and that they are becoming more injury-prone.

New Machines and the Development of Qualified workers

Hiring new employees would be putting the cart before the horse. First, the company needs to decide which kinds of new machinery and processes will be put in place before hiring more workers can occur. This is a long process -- one which can take years of planning and organizing, and the plan must include both short-term and long-term goals.

3. Managing Health Costs of an Aging Workforce

a. The company has a remarkable track record of keeping employees for entire careers. One consequence of this is that the workforce is getting older and their health costs are increasing. This objective is a priority because it also requires much planning. Health insurance benefit plans must be compared and selected, and a plan for helping employees manage their health as they age could also be developed.

4. Recruiting and Training New Hourly Employees

a. Once priorities 1 and 2 and 3 are in place, it's time to hire new employees. The systems to support the new employees should be in place before recruitment begins, otherwise the process could be useless and the wrong people could be hired.

Now consider this list of objectives from the perspective of employees. Using the employees perspective, how would you prioritize the list? What are the implications of any differences in the two lists of priorities for Mr. Brush?

If the employees were to order this list of priories, they might put it in the following order.

1. Safety and Occupational Health Improvement

a. Both management and labor can agree that the health of the employees on the job takes priority over other concerns. If nothing else, the employees might be surprised to find that their priorities match with Mr. Brush on this score.

2. Managing Health Costs of an Aging Workforce

a. Again, this is a selfish concern on the part of the employees. Their health is at stake, and they want their health care expenses to be covered. They have made a long-time commitment to the company, and they expect that investment to be returned.

3. New Machines and Development of Qualified Workers

a. The current employees want to be the ones who are developed and trained for these new production systems. They would want to prioritize this over hiring new workers, who could possibly be brought in to replace long-time workers, which is why they would want this next item to be last.

4. Recruiting and Training New hourly Employees

a. Even though employees have a vested interest in the bottom line of the company and want it to meet all of its business objectives, they also want job security and would feel threatened by the hiring of new employees who may be there to take their jobs.

Choose two objectives. For each, describe the key roles and responsibilities of the HR manager, the line managers, and other employees.

1. Safety and Occupational Health Improvement

a. Much of the work of improving workplace safety is figuring out why situations are dangerous and why injuries have happened. The HR managers would be the top of the line in running these investigations and exploring company-wide solutions. The line managers would be responsible for ground level investigatory work and inspecting workplace procedures and machinery for possible danger zones. Other employees would be a critical part of the puzzle because they have hands on experience with the equipment and are the best sources of information about what can go wrong.