Oasis Bicycles Case Study Oasis

Oasis Bicycles Case Study Oasis Bicycles Human Resources Plan The company is currently in a development and international expansion process. Given the circumstances and the rapid changes that emerge from the environment and that significantly affect the company's activity, Oasis Bicycles needs a flexible, easy to adapt HR strategy. Although the company must adapt its HR strategy for each country that Oasis Bicycles addresses, certain issues will be applied generally. For example, the company should focus on promoting young employees in all departments.

Also, the company should focus on implementing a descriptive-behavioral type of HRM. This is because this HRM model is more suited for the field of activity in which Oasis Bicycles activates. One of the most important parts of the company's HR strategy is represented by motivation and reward management. The company's employees must feel that Oasis Bicycles values them and intends to invest in them and in their careers. This strategy will further trigger a suitable behavioral response from the company's employees.

Also, the company's continuous focus on learning and development is intended to ensure its long-term success because of the advantages it brings for all the parties involved: customers, employees, and the company. Human Resources Strategic Plan The company's Human Resources strategic plan for the next five years must comprise the following main stages: determining the impact of organizational objectives, forecasting the HR demand, forecasting the HR supply, elaborating plans and programs for action.

Determining the impact of organizational objectives Given the fact that HR planning must be integrated within the organizational planning, in order to be efficient, HR planning must ensure that the organizational objectives are attained, objectives that can only be reached if the company owns the required resources. As a consequence, the HR planning process must take into consideration the impact of organizational objectives on the necessity of human resources in the first place (Heneman et al., 1989).

In other words, the company's objectives represent the starting point of any HR planning process. This stage of the HR planning process is even more justified by the fact the success of HR planning is determined by its relationship with the company's strategic planning, because of the fact that HR forecasting is affected by and affects the company's general planning. Therefore, HR planning begins and continues with the analysis of the company's objectives.

The influence of the company's internal and external environment has such a great impact in certain circumstances, that their detailed analysis is imposed. The exact evaluation of the external environment is very difficult to be performed because of the uncertainty that characterizes it, or because of the complexity of its dynamics.

In other words, the first stage of the HR planning is represented by collecting information from the company's external environment (economic, technological, social, demographic, or governmental information), and from the company's internal environment, information referring to strategies, business plans, existing human resources, or profits (Fisher et al., 1996).

In the case of Oasis Bicycles, the main organizational objectives that must be reached are: increasing production, increasing production flexibility by transferring some of the company's production from the Far East to the Netherlands, opening another plant in the U.S., significantly increasing marketing efforts in the U.S., developing new products. These organizational objectives that the company intends to reach in the following periods of time require certain changes to be made within the company's structure.

Certain production plants will be closed, while others will be opened in other regions in the world. The opening of new plants will require a HR recruitment and selection process that must be adapted to each region in case. Identifying the company's HR needs As mentioned above, the fact that Oasis Bicycles must shift some production from certain countries to other regions means the people working in the plants to be closed will be fired.

They will not be able to be hired in different positions within the company, given the fact that Oasis Bicycles will close its entire production activity in the regions in case. Given the fact that the company is opening production plants in other areas of the world means the company's HR necessity will remain constant.

Even so, the costs may either decrease in cases where the workforce is cheaper, like it is in the case of China, or increase in cases where the costs are higher for the workforce, like it is in the case of Europe. It is expected that the increased production efficiency and flexibility that will be obtained from these changes will compensate for the increased production costs. In each new region in which the company will open new production plants, the process will begin with the HR recruitment and selection activity.

The recruitment and selection process must be aligned in accordance with the company's needs and with the possibilities of the market in case. Evaluating the company's HR needs The competition in the field and the modifications of the external environment that have a significant impact on the company's activity will determine the company to work towards increasing HR efficiency. The efficiency of the company's human resources will lead to reduced costs in time, which will be translated in increased productivity and lower prices for the company's consumers.

This will further lead to an increased number of customers, increased customer loyalty, and increased geographical expansion. Reward management Reward management must reflect in the first place in projecting, implementing, and maintaining the reward systems for the company's employees that must be adapted in accordance with the continuous improvement of organizational performance (Milkovich & Boudreau, 1988).

Traditionally, this management field of activity was referred to as salaries management, but the concept is considered to be more and more limited given the requirements of nowadays HR issues and the practice in the field (Hilgert et al., 1986). In addition to this, the managerial theory and practice have proven the complexity of this field, by using a series of terms, like rewards, compensations, retributions, remuneration, salary, wage, stimulants, facilities, advantages, privileges, and others.

When analyzing a company's rewards management, it is very important to take into consideration the components of the reward system. The main components of the reward system are divided into indirect rewards and direct rewards. Indirect rewards include: protection programs like medical insurance, life insurance, labor inability insurance, pensions, retirement bonuses, social security; leave on pay, legal holidays, medical leave, anniversaries, lunch break; other services and rewards like facilities for spending leisure time, car provided by the company financial consulting, training programs, protection equipment, free meals, other services.

Direct rewards include: base salary, merit salary; the stimulants system comprising awards, commissions, salary increases or bonuses, stocks, profit participation, and others. The types of rewards mentioned above must be incorporated by the company in the reward system that will be applied for its employees. However, this does not mean that each employee should benefit from each of these benefits. Each job description or group of jobs that present similar traits must be analyzed.

The necessities and requirements of each job will be analyzed in order to better establish what types of rewards are most suitable for each job. For example, top managers should benefit from annual bonuses in accordance with their performance. Holidays and anniversary gifts are a must in such circumstances, in order to permanently remind the manager in case that he is valued by the company, which expects the same type of behavior from his behalf.

Other employees, like dealers, which related directly with customers, require other types of bonuses and rewards in order to increase their performance. For example, they can be encouraged by offering them commissions on each sale, or bonuses for reaching a certain number of units sold. Also, they can benefit from cars paid by the company in work interest, the company can provide them with cell phones, and also with other technical assistance. The company can show its support and valuation for certain employees by offering them training programs.

Such an action would have positive effects on all the parties involved: the employees would benefit from improved skills, abilities, and knowledge that would help them advance in their career. The company would also benefit from investing in training programs for its employees. The employees participating in such training programs are likely to perform better at their job, to increase their work productivity and efficiency.

This is translated into increased overall productivity and efficiency for the entire company, which further leads to increased profits based on the quality of the products and services provided by the company. The company's customers are also likely to be positively affected by employees following training programs. Given the fact that the customer is the central part of the company's strategy, customer satisfaction is pursued by the company in each of its strategies, and is particularly addressed by the HR strategy.

A special category of employees at Oasis Bicycles is represented by people working in the research and development department. The research and development activity is very important for the company. Its importance relies on the fact that the company must quickly adapt to changes determined by the external and internal environment. Also, the company must quickly identify new opportunities that can be exploited with the help of research and development personnel that is in charge of creating new products designed to adapt to rapid modifications in the customers' needs.

Therefore, the research and development personnel require special attention from the company and a special reward system. It is recommended that employees in this field benefit from more days of leave on pay than other categories of employees. Also, they can be rewarded with trips to other countries, or experience exchanges with professionals from other companies or other countries.

The amount invested by the company in the reward for each category of employees must be proportional with the effort made by the employees in case and with the importance that each job position has in the company's activity. Performance management Performance evaluation represents a central activity in the company's HR management because of the fact that it affects numerous decisions of the HR management system, like: recruitment and selection, identifying training requirements, distribution of rewards, evaluation of the HR projection process, promotions, and others (Ferris & Buckley, 1996).

In addition to this, certain specialists in the field recommend that the term "evaluation" is not used for this process, in order to not create a negative perception of employees regarding this process (Hudson, 1992). In the case of Oasis Bicycles the performance evaluation process is consisted of several distinct activities: evaluating the potential and the evolution and development ability of employees, evaluating behavior, and evaluating employees' performances.

Evaluating the potential and the evolution and development ability of employees This type of evaluation is performed based on the traits and personal characteristics of the employee in case, but also based on data and information about the person itself, and not necessarily about the behavior at work. Although the starting point in this type of evaluation is represented by previous appreciations and accomplishments, the evaluation must be oriented towards the future.

This activity brings into attention a series of issues, because some uncertainties of the future may represent the cause of reconsidering many aspects of future evaluations and promotions, and the limited range of opportunities may determine further negative issues to emerge. Also, the validity of results may be questioned and certain evaluations can be easily contested. In addition to this, such an evaluation will not provide significant feedback for employees. Evaluating behavior This type of evaluation takes into consideration behavioral manifestations that are related to performance characteristics.

This type of evaluation is very important in the case of Oasis Bicycles. The importance of this type of evaluation is represented by the fact that the company produces goods that are directly used by consumers, and also, certain employees categories deal directly with customers. In such cases, the employees' behavior is very important, and so is its evaluation. Performance evaluation This type of evaluation is directed towards the following purposes: performance improvement and development, progress and planning, investment in human resources.

Performance evaluation objectives Certain theoreticians in the field have performed thorough research in the field, and in numerous companies, revealing the diversity of objectives included by companies' HR managers in the performance evaluation process (Robbins, 1993). The objectives and their priority regarding the performance evaluation process in the case of Oasis Bicycles are revealed in the following table: Table1. Performance evaluation objectives Objective Priority 1. Compensations 81% 2. Performance feedback 60% 3. Promotions 53% 4. Personnel planning 60% 5. Research 30% 6. Personnel integration 49% 7. Development base 57% 8.

Motivational support 40% Performance evaluation process In order to be successful, the performance evaluation process that will be applied at Oasis Bicycles must follow the following stages. The process must start with the stage consisting in defining the objectives of performance evaluation. In the case of Oasis Bicycles, the objectives of this process are listed in the table presented above. The process must continue with establishing the moments in which the evaluation will be performed, and also establishing the persons responsible with performing these tasks.

Therefore, it is recommended that personnel's evaluation at Oasis Bicycles is performed twice a year. The persons in charge with performing this activity are the managers of each department. Furthermore, it is recommended to clearly establish the aspects that will be subjected to the evaluation in case. The most important aspects that may be evaluated are: results obtained by employees, their behavior, or their potential (Beardwell & Holden, 1997).

The evaluation criteria, the specific elements and attributes that define performance for each job position must be clearly determined before the actual evaluation takes place. In addition to this, it is important to establish performance standards, and their expected level. After establishing the coordinates mentioned above, it is time for the actual evaluation to take place. The obtained data and information are then analyzed. The results of the evaluation must be communicated to employees in order to prevent the emergence of conflicts that might affect employees' behavior in the workplace.

Once the results of the evaluation have been analyzed, the HR department must identify strategies for improving employees' performance and the future workplace behavior. In addition to this, employees with poor performances must be counseled and supported in order to improve their performance in the future.

The development of the performance evaluation process at Oasis Bicycles may take into consideration the following activities, in accordance with the needs of the company at a given point in which the process is implemented: integrating established characteristics into an evaluation system, transmitting performance standards to managers, evaluators, and to employees that are being evaluated, preparing evaluators and managers, using several evaluators or managers (Dessler, 1991).

Learning and development Although the customer is the central part of the company's strategy, the company's employees are just as important in delivering the objectives and goals established by Oasis Bicycles' managers. The company is in a continuous development process and its employees must also adapt to this process. The market is characterized by rapid changes and Oasis Bicycles must adapt to these changes through its employees.

Therefore, it is very important that employees benefit from programs and training processes that help them develop existing skills, abilities and knowledge, or to develop new ones (Price, 2007). The learning process should be a continuous one, because of the changes and developments that keep emerging in any field of activity. The learning process is even more important in the case of Oasis Bicycles, since the company relies on developing new products constantly, products that require new technologies.

The Application of a Strategic Human Resources Management Model Given the cycle in which Oasis Bicycles is currently situated and the circumstances that compose the company's internal and external environment, it is recommended that the company tries to implement a HRM descriptive-behavioral model. Oasis Bicycles is expanding its activity on international level, there are significant changes affecting the company's production and marketing activity. These changes must be identified, analyzed by the HR department.

The department must further identify any kind of problems that might emerge in this internationalization process and that might have an impact on the performance of the company's human resources. The company must analyze the workforce market in each country addressed by Oasis Bicycles. Each country has a.