Human Resources

Outsourcing certain human resources roles can save an organization time and money in many respects. While it is not necessary or often feasible to outsource all human resources roles, outsourcing various functions can help reduce overhead and result in greater efficiency in some organizations. To save money however organizations must decide what human resources roles can be effectively outsourced to save money and not impeded performance or harm the organization. This paper will discuss the benefits of outsourcing certain human resources roles, including payroll, benefits administration and recruitment and selection.

By outsourcing each of these roles an organization can reduce overhead, risk and save valuable time when conducting normal business operations. These ideas are explored below. Outsourcing typically reduces the number of human resources staff necessary on hand to handle ordinary HRM activities (Sims, 2002). Outsourcing involves “long term contractual relationships” with businesses and external providers (Lever, 1997:37). Outsourcing relationships are increasingly common in human resources. Outsourcing can provide organizations with multiple competitive advantages, including cost savings.

There are many roles that an organization can outsource to save money. Some of the more common roles that organizations are outsourcing to save money include payroll and benefits administration and employee hiring or recruitment (Lever, 1997). By outsourcing these functions an organization can maintain a smaller personnel base and reduce the number of experts needed to manage the human resources function (Lever, 1997). Outsourcing experts can recommend the best methods for conducting payroll and can handle the often lengthy administrative tasks associated with benefits administration.

By outsourcing the recruitment and selection process an organization can rest assured that well qualified experts will screen candidates, background check candidates, and ensure that the best employees are hired to handle core competencies. In most organizations even if an external party manages the recruitment and selection process, internal managers or representatives still have the opportunity to meet with potential candidates and determine whether or not they are a good fit for the organization or a given team.

Outsourcing can help reduce the business risks associated with hiring, payroll and benefits administration. Outsourcing companies share the burden of risk for all employees they recommend to a company and all job roles they carry out within the organization. For this reason they typically operate under stringent guidelines, policies and procedures that ensure optimal delivery of service. HRM typically focuses much attention on risk management.

By outsourcing certain functions in an organization however, the firm will not only save money but also valuable time, and can concentrate its attention on building or developing other programs including employee rewards and recognition programs. It is important to note that most organizations will have to pay a premium price to outsource to certain experts (Lever, 1997). In larger organizations this may still result in a cost savings, when compared with the expense of paying annual salaries to multiple internal experts in charge of payroll, recruitment and benefits administration.

It is important that each company take into consideration their unique situation and decide whether or not outsourcing makes sense in the long term. Outsourcing can provide substantial savings when it comes to filling positions requiring specialized skills (Lever, 1997). Traditionally human resource managers have spent hundreds of hours researching candidates to select ideal candidates for hard to fill positions. This often results in high expenditures. If a candidate does not work out, the cost to re-recruit and re-train a new candidate can be debilitating.

Fortunately most outsourcing recruitment agencies provide access to specialized who are highly skilled and have access to networks of specialized candidates to choose from. Because the outsourcing agencies only task is to fill this position or others rather than handle multiple roles for the organization, they can often find a candidate more efficiently and quickly. They chances that a candidate will stay with the firm long term are also much higher due to better screening methods and more skills training and testing (Lever, 1997).

Outsourcing does change the culture within an organization, but this change is not necessarily one that is negative. In fact, outsourcing can bring about positive change within the organization. Many employees fear that outsourcing is negative, a means by which an organization replaces internal candidates with external specialists. While this is true, in many organizations outsourcing makes sense and can benefit employees and managers alike in the long term.

An organization that saves money outsourcing can redirect those funds into employee promotion programs and employee incentive programs. Outsourcing certain job roles including payroll, benefits administration and recruiting and hiring can result in risk reduction for an organization, can save an organization much time and often results in cost savings in the long run. These benefits of course are provided when the organization takes it’s time to select an appropriate vendor to meet its needs and fulfill its obligations.

Med-Veal handles all administrative functions from the time of the referral until the medical report is delivered to the requesting party. Their goal is to focus on providing excellent customer support while providing high level services to clients all over the country. It is a relatively small company, employing fewer than one hundred employees, many Of which are located at the corporate site in Sterling, Virginia. Med-Veal provides an innovative solution to insurance providers by providing medical examiners that are board certified in their specialties and specialties.

All physicians that are contracted with Med-Veal are qualified and free from sanctions or judgments that could compromise their credibility on medical reports. They also provide these services through the united States, so they can be relied upon to locate a qualified provider virtually anywhere. Lastly they provide discounted diagnostic service for Worker’s compensation insurance providers, again with facilities available all over the country. The corporate human resources team recently conducted a thorough needs assessment in April of 201 3, and found many positive happenings and orgasm already in place in the company.

There were however, several issues that they found during this process that needed to be addressed if they wanted to find contain due success in the industry. One major concern that corporate human resources and management felt needed to be addressed immediately was the high turnover rates within the company. The assessment also showed low employee satisfaction, and much of the staff expressed concern with the fact that was no orientation or onboard program in place, and they were often left to learn the job on their own.

There was no formal orientation, with employees spending about 30 minutes with one of the human resource managers to discuss benefits and fill out paperwork, and then about a day being trained by fellow employees on how the computer systems work, and how to schedule patients for various studies or evaluations.

Human Resource Development Intervention

Once the needs assessment had been completed, human resources determined that changes needed to be put into place in order to improve employee satisfaction levels, to reduce turnover rates, and to employ a more denaturized onboard and orientation process.

If was felt that much of the emphasis should be placed on developing an onboard process and training program, and in doing so it was felt that the turnover rates would drop and the satisfaction rates would rise. Therefore an action plan was implemented in order to create an onboard an orientation program. According to author Patricia Duration (2007), there are three key elements of a successful onboard program. These include a clearly identified process, having the support of managers and other organizational leaders, and aging sure there is timely follow up at the close of the orientation class.

Because there was no formal onboard program or orientation program in place, it was quickly realized that these were all areas that required improvement. There was no traditional onboard process. Employees were brought in, and immediately put to work with very little training. The expectation was that they would learn about the values of the company as they worked. Training was limited and provided on the job. This complaint was felt amongst many of the employees, especially those that were in the independent medical evaluation group which requires being very detail oriented, and able to handle many tasks quickly and effectively.

There was no clearly defined program to bring new employees up to speed and train them properly on their respective positions. As the human resources team evaluated these events, they realized that the first step was to come up with the objectives of what they want their new onboard and orientation process to accomplish. This starts with creating a proper training program for new hires.

Instructional Design Plan

In order to address this problem effectively and create an effective unbarring and orientation program it is important to assess what measures need to be taken.

It is imperative that human resources has a broad understanding of the learning style of the participants in order to create the proper objectives for the instruction. In this case, what is needed is a plan to create a more comprehensive onboard and orientation. The objective here would be to create an onboard that answers all questions that new employees might have, to make sure that employees are properly oriented to the company and their position, and that training rules are in place so that employees do not feel that they have been placed in a sink or swim situation.

Learning Objectives

By completing the instructional design plan, and combining that with the results of the needs assessment, as well as feedback from surveys given to management and employees, it is possible for the Human Resources team to be able to determine what objectives are important for them to meet in order for new orientation classes and onboard sessions to be successful. In this case the first training session will need to focus on the importance of the onboard program.

In this particular case, this session needs to involve a ore detailed overview of the company structure, as this will assist new employees in better understanding the inner workings of the company, and know the proper protocol to follow when questions arise. Objective number two relates to the fact that this is a very specific type of work environment, because you are dealing with workers compensation, and the specific rules and regulations that each state has.

It is understood that many of the new hires do not have specific training in workers compensation programs, and that significant time will need to be spent explaining workers compensation ales and regulations, and how they differ from state to State. The third major objective that needs to be addressed in this program is customer service and the importance of provident excellent service to the customer. New employees need to be trained on how to handle various issues when they arise, while keeping the customer informed of the situation at all times.

New staff needs to have an onboard and orientation process of at least two weeks. The first week in the onboard sessions, learning about company culture, and having in-services on customer service. In the second week of employment the new employee should be assigned to a senior team member whom they can shadow and be properly trained in their position. Lesson Plan According to Werner and Decision, an effective lesson plan lays out the step by step agenda of the training process.

In the case of Med-Veal, this lesson plan is being established for a new employee onboard and orientation class. Onboard and orientation are to take place at corporate headquarters in Sterling, Virginia, and this will not change. Or in the case of SST. Choir Hospice, the plan for the new employee orientation class. As previously mentioned the first week will be the onboard process, where they will learn company culture, meet various staff members including members of human resources, management and payroll.

There will be discussion of corporate culture, set in a question and answer forum. With the use of audio visual devices they will be able to provide the necessary information to the new hires. There will also be industry specific material presented, as worker’s compensation has very specific rules that need to be adhered to. There will be a question and answer period at the end of each session, and then there ill also be testing will be given at the end of each day to determine what the new employees have learned, and what they are retaining.

Instructors can then determine based on the testing results where and if any additional training needs to be provided to the individual new hires to ensure that they are retaining the necessary material. These training sessions will be provided during working hours which are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. They will break for a one hour lunch daily. Once the first week of onboard has been completed the employee will then move on to the second week of the orientation process which will be done in a one on one setting with senior team members.

This on the job training will allow new employees to sit with various senior team members to be trained in multiple aspects of the position, and also for them to see that they have several different resources available to them. This will provide additional support to the new employees not just from management, but also from senior team members who have the experience. By doing this new hires should feel more secure in their job before they begin, and should ultimately reduce the mount of turnover that Med-Veal is facing.

Recruitment is perceptibly critical to achieving adequate minority representation. If there are inadequate numbers of qualified minority applicants in the recruited pool, then it is highly unlikely that ensuing selection procedures will result in a balanced or representative workforce. Thus, targeted minority recruitment can be an effectual strategy for diversity enhancement as it allows organizations to attract the most talented applicants. The first step in attracting sufficient numbers of minorities entails the placement, nature, and content of advertising materials and other organizational communications (AARP, 1993). However, the messages and media that work with White males can not be evenly effective with members of minority groups and can just be successful if they reach the minority audience. While faced with potentially small numbers of minority applicants, organizations must engage in cooperative efforts with educational institutions and training centers so as to develop their own pool of potential applicants.

This includes sponsoring special classes, mentoring programs, or apprenticeship programs in order to develop a skilled pool of applicants. The advertising message must create a sincere impression that minorities are valued by the organization. Using minority images as part of the recruitment package can help in building an organization’s status as having a minority-friendly workplace. Studies suggest that recruitment advertisements that comprise minority workers (e. g., African American, female) make positive organizational images among minorities (Avery, 2003). Also, using minority recruiters tends to boost the interest of minority applicants. The presence of successful minority employees sends a signal to applicants that the organization is committed to expanding its workforce, that potential role models exist within the organization, and that minorities have a strong probability of success. Individuals are expected to apply to an organization if it is viewed as socially responsible.

However, the effects of advertising an affirmative action policy on the recruitment of minorities are less clear and given that one of the main goals of any affirmative action program is to raise the recruitment of minorities, it is somewhat surprising that comparatively little research attention has been aimed toward the question of the effects of affirmative action policies on the attraction of applicants to an organization. So as to successfully recruit applicants, affirmative action procedures should be perceived as both fair and emphasizing merit.

Thus, communications concerning affirmative action must emphasize that affirmative action is a means for decreasing discriminatory barriers. Minorities are more expected to respond in a positive manner to an affirmative action program in which the emphasis is on forming a climate of achievement in which all individuals can compete practically. Once the organization has attracted the applicant and established the potential match between the applicant and the organization, it should then maintain the motivation and interest of the applicant throughout the initial exchanges of information and throughout a sometimes protracted selection process.

Because applicants use information about and from the selection process to make inferences concerning organizational attributes, it is significant to communicate to applicants that minorities are respected by the organization and that the selection procedures are fair and replicate merit. Furthermore, specific characteristics of the selection procedure such as time lags between selection procedures (Arvey, Gordon, Massengill, ; Mussio, 1975), professed content validity, and perceived job-relatedness could influence minority applicants’ decisions to remain or take out from the selection process.

In spite of higher unemployment rates for racial minorities, attempts to target recruitment toward racial minorities have formed mixed results. The research literature suggests that the recruitment of racial minorities is influenced by several perceptual factors including reactions to advertising, affirmative action policies, and the fairness of selection methods and processes. Women applicants lean to be attracted to family friendly organizations that underline the availability of benefits such as flexible work arrangements, eldercare, and childcare (Doverspike, Taylor, Shultz et al. , 2000). Also, women job seekers tend to react more favorably to equal employment opportunity policies than do men (Doverspike & Arthur, 1995). Finally, the job search behavior of older workers is often shaped by their health, finances, and education. In addition to health care provisions and salary, the older worker is mainly likely to be influenced by flexibility in work options and the accessibility of retirement programs.

Introduction – Wal-Mart, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, is one of the world largest companies by market capitalization and number of people employed and touching millions of customers everyday. There are more than 7,800 Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club locations in 16 markets worldwide and there are more than 2 million associates serving more than 100 million customers per year (About Us, n. d. ) It is the largest grocery retailer in the United States with an estimated market share of around 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business.

To be able to efficiently operate such a complex operation at such a large and do it consistently would only be possible by the huge effort by Wal-Mart’s ‘associates’ as its employees are called. This papers looks at the human resources practices of Wal-Mart with a special focus on group and team behavior, leadership, conflict and negotiation, human resource practices and organizational culture and diversity within the company to understand them and also provide some recommendations to make them better in the future.

Analysis of various HR related areas of Wal-Mart – One of the reasons why Wal-Mart has been so successful and scale up its model across so many locations is the values and beliefs established by its founder and the customer centric culture that is replicated across locations. The company right from the time of its inception has a clear mission which is to save its customers money and enable them to live better.

Below is an analysis of current Wal-Mart practices across various areas and how Wal-Mart has align then to perfectly with its mission statement Group and team behavior – There has been a focus on achieving things together as a team right from the days of Sam Walton. Sam Walton firmly believed that all the people working in Wal-Mart are ordinary people and as a team they are able to do extraordinary things, growing together and accomplishing much more than each of them could individually (Teamwork, n. d. . This same spirit is ingrained even today into the day to day operations of Wal-Mart all over the world, where they leverage team work to overcome obstacles as they all work together to serve their customers the best. The manner in which they work as a team and the single mindedness in which they serve their customer is given to them in the guidelines that the employees follow to extract the maximum value out of working together. Leadership – To manage the complex operation of the huge number of super tores across the world, there are store managers who are given complete ownership of store operations and given a lot of data that in other companies would not be shared with the middle management. This trust that management has in it increases their ownership in the business and they are motivated to put in better performances and also motivate their team to achieve their targets while ensuring complete customer satisfaction. The focus on the customer is seen here also with the philosophy of ‘Servant Leadership’.

As per this philosophy, it is their strong belief that effective leaders don’t lead from behind a desk and that it is important to develop leaders who are servants to the customers, can work with partners and who are able to motivate the team to perform well. Across stores all over the world, the managers at Wal-Mart can be seen right on the floor working along with other associates (Servant Leadership, n. d. ). This enables leaders in Wal-Mart to lead by example which is very motivating for the associates as well to put in their best effort.

Conflict Resolution – Wal-Mart also realizes the importance of free flowing communication to being responsive to customer needs and actively encourages two way communications across the organization both top down and bottom up. To encourage associate to come up and speak with the management, Wal-Mart actively promoted the open door policy where associates can walk up to many manager or leader and share suggestions, ideas or raise any concerns that they might have (Open Door, n. . ). It is expected of the leaders that they treat all discussions fairly without bias and with an open mind and in confidence if required and work with the associate to resolve the issue or problems that they might have. This again is a very good policy that helps Wal-Mart to fix problems or resolve conflicts and issues quickly and focus on its purpose which is to serve its customers in the best possible manner.

Human resource practices – As described earlier, one of the most important functions in Wal-Mart would be the human resources who have to come up with processes and policies to manage the huge two million associates that are employed by the business. The employees are treated as an integral part of the business and are called as ‘associates’ which makes them feel a part of the company and hence motivates them to give their best. Wal-Mart also recognizes that it would not be able to achieve its mission without the support of its associates and has got a variety of programs for the benefit of the mployees. All associates and their families are provided with health coverage and this program is being implemented currently (Health & Wellness, n. d. ). It also uses a lot of technology in its operations such as cash registers being shut off automatically so that associates can take their break and relax and also to account for accurately the amount of time that they had worked. There is also a very open culture where people are encouraged to come up and resolve issues.

Though there have been a lot of criticism in the past of Wal-Mart being a bad employer, not giving enough chances for women to get promoted, exploiting workers with very low wages, (Miller, G. 2004) it seems that they appreciate these issues and are working on them to find a solution. Organizational culture –Sam Walton had started the company based on strong beliefs and values on how the business should be run and these rules and customs are strongly instilled even today into the culture of Wal-Mart.

In the company this is known as the three basic beliefs and values and each and every associate is expected to adhere to at every moment in Wal-Mart. The first of the three basic beliefs and values of Wal-Mart is respect for the individual, for the customer, associates, and suppliers with a focus for building relationships and most importantly treating each other with dignity, which helps Wal-Mart to better serve its customers and the community it operates in (Culture, n. d. ).

The second important belief is of service to Wal-Mart customers, as they believe that customers are the reason why Wal-Mart exists and hence they should be given the best customer service possible. Associates at Wal-Mart are encourages to look for every opportunity where they can exceed customers expectations and put every effort in that direction. The third important belief that guides employees at Wal-Mart is that they should never be satisfied with what they have already accomplished but they should always extend their boundaries and strive to achieve excellence.

This passion for continuous improvement o serve their customers best while saving them money (3 Basic Beliefs & Values, n. d. ) hat, customer service is deeply ingrained in the culture of the company, as can be seen from one of the many rules of Sam Walton that they follow even today, called as the ’10 Foot Rule’. As per this rule, associates have to pledge that whenever they come within 10 feet of a customer, they would look at them in the eye, greet them and ask them if they require any assistance.

Many similar rules of customer service that are followed in the company help to form a culture that is built around customer which helps the business achieve its long term strategy (1o Foot Rule, n. d. ) Organizational Diversity – Of late Wal-Mart has been taking a lot of steps to encourage and increase employee diversity in the organization with its pro diversity practices.

As an organization it says that it values diversity and fosters a working environment that enriches the personal and professional experiences of our associates, promotes excellence, and cultivates the intellectual and personal growth of the entire associate population. Wal-Mart plans for diversity as they feel a global business like them needs to have employees from various backgrounds and cultures to understand the customer better and operate a successful global operation.

Therefore from the management level, associates and also the suppliers, Wal-Mart tries to create a diverse work environment and a culture of inclusion that promotes diversity (Diversity, n. d. ). To encourage and promote diversity in the organization, Wal-Mart has established a Employment Practices Advisory Panel which will work with Wal-Mart’s senior management to develop and implement progressive enhancements to equal employment opportunity and diversity initiatives for the company (Communities, 2006).

In addition to that all supervisors in Wal-Mart receive training on diversity issues which will make them appreciate the diverse work environment and help them deal with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Of late Wal-Mart has also started women in leadership and mentoring programs to help female employees further their careers and more into management roles (Retail Merchandiser, 2005). The above discussion shows that Wal-Mart recognizes the need for a diverse and multi cultural workforce and has taken many steps to promote the same.

Recommendations – Though Wal-Mart has taken many steps towards ensuring a highly charged up, motivated and diverse work environment as can be seen from the analysis above, there are still some areas where a lot of improvement is needed to make Wal-Mart a better place to work for the associates and in the eyes of the customers. Over the years, Wal-Mart has been in the news for many wrong reasons and a lot of negatives with regard to its operations have been greatly highlighted in the press.

It has been criticized by women’s rights groups and other community organizations and there are many high profile court cases against it due to alleged discrimination against women employees in terms to lower wages than their male counterparts and also with regard to promotions and management opportunities (Drogin, 2003). This kind of bad press reflects very badly and there may be truth in that as it has been endorsed by thousands of current and former Wal-Mart female employees.

In this regard Wal-Mart should take affirmative action and ensure that the amount of managerial women employees reflects the actual percentage of women that are working in Wal-Mart and also ensure that needs of women working are addressed. Another criticism that has been alleged against Wal-Mart is that it pays relatively lower wages for the amount of work that is done by its associates, and the associates have to suffer due to its mission of constantly lowering its prices for its customers (Miller, G. 2004).

Wal-Mart is currently taking some steps in this regard like offering healthcare and wellness benefits for its associates and having overtime pay, and also using advanced IT systems to ensure that employees are paid accurately and in time for the amount of work that they are doing. However Wal-Mart should understand that the associates, who work so hard to ensure the high standards that have been set should be treated fairly and should try to rationalize their wages or offer other benefits that would ensure that they are able to maintain a good standard of living.

To manage an issue and prompt a very quick resolution, Wal-Mart has a open door policy where an associate can walk up to an discuss with the store manager or supervisors any of the problems that they are having. In addition to this, Wal-Mart should have outer outlets for employees to address their concerns as some of the employees may not want to go through this channel due to various reasons such as for the fear of being reprimanded or not having confidence in the store management that they would resolve the issue.

This can be one reason why so many issues has escalated into the major problems that have gone outside Wal-Mart and it receiving very bad publicity for it. Also as Wal-Mart is strictly opposed to unions, there are no other outlets for employees to raise concerns or openly negotiate with the management. Therefore it is recommended that in addition to the open door policy and the direct communication channel, there must be a host of other communication channels both at the store level and at the corporate that specifically looks at these issues and addresses them, and this reduce employee grievances as soon as possible.

In addition to that, being a company the size of Wal-Mart it is very difficult to manage the operations unless very well process have been designed for each and every organizational activity and also control mechanisms to ensure that these processes are being adhered to. Wal-Mart makes very heavy use of information technology and communication systems in other parts of its business such as supply chain management and operation with a very good deal of success.

For the human relations functions as well, Wal-Mart should leverage technology for many of its daily operations to track the effectiveness of its current processes so that they can take remedial actions if necessary and achieve their goals faster. Conclusion – Wal-Mart without a doubt can be said to be one of the companies of the century and a symbol of how one man’s vision can make a great difference to the entire world. It has got very well defined processes backed by technology that has enabled it to scale up its business to become the world’s largest private enterprise.

Even through it is not the best paymaster, by creating a culture of customer service and high performance, and by making them owners in the core business processes through trust, it is able to motivate its employees to achieve greater things and strive for excellence. However there are some areas that Wal-Mart needs to concentrate on to achieve its goal of making Wal-Mart a great place to work for its associates and provide them with a professional experience that will make them better.

The idea of people as a valuable organizational asset has a sound pedigree in the economists’ theory of human capital. It means something specific that is, in principle, measurable. So, for example, human capital can be enhanced by the further investment of education and training, just as the physical capital of a factory can be by modernization. Equally, both can deteriorate through ageing, obsolescence, and neglect.

In its more general use in the management literature, where it has been more or less explicit, this idea tends to get watered down into motherhood statements about people being important to the functioning of an organization. A number of academic writers have nevertheless been influenced by human capital theory and have developed principles for action around it.

Looked at historically, then, the early adoption of the title, human resources manager/director, in a handful of American companies during the 1970s, before any theory of HRM had been elaborated, was probably nothing more than a statement about the importance of people to an organization. By the mid-1980s in the USA, and in the UK by the late 1980s, the more widespread use of such titles harboured larger ambitions.

Matching employment practices to business strategy

The first major theoretical advance came in the classic statement of HRM by Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna (1984). Building on argument that structure should follow strategy or an organization will be otherwise less efficient, two theorists of business strategy extended this to argue that HRM systems should similarly be adapted to match the requirements of strategy.

The key human resource (HR) systems for them were selection, appraisal, development (including training), and rewards. These had the potential to channel behaviour towards specific performance goals, if they were properly aligned with one another.

In a further elaboration, they introduced the idea of organizational culture, or what they termed the dominant value. HR practices implicitly or explicitly create characteristic organizational cultures, and reinforce one another insofar as they support a particular culture. As a result, culture becomes the crucial intervening variable. Maple Leaf case study

There is one significant omission from their model, however, which will be all the more evident when we look at the contribution of the Harvard school to the theory of HRM. They omit industrial relations, or employee relations, as a major focus of managerial activity. Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna are principally concerned with the new labour force (p.8) of managers, professionals, and white-collar workers – the changing occupational balance in favour of whom is one of the important contextual factors that makes HRM desirable. The focus is on selection, appraisal, development, and rewards almost exclusively in relation to staff.

This omission is symptomatic and can be linked to other elements of their thinking. Compared with the Harvard school, there is little sense that choices might be contested or need to be negotiated. Although they imply culture involves a choice, it is implicitly determined by whatever direction business strategy is taking. Managers are not challenged to reassess their personal values and those the organization embodies – either by other employees or by the authors themselves. Indeed, sometimes there is a feeling that choices are made and decisions taken without human intervention.

Instead, managers can and should make choices about the organizations they want to create; these choices respond to a wide range of factors; and certain choices are preferable from a moral (and, in their eyes, a practical) point of view. Thus, their model is much more inclusive, business strategy, for example, being but one among a number of situational factors (or contingencies). Employee influence is a key area of decision (or choice), and is affected by a number of other stakeholder interests than just management. By the same token, HRM practices have consequences not just for company performance but for the individual and society.

Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. was established in 1969 in Mario Mancini. It is one of the key manufacturers of leather and vinyl shoes in Wilmington Ontario. Currently, it hires more than 400 employees in its Ontario plant and 380 employees in offices and warehouses all over the world. Robert Clark is the president and chief shareholder in Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. As a matter of fact, he has to re-evaluate the position of human resources manager and select a new people who will replace current manager John McAllister. Tim Lance was the only people to observe the present and future role of Maple Leaf’s human resources department and gave the recommendations on proper implantation plans and assistance this company solve the existing problems and meet some future challenges.

Lance recognized that human resources function was seen very differently, so he interviewed with three key senior managers (Tim McDonald, general manager, finance; Pat Lim, general manager, marketing; Robert Clark, president). In addition, Lance interviews with the three key employees who are Jane Reynolds, special assistant to the human resources manager; Tony Rezkov, manager of administration and security; and Joseph McDonald, the industrial relations officer in the human resources s department.

In order to select a right people in Maple Leaf Company, Lance needs to well understand current requirements of human resources positions from different views. Due to time constraints, Lance was scheduled to complete this project himself and had a meeting with Robert Clark about the summary of his findings and recommendations. Therefore, in the final section I mentioned an implementation plan which included effective actions to select right human resources manager.

Problem Statement

The problem with Maples Leaf Shoes Ltd. was that the company needs to select a right human resources manager who should be an expert on people and company. On one hand, this person should play an important and leading role in employee job planning, organizational design, and other important activities. Moreover, new human resources manager need to make plans strategies and handles the short and long-term challenges by facing global completion, labor and production cost, and development for employees. On the other hand, this person need to good at with company’s human resources activities.

For example he/ she need to open a new situation to work with four unions. According to the other managers’ said, there has been an increasing degree of worsen relations between Maple Leaf company and unions during the last several months. So human resources manager should take responsibility to solve these problems and take the effective actions to enhance the situation.

Analysis of Alternatives

This section presents with two different ways in which the problem can be resolved. Based on problem statement, this case study gave alternatives analysis A and B.

Plan A: Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. should recruit an expert human resources manager from head-hunting company.

Firstly, new human resources manager has to meet a lot of requirements which related to employment: planning career, keeping employee records, reviewing employee performance, supporting training and development, enforcing company policy and regulations, etc.

Secondly, this person must promote Maple Leaf’s production processes by improving company’s efficiency and competitiveness in the current and future level.

Compared with the Chinese and the Mexicans on the labour costs, company need to be redesigned and pay more attention on technological upgrading and improving employee productivity.

Thirdly, new human resource manager need to have strong skills to deal with unions in the future. This is a big issues for this company, because human resource department communicate with four major unions, especially two unions are militant. Through Maple Leaf employees are pretty good and communications with several years, union leaderships exist a lot of problems. The new human resources manager must good at communicate with four unions in the next few years.

Plan B: Like a lot of companies, Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. should have a standard that people are generally promoted from within. There are three key employees in the human resources department: Jane Reynolds, Tony Rezkov and Joseph McDonald. According to Lance’s opinion, Reynolds was more productive and familiar with human resources department. If this company promote Reynolds, she will quickly understand and manage this department. Otherwise, company can promote the other person who is qualified and fit with this position from alterative departments.

Compare and contrast with Plan A and Plan B

Advantages of Plan A

In Plan A, Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. needs to choose a qualified, professional and knowledgeable person to replace current human resources manager John. This person should have a degree of human resources management, and he also should have at least three years of working experiences in the field of human resources. He/ She will bring new ideas or opinions which based on his/her previous experiences to Maple Leaf Company. In addition, he/she will build new relationships with four unions.

Disadvantages of Plan A

At the same time, Plan A will generate other problems or issues for this company. For instance, new manager does not familiar with Maple Leaf Company itself, environment and cultural. Every new staff member cannot quickly fit the current environment. They need to spend more time on researching current company and establishing working experience with other managers and staff. When new manager deals with other department, it maybe generates new serious problems. Moreover, he/she also does not familiar with his/her duties and responsibilities in this company, so he/she need to learn a lot of new things. Sometimes his/her previous working experience will not fit this company’s requirements.

Advantages of Plan B

If Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. prefer to Plan B, of course, new manager used to be a staff in this company. He/she not only familiars with the whole company’s cultural, history and environment, but also understands each manager and staff. He/she understand his/her duties and responsibilities in human resources department. He/ She also know the other staff members’ work characteristic, so he/she will work smoothly. New manager do not need to spend time on basic tasks and simple relationships, so he/she will more productive in this company. It is very good for Maple Leaf Company to encourage staff members. If this company choose plan B, it means every employee has opportunities to be promoted in this company. In order to get higher position, more and more employees will work hard. In fact, it is potential to improve employees’ confidence with this company.

Disadvantages of Plan B

New manager maybe do not have enough knowledge and skills on human resource department. Maple Leaf Company needs to train new people how to do a human resources manager. Moreover, new manager do not have strong relationships with four unions, because he/she deal with those unions before. It is very possible to delay solving the problem between Maple Leaf Company and unions. Comparing and contrasting with these two plans, I think Plan B is better than Plan A, because new human resources manager can quickly adapt Maple Leaf Company’s environment. For instance, Jane Reynold, assistant of human resources manager, who understands the advantages and disadvantages of Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd,.

This company needs to support computer hardware or software to employees who really need use PC in the adequate job. At the same time, other managers and staff do not need to spend time on building relationships with new person. In addition, the staff not only can be encouraged and promoted in this company, but also they recognize that there are a lot of opportunities in the future.

Recommendations

Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. needs to hire a new human resources manager who replace John and came from inside of this company or from head-hunting company. He/ She have to achieve a lot of requirements from present, shareholders, five key managers and staff in the other department, and subordinates in human resources department.

Educational Requirement

To become Maple Leaf Company’s human resources manager, a master degree or bachelor degree in a field related to human resources s management or business management. Recommended would employ those who have a higher educational degree and have certification by Human resources Professional (CHRP). In addition, this person maybe needs to meet some other certification requirements.

Work Experience Requirement

New human resources manager should have a minimum of three years of work experience in Human resources at a professional level. For example, there are some basic requirements about paying employees, keeping employee records, planning employee career (benefits administration, performance reviews, training, and skill assessment), policy enforcement, organizational design, and other development activities. Moreover, some of the requirements for the future human resources manager includes that he/ she must upgrade company’s production processes in order to improve company’s efficiency and competitiveness and reduce costs. He/ She perform the tasks and contribute to the growth of the company.

Personal Skills

New human resources manager needs to change the bad situation with four unions and open a new situation to understand care and deal with those unions. In current, there has been an increasing degree of bad relations between four unions and Maple Leaf Company. The new manager should take the responsibility to solve some of these problems and take the initiative to improve the situation.

Implementation

As we know, human resource management is very essential to develop and manage a company’s most valuable asset and its employees. Human resource managers probably control the most important functions in companies, because they are working with recruitment, salaries, benefits and other main activities. Therefore, Maple Leaf Company needs to pay attention on selection of human resources manager who will play a leadership and developmental role in the current and future.

With that in mind, I make an action and implementation plan for section of human resources in Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. are the following:

1. Prepare a checklist and requirements for hunting the human resources manager I think Maple Leaf Company needs to prepare a checklist which shows all requirements from present, shareholders, other managers and staff. Though it is step 1, it is the beginning step. I think the final decision will base on the requirements in step 1.
2. Maybe need to collect more requirements and information about this position from other managers and staff In order to complete step1, Lance maybe needs to pay more attention on other managers and staff’s opinions. For example, there are five key managers in Maple Leaf Company. However, Lance only talked with three managers. Andre Cardin, manager of design & Research, was on vacation. Production manager, bob Smith, is investigating the possible of growing the company’s operations in Montreal and Winnipeg. In my opinion, if Lance will talk with them, he will add some key information and requirements to the final list.
3. Contact with professional head-hunting company and tell them all requirements of human resources position Head-hunting company is another way to recommend professional talents to Maple Leaf Company. Many companies ask head-hunting company to help them find someone who fits the position.
4. Conduct interior engagement first when it recruits new human resources manager At the same time, the company should provide the opportunities for its interior staff members. It not only finds a right employee who fit this job, but also encourages every employee in this company.
5. Compare and contrast every candidates According to above steps, company will compare and contrast each interviewee and make a decision on new human resource manager.
6. Get the right people vii. Training, learning and development New human resource manager need to familiar his/her duties, responsibilities and functions on human resources department. He/ She needs to take training program and learns new knowledge and skills.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze Adidas acquisition of Reebok and its external and internal consequences that represented an important shock that affected the dynamics and the mechanisms of the sporting industry. On August 2005 , Adidas-Salomon AG (Adidas) announced the intention to acquire Reebok International Limited (Reebok) for $ 3. 8 billion. The goal of this merger was to facilitate the Adidas Group’s strategic intent in the global athletic footwear, apparel and hardware markets.

In fact, both companies remarked the complementarity of their missions and activities, that allowed Adidas to benefit from a more competitive platform worldwide, well-defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and an even stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues, allowing Adidas to compete in a better and stronger way with the giant of the sporting industry, Nike. “Adidas is the perfect partner for Reebok”, said Paul Fireman, Reebok CEO “ with Adidas we are able to offer an enhanced portfolio of global brands that truly adresses the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s consumers.

As an aspirational global sports performance and lifestyle brand, Reebok mission is to enroll global youth through sports, music and technology. This complements Adidas’s mission to be leading sports brand in the world with a focus on performance and international presence”. Adidas believed that the complementary nature of the two businesses in various geographies, products and consumer segments had the ability to provide a significant opportunity for increased value creation.

Managers hoped that through this merger the group could obtain a substantial reduction in costs as well as an increase in revenues and profits, deriving from a more complete coverage of all consumer segments. However the brands of Adidas and Reebok were kept separate because each brand had its own identity and value; thus the company continued to sell products under the respective brand names and labels. At the time of the acquisition Nike was the leader in US, and had about 36% market share in the athletic-footwear market as compared with Adidas 8. 9% and Reebok with 12. 2%.

Reebok was seen s a stylish or hip brand whereas Adidas was perceived to have good quality products; Reebok was strong in tennis, fitness and basketball while Adidas had a grip on soccer and team sports. The merger was aimed at helping Adidas increase its share in the US market and better compete with market leader Nike Inc. and fourth ranket Puma AG. The challenge was to integrate Adidas’s German culture of control, engineering, and production and Reebok’s US marketing-driven culture. The acquisition had also the objective of helping the growth of the Adidas brand in developing and fashion-oriented markets of Asia like China, Korea, and Malaysia. Also we suggest globalisation of Adidas

As result of Adidas’s move towards Reebok, the presence of the German company increased to $ 11. 8 billion globally and both the acquiring and acquired company recorded an annual saving of $150 million from their combined operations. After the merger, Adidas group decide that a reorganization was necessary to better leverage the strenghts of the management and deliver high quality services to customers. In 2009, the strategic decision was to move from a vertically integrated brand structure into a functional multi-brand structure for the Adidas and Reebok brands.

The consequence of this decision was the creation of a Global Sales function responsible for the commercial activities, and a Global brand function responsible for the marketing activities of both brands. Moreover, the Global Sales organization was split into Wholesale and Retail because of different needs of distinctive business models. An acquisition as the one of Reebok should be supported by a strong organizational culture, based on innovation, diversity and creativity in order to deliver long-term value for shareholders and customers.

In fact, Adidas’ aim is to embrace changes and innovation and, by harnessing a new culture, it pushes the boundaries of products, services and processes to strenghten its competitiveness. This is the reason why the company is well diversified with employees from various ethnicities, crucial for the success of an organization like Adidas, in which diversity and personality are the main tools used in order to obtain successful products and corporate performance.