Motors and More, Inc.A Progressive HR Case Study
By Don McCain, Ed.D.
Learning Objective(s)
will work through issues associated with developing and sustaining an HR department to support an organization facing labor shortages and high product demand. At the end of the study, students learn how to:
1. Align HR initiatives with corporate
2. Develop a complete HR organization structure, including roles and responsibilities, and then adjust the structure to support the structure to support the organization.
CASE OVERVIEW
You are hired as the HR director for the fictitious Motors and More, Inc. Motors and More, a , manufactures small motors and accessories for industrial and home products. The industry is highly competitive, and the company follows a prospector strategy.
A prospector strategy takes advantage of new markets and products (Gomez-Mejia, Galkin and Cardy, 2001). Organizational emphasis is on growth, innovation and new product development. A prospector wants to be first to market. To respond to competitive and rapidly changing markets, prospectors have flexible, flat and more decentralized organizational structures.
Motors and More is headquartered in a small southern town of 28,000 people, with a low unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. This means that demand for workers exceeds the labor supply. There is a technical school and a community college within 50 miles of Motors and More. Motors and Mores president is former military and is highly patriotic. He is committed to staying in the community. Recently, several other local companies have experienced labor organizing activities.
Motors and More employs 116 people. Until you were hired, there was no HR department. Recently, the organizations employee turnover rate has been higher than normal. The marketing and sales department continues to sell products to an expanding market. Because of this increased product demand, output must be increased by 96 percent.
Eighty-eight percent of Motors and More employees are Caucasian. With the exception of one female supervisor in the customer service department, the president and all other managers are Caucasian men. Management promotions have been based on seniority. The local labor market population is approximately 48 percent minority. There is a growing Hispanic and Kurdish population that have not been accepted into the community.
All the employees in manufacturing (including quality control), customer service and operations (responsible for shipping and receiving; distribution of raw materials, components parts and finished goods inventory; and maintenance and cleaning) have at least a high school degree or GED. The organization provides some skills training courses. Please refer to the organizational chart in Figure 1 for more details.
Figure 1: Motors and More Organization Chart
References
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Galkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2001). Managing human resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc
Suggested Readings for Case Study
1.Anthony, W., Kacmar, K. M., & Perrewe, P. (2006).Human resource management: A strategic approach. Mason, OH: Thomson Custom Solutions.
2. Daft, R. L. (2003).Essentials of organization theory & design. Manson, OH: South-Western, Thomson Learning. DeNisi, A. S., & Grifn, R.W. (2001).Human resource management. Boston: Houghton Mifin Company.
3. Grifn, R. W., & Moorhead, G. (2006).Fundamentals of organizational behavior, managing people and organizations.Boston: Houghton Mifin Company.
4. Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Galkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2001).Managing human resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
5. Jackson, S., & Schuler, R. (2006).Managing human resources though strategic partnerships(9th ed.). United States: Thomson South-Western. Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1994).Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco: , Inc.
6. Mathis, R., & Jackson, J. (2006).Human resource management(11th ed.). United States: Thomson South-Western.
7. Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2007). Human resource management (2nd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Robinson, D. G., & Robinson, J. (1996). Performance consulting: Moving beyond training. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publisher
Instructors Notes
The scenario provides background information and a framework for the progressive case study. You will be asked to address the organizations issues through discussion board assignments. Assumptions for this assignment include:
Motors and More, Inc. has adequate resources to support any reasonable initiatives.
Motors and More, Inc. produces products and services that will continue to be in demand.
Motors and More, Inc. does not have a succession plan.
Entry-level employees in the manufacturing department are paid minimum wage as mandated byfederal law.
Wage rates are defined for employees in the different divisions.
Student will define the organizations compensation. Student will decide if Motors and More, Inc. meets,leads or lags the competition. Student should consider where the organization stands in comparison to other organizationsin the area. Search for information that will help you decide the organizations approach to pay.
Regarding benefits, Motors and More, Inc. provides unemployment insurance, workers compensation and Social Security withholding for employees as mandated by law.
Part B. Given the size of Motors and More, indicate which positions identified in your typical HR department should be combined or eliminated to reduce the number of HR employees. Provide new job titles and develop an organizational chart specifically for Motors and Mores new HR department. Provide the total number of staff for each HR unit.To complete these three activities, please answer the two questions listed below. Post your answers in Discussion Board 1 B. Make sure to type the question and then your response.
PART B |Question 1.Given the size of Motors and More, indicate which positions identified in your typical HR department should be combined or eliminated to reduce the number of HR employees.
PART B |Question 2.Provide new job titles and develop an organizational chart specifically for Motors and Mores new HR department. Provide the total number of staff for each HR unit.
Instructor’s Notes
Motors and More is a small organization of 116 employees and will have a small HR staff. The HR staff may consist of a director, a generalist and one administrative position.
You may be inclined to design an extensive HR department. Your challenge is to ensure that all HR functions are represented within a small HR department. This can be done by using managers to assume some of HR responsibilities whileoutsourcingothers.Think about which responsibilities you can outsource or contract.
The following page provides a template to help organize your answers. Click on the “Next” button on the lower right hand corner to access the template for your Discussion B responses.
Instructions:You may use the template shown below for your Discussion Board 1 B Post. This template will help you include all the information required for this assignment. The required information is highlighted with red font. Once you are done, change the font color to black font. Then, copy and paste the document into the discussion board post. To receive full credit, you need to post your responses by Wednesday.
The assignment also requires two reply posts. Below the template, you will find a checklist with the required information on the two reply posts. Note the two reply posts are due on Saturday.
TEMPLATE FOR DISCUSSION BOARD B
PART B |Question 1.Given the size of Motors and More, indicate which positions identified in your typical HR department should be combined or eliminated to reduce the number of HR employees.
RESPONSE:
The following positions will be combined for the HR unit at Motors and More
Insert position title and brief description
The following positions will be reduced or eliminated
Insert position title and brief description
PART B |Question 2.Provide new job titles and develop an organizational chart specifically for Motors and Mores new HR department. Provide the total number of staff for each HR unit.
RESPONSE:
Insert an organizational chart with job titles and number of staff for each position. You will need to convert the figure into a picture and embed the picture in your response.
