You be the consultant!
Now that all of you have learned so much about HR, I think you should put this knowledge to use.
Scenario:
You are the premiere HR consultant in the Southwest. Companies know that if they are having a problem, they can contact you. You are able to recognize HR problems, identify the major issues that need to be addressed immediately, and provide recommendations to ensure that problems are solved and the company experiences a successful outcome.
Boris Metzger, whose company is experiencing problems, has contacted you. Boris has no idea how to determine what is wrong or how to fix it. (He got his job because his uncle felt sorry for him and put him in charge.) Boris’s Board of Directors told him that if he didn’t figure out what is wrong in his organization, he would be fired. (His uncle retired three years ago.) Members of Boris’s professional organization told him that he had to call you – you could fix it.
Since you are recognized as the premiere HR Consultant throughout the Southwest, you are incredibly busy. There is no way that you can visit his worksite. Boris insists that you are the only person that can save his job. Boris has agreed to send you about two hours of taped footage that will provide you with an overview of the problems that his company is experiencing. After viewing the footage, you will submit your recommendations to Boris. He can then do with them whatever he wishes – after he pays you your exorbitant fee!
Assignment:
For this assignment, you will watch the two hours of film that Boris has provided you, in this case it is the film “Monsters, Inc.” You will watch the movie, list all of the problems that you identify, and rank the problems in order of importance. For the top two problems you identify, you will provide a solution for Boris to implement. All of this will be included in a written report titled, “Workplace Analysis.” I have provided a sample for you to follow.
I am specifically interested in your ability to identify problems, determine possible causes of the problem, rank problems in order of importance, and provide viable solutions. I also want to see how well you can communicate your analysis to someone without a background in HR. If applicable, you can reference your textbook.
Your paper should be about two pages long and follow the format in the sample.
Let me know if you have any questions.
June 20, 2018
TO: Boris Metzger, Manager
FR: Charlotte A. Hendrix
Premiere HR Consultant
RE: Work site analysis and recommendations for your organization
Mr. Metzger,
Thank you for submitting the tape of your organization. I have completed my review and I submit to you the following analysis.
Title: (For your paper, you will use “Monster’s Inc.)
Swimming with Sharks
Summary:
Guy, (played by Frank Whaley), is very excited to land a job as the personal assistant to a big time movie producer named, Buddy Ackerman. Ackerman, who is played by Kevin Spacey, is a cutthroat executive who treats all of his employees very badly. He tries to claim credit for Guy’s work and eventually tries to cause problems between him and his girlfriend. Guy, who apparently is not like Ackerman’s previous assistants, sets out to show Ackerman the error of his ways.
HR Issues:
This particular workplace is blatantly dysfunctional. Many problems exist: violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-compliance with wage and hour requirements, no formal new employee orientation and lack of socialization, poor ethics, and little, if any, employee training. However, the primary issue that I would focus on immediately is the hostile work environment in conjunction with manager training.
Hostile Work Environment – The tactics that are employed by the management staff are completely inappropriate and are openly exposing this firm to a great deal of liability. For example, Ackerman blatantly harasses a female co-worker and under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers cannot discriminate against employees based on gender. Ackerman’s behavior is in clear violation of the 1993 rulings of the EEOC that described the three situations that constitute sexual harassment. (DeCenzo, p. 79).[HC1] Also according to the Supreme Court case of Meritor Savings v. Vinson, organizations can be held liable for sexual harassment actions by its managers, employers, and even customers. (DeCenzo, p. 79). This behavior must be stopped immediately. I would develop a one-day training for sexual harassment and require that all managers and supervisors attend. I would then begin documenting inappropriate behavior and proceed through the disciplinary process.
In addition to sexual harassment, there are other instances of a hostile work environment: yelling, violent behavior, derogatory and degrading comments, all of which could prompt an EEOC complaint or a civil lawsuit (DeCenzo, p. 76). Ackerman’s behavior throughout Guy’s first year should have been recognized by upper management and dealt with to prevent any ramifications. However, in this particular instance, this was not handled appropriately and this behavior spawned a rather graphic and violent incident for which the perpetrator, Guy, can now be and must be prosecuted. This behavior cannot be tolerated in an employee regardless of its generating circumstance. Unfortunately because of the covert collaboration between Buddy and Guy for the end result, the behavior was not witnessed. The termination of these two employees and ultimate criminal prosecution will be difficult to justify. The respective manager of Buddy and Guy must begin immediately to document the conduct of both of these employees and if necessary, proceed through the disciplinary process.
Manager Training – I strongly believe that if Ackerman is being allowed to conduct himself in this manner, other managers are also conducting themselves similarly. All of the managers must promptly be enrolled in intensive training on appropriate management skills, i.e. coaching and mentoring (DeCenzo, p.228) appropriate discipline (DeCenzo, p. 100), and employee socialization (DeCenzo, p XXXXXXXXXXThis training should be done by an outside agency to ensure that the content can be geared toward the specific problems that this firm is facing.
Next Steps:
I would locate and retain a training contractor to conduct an organization-wide ethics training to establish appropriate standards of conduct for everyone in the company. This contractor could also conduct a training analysis to determine if training will solve other issues that your company is experiencing. The results of the training interventions should be evaluated using the Pre-Post-Training Performance method (DeCenzo, p. 214) to gauge the results.
The film that you sent me did not tell me whether or not there is an HR Manager or Training Manager in your organization. If so, I recommend that while your contractor is completing the training assessment that you review the qualifications and job performance of both the HR Manager and the Training Manager to determine if action of some sort should occur. If you do not have these positions filled in your company, I recommend that you investigate hiring an HR agency to fill this need until you determine how best to proceed.
[HC1]This citation is from an older HR book. Use your textbook to cite specific rules, regulations, laws, etc.