A retail CARS Case study
Subtask Sane was the Senior Manager-Retail Operations of a very established hyper mart.
It Nas a Monday afternoon as he stood by the glass door at his office watching people coming in and leaving the store. It was a Monday and there were not too many people other than those who wait for the weekend rush to ebb before they stepped Into the store for their week-long groceries He could see one young girl at the footwear section for ladies struggling to decide which pair to buy. I It seemed that she wanted to buy one pair and could not decide which one of the two to buy.
Subtask could see her trying one out, walking to the mirror and repeating the same Ninth the other pair. Finally, after the customer service representative of that section had a small conversation with her, the girl happily marched to the till with one pair. Subtask walked back to his chair wondering how similar this incidence was to the situation he was in.
He had interviewed three candidates in the last three days for the position of customer service representative. The three candidates did fulfill the basic requirements of the Job and did seem to fulfill all the requirements mentioned in the Job description.
But he could not decide which one to select. There was no way he could try all the candidates out to choose like the girl did with her footwear! And then an idea struck him?’elf someone could help that girl decide, I could also do with the advice from someone’. He sat in his chair and called his friend Emmer, who was an HER Manager in a bank. Subtask: Are you free?can we talk for a few minutes? I need help (sounding desperate) Emmer: Yes tell me! Subtask: I have to hire a customer service representative (CARS) for my store and I am confused.
Emmer: I understand?it’s tricky at times?but you need to first tell me who CARS is and what does he or she do?
Subtask: A retail CARS or retail salesperson is someone who sells products or merchandise to help us earn a profit. The young girls with a smile who help you in making a decision between one sandal and the other, either with relevant information or her opinion, this is the retail CARS of a store. A Car’s Job is to be well Jeered with all the merchandise in that particular department in the store and inform and influence visitors to turn them into customers. A retail CARS needs to have strong communication skills.
These communication skills have to be broad-based as hey are expected to deal with everyone from management to peers to customers on daily basis.
The ideal candidate needs to be motivated, energetic, organized and resilient, as even the most experienced Cars fail to make a sale and face rejection on regular basis. It would be an added advantage if the candidate also had an understanding of how to operate the cash register, since they often accept a consumer’s payment upon making a purchase. Are you there? Emmer: Yes! Yes I am listening?so have you met some people?
Subtask: Yes, I have met three candidates {steady and all seem to be good…
In their own ways! Emmer: That’s good and bad! Four HER seems to do a good Job in sourcing, but has not helped you with selection! Eh! How much are you paying tort the position? Cubans: O rhea position receives a base salary, along with a ! Salary is not an issue! Commission, or a percentage of what they have sold. And the package is very competitive! Emmer: Tell me about the candidates now. Subtask: The first candidate was least experienced, but showed a great amount of enthusiasm and willingness to go the extra mile.
She was pleasant enough, seemed bright and highly assertive too. The ‘right fit’ as one would call it. But there’s a problem there.
Aria is the current manager to whom this position reports tempera: NH? Is she difficult? Subtask: No! Not exactly! But during the course of the interview the candidate did indicate that in one of her previous assignments, she did report to lady boss and found her being highly partial towards her male colleagues; in fact she also indicated that there were a couple of altercations between the two and that provoked her to search for another assignment.
So, I wonder whether she would be able to gel well with Aria, Emmer: Have you done a reference check about this candidate. Your opinion cannot be Just based on the information she gives you! What about the others? Subtask: The second applicant has the relevant experience. But I feel that he would never do anything beyond what is expected of him. He seemed mild and focused though and definitely did not reflect qualities of a team player.
But [oh know Aria- she is good, but then she can’t handle aggressive people. So, he should have no trouble reporting to Aria!
The third applicant had the right kind of experience and exposure and did demonstrate a good understanding of the assignment- She seemed the ‘right fit’ where the Job was concerned. She had spent 10 years at her current organization and three years in the same role. But then I doubt her potential and eagerness to learn more. She has been in the same Job so long?I wonder whether she would be able to adjust easily.
We can’t afford to have someone with a long-learning cycle! Just then Subhead’s landlines rang. It was Chatterers at the other end asking him which one he had decided upon.
Subtask told Emmer?he would call back and went back to answer Judicature’s call. ‘Your question is a sixty-four million dollar question! Give me some time I will come back to {oh on this! ‘ Questions Analyze the Case Q-1 . What do you think Emmer would advise Subtask when he calls back? Q-2.
What could have helped Subtask decide whom to hire without any help? Q-3. Give Suitable Title to the Case. Case 6: The Hove and Beard Company Case rhea Hove and Beard Company manufactured a variety of wooden toys, including animals, pull toys and the like. The toys were manufactured by a transformation process that began in the wood room.
There, toys were cut, sanded, and partially assembled.
Then the toys were dipped into shellac and sent to the painting room. In years past, the painting had been done by hand, with each employee working with even toy until its painting was completed. Most of the toys were only two colors, although a few required more than two. Now, in response to increased demand for the toys, the painting operation was changed so the painters sat in a line by an endless chain of hooks. These hooks moved continuously in front of the painters and passed into a long horizontal oven.
Each painter sat in a booth designed to carry away fumes and to backstop excess paint.
The painters would take a toy from a nearby tray, position it in a Gig inside the painting cubicle, spray on the color According to a pattern, they then hang the toy on a passing hook. The rate at which the hooks moved was calculated by the engineers so that each painter, when fully trained, could hang a painted toy on each hook before it passed beyond reach. The painters were paid on a group bonus plan. Since the operation was new to them, they received a learning bonus that decreased by regular amounts each month.
The learning bonus was scheduled to vanish in six months, by which time it was expected that they would be on their own?that is, able to meet the production standard and earn a group bonus when they exceeded it. Part 2 ay the second month of the training period, trouble developed.
The painters learned more slowly than had been anticipated, and it began to look as though their production would stabilize far below what was planned. Many of the hooks were going by empty. The painters complained that the hooks moved too fast and that the engineer had set the rates wrong. A few painters quit and had to be replaced with new ones.
This further aggravated the learning problem.
The team spirit that the management had expected to develop through the group bonus was not in evidence except as an expression of what the engineers called “resistance. ” One painter, homo the group regarded as its leader (and the management regarded as the ringleader), was outspoken in taking the complaints of the group to the supervisor. These complaints were that the Job was messy, the hooks moved too fast, the incentive pay was not correctly calculated, and it was too hot working so close to the drying oven. Part 3 A consultant was hired to work with the supervisor.
She recommended that the painters be brought together for a general discussion of the working conditions. Although hesitant, the supervisor agreed to this plan.
rhea first meeting was held immediately after the shift was over at 4 p. . It was attended by all eight painters. They voiced the same complaints again: The hooks Net by too fast, the Job was too dirty, and the room was hot and poorly ventilated. For some reason, it was this last item that seemed to bother them most. The supervisor promised to discuss the problems of ventilation and temperature with the engineers, and a second meeting was scheduled.
In the next few days the supervisor had several talks with the engineers. They, along with the plant superintendent, felt that this was really a trumped-up complaint and that the expense of corrective measures would be prohibitively high. He supervisor came to the second meeting with some apprehensions. The painters, however, did not seem to be much put out. Rather, they had a proposal of their own to make.
They felt that if several large fans were set up to circulate the air around their feet, they would be much more comfortable. After some discussion, the supervisor agreed to pursue the idea.
The supervisor and the consultant discussed the idea tot tans wit installed. N the superintendent. Three large tans were purchased and rhea painters were Jubilant. For several days the fans were moved about in various positions until they were placed to the satisfaction of the group.
The painters seemed completely satisfied with the results, and the relations between them and the supervisor improved visibly. The supervisor, after this encouraging episode, decided that further meetings might also prove profitable. The painters were asked if they Mould like to meet and discuss other aspects of the work situation.
They were eager to do this. Another meeting was held and the discussion quickly centered on the speed of the hooks.
The painters maintained that the engineer had set them at an unreasonably fast speed and that they would never be able to fill enough of them to sake a bonus. rhea discussion reached a turning point when the group’s leader explained that it Nan’s that the painters couldn’t work fast enough to keep up with the hooks but that they couldn’t work at that pace all day. The supervisor explored the point. The painters were unanimous in their opinion that they could keep up with the belt for short periods if they wanted to.
But they didn’t want to because if they showed they could do this for short periods then they would be expected to do it all day.
The meeting ended with an unprecedented request by the painters: “Let us adjust the peed of the belt faster or slower depending on how we feel. ” The supervisor agreed to discuss this with the superintendent and the engineers. The engineers reacted negatively to the suggestion. However, after several meetings it was granted that there was some latitude within which variations in the speed of the hooks would not affect the finished product.
After considerable argument with the engineers, it was agreed to try the painters’ idea.
Ninth misgivings, the supervisor had a control with a dial marked “low, medium, fast” installed at the booth of the group leader. The speed of the belt could now be adjusted anywhere between the lower and upper limits that the engineers had set. Exception of the last 45 minutes of the shift, which was run at medium speed. rhea constant speed at which the engineers had originally set the belt was actually slightly below the “medium” mark on the-control dial; the average speed at which the painters were running the belt was on the high side of the dial.
Few, if any, empty hooks entered the oven, and inspection showed no increase of rejects from the paint room.
Production increased, and within three weeks (some two months before the scheduled ending of the learning bonus) the painters were operating at 30 to 50 percent above the level that had been expected under the original arrangement. Naturally, their earnings were correspondingly higher than anticipated. They were collecting their base pay, earning a considerable piece-rate bonus, and still benefiting from the learning bonus.
They were earning more now than many skilled Norse in other parts of the plant. Part 4 rhea painters were delighted and spent many lunch hours deciding how the speed of the belt should be varied from hour to hour throughout the day.
Within a week the tatter and settled down to one in which the thirst anal mourn tot the Shiite was run on a medium speed (a dial setting slightly above the point marked “medium”). The next two and a half hours were run at high speed, and the half hour before lunch and the half hour after lunch were run at low speed.
The rest of the afternoon was run at high speed with the Management was besieged by/demands that the inequity between the earnings of the painters and those of other workers in the plant be taken care of. With growing irritation between the superintendent and the supervisor, the engineers and previous, and the superintendent and engineers, the situation came to a head En the superintendent revoked the learning bonus and returned the painting operation to its original status: The hooks moved again at their constant, time- studied, designated speed.
Production dropped again and within a month all but two of the eight painters had quit. The supervisor stayed on for several months, but, feeling aggrieved, left for another Job.
Q-l. Analyze the case Q-2. Have there been any obstacles in the overall implementation of training and Development process? If yes, elaborate on the obstacles. Mention each obstacle in point. ) Case 7- Performance Management at Jet Food Services It is now the end of Teresa Rose’s first year as regional manager for Jet Food Services.
As regional manager, Teresa supervises a total of ten districts, each of which has a manager responsible for sales and service to customers in that area. Jet Food provides contract food services for hospitals, schools, colleges, business firms, and other institutions that need meals prepared on site but that do not wish to be responsible for operating such services. Jet Food Services hires all necessary kitchen employees, purchases all supplies, and prepares meals in accordance with specifications agreed on with customers. The district manager is responsible for coordinating all customer activities.
This includes planning, budgeting, hiring and supervising Jet’s on-site representative (customer seer-vice manager), customer satisfaction, and contract renegotiation’s. Teresa was recruited after years of experience as director of food services for a multi- campus university.
In that Job, she had oversight responsibility for the food services at several campuses; The Jet Food position offered an opportunity for continued Roth and advancement. In her first year, Teresa has concentrated on getting to know the district managers and the customers with whom they work.
She spent more than a week with each district manager and visited each customer with him or her. At this point, she feels comfortable with her Job and the knowledge she has gained of both operations and personnel, and it is time to appraise the performance of the district managers and to schedule review meetings with these employees. Rewarding Employees Teeter’s Assessment of Blake Mack Blake Mack is the longest-term district manager in Teeter’s region.
He completed less than one year of college, held several short- term Jobs, and then Joined Jet as a shift supervisor of the company’s services at a large college.
At present, he is completing twelve years of employment with Jet. He NAS been a district manager tort three years. In working with Blake, Teresa has observed his strengths, along with some problems. Blake has a talent for working with people, Jet employees and customers alike. In fact, n his years with Jet, no customer he worked with has ever switched to a competitor.
Many on-site supervisors recruited, trained, and supervised by Blake have gone on to come managers of other districts.
On the other hand, Flake’s unhealthful eating habits?despite doctors’ warnings?have contributed to some serious medical difficulties. During the past year, Blake was out of work for three months with gallbladder and heart problems, attributable in part to obesity. And Flake’s behavior toward others can be overbearing. Teresa kept track of her phone calls from district managers during the year, and there were more calls (or messages) from Blake than from the other nine district managers taken together?calls to promote or advertise his own efforts.
Although Blake can be charming, he has started to be loud and rude Ninth regional personnel whom he perceives as excessively rule-oriented.
All in all, sake’s style and appearance have become entirely different from what Teresa is accustomed to in colleagues and employees. Further, it has been announced that Teeter’s region is going to be expanded and that a new position, that of assistant regional manager, will be created. Blake has made it clear that as Jet’s longest-tenured district manager in the region, he feels entitled to this promotion.
However, Teresa does not feel she could work with Blake as the assistant regional manager. She feels that their management styles are too different and that Flake’s behavior might irritate regional and corporate personnel. As Teresa looks over Jet’s performance assessment and management instrument, she realizes that her honest assessment of Flake’s performance in his current Job is generally excellent.
She glances at the last page of the assessment and management form and the overall ratings from which she will have to choose.
Jet’s overall rating system is on a 1-10 scale, with 10 as outstanding; 7-9, different degrees of excellent performance; 5-6, satisfactory; 3-4, below average; and 1-2, unacceptable. Teresa is uncertain as to what overall rating to assign. If she gives Blake too high a rating, he Nil expect to be promoted. If the rating is too low, Blake will doubtless be angry, feeling that an injustice has been done.
Blake Mack’s Self-Assessment and Management Blake sees himself as different from the other district managers.
An outgoing, gregarious type, he loves to visit his customer locations and work with his company’s personnel. His idea of a successful day is one spent teaching a customer service manager a new operating procedure or management technique. In fact, Blake is now to roll up his sleeves and teach Jet employees a new recipe or how to improve an existing dish. Blake has worked for several district managers and has always liked to keep them Informed about his activities, sometimes phoning two or three times each day.
From discussions with Teresa, he is aware that she thinks many of these calls are not necessary, but he wants her to know how things are going with his employees and customers.
He is also aware of Teeter’s views regarding his ignoring medical advice. Blake is proud of his career and of what he has been able to do without much higher education. He tells en is qualities to become a regional manager, and en looks forward to the possibility of promotion to the new assistant regional manager position as a step toward this ultimate goal.
Flake’s Assessment Rating In reviewing the situation, Teresa decides to give Blake an overall rating of 6. She feels Justified, given that Blake did miss months of work as a result of neglecting his health. She knows that Blake will expect a higher overall rating, but she is prepared to stand behind her evaluation.
Teresa then goes back to considering the separate ratings she, will assign and to making plans for their feedback review. Q-1 . How would you describe Teresa Rose’s approach to the assessment and management of Flake’s performance? Q-2.
Are Teeter’s concerns with Flake’s performance legitimate? Will Blake have justifiable reasons for feeling dissatisfied with the assessment and management results? Q-3. How could Jet Food’s system of performance assessment and management be improved? If you were Jet’s vice president of human resources, what changes would you suggest? Case-8 Devising a Compensation Plan: V TECH Telecoms Since the last two years, up to mad-2010, there seemed to be a fair amount of exasperations regarding the performance bonus payouts, compared to the hefty amounts received in the previous years.
Even the pay hikes have taken a beating, though there is a bleak ray of hope; one needs to wait and watch to see how the compensation graph moves in the next two years. Contemplating on the above article in a daily news paper, Saudi, the vice-president, Human Resources, NBC, sat on his reclining chair, gaping at the slums outside his window and wondering, ‘what next? ‘ rhea company’s stock has also not been faring too well in the stock market. Knocking t his cabin door, appears Chump, his personal assistant, inquiring if he was free to meet Kill, the general manager of HER.
Enters Kill, looking a little shaken. ‘Boss, the worst has happened, 25 employees from Sales and Marketing, Auto division, have put in their papers and expect to be relieved within the next one week.
Kill then continues with his conversation with Saudi: ‘On having a casual chat with a couple of them, I have understood that as we have given them only 6 per cent hike and deferred the release of their performance bonus, they have decided to “walk out” of the organization and Join a competitor.
Moreover, most employees are cribbing that their pays are not equitable compared to those of others at the same level. Kill then proceeds to discuss that the employees have been considering pay hikes and performance bonuses as a matter of right for being in the organization, more like entitlements. Saudi then gets into a heated argument with Kill indicating that the-HER has not done its Job of communicating the ‘compensation philosophy’ well and has not made the compensation objectives clear to the employees.
Unlike all other human resource practices; this company’s compensation was unplanned and haphazard.
The company went on a massive recruitment drive and picked around 400 employees out of the 1,000 that needed to be recruited for the first phase of the project The mandate given to the recruitment teams were ‘hire at any cost, even it it means paying a O per cent higher compensation to get employees from competitions and thereby empty out all the key resources of the competitors’.
They had to hire sales coordinators, a business development team, telecoms engineers, network engineers, technical managers, project heads, finance and accounts team, credit collection and fraud control teams too. The team gave very title thought to tying general pay levels or creating salary bands. David, the recruitment head, knew that pay practices such as these would only create chaos in the organization in the short run and may actually run counter to what the company Ants to achieve strategically in terms of creating an extraordinary work force.
David knew that their compensation plan was not designed to support the firm’s new strategic goals.
He and Kill knew that they should devise a new compensation plan keeping in mind the latest compensation trends. They got stocks, variable pay plans, incentives and Joining bonuses sanctioned too. How can one hire and retain high quality work force, if one does not link performance and pay? He and his team then decided to hand over this assignment to the compensation and benefits team to assess and redesign the compensation plan.
Employees who Joined earlier were on a different pay plan. Now, after the new pay plan, how would one tackle these employees who were Just recruited in the last quarter? As time flew by, employees learnt that no matter how they performed they would always end up getting paid about the same as employees who performed better or Norse than they did.
Therefore, the company’s compensation plan actually created a fit between the employees who Joined in the last quarter and those who Joined recently; and now there was this disconnect between pay and performance.
Employee morale hit rock bottom in less than a year during which they were on board. Kill and David knew they had to institute a new strategic compensation plan. They Anted such a plan that would not only save their face, but also one that would increase morale and also contribute to employee commitment and pay for performance, and help in hiring on merit basis and not with the purpose of clearing out a competitor. However, knowing that they would have to do it did not translate onto it being done!
Kill had tried many combinations but no compensation plan seemed to serve ail their purposes.
If he was satisfied, David said it wasn’t attractive enough for hiring and what made David happy seemed to never make financial sense. The more Kill worked on, the more he was convinced that there was no way out of the mess. Meanwhile to keep the business running, hiring and losing people seemed to have become an everyday affair Questions: Analyze the Case. Q-1 . What was the problem that the company faced? Q-2. What advice would you give the HER/recruitment team to salvage the situation?
