Human Resource Management Case Study 2
Date: 24/2/2023
Submitted by
Salman Zubaer
ID: 22-92536-2
Marziya Sultana
ID: 22-92691-3
Chowdhury abrar mahmood
ID: 22-92727-3
Foayej ahammed
ID: 22-92428-1
Submitted To
Dr. Rezbin Nahar
Course: Human Resource Management [MBA] [C] [Spring 22-23]
1. How Does McCain view her role as human resource
manager?
At the Harrison Brothers Company location in Westpark, Brenda McCain oversaw the
human resources department. She has several years of expertise working in retail,
and she sees herself as the go-to person for all questions and problems relating to
human resources. Whereas previously the operation manager handled a lot of the
responsibilities related to human resources, she has introduced numerous changes
and new initiatives into the system. She spends a lot of time managing the human
resource employees and has created policies and procedures to serve as a guide for
the hiring process. Brenda's main duties include conducting interviews and making
hiring decisions, helping the trainer with new hire training sessions, and managing
the performance assessment and career planning procedures. She has changed
how staff issues are handled. She is now solely in charge of all disciplinary actions,
including gathering the original complaint from the supervisor, carrying out the
investigation, and enforcing the necessary sanctions. Discipline guidelines are
applied consistently in this situation. She also implemented a system of employee
development, under which managers are required to talk to staff members about
career possibilities.
2. What is Harrison Brothers' business strategy?
The Harrison Brothers is a conventional, multi-line department store. Harrison
Brothers has grown to become one of the biggest privately owned retail chains in the
United States with more than 20 locations thanks to the success of their current
business plan. Men's, women's, and kids' apparel have been their main offerings. The
shop has thought about adding more recent additions, such as home furnishings.
The market is constantly changing, and customers are now seeking both value and
specialization. James Harrison, the company's current CEO, has recognized that the
company must reposition itself. The same model that worked before might not
function today. He wants to use catchy brand names, great sales support, and
regular sales. Additionally, it is imperative that sales employees are knowledgeable
about the products and aware of customer preferences. Because trends and
consumer preferences are constantly changing, it is also necessary to build buying
expertise. Giant discounters offer customers appealing lines, and Mr. Harrison has
named maintaining qualified sales personnel as one of his primary goals in his
transition plan. Briefly, the five strategy objectives are:
a. Convert non-selling space into a selling space that generates income.
b. Develop underdeveloped product categories.
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c. Make aggressive investments in niche companies like Polo, Nautica, and Tommy
Hilfiger.
d. Cut costs by forecasting sales and managing inventory with cutting-edge
computer systems. e. Increasing the output of department heads, buyers, and sales
representatives.
3. What is the structure and staffing of the human resources
department?
James Harrison, the CEO, currently serves as the company's leader. After receiving
his MBA from a renowned business institution, he took over the company. As the
market is continuously changing and customers are now seeking both value and
specialization, Mr. Harrison is considering the future of Harrison Brothers and would
like to depart from the conventional business strategy that was used by Harrison
Brothers. He wants to put novel concepts into practice that will increase the store's
revenue. Since employee performance and quality would be one of the keys to the
future, the business should have a strong human resources department. To identify
the company's strengths and weaknesses, he has engaged a consultant. Harrison
Brothers Corporation's Westpark shop employed Brenda McCain as its human
resources manager. The operations manager and one of the section heads were
handling many tasks when Brenda first joined the team. She has since reorganized
roles and spends a lot of her time running the division, overseeing staff, and hiring
new people for sales and support positions. Many of the employees at Harrison
Brothers work part-time, are older, or are between jobs; therefore, if a superior job
presented itself, they would seize the opportunity. For the business, this has resulted
in a high turnover rate. Motivating, likable, and driven candidates are selected.
Joanne Flynn, a trainer, also ensures that all workers are exposed to sales techniques
and various customer interaction styles. New salesperson training sessions are
typically conducted once every two weeks, but they may occur weekly during peak
season. A payroll clerk is also present to handle remuneration. According to
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manager Jennifer Daft, Brenda and the rest of her employees appear to be having
difficulty keeping up with daily operations. Operations manager Pat Hartlake thinks
the human resources division is frequently understaffed and overworked, which is
why it takes so long to fill the open sales job.
4. Analyze the data in Exhibit 1.2. What are its implications?
The information in exhibit 1.2 contrasts the findings of questionnaires filled out by HR
managers and non-HR managers. In these questionnaires, respondents were given a
list of human resource responsibilities and asked to rate how important they were to
store performance. The results show that that HR and shop managers are thought to
value staffing equally. The highest grade was given to this, and as a result, almost
everyone believes that HR's primary responsibility is to ensure proper and sufficient
staffing. Additionally, shop managers believe that employee training is more
important than performance management, according to HR managers, who believe
that performance management is more important. Compensation and safety are
not given top consideration, according to both the HR managers and the store
managers. The fact that Harrison Brothers is a retail store with few incidents and a
clear compensation policy may be to blame. But there are significant discrepancies
in how people perceive their ability to handle change and their business knowledge.
In accordance with the company's present business strategy, the store managers
believe that HR should spearhead the change.
5. Given the organization's size and strategic goals, evaluate the
development of the human resource function at Harrison
Brothers. What problems do you see? How could its major
human resource functions be improved?
The HR section frequently appears to be understaffed and overworked given the size
of the organization. There is a stronger emphasis on human resources as a result of
the CEO's new business plan. In the past, the organization did not place a high
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priority on its people resources. When the human resource unit was unable to
suggest quick solutions to human resource issues, the operations manager also had
issues with them. These issues were ascribed to the operations manager's dual
responsibility for managing operational and human resource tasks, as well as to the
elevated employee disenchantment reflected in the high turnover rate. The
company recognized the need to boost its human resource unit to support its
strategic goals. Hence once Brenda took over, major functions such as staffing,
training and disciplinary actions were being looked after by the Human resource
department. However, the changes made in human resources management are not
sufficient to fully support the company’s strategic goals. Brenda herself felt that the
employee career development assessment remained a problem area. To aid in the
accomplishment of the business's strategic objectives, the human resource
management division should better embrace its position as a crucial member of the
organization. It begins with identifying the company's human resource problems and
figuring out the best way to address them through collaboration with other work
groups. Human resource activities must enhance staffing, training, and motivational
policies to entice qualified personnel to stay and contribute their knowledge in order
to achieve the objective of enhancing sales performance of personnel. Through
communication, it must also establish positive relationships with the leaders of the
other working groups. Additionally, it must organize and streamline all of its
operations to include all crucial duties, especially the evaluation of employee career
development and the development of new policies. Additionally, the human
resources division needs to have enough staff members so that Brenda and her
team can delegate some of their responsibilities and concentrate on other new
policies.
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