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Semi-final Short Case Study

March 24, 2006 Friday A.M.


20 points

FIELD: RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION


WoodCorp Inc.
WoodCorp Inc. specializes in the manufacture of wooden office furniture. Its main clientele is situated in downtown Vancouver and its plant is located north of this city. The furniture WoodCorp manufactures is very much in demand because of its original yet understated design that is appropriate for the business world. In operation for 35 years, the company employs approximately 150 people and has been listed on the stock exchange for the past ten years. The CEO and you, the director of human resources, have just put the finishing touches on a detailed succession plan for WoodCorp employees, based on a three-year horizon. Within three years a number of your key managers, many of whom have been working at WoodCorp since it was founded, will be taking their well-deserved retirement. In recent years, few new employees have been hired to ensure their succession. Two major points emerge from the succession plan: The general controller plans to retire within the next year and no one in-house is qualified to replace him. In addition to his specific financial skills, he has the companys financial history at his fingertips and is the CEOs right-hand man. In fact, the CEO consults him for every strategic decision he has to make. Since WoodCorp is a public corporation, this position is crucial for it to continue its smooth operation. WoodCorps manufacturing director joined the company 30 years ago as an administrative clerk. He gradually moved up through the positions of production clerk, technician and supervisor and was eventually appointed manufacturing director. During this time, he attended evening classes and completed a bachelors and a masters degree in administration. As manufacturing director, he is a member of the companys management team and the CEO has a lot of respect for this directors opinion. Over the years, his career path, performance and fair decisions have earned him considerable credibility. He is also respected by his team because he knows the company inside and out and is an excellent leader in the field. In fact, the employees recognize his expertise and appreciate his recommendations because they know that he performed their jobs for several years. The production plant recently hired a few young employees with good technical skills who could be ready to take on this position within three years. Five of them have expressed their interest and shown that they have the potential to handle this job.

In light of this information: 1. 2. What steps should be taken to recruit the best candidate for the position of general controller? (10 points) Given that the five interested employees already possess the technical skills and knowledge required for the position of manufacturing director, what criteria should be used to select the best candidate for this position? (5 points) (a) What steps should be taken to select the best manufacturing director from among the plants five qualified employees? (5 points) (b) Once youve made your choice, what will be the next steps in your action plan? (2 points)

3.

Semi-final Short Case Study


March 24, 2006 Friday A.M.
20 points

FIELD: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT


MyMoney
MyMoney is a flourishing financial services organization with an excellent reputation. It employs around 2,000 people, 1,500 of whom work within the 150 branches across Canada, while the remaining 500 are employed at the companys head office. To prepare to meet the anticipated shortage of branch managers due to massive retirements within the next five years, the human resources department decided to set up an annual management trainee development program. The success of this program is essential for the company to be able to satisfy its future needs for qualified human resources. The goal: At the end of each 12-month program, which begins in January (one program per year for 10 trainees over a five-year period), the trainees will be promoted to the position of assistant to the branch manager and paired with a manager who plans to retire in the not-too-distant future (a horizon of 24 months or less). You are the human resources professional that has been assigned to this project. You established the following five major steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. internal and external recruitment of a cohort of 10 high-potential trainees, once a year for the next five years; development of a training program for all branch managers; development of a training program for trainees; development of a welcome and integration program for trainees; one-on-one follow-up meetings with trainees, every six weeks.

Your first follow-up interviews indicate that the project is attaining its objectives: the trainees are developing according to plan. Towards the second quarter, you realize that the project isnt going as well as it should and that the trainees arent making any progress. They complain that on a day-to-day operational basis the managers treat them just like all the other branch employees and that they are no longer learning anything. On the other hand, according to information you received informally, some managers say they are snowed under with their own work and are also constantly being contacted by their regional manager about other projects, including their annual objectives, which are determined in January of each year. As a result, they have little if any time to devote to their trainee. You are aware of the importance of this program for the company and the human resources department. 1. 2. Identify the programs strengths and weaknesses. (6 points) Given the context, what steps should you immediately take to ensure your projects success. (14 points)

Semi-final Short Case Study


March 24, 2006 Friday A.M.
20 points

FIELD: ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE


Wilbrods
Wilbrods is a major Canadian retailer of articles for the home, including the bathroom and kitchen. It is also the most wellknown gift supplier in the country. Wilbrods was founded by Wilbrod Bureau, a Franco-Ontarian from Cornwall in Ontario. The company has 90 stores across Canada, with 45 in Ontario and 35 in Quebec, and would like to open additional stores elsewhere in the country in the near future. It is the month of March: last week the company and the union signed a new collective agreement after a very bitter strike of more than four months in all the Ontario stores. This was the first time Wilbrods had experienced a situation like this, where relations between the unionized employees and management deteriorated to such an extent. Because both the employer and the union made concessions to reach an agreement, neither party could claim to be the victor. A number of relevant facts are set out below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The union decided to launch the strike just before the Christmas holidays, believing that this decision would pressure the employer to accede to its demands; The employer had prepared an excellent contingency plan; due to help from its management team, the employer was able to keep some 20% of the stores open and deliver Internet orders; The employer now fears that management and the non-unionized employees will gloat over the unionized employees; The managers, who had been paid for a lot of overtime, even displayed their pay checks in the window to the unionized employees, who were without any income just before Christmas; Some dismissals owing to physical assault were maintained, but disciplinary measures for vandalism and more minor incidents were not enforced. Even though 98% of the unions members adopted the new agreement, the unionized employees are still angry. Management, particularly store managers, is worried about the first day back. Everyone will be back at work in five days.

Today, the company president has just asked you to implement a plan to facilitate a harmonious return to work for everyone. He wants your organizational development team to handle this task because he believes these employees are perceived as being more neutral since they did not take part in the negotiations. As a result, he hopes to quickly restore an organizational climate favourable to operating a retail business. He is concerned, however, because he knows that the strength of Wilbrods stores has always been a friendly atmosphere created by the employees, their expertise and the quality of their customer service. Wilbrods employees are noted for knowing their merchandise and providing good advice to their customers, which as a result, encourages their customers to return. This is the most important project of your career; you and your organizational development team will have to outdo yourselves. Everyone in the company will lend you a hand if you ask for help. 1. 2. What problems do you anticipate? List five only. (5 points) What can you propose? What is your plan to overcome these problems? Your plan will be marked for: its accuracy and the chances of the activities success (10 points) the realism, feasibility and logic of each step proposed (5 points)

Semi-final Short Case Study


March 24, 2006 Friday A.M.
20 points

FIELD: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY


Laser Tech Inc.
You are building a new occupational health and safety team at Laser Tech Inc., a company specializing in laser cutting sheet metal that has a workforce of about 50 people. In the last year, the company has expanded considerably and has had to hire a number of employees whose average age is 23. Since this time, the senior employees have been unhappy about the atmosphere in the plant. They complain that the new workers are careless and relations with management are more strained. There is a great deal to be done in terms of occupational health and safety and labour relations. Around 8:25 a.m. on Tuesday, January 24, the foreman calls you in a panic. A worker has just been injured. On arriving at the scene of the accident, you talk to the worker, who is lying on the ground. He says he was hit by an object that the overhead travelling crane was transporting and has a sharp pain in his back. Once the ambulance arrives, you begin your inquiry and find out the following facts: the employee at issue has been with the company for two months; the day before the accident, he received a disciplinary notice for absenteeism, which he refused to sign; the worker is required to secure the steel sheets with cables through the travelling crane; the operator of the travelling crane has had no specific training in handling hoisting apparatus; the worker was outside the designated area; the travelling crane was last inspected on July 1, 2005 and its last maintenance was done on May 15, 2005; the companys first-aid officer has been on sick leave for two weeks and is expected back in more than a month; a witness to the accident, who has been with Laser Tech for 15 months, says he saw the worker fall down while the travelling crane was moving very slowly; the companys safety regulations which were not handed out to the new employees prohibit employees from walking under the travelling cranes when they are moving and require the operator to activate an audible alarm signal when a worker enters the prohibited area; when you met with him, the crane operator said that he might possibly have grazed the worker; he added that the alarm signal is out of order but that he hadnt informed anyone about it; when you asked him if he had tried to warn the worker, he said that the worker shouldnt have been in that area.

Now that you have the facts in hand, you have to prepare an accident report for the companys executive committee. Your report should indicate: 1. 2. 3. the direct and indirect causes of the accident; (6 points) the steps to take and the remedial measures to be implemented the next day (8 points) your recommendations to be applied over the next three months. (6 points)

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