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Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises

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Submitted By Manvithadnr
Words 6731
Pages 27
9-913-501
JULY 12, 2012

JOHN BINGHAM
MICHAEL BEER

Performance Management at Vitality Health
Enterprises, Inc.
The Health and Vitality of Vitality Health Enterprises
James Hoffman, the newly appointed vice president of Human Resources of Vitality Health
Enterprises, was pleased when he saw an early preview of the earnings figures for the fourth quarter of 2011. But he knew better than to relax. Competition in the personal care products sector was cutthroat, and complacency was a recipe for obsolescence and loss of market share, particularly in cosmetics and nutraceuticals.
Vitality was riding high on a six-quarter string of strong revenue growth that had surpassed analyst expectations. However, as emerging markets represented a growing portion of business revenues, the company was becoming increasingly exposed to volatility and uncertainty and, without prompt corrective action, would soon be poised to trip over its own feet.
The cost of research and development continued to climb, and Hoffman feared that the chain of success was allowing employees to relax, leading to a culture of ineffective performance management. There were even whispers of discontent from the marketing team about a growing number of missed product launches. Hoffman knew that Vitality had recently struggled to maintain its position as an industry leader in innovation and he worried about the slow but notable increases in employee turnover, especially among the highly talented research scientists. Without their expertise, Vitality couldn’t remain vibrant much longer. The CEO, Beth Williams, had the same concerns. Hoffman thought about the meeting he’d just had with Williams, remembering her directions:
I want you to take the lead on the new Performance Management Evaluation Team. New product R&D has slowed and the competition will kill us if we don’t get those product

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