Read Application Case – Jack Nelson’s Problem in Chapter 1. After you read the case, answer the following questions:
1. What do you think was causing some of the problems in the bank home office and branches? Why?
2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help? Why or why not?
3. What specific functions should the HR unit carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the Internet play in the new HR organization?
1. The supervisors are hiring the wrong employees. They are not hiring people that fit the position in which they are hired for, or people with a history of long term job performance. When he asked Ruth Johnson about the equipment she was using, he should have seen the first red flag.
2. Yes, setting up HR at the main office would be a good idea. 191 employees is a medium size business that needs someone to thoroughly look at each and every potential employee and their resume. HR can also put together programs for the current employees for better retention. Programs for work functions and training are important to making employees feel important.
3. HR should be responsible for acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns (Chapter 1, pg. 4). This means HR will be conducting job analyses , planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates, selecting job candidates, orienting and training new employees, managing wages and salaries, providing incentives and benefits, appraising performance, communicating, training and developing managers, and building employee commitment. Managers should carry out or know about equal opportunity, employee health and safety, and handling grievances and labor relations (Chapter 1, pg. 4). The internet today plays a big role in HR. The