Strayer University

HRM 500

Hershey’s Sweet Mission

Human Resource Management Foundations

PROFESSOR GEORGE OJIE-AHAMIOJIE

JANET A. ROBBINS
October 21, 2011

Introduction
The Hershey Company mission involves as they stated, “winning with an aligned and empowered organization…while having fun.” (Noe, 2011) Everyone wants to have fun as you can see by my title page; I am one of those people. Milton Hershey has left his legacy in the company’s core values for many years to come. The four values identified in the mission statement are instilled in their human resource management they are as follows: * We are Opening to Possibilities by embracing diversity, seeking new approaches and striving for continuous improvement. * We are Growing Together by sharing knowledge and unwrapping human potential in an environment of mutual respect. * We are Making Difference by leading with integrity and determination to have a positive impact on everything we do. * We are One Hershey, winning together while accepting individual responsibility for our results. (Noe, 2011) (The Hershey company, 2011)
. At Hershey, they have a unique heritage, iconic brands, talented employees and a company culture founded on the principles of giving back to our global community.
Recommend the redesign of Hershey’s performance management system to appeal to the diverse groups that it employs
Hershey’s employs many diverse groups who need to understand in-depth knowledge of the Hershey brands and designing a performance management system for their business will be crucial as they extend their excellent marketing and sales capabilities into key global growth markets. There are over 6.6 billion people in the world today and over 300 million of them reside in the United States. (Kurtz, 2009) Diversity comes in many forms and our country has a broad range of people who all come from different backgrounds. The former owner of the Los Angeles Angels, Arte Moreno who stated back in 1946, “most of us are all immigrants from somewhere” still applies today to U.S. citizens. (Jones, 2009) Diversity in the workplace is not limited to ethic origin but many other characteristics such as gender, age, race, and many other factors.
Hershey’s advances in technology made an unexpected turn when they attempted to form a new logistics management system by incorporating the new software using enterprise resource planning as a replacement for human resources. But as valuable as it is, ERP and its related software are not always perfect. ERP failures were blamed for Hershey’s inability to fulfill all of its candy orders during one Halloween period. When a fall-off of sales was blamed on a combination of shipping delays, inability to fill orders, and this resulted in a stockpile of candy sitting in warehouses as a result of this non-human error. This type of marketing however appealing has shown how trying to eliminate the need for human resources through modern technology has actually cost many company’s sales and money (Kurtz, 2009).
Job redesign acknowledges that different people want different things from their job. By finding out what an employee wants out of their job sometimes restructuring work helps achieve this goal and gives the worker not only satisfaction but, motivation as well. Job redesign can be implemented through combining tasks, forming natural work groups, or letting them establish client relationships. (Ebert, 2007)
If you were a Hershey’s employee, analyze how you would interpret the values that Hershey embraces in relation to your role.
In regards to the first of the four values, I would always be open to possibilities by embracing diversity, seeking new approaches and strive for continuous improvement. Even the best company has room for improvement and your best source of new ideas may come from what you may have thought was an unlikely source. “What I absolutely believe is that honoring the people who do the work can produce stunning results for the company,” says Sidney Harmon, CEO of Harmon International Industries. “If the people in the factory believe there’s a real effort to improve their skills, provide opportunities for advancement and job security, they can do things that will blow your mind.” (Shaw, 2010) I believe this is true of any organization. There is so much available talent out there that is not recognized unless company’s offer new opportunities to their employees.
Another value that I consider important is the mentor program, which connects by hiring new “Millennial” workers (those in their twenties) and pairing them up with more experienced older employees such as those considered baby boomers. I am not quit as old as the baby boomer but being older and more experienced in some things gives me the ability to pass on my legacy to the youths of this world. I noticed however that some of these new generations are not as eager to learn from past generations at times. I would enjoy learning from this new talent to increase my own skills and knowledge because even with experience there is the problem of new trends in business that I am not as efficient as say he newer generation. So I think the mentoring programs can work both ways by also teaching the teacher so to speak.
Inclusion Day is a very important event, which enforces their value instilled in “making a difference by leading with integrity and determination to have a positive impact on everything they do.” This annual event is held in Hershey, Pennsylvania and United States manufacturing locations. Employees, as well as their families and friends, celebrate the diversity of their workforce and their local communities. They have been hosting this event for seven years. The Affinity Groups, along with Hershey’s United Way and Children’s Miracle Network teams, have informational booths. (The Hershey company, 2011) The day also includes ethnic foods, music, and cultural dance performances, which is something that I would attend every year.

In terms of the trends identified in this chapter, describe which one may affect Hershey the most.
The share of women in the American work force has grown to nearly half the total (Noe, 2011).The company must meet the demands of the company goals by hiring from a large pool of the population to meet those needs. They also need to be able to keep up with what the average American worker who is looking for in a job and women represent half of the American workforce these days. Do not get me wrong when I use women as an example in this question, because it is important to recognize that work/life balance is not “a woman’s issue,” nor is it necessarily a new one. (Unions have demanded shorter workdays for decades.) (Lawler, 2006)
The Affinity Group offers opportunities to be connected, feel empowered, and grow professionally and personally. This delivers positive benefits for the company, which will enhance the retention and advancement of women. The Women’s Council is most proud of is the addition of mother’s lounges to most Hershey, Pennsylvania office buildings for mothers who have returned to work but are still nursing. The lounge project was initiated by The Women’s Council in an effort to help women with the work/life balance and transition. The Hershey Company received a Breastfeeding Friendly Business Award from the Pennsylvania State Department of Health in recognition of the mother’s lounges. (The Hershey company, 2011)
Redesigning the jobs for positions available for more women includes flexibility in work schedules, on the job training, and support groups for single parents so they can easily adjust to the transition from stay at home mom to working full time. Hershey could benefit from an onsite day care for employees to use at a low cost as an alternative to private daycares. The higher cost of education has deterred many from earning higher degrees to advance their skills and knowledge. The cost of education is increasing every year so, this may affect Hershey’s Enrichment program it offers such as Tuition Reimbursement.
Describe the effects that mentoring could have on integrating values into the Hershey culture
In 2006, The Women’s Council created an internal mentoring program that matches protégés with mentors to help employees develop and achieve career and personal growth goals. In its first year, 83 mentor-protégé pairs participated in the program. In 2010, participation grew by 40%, and much of that growth came with the expansion of the program to the U.S. field sales force. (The Hershey company, 2011) These programs enforce the company’s quality values are passed on from generation to generation, as Milton Hershey would want it. This is a good way to integrate values as well as skills, knowledge and find talent that they may have not previously been aware of within the company.
Today, global employees participate in the mentoring program through a commitment of at least one year. The Women’s Council, along with the other Affinity Groups, matches pairs and provides them with resources to help develop their mentoring relationship. (The Hershey company, 2011) This program brings people together and bonds them with the company and gives these new protégé’s a chance to ask questions and give feedback that could provide information to the company about new trends and ideas. Effective mentoring is more than providing instruction, offering advice, helping build skills, and sharing of technological expertise. It is the ability to form bonds between the company and the new employee with a psychological contract almost but these unspoken expectations can be better defined through personal interactions between both parties in mentoring.
Conclusion
I apologize for the length of this but; I found so many interesting ideas and really enjoyed researching The Hershey Company. I even went as far as applying for a job there just to see what would happen. I also found that even with their best attributes, there were also negative media reports on their company. One thing that I found which was unusual because they brag about their contributions to third world countries yet I found this report:
WASHINGTON -- A group of experts on labor and international law assembled in Hershey, Pa., on Friday to investigate claims from foreign students that they had worked under exploitative conditions at a local packing plant handling Hershey candy products. The allegations have raised concerns about a controversial U.S. visa program and also put a spotlight on the widespread subcontracting now found in the American supply chain. (Jamieson, 2011) But every large corporation faces controversial stories at times so; I am not sure what to believe when it comes to the media any more.
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