You are hired as the HR director for the fictitious Motors and More, Inc. Motors and More, a business-to-business sales company, manufactures small motors and accessories for industrial and home products. The industry is highly competitive, and the company follows a prospector strategy.
A prospector strategy takes advantage of new markets and products (Gomez-Mejia, Galkin and Cardy, 2001). Organizational emphasis is on growth, innovation and new product development. A prospector wants to be first to market. To respond to competitive and rapidly changing markets, prospectors have flexible, flat and more decentralized organizational structures.
Motors and More is headquartered in a small southern town of 28,000 people, with a low unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. This means that demand for workers exceeds the labor supply. There is a technical school and a community college within 50 miles of Motors and More. Motors and More’s president is former military and is highly patriotic. He is committed to staying in the community. Recently, several other local companies have experienced labor organizing activities.
Motors and More employs 116 people. Until you were hired, there was no HR department. Recently, the organization’s employee turnover rate has been higher than normal. The marketing and sales department continues to sell products to an expanding market. Because of this increased product demand, output must be increased by 96 percent.
Eighty-eight percent of Motors and More employees are Caucasian. With the exception of one female supervisor in the customer service department, the president and all other managers are Caucasian men. Management promotions have been based on seniority. The local labor market population is approximately 48 percent minority. There is a growing Hispanic and Kurdish population that have not been accepted into the community.
All the employees in manufacturing (including quality control), customer service and operations (responsible for shipping and receiving; distribution of raw materials, components parts and finished goods inventory; and maintenance and cleaning) have at least a high school degree or GED. The organization provides some skills training courses. Please refer to the organizational chart in Figure 1 for more details.
Figure 1: Motors and More Organization Chart
References
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Galkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2001). Managing human resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc
Suggested Readings for Case Study
Anthony, W., Kacmar, K. M., & Perrewe, P. (2006). Human resource management: A strategic approach. Mason, OH: Thomson Custom Solutions.
Daft, R. L. (2003). Essentials of organization theory & design. Manson, OH: South-Western, Thomson Learning. DeNisi, A. S., & Griffin, R.W. (2001). Human resource management. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Griffin, R. W., & Moorhead, G. (2006). Fundamentals of organizational behavior, managing people and organizations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Galkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2001). Managing human resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Jackson, S., & Schuler, R. (2006). Managing human resources though strategic partnerships (9th ed.). United States: Thomson South-Western. Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1994). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Mathis, R., & Jackson, J. (2006). Human resource management (11th ed.). United States: Thomson South-Western.
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2007). Human resource management (2nd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Robinson, D. G., & Robinson, J. (1996). Performance consulting: Moving beyond training. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publisher
Instructor notes:
The scenario provides background information and a framework for the progressive case study. You will be asked to address the organization’s issues through discussion board assignments. Assumptions for this assignment include:
Motors and More, Inc. has adequate resources to support any reasonable initiatives.
Motors and More, Inc. produces products and services that will continue to be in demand.
Motors and More, Inc. does not have a succession plan.
Entry-level employees in the manufacturing department are paid minimum wage as mandated by federal law.
Wage rates are defined for employees in the different divisions.
Student will define the organization’s compensation. Student will decide if Motors and More, Inc. meets, leads or lags the competition. Student should consider where the organization stands in comparison to other organizations in the area. Search for information that will help you decide the organization’s approach to pay.
Regarding benefits, Motors and More, Inc. provides unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and Social Security withholding for employees as mandated by law.
Part A: Design a typical HR department and identify each HR unit. For each HR unit, provide roles/ responsibilities and job titles. Develop an organization chart of a typical HR department. To complete these two activities, please answer the two questions listed below. Post your answers in Discussion Board A. Make sure to type the question and then your response.
PART A | Question 1. Conduct research on the SHRM website, your textbook, or our UNT Dallas library related to organization design. Provide a definition and a brief explanation of the concepts of organizing and organization design.
PART A | Question 2. Conduct research on the SHRM website, your textbook, or our UNT Dallas library.
Using a typical organization chart, develop a complete HR department, indicating each HR unit (not for Motors and More).
For each HR unit, provide typical roles/responsibilities and job titles. The following link is very helpful: https://www.onetonline.org/Links to an external site..
Instructions: You may use the template shown below for your Discussion Board A Post. This template will help you include all the information required for this assignment. The required information is highlighted with red font. Once you are done, change the font color to black font. Then, copy and paste the document into the discussion board post. To receive full credit, you need to post your responses by Wednesday.
The assignment also requires two reply posts. Below the template, you will find a checklist with the required information on the two reply posts. Note the two reply posts are due on Saturday.
TEMPLATE FOR DISCUSSION BOARD A
PART A | Question 1. Conduct research on the SHRM website, your textbook, or our UNT Dallas library related to organizational design. Provide a definition and a brief explanation of the concepts of organizing and organization design.
RESPONSE:
Insert definition of Organizing (insert citation here)
Insert definition of Organization Design (insert citation here)
PART A | Question 2. Conduct research on the SHRM website, your textbook, or our UNT Dallas library. Using a typical organization chart, develop a complete HR department, indicating each HR unit (not for Motors and More). For each HR unit, provide typical roles/responsibilities and job titles. The following link is very helpful: https://www.onetonline.org/Links to an external site.. Use the template provided in the next page.
RESPONSE:
[Insert figure with an example of an organizational chart for an HR Department. You will need to convert the figure into a picture and embed the picture in your response]
Titles, roles and responsibilities of an HR unit
HR director or manager
Roles/responsibilities (see example below on how to write roles and responsibilities. Note that all bullets begin with a verb)
Leads and manages the
Develops relationships with senior management to align HR goals and strategies with those of the
Scans the external environment for changes that could affect
Participates in organizational planning and review
Organization Development (OD)
Possible job titles: OD specialist, OD consultant
Role/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Staffing or Employment
Possible job titles: Employment manager, staffing manager, recruiting manager, staffing or recruiting specialist or coordinator
Roles/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Human Resource Development (HRD) or Training and Development
Possible job titles: Training specialist, training coordinator or administrator, facilitator, learning specialist, designer, developer, evaluator, training or performance consultant
Roles/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Compensation
Compensation has two primary areas—benefits and salary administration. In many organizations, payroll is a function of the accounting department. In other organizations, payroll is placed in compensation.
Benefits
Job titles: Benefits analyst, benefits specialist, benefits administrator
Roles/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Salary Administration
Job titles: Job analyst, job and salary analyst or specialist
Roles/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Employee Relations or Industrial Relations
Job title: Employee relations specialist
Roles/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Health and Safety
Job titles: Safety specialist, safety coordinator, safety administrator, industrial nurse
Roles/responsibilities
Insert role/responsibilities here
Insert role/responsibilities here
Key Points Covered in the Instructions above:
Type the question
Type answer below each question; and
Double space between answers.
