People Management Problem?

As a new member of the board of directors for a local Bank, Jack Nelson was being introduced to all the
employees in the home office. When he was introduced to Ruth Johnsons, he was curious about her work
and asked her what her machine did. Johnsons replied that she did not know what the machine was called
or what it was for. She explained that she had been working there for only two months. She did, however,
know precisely how to operate the machine. According to her supervisor, she was an excellent employee.

At one the branch offices, the supervisor charge to spoke to Nelson confidentially, telling him that
“something was wrong,” but she didn’t know what. For one thing, she explained, employee was too high,
and no sooner had one employee been put on the job than another one resigned. With customers to see
and loans to be made, she explained, she little time to work with the new employees as they came and
went.

All branch supervisors hired their own employees without communication with the home office or other
branches. When an opening developed, the supervisor tried to find a suitable employee to replace the
worker who had quit. After touring the 22 branches and finding similar problems in many of them,

m
er as
Nelson wondered what the home office should do or what the action he should take. The banking firm
was generally regarded as a well-run institution that had grown from 27 to 191 employees during the past

co
eH w
eight years. The more he thought about the matter, the more puzzled Nelson became. He couldn’t quit put
his finger on the problem, and he didn’t know whether to report his findings to the president.

o.
rs e
ou urc
Guide Questions

1. Critically evaluate the nature of the problems in the case and discuss the sources of concerns that
o

the bank’s home office and branches face. (6 marks)

aC s

2. Cite how an area in HRM that can be of help to the concerns you have raised in question 1. Explain.
vi y re

(6 marks)

3. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help? What specific functions should
an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors and other line
ed d

managers? (8 marks)
ar stu
is
Th

CASE 2
sh

Case: There’s a Drone in Your Soup

It is the year 2020, and drones are everywhere. Alibaba quadcopters have been delivering special ginger
tea to customers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou for years; Amazon’s octocopters finally deliver
packages in most major cities within 30 minutes without knocking down pedestrians; and college students
everywhere welcome late-night nachos from Taco Bell Tacocopters. Indoor drones are still in the
pioneering phase – backyard enthusiasts are building tiny versions, but no large-scale commercial efforts

This study source was downloaded by 100000791565141 from CourseHero.com on 11-17-2021 00:34:20 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/50290694/Assigenment-case-1-2-1docx/
 have been put toward indoor utility drones. That’s all about to change.

You work for a multinational technology corporation on a sprawling, 25-acre headquarters campus, with
offices in 2 million sqaure feet of interior space in one large building and four additional smaller (but still
large) buildings. The official Head of Interior Spaces is your boss; you’re the leader of the Consideration
of New Things team. In a meeting with your team, your boss says, “I’ve just heard from my friend at
Right To Drones Too (R2D2) that his group has perfected their inside drone. It’s small and light but can
carry up to 10 pounds. It includes a camera, a speaker, and a recorder.”

Your team expresses surprise; no one even knew an inside utility drone was under development, and
governments worldwide are still haggling over regulations for drones. Your boss goes on enthusiastically,
“I’ve seen the little drones, and I think you’ll be impressed – not only can they scoot across the quad, but
they can fetch things off tables, grab me a latte, attend meetings for me, check over your shoulders to see
what you’re working on….anything! They’re really accurate, agile, and super quiet, so you’ll barely
know they’re around. My friend wants us to have the first 100 drones here for free, and he’s willing to
send them over tomorrow! I fugure we can hand them out randomly, although of course we’ll each have
one.”

m
er as
Your boss sits back, smiling and expecting applause. You glance at your team members and are relieved

co
to see doubt and hesitation on their faces.

eH w
“Sounds, uh, great,” you reply. “But how about the team takes the afternoon to set the ground rules?”

o.
rs e
ou urc
Guide Questions

1. How might the R2D2 drones influence employee behavior? Do you think they will cause people
o

to act more or less ethically? Why? (6 marks)

aC s
vi y re

2. Who should get the drones initially? How can you justify your decision ethically? What
restrictions for use should these people be given, and how do you think employees, both those
who get drones and those who don’t, will react to this change? (6 marks)
ed d

3. Many organizations already use electronic monitoring of employees, including sifting through
website usage and e-mail correspondence, often without the employee’s direct knowledge. In
ar stu

what ways might drone monitoring be better or worse for employees than covert electronic
monitoring of Web or e-mail activity? (8 marks)
is
Th
sh

This study source was downloaded by 100000791565141 from CourseHero.com on 11-17-2021 00:34:20 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/50290694/Assigenment-case-1-2-1docx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)