HR785_ Human Resource Strategy- MacroEnterprises Case Study Preparation

There are 3 parts to the MicroEnterprise Case Study. Throughout the session, you will read each case and submit assignments related to the individual cases. In order to prepare for the assignments associated with the case studies, you need a solid understanding of the overall case. Begin by reading the case overview. Outline the key issues that you see that the company needs to address immediately. Explain why these issues need immediate attention.

MacroEnterprises Case Study Preparation

MacroEnterprise Inc. has been operating well with a great relationship with its customers and no complaints so far were witnessed. The company employees had a grasp of what they were expected to do and how to do it to ensure there is a quality outcome that ensures customer satisfaction. However, recently the company underwent some transition especially with its human resource that aimed at satisfying the growing needs of the company, especially under manpower. This transition caused some issues in the manufacturing of the carburetors as identified by the quality control assessment indicating the problem lies within the company.

According to the further investigation done, the problem can be identified into two categories that are the performance issues and culture and work environment issues. Form the forms of the issues identified, the key issues that the company needs to take care of immediately are; communication, employee training and development, changing the organizational environment, clear interpretation of the SOPs, and ensuring proper implementation of company policies and procedures (Storberg-Walker et al., 2008).

Communication is a key aspect within an organization as it ensures the smooth running and connection of all departments and people within the organization. Having open communication channels will enable employees to communicate amongst themselves, with their superiors, or get to know customer feedback. Such open communication will improve the quality of service or products offered to customers as they can adjust according to customer needs. In addition, open communication amongst employees enhances collaboration and teamwork which improves their ability to work as a team on addressing issues bringing in a good performance. The company should ensure that the new employees can freely communicate with the older employees and work as a team where they get help in adapting to the new work environment. This will make them feel welcomed in the new workplace and encourage peer learning. Creating teamwork amongst the employees will help them move as one when handling a task which will help recheck the quality of the outcome to ensure it meets the set standards and procedures of the company as well as the quality expectations of the customers. Such effective communication, will reduce workplace conflicts, increase productivity, enhance teamwork, improve interrelationships and bring job satisfaction to the employees (AduOppong & Agyin-Birikorang, 2014).

Employee training and development should also be addressed urgently. The company had a transition especially in their personnel which means some are still lacking with regards to the company procedures and SOPs. The key issues raised under the performance issue all point out due to the inadequate skills of the manpower at the company. These calls for training programs for the employees especially the new ones to empower them with skills that can handle the tasks at hand. Also, it will help them familiarize themselves with the SOPs of the company clearing the misinterpretation that has been noticed among the employees. Through this training, employees can adjust to the newly updated bolt tightening specifications that customers need. It will also train them on proper calibration of the bolt drivers accurately. Training the new employees will improve the performance, quality of the work outcome which will enhance customer satisfaction, build employee confidence, develop their talents and enhance innovation and creativity as they familiarize themselves with their work. Training improved the employee knowledge and skills that in the end increases their production efficiency and job satisfaction (Rodriguez & Walters, 2017).

Changing the work environment and organization. From the issues raised under culture and work environment, MacroEnterprise needs to change its organizational setup to a learning organization. Learning organization refers to the organization that enhances the learning of its members and is continuous in its transformation according to the changes in the industry. Most learning organizations adjust depending on the changes that occur in their industry, especially technological changes. With a learning organization, there is improved creativity and innovation due to the focus on talent development of the employees. Employees are allowed to learn and improve themselves to fully explore their talents and potential for the benefit of the company in terms of innovation and creativity. An example of a learning organization include Netflix which keeps transforming itself with the technology change and an example of a company that is not an earning organization might be Blockbuster which failed to adjust to technological changes in the film and movie rental industry (Chhabria, 2017). Adjusting their SOPs to meet the new and updated ones rather than 2001 will help them move to be a learning organization. Becoming a learning organization helps the company increase its performance, quality of products, and employee development which reduces employee turnover.

Proper implementation of the company standards and procedures and the clear interpretation of the SOPs will help the company address the issues. It will end the use of the outdated bolt tightening specifications and also the inconsistency in the application of the SOPs due to misinterpretation (Storberg-Walker et al., 2008). Properly improving their standards and procedures and making them known to their employees will improve the quality of services and products as they will be at par with the new standards and procedures within the industry. In addition, interpreting the SOPs will clear misinterpretation that has been witnessed creating a uniform outcome due to a uniform way of tightening the bolts. The HR personnel should ensure that all employees are well informed of the changes made on the SOPs and the standards and procedures of the company to improve their knowledge of the tasks and expectations set on them.

In conclusion, MacroEnterprise Inc. has a chance to adjust itself and address the issues raised. All the issues raised are from the company itself which gives it control over how and when to make the changes ad adjustments. All the adjustments can effectively be addressed if the company changes from its traditional mode of operation to a learning organization where they can easily adjust to the changing dynamics of the industry hence improving customer satisfaction. HR has a great role to play in ensuring these issues are addressed as they stem from the HR department.

Reference

Adu-Oppong, A. A., & Agyin-Birikorang, E. (2014). Communication in the Workplace: Guidelines for improving effectiveness. Global journal of commerce & management perspective, 3(5), 208-213.

Chhabria Ashwin. (2017). The rise of Netflix and the fall of Blockbuster. https://scashwin.medium.com/the-rise-of-netflix-and-the-fall-of-blockbuster-29e5457339b7 (Links to an external site.)

Rodriguez, J., & Walters, K. (2017). The importance of training and development in employee performance and evaluation. World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(10), 206- 212.

Storberg-Walker J., Chapman D., and Bartlett J. (2008). A MacroEnterprises, Inc. A case study in three parts. https://brenau.instructure.com/courses/1794583/files/127141628?module_item_id=29816259