Question

Case Incident 1

Jack Nelson’s 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 Johnson he was curious about her work and asked her what the machine she was using did. Johnson replied that she really did not know what the machine was called or what it did. She explained that she had only been working there for two months. She did, however, know precisely how to operate the machine. According to her supervisor, she was an excellent employee.

At one of the branch offices, the supervisor in charge spoke to Nelson confidentially, telling him that “something was wrong,” but she didn’t know what. For one thing, she explained, employee turnover 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 continued, she had 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, Nelson wondered what the home office should do or what action he should take. The banking firm was generally regarded as a well-run institution that had grown from 27 to 191 employees in the past eight years. The more he thought about the matter, the more puzzled Nelson became. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the problem, and he didn’t know whether to report his findings to the president.

Questions

1. What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s branches?
2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?
3. What specific functions should an 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?

Answer 1

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What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s branches?

First of all, Ruth Johnson, an employee, has no idea what the computer was calling for, or what it was doing. It clearly shows that, while she knows how to run it, she is not the right person for the job. The second problem is that she isn't properly oriented to her work. The third thing, Jack Nelson, a local bank is in favor of educating its workers. The result is that they are unaware of their work or do not have the chance to improve their job performance.

A major problem listed in the case is the high turnover of workers that is due to recruiting new workers when previous ones resign. Another obvious issue, I believe, is the lack of contact between managers, divisions and other divisions too. This lack of communication explains why Ruth Johnson, a newly qualified employee, was unable to identify the machine and its functions, which implies there was no one to help her understand the machine's functions.

Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?

Yes, Setting up an HR unit in the office would help the managers as well hire some well educated and knowledgeable employees and assist them in the cases like Ruth Johnson which would not just decrease the turnover ratio but also increase the efficiency of the bank.

What specific functions should an 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?

An HR unit has numerous functions without which an organization cannot process well; one of its functions is recruitment which is not just about attracting employees but ensuring that they would perform up to their expectations. Promotion or demotion is also another function of the HR department which is decided upon an individual’s performance. Another major role that HR unit plays in an organization is training programs which allow the employees to learn and improve their skills for their benefits.

Supervisors and other line managers assist the employees, put out some policies, advise the employees, coordinate activities etc.

Internet plays a positive role in the organizations; as for HR, there is a use of internet for communicating with the potential candidates and even for training programs (e-learning) which help employees improve performance in order to get promoted.