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Human resource management and leadership development.

MBA course on Human Resource Management.

This case present the talent management practice at Steelcase. It highlights the approach taken by the company in managing its high performers. The approach taken by Steelcase links leadership development with performance management and succession planning. It also describes the distinct characteristics that make the approach taken by Steelcase different from other companies that implement talent management. This case presents policy options that companies can consider in developing a talent management program.

Understand and describe the interconnection between various talent development activities. Compare and assess policy options in developing talent management programs. Analyze how Steelcase nurture a high performance culture among its employees. Describe the leadership behaviors Steelcase is seeking to develop among its leaders.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This case encourages students to consider how they would communicate and support the implementation of a company’s policy for annual performance reviews. Analysis may include considering how to build commitment from line management for the process and practice of colleague performance reviews and an exploration of the relationship between appraisals and performance management, human resources (HR) strategy and business strategy. Managers may perceive that performance reviews are taking them away from the more important and pressing tasks that directly relate to their own performance on the job – and not appreciate the strategic significance of the appraisal process.

Topics were identified as case preferences and a shopping list of questions were generated for field interviews. Two field interviews were completed. The company involved was not disguised, however the HR Director’s name (David White) is a pseudonym.

This case is suitable for third or fourth year undergraduate or postgraduate studies in hospitality management, human resource management or a human resource management course that specializes in strategic HRM, performance management, performance appraisal or employee engagement.

There has been a gradual shift from performance appraisal to performance management to reflect a more strategic approach to human resource management practice (Bach, 2005). A performance management system typically includes the following components: regular performance appraisal, mission statement and values statement, individual objectives, performance standards or competencies, unit objectives, company-wide objectives, performance-related pay, training and reward or recognition system (Armstrong, 2002). Collectively these components have a strategic focus and connect individual, team and organizational performance.

This case describes a newly promoted middle manager in a global, multi-cultural organization who is challenged by a number of factors in the workplace which are impacting her and her team's ability to perform to the expectations of her regional manager. While it would be easy to blame the new manager, deeper analysis in fact reveals that many forces are at work here in addition to her inexperience including communication of strategy and performance objectives, mismanaged team members, cultural inconsistencies, and a lack of leadership direction and/or skill from the very top to her supervising manager.

After reading and analyzing the case, students should be able to 1) analyze and diagnose unmet expectations for performance at work, 2) apply motivation theories and constructs to common behavioral and attitudinal challenges in a team setting, and 3) learn to avoid the fundamental attribution error described in the social psychological literature on judgment in decision-making.

Doris, the Executive Director of the JCC, had a Board of Directors that lacked the requisite skills, perspective, behaviors, and willingness to change policies and practices in order to meet external environmental opportunities and threats or to address internal competencies and competitive capabilities. Changes in the external environment were exacerbating the JCC's internal deficiencies. In addition, the Board created impediments to the professional staff's efforts to implement good managerial practices and policies. The current management team was acutely aware of the changes in the external environment, how these changes impacted the JCC's operations and what the JCC needed to do in order to meet these challenges. The management team was frustrated by a Board that did not provide leadership, fulfill their responsibilities, hold each other accountable and undermined management by intervening in day-to-day operations. The staff was passively hostile to the Board and to the management team. As consumers, the members' expectations were higher and more demanding. Doris and her management team had to resolve a myriad of strategic and operational issues that confronted the organization.

Early in 2008, Tony Truesdale, President of the Vitamin Shoppe, was preparing for a meeting with the company's investment bankers. In particular, he was wrestling with supply chain issues that were becoming increasingly pronounced in light of the company's aggressive growth plan. Truesdale recognized that it was nearly impossible to effectively manage the company's large and fragmented supply base, resulting in higher than necessary costs and lower than desired performance. The company also relied too heavily on one supplier for a significant amount of the company's volume. Truesdale recognized that it was nearly impossible to effectively manage the company's large and fragmented supply base, resulting in higher than necessary costs and lower than desired performance. The company also relied too heavily on one supplier for a significant amount of the company's volume.

Further, in the company's single distribution center, 95 percent of the available storage capacity was utilized throughout most of 2007; well above what was considered optimal. The lack of space was driving excessive product handling and increasing operating expenses. The company's inbound and outbound transportation strategies also contributed to inefficiencies and unnecessary costs. Operating efficiencies could be achieved if all transportation needs were brought together under one strategic umbrella. Truesdale was certain that in order to reach the company's growth targets and maintain its competitive advantage, addressing these supply chain issues was critical. Students are asked to describe the specific issues affecting supply chain performance and recommend approaches to solving the problems

The case helps to understand: the working mechanisms of a digitized salon service, with a focus on the lower- and middle-income strata. The changing scenario of the service marketing model, with the growth in digital service models. To investigate the organisational challenges of a digitally facilitated/based start-up and find solutions to overcome the challenges.

“Yes Madam”-salon at home was a business enterprise, providing beauty and wellness services at the doorstep through a mobile application and web-based platform. The case describes the reason for opening the doorstep beauty services, its revenue model and aims to provide quality services to lower- and middle-income strata. The case will help students to understand the working mechanism of digitized salon services and associated challenges; prominent ones being attracting, selecting and retaining the beauticians and providing the standardised services. The case has examined the low-price services for the consumers delivered by the company. The case also discussed their plans for diversification and penetration into the untapped markets.

Graduates and postgraduates.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand how organizations can leverage the built-in brand equity; outline the challenges of extending a strong brand; and ability to think about the core-essence of the brand impact and its perception among customers before deciding to extend.

JML was a 74-year-old company and was a No.1 player in the domestic market and No. 4 globally. It maintained this leadership position through a robust product portfolio and serving new needs and opportunities. Customers associated JML's products (buses and trucks) with high-quality performance, sturdiness & reliability. JML had a well-established brand – “Callisto”, in the heavy bus segment but saw an opportunity in light buses, which could be used within the city and for school and office commute purposes. They launched Callisto Lite, a variant of successful Callisto buses, in 2015 for cashing this opportunity. Though initially, the brand showed positive signs but soon lost the novelty value and saw low returns on marketing investments. Callisto Lite was also diluting the strong brand equity of the successful parent brand. The management was undecided as to what to do. Should they move out of the segment or continue? Each had its own pros and consequences, and the decision was not easy.

The case can be used in an undergraduate or a post-graduate management program to teach the core concepts of branding and brand extension. The case can be used in an introductory marketing course or elective courses like Brand Management and Marketing Strategy.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

A room attendant in a small hotel with approximately 63 employees undermines her supervisors and disregards authority in deliberate defiance of company policies, rules, regulations and procedures. Disrespect is shown in several behaviours that include interfering with the work of other employees, spreading rumours, gossiping to other room attendants and complaining about unfair treatment.

This case was field researched and the company and individuals are disguised.

This case is suitable for third- or fourth-year undergraduate students. Within human resource management it is suited for use in a course or series of classes on employee relations or performance management. The case could also be used for an organizational behaviour course to explore conflict and struggle in organizations and the range of passive and active resistance practices that occur. In this particular case the context of women and minorities working in low-skilled roles could be examined.

In advance of this case students should have a background in performance management theory and practice, disciplinary systems and practice and the behaviours associated with workplace resistance, insubordination and misconduct.

Derived from field and telephone interviews, e-mail communications, and secondary sources, this two part case describes how Gerald Mahoney, a shoes salesman in a Foley's Department store, is faced with a problem - Macy's has bought out the Foley's chain and, in doing so, has upscale the product line of shoes and altered his commission-based compensation system. These changes have resulted in less sales for Mr. Mahoney and therein lower commission - a difficult situation since he, his wife, and his daughter were barely getting by on his currently salary. Part A of the case describes an opportunity that presents itself to Mr. Mahoney; to leave his current job with a guaranteed low salary with possible additional income from commissions for a job selling residential homes which becomes purely commission-based to start with after three months of a salary plus commission pay that includes job training. In Part B Mr. Mahoney has decided to take the sales job with ABC Home Builders and receives his assignment. He finds that the working conditions of the sales office are not conducive to selling. His office is located in the rear of a trailer that is extremely run down and is paired with a competitive, noncommunicative saleswoman. The case ends with Mr. Mahoney feeling hopeless and alienated.

This two part case has been written primarily for an undergraduate junior level course in career planning or sales management and deals with the issues of recruitment, placement, training, and compensation. The case may also be employed in a course dealing with human resource management (from an individual's perspective), salesmanship, and organizational behavior.

Captain Joseph Brunetti was given the assignment to provide his superior officer an analysis of what to expect when the US Army implemented its new process to evaluate the performance of noncommissioned officers (NCOs), called sergeants. Brunetti had about 104 sergeants in his unit. The US Army created a new process in 2015 to evaluate sergeants to overcome the deficiencies in the Army’s old process, now 28 years old. Under the old process, almost every sergeant was rated at the highest levels, making it nearly impossible for the US Army to know whom to promote to higher ranks. Under the old process, very little counseling took place, so NCOs were not given guidance on how to develop themselves. Raters and senior raters (SRs) were not held accountable for their work in performance management, either. Under the new process, which included a forced distribution form of ranking, SRs had to offer counselings as well as options for future assignments. Brunetti, who had only limited experience in rating sergeants anyway, had to prepare for his boss what was called an “operations report” outlining what the organization could expect with the changeover to the new process and what may need attention as the process would continue in subsequent years.

This case has been developed from actual experiences and the assignment given to Brunetti also happened as described in the case. Since many of the individuals in the case are still employed by the US Army, the names of the individuals and the company units in this case have been disguised. Even so, the events of the protagonist’s tours of duty prior to the assignment described in this case did occur, but some of the locations within the USA have been changed. The other persons quoted from public documents or otherwise referenced in the articles are the actual persons so identified. The old NCOERs in Exhibit 3 are as these were written but the personally identifiable data about the individuals have been blackened out.

This case is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate courses in human resource management and especially on the topical material on performance management and performance appraisal. The case can also be used in both undergraduate and graduate courses in general management, for modules on human resource management. The Relevant Theory section below is centered on human resource management.

This relevant theory which undergirds this case centers on the broad concept of performance management and on performance appraisal instruments. The case underscores the important concept that performance management has to be more than “completing the appraisal form.”