Presented to the Department of Business Management and Entrepreneurship

San Beda University - Manila

1st Term, A.Y. 2022-2023

In partial fulfillment
of the course
In

Human Resource Management / Training and Development

*Case Title* Case Analysis of

Group *5*
(Written Analysis )

Submitted by:
*Insert group members*
Group 5

Submitted to:
Mr. Yves Jerome Viloria

12 October 2022
 I. Synthesis

Clear presentation of a summary of the case, focusing on the nature of the situation, what is going on,
what the main issues are, and what needs to be done / decided on.

Limit to max of 2 paragraphs.

SAMPLE:

Kelso Toy Manufacturing Company (KTM) is a manufacturing company near Ames, Iowa that
produces toys that would help enhance skills and stimulate thinking for children. It was founded by Jay
Kelso. From 15 employees, the company grew to 372 production workers and 111 sales, office, and
management personnel in 10 years. With the increase in number of employees, he noticed that the
employee morale started to deteriorate, as well as their ability to come up with new toy ideas.

On top of the deteriorating employee morale, Kelso Toy Manufacturing also needs to address
other HR issues that began to surface when Ernest Billingsly took over the HR office. He implemented an
HR process where all future hiring will be done by HR. Supervisors felt that the selected employees
weren’t up to par with the ones they have hired before; compared to the time when the supervisors were
the ones making HR decisions - from hiring, discipline, and promotion.

II. Point of View

Identify a logical perspective to take in analyzing the case. The person must be able to take action on the
case issue/s.

Your POV may come from the characters in the case or may be outside of the case. But sometimes, you
may take the POV of the CEO, HR Manager or other entity not mentioned in the case

Justify why you took this POV.

SAMPLE:

Our group is taking on the perspective of Ray Groff, the plant manager who has the capacity to
make operating decisions in the company. Ernest Billingsly is directly reporting to Ray Groff whom he
asks his approval. Ray’s point of view will be crucial in guiding Ernest and the HR department in
establishing sound HR decisions and structures.

We thought that Ray has a better understanding of the plant processes, including its development
as Ray has been with the firm from scratch. Since Ray clearly knows the culture, operational, human
resource practices and processes from the beginning, he should be in a better position to make big HR
decisions who will also guide and influence Ernest Billingsly in establishing the relatively new HR
department of the company, especially that Ernest is relatively new in the role.
 III. Statement of the Problem

Clear and specific statement of what needs to be done or what needs to be decided on. It focuses on the
issue that needs to be prioritized (if there is more than one).

It is stated in question form, but is not answerable by yes or no

SAMPLE:

Given that Kelso Toy Manufacturing is evolving with its increasing headcount, how can Ray
Groff and Ernest improve employee morale, and the recruitment and selection process?

IV. Statement of Objectives

The objectives are realistic and aligned with the problem. It is specific to addressing the issues relevant
to the case.

May include both short-term and long-term objectives.

Other guide question for this segment:

Using the problem statement in the previous section, provide what is it you want to solve?
What outputs do you want to achieve by doing this case analysis?
What do you want to present in this case analysis?

SAMPLE

The group has pinpointed the following objectives of the case:

1. Specify alternative HR processes that Ernest and Ray must implement in terms of recruitment,
promotion, and communication of changes.
2. Utilize management or HR principles and frameworks that Ernest and Ray can bank into in
justifying the changes to be implemented in their HR processes.
3. Develop a timeline for the plans and programs of the newly established HR Department

V. Areas of Consideration

Shows a comprehensive understanding and analysis of the situation and issues using an appropriate
framework / tool / relevant management principle.

The analysis does not repeat case facts. Instead, it focuses on the implications of case facts.
Tip: What do you think are the causes of the issue in the case and how did these causes shaped the case?
The assumptions, if any, are reasonable and necessary to be able to put a proper perspective on the
situation. It does not alter the situation or issues at hand.

Materials sourced from books, internet, etc. are properly cited.

Other guide question:

Apart from breaking down the problems in the case, what HR or Management theories and principles
were not properly applied or used in the case? Site the framework / tool / relevant management
principles and tell us how it was not properly applied, or how it might have changed the course of the
case if it was applied properly.

SAMPLE

Based on the case, the group has the following analysis and assumptions:

1. Kelso Company is used to a decentralized HR system in their organization.

It was mentioned in the case that previously, supervisors were allowed to make HR decisions,
from hiring, promotion, rewards, and discipline on their own, within their own teams. Which is a clear
manifestation of decentralized HR systems, where each team has its own HR processes and systems in
place.

According to Noe Hollenbeck, an organization’s workflow design and structure may be identified
as centralized, where authority is given to certain or identified individuals or teams in the organization.
While decentralization is spreading the authority to many people, which has been the practice for Kelso
Company in terms of their HR functions.

However, decentralization, in the case of Kelso Toy Manufacturing is seen to be on a much

deeper approach in such a way the supervisors have full control, without the facilitation of an HR person.
This could be one of the biggest barriers why Ernest’s idea to take control of the HR processes were
demised by his colleagues.

2. Kelso Company did not utilize change management principles in communicating and
implementing a new HR process.

Ernest was able to immediately implement a change in their organization by centralizing all the
recruitment and selection of jobs under his belt. However, we are assuming that it seems that the change
was implemented overnight without the proper communications across the board to successfully
transition the recruitment functions of their team.
 Change management principles and processes were barely used, making the drastic movement
from decentralized to a more centralized HR recruiting function unappealing and unsupported by the
members of the organization and was the reason for retaliation from some of his colleagues.

Using Lewin’s Change Model (fig. 1), it can be seen that none of the steps were adapted in the
below theory, as it can be seen that there were no appropriate communications to gather the support of the
stakeholders, provide understanding and rationale for change and lack of involvement from the concerned
parties- or in this case, the hiring managers.

Fig. 1: Lewin’s Change Model - Source: process.st.com

3. A recruitment and selection process including job analysis is not in place by the time Ernest
took the role and implemented the new process.

On the other hand, when Ernest shifted to a more centralized approach, especially in recruitment,
there is a perceived lack of partnership between HR and the supervisors of the company, causing the
mismatch of the hires recommended by Ernest’s team to the operations.

We are assuming that job analysis didn’t take place before proceeding to the recruitment process,
making it difficult for Ernest to provide candidates or employees that match all the competencies and
behavior against the job and the culture of the team and the organization. Job analysis, according to Noe
Hollenbeck is the process by which detailed information about jobs are being studied and it is one of the
primary basis by which an organization determines the employees that it needs to perform a job. The lack
of this analysis could be a hindrance why Ernest is not able to provide candidates that are at par.

On top of the job analysis, another necessary element in the hiring or promotion is the presence of
a collaborative recruitment and selection process by which both hiring managers and recruiters are
involved. It can be assumed that hiring managers weren’t totally involved in the recruitment process,
making the candidates unfit for the role and culture expected by the hiring managers. Although the
process is centrally facilitated by HR, hiring managers should have the authority to make a decision,
especially during the selection stage.
 Fig. 2 Sample Recruitment and Selection Framework

In the sample recruitment and selection framework published by seekjobsmv.blogspot.com (fig.

2), job analysis, deciding the recruitment method and selection events are the steps that could be
nonexistent with Kelso Toy Manufacturing’s recruitment process. These steps, especially the selection
events such as interviews should be participated by the hiring managers, apart from the screening done by
the HR itself to ensure that the candidates are thoroughly screened and selected by the hiring managers
themselves.

VI. Alternative Courses of Action

All alternatives offered are potential and feasible solutions to the problem. All alternatives are clearly
explained (why they are alternatives).

The pros and cons of each alternative are comprehensively discussed.

The group has identified the following alternative courses of action:

1. Return the recruitment process from centralized to a more decentralized approach, leaving
the HR decisions and processes back to the hands of the supervisors.

Pros
 ● High level of flexibility to tailor fit the recruitment and selection process and disciplinary
action process based on the hiring managers’ discretion and team dynamics.
● Hiring managers are able to handpick and select employees taking over the role or
promotion.
● Reduced the administrative burden from the Human Resource Department.
Cons
● There is no governing body in the recruitment process to ensure that there is a fair and
equitable recruitment selection process.
○ Biases that may cause unfair hiring without equal opportunity is not managed and
monitored without the facilitation of candidates by HR in the recruitment
process.
● Mismatch between employee and overall organizational culture.
○ Although the candidates and hires to be selected are highly fit within the team as
the hiring managers are able to handpick the candidates themselves, the
perspective of making sure that the candidates are also fit with the organizational
culture can be overlooked. By allowing the HR to facilitate the recruitment
process, HR is able to assess and provide another perspective in hiring and
selection by also using the perspective of organizational culture in selecting hires.
● Inconsistent messages, processes and could be disorganized, affecting the candidate
experience and efficiency of the recruitment process.
○ Since there could be varying approaches when it comes to recruitment and
selection per team and per supervisor, candidate experience may also be
inconsistent along the way. This may affect the perception of the candidates
against the company as they have different experiences across the board when it
comes to recruitment and selection.
○ Efficiency is also not expected if the recruitment and selection are highly
decentralized since tools, technology and other resources are used in varying
manner along with the recruitment and selection processes.

2. Revisit the recruitment and selection process and inject job analysis and job design
principles but utilize a centralized approach for a full HR-facilitated recruitment and
selection process.

Pros
● With the presence of job analysis, Ernest is able to have a thorough idea of which
candidates to look and select. The issue of selecting candidates not par with the standards
of supervisors is expected to be eradicated.
● Ernest is in full control of the selection process, making the steps and stages consistent all
throughout.
● External and internal recruitment policies and laws affecting ethics, fairness are well
monitored and followed. Unfair hiring is minimized since HR is taking over all of the
steps in the recruitment processes.
Cons
● Lack of involvement from the hiring managers.
 ○ Although there are job analysis present in this solution, hiring managers/
supervisors will not have the opportunity to take part in the screening and
decision-making process in terms of selection. This may still cause disparity as
an in-depth assessment of the candidates is not present by not involving the
managers in the selection stage.
○ As an effect, resentment from the operations might still persist in this scheme.

3. Revisit the recruitment and selection process and inject job analysis and job design
principles but utilize a mixture of centralized and decentralized approaches for a
collaborated recruitment selection process between the HR and hiring managers.

Pros
● The collaborative recruitment selection process will enable both HR and hiring managers
to lay out their requirements to ensure that new hires meet the standards of the company
and the demands of their job function.
● Efficiency in the process is expected as there is consistency in the overall recruitment
process from sourcing, recruitment and selection.
○ Tools, appropriate metrics will be at hand since processes are consistent and the
same across the board.
○ More fit candidates in the role and in the organization’s culture may be one of the
benefits, which will greatly help in the operations of Kelso’s toy production.
● This course could improve the retention rate of employees because if the new hires are up
to par with the expectations of both HR and the hiring managers, they could be assured
that employee welfare would be well taken care of by their respective department and the
company as a whole.
● A clear basis for recruitment and selection will prevent biases among applicants.
Cons
● A clear communication and change approach might be needed to implement the new
process.
○ Since partnership and collaboration will require the full support of the hiring
managers, and a solid change plan is needed to ensure that the change is
supported by the organization.
○ Clear delineation on the role of HR and supervisors in the recruitment and
selection process should be set.

VII. Recommendation

In this part, our goal is to identify which among the proposed solutions are the best. To do this, we must
specify the criteria used to decide on which alternative to consider.

Explains clearly why a particular course of action is being recommended as that which would bring
about the best outcome.
Other guide question:

What criteria is important and relevant to solve the case?

Other criteria are:

 Ethical perspective – is the solution ethical?

 HR perspective – is the solution consistent with HR principles and theories?
 Cost – is the solution cost-friendly? Is the solution worth spending money?
 Feasibility of the solution / ease of implementation – is the solution realistic? Is the solution
doable?
 Is the solution addressing the problem statement mentioned at the beginning of the analysis?

Justify and explain each criteria

Using these criteria, measure each of the solutions proposed by assigning a weight to each criteria and a
score for each solution (example provided below) this will help us identify which is the best solution(s) or
which should be the prioritized.

Justify the solution or the prioritization of solutions.

In the process of choosing among the alternative courses of action, our group considered the following
perspectives for our decision criteria:

● Investment Perspective
In this perspective, the human resource is viewed as an investment or an asset. Likewise,
the costs, risks, and returns of the organization in making human resource decisions are also put
into consideration. Investment perspective aims its skilled human assets to become a competitive
edge of the organization since most other resources (e.g. technology, facilities, processes) can
easily be duplicated by competitors. Human assets can become skilled when the organization
invests in training, internship, and microlearning for them. An organization has to carefully craft
effective policies to retain its skilled human assets long enough to realize the returns on
investment.

● Ethical Perspective
In this perspective, the human resource function is viewed as a gatekeeper responsible for
initiating disciplinary actions against unethical human resources. In doing so, the human resource
functionaries, as well as the senior leaders, should themselves abide by the organizations’ policies
and regulations so they may be able to create a strong ethical culture in the workplace. This
perspective also touches on the organization’s principles which should be updated regularly to
adapt to changes in society. It focuses on the importance of embracing an organization’s
principles.

● Sustainability Perspective
In this perspective, broader characteristics of the organization’s functions are looked into
such as the following: care for the environment, employee development, and profitability. It
 focuses on skilled employees’ self-responsible and proactive nature in decision-making &
strategy implementation while the human resource function serves as a “guardian” aiming to
support its human assets. We also look into the well-being of human assets by determining
reasons for their burnout, health problems, or extreme stress of skilled human resources at work
and ways to deal with these issues.

The group recommends ACA 3 where Ray Groff and Ernest develop and adapt in their HR
processes both centralized and decentralized approaches through collaborative recruitment selection
process between HR and hiring managers to address the mentioned issues. This course of action is
deemed to be the most feasible among the three alternative courses of action because it entails high scores
in investment perspective and sustainability aspect in Strategic Human Resource Management theory as
seen in the table above. The pros of this course of action outweigh the cons in terms of the depth of
human capital contribution to the value of the company and the sustainability of human capital as
valuable resources of the company.

In addition, ACA 3 is able to provide a balanced recruitment and selection process where both
hiring managers and HR departments are involved in the recruitment and selection stage. HR, as initial
screeners, can look into a candidate’s competencies, credentials and fitness to the organization’s culture
on a macro level which are important factors. But by involving the hiring managers as well, the micro-
level analysis of a candidate’s fitness in the role and with the team is also being managed. The manager
can also have an in-depth evaluation of the applicant’s level of skills and knowledge if those are what
they’re looking for.

Further, a more consistent recruitment process may provide a better candidate experience and
better company image and projection. Bias and discrimination is reduced, following consistent policies in
recruitment and selection. The appropriate usage tools, generation of metrics will be more available at
hand if a centralized HR is implemented which are vital in improving the HR processes and systems for
the company’s benefit and sustainability in the long run.

As a potential effect of a more efficient and balanced involvement of hiring managers and HR,
better candidates may be on-boarded whose skills and competencies are more appropriate, while fitness to
the organization’s culture is not sacrificed. Business-wise, a more collaborative, engaged and high
performing teams, are to be expected by being able to hire the right people, skill-wise and culture wise
which may help in addressing the deteriorating morale of Kelso’s employees.

VII. Implementation Plan

Shows a clear process / understanding of how to implement the recommendation. From the selected POV,
how should the chosen alternative course of action be implemented? Make an assumption.

Potential constraints / barriers to implementation are identified and addressed.

Action Plan Format (What, Who, When, Resource Reqt, ARCI Matrix)

SAMPLE

From our assumptions, one of the perceived issues is the lack of usage of change management
principles and communications plans that made the changes in the HR process unpalatable for the
supervisors, causing resentment and resistance from them.

In this cause, our implementation plan will follow Lewin’s 3-Step Change Management Model (Fig. 1).
The steps unfreeze, change and unfreeze principles will be used in the action plan:

UNFREEZE CHANGE FREEZE

WHAT 1. Pause the
recruitment centralized by
HR.
2. Set a meeting with
the supervisors to present
and justify the recruitment
and selection process subject
to change.
3. Get everybody on
board and ensure that
support and commitment
from the supervisors will be
ensured this time.
4. Create a written
Minutes of the Meeting and
a Resolution signed by all
attendees to seal the
decisions made during the
discussion.
1. Start with the job analysis, 1. Implement the new
job design and HR process and
collaboration with resume the
managers. recruitment &
selection functions.
2. Enhance the Job
Descriptions, and Key 2. Ensure the
Result Areas and Key effectiveness of the
Performance Indicator of new HR process by
each skilled employee. monitoring its
impact on
3. Create policies on employee retention,
performance evaluation per morale and
role. performance.
4. Update the HR policies and 3. Stabilize the new
standard operating process and
procedures and seek continuously
approval from the improve it.
operations manager.
5. Document and
communicate the new HR
process through
management meetings,
corporate communications
channels such as emails and
company intranet.

WHO HR, supervisors, and HR HR, supervisors, and

 managers managers

WHEN 1st week of Oct 2019 1st week of Oct 2019 to 2nd 3rd week of December
(Oct 1 to 3, 2019) week of December 2019 2019 onwards
(Oct 4 to Dec 13, 2019 ) (Dec 16, 2019)

RESOURCE ● Common schedule of ● Content & materials of the ● New HR tools and
REQUIREMENT involved supervisors and communications & corporate software
managers communication channels
● Location of meeting such as intranet, email &
● Projector other communication
● Presentation / Agenda platforms.
● Snacks / Coffee ● 3rd Party Consultant to
ensure the quality of the new
policies and standard
operating procedure, job
description, performance
management monitoring and
for proper guidance on the
Job Analysis and Design.

Potential constraints

A potential constraint would be the involvement and commitment of the disgruntled supervisors.
Since another change is to be implemented, Ernest and Ray must be able to get the buy-in of the
supervisors and earn their trust once more, given that a new HR process will be implemented again. In the
unfreezing stage, a proper justification, the correct rationale must be presented well by Ray and Ernest to
combat this potential constraint.

Furthermore, since this is going to be a relatively new process, we are anticipating that changes
will be suggested and continuous tweaking of the steps might be needed to fine-tune the HR process in
recruitment and selection.

IX. Learning Points

Summarizes what the case analysts have learned while analyzing the case. Cites specific management
principles (and sources) applied without necessarily detailing what they are about.

SAMPLE

From the case, we can see that the responsibilities of HR were highlighted. According to Noe
Hollenbeck, we can also look at HR from bigger picture by viewing HR as a business within the company
with three product lines; such as 1) Administrative services and transactions, where HR handles some
administrative tasks 2) Business partner services, where the development of effective HR processes and
systems are required for efficient attracting, training, development, rewards and compensation. And
lastly, 3) Strategic partner, where competitive advantage is one of the expected help that HR can deliver
for the business by developing processes and changes that can contribute to the company’s strength.

Given this, the case was able to present the implications of an HR without the business partner
services and strategic partnership perspective. We have learned that HR is definitely the partner of
operations in ensuring the effective management of the considered most valuable resource of the
organization- its people. There was clearly a lack of partnership between Ernest and operations in the
case, where their perspectives and needs were not properly aligned and addressed to the objectives of the
HR and the new process implemented.

Although HR sometimes has the power to implement immediate changes and policies within the
organization, it must not forget that the people are also its customers, where their services are created for
the business’ competitive advantage and continuous development. Competitive advantage and continuous
development will not be achieved if partnership and strong collaboration is not present between
operations and HR.

From the recruitment and selection perspective, we have also learned how critical this process is
when it comes to business efficiency and organizational cohesion. Without employing the right candidate,
the right competencies and competitive advantage will not be expected from an organization.

X. Sources
In APA Format

govino, T. (2019, August 16). How to Cultivate Ethical Leaders. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from
https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/1118/pages/how-to-cultivate-ethical-leaders.aspx.

Ellis, E., Greer, M., Paul, Mustafa, M. B., Bless, M., Drasnar, J., … Erhahon, M. (2019, April 30). 8
Critical Change Management Models to Evolve and Survive: Process Street: Checklist, Workflow and
SOP Software. Retrieved from https://www.process.st/change-management-models/.

Kokemuller, N. (2016, September 29). Advantages & Disadvantages of Decentralizing Human Resource
Management. Retrieved from https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/advantages-disadvantages-
decentralizing-human-resource-management-1721.html. 721.html

New Horizon India. (2017, August). Investment Perspectives of HR. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from
https://newhorizonindia.edu/nhc_kasturinagar/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/UNIT-II.pdf.