AFMR/ Assignment – AT2 / Human Resource Development & Audit/FT 304H

December 2022, Batch 2021-23

Read the case given below and answer the questions given at the end of the case.
MM:40

Training for Whom?

Microelectronics, a California-based electronics defense contractor, has enjoyed a smooth

growth curve over the past five years, primarily because of favourable defense funding during
the Reagan administration's build-up of U.S. military defenses. Microelectronics has had
numerous contacts to design and develop guidance and radar systems for military weaponry.

Although the favourable funding cycle has enabled. Microelectronics to grow at a steady rate,
the company is finding it increasingly difficult to keep its really good engineers, based on
extensive turnover analyses conducted by Ned Jackson, the human resources planning
manager. Microelectronics' problem seems to be its inability to keep engineers beyond the
"critical" five-year point. Apparently, the probability of turnover drops dramatically after five
- years of service. Ned's conclusion is that Microelectronics has been essentially serving as an
industry college. Their staffing strategy has always been to hire the best and brightest
engineers from the best engineering schools in the United States.

Ned believes that these engineers often get lost in the shuffle at the time they join the firm.
For example, most (if not all) of the new hires must work on non-classified projects until
cleared by security to join a designated major project. Security clearance usually takes
anywhere from six to ten months. In the meantime the major project has started, and these
young engineers frequently miss out on its design phase, considered the most creative and
challenging segment of the program. Because of the nature of project work, new engineers
often have difficulty learning the organizational culture - such as whom to ask when you have
a problem, what the general dos and don'ts are, and why the organization does things in a
certain way.

After heading a task force of human resource professionals within Microelectronics, Ned has
been designated to present to top management a proposal designed to reduce turnover among
young engineering recruits. The essence of his plan is to create a mentor program, except that
in this plan the mentors will not be the seasoned graybeards of Microelectronics, but rather
those engineers in the critical three-to-five-year service window the period of highest
turnover, These engineers will be paired with new engineering recruits before the recruits
actually report to Microelectronics for work.

According to the task force, the programme is twofold (1) it benefits the newcomer by easing
the transition into the company, and (2) it helps the three-to-five-year service engineers by
enabling them to serve an important role for the company. By performing the mentor role,
these engineers will become more committed and hence less likely to leave. As Ned prepared
his fifteen-minute presentation for top management, he wondered it he had adequately
anticipated the possible objections to the program in order to make an intelligent defense of
it. Only time would tell.

Questions:

(a) What are the causes of dissatisfaction and turnover in Microelectronics?

(b) As an HR manager how would you conduct a need analysis or evolve a mentoring
programme?

Question Word Marks BL KL CO PO PI

limit

Q.3 (a). 80-100 10 Understanding Conceptua 3 4- 1.2.1

l
Q.3 (b) 80-100 15 Application 3 4- 1.2.1
Procedural
Q.4 (c) 80-100 15 Analysis 3 4- 1.2.1
Factual

(c) Analyze and justify whether the mentoring programme is suitable to reduce
turnover.
 AFMR/ Assignment – AT3 / Human Resource Development & Audit/FT 304H

December 2022, Batch 2021-23

MM: 20

 Both questions are compulsory

 You will be evaluated on value based decision making
 Compile your work in a single file and submit it along with the Cover page with
your name, institute name, specialization, etc.
 Cover page should be professionally designed.

Culture has a substantial on its ability to execute its strategy and to achieve organizational
goals and objectives. Culture and working environment are cultivated intentionally it
improves dramatically an organization’s ability to execute and they often become better
places to work.

Organizational culture includes ethics, values, beliefs, attitude, norms, ethos, climate,
environment and culture. OCTAPACE is OCTA (Eight) + PACE (Step). The 8 steps create
the organizational culture. Every organizational culture is different from another
organizational culture.

Prepare a questionnaire with 8 dimensions of OCTAPACE. Each dimension must have 2

questions framed. Use Likert Scale from 1 to 5 (1= Strongly Agree, 2= Agree, 3= Neutral, 4=
Disagree, 5= Strongly Disagree).)

Dimensions Scale
O = Openness
1)
2)
C=
1)
 2)
Till E=

Before collecting data using the above questionnaire,prepare a report to be presented in a

meeting regarding how the analysis will be advantageous to an individual employee , to a
team and to the organization.

Q1 b.) Olivia continued to drum her fingers on her desk. She had a real problem and wasn’t
sure what to do next. She had a lot of confidence in Jack Reed, but she suspected she was
about the last person in the office who did. Perhaps if she ran through the entire story again in
her mind she would see the solution.

Olivia had been distribution manager for Clarkston Industries for almost twenty years. An
early brush with the law and a short stay in prison had made her realize the importance of
honesty and hard work. Henry Clarkston had given her a chance despite her record, and
Olivia had made the most of it. She now was one of the most respected managers in the
company. Few people knew her background.

Olivia had hired Jack Reed fresh out of prison six months ago. Olivia understood how Jack
felt when Jack tried to explain his past and asked for another chance. Olivia decided to give
him that chance just as Henry Clarkston had given her one. Jack eagerly accepted a job on the
loading docks and could soon load a truck as fast as anyone in the crew.

Things had gone well at first. Everyone seemed to like Jack, and he made several new
friends. Olivia had been vaguely disturbed about two months ago, however, when another
dock worker reported his wallet missing. She confronted Jack about this and was reassured
when Jack understood her concern and earnestly but calmly asserted his innocence. Olivia
was especially relieved when the wallet was found a few days later.

The events of last week, however, had caused serious trouble. First, a new personnel clerk
had come across records about Jack’s past while updating employee files. Assuming that the
information was common knowledge, the clerk had mentioned to several employees what a
good thing it was to give ex-convicts like Jack a chance. The next day, someone in
bookkeeping discovered some money missing from petty cash. Another worker claimed to
have seen Jack in the area around the office strongbox, which was open during working
hours, earlier that same day.

Most people assumed Jack was the thief. Even the worker whose wallet had been misplaced
suggested that perhaps Jack had indeed stolen it but had returned it when questioned. Several
employees had approached Olivia and requested that Jack be fired. Meanwhile, when Olivia
had discussed the problem with Jack, Jack had been defensive and sullen and said little about
the petty-cash situation other than to deny stealing the money.

To her dismay, Olivia found that rethinking the story did little to solve his problem. Should
she fire Jack? The evidence, of course, was purely circumstantial, yet everybody else seemed
to see things quite clearly. Olivia feared that if she did not fire Jack, she would lose
everyone’s trust and that some people might even begin to question her own motives.
What should Olivia do? Should she fire Jack or give him another chance?
Question Word Marks KL CO PO PI
limit
Q1 . a) 400- 8+6=14 Conceptua 4 3- 1.2.1
600 l

Q1 . b.) 200- 06 Factual 3 3- 1.2.1

250