Build your IB Business Management SL Human Resource Management foundation through questions on people, organization, motivation and workplace change.
Reading enables all People (RP)
R P is a non-profit and non-governmental organization (NGO) that teaches reading to financially disadvantaged children and teenagers. RP's mission statement is: "To educate those in need in order to foster social inclusion and change".
R P has 64 paid full-time staff and 350 part-time volunteers, mostly college students, who work in all areas of the city where R P is located. Volunteers do not work under contract. R P is experiencing communication problems. One young volunteer complained, "I often receive contradictory information. One person says one thing and another says something else". R P 's organizational structure is tall. There are several formal methods of communication present at R P, but most of the information passes through informal communication channels.
R P is planning to extend its literacy program to rural areas. The program will last five years. R P 's current sources of finance are insufficient to fund the new program. At present, R P is only financed by national businesses. Alice Lire, R P 's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has contacted the government for financial support. However, the state budget is limited and chances of government cooperation are low.
As part of its corporate social responsibility policy, McMikey, a multinational company that markets products to children, is willing to pay for the books for the program for two years. Alice is ready to accept the offer, but she would prefer McMikey to guarantee its support for five years. However, there is internal disagreement at McMikey. The Finance Manager believes that it would be too costly. However, the Marketing Manager argues that McMikey's brand image would be improved by a longterm association with R P 's literacy program.
Explain one formal method of communication that might be used at R P.
Evaluate R P 's use of a very large number of part-time volunteers.
Ace Industries (AI)
Ace Industries ( A I ) manufactures plastic containers, mostly for the soft and fruit juice industries. The operations management department uses flow production for its standard-sized products and batch production for its customized products.
Al's sales are growing rapidly. It currently has a 6 % share of the plastic container market. However, it has recently struggled to meet customized orders on time. Some customers have complained about product quality. Currently, A I is organized by region, which allows the company to have strong relationships with customers, who feel that A I knows them and cares about their interests. The human resource department is proposing restructuring the organization by function. Not everyone at A I agrees with this change. Many think that the problems of late delivery and poor quality could be solved through greater delegation.
Lloyd Rinnegrat, Chief Financial Officer, has suggested that Al's management think more deeply about their rapid growth. Except Lloyd, most people at A I believe that rapidly growing sales are good - that by increasing its market share A I will, in the long run, benefit by being a large organization. However, Lloyd argues that being a small organization has many merits, as shown by the changes in Al's recent gross profit margins and net profit margins.
Table 1: Selected financial data for \(\boldsymbol{A
The marketing department has predicted that the soft and fruit juice industries are moving away from major mass-produced drinks and toward niche products, such as exotic fruit drinks and speciality beverages for very particular markets.
Draw a possible organizational chart for a manufacturing firm like A I if it is organized by function.
Explain how delegation might help A I improve its delivery times.
HSM Bakery Ltd. (HSM)
HSM Bakery Ltd. (HSM), a privately held company, produces baked goods (bread, cakes, and cookies), which are sold to shops.
In recent years, HSM has broadened its target market by producing a range of gluten-free cakes.
With reference to the stimulus and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, discuss whether HSM should implement Option 1 or Option 2.
