Unitel Case Study: HR and ER Issues and Recommendations

This case study analyzes the HR and ER issues faced by Unitel, a telecommunications company, due to its Vision 2022 program. It provides recommendations for employee engagement, training, and motivation to improve the workplace environment and performance. The potential ramifications of these issues on the firm are also examined.

Running head: UNITEL CASE STUDY
UNITEL CASE STUDY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
Human resource tends to form an integral aspect of the organization and if the human resource of
the firm is unable to assist the different employees then, it may cause various issues. The given
case is based on the organization named Unitel which is involved in the telecommunications
business and seeks to analyze the problems which were bought about by the Vision 2020
program. The report analyzes the different employment relations and human resource issues in
the firm and seeks to provide solutions for the same in the form of certain recommendations. The
potential implications as well as ramifications of the issues on the workplace have also been
examined.

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List of recommendations
The following list of recommendations have been presented for Unitel:
 Indulges the employees in an employee engagement program
 Ensures that the employees are provided with adequate training facilities
 Lastly sees to it that the employees are continuously motivated.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................4
The Key HR and ER issues in the case........................................................................................4
ER Issues.....................................................................................................................................4
HR Issues.....................................................................................................................................6
Impact of the issues.....................................................................................................................7
Review of Literature....................................................................................................................8
Employment relations problems..................................................................................................8
Human resource problems...........................................................................................................8
Potential ramifications for the firm at large.................................................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Unitel is a telecommunications organization which is involved in providing
telecommunication services to the different customers in the Asia-Pacific Region. Previously, the
company was a public limited company but it was recently privatized in the 1990s. The company
understands that as the business environment has become considerably competitive, it thereby
becomes very important for the management to ensure that they are successfully able to engage
in a competitive strategy which will then allow them to perform in the same way as their
competitors (Albrecht et al. 2015). Hence, the management decided to go ahead with the `Vision
2022` program which aims to gain employee empowerment and put the customers in a pivotal
positioning. However, this program received mixed reactions from the senior employees and
junior alike and for this reason, the given report seeks to analyze the aspects where the Vision
2022 program went wrong and what are the employment relations(ER) as well as the human
resource (HR) programs which exist. Moreover, it also aims to provide a specific set of solutions
presented as recommendations following which the organization will be able to ensure that they
are able to achieve long term success and that they are able to bring Unitel back to a competitive
positioning in the market.
Analysis
The Key HR and ER issues in the case
ER Issues
The Employee relations issues can be rightfully described as those issues which tend to
have an impact on the unity and cooperation of the employees and their functioning. The given
case of Unitel has presented a large range of employee relations issues which are bound to have a

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negative impact on the working of the organization at large. The given section will discuss these
issues and their impact on the firm.
Lack of respect for views
The Vision 2022 program has been developed for the different employees to allow them
to ensure that they are empowered and capable enough to make decisions on their own and
ensure that the different customers are provided the best service and that they see to it that the
customer waiting time is negligible along with ensuring that the different customers are
completely satisfied with the task given to them (Newman et al. 2016). However, with respect to
the program, there did not exist a single opinion and there existed certain group of employees
who appreciated the task which was given to them and then there were another set of employees
who did not appreciate the program and believed it to be a burden on them. However, this lack of
opinion created a sense of a rift between the believers of the program and the non-believers of
the program. This rift caused a hostile environment and hence, caused a non-unified workforce
environment where the views of the different employees clashed with one another and could
have a potential impact on the performance of the employees.
Additional pressure on the employees
Another employee relations problem which took place in the organization believed that
the given program had been formed as a combat against the unions and that it intended to place
additional pressure on the employees and had purposely labelled it as an empowerment program.
Some of the employees complained that there existed a lack of management interest whereby
their department was already understaffed and carrying out excessive overtime and on top of this
the particular program aimed only to ensure that the cheapest material is bought so as to ensure

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that the employees work well but do not pay adequate attention to their quality of life (Paillé et
al. 2014). Moreover, the Union had a belief that the program was simply formed to undermine
its standing among the employees. Moreover, the Union also believes that the program is a mere
campaign to buy in the confidence of the employees and distract them so as to ensure that they
are away from the Unions.
HR Issues
The Human resource issues can be rightfully described as those issues which are related
to the Human resource management of the employees and tend to have an impact on the overall
operations of the firm at large. The given case of Unitel reflects various Human resource issues
which have an impact on the employment. The different issues are as follows:
Lack of cooperation from the employees
A certain set of employees failed to cooperate in the Vision 2022 program because they
believed that it was simply a move to lure them into working more but in a fancy manner which
made them believe that they had been empowered. The senior employees believed it to be a scam
and hence, refused to cooperate with the firm which then led to a problem of the
underperformance of their staff (Liu et al. 2017). In addition to this, the staff members also felt
that the management had been targeting them with respect to the fact that, there did exist a sense
of team spirit earlier but at present the employees were being informed that their mistakes are
self-inclined and that their attitude was the one which required a change.
Lack of training
Moreover, although the company wanted the staff to believe that they were capable
enough to make their own decisions and thereby work for the welfare of the organizations, they

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were not provided with adequate training and that the Vision 2022 program lagged a structure
which would have then assisted the employees to understand their roles in a better manner and
ensure long term success (Lazaroiu 2015). The program also lagged a sense of motivation from
the management whereby the employees would have felt valued at the workplace.
Impact of the issues
Hence, as examined, the program named Vision 2022, had a wide number of problems at
Unitel and that these problems had a huge impact on the overall welfare of the firm. The impact
of these issues on the firm can be stated as follows:
1) It will affect the overall performance of the firm: The overall performance of the
organization will be largely affected as the different employees are in a clash with one
another and the increased burden of the Vision 2022 program will bring about a sense of
disappointment in them which will ultimately lead to a sense of disagreement which takes
place in the firm and affects the overall performance.
2) It will cause a rift among the employees: The different employees will be caught amidst a
rift whereby their views tend to differ from one another and thereby there will be an
existence of a hostile environment at Unitel (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014). It will
cause dissatisfaction: The lack of freedom and additional burden will also lead to extreme
dissatisfaction amongst the employees.
3) Higher turnover rate: Once the dissatisfaction among the organizational members tends to
increase, it will ultimate result in them leaving the given organization, Unitel which will
then lead to an increased turnover rate at the workplace.

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4) Spoiled brand image of the firm: After the poor reviews from the employees will be
received, this will have an ultimate impact on the brand image of the organization and
spoil its good will.
Review of Literature
Employment relations problems
According to Hughes and Stephens (2016), employee relations issues tend to form a
common aspect of the organization and thereby cause large impacts to the firms at large. Knies
et al. (2015), state that these problems may relate to issues like conflict management whereby the
different groups of employees do not necessarily agree with one another and hence, may give
rise to workplace conflicts which may then cause serious implications to the different members
and foster hostility at the workplace. Moreover, there are other employee relations issues like
those relating to the safety at workplace, wage issues and annual leave disputes which also cause
problems in the workplace and tend to spoil the harmony in which the workers tend to work
with. The problems are often minor in nature but might lead to long term consequences for the
firm (Sheehan 2014).
Human resource problems
The Human resource issues which tend to take place at work might go a long way in
slowing down the productivity which takes place at work, decrease the morale of the employees
and cause a sense of disruption at the workplace. Moreover, it may also cause issues like
prevention of expansion, daily conflicts and affect work performance (Collings, Wood &
Szamosi, 2018). These problems often arise due to lack of adequate management and a lack of
structure which exists in the workplace. According to Gilmore and Williams (2013), it must be

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the duty of all the management at the workplace along with the Human resource Department to
see to it that these issues do not come in the way of organizational operations.
Potential ramifications for the firm at large
The different Human resource as well as the Employee relations tend to have a long term
negative consequence at the workplace (Stone et al. 2015). Although it is true that these issues
are quite common at the workplace but it is also required to be understood that a constant
environment at the workplace whereby employee and human resources issues prevail will have
the following ramifications for the firm:
 It will spoil the brand name of the firm: Employees tend to form the backbone of the
organization and in case the firm is unable to cater to the needs of the employees, it
brings in a bad impression for itself in front of the different employees at large (Brewster
2017).
 It increases the costs of the organization: Management of the employees is an expensive
affair and in case there exists several complications like that may further add up to the
costs of the firm.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis it can be stated that the case of Unitel can be thereby
taken to be as a typical case whereby the different initiatives which have been taken by the
organization have worked against them and have affected the organization`s overall
performance. The Vision 2022 program which was planned by Unitel in order to encourage their
employees and to ensure that they become more responsible, actually worked against them in the
long run and even burdened the employees to an extent that the turnover rate of the organization

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increased and the costs associated with the firm also increased. Hence, this report highlighted the
various Employee relations and the Human resource issues which took place at Unitel and their
impact on the workplace. Moreover, the report also analyzed the literature available on this topic,
and their potential ramifications on the firm. Moreover, the next section of the report will present
certain recommendations based on the same which will help Unitel to improve its operations.
Recommendations
As the case of Unitel is very tricky, the employee relations and human employee relations
of the firm need to be improved considerably by following the given set of recommendations.
1) Engage in employee engagement
The different employees need to be provided with adequate engagement opportunities
which will allow them to feel valued and hence, in a way will allow them to feel
motivated. In this way, they will not be burdened with a further addition of
responsibilities but at the same time will be valued at large (Bratton and Gold 2017).
Continuous meetings must be held at the workplace to ensure that the employees are
updated and a transparency is also maintained but without any additional burden on the
employees.
2) Ensure effective training
Moreover, Unitel needs to ensure that the different employees engage in effective
training with one another which then goes a long way in ensuring that they are prepared
in a better manner to deal with one another and specifically with the customers (Brewster,
Chung and Sparrow 2016). When the different employees will be trained in a better
manner, they will successfully able to perform and serve the customers in a better way.

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This training program needs to be concerned with customer service and fostering a good
workplace environment.
3) Engage in employee motivational programs
The employees at Unitel have been deeply disappointed after the Vision 2020 program
and for this reason, it will better for the firm if it engages in a motivation program which
will then ensure that the employees are able to perceive the organization in a better
manner and that they perform effectively for the benefit of the firm at large (Brewster and
Hegewisch 2017).

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References
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. & Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee
engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated
approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C. and Hegewisch, A. eds., 2017. Policy and practice in European human resource
management: The Price Waterhouse Cranfield survey. Taylor & Francis.
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., 2016. Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Collings, D.G., Wood, G.T. & Szamosi, L.T., 2018. Human resource management: A critical
approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23). Routledge.
Gilmore, S and Williams, S ,2013. Human Resource Management (2nd Ed). Oxford; Oxford
University Press.
Hughes, C. and Stephens, D., 2016. Use Value and HRD and HRM Flexibility: Implications for
HRD Practice. In Bridging the Scholar-Practitioner Gap in Human Resources Development(pp.
181-199). IGI Global.
Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. & Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic human
resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.1-56.

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Knies, E., Boselie, P., Gould-Williams, J. and Vandenabeele, W., 2015. Special issue of
International Journal of Human Resource Management: Strategic human resource management
and public sector performance.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical
Investigations, 14, p.97.
Liu, D., Gong, Y., Zhou, J. & Huang, J.C., 2017. Human resource systems, employee creativity,
and firm innovation: The moderating role of firm ownership. Academy of Management
Journal, 60(3), pp.1164-1188.
Newman, A., Miao, Q., Hofman, P.S. & Zhu, C.J., 2016. The impact of socially responsible
human resource management on employees' organizational citizenship behaviour: the mediating
role of organizational identification. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 27(4), pp.440-455.
Paillé, P., Chen, Y., Boiral, O. & Jin, J., 2014. The impact of human resource management on
environmental performance: An employee-level study. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(3),
pp.451-466.
Sheehan, M., 2014. Human resource management and performance: Evidence from small and
medium-sized firms. International Small Business Journal, 32(5), pp.545-570.
Stone, D.L., Deadrick, D.L., Lukaszewski, K.M. & Johnson, R., 2015. The influence of
technology on the future of human resource management. Human Resource Management
Review, 25(2), pp.216-231.