BUSN2038 HRM Case Study: Strategic Analysis and HRM Interventions

This case study examines the HRM challenges faced by an organization undergoing significant changes. Part A identifies key issues such as bureaucratic structure, declining market share, financial losses in business units, loss of valuable employees, reduced training, lack of diversity management, and ineffective leadership and remuneration policies. A SWOT analysis highlights the company's strengths (knowledgeable junior managers, historical monopoly), weaknesses (financial losses, poor performance-pay connection, employee attrition), opportunities (new CEO's focus, outsourcing non-core operations), and threats (union resistance, lack of trust in senior management). Part B outlines the changes introduced by the new CEO, including a focus on customer growth, earned remuneration culture, outsourcing, and a corporate people plan. The case study concludes by suggesting HR practices to address the identified problems, such as focusing on customer service, implementing employee retention programs, recruiting experienced managers, adopting transformational leadership, and prioritizing performance analysis. Desklib provides this and other solved assignments to aid students.

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Table of Contents
Answer 1......................................................................................................................................................2
Answer 2......................................................................................................................................................3
Answer 3......................................................................................................................................................4
Answer 4......................................................................................................................................................5

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Answer 1
The five significant problems and HRM issues in Part A are given below:
1. The organization is perceived by outsiders to be bureaucratic, insular, and inward-looking
and need a major managerial shake-up. At present, it faces stiff competition due to too many
decisions by ACCC. The market share of the company has fallen from 90% to 65% and still
continuing to fall. The firm has four business units, and a small holding organization that is
structured in accordance with the business focus and three out of four business units of the
company are losing money. The former CEO has not appreciated the core business concept,
although the junior managers, most of them who has MBA and Business degrees have given
suggestions that it is a critical issue for consideration. They have argued that several
functions of the company need to be outsourced.
2. The workforce has been decreased from more than 5000 staffs since last two years achieved
through voluntary termination. Unfortunately, several of them are leaving the company, and
they are those employees who have been least afforded to be lost. As a result, several
intellectual investments and business memory have been lost. The development and training
of the staffs have been one of the areas which have severely reduced as part of many rounds
of cost-cutting. The customer and workforce base are totally different, but the team of the
senior managers do not highlight it and also do not know the concept of diversity
management. The idea is perceived as one of the fuzzy and warm trends of HR.
3. The leadership of the company is predominantly the responsibility of middle-aged white and
older males those who have lifetime employment in the company. The executive team of
seven-man has no experience in the private sector outside the current company. Each of the
seven-member started their careers as a trainee with the company. Five out of seven are
engineers, and the remaining two are accountants, and the leaders follow the transactional
leadership style. The ex-CEO was also one of the trainee engineers and was also a
transactional leader. He did not follow the fuzzy and warm approach of the modern leaders.
4. The policy of remuneration is ‘one size fits all’ policy. There is clearly no connection
between the performance and the pay, and even though in theory, senior leaders are at the
range of risk for their salary packages. Middle and senior managers could package their
incomes and use the strategies of salary-sacrificing. Most of the highly unionized employees

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have traditionally got above the average rates of payment and an ample amount of benefits
under the business contract. The company has perceived the union as one of the major
obstacles to introduce flexible practices of work and remuneration on the basis of
performance at every level.
5. The company has not given priority to performance analysis in the past and has been
perceived by the present managers just as a task instead of a strategic tool to align the
personal and business objectives and needs. The union has declared that they will cooperate
if their salary increases as a part of the system of performance analysis. The staff or industrial
relationships climate between the union and employer can be described as sensitive at best.
The union has lost several employees after the downsizing and will resist more attempts by
the managers to decrease the staffs.
Answer 2
SWOT analysis
Five Strengths
1. There is a group of knowledgeable, young, and lower-level managers those who have ideas
and determination to turn around the company.
2. The company has a monopolic position all through its history and has been able to manage it
as a public sector.
3. It has the capability to maintain a culture of stability, harmony, and tradition and prefers the
promotion of innovation and changes.
4. One of the strengths of the company is the long-serving workforce of the company with 15 to
20 years of service experiences.
5. The unity of the workforce of the company is a major plus point for the organization as they
have specified that they will cooperate with the changes in the company.
Five Weaknesses
1. The firm has four business units, and a small holding organization that is structured in
accordance with the business focus and three out of four business units are losing money.
2. There is clearly no connection between the performance and the pay, and even though in
theory, senior leaders are at the range of risk for their salary packages.

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3. Several employees are leaving the company, and they are those employees who have been
least afforded to be lost. As a result, several intellectual investments and business memory
have been lost. The development and training of the staffs have been one of the areas which
have severely reduced as part of many rounds of cost-cutting
4. The company has not given priority to performance analysis in the past and has been
perceived by the present managers just as a task instead of a strategic tool to align the
personal and business objectives and needs.
5. The executive team of seven-man has no experience in the private sector outside the current
company.
Five Opportunities
1. The new CEO wants to focus on the organization and the business units with its focus on the
customer growth and service and improvise the senior leadership.
2. Remuneration will be moved from entitlement culture to earned culture which is prevailing
in the company
3. Every non-core operations will be outsourced, and only a smaller core of highly-trained and
well-remunerated full-time staff will be under the payroll.
4. The staffing gaps will be filled by contract, and casual employees and every full-time staffs
would be moved towards performance and individual contracts.
5. The new CEO has been trying to write ethical codes and determine business values for
underpinning the cultural changes and strategy.
Five Threats
1. The union will be an obstacle while introducing flexible practices of work and remuneration
on the basis of performance at every level.
2. Gaining the commitments of the senior leaders through their actions will be challenging for
the company.
3. Most of the managers of all work levels work longer hours with little or no recognition, and
most of the junior managers and blocked by their senior managers.
4. Senior managers are no more trusted, and respect to the managers and employees has been
lost. Moreover, working flexibility has become a talking point at present but is not evident in
its practice.

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5. There is a need for a performance-based and client-focused organizational culture that is
evident in several staffs, but it will be difficult to address the problem.
Answer 3
The main changes introduced in part B are as follows:
 The new CEO has recognized the major changes in the external environment, which need to
be addressed, especially when the company is not protected from the competition in the
context of the latest decisions of ACCC. She wants to focus on the organization and the
business units with its focus on the customer growth and service and improvise the senior
leadership. Remuneration needs to be moved from entitlement culture to earned culture
which is prevailing in the company
 Her opinion is that every non-core operations need to be outsourced, and only a smaller core
of highly-trained and well-remunerated full-time staff will be under the payroll. The staffing
gaps need to be filled by contract, and casual employees and every full-time staff would be
moved towards performance and individual contracts
 The new CEO has been trying to write ethical codes and determine business values for
underpinning the cultural changes and strategy, but gaining the commitments of the senior
leaders through their actions will be challenging
 The new CEO has appointed an HR consultant for the last two months who have come to the
CEO with a draft of Corporate People Plan for the subsequent two years. The task of the HR
consultant will be to recognize the major HR problems which need to be addressed as soon as
possible
If the changes are introduced in the organization by the new CEO, Sally Yee, the organization
will be protected from the competition in the context of the latest decisions of ACCC. The
business units will be improved with the help of customer growth and service, and also the senior
leadership will be improvised. The earned culture will help the employees realize that they have
to earn the remuneration instead of the belief that they owe it to the organization. The earned
culture will be created by rewarding the top performers on the basis of their performance. This
type of culture will be better for both the CEO and the employees. Outsourcing the non-core
operations will help the company to access the skilled employees. It can also reduce the overhead

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cost, enable flexible staffing, increase the efficiency, reduce the turnaround time, and gradually
generate more profit.

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Corporate Level Strategy - The new CEO has appointed an HR consultant for the last two
months who have come to the CEO with a draft of Corporate People Plan for the subsequent two
years. The People Plan will help the company to grow its business by creating a team of top
performers. It is a combined strategic approach to think about the opportunities and risks of HR
and take appropriate actions for creating an internal organizational culture where every employee
feels supported, engaged, and connected by the company.
Business- Unit Level Strategy - The new CEO wants to focus on the organization and the
business units with its focus on the customer growth and service. Customer growth and service
will have a vital role to develop and promote its businesses. This strategy will help the company
to differentiate from its competitors and other local companies. It will also help know its
customers, to grow in the market of Australia and earn a considerable amount of profits.
Answer 4
The HR practices for addressing the problems of the case study are as follows:
1. Three out of four business units of the company are losing money. The issue of losing money
of business units can be addressed with its focus on the strategy of customer growth and
service. It will also help know its customers, to grow in the market of Australia and earn a
considerable amount of profits. The quality of client services must be paid attention carefully
by outlining the expectations of the clients.
2. Several staffs are leaving the company, and they are those employees who have been least
afforded to be lost. The HR consultant must organize an employee retention program in order
to retain the employees of the company. They must be given recognition and rewards
regularly along with feedback for their works. The staffs will feel that they have been heard
by the management. Open communication has a vital role in retaining the employees, and so
the managers must share their weekly strategies and opinions as it will motivate for a free
working environment.
3. The executive team of seven-man has no experience in the private sector outside the current
company. So, the HR consultant can recruit experienced managers for the executive of the
company. Instead of transactional leadership, transformational leadership must be followed.
Transformational leadership theory can be suggested to develop the efficiency of leadership

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to manage the team. This type of leader encourages the team members by being a role model
for them and have a positive impact on the team.
4. Remuneration can be moved from an entitlement culture to earned culture, which is
prevailing in the company. The earned culture will help the employees realize that they have
to earn the remuneration instead of the belief that they owe it to the organization. The earned
culture will be created by rewarding the top performers on the basis of their performance.
5. The HR consultant can recommend giving priority to the performance analysis. It can help
both the CEO and the staffs to identify those areas which need improvement as well as those
areas which are working effectively.