Columbus Custom Carpentry: Addressing HR and Management Issues

This assignment analyzes the HR challenges at Columbus Custom Carpentry, focusing on issues causing employee turnover. The case study examines pay disparities between departments, particularly the discrepancy between warehouse and manufacturing roles, leading to dissatisfaction and turnover. The analysis questions the overpayment of assembly technicians, the underpayment of craters, and the alignment of the CFO's role. It identifies issues in pay equality and communication between departments, proposing solutions based on SHRM principles, including addressing pay inequality through a skill-based pay scale, improving communication channels, and reallocating employees to address workforce issues. The assignment references several academic sources to support its recommendations, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce turnover within the company.

Contents
Question 1..................................................................................................................................2
Question 2..................................................................................................................................2
Question 3..................................................................................................................................2
Question 4..................................................................................................................................3
Question 5..................................................................................................................................3
Question 6..................................................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5
2 | P a g e

Question 1
In your opinion, what is causing the turnover at Columbus Custom Carpentry?
The reason behind the turnover at the Columbus Custom Carpentry is the discrepancy at pay
between the departments that makes the warehouse labour a less desired position as the
manufacturing pays more. Thus, the workers who do not make into the manufacturing leave.
The vacancy in the warehousing needs to be addressed by the manufacturing labours that
causes accountability issues and the absence of human resource management department
complicates the problems. The interdepartmental issues accelerate which in turn cause the
problems like damage to the product, reduced manufacturing rate. However, the low pay
makes any labourer to accept warehouse position. When the issue is forced, the turnover
occurs.
Question 2
Are the assembly technicians overpaid? Explain.
The assembly technicians are definitely overpaid as per the company standards as the
company uses modular design that mass produces parts which are then assembles the designs
to suit the needs of the customers to give them a unique product that is customised according
to their needs. Therefore, the manufacturing process is completely dependent on the machines
and pres approved designs. The assembly that was previously done by experienced
woodworkers are now done by jig that is easy to operate and allows less skilled employees to
make acceptable items. The jig itself is preset to design specifications and the work involves
gluing the pieces together. The skill required for the process is not high and the product
quality is not overly dependent on the capability of the assembly workers. The assembly
therefore require neither above average skill nor highly strenuous physically. Therefore, the
assembly technicians are overpaid according to the job standard responsibility and personal
skill requirement.
Question 3
Are the craters underpaid? If so, why? Will they still be underpaid if the custom hand-
work portion of their job is eliminated by the jig system? Explain.
The craters working in the warehouse department are responsible the crating of the finished
products before they are transported and their job is currently done manually. This although
seemingly a easy job requires not only strenuous physical activity but also skill and precision
as the crating is essential part of the product delivery and transport as any error can lead to
damage to the product that would result in financial loss and reputation of the company.
Thus, the job is not only important for the reputation and quality product delivery but also
requires concentration as the slightest mistake can result in damage which makes the liability
level high for the position. They would still be underpaid even if the manual portion of the
job were replaced by the mechanical jig system. As the manufacturing and crating jig are
3 | P a g e

similar and require the same level of operating skill. The probability of damaging the product
is also same in both systems so they are similarly important for the finished product delivery
to the customer. Thus, the craters would be underpaid unless their need is near the assembly
technicians.
Question 4
Given the case and market information, is the CFO position best aligned with that of an
accounting manager, director, or a CFO? Explain. 10 points
Given the case information, the position of the CFO as understood from the position holder
mike Cooney it is understood the position of the chief financial officer is more aligned with
the decision making for the product line and pricing strategy that would allow the company to
remain profitable in the niche market where they operate. Thus the CFO is essential for the
continuous profitability o the company and the decision making capacities of the CFO decide
the profit level of the company and their sales rate as they need to balance between the mass
produced products and the and fully customised products with ah higher price. Thus, the role
of the CFO is the most important in regards of business decision making. This is not limited
to the role of the accounting manager or the financial activity of the company that is handled
by the CFO. Thus, the position is best aligned with h position of the director as the company
profitability depends on the judgment of CFO.
Question 5
Are there differences in pay that appear to be based on sex/race/ethnicity rather than
performance or length of service? How so or why not?
There is no difference in the pay or the additional benefits based on the sex, race or ethnicity
in the payment or benefits. Although a noticeable difference is seen in the sick leave and
remuneration of the employees based on the years of service which extended to medical and
other facilities for them which are decided based on the work hours of the previous year.
Question 6
Given your answers to the previous questions, exactly how would you rectify the key
issues within Columbus Custom Carpentry? What resources/references support your
plan of action?
The problem that is haunting the Columbus Custom Carpentry is not limited to any one
department like the warehousing, as it appears to be. The information provided in the case
therefore indicates myriad problems that started from the interrelation between the production
and warehouse department. The pay disparity that is independent of the skill level requires
and the importance of a specific job on the profitability of the company. This resulted in the
bitterness between the department and liability issues for the product damage and production
efficiency. The resultant effect on the workforce in the form of turn over further complicates
the issue as the employees are essentially vying for a position in the production, which is
4 | P a g e

limited, and thus potentially capable employees because of the pay disparity are ignoring the
other jobs that are just as important (Hausknecht & Holwerda, 2013).
According to SHRM principles, the issues that are haunting the company can be divided into
two main categories that are the pay inequality that is part of the accounting and payroll
issues. The second one is the communication issues between the departments that are
affecting the efficiency of the company. The first step as the HR manager would be to
address the pay disparity by analysing the extant workforce based on their experience and
capabilities. This will give a clear idea of the skill level of the employees and where best to
use their skills (Gupta, 2011). The same is true for both the new and old employees. The pay
inequality can be addressed by establishing a pay scale that does not discriminate between the
departments but focuses on the skill required for competency in the job rowel of the
individual. As the jig operators in both warehouse and the assembly have same skill
requirement, there should be seniority-based progress and wages rather than a job role based
one (Becker & Huselid, 2010). The discrepancy between the pay is the main issue that is the
point of contention between the department of manufacturing and the warehousing as the
warehouse labours generally see production as a improvement because of high pay and low
skill requirement. If the pays were similar, this would put a stop to the inter-departmental
issue as the manufacturing machine operators would be more likely to initiate voluntary
turnover and take warehouse positions (Gardner, Wright & Moynihan, 2011). This would
make sure efficient supply of raw materials and stacking and crating which would speed up
the overall production process.
Maslow’s hierarchy and the expectancy theory both indicate that the manufacturing position
is only lucrative because of the low skill requirement and higher pay so the addressing of the
pay discrepancy among the skilled employees, and the subsequent reallocation of the
employees will address the work force issues between the departments (Ball, 2012). Thus, the
short staffing and turnover problem of the warehousing department would be eliminated
(Mowday, Porter & Steers, 2013). The reduced tension between the departments can
therefore be used to establish proper communication channels that in future would prevent
the issues like staking, product damage and scarcity of raw material from happening.
Therefore, the establishment of the communication channel and the turnover issues because
of low pay would be eliminated as the demand for production or assembly job would not be
the target of every warehouse employee.
5 | P a g e

References
Ball, B. (2012). A summary of motivation theories. Jurnal Psikologi, Maret, 1-26.
Becker, B. E., & Huselid, M. A. (2010). SHRM and job design: Narrowing the divide.
Journal of organizational Behavior, 31(2‐3), 379-388.
Gardner, T. M., Wright, P. M., & Moynihan, L. M. (2011). The impact of motivation,
empowerment, and skill‐enhancing practices on aggregate voluntary turnover: The
mediating effect of collective affective commitment. Personnel psychology, 64(2),
315-350.
Gupta, K. (2011). A practical guide to needs assessment. John Wiley & Sons.
Hausknecht, J. P., & Holwerda, J. A. (2013). When does employee turnover matter? Dynamic
member configurations, productive capacity, and collective performance.
Organization Science, 24(1), 210-225.
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (2013). Employee—organization linkages:
The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. Academic press.
6 | P a g e