MMH331: Strategic Human Resource Management Report - PAC Resources

This report delves into the strategic human resource management (SHRM) challenges faced by PAC Resources, a small US-based firm in the computer industry. The report highlights issues such as employee unrest stemming from perceived discrimination, favoritism, and poor communication, exacerbated by a hiring freeze and increased workload pressures. It identifies key causes, including a leadership style that fosters inequity and a lack of employee support. The report recommends solutions such as changing the leadership style, improving communication, reevaluating the hiring freeze, creating a transparent work environment, and rewarding employees. A detailed plan outlines actions to address employee unrest, loss of employee bond, and improve overall workplace dynamics. The report emphasizes the importance of ethical practices, employee recognition, and fostering a positive organizational culture to improve employee retention and overall firm performance.

Running head: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note:

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Executive summary
Managing the human resource of the company is one of the most important aspect of the
successful operation of the firms. In this paper, the issues regarding the gap in expectations and
demands of the employees of a small firm namely PAC Resources of the US has been discussed.
there are several management issues mainly reading the policies and actions of the management
creating chaos among the employee. The management of the firm has been accusing to practice
discrimination and favoritism in the workplace that has affected the culture of the organization.
This report has therefore found out the issues along with their causes and recommended some
effective solutions along with the plan to implement those.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the issue......................................................................................................................3
Identification of the key causes of the issue....................................................................................4
Recommendations for solutions......................................................................................................5
Detailed plan to tackle the issue and causes:...................................................................................7
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8
References:......................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction:
The aim of this report is to discuss the issues related to the human resource management
of a reputed firm PAC Resources. PAC resources deliver specialized components in the
computer industry of the United States but has a small firm structure. the company desires to
expand its market penetration and grow itself by increasing its customer base in the market of the
US. The issues regarding the employee unrest and movement against the policies and actions of
the management of the company has been recorded by the employees of the firm. Moreover, the
company has aimed to reduce expenses in the hiring process and focus on expansion of the firm
though enhancing the customer base. In addition, these the employees of the company are
struggling to reduce the tremendous pressure of work as the recruitment process has been
freezed. Some of the managers in PAC Resources are also accused to show discriminative
behaviors hence proper distribution of knowledge and payments are not taking place. In order to
manage this situation, the company needs to properly understand the needs of the employee’s
and find out the solution (Trujillo 2014). This paper will be discussing the issues in detail, find
out the key reasons of these issues and recommend what the management must do to solve such
issues.
Overview of the issue
Unlike the larger or international firms, in the small of medium size organizations also,
there are issues of human resources management which are completely different from those of
the larger firms. In the small firms the main focus as remains in the profit making and growing
bigger by maintaining quality of products, the managers often ignore the most important aspect
of the company’s operations that is related to the human resource of the firm (Blewitt, Blewitt
and Ryan 2018). In the computer industry of the United States, PAC resources deliver
specialized components that has made the operation of the firm unique. In this regard, the
employees of the firm are comparatively more skillful and endowed that the employees of other
industries. These employees maintain high quality performance that has ensured the firm’s
reputation based on which the firm has survived the tremendous competitive pressure in the era
of globalization. There is no question regarding the ability of the human resource of PAC

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Resources and this is the reason why the demand as well as expectations of the employees from
the higher authority is fair.
Being a small firm operating in the computer industry, one of most important and
growing industries in the era of IT, the company aims to expand its market and enlarge itself
through increasing its customer base in the market of the US. Expansion is the necessity of every
small or medium industries so that they can prosper within targeted time. However, in the case of
PAC Resources, the employees are nervous regarding their capabilities in this expansion process.
in addition to this. The management of the company has initiated to impose some rules and
policies for which the employee unrest has been recorded. The local newspaper has captured the
poor policies and flaws of the company regrading its human resource management. In addition to
these, the employees are demanding a high-quality workplace culture so that they can get the
access to the resources of the company related to their jobs and get the workplace security
eliminating a type of discrimination. The biasness of the higher authority and nepotism have led
to the poor cooperation and inequality among the employees. These issues have led PAC
Resources to result in poor manufacturing, production and engineering processes affecting the
reputation of the firm.
Identification of the key causes of the issue
As mentioned before, the small company PAC Resources aims to expand in the US
market through enhancing its customer base and this is causing the employees become anxious
of their capabilities. This has become an issue for the management as the employees are
demanding for more human support as they are not being able to carry on the work pressure.
This type of problem has evolved as the company has already stopped the hiring process which
has disbalanced the work and worker ratio. The company has focused more on the sales budget
and marketing so that it can attend the growing demand of the customers. This is the reason why
it has aimed to reduce expenses in the hiring process and also in the training. Therefore, the
pressures are increasing on the worker that is leading to the unrest. The demand for changing the
job conditions is not rare in the small companies as their budget remains limited. (Wu and Lee
2017). However, in the case of PAC Resources, the management is paying no heed to the
complaints of the employees regarding their capabilities to meet the higher demand in
production.

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The employees of PAC Resources are not only demanding for recruitment of more
employees to reduce the tremendous pressure of work but also sharing their attitude to the higher
authorities who are accused to show discriminating behavior with the employees (Wang et al.
2016). From the various evidences, it has been understood that the situation became problematic
when Patricia Harris became the HR Director of PAC Resources. The leadership style of
Patricia, shows favoritism which creates barrier to build the culture of trust within the
organization. This has affected the workplace ethics resulting in the perceived inequity among
the workers. In many cases, the employees in lower level feel demotivated as they think that the
management does not provide enough support to achieve the goal and accomplishment of
projects (Wertalik and Kubina 2017). The issue reading management of human resource
becomes more complicated when the favorite employees are awarded with more bonus,
healthcare advantages and positions. These are the key reasons why the human resource
management of PAC Resources are failing to cope up with the increasing employee demands and
unrest.
Recommendations for solutions
As the main issue in PAC Resources is associated with the human resource management,
the authority needs to property understand the chief causes and then find the solution. In the face
of employee movement in the corporation, any type of new policies will not wok unless the
management wins trust of the workers by providing equal opportunities for them. In order to
mitigate the threat of employee unrest that relates to the ill reputation of the firm, the leadership
style needs to be changed (Ten et al. 2015). The more the management will take care of the
employees, the healthier the organizational culture will be which will gradually help the
company to solve such issues.
Firstly, PAC Resources needs to bring changes in the leadership style and replace the
managers supporting favoritism immediately. The new leaders must listen to the issues the
employees are facing in the organization as well as their feedback on the current process. In this
regard, affiliative leadership style will be the best fitted style where the leaders put the people
first (Sendjaya et al. 2016). In such leadership style the leader’s emphasis on the relationships
above tasks. Therefore, the emotional bonds with the employees become stronger. As the main
issue of this company is the loss of bond and loyalty from the end of the employees, through

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change in the management as well as leadership may make them feel valued in the organization
(Ten et al. 2015).
Secondly, the company needs to recognize the progress of the firm not through the profit
augmentation but though the progress of the quality of the performance of the employees. The
more the employees will be skilled, the more the company will expand. In this regard the
company needs to allow the employees in the decision-making process and be receptive to
employee preferences (Miller 2016).
Thirdly, by applying proper communication system, the leaders will be able to know the
situation of the employees in one hand and make them understand of the points of view of the
management on the other (Sendjaya et al. 2016). Despite the fact that the company has already
launched the “Talk to the Boss” program, but this has failed due to weakness of communication.
This is the reason why the company needs to use perfect mode of communication so that the
expectations of the employees can reach the higher authority and management can share the
goals and objectives of the employees properly (Davis 2014).
Fourthly, by freezing the recruitment process, the management has enhanced the work
pressure on the existing employees. Moreover, they are not getting proper opportunities
according to their performance. In this regard, the employee retention for the company will be
impossible. Hence perfect recruitment of fresh employees is needed (Miller 2016). The
management needs to create a friendly competition in the workplace so that both the new and
existing employees get full access to the resources they need and become more productive.
Fifthly, according to the ethical theories for business management, the image of the
higher authority before the employees need to be transparent and honest (Shapiro and Stefkovich
2016). Through implementing ethical course of action in bringing any changes in the
organization help the management to earn trust of the employees. The company needs to be
flexible and demonstrate the integrity to build a positive mind sets among the employees in the
corporation (Trujillo 2014).
Finally, the company needs to recognize and reward employee so also offer advantages
beyond the basics. The business feedback indicates that reward frequency is more important than
the size. Through this, the employees are kept motivated and their bond with the operation of the

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company becomes stronger (Shapiro and Stefkovich 2016). Based on this, the ability of
employee retention in the organization becomes much easier. The company also can offer an
extra level of disability or life insurance for the employees and protect their incomes (Hibbert
and Cunliffe 2015). These measures will demonstrate that the company care for the employees as
well as for their families which will effectively create a feeling of trust among the employees and
bringing ne changes in the corporation will be easier.
Detailed plan to tackle the issue and causes:
Issues Actions
Employee unrest  Employing perfect communication mode so that the workplace
gats both horizontal and vertical communication process.
 Mitigation of the issues compiling the employee layoffs and
cost-cutting measures
 Unfreezing recruitment process.
 Meeting the team members of every department of the
organization and affirm expectations regarding performance.
 Discussion regarding performance deficit and behavioral
concerns
 Providing timeline and resources for improvement
 Maintaining standards for improvement
Loss of
employee-
management
bond
 Making the firm more transparent
 Terminate the accused manager on the bias of proper
investigation.
 Open communication among all levels of employees
 Training to the management to guide and support the lower
levels
 Opportunities and investment for the benefits of the employees
 Encouraging interest in life outside of work
 Learning what makes the employees respond positively
 Having an open-door policy
 Letting the employee to lead at the time of decision making

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Lower employee
motivation
 Empowering employees by allowing them to access resources
 Regular employee review
 Offering competitive benefits and payment
 Maintain adequate staffing level
 Proper communication of goals and objectives
Conclusion:
Therefore, it can be concluded that despite the fact that PAC Resources operates in the
computer market of the US, it has not yet been successful and for this, the improper human
resource management has become the main barrier. As the management does not provide the
employees enough support to achieve the goal and accomplishment of projects, the workplace
ethics has been demolished. There is inequality among the workers and the deserving candidates
do not achieve reward. These are the reasons why the employees in lower level feel demotivated
and caused the employee unrest in the firm. Through proper communication as well as by
resuming the recruitment process in the firm, the management will be able to make the firm more
transparent and find the solution of performance deficit and behavioral concerns. By
empowering employees through access to resources, a perfect relationship with the employees
can be fostered.

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References:
Blewitt, J.C., Blewitt, J.M. and Ryan, J., 2018. Business forums pave the way to ethical decision
making: The mediating role of self-efficacy and awareness of a value-based educational
institution. Journal of Business Ethics, 149(1), pp.235-244.
Davis, J.H., 2014. Group decision making and quantitative judgments: A consensus model.
In Understanding group behavior (pp. 43-68). Psychology Press.
Hibbert, P. and Cunliffe, A., 2015. Responsible management: Engaging moral reflexive practice
through threshold concepts. Journal of business ethics, 127(1), pp.177-188.
Miller, D., 2016. Article Commentary: Response to “Research on the Dark Side of Personality
Traits in Entrepreneurship: Observations from an Organizational Behavior
Perspective”. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(1), pp.19-24.
Sendjaya, S., Pekerti, A., Härtel, C., Hirst, G. and Butarbutar, I., 2016. Are authentic leaders
always moral? The role of Machiavellianism in the relationship between authentic leadership and
morality. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(1), pp.125-139.
Shapiro, J.P. and Stefkovich, J.A., 2016. Ethical leadership and decision making in education:
Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.
Ten Brinke, L., Black, P.J., Porter, S. and Carney, D.R., 2015. Psychopathic personality traits
predict competitive wins and cooperative losses in negotiation. Personality and Individual
Differences, 79, pp.116-122.
Trujillo, T., 2014. The modern cult of efficiency: Intermediary organizations and the new
scientific management. Educational Policy, 28(2), pp.207-232.
Wang, X.Y., Hattaf, K., Huo, H.F. and Xiang, H., 2016. Stability analysis of a delayed social
epidemics model with general contact rate and its optimal control. Journal of Industrial &
Management Optimization, 12(4), pp.1267-1285.
Wertalik, J.L. and Kubina, R.M., 2017. Interventions to Improve Personal Care Skills for
Individuals with Autism: A Review of the Literature. Review Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 4(1), pp.50-60.

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Wu, W.L. and Lee, Y.C., 2017. Empowering group leaders encourages knowledge sharing:
integrating the social exchange theory and positive organizational behavior perspective. Journal
of Knowledge Management, 21(2), pp.474-491.