University HRM Failure Analysis Report: Case Studies and AHRI Model

This report provides an in-depth analysis of human resource management (HRM) failures across three case studies: 7-Eleven's wage scam, issues within the Country Fire Authority (CFA), and fraud within Australian banks. The report examines how poor HRM practices, including inadequate oversight, lack of ethical leadership, and failure to address employee concerns, contributed to these issues. It explores the 7-Eleven case, detailing the exploitation of employees through underpayment and the company's inadequate response. The CFA case focuses on cultural problems, sexual harassment, and leadership failures within the organization. The banking case highlights financial misconduct and the government's failure to address systemic issues. The report then applies the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) HRM model to these cases, suggesting how its principles could have prevented or mitigated these failures. The report emphasizes the crucial role of effective HRM in creating a positive and ethical work environment and preventing organizational crises. The report underscores the importance of ethical practices, proactive leadership, and employee well-being in maintaining organizational integrity and success.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary
This report is based on the analysis of the case study based on the low wages related scam
that had taken place in the franchise of 7-eleven. The ways by which the organization had
ignored the ill practices that were going on in the stores is discussed in the case study. The
second case study is based on the issues faced by the members of the Country Fire Authority.
The third case is based on various problems that had occurred in the banking industry of
Australia regarding the frauds that had taken place in the banks. The report is thereby related
to the application of the AHRI- HRM model to the case study and the ways in which it could
have helped the organization to avoid the scam that was faced earlier. The report is concluded
by stating the human resource related activities of the organizations hold high levels of
importance for the purpose of creating a positive work environment.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Ways by which HRM has failed in the organization.....................................................3
Case 1.........................................................................................................................3
Case 2.........................................................................................................................5
Case 3.........................................................................................................................6
Application of the AHRI HRM model...........................................................................7
Conclusion....................................................................................................................10
References....................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The analysis in the report is based on the case study of the seven eleven stores which
has its operations in Australia. The failure of human resources in the organization will be
analysed in the report. The illegal ways by which the organization has provided low wages to
the employees will be analysed in the report in detail. 7-eleven is an American store of
Japanese origin which has an international chain operating in many countries of the world.
The company owns more than 64,000 stores in around 18 countries of the world (Ferguson,
2018). The second case study is based on the issues that were being faced by the members of
the Country Fire Authority regarding the sexual harassment that was being faced by them.
The third case study is based on the problems that had occurred in the banking sector of
Australia due to the huge number of frauds that were made by the various banks and the
customers were forced to purchase the products so that the employees are able to gain
commissions.
The report will be further based on the human resource related mistakes that have
been made by 7-eleven in Australia, Country Fire Authority or CFA and the banks in
Australia and the ways by which it has affected the reputation of the organization.
Ways by which HRM has failed in the organization
Case 1
The 7-eleven started its operations in Australia as a franchised business in various
parts of the country. The organization thereby failed to provide the right amount of wages to
the employees who were working in the stores. The students who came to Australia for the
purpose of completing various courses are the major employees of the organization. The case
came under the sight of the media and general public when an employee who was working in
the head-office of the company had come out and spoke to the media about the scam which

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was going on in the organization. The various documents which were placed as proofs of the
scam mainly included the doctored rosters and time sheets of the franchisee stores and the
financial calculations of the stores. The company had failed to follow the regulations of the
Australian government related to the various labour related issues (Ferguson, 2018). The
students who were being made to work in the stores of the organization for more than 20
hours of the week and the at half the fair wages had all come forward to speak about the ill-
practices that were going on in the company. The management of the organization had
however placed the entire blame on the franchise owners of the stores of 7-eleven. The
“whistle blower” who worked at the headquarters of the organization however claimed that
the problem was mainly with the management of 7-eleven. The management had avoided the
situation for many days and did not take any steps for the purpose of improving the wages of
the workers in their stores. The political leaders, the lawyers and the regulators are therefore
keen on taking strict actions regarding the situation that is prevalent in the stores. The
franchise store concept was made famous in Australia by 7-eleven (Ferguson, 2018). The two
organizations which were investigating the matter namely, Fairfax Media and Four Corners
had stated that the head-office of 7-eleven did not pay enough attention to the issues that were
going on in the franchise stores related to the lower rates of wages that were paid to the
employees. The member of the head-office started checking the various wage processes in the
stores after the investigations and raids had started. The whistle-blower however claimed that
the head office did not look into the matter seriously and just performed few cross checks to
depict that they were quite serious about addressing the different issues that were occurring in
the organization on a regular basis. The whistle blower has further claimed that the stores of
the company will fall under huge pressure if they had to pay the actual wages that the
workers deserved. The instant decision that was taken by the company as a step to solve the
problem was that the management decided to buy off the franchise stores so that they can

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handle the issues themselves. However, this step was not enough to improve the reputation
and the business of the company in the market. The victims of this entire scam came out in
open to speak against the wrong measures that had been taken by the company. One of the
victims of the ill practices of the 7-eleven stores was Pranay Alawala.
Case 2
The second case study is based on the Country Fire Authority or CFA. The issue was
related to the assault that was faced by a CFA volunteer and was duck taped to a fire truck in
an incident that occurred. The cultural problems that had taken place in the organization had
led to the huge number of assaults that had taken place in the Eaglehawk Fire Brigade. The
entire issue was made public by a report of an investigation that was initiated by a 17 years
old volunteer of the organization. The assault was termed as play fighting by the members of
the organization who were a part of the incident. The investigation however continued and
various other similar incidents were also reported. The members were also found to be
drinking in the Eaglehawk Station and the colleagues were thrown into a water trough
(Bowden, 2018). The cultural problems in the organization was caused due to the lack of
proper human resource management in CFA. The organization was provided with many
recommendations to solve the issue which included the change of staff working in the
leadership positions within CFA. The selection process of the volunteers of the CFA
volunteers was also necessary so that the human resource management related issues can be
solved in an effective manner. The major problem was however faced by the women who
were working in CFA. They had to face issues related to sexual harassment and assault on a
regular basis (Nick McKenzie, 2018). The female members of the organization were harassed
to such an extent where some them even reached the point of suicide. The union of the fire
fighters which was operating within the organization was also based on the policy of low
levels of transparency or accountability. The revelations were mainly made by the former

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group of senior workers of the organization who decided to raise their voice against the
various issues that were being faced by the various male and female members. The report was
placed by two staff members of CFA namely, Angela Seach and Caroline Taylor. The
respondents who were surveyed after the placing of the report stated that the managers of the
organization did not pay any heed to issues that were being raised by the members regarding
the various issues that were being faced by them (CFA captain at centre of hazing video
scandal says there are 'two sides to every story'. 2018). The huge amounts of survey related
data that was collected after the raising of the reports suggested that the members of the
organization had to face various issues regarding the work process in CFA.
Case 3
The third case is based on the various issues that have been faced by the banking
customers of Australia regarding the cover ups that were made by the banks related to
services provided by them. The main point of discussion in the case study is based on the
royal commission based enquiry that was done on the banks by Malcolm Turnbull. The royal
commission was thereby based on the inquiry that was to be done on the various banks.
According to the media, this inquiry will be able to expose a huge number of scandals against
the various Australian Banks. The financial planning scandal of the Commonwealth Bank
broke in the year 2013 by Fairfax. The report had depicted that the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission had too much trust on the banks which had led to the various frauds
that were being done by them over the years (Ferguson, 2018). The financial planning
misconduct was also depicted in the National Australia Bank. The financial planner used to
cheat on the clients and pushed to purchase various products so that they are able to gain
commission. Another major scandal broke out in the year 2014 in the insurance division of
CBA. This scandal was exposed to the media by Fairfax. The whistle blower of the incident
was punished after the entire incident came into the limelight. The government of the country

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however refused to place a royal commission in the banking sector. This incident had
occurred due to an entire failure of the banking industry of Australia and the government. The
management of the human resources was not conducted in a proper manner (Ferguson, 2018).
Application of the AHRI HRM model
The HRM model of the Australian HR Institute or the AHRI HRM model could have
been applied by the management of 7-eleven so to design the HRM process of the stores and
the franchises. This is a model of excellence which is mainly used for the purpose of
combining the knowledge of the HR practitioners with the expectation that the peers have
from them. This model can be used for assessment and the accreditation of the various HR
management based programs in the vocational and technical education. The Model of
Excellence possesses the practical competencies that are required by the HR managers so that
they are able to perform successfully in their fields (Model of Excellence., 2018). The model
also provides various human resource management based tools like, performance appraisals,
job descriptions and the training needs analysis based tools. The use of the model of
excellence is based on the various questions that were required to be answered which are
expectations that the organizations have from them. The guide that is provided for the HR
practices are also a part of this model. The ten major behaviours and seven capabilities that
are related to the proper operations of HR which could have been implemented by 7-eleven
are as follows,
Workplace and workforce designer – This factor is related to the design and
operations of the stores which needed to be maintained by the management.
Culture and change leader – The leader or the manager of the stores needed to
the main part of the culture.

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Stakeholder mentor and coach – The leader of the employees could have
played a major role in the training process of the employees.
Business driven – The managers or the leaders could have played a major role
in driving the business operations (Model of Excellence., 2018).
Expert practitioner – The HR practitioners or the managers of stores could
have managed the entire situation in a responsible manner so that employees
receive the right amount of wages.
Strategic architect – The managers could have formulated the strategy of the
stores in an effective manner.
Credible and ethical activist – The managers could have been ethical in nature
so that the employees are provided with the correct wages.
The various capabilities that would have played a major role in the operations of the
stores of 7-eleven and the franchises are the leaders or managers who are, collaborative,
understanding and caring, courageous, influencer, future oriented, solutions driven, critical
and enquiring thinker, professional, resolver of issues and credible (Model of Excellence.,
2018).
The use of the AHRI HRM model for the case of CFA,
Workplace and workforce designer – This factor is related to the design and
operations of the stations in which the members of CFA work that are needed
to be maintained by the management.
Culture and change leader – The leader or the manager of the stations needed
to build a culture in the stations.

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Stakeholder mentor and coach – The leader of the employees could have
played a major role in the training process of the employees or the members of
CFA so that they are able to understand the working environment.
Business driven – The managers or the leaders could have played a major role
in driving the business operations (Model of Excellence., 2018).
Expert practitioner – The HR practitioners or the managers of stations could
have managed the entire situation in a responsible manner so that employees
maintained their decorum in the stations and the other staff were treated well.
Strategic architect – The managers could have formulated the strategy of the
stations in an effective manner.
Credible and ethical activist – The managers could have been ethical in nature
so that the employees are provided with their rights and their complaints were
addressed in a proper manner (Model of Excellence., 2018).
The various capabilities that would have played a major role in the operations of the
stations of CFA are the leaders or managers who are, collaborative, understanding and caring,
courageous, influencer, future oriented, solutions driven, critical and enquiring thinker,
professional, resolver of issues and credible (Model of Excellence., 2018).
The use of the AHRI HRM model for the case of the Australian banks,
Workplace and workforce designer – This factor is related to the design and
operations of the banks and the systems which needed to be maintained by the
management.

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Culture and change leader – The leader or the manager of the banks needed to
the main part of the culture and take care of the customers instead of forcing
them to buy new products.
Stakeholder mentor and coach – The leader of the employees could have
played a major role in the training process of the employees.
Business driven – The managers or the leaders could have played a major role
in driving the business operations (Model of Excellence., 2018).
Expert practitioner – The HR practitioners or the managers of the banks could
have managed the entire situation in a responsible manner so that employees
were not capable of cheating the customers.
Strategic architect – The managers could have formulated the strategy of the
banks in an effective manner.
Credible and ethical activist – The managers could have been ethical in nature
so that the employees are trained in a proper manner to serve the customers
without cheating them for their own gains.
The various capabilities that would have played a major role in the operations of the
various Australian banks are the leaders or managers who are, collaborative, understanding
and caring, courageous, influencer, future oriented, solutions driven, critical and enquiring
thinker, professional, resolver of issues and credible (Model of Excellence., 2018).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the human resource department of the
organizations need to be maintained in a proper manner so that the entire operations can be
successful. The major mistake was made by 7-eleven in the formation of the business model
which had made extreme pressure on the franchise owners of the company. The issue that had

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occurred in CFA could have been avoided with the help of the proper management of the
staff and by taking the complaints of the members in a serious manner. The issues that were
being faced by the Australian bank customers due to the frauds in the banks could have been
avoided with the help of the proper management by the government and the regulators.