IMPLICATIONS OF A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES AT BARDEN BEARINGS
The Barden Bearings Corporation manufactures high-precision ball bearings for machine tools, aircraft instruments and accessories, aircraft engines, computer peripherals, textile spindles, and medical and dental equipment. Currently, it employs about 1,000 people and includes a marketing department and a small corporate staff. It was founded during World War II to manufacture the special bearings needed for the Norden bombsight and has been non-union since the beginning. Mr Donald Brush, vice president and general manager of the Precision Bearings Division, gave the following description of his division: Reporting directly to me is a small staff comprising a manufacturing manager, a quality manager, an engineering manager, a director of manufacturing planning, and a manager of human resources (see Case Exhibit 1). We meet several times a week to discuss current problems, as well as short- and long-range opportunities and needs. On alternate weeks, we augment this group by including the supervisors who report to the senior managers listed above. I might interject here that all supervisors meet with hourly employees on either a weekly or biweekly basis to review specific departmental successes and failures, and to otherwise keep employees informed about the business and to encourage ownership of their jobs. The managers themselves meet on call as the Employee Relations Committee to discuss and recommend approval of a wide range of issues that include the evaluation and audit of hourly and salaried positions, as well as the creation and modification of all divisional personnel policies. A few words about our Human Resource Department: There are six employees who together provide the basic services of employment, affirmative action, employee activity support, labor relations, interpretation of the federal and state laws, benefits administration, wage and salary administration, records preparation and maintenance, cafeteria supervision, and so on. There are, in addition, two people who coordinate our rather extensive training activities. As currently organised, the Medical Department comes under the supervision of the manager of human resources. Its authorised staff includes a medical director, the manager of employee health and safety (who is an occupational health nurse), a staff nurse, a safety specialist, and a secretary/clerk. The development and execution of plans and programs, including those of a strategic nature, almost invariably involve the active participation of HR. And that’s how we want it to be. On the other hand, the HR Department doesn’t run the business. By this I mean they don’t hire or fire, promote or demote. They don’t write job descriptions or determine salaries or wages. All these things are done by the line managers with the HR Department providing a framework to ensure consistency and that all actions are appropriate to company goals. You might say that HR is our “Jiminy Cricket” – they’re there for advice, consent, and, importantly, as a conscience.
Case Exhibit 1 Precision Bearings Division
Donald Brush VP/General Manager Manufacturing Manager Quality Manager Engineering Manager Director of Manufacturing Planning Manager of Human Resources Industrial
Medical
Training
Industrial Relations
Employment Affirmative action Employee activity support Labor relations Federal and state law interpretation Benefit administration Wage and salary administration Records preparation Cafeteria supervision
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES During the past several months, we have been running into many issues that affect the very essence of our business objectives: growth, profits, survival, and competitiveness. Because the issues involve our human resources, these must be our major HR objectives. Would you please give us your experience, expertise, and suggestions as to how we can solve them? Thanks! The following briefly describes the nature of each of the four HR objectives. Recruiting and Training New Hourly Employees The need to recruit and train approximately 125 new hourly workers to respond to a surge in business is very challenging. By midyear, it became evident that we had an opportunity to significantly increase our business. In order to achieve otherwise attainable goals, we need to increase our hourly workforce by a net of about 125 employees (that is, in addition to normal turnover, retirements, etc.) in one year. I have asked HR to test the waters, recognizing that the unemployment in the Danbury labor market for skilled workers has reached an unprecedented low of about 2.5 percent. Safety and Occupational Health Improvement The need to create a heightened awareness by the workforce for safety and occupational health considerations is very important. This is an evolving mission born of a dissatisfaction on our part about “safety as usual”. Over the years, Barden employees have assumed that, because we are a metalworking shop, people were just going to get hurt. But we cannot afford to have people get hurt and miss work anymore. Yet, as our workforce ages, the employees seem to get out of shape and become more injury and illness-prone.
Managing Health Costs of an Aging Workforce The spiralling health costs of an aging and, sometimes, out-of-shape workforce are very costly. All employers face this. Barden’s problem is a little unique in that hourly employees tend to stay with the company and retire from the company. For example, we still have several employees whose careers began with us 45 year ago, shortly after the company was founded. Our average age approaches 45 for employees and their dependent spouses. Generally, our jobs do not require much physical effort, and it’s easy to become out of shape. As a consequence, employees get sick, use hospitals, and have accidents. New Machines and the Development of Qualified Workers The technological evolution of increasingly complex machinery and related manufacturing equipment, and the development of trained workers to operate and maintain this equipment, are important facts of life. This process is unceasing and requires a good deal of planning for both the short and the long run. For example, what should we do in the next year, or five years out, in order to remain competitive in terms of cost, quality and service? Buying and rebuilding machines is part of the story. Running them efficiently is quite another. As you know, modern equipment of this sort requires operational people who are not only knowledgeable about the turning or grinding of metals, but also conversant with computerised numerical controls. The employee who sets up and operates a $500,000 machine must be well trained. Yet finding trained people is getting more difficult. SUMMARY Mr Brush knows that these HR objectives all reflect the increasing diversity of the workforce. Because of this, he knows these issues will be around for a long time. He requests that you provide him with your general ideas and suggestions. He doesn’t want details at this time.
SOURCE: Jackson , S. & Schuler, R. 2003. Managing Human Resources, 8 th Edn. Pgs 77-79. Thomson South-Western.
Questions 1. Identify the HR objectives facing Mr Brush are really the most important to the success of the business, priortise them and justify the order of your list. 2. Consider the list of objectives you have drawn up in answer to Question 1 from the perspective of employees. Using the employees’ perspective, state how you would prioritise the list and discuss the implications of any differences in the two lists of priorities for Mr Brush.
3. Choose any two HR objectives. For each objective, describe the key roles and responsibilities of the HR manager, the line managers and other employees.
doc_133959354.doc
The Barden Bearings Corporation manufactures high-precision ball bearings for machine tools, aircraft instruments and accessories, aircraft engines, computer peripherals, textile spindles, and medical and dental equipment. Currently, it employs about 1,000 people and includes a marketing department and a small corporate staff. It was founded during World War II to manufacture the special bearings needed for the Norden bombsight and has been non-union since the beginning. Mr Donald Brush, vice president and general manager of the Precision Bearings Division, gave the following description of his division: Reporting directly to me is a small staff comprising a manufacturing manager, a quality manager, an engineering manager, a director of manufacturing planning, and a manager of human resources (see Case Exhibit 1). We meet several times a week to discuss current problems, as well as short- and long-range opportunities and needs. On alternate weeks, we augment this group by including the supervisors who report to the senior managers listed above. I might interject here that all supervisors meet with hourly employees on either a weekly or biweekly basis to review specific departmental successes and failures, and to otherwise keep employees informed about the business and to encourage ownership of their jobs. The managers themselves meet on call as the Employee Relations Committee to discuss and recommend approval of a wide range of issues that include the evaluation and audit of hourly and salaried positions, as well as the creation and modification of all divisional personnel policies. A few words about our Human Resource Department: There are six employees who together provide the basic services of employment, affirmative action, employee activity support, labor relations, interpretation of the federal and state laws, benefits administration, wage and salary administration, records preparation and maintenance, cafeteria supervision, and so on. There are, in addition, two people who coordinate our rather extensive training activities. As currently organised, the Medical Department comes under the supervision of the manager of human resources. Its authorised staff includes a medical director, the manager of employee health and safety (who is an occupational health nurse), a staff nurse, a safety specialist, and a secretary/clerk. The development and execution of plans and programs, including those of a strategic nature, almost invariably involve the active participation of HR. And that’s how we want it to be. On the other hand, the HR Department doesn’t run the business. By this I mean they don’t hire or fire, promote or demote. They don’t write job descriptions or determine salaries or wages. All these things are done by the line managers with the HR Department providing a framework to ensure consistency and that all actions are appropriate to company goals. You might say that HR is our “Jiminy Cricket” – they’re there for advice, consent, and, importantly, as a conscience.
Case Exhibit 1 Precision Bearings Division
Donald Brush VP/General Manager Manufacturing Manager Quality Manager Engineering Manager Director of Manufacturing Planning Manager of Human Resources Industrial
Medical
Training
Industrial Relations
Employment Affirmative action Employee activity support Labor relations Federal and state law interpretation Benefit administration Wage and salary administration Records preparation Cafeteria supervision
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES During the past several months, we have been running into many issues that affect the very essence of our business objectives: growth, profits, survival, and competitiveness. Because the issues involve our human resources, these must be our major HR objectives. Would you please give us your experience, expertise, and suggestions as to how we can solve them? Thanks! The following briefly describes the nature of each of the four HR objectives. Recruiting and Training New Hourly Employees The need to recruit and train approximately 125 new hourly workers to respond to a surge in business is very challenging. By midyear, it became evident that we had an opportunity to significantly increase our business. In order to achieve otherwise attainable goals, we need to increase our hourly workforce by a net of about 125 employees (that is, in addition to normal turnover, retirements, etc.) in one year. I have asked HR to test the waters, recognizing that the unemployment in the Danbury labor market for skilled workers has reached an unprecedented low of about 2.5 percent. Safety and Occupational Health Improvement The need to create a heightened awareness by the workforce for safety and occupational health considerations is very important. This is an evolving mission born of a dissatisfaction on our part about “safety as usual”. Over the years, Barden employees have assumed that, because we are a metalworking shop, people were just going to get hurt. But we cannot afford to have people get hurt and miss work anymore. Yet, as our workforce ages, the employees seem to get out of shape and become more injury and illness-prone.
Managing Health Costs of an Aging Workforce The spiralling health costs of an aging and, sometimes, out-of-shape workforce are very costly. All employers face this. Barden’s problem is a little unique in that hourly employees tend to stay with the company and retire from the company. For example, we still have several employees whose careers began with us 45 year ago, shortly after the company was founded. Our average age approaches 45 for employees and their dependent spouses. Generally, our jobs do not require much physical effort, and it’s easy to become out of shape. As a consequence, employees get sick, use hospitals, and have accidents. New Machines and the Development of Qualified Workers The technological evolution of increasingly complex machinery and related manufacturing equipment, and the development of trained workers to operate and maintain this equipment, are important facts of life. This process is unceasing and requires a good deal of planning for both the short and the long run. For example, what should we do in the next year, or five years out, in order to remain competitive in terms of cost, quality and service? Buying and rebuilding machines is part of the story. Running them efficiently is quite another. As you know, modern equipment of this sort requires operational people who are not only knowledgeable about the turning or grinding of metals, but also conversant with computerised numerical controls. The employee who sets up and operates a $500,000 machine must be well trained. Yet finding trained people is getting more difficult. SUMMARY Mr Brush knows that these HR objectives all reflect the increasing diversity of the workforce. Because of this, he knows these issues will be around for a long time. He requests that you provide him with your general ideas and suggestions. He doesn’t want details at this time.
SOURCE: Jackson , S. & Schuler, R. 2003. Managing Human Resources, 8 th Edn. Pgs 77-79. Thomson South-Western.
Questions 1. Identify the HR objectives facing Mr Brush are really the most important to the success of the business, priortise them and justify the order of your list. 2. Consider the list of objectives you have drawn up in answer to Question 1 from the perspective of employees. Using the employees’ perspective, state how you would prioritise the list and discuss the implications of any differences in the two lists of priorities for Mr Brush.
3. Choose any two HR objectives. For each objective, describe the key roles and responsibilities of the HR manager, the line managers and other employees.
doc_133959354.doc