1. Case study – Women on the Right Track at CP Rail
Women comprise nearly half of Canada’s workforce, but over the last two decades, they have made no progress in obtaining senior management roles. This lack of success may deter younger women from entering certain professions and from learning from role models. Furthermore, research shows that a lack of diversity can affect retention, productivity, and innovation. Companies with more female senior managers have a higher return on equity than those with lower rates of female senior managers. With this research in mind, CP Rail undertook three initiatives to increase the number of women managers:
· Each department must have diversity goals.
· Mentoring programs for females have been established.
· Senior women discuss their careers in forums.
· Women on Track offers networking opportunities.
To date, the program has been successful, with the number of women in senior management doubling over 5 years.
Questions
1. Compare CP Rails initiatives to advance women with the recommended six-step program for the implementation of employment equity.
2. Review the list in Highlights in HRM 3.1 (retention strategies). What more could CP Rail undertake?
Here is Highlight H.R.M 3.1 ( retention strategies ) see bellow.
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2. Case study Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Corporate social responsibility through environmental sensitivity, among others, has recently surfaced as a pressing organizational issue. However, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has been one of the firms in the forefront with its Green Partnership program. The Toronto-based company initiated a chain-wide environmental program in 1990; it has now spread to more than 40 locations globally,, winning several international awards along the way. Fairmont became particularly interested in the initiatives because of its locations in sensitive environments such as national parks, biosphere reserves, and wetlands. The environmental pro-gram now includes eco-innovation projects at its hotels, such as turtle Conservation in Mexico, coral reef protection in Hawaii, and whale adoption in Quebec. Empowered employees are vital to the success of the programs. Employees were first encouraged to buy in before implementation through involvement in the development of the programs and effective communication; new employees are given an orientation on the green programs; volunteer teams meet monthly and discuss how to improve on the green programs; and there is an incentive program for the green teams with the best results. Fairmont management claims that employees feel empowered because they have an ownership in the programs.
Questions
1. What arguments could be advanced both for
and against the use of employee empowerment?
2. Assume you are a manager at Fairmont. What
would you do differently to further empower employees?
3. Let us say that employees begin to resist the
changes and prefer to perform their traditional
duties. How would you manage such resistance
and at the same time sustain empowerment?
Case study # 3 – Onboarding at capital power
Capital Power is an independent power producer, based in Edmonton, Alberta, but with operations across North America. It has an aggressive growth strategy with the goal of tripling its
generating capacity by 2020. With this strategy, Capital Power needs to increase its workforce of 950 employees and retain the talent that it plans to hire. Feeling that traditional orientation programs were not effective, the senior vice president of HR, environment, and health and safety designed and implemented an onboarding program called Strong Start. The features of the
program include :
A new hire portal, which directs the new employee to content relevant to the position
An e-learning module, Capital Power 101: The Basics, which outlines the organizations design, vision, values, leadership team, major policies, and how the company makes money, as well as the growth strategy
An e-learning module, Capital Power 102: Powering Up and Plugging In, provides the template for a 100-day developmental
plan that the new hire must create with the manager
A day-and-a-half classroom session with other new hires, which includes a personality inventory (to increase self-insight);a presentation by an executive about the mission, vision, and values; and a plant tour
An assessment of the Strong Start program revealed that over 90 percent felt that the program leads to the engagement of employees, aligns employees with the culture of the company, and enables new hires to be more successful. A majority also felt that it will assist in reducing turnover. There has been a 30 percent increase in organizational knowledge among participants.According to a study by Alan Saks (University of Toronto) and Jamie Gruman (University of Guelph), structured onboarding tactics result in more engaged employees who believe that they fit both the job and the organization.
Onboarding programs, unlike orientation programs, create
opportunities for employees to develop a social network and establish where and how to get information.
Questions
1. Using the checklist in Highlights in HRM 7.7, compare the requirements for an orientation program to Capital Powers Strong Start program. What are the differences?
2.Capital Power has evaluated its program. Using the four levels of evaluation, determine which levels were used. Prepare an evaluation program that will assess the goals of the program and the goals of onboarding outlined by Saks and Gruman.
See below HRM 7.7
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Case study # 4 JUST-IN-TIME FEEDBACK
Critics of formal performance evaluation programs cite timeliness as the major disadvantage of the annual formal performance appraisal interview. This criticism is gaining force as more people become accustomed to instant dialogue on BlackBerries, Facebook, and Twitter. The second criticism of the traditional performance appraisal interview is the one-way nature of the communication. The Net generation wants dialogue, not lectures. They want instant feedback and information about everything. The traditional process does not deliver what employees want: constant, timely, and interactive feedback. Daily feedback is more important and effective than
annual feedback.Technology may be the answer. A Canadian
company, Rypple, has created a Web-based service to replace the performance review. Instead of waiting one year to sit down with a boss, employees choose some advisors who could
be mentors, coworkers, managers, or clients. These employee scan then contact the advisors with direct questions (How do I prepare gor the report to the board?) or career queries (How can
I be more effective on my job?). The advisors can respond quickly and anonymously to provide real-time, just-in-time performance feedback.
Questions
1. What are the advantages and limitations of
this kind of performance feedback?
2. Who would you choose as mentors in your
current job and why?
3. What questions would you ask them?
Case study # 5 CANADA POST
Canada Post Corporation employs 67,000 workers, which makes it one of Canadas largest employers. In 1997, it revised its job evaluation system for postmasters and assistants. The old system, which had been in place since 1976, did not take into account changes that had arisen
since 1981, when Canada Post became a Crown corporation.
An HR consulting firm, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, was hired to assist with the entire process. According to Linda Tremblay of Organization Planning and Development, Canada Post, the job evaluation system was revised to incorporate employee input, to be responsive to federal pay
equity legislation, and, most importantly, to reflect corporate culture and values.
The new job evaluation system measured the content and relative value of jobs. The system evaluated jobs according to their typical or normal componentsthat is, tasks that were done on a regular basis. These compensable factors were a function of the job itself, not of the performance of the person doing the job.The four factors considered and their relative weights were as follows:
A: ResponsibilitiesWhat type of responsibilities
does the job entail? 60 percent
B: SkillsWhat particular skills are needed to
accomplish the job? 25 percent
C: Working conditionsWhat working
conditions apply to the job? 11 percent
D: EffortWhat amount of effort does the job
require? 4 percent
