CASE SOLUTIONS for Introduction to Human Resource Management 2nd Edition by Paul Banfield, Rebecca K by ACADEMIAMILL

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 1

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. Do you think ABB would be a good company to work for? If so, why? The point about the case study is that it associates ABB with a distinctive performance and development philosophy. Talented people are recruited and given early responsibility that often involves cross functional project teams. Development is seen to come primarily through experience and is supported by constructive feedback. Successful managers enjoy quick promotion and new responsibilities. From this perspective, the answer is yes. 2. What are the distinctive features of the company’s culture and what effect do these have on employee behaviour? The cultural type associated with ABB could be described as a combination of a market culture, with a strong emphasis on external competiveness and internal performance, and an adhocracy with its emphasis on flexibility, responsiveness and responsibility. The impact on employees would be in the form of reward for performance and achievement, promotion and development and a sense of value and contribution. These all tap into deeply rooted human conditions and elicit loyalty and sustained high performance on the part of employees.

3. What specific examples of management development practices would fit with the company’s approach to this activity? Examples would be – • Action learning; • Coaching and mentoring; • Cross functional project teams; • Secondments; • Work shadowing.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 2

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers 1. What particular competencies do the organization’s HR ‘Business Partners’ need to be able to work effectively with line managers? • •

Finance, including the language of finance, investment analysis techniques and budgeting. They would also need to understand operational issues and performance measurement techniques. Secondly, personal competences such as relationship building, interpersonal communication skills, conflict resolution strategies and influencing skills.

2. What are shared service centres and how do they operate? Shared Service Centres are centralised functions that cover a range of HR administrative and operational functions within the same building/location. They reflect a strategy of centralising HR functions and the removal of duplicate HR centres within multi-site organisations. They rely heavily on IT an infrastructure to allow on-line communications and self-service operations. They also represent centres of expertise and advice for a range of on-line and telephone HR activities.

3. What needs to be done to allow line managers to take direct responsibility for managing their staff? The effectiveness of SSCs is heavily dependent on line managers’ willingness and ability to operate this different model of HR. This is only achieved through a process of education and persuasion where LMs learnt to rely less on HR practitioners who may work in the same locations and more on ‘distant’ facilities and resources. Essentially they have to understand that they are the primary conduit through which HR is ‘delivered’ although SCCs provide important support.

4. What happened to those HR staff that were lost to the company? SSCs inevitably involve a rationalisation of HR provision, often with a reduction in HR jobs. Those HR staff that possess the necessary personal, professional and business competences would have moved into Business Partner roles, others would have had to retrain and become SSC operators, either in an advisory of administrative role. Those that could not or would not make the transition to either new role would have lost their jobs either through a programme of redundancy or natural wastage.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 3

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers 1. Where would the kind of applicants the company was looking for be found and how would you go about contacting them? The issue here is the nature of labour markets and identifying the one most likely to contain suitable candidates. The internal labour market is clearly not relevant in this case, which means occupational and geographical labour markets, need to be considered. The nearest cities of Derby and Sheffield were targeted, and potential applicants were contacted via job advertisements.

2. Using the information provided, plus further details on what similar jobs in the engineering and related sectors involve, prepare a person specification for use in the selection process. The key attributes we were looking for were• Experience of manufacturing and operations management – Essential; • Experience of managing in a SME context – Desirable; • Technically qualified in Engineering – Essential; • Personal values and beliefs about working with people and managing staff – Essential; • Energy, a strong work ethic, professional pride and a good head for business – Desirable.

3. Consider and decide upon a selection strategy, identifying the selection tools/instruments you would recommend that the company use if you were in the role of the consultant. Justify your recommendations. The selection strategy was based on the consultant working closely with the owners to sift through application forms – over 40 were submitted. An agreed shortlist was drawn up using a personal specification but not too rigidly – we did not want to exclude applicants who didn’t fit the profile perfectly but who seemed to have had an interesting background. Invitations to visit the factory and meet the owners were followed by separate interviews with the consultant and owners. Both parties produced the same two names. The final decision was made by the owners.

4. What would be the key criteria you would use in producing a shortlist? Essentially the same as the person specification, but with the proviso that other relevant factors, such as experience in TQM and non metal manufacturing could be relevant to the strength of the application.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 3

5. Who would take the final decision and what criteria would you use to establish whether the appointment was a success? The final decision has to be with the owners of the company; they have to feel confident that not only is the successful applicant technically competent but that they can work with him. This was an important consideration in the final analysis, as too were the reasons given by both the two candidates for wanting the job. Criteria for establishing the success of the appointment would be – • The appointee still being with the company after 24 months; • Successful implementation of new manufacturing procedures; • Improvements in key indicators of factory performance such as waste, quality standards and on-time delivery; • Improving business performance, but recognising that this would reflect external economic conditions as well as the work of the new manager.

6. Produce an estimate of the costs of the whole process. It’s better to think in terms of cost categories • Consultancy fees – 50% paid by regional development agency. Much less that 25% of annual salary paid to a recruitment agency which is the normal charges they apply; • Cost of time of owners; • Cost of advertising; • Opportunity cost of getting the appointment wrong.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 4

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. What procedures and criteria does the CAC apply in deciding on whether a union claim for recognition and representation rights succeeds? The CAC requires management to properly explore the extent of support for a trade union’s claim for recognition. But an important issue in this case is the decision by management to challenge the union’s attempt to restrict the ‘unit’ who were seeking recognition to the shop floor workers. Widening the unit to include all non management employees significantly weakened the strength of the claim for recognition because, on the whole, office staff was less persuaded by the case than the shop floor workers. Key to meeting CAC expectations is a ballot of those interested in being represented, but more importantly of the bargaining unit the union claimed wished to have formal union representation rights. To ensure that there have been no substantive changes in the procedural requirements, I suggest that that students be given the task of checking with the CAC directly or online.

2. What had management failed to do that resulted in the claim for representation being made and why had this happened? The essence of the case is that senior managers had lost contact with the shop floor and had failed to engage with what was happening there and what was being said. Failure to do this, and in the light of the shop floor supervisors realising the importance of listening to employee grievances, meant that the seeds of discontent were being allowed to flourish unchallenged. Rumours began to circulate about pay and conditions that were either false or only half true and misunderstandings were allowed to become accepted as fact. One shop floor worker in particular, who was a union member, used this ‘vacuum’ to argue that because the company ‘didn’t care’ the employees would be better served by seeking to gain representational rights.

3. What options were available to the MD in changing the way in which relations with his employees were managed? The MD understood what his mistake had been – losing contact with his staff and therefore not being able to influence them and be influenced in return. He offered to set up a works council type structure, but the staff were not that keen on regular formal meetings; what he did do was to have informal meetings in his office to explain to several of the shop floor staff about the business and how it impacted on production and employment matters. This was a very effective mechanism and was valued by both parties.

4. As the MD, what would you have done and why? This is really speculative. On the one hand it might involve ensuring that shop floor supervisors were trained in inter-personal communications and understood what

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 4 employee engagement involves. On the other it is about choosing either formal or informal mechanisms that reduce the chances of conflict breaking out. It also means that the MD had to realise that certain assumptions he made about the company and how it was managed needed to be questioned and corrective action taken.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 5

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. Consider the action that David Brown should take in response to the situation. Clearly, there was nothing that could have been done over the weekend, and there was little point ringing the Works Manager because he was not aware of what happened. David needed to meet with Richard on Monday morning at which time he would have been in a better frame of mind to address the issue. It is important in such situations to establish the facts of the case; all that David saw was behaviour that was at odds with his expectations – that his employees should be working normally during their shifts – but he didn’t know why this had happened. Had the supervisor given his approval for the ‘unauthorised break’ because of some fault with the machinery which meant the employees were temporarily unable to carry out their normal duties, or was another explanation that might justify what had happened. This could only be established with the supervisor and Richard discussing the event with David.

2. Is there any form of managerial response that might be considered more effective than initiating formal disciplinary proceedings? Formalising any disciplinary action takes the situation to a new level from which it is difficult to return from; moreover, the emotional impact on people involved can become more significant. Management need to think about the consequences of formalising disciplinary measures and consider whether the seriousness of what happened justifies such a step. Given that both the supervisor and the employees are potentially at fault here David needs to think carefully about what to do. Given the potential benefits from not becoming heavy handed, but speaking clearly about expectations and the importance of maintaining production and work-related activities, he might generate considerable good will precisely because he chose not to discipline the men. This might be an appropriate strategy if this was an isolated event.

3. What objectives would management be seeking to achieve in the way in which the situation was handled? The objectives could be expressed in terms of – • • • •

Building not undermining relationships with the supervisor and employees; Understanding what might explain the situation; Establishing clarity in relation to the Supervisor’s responsibilities; Getting the employees to realise what are the boundaries of unacceptable behaviour.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 5

4. If some form of disciplinary response were to be considered appropriate, who should be disciplined and what form should this take? In this case, if it can be established that the Supervisor knowingly allowed the men to have an additional and unauthorised break, he may be subject to some form of disciplinary action, but given the level of the ‘offence’ and if he had a good record, all that may be needed is a verbal admonishment and a warning about his future conduct. If he did in fact knowingly allow the men to have the extra break, then he legitimised their behaviour and in such circumstances it would be inappropriate to take action against the employees.

5. What are the dangers inherent to management being perceived to be acting disproportionately and unfairly? The dangers lie in creating tension and conflict that may undermine relationships. If the men felt that management had acted to strongly, they would resent it because it would be perceived as unfair. Such negative feelings can last for a long time and they are rarely conducing to good working relationships. Other employees, not directly involved, would also form their own opinions about the appropriateness of managements’ action, so the negative consequences could easily extend beyond those involved in what happened.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 6

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. What mistakes were made by the organization in recruiting to fill the vacancy? Melbourne Finance in this example has made several decisions which may lead to a claim of sex discrimination on Jenny’s part. In the first instance it is important that the mechanisms used to advertise any vacancy are not discriminatory. In this case the vacancy was initially only advertised internally. The fact that Jenny was ‘asked to apply' for the role adds an interesting angle.

2. What action might Jenny have taken when turned down for the first vacancy? It is difficult to clearly identify mistakes given the evidence shown, but there are potentially questionable practices and decisions being made at Melbourne. Why was she asked? Was it simply that her manager felt it would be an appropriate next step, perhaps as a result of an appraisal or was her experience and suitability for the role noted in organisational succession planning. In reality in this case the approach came from a senior level with responsibility for both her current branch and the new branch. When Jenny was turned down due to having ‘insufficient experience’ it would appear that this may have been a mask for a discriminatory decision for other reasons. Firstly there was clearly a senior view that she had sufficient experience, otherwise she would not have been asked to apply and if it was felt that the experience might not be available internally an external advert would have been placed. Secondly the fact that she was pregnant had been disclosed without consent to those responsible for the recruitment after the approach and before a decision was made. Jenny therefore has sufficient evidence to raise a claim that the decision not to appoint was due to her pregnancy and the onus of proof would be upon the organisation to show that a fair selection process had been followed. Succession planning was largely informal and via word of mouth and therefore carried high risk of not being fair and objective. There were also anticipated to be urgent issues to be addressed at the branch and a view that the successful candidate needed to be in place quickly to stabilise the branch. This would indicate that she was regarded as having sufficient experience and that those at senior level changed there mind when faced with the prospect of not being able to permanently fill the role immediately. It is also interesting to note that the reason given was that she had ‘insufficient experience’, not that there was a better qualified candidate with ‘more relevant experience’ – this may also indicate discriminatory reasons for the decision. Finally the fact that at the end of her maternity leave she secured a more senior position would indicate that experience was not a factor in the decision as were this the case she would not perhaps have secured an even bigger role.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 6

3. What impact might this have in the longer term for Jenny? Jenny could have made a claim to an employment tribunal after she was turned down for the first role. She also could have made a claim when she was appointed for the role in which she was ultimately appointed against the initial decision. Had she won a claim or been going through a claim before being appointed for the second opportunity, this may have affected her chances of getting the second role. There is legal protection in place to prevent discrimination due to raise a claim but sadly a discriminatory organization could structure the process to not favour one candidate and this would make a further claim harder to prove. The reality, in the view of the authors, is that discriminatory practices can be hidden and perhaps this is why there are still big differences between then average earnings of men and women 30 years after protective legislation was introduced.

4. What approach to fair employment is being taken by the organization that employs Jenny? The long term impact of making a claim after being turned down for the first role might have ended up being detrimental to Jenny as she might not have got the second role. Making a claim when successful for the second role certainly would not have been seen in a positive light and in any case her losses would have been minimal as it could be argued that she inadvertently secured a better role following the discrimination and therefore suffered no loss other than potentially injury to feelings. In the end Jenny’s career did not suffer as a result of what occurred. She stayed for 3 years in the new role and then left to advance her career very successfully elsewhere. Perhaps Melbourne would not have lost her had their recruitment process been more transparent and in the long run her career did not suffer in this case.

5. What improvements should the company make to the way in which it manages similar situations? The authors view is that the organization that employs Jenny is guilty, as many organizations are, of following an equal opportunities approach as far as it believes it is of short term benefit to the organization but does not embrace the long term benefits of being diverse. This case never went to a tribunal so there was no opportunity to test the fairness of the recruitment practices but the authors doubt that the process was robust and therefore Jenny would have had a high probability of winning her case but with little or no personal financial benefit. However this would appear to be an example of differences that occur between an organisation which purports to be an equal opportunities employer and one that embraces diversity. The danger of over reliance on HR to keep the company out of court can result in discriminatory decisions being ‘stage managed’ to appear to be fair. A truly diverse organization will hold diversity as one of its core values, not just a means to avoid the cost of litigation.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 6 This example also captures the difficulty in relying on legislation alone to bring about diversity as it is core attitudes and beliefs that need to change if an organization is to truly become diverse and attitudes and beliefs are not easy for an organization to change. (see bbc.co.uk ,21 October 2003 for details of the exposure of racism in the Greater Manchester Police by a BBC reporter for a programme called ‘The Secret Policeman’ for another example). Recommendations for managing similar situations might include: • Ensuring all vacancies are advertised externally as well as internally. Failing to externally advertise may add further weight to a claim for discrimination in that if the internal mix of potential candidates does not reflect the community at large then this may be indirectly discriminatory. • Having a clear fair recorded process that openly identifies all potential candidates for suitable roles within the succession plan. • Training in data protection and confidentiality of information. • Recruitment and selection procedures that screen and select on a fair and objective basis with set criteria that are feedback to any candidate upon request. • Attitudinal training to challenge board and senior managers to examine and reflect upon beliefs and attitudes about fundamental issues relating to equal opportunities and diversity.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 7

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

The obligations under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999referred to in the chapter place a duty on employers to assess the risks to employees and anyone else who may be affected by the work activities being undertaken. This includes voluntary workers and members of the public who may come in to adopt a cat in the example of the Netherton Cat Shelter. Preventative and protective measures must be taken to reduce these risks to ensure they are adequately controlled. Measures applied to volunteers should only be different if there are different risks. It is good practice to ensure the same level of health and safety protection regardless of whether or not someone is in paid employment and this includes full training, supervision and providing PPE where necessary.

1. What activities would you recommend that the managers plan to audit health and safety at the shelter? The committee should check the following: • The charity is registered with the HSE; • That employer’s liability insurance is up to date and a certificate is displayed; • That the health and safety policy is appropriate and is up to date; • First aid provisions and accident reporting requirements are in place; • Identify what risk assessments have been carried out and when and what control measures and training are needed to control risks. Put in place an action plan to address gaps include training plans for existing and new staff and volunteers; • Check that basic welfare facilities are adequate (toilets, washing facilities, drinking water); • Consult with managers and volunteers in all of the above and take their views and recommendations into account; • Display the health and safety law poster.

3. What would you regard to be the most urgent actions in respect of the incidents reported over the last week? • • • • •

Investigate the accident to identify what happened and how, reporting to the HSE if lost time of more than 3 days arose, put preventative measures in place to prevent a recurrence; Identify what chemicals are on site and how they are stored and used; Obtain COSHH information about these; Where chemicals including detergents are needed, identify the safest chemical that is suitable for the task required and replace and properly dispose of any chemicals which are not required; Carry out a risk assessment for each tasks where these are used;

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 7 • •

Produce a safe system of work for each of these tasks including how much of which products to use, how to use them, what PPE to use and how to safeguard others in the working area; Train key employees and volunteers on these systems and ensure that no one carries out these tasks without adequate training.

3. How would you go about helping the shelter to identify the main risks that need the quick establishment of risk assessment? The shelter can identify which assessments need to be carried out, without the need for specialist help. There are a number of options to help identify risks. A starting point might be to meet with the 2 managers and list the top 10 risks that could cause serious injury or harm. Suggestions might include: • • • • • • • •

Working at heights (e.g. accessing storage, ladders etc.); Electrical safety equipment, wiring sockets etc.; Fire safety. Heating and cooking appliances, storing flammables etc.; Risk from slips trips and falls e.g. cleaning/ wet floors, storage on floors, stair cases, procedures for maintenance work, man-holes etc.; Asbestos – is there any on site? is it controlled? Hazard substances; Lifting, manual handling risks; Handling cats, cat bites, scratches etc. – risk of infection;

4. What options might be available to the shelter to get some support in getting basic systems set up? Support in settings up basic systems might come from the following: •

Contact the HSE direct to get guidance on how to approach this;

•

Read through the HSE publication: Health and Safety Executive (2006) Charity and Voluntary workers – A guide to Health and Safety at Work’ HSE books (HSG192) HSE Books;

•

Go through the HSE’s 5 step approach to risk assessment with staff and volunteers;

•

Ask other similar voluntary organisations for copies of their risk assessments and control measures;

•

Ask local businesses and other organisations for voluntary assistance;

•

Select a paid consultant, but make sure they are trained and have the right experience;

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 7 •

The shelter managers may want further training such as the NEBOSH certificate (www.NEBOSH.org.uk).

5. What are the potential implications to the shelter if it continues to ignore its health and safety obligations? Implications to the shelter of a failure to address issues might include: • • • • • •

The risk of further accidents, including more serious injury or harm; The risk of claims from staff and volunteers; The financial loss sustained; Loss of people willing to volunteer and staff turnover; Risk of prosecution or intervention from the HSE, including improvement or prohibition notices; Loss of morale from failure to consult and from lack of interest in welfare.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 8

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. With international secondments and overseas business travel now much more frequent than they used to be, what is the role of HR in supporting this? Much depends on the experience of the staff involved and the duration of the overseas work. For experienced people who are frequent travellers and whose overseas commitments are relatively brief, HR may not need to become involved beyond offering advice on medical requirements, ensure adequate insurance cover is provided and provide advice on security issues. Where longer term secondments are concerned, providing support for families, arranging transport and cultural awareness training, organising accommodation and schools and making appropriate arrangements for returning to the UK would all be considered appropriate HR contributions.

2. What competences do HR staff need to have to be effective in preparing and supporting expatriates? Above all, HR staff need to be sensitive to the nature of the expatriate experience and they are likely to have this awareness if they themselves have experience of working overseas. Beyond this general awareness and familiarity, they would need to have a good understanding of different cultural and legal systems and be able to advice staff on inappropriate behaviours. Where conditions of employment are governed by different legal and social norms, they would also need to posses the knowledge to advice on specific aspects of recruitment, reward and discipline.

3. What can be done to avoid or limit the effect of culture shock? There is always the potential for some degree of culture shock, and this is more likely to be experienced where families are involved in overseas assignments. Preparation is the key – the more those involved are aware of what they might experience and why, the less it will impact the negative aspects of culture shock will have. The ability to talk to more experiences staff about what they felt and how they coped will certainly be a useful way of reducing the surprise effect. In addition, the ability to seek advice and talk to someone during the overseas experience is also important for however well prepared people might be, there is always the possibility that something untoward happens. 4. Consider HR’s role in developing an ethical code of practice for managers working and doing business abroad. Ethical behaviour is increasingly important in business, given the many recent examples of where personal behaviour and business practices have gone beyond what is considered to be acceptable. Of course, ethical behaviour is not necessarily a matter of absolute standards – certain behaviours would be considered acceptable in

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 8 the UK but not in certain overseas countries and visa versa. This relates to such aspects of HR as recruitment and selection and promotion. The question is which ethical standards are to be applied, not by any means an easy question to answer. HR’s role in clarifying what is expected of staff working abroad has also to cover social as well as work related behaviours, but this then raises the question of the extent to which HR can legitimately try to regulate the non -work related behaviour of employees living as well as working overseas.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 9

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. How might you explain the huge rise in absence levels between 2001–02 and 2003– 04? Year on year changes in absence rates can be explained in various ways – •

• •

Unemployment levels may have fallen leading to the feeling on the part of some employees that they could easily get a job in the event that there absences were considered to be subject to disciplinary action and possible dismissal. Employees might have felt that management were simply not interested in absence, in other words the lack of management interest could have encourage certain staff to have extra time off. Most absence is linked to sickness and it may have been the case that one year was associated with particular illnesses such as Winter flu that impacted on overall absence rates.

2. Why do you think that the interventions used to reduce absence between 2003–04 and 2004–05 managed to reduce absence so significantly? The figures for 2000 – 2004 are inaccurate – they should be lower than 15.7 days on average. This means that the figures for that and the following year showed some improvement. Why? Well the main explanation was the impact of management’s new absence management strategy. Many of those who took unjustified ‘sickies’ would do so in the belief that management were tolerant of such behaviour, and in the past they had been. The lack of any serious interest in absence levels by management would have been understood by those in the labour force who were more likely to engage in unauthorised absence, seeing such behaviour as being legitimated by default. Once management developed a new strategy, and enforced it, the old sense of laxness was replaced by a different perception, one moreover that saw unauthorised absence as being subject tighter control and regulation. The message soon began to influence behaviour!

3. Does the demographic profile of the organization have an impact on absence? Demographics do affect absence levels and rates and this means that benchmarking with other organisations has to take into account demographic factors. That the majority of employees were female is significant, particularly if the average age was relatively low. This would link to child bearing and family commitments, both of which are linked to absence. Age is an interesting demographic factor. It might be thought that an older labour force would have higher absence rates than a younger one, but this is not necessarily the case – the reverse may well be experienced.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 9

4. Are there any absence management interventions that the organization has not covered? One that stands out is the use of discipline. Whether this is an appropriate strategy depends very much on what are the causes for any level of absence. Where sickness is the main factor, there are limits to which discipline can be taken, but where sickness absence is persistent and there are grounds for believing much of this is contrived, disciplinary action may at some point be justified. The point about this is that if management are seen to be prepared to use discipline in justifiable circumstances, the message soon gets round and people are less likely to risk this when their absences lack legitimacy. 5. How do you think the trade unions have viewed the organization’s growing focus on absence management? Trade Union reactions are likely to be varied. On the one hand, they would oppose any managerial action that appeared to be victimising employees who were ‘genuinely’ absent from work, and they would generally not be in favour of such employees being subject to discipline. On the other hand, they would have to recognise that many employees who were never or rarely absent would probably be very supportive of management taking action to address excessive absence levels and targeting those most frequently absent. So the TU response would need to reflect both considerations.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 10

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers

1. It might be argued that what was seen in this case study was an example of what is described as the ‘Hawthorne Effect’. This can be understood as an increase in worker motivation and productivity, produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out and made to feel important. What are the origins of this phenomenon and how can it be used to support structured learning? The Hawthorne Studies are famous in the literature on Organisational Theory and Behaviour. The original work by Roethlisberger and Dixon has led to many summaries and third hand accounts of what happened and why, so there is a strong case to go to the original and read it first hand. The so called ‘ Hawthorne Effect’ relates to the impact on and changes in a person’s behaviour when that person, or group, feel that management or any other interested party – in this case academic researchers – began to show a genuine and sustained interest in them. This is thought to trigger of a change in behaviour. In the original experiments the researchers were trying to establish the effect of the level of illumination on production levels, but these rose despite persistent reductions in illumination. Why? It was thought that the workers were reacting to the researchers rather than illumination levels.

2. Why are ownership and responsibility important in the design and delivery of training? Much training experienced by employees is perceived as being ‘done to them.’ They have little say in what they are required to learn or how and they, as a consequence feel almost alienated from the experience. There may also be an element of coercion in certain kinds of training that employees are required to attend. This is likely to result in employees reducing the commitment given to and interest shown in the training experience, with the result that it often fails to deliver its intended objectives. The view now held by many who have an interest in training and development is that those involved should ‘own’ the experience by being involved from the earliest possible moment and being active rather than passive ‘players.’ It is believed that this will liberate potential and creativity and result in genuinely beneficial learning experiences.

3. Are there any training situations in which the principles and practices of accelerated learning cannot be applied? If so, why? There are limits to the use of Accelerated Learning, but only in the sense that whatever needs to be learnt is often subject to different learning methodologies and methods. Where there is a clear and persuasive need for a strongly prescriptive approach to what has to be learnt, then this may justify an alternative approach, but the AL is more of an approach – it’s a philosophy of learning where knowledge is created by those who are learning rather than information being passed on in a passive way. For most management training and education AL is absolutely appropriate because it works!

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 10

4. In the example above, consider the barriers to learning and how these were overcome. The barriers to learning essentially lay in the mind sets of those involved – the trainers and trainees. Both are influenced by prior experiences of training, often negative, and rigid role expectations. Getting people to think differently and question their mental models and assumptions about how things can be done is critical to changing what training can deliver. There is also the question of trust and what we believe people are capable of – we are often incapable of breaking out of our beliefs about other people, and without this change we tend to rely on tried and trusted – but often ineffective – methods and approaches. 5. Consider the six ‘E’s of training described earlier in this chapter: what was the reason in this case study for the training and was this requirement ultimately met? All the six E’s of training can be seen to be relevant in this case study. Probably the most significant in relation to the approach underpinning Rainbow Training, (AL) was to engage the staff in their own learning. This was achieved by empowering them – they were given objectives but left to agree the means for achieving these themselves. This created the context in which higher levels of creative energy could be generated to achieve the objectives. As a result, all those are enlightened in the sense of becoming aware of something new and different. This in turn educates people in the sense that not only do they learn valuable new skills that enhance their performance but understand the principles that contribute to the changes they themselves have contributed to.

Banfield & Kay: An introduction to HRM, Chapter 11

End of Chapter Case Questions – Indicative Answers 1. What were management’s objectives in designing this scheme? Management were requested by the workers to provide them with a bonus scheme that could increase weekly earnings. Essentially in designing the scheme, management were seeking to placate the employees and ‘keep them happy.’ Meeting employee expectations and interests is achieved in different ways – in this case it was through the opportunity to earn more. Of secondary importance was the objective of increasing productivity.

2. Was the scheme about performance or productivity? The scheme was about both, but it was a productivity based scheme that was designed to increase the workers’ performance. This means the output side of the productivity relationship was increased relative to the input values. Performance was expressed in time savings to complete each job, based on the practices of time study where allowed times were compared to actual times.

3. If the index were to increase from its base line, what might the explanations for this be? There are several important flaws. The most important is that changes in the productivity index can result from influencers other than genuine time saved working practices; in other words the index increased not simply because the workers worked harder/more quickly. The other influence on the index was the bargaining power of the employees which was deployed to gain more lenient times from the workshop manager. Another possible flaw could have been the calculation of the base line of the index. A third flaw could have been the historical ‘looseness’ of job times in the shop.

4. Are there any potential flaws in the scheme? HR were unaware of the social and political dynamics in existence with he LMS and based their assumptions on employee behaviour on a purely economic interpretation of the situation. The assumption was that the incentive effect of a bonus would stimulate the workers to higher levels of performance; they failed to realise that employees are almost always smarter than they are given credit for and will find ways to exploit loopholes in such schemes that benefit the workers and not necessarily the management.