Answer:
Given Bandag Automotive size, and anything else you know about it, should we reorganize the human resource management function, and if so, why and how?
- Bandag should reorganize their HRM function since it currently has nor HR department and due to its size a lot of issues are showing up. Bandag should hire HR specialist that coordinates the newly formed department. Human capital is extremely important and managing it poorly can ultimately hurt and even make a company go out of business. If managed correctly, HR can help a company expand and grow.
What, if anything, would you do to change and/or improve upon the current HR systems, forms, and practices that we now use?
- First of all, a HR department must be established and functional roles must be assigned to its members. This company lacks organization, and it must first organize itself in order to function properly. The company is currently being managed like a family coffee shop that has hundreds of employees and family members working all together.
Do you think that the employee whom Jim fired for creating what the manager called a poisonous relationship has a legitimate claim against us, and if so, why and what should we do about it?
- Maybe Henry was right about complaining, but he didn't do it in the proper way. He had also been warned previously about performance issues, so it is unlikely that he has a legal case against the company.
Is it true that we really had to put Gavin back into an equivalent position, or was it adequate to just bring him back into a job at the same salary, bonuses, and benefits as he had before his leave?
- Gavin is one of the most valuable and important employees in the company, having managed one of Bandag's stores for a few years. If the company wants to retain him, then he should be given a similar salary, bonuses and other benefits since he proved that he deserved them.
Miriam, the controller, is basically claiming that the company is retaliating against her for being pregnant, and that the fact that we raised performance issues was just a smokescreen. Do you think the EEOC and/or courts would agree with her, and, in any case, what should we do now?
- Miriam already received 12 weeks of pregnancy leave and 3 additional weeks for extended illness, so it is hard to argue that she is being fired for getting pregnant. The owner, Jim, states that she was performing poorly, turning work late, incomplete and possibly even forged. It would be very difficult for her to prove a case against the company.
An employee who is deaf has asked us to be one of our delivery people and we turned him down. He’s now threatening to sue. What should we do, and why?
- Since the employee was not given the delivery job because of his disability, then he will probably win. The only way to prevent a lawsuit is to do the screening process all over again and do it correctly this time.
In the previous 10 years, we’ve had only one equal employment complaint, and now in the last few years we’ve had four or five. What should I do about it? Why?
- The main culprit for this mess is Jim. He took over as manager when his father retired and hasn't been able to do it correctly. He might be very good at certain things, but he is not good at HRM. That is why he should establish a HR department because if things continue like this, problems will only increase and become more serious.