Study Case

“Case 6: Realigning HR Practices at Egan’s Clothiers” from Integrative Case on pp. 596-8

Case Study Questions:

Answer the following in order.

·         Why was there no single formal complaint about Egan’s performance evaluation system? (100-word limit, three points)

·         Was Egan’s retail selling skills training effective or not? Please support your argument with evidence (100-word limit, three points).

·         Explain about the perplexing results regarding employee absenteeism and turnover (150-word limit, five points).

·         Draw your conclusion about the effectiveness of Egan’s performance evaluation system and suggest a solution to improve such system (250-word limit, nine points).

Word Limit, Format & Proofreading:

– The case should be analyzed in approximately 600 words. Papers with more than 750 will receive a penalty.

– The report should be written double-spaced, using 12-pt Times New Roman with normal margins. If you do not follow the format, five points will be deducted as it reflects your inattention to this document.

– Do not use bullet-point styles or number your sentences. Write your paper with multiple paragraphs with complete sentences. Do not ever submit a one-paragraph paper. You will receive five points total if you do not comply with this very basic rule.

– Avoid using vague pronouns to make your writing clear. Rephrase clearly to reflect your ideas. The following examples are from actual student submissions in previous semesters.

“Egan’s Clothier staff established contradictions in their Human Resource practice that if you are seeking to hire experienced individuals then you should not require so much training, thereafter. It presents itself as counterintuitive.”

“Instead of posting feedback daily, they might consider providing feedback on a monthly basis. This gives workers enough time so that the sales process is not rushed. It also opens opportunities for the company to invest in other aspects of the business. This could include going online to lower labor costs.”

General Advice:

The things you MUST avoid (Don’ts) are as follows:

1.         Do not waste your word count by introducing the summary of the case at the beginning of your report. Do not attach cover pages, headers, footers, appendices, tables or figures; they all count toward the word limit.

2.         Do not cite other sources. Do not search for answers on the internet. Do not cite the textbook, either. It is completely unnecessary.

Write your own report as if you were doing it in the classroom with no other recourse except the textbook.

3.         Do not make groundless assumptions. Read the case carefully multiple times before you begin to write your paper. Use the facts in the case only and do not fabricate your own facts. If you make an untrue statement, one point will be taken off per each statement.

Examples are as follows:

– The company should use incentive plans at all levels of employees (This is not accurate if the case does not have information on whether executives and upper management do not have incentive plans).

– Training is a total waste of money (Unless the case clearly indicates so, you cannot make this kind of strong statement).

4.         Do not suggest or recommend solutions excessively generic or obvious. All suggestions should be specific to the case and related to the question. Avoid the following examples:

– Suggestions that are so obvious and needless to say

– The company should align their HR practices with its values.

– The company should train its employees.

– The company should comply with laws.

– The company should adopt incentive plans along with a base pay.

– Suggestions without details

– They should change to team incentive – If you argue like this, state a reason, a type and a target of team incentive plans.

– They need other indicators to measure performance – So, what measure?

– Suggestions that do not make sense

– Experienced employees do not need training – Why are so many firms establishing training & development programs?

– Outside the scope of HRM (These are AWFUL suggestions.)

– They need a budget cut.

– The company should focus other aspects of business, except for HR.

– This company needs to reset firm strategies to save costs.

Here are the do’s:

1.         Thoroughly read the case and questions more than twice.

2.         Use terms and names consistently and correctly. If you address a person as Mr. Smith, keep calling him Mr. Smith. If you prefer Paul, introduce him as Paul. However, it is less desirable to switch back and forth between Paul and Mr. Smith. Also, Mr. Paul sounds awkward.

3.         Spell out the term first and indicate the abbreviation. Then use the abbreviation afterwards.

E.g., I love the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC is the guardian of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (CRA). The CRA is the cornerstone of equality in American society.

4.         Write correct sentences. Grammar software may not catch supra-segmental errors. For example, independent clauses should be connected by a coordinating conjunction, which forms a compound sentence. Dependent clauses cannot constitute a sentence by themselves and must accompany an independent clause with a subordinating conjunction to make a complex sentence. Please use appropriate conjunctions or, if you can, divide your clauses and make them separate sentences. In particular, do not write two independent clauses without a conjunction; it never reflects well on you (e.g., I came to work at seven, she was already there).

5.         Use appropriate transition words. Indicate whether you are ordering (first, second, third, finally), adding (moreover, additionally, in addition), contrasting (however, on the other hand, in contrast), or reasoning (thus, therefore, so, as a result). Clearly show relationships between sentences or paragraphs.

6.         Write clear paragraphs. One paragraph should have only ONE main idea. Your idea should be stated clearly in a topic sentence, not asking the reader to rely on guesswork. In addition, other sentences in the paragraph should support your main idea. When the paragraph is argumentative, you should provide evidence and reasons for your claim. When your paragraph is descriptive, you should add more flesh to the bone of your main description.

7.         Please proofread your writing before you hit ‘submit’ for the sake of both of us.

Plagiarism

1.         Do not search the internet for answers.

2.         If you copy even one clause verbatim, it is also plagiarism. As specified in the welcome document, if you plagiarized your assignment, not only do you receive zero points on the case study, but your letter grade will also be adjusted.