Rory's Case Study - Human Resource Management Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

RORY'S Case Study:
 
Company background:

Jasperson's Consulting is a well-established, highly respected and successful Australian company, providing consulting services in the areas of HR auditing and evaluation. The number of contracts the company has won has increased considerably over the past five years as a result of the burgeoning costs associated with the employment of skilled staff throughout Australia. Labour shortage trends across the country have also made companies aware of the need to attract, secure and retain good staff, and to evaluate their current processes and systems to ensure that they are conducted in an efficient and cost-effective manner. 
The company's head office is in Perth and there are branches in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The company employs tertiary-educated staff to provide consulting services to clients and has a core group of administrative support staff. 
Jasperson's has gained a national reputation for quickly identifying problems with existing HR processes and systems for clients and providing recommendations for improving productivity and saving costs. In the past 18 months, interest in its services has come from Asia, particularly Korea, Japan and Singapore, which have been experiencing similar labour shortage issues and increased competition from China, Thailand and India. In response to this, Jasperson's has been keen to establish a market in these countries with a view to setting up offices in their capital cities.

Recruitment strategy:

The company's established reputation in Australia has meant that it has experienced little trouble in attracting high-quality graduates from Australia's leading universities. On an annual basis, the company approaches these universities, advertising graduate positions within each of its three main forces across Australia. 
The graduates the company seeks to hold either a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in HRM, management or industrial relations or a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in organisational psychology. 
The company's graduate recruitment program is comprehensive and includes a number of evaluation phases in order to select the best candidates. Initial applications are screened and shortlisted on the basis of degree and major studied as well as overall grade received. Short-listed applicants in each capital city are then invited to participate in a group interview process, which identifies verbal communication skills, career aspirations and areas of interest. A final shortlist is then derived, with applicants participating in an intensive three-day selection program, incorporating group projects, case study analysis, and verbal and written presentations, followed by psychometric testing. Each state employs between five and 10 new graduates each year. 
Previous work experience is not a key selection criterion for a successful appointment. Graduates are appointed on the basis of demonstrating the following competencies:
 
• a tertiary qualification majoring in HR and/or organisational psychology 
• consistent, above-average grades throughout time at university 
• sound verbal communication skills 
• sound analytical and research skills 
• demonstrated written communication skills, particularly report writing 
• self-motivation and high level of initiative 
• clear career goals with a strong sense of ambition.

Rory's Appointment:

In the Perth recruitment and selection process, Rory Sampson was one of three recent graduates to be appointed as an HR consultant. He is 26 years old and received his Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in HRM and industrial relations, with Distinction. He is an extremely goal-oriented individual with a strong sense of drive and determination. 
The other two successful recruits were Sally Myers, who is 25 years old and has a double degree (a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in HRM and management, and a Bachelor of Science, majoring in organisational psychology), and Brett Hutchings, a mature-aged student of 32 who previously worked in the telecommunications industry. Built has a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in HRM and management and won the Dux Award for the best graduate from his university last year. 
Rory was thrilled to be appointed. He was aware of Jasperson's profile as a leader in the HR auditing and evaluation field and knew that the company was keen to extend its services internationally. Rory had strong career aspirations to one day run his own consultancy business and knew that this appointment would give him the practical training and experience he needed. He knew that the initial probationary period would be exhausting and that he was going to be learning a great deal in a very short period of time. However, he was also aware that he would need to make a good impression and stand out from the other two new recruits if he was going to get the 'good' assignments straight away, 
Over the next three months, Rory took the opportunity to learn as much as he could about the company. He read recent annual reports, financial statements and policy manuals. He also read the record of previous clients, the type of consultancy assignments undertaken, recommendations made and feedback evaluations from clients. 
He also made sure that he understood the office politics. He very quickly became aware of the critical players in the organisation: the successful consultants who were given the biggest and most important consulting assignments; and the most respected, and influential, managers. He then set in place a strategy of assisting these managers with their jobs, often taking on a range of administrative tasks for them after hours. 
This strategy was highly successful for Rory. His performance review at the conclusion of the three-month probationary period, undertaken by his direct manager, John, was extremely impressive. He was found to have demonstrated a sound understanding of the organisation and his position and to have performed well in all aspects of his role. He was also considered to be extremely conscientious, going out of his way to assist others. 
During the probationary period, the new recruits were required to support existing consultants who were contracted to auditing and evaluation assignments for clients. This involved performing tasks such as reviewing existing procedures and processes, calculating HR costs and providing draft recommendations to the consultant. 
After a six-month period, the three recruits were required to undertake smaller consulting assignments independently. All three proved to be successful, carrying out their duties conscientiously and requiring little assistance or guidance. Rory was the most impressive, juggling a number of significant assignments and achieving sound cost savings for clients, 

The Korean Assignment:

One year after his initial appointment, Rory heard that the company had bid for a contract with a medium-sized telecommunications firm in Seoul. He knew that this could be his chance to prove himself and to fast-track his career. He also thought that he could use this assignment to make valuable business contacts for his own consulting pursuits in the future. 
Rory put forward a strong case to management requesting he be considered for the contract. He filed his impressive record with the company and his ability to make significant cost savings for clients. The company considered his proposal and decided to allow him to coordinate the project. 
Rory arrived in Seoul three weeks later, on a Sunday afternoon. He had only two working days to gain the confidence of the company's executive team, outline the proposal and secure the contract. 
On a Monday morning Rory caught a taxi to the company's premises for a 9 am meeting with the executive team. He had already been briefed that swapping and reading business cards with the team was an important part of the business protocol in Korea and had made sure that he had plenty on hand. 
By 9.15 am no one had arrived to greet him and Rory became anxious. Al 9.30 am the company director and four operational managers arrived. After shaking hands, Rory was ushered into the impressive boardroom. Another 30 minutes passed with the distribution and reading of business cards. The director and managers spoke a little English and smiled and nodded at him frequently. 
An elderly woman then entered the room with a trolley carrying a large ceramic teapot and small round cups, not unlike those Rory had seen in Chinese restaurants back home. This was then poured for each person in the boardroom. Everyone sal sipping the black, weak tea, smiling and nodding. This continued until 11.30 am. The conversation centred on what was written on the business cards and how Rory was finding his trip to Korea, Rory was conscious of the short period of time that he had and was concerned that no business had yet been discussed. He had come prepared with his laptop and portable projector ready to provide an impressive presentation on his proposal. 
At 11.45 am the director indicated it was time for lunch and they moved to another boardroom where a series of dishes were brought out over a period of 11/2 hours, followed by more lea. No business was discussed during this lunch. At 1.15 pm the director thanked Rory for coming, shook his hand and suggested that he might like to go back to his hotel room for some rest and an opportunity to see the sights around the city. The director indicated that he had arranged for a guide to collect him from his hotel al 3 pm to show him around. 
On returning to the hole, Rory phoned John in Perth, explaining that nothing had been achieved. "I've wasted an entire day drinking tea without an opportunity to tell them anything about my proposal, he complained. Just calm down, Rory, John responded. 'This is the Korean way of doing business and you have to be patient. You'll be able to get everything done tomorrow. Just relax and enjoy your tour of the city. 
The next day Rory again arrived at the office at 9 am. The same process followed, with the director and operational managers arriving at 9.15 am, going to the boardroom and the elderly woman arriving with a trolley with the tea, At this point, Rory politely refused the tea, opened his briefcase and commenced setting up the laptop and projector, stating: 'Thank you, gentlemen. It is now time to get down to business. My time is precious and I need to ensure that you clearly understand what we at Jasperson's can do for you.' With this, he launched straight into his presentation. 
At the conclusion of what he thought was an extremely impressive 'show', Rory asked for questions. No one said anything. The director then stood up, followed by the operational managers, and thanked him for coming to Korea. Rory could not believe it. He packed up his equipment, shook his head, thanked everyone and left. 
That evening, John phoned Rory in his hotel room. John was furious, 'We've had the director's assistant on the phone. He was very polite and thanked us for sending you, but they now consider that an Australian collaboration would clearly not be successful. 
'What?' said Rory, totally shocked. 
'What did you do to upset them?' said John. "It was a mistake sending you, Rory. I should have realised that it was too important an assignment to send such an inexperienced staff member.' 

Case Study Questions:

1. Introduction.

Of course, Rory las inside some mistakes. However, apparently there are some HR problems in Rory's case and management should be responsible for it. Please (1) briefly summarise the case and (2) identify the three most critical HR issues based on the topics we have discussed in class.

2. HR Issue One:

Why do you think this an important HR issue? Does it relate to any specific concept/theory/practice we have covered in a class? What suggestions you will provide to the company to solve this problem?

3. HR Issue Two:

Why do you think this an important HR issue? Does it relate to any specific concept/theory/practice we have covered in a class? What suggestions you will provide to the company to solve this problem?
 
4. HR Issue Three:

Why do you think this an important HR issue? Does it relate to any specific concept/theory/practice we have covered in a class? What suggestions you will provide to the company to solve this problem?

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