Case Study Analysis: Waterside Publications Limited

Analysis of Waterside Publications Limited from strategic HR management perspective

The people management is considered as one of the most important skills of the HR Manager (Wang and Zhang 2012). It is the duty of the human resource managers to look after the employee’s concern and devise solutions for their issues in the organization. This is the reason the HR managers should have the ability to connect with others. They should have strong communication skills as they need to interact with the employees of the organization on a regular basis (Den Hartog et al. 2013). They should have active listening skills and they should be able to understand the concerns of the employees. The HR managers are leaders who are in charge of improving the workplace productivity. The employees would maximize their productivity if they are satisfied in the workplace and if their issues are resolved in the workplace (Wang and Zhang 2012). There are an increasing number of companies which are focusing on the importance of good people management skills in the human resource managers.

This paper would analyze the people management issues in Waterside Publications Limited. This report would be provided to the Board of Directors by Laura Turner (HR Manager), which would improve the people management skills at Waterside Publication. This report would contain an in-depth analysis of the Waterside Publication in reference with the strategic HR perspective. It would also contain recommendations for improvement of the people management within the organization. An action plan would be produced for proposing the changes by adding the estimated costs as well as estimated timings.

The strategic human resource management function is an important function in order to deliver successful products or services in the market (Daley 2012). In this case, an in-depth HR analysis of Waterside Publications is done under the following subsections-

According to Grant (2016), the strategy can be defined as a long-term path of an organization through setting up of suitable actions in order to achieve organizational objectives. A strategy is important since it utilizes the organizational resources in the best possible way so that the objectives set by all the stakeholders are satisfied. The strategy has close interconnection with the managerial function in an organization. As argued by Chernilo (2013), there some critical dimensions of strategy such as logical flow of the managerial tasks, idea of the competitive domain, unifying decision making pattern and coherent pattern of decision making activity. There are three levels that the strategies can be implemented such as corporate level, business level and the operational level (Grant 2016). The Whittington’s Typology of Strategy would be used to analyze the case of Waterside Publications because it would help in the understanding of the strategy formulation of the managers in this organization (Whittington 2014).

Parameters Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	Alan and Kim era	New Management era	Contrast
Type of Organization	Creative and people friendly organization	Creative and people friendly organization	Similar
HR Development	No fixed approach implemented	Many development initiatives	Different
Decision Making	Centralized with only Kim/Alan	Mix of centralization and decentralization	Different

The management at Waterside Publications adopted a planned/deliberate approach, in which there were separate entities for the formulation as well as implementation of strategy. Alan and Kim strived to implement creative and people friendly organization in which there is sufficient amount of informal communication. This was good for the organization. They also emphasized on the knowledge sharing functions however, HR Manager Laura felt that there were not much policies undertaken for enriching the human resources. There were central decision making power with Kim and the ideas of HR Manager were not considered for decision making purposes. This was not good from an organizational perspective.

Strategy Process

The key implications of these strategies in HRM is that if there are no fixed approaches for people development, then they would be demotivated and they may leave the organization. If the HR manager is not considered while deciding the HR policies, then those policies would not be optimum and may not fulfill the organizational objectives. This makes it mandatory to implement best practice in the organization and considering the best fit in the given scenario.

As opined by Epstein and Buhovac (2014), the theory of universalism focuses on the fact that there is one best way for the management of the people, which is applicable in all the context across the organization. It relies more on the research based approaches. Barney (2012) argues that the organizations are increasingly relying on the best practices that are particularly suited to their workplaces. One HR policy which is suitable for one organization might not be suitable for other organization. In this case study scenario, Guest’s (1989) framework would be used, which focusses on four policy goals of HR in namely (Gannon Doherty and Roper 2012).

Strategic Integration- This considers the HR function at the strategic peak, which implies that there is adequate degree of horizontal and vertical integration.

Commitment- This parameter is suitable for ensuring high performance of the employees and aims to bind the employees to the organization.

Quality focus- This factor implies that the high quality human resources would provide the best products as well as services to the clients.

Flexibility- The flexibility parameter requires a functional flexibility in the organization and particular organizational style, which is adaptable.

Parameters	Alan and Kim era	New Management era	Contrast
Strategic Integration	No integration	Horizontal and Vertical integration	Different
Commitment	People friendly practices	Low performance of employees	Different
Quality focus	Focus on quality	High quality products/services	Similar
Flexibility	Open door management	No flexibility	Different

There was no strategic integration in Waterside Publication, during the Alan and Kim era because the HR manager was not consulted while making important decisions on the HR matters. The employees were given adequate flexibility during Alan and Kim era since they were given the options like “Work from home”. However, during the American management era, there were strict rules with minimal level of flexibility. This also resulted in poor commitment of the employees towards fulfilling their organizational duties. These were some negative attributes. However, the quality focus followed by Alan/Kim matched perfectly with the new American management era. This was considered as good attribute. If there is no horizontal or vertical integration while making important strategies, then there would be implications like improper strategic decisions of the company, which would be detrimental to the company in the long run. The low performance of the employees would ultimately affect the productivity of the organization. This makes it mandatory to understand the resource based view of the organization and utilize the superior capabilities of the firm.

The resource based view of the management is concerned with the comprehensive process of forming structures for resource portfolio of a firm (Papastergiadis 2013). It takes into account the different capabilities, assets, knowledge and attributes of the firm to formulate policies, that would help them to gain competitive advantage (attained through incorporating superior capabilities). This kind if view is done with the help of “inside out” view to strategy. In this case study scenario, the Leonard’s core capabilities framework would be used because it emphasizes on the “core capabilities” of a firm (Lin and Wu 2014). These core competencies of a firm are considered as assets of the firm that cannot be duplicated easily.

Parameters	Alan and Kim era	New Management era	Contrast
Employee Knowledge/Skills	High importance was given	Only top 10 percent of key staffs	Different
Managerial Systems	Equality existed	Partial treatment of employees	Different
Values and norms	Best people friendly value	Less emphasis on values	Different
Physical technical system	Average	Average	Similar

Best Practice

During the Alan and Kim era, high level of importance was given to employee development, which was quite different in the American management era. The employees were supposed to find their own personal ways of improving their skills and the company would be responsible for skill development of only 10 percent of the important employees in the organization. There were significant changes in the managerial system as well. Earlier, the performance appraisal was treated lightly and the salary hike was almost equal. During the American era, the performance appraisal was changed to individual based one and only few members were given lump some remuneration while others were simply put on a “group bonus” scheme, irrespective of their skills and capabilities. There was growing partiality in the organization. There was also a reduction in the values and norms of the employees as there were increased instances of favoritism in the organization. These differences impacted the organization in a negative way.

The implications of this kind of approach is that there would be growing number of dissatisfied employees who would give less output and hence they would be unable to fulfil their work objective. Also, there would be huge attrition rate for the organization. This implies that the organization would need to focus on the labor market to get suitable manpower, which would be discussed in the next section under “Economic Context”.

As opined by Schulten and Müller (2012), the modern economic times are turbulent as there is an increasing volatility as well as uncertainty. There has been a great impact of Brexit on UK and its functioning. The increased globalization has implications on the labor market conditions. The wage determination is measured by the interaction of demand and supply in the market (Schulten and Müller 2012). There is also the impact of collective bargaining power of the trade unions, which influences the organization’s decision about the wage structure (Alvesson 2012). There has been changes in the employment trends as well. There are changes in the occupational levels of the employees. There is a rise in the knowledge and skilled workers. The labor supply is usually governed by the quality, mobility, potential productivity and the cost. It is also important to look for alternate ways to redundancy as it is not wise option to let the experienced employees leave the organization (Alvesson 2012). The Shamrock Organization or the Handy model would be used for assessing how the organization would react to the economic uncertainty (Mohsen Allameh and Deh Houz 2014).

Parameters	Alan and Kim era	New Management era	Contrast
Specialist Core Workers	Above average basic salaries	High remuneration for core staffs	Similar
Contractual Fringe	No outsourcing	Outsourcing programs	Different
Flexible Workforce	Flexible work environment	Individual based schemes	Different
Induction Process	Ad hoc and relaxed	Sophisticated approach depending on work level	Different

The specialist core workers are paid well both at the time of the Alan/Kim and also during the time of the American management era. It was believed that paying the specialist employees of publishing would inspire other members to do well in the organization. However, earlier there were no outsourcing of the employees in the organization. But, during the time of the Beechwood management, there were greater emphasis on the outsourcing program. There were recruitment of the appointment of business analysts and strategic planning manager. The outsourcing process was synonymous with downsizing, when the senior employees were fired off. There was flexible workforce during the time of Alan and Kim. They interacted with all the employees, irrespective of their management positions in the organization. However, the American management were flexible in recruiting their employees from wide number of sources. The induction process earlier was ad hoc as well as relaxed process. The employees were given sufficient time to absorb in the organization. However, this was not the case during the time of American management, which was not good from an organizational point of time. The implications of these differences in the people management style was an increasing number of resignation by the senior employees of the organization. There would be increasing number of attrition, if there is no focus on the improving the organizational culture of the organization.

Resource Based View

As stated by Chatman et al. (2014), the organizational strategy is influenced by the organizational culture to a great extent. The cultural values are usually enduring and embedded deep in the culture. The culture is the key determinant of how the environment of organization is perceived by the organization (Hogan and Coote 2014). The managers tend to manage the culture in a way so that there is a benefit for the organization as a whole. The culture is considered as a variable attribute, which can be manipulated in order to improve the performance of the organization (Hogan and Coote 2014). A strong culture is characterized by the strong emotional connect of the employees to the different core values of the organization. On the other hand, the weak culture refers to the culture in which the employees are not satisfied and agrees little with the decisions of the management (Hogan and Coote 2014). This case study analysis would be done through Schein’ s three cultural layer model, because this model would help in the understanding of the attitudes of the employees, values of the senior management and the different assumptions regarding employees understanding of the organizations (Matsuhashi Kuijer and de Jong 2012).

Parameters	Alan and Kim era	New Management era	Contrast
Attitudes of the employees	Cooperative and supportive	Non-supportive and intolerant	Different
Values of the senior management	Employee friendly	Not employee friendly	Different
Employees understanding of organization	Employee Satisfaction	Employee Dissatisfaction	Different

The attitudes of the employees were supportive and cooperative during the Alan and Kim era, since the senior management took care of the needs of the employees. This was due to the fact that their learning needs were encouraged in the organization and the employees were told to enroll themselves in the training courses. They also embraced diversity in the workplace. On the other hand, the American style of management was least bothered about the well-being of the employees and there was a high degree of redundancy in the organization. This was evident from the fact that there was tight management control in the organization along with a competitive as well as aggressive management style. This led to growing dissatisfaction among the employees. The values of the organization under the American management style was not considered as employee friendly. The implications of these kind of managerial system may lead to negative organizational culture with a high attrition rate. This would also imply a negative image in the market and would lower the competitive position of the organization.

Parameter	How it can be improved?
Develop suitable HR development initiatives	More involvement of the HR manager
Decentralized decision making authority	Senior employees should be consulted

 
It is important to develop suitable HR development initiatives, which needs to be implemented phase wise in the organization so that there is sufficient scope of the employee to enrich their skills. There should be decentralized decision making authority and the senior employees should be consulted before implementing particular decision. There should be more involvement of the HR manager in the decision-making process. Their inputs must be considered while making important decisions regarding compensation, recruitment, training and employee engagement activities.

There should be different kinds of vertical as well as horizontal integration in the organization. There should be transparent communication in the organization and there should be clear participation of the key persons in the organization. It is important to implement “Work from home” options in the organization and implement other employee friendly practices. There should be other initiatives such as paid vacations for employee, health facilities, good incentive structure, movie vouchers and others. It is important to give sufficient employee friendly practices in the organization such as information sharing, internal promotion and self-managed teams

The wage structure should be made according to skills, knowledge and expertise of the employees rather than partiality. There should be equal remuneration of the employees, which would improve the employee’s satisfaction of the employees. There should be more values of the senior management and the senior management should transpire between good values in the organization. The senior management should act as a role model among the employees. There should me more emphasis on improving the core capabilities of the organization and its employees.

Parameter	How it can be improved?
Mode of recruitment	In-house recruitment of employees
Induction Process	Flexible induction process

 
There should be more focus on improving the recruitment process in the organization and there should be in-house recruitment of employees. It is also important to implement a more detailed and flexible induction process. There should be more emphasis on interaction of the new employees with the existing employees of the organization. This would not only enhance the knowledge of the new employees but would also create bonding with the existing employees.

There should be greater emphasis on the development of the organizational culture. The senior management should be more sensitive to the needs of the employees. There is need of creating employee friendly practices. It is also important to display good behavior from the senior management, which would help in the creation of positive work environment. If the employees get good treatment from their supervisors, they would be happy and this would improve their productivity.

What would be done?	Why it needs to be done?	Timeline	Process	Person responsible
Form HR team	Better work efficiency	3 months	Support of senior management	HR Manager
In-house recruitment	Good employees in the organization	4 months	Interview and Group Discussion	HR Team
Proper induction format	Enrich employees of organization	2 months	Audio Visual and Multimedia tools	HR Team
Written manual regarding the organizational behavior	Transparent policy for all employees	2 months	Engaging department heads	HR Team
Market research to determine compensation package	Competitive salary package	6 months	Online and offline tools	Payroll Executive
Organize regular learning and development activities	Motivation of employees	5 months	Active participation of HR department	Learning and Development

What would be done?	Associated Costs (in $)
Form HR team	4,000
In-house recruitment	5,000
Proper induction format	2,000
Written manual regarding the organizational behavior	1,000
Market research to determine compensation package	7,000
Organize regular learning and development activities	6,000

The action plan would comprise of the steps that would be done to implement the recommendations. The first step is to form HR team comprising of four to six members, which would be headed by Laura Turner (the HR Manager). This should be done with the help of senior management and this should be the prime responsibility of HR manager. There should be in-house recruitment of the employees and there should be formulation of a recruitment division within the organization. This would be achieved by interview and group discussion process. The HR team should decide the proper induction format of the employees. This can be done by several Audio Visual and Multimedia tools.

There should be written manual regarding the behavior that the employees are expected to display in the organization. This should be done by engaging department heads in the process. This should be applicable to all levels of the organization including the senior management. There should be market research to determine the compensation package provided by the competitive organizations, which would provide the basis for determining the actual package that would be offered to the employees. This should be done with the help of both online and offline tools. They should also organize regular learning and development activities in the organization which would improve the skills as well as knowledge of the employees. This should be done by active participation of the HR department in the process.

Conclusion

This report discussed the in-depth analysis of the strategic HR issues of Waterside Publications. A deliberate strategy is followed in the organization. A comparative analysis of the Alan and Kim era along with the America style of management has been done. The former one is characterized by centralization, people friendly organization, focus on quality, open door management, high importance to skills/knowledge existence of equality, flexible work environment, relaxed/ad-hoc induction process, no outsourcing involved, supportive environment and has high degree of employee satisfaction. On the other hand, the new American management style displayed low performance of employees, no flexibility, employee enhancement was done for only top 10 percent of key staffs, partial treatment of employees, less emphasis on values, focus on outsourcing programs, sophisticated induction approach depending on work level, high remuneration for core staffs and this resulted in the employee dissatisfaction. A practical set of recommendations were given that included the more involvement of the HR manager, consultation of the senior employees, giving more employee benefits, promote good values in the organization, flexible induction process, emphasis on in-house recruitment of employees and others. An action plan has been proposed with the main activities such as form HR team, focus on In-house recruitment, make Proper induction format, prepare written manual regarding the organizational behavior, perform market research to determine compensation package and organize regular learning and development activities. The time frames and the associated costs are also determined.

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