ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015
SEMESTER I
Programme: M.Sc. Strategic Leadership and Management
Course Code: PSMA 6001
Course: Human Resource Management
Lecturers: Dr. Gwendoline Williams and Mrs. Jennifer Braithwaite
Due Date: Monday
Coursework: FROST CASE
Coursework Topic
Team Members:
808013075 Andrea Charles
04773473 Kendra Persad
Leela Kissun
90742920 Marilyn Ramon-Fortun
814002467 Nykita Benny
806005808 Rajiv Gopie
Sean Shah
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
Development framework, concepts, theories, “tools” or approaches 1
TEAM CONTRIBUTION TO CASE BREAKDOWN 2
A. Kendra 2
B. Andrea 2
C. Sean – Staffing – Job Analysis; Recruitment; Workforce Planning; Selection 2
D. Rajiv – Compensation – Direct; Indirect; Non-Financial 2
E. Leela –Performance Management; Employee engagement; retention strategies; talent
management; succession planning; performance appraisal 2
F. Marilyn –Human Resource Development – Career Planning; training 2
G. Nykita – PESTLE Analysis 2
Andrea – THE PROBLEM 3
OPTIONS CONSIDERED 3
FACTORS CONSIDERED 4
SWOT ANALYSIS – (OLD) FROST INC. 5
FISHBONE DIAGRAM – FROST INC. 6
Sean – Staffing 7
Workforce planning 7
Recruitment 9
Selection 9
Induction 11
Redundancy and Outplacement 13
Definition 15
Current Compensation Package offered at Frost Inc. 15
DIRECT COMPENSATION 15
INDIRECT COMPENSATION 16
NON- FINANCIAL 16
Best Practices 17
Gap Analysis 18
E. Leela – Frost – Performance Management 20
What is Performance Management? 20
Why is it important? 22
How is it measured? 24
Best Practices in Performance Management 24
Recommendations for the Frost 26
F. Marilyn – Human Resource Development 27
Impact of Restructuring of the Company on Human Resource Development 27
Training Paths and Career building 28
SOLUTIONS/FINDINGS 32
Recommendations 32
CONCLUSION 36
APPENDICES 37
BIBLIOGRAPHY 38
Books 38
Articles 38
Websites 38
INTRODUCTION
Development framework, concepts, theories, “tools” or approaches
TEAM CONTRIBUTION TO CASE BREAKDOWN
Kendra
Andrea
C. Sean – Staffing – Job Analysis; Recruitment; Workforce Planning; Selection
D. Rajiv – Compensation – Direct; Indirect; Non-Financial
E. Leela –Performance Management; Employee engagement; retention strategies; talent
management; succession planning; performance appraisal
F. Marilyn –Human Resource Development – Career Planning; training
Nykita – PESTLE Analysis
Andrea – THE PROBLEM
Frost Inc. is a metalworking company founded in 1913 by C. L. Frost, a maker of brass
furniture hardware who switched to making overhead conveyor trolleys primarily for auto
industries after World War II. Chad Frost, the great-grandson of C. L. Frost, the president
and controlling stockholder of the Frost company had given the company new impetus
after 1969.
The company had experienced many failed attempts to diversify during 1970s – 1980 in
making new components for lawn mowers which had many missed delivery dates and in
manufacturing overhead conveyor trolleys to material handling systems (including roller
conveyors, floor conveyors, elevators and more) which also failed to deliver or be
implemented. These projects failed because of production personnel’s general lack of
knowledge in making the products and also because of the poor marketing strategies used
to sell the products.
Frost Inc. was a small niche market with few possibilities for growth and moreover, it had
experienced a recession when their sales plunged by 37.14% in 1982, dropping from 17.5
million to 11 million and then even further to 16.36% with final sales at 9.2 million in
1983. Frost and his managers then resolved to deliver the company out of this recession.
Inflexibility was diagnosed as the problem for the company’s failure to diversify and a
strategic decision had to be decided upon by Frost Inc. on how to gain the required
flexibility.
OPTIONS CONSIDERED
Frost, the president of Frost Inc. decided that automating production using a high
technology strategy was the key to making the company become more flexible in order to
combat the recession. Several technological options were researched and a decision was
taken to proceed with the automation. This project called for the reorganization of several
departments and the implementation of the following:
Factory Floor: Replacing 26 old-fashioned screw machines with 11 numerically-controlled
machine tools and 18 Industrial Robots;
Inventory: Designing and building an automated storage and retrieval inventory control
system;
Front Office: Completing automation to reduce indirect labour costs.
The employment of a Human Resource Consultant to manage the Workforce Planning
exercise.
FACTORS CONSIDERED
The high-tech strategy of the Frost company was really a human resource management
exercise in transforming the Frost business from a low-technology business to a
high-technology enterprise. The following are some factors considered in the case:
Personnel reorganization and training required;
Reshaping the company’s culture;
Demand and supply of the products;
Motivation of employees;
Recruitment and Outplacement of Employees;
Pressure to abide by the legal requirements of the State Labour Department without a
Human Resource Manager to act as the ‘clutch’.
Degrees of employees’ participations in company task forces and contributions to helping
others advance in the company.
SWOT ANALYSIS – (OLD) FROST INC.
A Fishbone Diagram is used here as a relevant Quality Tools to map the issues of Frost Inc.
in order to provide a holistic representation of the company’s issues.
FISHBONE DIAGRAM – FROST INC
Sean – Staffing
Workforce planning
Workforce planning is a core process of human resource management that is shaped by
organizational strategy and ensures the right number of people with the right skills are in
the right place at the right time to deliver short- and long-term organizational objectives
(CIPD)[1]. Frost recognized the need to re-organize his organization in an effort to move
forward with his plans for automation. He secured the services of Ampotech first to
conduct a workforce analysis on his vision of a fully automated plant and engaged his
employees in the initial stages, forming a task force to select the computerized
numerical-controlled machine tools. FocusedHR[2] diagrammatically illustrates the
objectives of Workforce Planning as having the “right people with the right skills in the
right place at the right time for the right cost”.
Mello[3] also listed these additional the key objectives:
To prevent overstaffing and understaffing
To ensure the organization is responsive to changes in its environment
To provide direction and coherence to all HR activities and systems, e.g. staffing, training
& development, performance management, talent management, retention, compensation
and benefits, etc.
To unite the perspectives of line and staff managers
MIT Human Resource[4] notes that after identifying the organizational priorities, the next
step in workforce analysis include:
Identifying the Critical Roles
Classifying the key job functions and job roles
Focusing on organizational new structure by function, units and job category
Inventory of the skills and knowledge
Identifying the skills, knowledge and attribute to contribute to success for the job to be
carried out
Identifying the strength/gaps of the existing workforce capabilities and the gaps that
require filling by hiring and/ or internal development
Frost hired Gary Weeden, a former Human Resource Director, to serve as one of the
members of the top management team to manage the Human Resource Department.
Weeded thus was able to improve on Ampotect’s initial analysis and workforce planning of
Frost’s fully automated plant. His initial tasks were to concentrate on recruitment,
outplacement, education and administration of benefits. When Weeden first arrived he
reviewed all the functions currently being performed in the organization and all the
functions that should be performed. He evaluated the individuals that were also performing
the functions. He essentially identified the critical roles and created an inventory of the
skills and knowledge of the organization. From his findings, he developed new
‘transitional’ job descriptions based on the skills, knowledge and abilities that would be
needed.
Recruitment
Definition of Recruitment[5]
Recruitment is the process of attracting prospective employees and stimulating them to
apply for jobs in an organization.
Recruitment is the process of hiring the right kinds of candidates for the right job.
Methods of Recruitment
There are various methods of recruitment which can be categorized under two broad
headings.
Internal Recruitment
External Recruitment
Selection
Selection is a process of sorting the most relevant job applications in accordance with the
Job Description or Job Specification provided for further rounds of candidate selection or
closure[6].
Frost opted to recruit internally first in an effort to retain as many of his existing staff as
possible. However, not everyone elected to remain with the organization so Frost was able
to recruit individuals with the right skills and outlook from outside the company.
Firstly, he ‘drafted’ workers internally, who he found were able to exhibit the technical
skills needed to operate the CNC machines (a critical function of the organization), and
based on their ability, knowledge and leadership he enlisted them to act as role models. By
selecting internally, Frost thus retained a diversified group of individuals across various
levels of the organization, both experienced and inexperienced.
However, not everyone agreed with Frost’s decision to “flatten” the organizations from 11
hierarchical levels to 4. As a result, a few critical roles became vacant with the departure of
the managers of the Accounting, Quality Control and Data Processing departments.
Frost also recruited externally and focused on not only the technical skills but also the
candidates’ ability to adhere to the new culture which of his transformed organization. He
recruited individuals with a wealth of experience who worked in small companies rather
