CASE STUDY
ROGER’S TIRE EXPERTS
Roger was ecstatic. The city administration had just approved his development plan to build a
mega retail store/service garage across the street from his current location. The store would
contain many new product lines, and the service garage would now offer state-of-the-art
computer diagnostic equipment. He had thought of everything: the financing, a marketing plan,
the slick new building, and the grand opening. And now, three months before the grand
opening, he has hired you to see if there are any improvements that he could possibly make to
his HRM practices.
Roger’s Tire Experts has no HR department or manager because Roger insists on making all
HR-elated decisions himself. The business currently employs 50 people and would likely need
another 100 or more. The thought of hiring people makes Roger cringe. According to Roger,
employees cost money and they usually didn’t have a “customer service” attitude, especially
“the young ones.”
Roger’s policy had been to hire his staff in a local hotel bar based on two criteria: a) They must
belong to the men’s club of which his is a member; and b) They must beat him in an arm-
wrestling match.
Roger uses the hotel bar to do business regularly. In fact, every Saturday, he buys the boys a
beer after work and tells them what he thinks of their work. He figures that the beer will dull
the impact of the performance review. Last Monday evening, Jimmy, a farmer in the
