Group Case Study #1

MGMT1017
Christel Hortiz
Courtney Hill
Gianne Gonzalez
Lidia Ficca
February 5, 2016

Chapter 1: The Strategic Role of Human Resources Management

Running Case Study: LearnInMotion.com

Question 1:
According to the textbook, human resources management is the management of
people in organizations to drive successful organizational performance and
achievement of the organizations strategic goals (Dessler, Chhinzer, & Cole, 2014,
p.2). Human Resources Management does have a role to play in this organization
because in order to expand their LearnInMotion website, they are required to hire
more potential employees to have a successful business.
Question 2:
Technology- They are a web based company, so they need to be able to draw the
line between work and home life with their employees. Monitoring of employee
usage is necessary and something they need to watch for as they are constantly
using computers and the internet while working.
Government As their company grows, the need to be concerned with the laws that
may not be enforced when they are a smaller company but will be enforced as a
larger company. This may affect their employee standards, human rights, and
labour relations for their employees.
Labour Market Issues LearnInMotion needs to be aware of the increase in
workplace diversity. Many older generations are staying in the workforce, and they
may require more training. They also need to be careful to not just hire Generation Y
employees because they are known to be technological savvy. LearnInMotion needs
to maintain the diversity of their employees and hiring employees that are from the
four designated groups (women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and
aboriginals)
Chapter 2: The Changing Legal Emphasis
Question 1:
Yes, the Employment Standards Act does apply to LearnInMotion. They should
specifically include the minimum terms and conditions of employment into their
human resource policy to ensure equality among their employees. As well, they
should include parental, maternity or adoption leave to help benefit the employees.
Termination and severance pay should also be outlined in the human resource
policy along with benefits for each specific job title and what they are entitled to as
an employee of LearnInMotion.
Question 2:
Respectful Workplace Policy:
What is Harassment? Unwelcome behaviour that demeans, humiliates, or
embarrasses a person and that a reasonable person should have known would be
unwelcome (Dessler et al., 2014, p. 36).
Our Promise to You:

The management at LearnInMotion does not tolerate any and all harassment by or
received by the employees of LearnInMotion. We are committed to providing a safe
and respectful work environment for all staff and customers. This policy is to ensure
the workplace is comfortable for all of us at LearnInMotion.
Harassment is against the law. This is outlined in the Canadian Human Rights Act
and the Canada Labour Code. You have the right to a safe and comfortable
workplace where you are not harassed. Outlined in our policy is the steps and
procedures that will help you if you become aware of a harassment situation.
LearnInMotion will take every incident of harassment seriously when they are
brought to our attention. We promise that they will be dealt with the upmost
respect, fairly, quickly and confidentially. Anyone committing any form of
harassment will receive discipline from management as it will not be tolerated in
any form.
Some Examples of Harassment:
-

Unwelcome comments, gestures, jokes, and taunts, suggestions about a

persons body, colour, creed, origin, ethnic origin, family status, marital
status, age, sex, sexuality or other personal characteristics.
Written or verbal abuse or threats
Physical or sexual assault
Vandalism of personal property
Humiliating an employee in front of coworkers
Comments that embarrass or insult someone
Abuse of authority that undermines someones performance or threatens her
or his career
Unwelcome physical contact (Anti-Harassment Policy, 2016).

What to do if you feel youre being harassed:

1. Speak up about the situation. Tell the person to stop if possible. Often people
are unaware their behaviour is making someone else uncomfortable.
2. Make notes; you can write them a letter if you do not wish to speak to them,
keep a copy of this letter for yourself as well.
3. Speak to a manager and tell them how you are feeling about this situation.
4. Mediation may come before a formal investigation where a neutral third party
helps reach a solution.
5. If the informal route is not appropriate or does not succeed please make a
formal complaint to head office and it will be dealt with in a quick manner.
Please include as much detail as you can (Anti-Harassment Policy, 2016).
Remember, if it makes you uncomfortable, or you feel like you are being harassed,
tell someone right away. LearnInMotion is dedicated to a safe, friendly work
environment for everyone.
Chapter 3: Human Resources Management and Technology
Question 1:

As Jennifers and Pierres management consultant, each employee must have their
own detailed profile. In their profile we must have access to start date of working,
hours worked/scheduled(payroll), personal information (name, last name, phone
number, address, email etc.), vacation time availability, employment history,
benefits, and job position description within the company.
Question 2:
Adoption-Determining the Need for LearnInMotion Company
Company Background LearnInMotion is a high-tech company created by Jennifer
Lau and Pierre LeBlanc. The companys mission was to provide work related
learning when, where, and how you need it (Dessler et al., 2014, p.23).
LearnInMotion began to arise when both entrepreneurs purchased an unused lost
from Jennifers father. During this time, theyve hired two people a web designer
and a content manager for their website. In 2009, they had their first venture fund
from a venture capital firm that was $1 million dollars. Theyve use $75,000 towards
legal fee and had over $900,000 left to spend. The rest of the funding will be going
towards their goals for the company. These include, redesigning and expanding the
website; hiring about seven more employees; moving to a larger office; designing
and implementing a personal information manager; and driving up sales (Dessler
et al., 2014, p.23-24).
Management Considerations Jennifer is currently doing everything on paper
and even though they have outsourced payroll, it still takes a lot of effort to gather
all the information. It would be in their best interest to have a system where the
employees can do this part themselves and reduce the amount of time Jennifer
spends on gathering the information. They also make mistakes at the payroll
company so it would be of value to have this information on hand and be able to
keep an eye on all the information in order to ensure accuracy.
Technical Considerations No matter what system they chose they will need
training on how to use the system. They should lean towards an easier basic version
of an HRIS to ensure that all employees can become familiar with it and it will be
easy to use and understand. They previously were using a pen and paper system,
and want to upgrade to an electronic database.
HR Considerations As the company expands, keeping track of all the employee
information on pen and paper would be highly unrealistic. LearnInMotion needs to
adapt to a larger more reliable record keeping system such an online database. This
will also help with the variance in hours and vacation pay if they had employees
punch in and out of the same HRIS system and it would help them ensure accurate
time in/out of employees. It would be able to help send out company information
such as notes, and policy changes if the system had everyones contact information
and would not require manually finding all their information to send them said
notifications.
Cost Considerations Since they have over $900,000 left to spend from the funds
they received from a venture capital firm, it is best if Jennifer and Pierre use

$500,000 of it towards any additional hardware purchases needed, employee

wages, additional staff for the implementation phase, training and any support
costs.
Question 3:
In Jennifers case, I strongly believe that it would be beneficial if the company
started to file every employees personal information through a computer or a
system that could help organize and store all information in an organized matter. As
their management consultant, I support Jennifer and Pierre to expand their idea.
However, it is crucial that the system we chose to use must have some specific
features that are needed to store all employee information such as; allow employee
Self-Service (ESS), allow Management Self-Service (MSS), be able to create and
maintain Employee Records, Forecasting and Planning the training and
development, Strategic alignment, time and attendance feature and payroll
interface. All of these features are in the HRIS system are important to have handy
since these are some of the elements that run and help expand a company and
their ideas. Having all the important information stored via Self-Based Self Service
programs, allows companies to shift responsibly for viewing and updating records
onto employees and managers. These services to be offered also reduce the
amount of paperwork for HR staff.
Chapter 4: Designing and Analyzing Jobs
Question 1: Job Descriptions
Position: Web Designer, LearnInMotion.com
Location: Kanata, Ontario
Department: Web Design
Reports To: Jennifer Lau and Pierre LeBlanc
Date: February 4th, 2016
Job Summary
Under the administrative direction of Pierre and Jennifer, presidents of
LearnInMotion.com, this position requires the web design, development,
modifications, fixes and improvements, as well as creativity of LearnInMotion.com.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Further develop and improve the LearnInMotion.com website, be able to
create a more intriguing and interactive theme
- Improve the ease of access to customers, lessen the complexity of the site,
and be able to solve errors or bugs that may or may not arise
- This position is the management of LearnInMotion.com, and the
responsibilities must overall cover all design, software development, and
accessibility to this site
- This position has to know the proper coding involved in creating the desired
site
Relationships

Internally, this position must function well with all senior managers, including
Human Resources and cooperate with all other employees within the
organization. Externally, this position will have to cooperate with all government
personnel and businesses that the organization associates with.
Problem Solving
This position requires problem solving in the areas of web development, design, and
structure. All tools to solve these issues will be provided within reason. Using the
guidelines and templates and creating the best possible representation of what the
company wants. This position has to know the proper coding involved in creating
the desired site

Authority
This position has the authority to:
-

Make any modifications and new additions to the LearnInMotion.com, with

pre-approval from the proper authority
This position has the authority to spend the companys money to purchase
copyrighted photos and information needed to create the website
Use the companys information, extract it and put on the company site
Authority to make the decisions on what is possible and impossible to put on
the site

Position: Salesperson, LearnInMotion.com

Location: Kanata, Ontario
Department: Sales
Reports To: Jennifer Lau and Pierre LeBlanc
Date: February 4th, 2016
Job Summary
This position would serve under the direction of Jennifer and Pierre of
LearnInMotion.com, and generate the sales of this organization.
Duties and Responsibilities
-

To generate leads online for potential customers and sales

To efficiently and appropriately make as many sales as possible, while
following the according rules and regulations
To manage all reports, sales receipts and documents, and submit to the
senior authorities in the proper documentation by the appropriate date and
time
This position requires the proper knowledge, people and social skills,
cooperation with others, and knowledge of what this organization sells
Must meet monthly quota
Relationships

Internally, this position must cooperate fully with all other employees and
senior authorities, including Human Resources. Externally, this position
requires the appropriate relations between all other businesses the
organization chooses to associate with, as well as all customers and potential
customers associated with the business. The employees in the sales
department must keep up to date with all other salespersons. They must be
able to travel to meet customers and encourage them as much as possible to
purchase the organizations products.
Problem Solving
This position requires keen salesmanship, to move around any oncoming
obstacles sales related. This position will have to work to their best abilities to
make sure the sale is made and help each customer purchase the product
within reason. Solving problems such as surpluses, shortages, and how this
will affect the sales aspect of the company is included.
Authority
This position has the authority to negotiate within reason in order to make a
sale, refuse or accept offers on products, they can make individual customer
exceptions such as small discounts (within reason) and they have the right to
create their own personal sales pitches as long as it runs parallel with the
companys morale and regulations.

Position: Receptionist, LearnInMotion.com

Location: Kanata, Ontario
Department: Front Desk
Reports To: Jennifer Lau and Pierre LeBlanc
Date: February 4th, 2016
Job Summary
This position is required to act as telephone directory to appropriate departments,
to keep records of visitors, specialize in small tasks, and make customers feel
welcomed in the organizations building.
Responsibilities and Duties
-

This position will be answering phone calls, keeping track of calls, recording
messages, and forwarding phone calls to the proper departments
To answer questions, schedule appointments, create and forward the
business e-mails, compile reports and make customers and visitors feel
welcomed
The receptionist is also in charge of signing for packages and preparing
business letters, making sure they get to where they need to be in
appropriate timing
Relationships

This position requires appropriate relations between all areas of the

organization. The receptionist must keep in touch with all employees and
employers within the building as well as all external relationships as well. This
may include: postal services, business associates, union personnel (if
necessary), customers, etc.
Problem Solving
This position requires the solving and organization schedules and schedule
issues, dealing with customer relations such as angry customers, lost
customers or people who dont know what they are looking for, urgencies and
emergencies, etc.
Authority
This position has the authority to call security when needed such as calling to
escort unruly customers or people in the building, sign for packages and
incoming postage, inform any employee or employer on emergencies,
perform payroll (in some cases), schedule interviews with senior authority,
sign cheques, collect customer or visitor information, give out company
and/or personal information.

Question 2:
There are several ways of collecting job analysis information.
-

The Interview (most common method) => there are three types of
interviews that can be conducted: the individual interview (this is between
employer and employee), group interviews (with employees who have the
same job), and supervisory interviews (involves one or more supervisors who
have a thorough knowledge about the job position).
Questionnaire: having employees or supervisors fill out a set of questions
that describe the job positions, what kind of duties and responsibilities they
have, as well as any other important information that a person may run into
while working this job.
Observations: this is the practice of watching employees and observing how
they work, their common behaviours, and what kind of tasks the employee
does on a daily basis.

I personally would recommend using the interview and observational

methods of collecting job information and would strongly recommend these
methods to Pierre and Jennifer. These methods are the most reasonable to use
because for starters, an interview is the most commonly used method for many
reasons: it is personal. Getting a one on one idea from an employee about what
the job is actually about is great because it allows a person to see the
behaviours of the actual person who has the position. An observational method
is also a good method because a person actually SEES what the employee does,
first hand. This is better than any description because you can really look at
whats happening and what is required.

Question 3:
As the management consultant to Pierre and Jennifer, I would recommend using
qualitative methods over quantitative. Although qualitative interviewing is more
open-ended, its more conversational and informal. This is helpful because its not
cracked down to numbers and statistics; its more about what really goes on in the
workplace. This shows employees that yes, there are rules, regulations, and
etiquettes, but this is how we like them to be performed in our work environment.
This method I believe to be more hands on and beneficial to both the employer and
employee. This is why I would recommend the observational method of collecting
job information.

References
Anti-Harassment Policy. Retrieved January 29, 2016, from http://www.chrcccdp.gc.ca/sites/default/files/ahpoliciesworkplace_en_1.pdf
Dessler, G., Cole, N. D., & Chhinzer, N. (2014). Human resources management in
Canada (12th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.
What Does a Salesperson Do? (n.d.). Retrieved February 05, 2016, from
http://www.wisegeekedu.com/what-does-a-salesperson-do.htm
Damewood, C. L., & Walker, J. (n.d.). Retrieved February 05, 2016, from http:
Chapter 9 Interviews: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 05, 2016, from http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/sociological-inquiryprinciples-qualitative-and-quantitative-methods/s12-interviews-qualitative-andqua.html//www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-front-desk-receptionist-do.htm