HR Design for a Hypothetical 50-Partner Management Firm
Hatch (1997) and Perrow (1990) are among the organizational theorists who offer concrete suggestions for firm managers who will be charged with establishing HR departments, many of which will be used in the overall design of the hypothetical firm called for in this assignment. As Perrow observes, the only way to get consistent results in hiring is to have a consistent hiring process. Others agree with this belief. ôYou need consistency in recruiting, consistency in interviewing, and consistency in selecting candidates and extending offers. And there is only one sure way to achieve the required consistency -- centralized control (Brewster, 1995, 14).
During the last ten years, much attention has been given in the academic and management literature concerning the topic of Employee Management (Adam & Ebert, 1990; Daniels & Burns, 1997). The theories expressed by these authors apply more directly and relevantly to the particular business of providing services (which is of course exactly what a management consulting firm is).
The company is still new to the operations management concept, but the top management and the HR director are willing to try anything. After much research, management has learned the importance of approaching the planning in a logical and flexible manner (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 1996). The short range goal for the operation is to have key elements of a developmental plan that is low cost, meets the demand forecast, and considers hire/fire policy consistent with the firm's mission (Adam & Ebert, 1990; Zweig, 1991). Production capacity may be adjusted by hiring, firing, layoffs, overtime, subcontracting, and short term leases of employees when workload requires (Daniels & Burns, 1997).
Zweig (1991) postulates that "Training is a systematic process of changing behavior or attitudes of employees to improve the organization's effectivenes...