HRM and Competitive Strategy
Wilton, N. (2010) An Introduction to Human Resource Management, London: Sage
Instructor s Manual
Chapter Three
Chapter Case Study Three: HRM and Competitive Strategy
You have been asked to advise the three companies outlined below - Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear and
Caribou - on an appropriate approach to HRM. You have been asked to put together a brief management report on the approach that you would advocate for each company. In doing so, you should consider the business strategy adopted in each company, the objectives of an appropriate HR strategy, the employee behaviours and attitudes that should be encouraged or discouraged, the required skills and the necessary supporting human resource practices (for example, recruitment, promotion, pay and benefits, training and development, work organisation and job design).
Panda Bear Toys
Panda Bear is a family-run business which produces high-quality wooden toys such as train sets, abacuses and developmental toys such as shape-sorters and puzzles. Panda Bear have recently celebrated their fiftieth birthday and continue to produce many of the toys that the founder produced when the business first began trading. The company seeks to produce toys that appeal not only to children but also parents by evoking nostalgia for simpler toys and ones they might remember from their childhood.
Indeed, a central theme of Panda Bear s marketing is to remind parents that they would have played with their toys as children and emphasise their durability and quality. Panda Bear products are however at the more expensive end of the toy market and tend to be sold in up-market toy retailers and department stores, but are increasingly stocked in high-volume toy superstores as the market for such products grows. Despite recent sales growth and the need to produce higher volumes, management continues stress the importance of maintaining consistent high-quality through the use of the best materials and an explicit focus on
Instructor s Manual
Chapter Three
Chapter Case Study Three: HRM and Competitive Strategy
You have been asked to advise the three companies outlined below - Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear and
Caribou - on an appropriate approach to HRM. You have been asked to put together a brief management report on the approach that you would advocate for each company. In doing so, you should consider the business strategy adopted in each company, the objectives of an appropriate HR strategy, the employee behaviours and attitudes that should be encouraged or discouraged, the required skills and the necessary supporting human resource practices (for example, recruitment, promotion, pay and benefits, training and development, work organisation and job design).
Panda Bear Toys
Panda Bear is a family-run business which produces high-quality wooden toys such as train sets, abacuses and developmental toys such as shape-sorters and puzzles. Panda Bear have recently celebrated their fiftieth birthday and continue to produce many of the toys that the founder produced when the business first began trading. The company seeks to produce toys that appeal not only to children but also parents by evoking nostalgia for simpler toys and ones they might remember from their childhood.
Indeed, a central theme of Panda Bear s marketing is to remind parents that they would have played with their toys as children and emphasise their durability and quality. Panda Bear products are however at the more expensive end of the toy market and tend to be sold in up-market toy retailers and department stores, but are increasingly stocked in high-volume toy superstores as the market for such products grows. Despite recent sales growth and the need to produce higher volumes, management continues stress the importance of maintaining consistent high-quality through the use of the best materials and an explicit focus on