Helen Bowers
Read the case study below and answer the questions with careful analysis on the given case study
Helen Bowers was stumped. Sitting in her office at the Plant, She pondered the same questions she had been facing for months: How to get her company’s employees to work harder and produce more. No matter what she did, it didn’t seem to help much.
Helen had inherited the business three years ago when her father, Jake Bowers, Passed away unexpectedly. Bowers Machine Parts was founded four decades ago by Jake and had grown into a moderate-size Corporation. Bowers makes replacement parts for large-scale manufacturing machines such as lathes and mills. The firm is headquartered in Kansas City and has three plants scattered throughout Missouri.
Although Helen grew up in the family business, she never understood her father’s approach. Jake had treated his employees like part of his family. In Helen’s view, however, he paid them more than he had to, asked their advice far more often than he should have, and spent too much time listening to their ideas and complaints. When Helen took over, she vowed to change how things were done. In particular, she resolved to stop handling employees with kid gloves and to treat them like what wisdom in this. People worked to make a buck and didn’t want all that participation stuff.
Suddenly, Helen knew just what to do: She would announce that all employees who failed to increase their productivity by 10 percent would suffer an equal pay cut. She sighed in relief, feeling confident that she had finally figured out the answer.
Case Questions:
1. How successful do you think Helen Bower’s new plan will be? (5 Marks)
2. What challenges does Helen confront? (15 Marks)
3. If you were Helen’s HR external Consultant, what would you advise her to do? (20
Helen Bowers was stumped. Sitting in her office at the Plant, She pondered the same questions she had been facing for months: How to get her company’s employees to work harder and produce more. No matter what she did, it didn’t seem to help much.
Helen had inherited the business three years ago when her father, Jake Bowers, Passed away unexpectedly. Bowers Machine Parts was founded four decades ago by Jake and had grown into a moderate-size Corporation. Bowers makes replacement parts for large-scale manufacturing machines such as lathes and mills. The firm is headquartered in Kansas City and has three plants scattered throughout Missouri.
Although Helen grew up in the family business, she never understood her father’s approach. Jake had treated his employees like part of his family. In Helen’s view, however, he paid them more than he had to, asked their advice far more often than he should have, and spent too much time listening to their ideas and complaints. When Helen took over, she vowed to change how things were done. In particular, she resolved to stop handling employees with kid gloves and to treat them like what wisdom in this. People worked to make a buck and didn’t want all that participation stuff.
Suddenly, Helen knew just what to do: She would announce that all employees who failed to increase their productivity by 10 percent would suffer an equal pay cut. She sighed in relief, feeling confident that she had finally figured out the answer.
Case Questions:
1. How successful do you think Helen Bower’s new plan will be? (5 Marks)
2. What challenges does Helen confront? (15 Marks)
3. If you were Helen’s HR external Consultant, what would you advise her to do? (20