ACME Chocolate Co Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Description  of the Situation of the maintenance department

The maintenance department seems to be suffering from industrial crises where employees are not happy with the way they are managed. For instance, there was no one who could take action against the trainees who wrote funny stuff in the toilets.  Moreover, Fred has 16 years of experience at ACME,but he has not been promoted after being promoted to the position of Foreman 12 years ago. He seems to be disappointed and not performing his job properly. For instance, he does not know whereabouts of Fred when Charlie inquired. Moreover, instead of resolving the issue with maintenance engineers himself, he waited for Charlie to resolve the issue.

            Maintenance engineers have not been trained properly to fill the time sheets, therefore they have not filled it. There may also be other causes of the issue. They want to fool the company by claiming wages for the hours they have not worked for. They may have not been penalized in the past for the same mistake.They may be demotivated because they may have some grievances with the management. Trade Union seems to be too supportive of the employees as the engineer went to the representative in spite of the fact that he made the mistake by not completing the time sheet.

            Charlie seems to be unaware about the issue employees have been facing.  He did not know that Fred had difficulties at home as per Glynis. Moreover, he does not give feedback to his employees which create frustration in the minds of employees and he does not seem to give importance to the complaints filed by customers and relate them to working conditions affecting the employees.

Actions to be taken regarding the individuals

Every individual in the resource of the company which is crucial for the long-term survival. Therefore, it is important to address their issues. There should be rules and regulations of the organization which must be followed to ensure smooth operations of the company.

Glynis:She will be asked to take the resignation back. She has been working with Charlies for 5 years and is a valuable resource for him. She will be informed about her importance and the reasons for not giving her other roles. She will begiven two options if she stays. One of them would be to increase her total remuneration package. If she is not happy with the first option she will be given a new position as soon as another vacancy arises. Moreover, she will be inquired about other problems she is facing and ensured that the management would now resolve as soon as possible.

Fred: He should be given an immediate promotion because of his long years of service. Moreover, he will be asked to try to resolve the issues instead of complaining to Charlie. He will be asked to resolve the pending issue of maintenance engineers and provide a detailed report to Charlie. He will be asked about the problems at home. If he is facing financial difficulties at home, then he could be assisted by giving him a loan. If he wants holidays, then he should be granted those holidays so that he can solve his issues at home.

Kevin:  He will be informed about the existing policies of the company. He should be disciplined if he has written, funny stuff in the toilets that has annoyed Glynis. Moreover, he will be instructed that he should report Fred or Charlie about the work he is doing and his whereabouts during the office hours.

ACME Chocolate Co Case Solution

Maintenance Engineer:  He will also be disciplined for not filling the time sheet. He should be asked to submit a valid reason for not completing the time sheet in spite of the instructions given by Fred.

Charlie: He will be asked to change his leadership style. He will be asked to provide feedback to his employees in order to motivate them. Moreover, he will be asked to consider the issues faced by their employees and try to resolve them. He should consider the development needs of employees and develop them in management positions. He should keep knowledge of activities going on in his department to take effective decisions about the structural changes he wants to pursue in the organization.

Key Objectives

The key objectives as HR director of ACME Chocolate Co would be as follows:

  • To acquire talented individuals who are dedicated and can achieve the target within deadlines.
  • To compensate employees, according to the performance they have provided.
  • To develop key competencies in the employees to prepare them to take management positions.

To resolve the conflicts in an effective and efficient manner..............

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