Category Archives: HR

Human Resource (HR) Case Studies

by | May 20, 2013

A Case Study for Human Development Program Oportunidade

A Study about Human Development Program Oportunidade

The purpose of this research is to use the case study approach to determine how coordination is achieved in the Program for Human Development: Oportunidades (Opportunities). Oportunidades is the largest anti-poverty program in Mexico. The program has its origins in the Program for Education, Health and Nutrition (Programa de Educación, Salud y Alimentación, PROGRESA) implemented in 1997 under the administration of former President Ernesto Zedillo. In 2002 the new elected government change its name to Oportunidades without any substantial changes in its operation. The Program began in 1997 serving 300 thousand families; today 5 million people are enrolled (Sedesol, 2007b). This means that one of every four Mexicans receives Oportunidades.

Case Study on Human Development Program

Inter-agency coordination has been repeatedly identified in the literature as a factor of success in social policy programs; however, the majority of the studies do not address this subject directly. This dissertation identifies and analyzes how interinstitutional coordination of social programs is achieved in Mexico, in particular through the case study of the Human Development Program Oportunidades. There is a consensus that poverty must be addressed with a multidimensional approach, and, given the inability of an office or governmental unit to satisfy all the needs of a target population, coordination becomes necessary (Whetten, 1982). Mexico implemented its first anti-poverty programs in 1970 in response to the increase in rural poverty. Levy (1994) states that, in general, anti-poverty programs are designed to attack the causes of poverty and/or to mitigate the effects of poverty; also, they require an accurate identification of their target population. keep reading…

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by | May 18, 2013

A Study on Situational Leadership

A Study about Situational Leadership

Situational Leadership Model A Situational Leadership Model helpful to managers in diagnosing the demands of their situation has been developed as a result of extensive research. This model is based on the amount of direction (task behavior) and the amount of socioemotional support (relationship behavior) a leader must provide given the situation and the level of “readiness” of the follower or group.

Case Study on Situational Leadership

Task Behavior and Relationship Behavior: The recognition of task and relationship as two critical dimensions of a manager’s behavior has been an important part of management research over the last several decades. These two dimensions have been given various labels ranging from “autocratic” and “democratic” to “employee oriented” and “production oriented”. Keep reading…

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by | May 18, 2013

A Case Study on Creating Effective Leaders through Situational Leadership Approach

A Study about Creating Effective Leaders through Situational Leadership Approach

Introduction:~ Faced with rapid changes and the need for effective leaders, It is not necessary to reinvent leadership models and theory as there classic models already existing and are useful today as they were when they were first developed. The Hersey and Blanchard model, for example, shows us different leadership styles and that as leaders we need to change the leadership styles to suit the followers, which is the only way for us to be effective. This thesis will point out how to be an effective leader through a situational leadership model, how the student’s, as leaders can learn to be flexible in leading the followers’ hence being situational leader and not just ‘bosses’. As a leader identifying and understanding the development level of the followers is important, the thesis identifies and explains the different development levels of the follower in a working environment as well as leadership style which matches the situation at hand.

Case Study on Situational Leadership Approach

Situation leadership models:~ The situational leadership concept was originally developed by Paul Hersey, author of the book Situational leader and Ken Blanchard, a leadership guru in (1969). The theory was first introduced as ‘life cycle theory of leadership’ (Blanchard & Hersey 1996) and later renamed to situational leadership theory’ (1972). After being applied, they found that some aspects of the model were not being validated in practice. Therefore, Ken Blanchard created a second updated model called Situational Leadership II (SLII) (2002). According to David Wyld (2010), ‘Situational leadership brings attention to the role of the follower’. This leadership is about being flexible and using the needed leadership style to nurse a given development level of a follower to be successful in a given working environment. Keep reading…

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by | May 17, 2013

Case Study on Dealing with Poor Performance

Study about Dealing with poor performance

To avoid Carol being able successfully to claim any kind of unlawful discrimination against Rest Assured, for example because of her age, David should deal with her performance in the same way as he would for other employees in the team. Prior to this, subject to the (now repealed) statutory retirement procedure, employers could compulsorily retire employees when they reached retirement age. As a result, many employers overlooked performance issues in older members of staff who were approaching retirement age because they would be leaving anyway.

Case Study on Poor Performance

David cannot use the fact that Carol may have attained what was previously the company’s retirement age as a reason to end her employment. Nor can he assume that she will want to retire at this point. If he treats Carol less favourably than other employees because she is close to, or has reached, a particular age, this might amount to unlawful age discrimination. Conversely, if he treats her more leniently than other members of the team for the same reason, Rest Assured could be vulnerable to claims of age discrimination by them. Keep reading..

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by | May 17, 2013

A Study Case on New Employee Orientation: The Benefits of Role Information

A Study Case about New Employee Orientation: The Benefits of Role Information

Abstract: The process through which an employee learns and adapts to a new position in an organization is often referred to as organizational socialization. Failure to provide employees with adequate socialization has been linked to negative behaviors, unmet expectations and higher levels of turnover. One of the most common ways to socialize new employees is through socialization training programs that provide a wealth of information about the job, work environment, and broader organization.

Case Study on New Employee Orientation

Despite the documented importance of socialization, and the widespread use of socialization training programs, the effectiveness of socialization training has received relatively little research attention. The current study attempts to answer calls to integrate previous research to propose a more effective socialization training program. Using a sample of college-age, part-time workers at a university childcare center, half of the center’s new employees received the center’s standard orientation program consisting of organization and task information. The other half received additional training that provided role information as well as other job-relevant socialization material. keep reading…

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by | May 17, 2013

A Case Study on Relationships of Participative Leadership

A Study about Relationships of Participative Leadership

Summary:~ Relationships of participative leadership with relational demography variables (age, tenure, education, and gender) were explored in an integrated model, combining the ALS (Average Leadership Style) and the LMX (Leader–Member Exchange) approaches to leadership. Data were collected from 561 staff members from 36 schools. The r wg and the WABA (withinand between-analysis) results indicated the prevalence of the LMX model and the individual-differences approach in explaining the relationship of the leader’s participative behaviors with relational demography variables.

Case Study on Participative Leadership

In addition, consistent with the study hypotheses, the negative relationship between demographic dissimilarity and PDM (participative decisionmaking) was stronger in short-term superior–subordinate relationships than in longerterm relationships. These results should encourage researchers to theorize on, and then test for levels of analysis when studying participative leadership. keep reading…

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by | May 17, 2013

A Study of the Concept and Critical Conditions for Implementation and Evaluation

A Study about the Concept and Critical Conditions for Implementation and Evaluation

Abstract:~ Case Studies and one conceptual analysis were conducted using qualitative methods, including interviews, observations and document analysis. The qualitative data material in study III was supplemented with quantitative material from a leadership survey. Study I was a qualitative case study of a Swedish industrial company characterized by a low sickness rate, a structure of self-managed teams and an organisational culture that aimed to develop employee skills and influence. Study II was a phenomenograpic study of health-promoting leadership, as described by 20 individuals employed in Swedish municipalities. Study III was a case study of an intervention programme for the development of health-promoting leadership conducted in four city districts ofGothenburg, Sweden. Study IV was a case study on collaboration in workplace health promotion between municipalities in a Swedish region.

Case Study on Concept and Critical Conditions

Results:~ Study I illustrates how a company leader developed and influenced organisational culture, including the employees’ control over their work situation, participation and personal development. The results of this study emphasise the importance of considering contextual factors when evaluating the role of leadership in promoting health at work. Study II describes health-promoting leadership in three different ways: organising healthpromoting activities, supportive leadership style, and developing a health-promoting workplace. Interviewees frequently linked good leadership in general with good employee health. Study III shows the importance of regarding the development of health-promoting leadership as a contribution to building organisational capacity for a health-promoting workplace. Keep reading…

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by | May 17, 2013

A Case Study of Destructive Corporate Leadership and Board Loyalty Bias

A Study about Destructive Corporate Leadership and Board Loyalty Bias

Introduction: In this paper we argue that the widely-held public corporation, characterised by “strong managers and weak owners” (Roe, 1994) is exposed to what Padilla, et al (2007) identify as “destructive leadership” risks which, due to board loyalty biases, current corporate governance codes appear to do little to mitigate. As Padilla et al argue for destructive leadership to take hold and to generate extreme negative outcomes there typically needs to be a “toxic triangle” consisting of “destructive leaders, susceptible followers and conducive environments”. All three of these elements are present in the widely-held corporation and hence it ought not to be too surprising therefore to regularly observe negative corporate outcomes such as value destroying takeovers, financial fraud and delusional business strategies initiated and driven by over-mighty and hubristic CEOs. We illustrate these issues via an examination of Michael Eisner´s long tenure as Disney Corporation´s CEO.

Case Study on Destructive Corporate Leadership

In contrast, we believe that the Disney case, whilst not involving any explicitly fraudulent behaviour, does illustrate the potential for massive destruction of shareholder value stemming from behaviour that is far more common and widespread amongst corporate elites and board members. The position of CEO in a widely-held firm bestows on the holder immense authority, control over resources and over the careers of his/her subordinates; in short, the CEO has immense power. Unfortunately, power corrupts; that is, it produces psychological and behavioural changes that greatly reinforce the high degree of managerial entrenchment characteristic of many widely held firms. These features encourage narcissistic and charismatic CEOs to turn into “destructive leaders” through their ability to subvert and corrupt subordinates and to override other organisational and external safeguards. We argue that such individuals frequently abuse their incumbency to cultivate susceptible followers and to create the necessary conducive environment via their exploitation of a pronounced and inappropriate “loyalty bias”. Keep reading…

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by | May 17, 2013

A Case Studies report for the OECD Activity Improving School Leadership

A  Studies report on the OECD Activity Improving School Leadership

This report is part of a larger OECD study exploring school leadership policy issues. It aims to provide analysis on the particular Finnish approach to school leadership for systemic improvement that contributes to their educational success. In a decentralised environment, Finnish municipalities are developing different approaches to school leadership distribution and cooperation to respond to pressures brought about by declining school enrolments and resources. Their reforms are geared to improve schooling for local children in a new environment by ensuring that principals are responsible for their own schools but also for their districts, and that there is shared management and supervision as well as evaluation and development of education planning. But this report goes beyond this remit and also explores key features at the heart of Finland‟s education miracle.

Case Study on Improving School Leadership

Introduction:~ School leaders in OECD countries are facing challenges and pressures with the rising expectations for schools and schooling in a century characterized by rapid and constant technological innovation, massive migration and mobility, and increasing economic globalization (OECD, 2001). As countries struggle to transform their educational systems to prepare all young people with the knowledge and skills needed to function in a rapidly changing world, the roles and expectations for school leaders are changing radically. Educational administrators are no longer expected to be merely good managers but leaders of schools as learning organizations. Effective school leadership is increasingly viewed as central to large-scale education reform and to improved educational outcomes. The OECD has developed an activity to provide policy-makers with information and analysis to assist them in formulating and implementing school leadership policies leading to improved teaching and learning. keep reading….

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by | May 17, 2013

A Case Study on Propositional Nature of Human Associative Learning

A Study about Propositional Nature of Human Associative Learning

Abstract: The past 50 years have seen an accumulation of evidence suggesting that associative learning depends on high-level cognitive processes that give rise to propositional knowledge. Yet, many learning theorists maintain a belief in a learning mechanism in which links between mental representations are formed automatically. We characterize and highlight the differences between the propositional and link approaches, and review the relevant empirical evidence. We conclude that learning is the consequence of propositional reasoning processes that cooperate with the unconscious processes involved in memory retrieval and perception. We argue that this new conceptual framework allows many of the important recent advances in associative learning research to be retained, but recast in a model that provides a firmer foundation for both immediate application and future research.

Case Study on Propositional Nature

Introduction: The idea that behavior is determined by two independent and potentially competing systems has been used repeatedly in psychology. The diversity of research areas in which this idea has been reproduced is striking. It includes, for example, fear learning , memory, reasoning (e.g., Evans 2003), decision making (e.g., Kahneman & Frederick 2002), and the activation of attitudes (e.g., Wilson et al. 2000). In each case, one system is generally characterized as conscious, cold, and calculating; the other, as unconscious, affective, and intuitive. In this target article, we reconsider (and reject) one of the oldest and most deeply entrenched dual-system theories in the behavioral sciences, namely the traditional view of associative learning as an unconscious, automatic process that is divorced from higher-order cognition. The classic empirical demonstration of associative learning comes from Pavlov (1927). Keep reading…

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