BUSINESS-Human Resource Management

case study A change in HR GE Fanuc is a manufacturer of products for factory automation and control. Headquartered in Johannesburg with 1 500 employees, the HR department primarily performed administrative support activities. But when Dawid Ellis took over as Senior Executive Director of Human Resources, he and his staff began by restructuring and decentralizing the HR entity so that each functional area of the company has an HR manager assigned to it. The HR managers were expected to be key contributors to their areas by becoming knowledgeable about the business issues faced by their business functional units. Today, HR managers participate in developing business strategies and ensure that human resource dimensions are considered. For instance, the HR manager for manufacturing has HR responsibilities for 600 employees. In that role, she contributes to workflow, production, scheduling, and other manufacturing decisions. It also means that she is more accessible to and has more credibility with manufacturing workers, most of whom are hourly workers. Making the transition in HR management required going from seven to three levels of management, greatly expanding the use of cross-functional work teams and significantly increasing training. To ease employee and managerial anxieties about the changes, GE Fanuc promised that no employees would lose their jobs. Managers and supervisors affected by the elimination of levels were offered promotions, transfer to other jobs in GE Fanuc, or early retirement buyouts. Additionally, employees were promised profit sharing, which has resulted in up to three weeks additional pay in profit sharing bonuses in some years. The test of the change is in the results. GE Fanuc’s revenue is up almost 18%. More than 40 work teams meet regularly to discuss work goals, track their performance against established measures, and discuss problems and issues. Employee turnover is also extremely low in most areas. Questions and activities 1- What possible problems do you see with this approach for HRM in other organizations? 2- Compare this approach to HRM with the involvement of HR in operations in a job you have had.