Case Overview

Although National Electronic Company (NEC) is a fictional organization; it experiences many of the difficulties common in today's business climate. In response to declining sales, NEC must transform itself from a strategy of expansion and high profit to one of cost containment and staff reductions.

The case is presented in two parts. Part I lays the groundwork for the case, with discussion of the organization and details of the human resource department. Part II is presented in e-mails from various staff members. The e-mails identify specific problems that need to be addressed by the HR department and give the reader an understanding of NEC's overall culture.

Pre-requisites

Resolving the case of NEC requires you to have fundamental knowledge of human resource practices and general business management.

Objectives

In this case you will:

1. Recognize the link between organization strategy and human resources activities.
2. Conduct a SWOT analysis of the organization with emphasis on the HR department.
3. Design solutions to the strategic problems identified in one of the four functional HR areas.
a. Human resource development.
b. Staffing
c. Compensation and benefits
d. Employee relations.
4. Develop solutions to the policy and people management for one function of the HR functions using the problems identified in the e-mails that link to that function