The Contingent Worker

Spud Jones has worked steadily at Morrell Industries during the past four weeks. He works 4 to 10 hour days at a variety of tasks. Sometimes he inspects and cleans parts, and other times he may sweep the floor. Spud receives a regular paycheck but is not eligible for vacation days, holidays, or medical insurance.  

Sput is not, however, a permanent employee of Morrell. He is a member of the contingent workforce-people hired by firms to cope with unexpected or temporary needs. He received his paycheck not from Morrell, but from the temporary services agency. If Spud's job at Morrell ends, he might find work at one of the agency's other clients.

Morrell Industries supplements it's forty permanent core employees with temporaries during peak periods. When an opening occurs, it is filled by an employee selected from the pool of temps. Morrell has also used temps to fill in for employees on sick leave or vacations. This practice allows them to smooth out the peaks and valleys in demand for their products. By doing this, they avoid having to hire permanent workers to meet peak demands only to lay them off when demand drops. By having a contingent pool of workers, Morrell can quickly adjust to payroll cost during economic downturns

The economy has not recovered the way that some expected, and so all temps received notices that Friday would be their last day at Morrell.

A. Based on your first impressions, what do you think of Morrells' practice of using contingent workers?

B. When considering hiring a full-time employee, which is most important; (a) the way the individual will fit in with the other employees in the department. or (b) the work performance of the potential full-time employee?

C. If Morrell has an opening for a full-time position, what criterion would you use to make the decision?

D. If you were Spud Jones, what would you do to improve your odds of being hired by Morrell when a job opening occurred?