CASE STUDY

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Lecturer: Tran Van Trang, Thuongmai University
Chapter 1 : Overview of HRM
1. ABC company
Mr. Van is the head of the human resources administration department at ABC
Company. Over the past 3 years, the company's business situation has been very
promising, with an annual revenue growth rate of approximately 15%. Recently, some
department heads in the company proposed purchasing office equipment, sending
employees for training, and organizing a team-building trip.
After careful consideration, Mr. Van proposed the following to Mr. Minh, the company's
director:
• Purchase 3 new high-performance computers to meet the design department's
work requirements.
• Upgrade 8 computers in the finance and business departments to ensure efficient
data processing.
• Send employees from the business department to a sales skills training course.
• Send production supervisors to a technology management course.
• Organize a 2-day team-building trip to Cat Ba Island for all employees.
Upon hearing Mr. Van's proposal, Mr. Minh only agreed to send employees for sales
skills training, as he believed it would help increase the company's sales revenue in the
coming year.
Mr. Van tried to convince the director that the current data processing computers are
slow, affecting work completion speed. He also pointed out that supervisors lack
technology management skills, leading to difficulties in handling technical issues.
Furthermore, the overall cost for the equipment purchase and employee training plan is
not significant. However, Mr. Minh, the director, insisted that they might consider this
later, possibly by the end of the next year. Mr. Minh stated, "Currently, the company's
salary expenses are too high, including contributions to social insurance, bonuses, and
various other allowances for employees. We should allocate the budget for more
substantial investments rather than machinery and production equipment to reduce the
need for bank loans."
In conclusion, Mr. Minh expressed that they should take things slowly and carefully
consider the situation. Now, let's address the questions:
Questions:
• How does Director Minh perceive the company's workforce?
• What impact does this perspective have on the company's performance?
• If you were in Director Minh's position, how would you address Mr. Van's
proposal?
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2. Please circle the answer that aligns with your perspective
a. In discussions about the business strategy and plans of the company, the head of the
human resources department:
• is not allowed to participate at all.
• is not allowed to participate but can give opinions when asked.
• is allowed to participate and contribute opinions in all meetings.
b. If an employee in your company has an idea that benefits the business, they will:
• be acknowledged but not rewarded.
• be acknowledged and rewarded but will have to wait until the end of the year.
• be acknowledged and rewarded immediately.
c. In your company, evaluating the effectiveness of employees' work is aimed at:
• terminating the employment contract if the job is not completed.
• only determining the annual bonus salary appropriately.
• helping employees improve their work performance in the coming time.
d. If an employee does not complete the assigned task:
• they will face appropriate disciplinary actions.
• they will be given another chance to try to complete it.
• they will be assisted in resolving difficulties to complete the task.
e. When your company has recruitment needs, the company will:
• only recruit people from outside the company.
• only recruit people from within the company.
• prioritize recruiting people from within.
f. Your company decides to send employees for training because:
• training is a reward for outstanding employees.
• the company wants to have a highly qualified team.
• it is based on job requirements.
g. In your company, when making decisions, superiors:
• never ask for opinions from subordinates.
• consider opinions from subordinates.
• actively involve subordinates in the decision-making process.

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3. Company Song Nguyen
Mr. Thang has just taken on the position of Human Resources Director at Song Nguyen
Company Limited and is in discussion with Mr. Phan - the company's General Director.
Through the conversation, Mr. Thang learns that at the end of November each year, the
company holds a meeting between the General Director and the directors of the Sales,
Marketing, Finance, Production, and Technical departments, as well as the Materials
Planning department to assess the business situation for the year and discuss plans for
the following year.
Mr. Thang is surprised to find out that the Human Resources Director is the only one
not invited to such an important meeting. When he asked for the reason, Mr. Phan
responded: "Until now, I truly felt it was unnecessary for the Human Resources Director
to spend much time participating in those meetings. As you can see, the HR department
is not directly related to the company's production and business activities but only
handles administrative procedures for other departments when requested."
Mr. Thang continues to suggest to Mr. Phan: "But the person in charge of human
resources needs to have full information about the company's operations to proactively
arrange personnel and plan for the company's human resources management activities."
Mr. Phan firmly responds to Mr. Thang: "I see the company's personnel changing
constantly, and business contracts throughout the year depend on market opportunities,
so there is no need to plan human resources. It may sound strange, but you will quickly
adapt to the way things work here. The HR department is considered effective if it
fulfills the personnel requirements of other departments adequately and promptly."
Questions:
• Is Mr. Thang's demand to participate in the company's meeting justified? Why?
• Does Mr. Phan's response make sense? Would you advise Mr. Thang to accept
or reject Mr. Phan's answer? Why?
4. Company Thanh Cong
Thanh Cong Mechanical Engineering Company has just secured a significant contract
with a reputable foreign client. It took the company nearly a year to negotiate this
contract and they believe that, following this success, they may receive many more
profitable orders from this client. This is the largest order that Thanh Cong Company
has obtained so far. The products requested by the client are quite innovative for the
company. Meanwhile, the company is lacking skilled workers with the necessary
expertise to work with the new manufacturing technology. With the current workforce,
the company will find it challenging to meet the deadlines and quality standards as per
the client's requirements. In the past three months, 12 skilled workers from the company
have moved to work for other companies due to higher salaries offered there. The
company has advertised locally to attract workers, but so far, they have not been able to
recruit anyone.

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Question: In your opinion, what challenges is Thanh Cong facing in human resource
management, and what could be the consequences?

5. Tia Chớp Electronics Company

Phuong is a diligent employee working in the warehouse department of the Tia Chớp
Electronics distribution company. From his very first day at the company, he has aspired
to become a salesperson in the future. Phuong has been working at the company for
three years and has witnessed some colleagues being transferred to sales positions, sales
management, or even higher positions. This further fueled Phuong's desire to become a
salesperson.
With a good understanding of electronic equipment gained from three years of study at
the Technical College and sales experience at a furniture store before, Phuong is
confident in his ability to become a successful salesperson. He expressed this desire in
the recent performance evaluation period.
However, things did not go as Phuong expected. Instead of being transferred to a sales
position, he was offered a relatively better position in the loading and unloading process.
He refused because it still fell under warehouse-related tasks. Phuong feels a lack of
enthusiasm for his work and has started applying for jobs at other companies.
Questions:
• In your opinion, what reasons led Phuong to reject the promotion and consider
moving to another company?
• If you were Phuong's director or manager, what would you do to help Phuong
achieve his aspirations?

6. Sen Xanh Trading Company

An has been working for Sen Xanh Trading Company for 5 years. Starting as a
vocational employee with a college degree, he has relentlessly strived to become a
business analyst specialist in the company, obtaining a university commerce degree
along the way. An is open-minded, harmonious, and doesn't offend anyone. He is
consistently praised for doing his job well.
One day, An happened to learn that the company had just hired Dung, a recent university
graduate, with a starting salary higher than An's current salary. An questioned this with
Mrs. Van, the HR Director, and was explained that, "The company is implementing a
talent attraction policy, and this is the only way to be effective, and Dung has excellent
capabilities."
An left the HR room and began to contemplate. That day he felt down, although he didn't
show it outwardly, he was mentally distracted, and work didn't flow as smoothly as
usual. He thought about his enthusiasm and efforts at the company over the past few
years. Faced with this reality, he couldn't avoid feelings of disappointment and anxiety.

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Question: In your opinion, how will An decide?
o Accept and continue working as usual
o Quietly resign
o Tell other employees about this
o Continue working but not as enthusiastically as before

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