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Question 1
1. Read the case study at the end of chapter 5 in your prescribed book (5th edition). Then
answer the questions below.
Case Study: The Grant Corporation
The Grant Corporation is a financial services firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Its revenue exceeded $1
billion last year, producing a net income of $530 million. It has just over 1,000 employees. Although
the organization has been in business for almost 10 years, it has experienced rapid expansion in the
past two years due to tremendous business growth and a merger with the Enelrad Group, another local
firm. Managers have had difficulty keeping up with this growth, especially in the HR department,
which has been stretched thin to keep up with staffing needs and other, mainly administrative, duties.
Six months ago, the CEO, Todd Jackson, recognized the need to expand the size and functionality of
the HR department and hired Julia Woodland to be its director, reporting directly to him. This was a
newly created position, and its incumbent would replace the HR administrator, who had previously
reported to the VP of Finance and who decided to retire when the new HR position was announced.
When Woodland was hired, Jackson told her that she would have “full reign” to create a more
strategically focused HR department that would be better equipped to handle the organization’s needs.
She had quite a bit of experience at her previous company and was eager to take on the task. Although
the organization used advanced technology for its business applications, HR was still using a basic
payroll processing software program and Excel spreadsheets to track various categories of employee
information, including personal data, benefits enrollments, performance evaluation schedules, and
compensation. All payroll and benefit information was manually entered into these respective systems,
and much of the information had to be entered into multiple spreadsheets when there was a change.
The department could not keep up with the information needs—new hires were getting paid
incorrectly, or not at all. Benefits enrollments were delayed or contained mistakes, and performance
evaluations and pay raises were late. The printed employee handbook, benefits binder, and orientation
materials were in serious need of updating. In addition, the company had 16 open positions and stacks
of resumes everywhere. It was no wonder that the HR administrator had decided to retire!
Julia Woodland spent long hours trying to determine what she could do to address the immediate and
long-term concerns of her new department. She brought in a temporary employee to help her staff file,
process paperwork, and enter data. She focused on hiring two higher-level HR representatives and a
payroll clerk. She turned to a staffing agency to help the firm identify candidates for open positions,
including those in HR. Finally, she proposed the purchase of an integrated payroll/HRIS that was
capable of integrating with the finance department’s system as well as with the organization’s benefit
and 401(k) providers’ systems. The proposed software solution also offered the option of a Web-based
employee portal, which would allow employees to view information online and change their personal
data.
