Case Study 1

Fun at Hitech
Organizational culture, strategic management HRM, recruitment & selection, motivation,
Industry: IT
Hitech Corporation (Hitech) is a well known IT company based in Hyderabad, India. Hitech provides
networking solutions to many companies. Started in 1990 by two technology experts, Hitech currently has
almost $40 million in annual revenue. When the founders started the company, they established one basic
value that working at Hitech should be enjoyable as well as profitable. That belief has helped create a
company culture today that gives Hitech competitive advantages when recruiting and retaining talented
workforce in the challenging labor market of IT.
Because recruitment of talented employees to handle growth at Hitech is so crucial, , the HR unit has an
aggressive employee referral program which pays employees up to $5,000 for referring new hires who
stay with the firm.The HR unit prides itself on prompt feedback to potential employees. Other "fun"
programs include

Football, pool tables, volleyball courts, assorted video games, pianos, ping pong tables, and gyms
that offer yoga and dance classes.

Healthy lunches and dinners for all staff at a variety of cafes

Theme parties organized each month. Last month Hitech had its executives wearing animal
costumes as part of a "jungle" party.

These fun initiatives have a more important business purpose-to demonstrate that people are important at
Hitech. Is all this fun profitable? Hitech's answer is an unqualified yes. Over 40% of all Hitechs new
employees come from the employee referral program. The firms cost to hire each new employee is about
$5,000 less than the industry average. Even more important, those hired stay longer as indicated by its
retention rate of 42 months compared to the industry average of 20 months. Also, employee turnover is
about 6% annually significantly below the industry average. It is obvious that Hitech's approach to HR
management is paying off, both in an enjoyable company culture and in contributing to organizational
success.
Question 1: Employee referral is the best approach to recruitment .What is your view?
Question 2: Why has "fun at work" been profitable at Hitech?
Case study 2
Effective decision making
Let us examine the problem faced by Mr. Nataraj, Regional Manager of Alpha Pvt. Ltd. Alpha makes and
distributes products for more than 10 international pharmaceutical and health care companies. Mr. Nataraj
is responsible for managing existing clients and also to get new clients. He manages a number of sales
representatives. Important customers have dedicated sales representatives, while other sales
representatives try to get new clients.

One day an important customer (Good Health Hospital) called Mr. Nataraj and complained that Mr.
Bhavan (the sales representative) was ineffective and insisted he be removed, or else they would not give
any business.

Here are Mr. Nataraj's thoughts:

In an internal enquiry, Mr. Nataraj found that the real reason was personal differences between
Mr. Bhavan and the hospital superintendent.
The track record of Mr. Bhavan was good and he was liked within the company. Dismissing him
or even transferring him to a new region will affect the morale of the work force.
Good Health Hospital is a major customer and gives good business. Losing the hospital is not an
option. Therefore the demands of the hospital have to be met.
Question 1: If you were Mr.Nataraj,how will you resolve this issue
Case Study 3
Strive for five
Overview
Kas is a thirteen year old male athlete. He has just set the goal I broke 5:00 minutes for the 1500 metres
at Regionals in 2006.
Background
Regionals is the Northern Regional Championships for NSW Little Athletics. Regionals is 23 days away.
The first three placegetters go through to the NSW Championships to be held in March. Kas has made
the regional finals for the last few years and has finished just outside the placings in both 800m and
1500m. This year he is keen to make it to NSW Championships.
Kas has a best time on grass for 1500m of 5min 38 seconds, though he has run a 5:18 on a synthetic
track. Regionals will be run on grass. He believes a time of under 5:00 will be sufficient for him to make
it through. He is not sure which is most important to him, making it to NSW Championships or running
under 5:00 minutes.
Comments on goal
The goal is well constructed, but the time frame is very short. However, he does have a solid base of
training and is experienced in mental preparation, but has had minimal training and competition over the
current holiday period. Having the goal will increase his focus and motivation for the next 23 days.
The goal is exceedingly ambitious. It represents an improvement of nearly 40 seconds (or over 2.5
seconds per 100m) on his best 1500m time on grass.
Question 3: How will this goal impact on other areas of his life?