CASE 5: KOOKABOORA CONTAINER CORPORATION:

Maybe Tomorrow
 I. Summary / Background of the Case

II. Statement of the Problem

How will the company provide a fair compensation to the workers of Kookaboora container
corporation?
III. Objectives

1. To make the workers understand that having off unnecessary employees during slack
season is legal and within the scope of management prerogative.
2. To provide for just and equitable compensation to every overtime working employees.
3. To start hiring seasonal employees which shall be hired only for the duration of the peak

months.

IV. Areas for Consideration

Strengths

 Lighthouse Insurance Company is a well established stock corporation company.

 Has 51 branches all over the Philippines.
 Has HR Department which provides training for the new hired employees.

Weaknesses

 Increasing number of vacancies and slow replacement of BMs.

 HRD has only 5 employees, including its head.
 Overlapping of authority and function and personnel between departments.

Opportunities

 Additional branches.
 External hiring for more qualified personnel who have adequate managerial experience
specifically in branch operations rather than pulling out from the Marketing Department.

Threats
 The lack of manpower in the company could be an opportunity for the competitors
V. Alternative Courses of Action

1. Internal Hiring

2. External Hiring

3. Succession Planning

VI. Analysis of each Alternative

1. Advantage

If budgets are tight, then hiring internally can save money because the company won’t need

to employ recruitment agencies or advertise. Hiring internally will have someone who

already knows the company and can hit the ground running, becoming fully productive in

a much shorter period of time. Applicants can give great interviews and then turn out to be

terrible at the job. Other applicants also lie or embellish their CV and accomplishments.

By recruiting internally, the company already know how productive a person is and have a

good record of their performance.

Disadvantage

Recruiting internally might be quicker and easier and the employee will naturally already

know the company practices. But the company is also strictly limiting the talent pool from

which to choose from. By throwing the net wider and recruiting from outside you could

find a candidate who can add real value to the company and is actually far better qualified

than the person, the company is considering internally. It is sometimes good to have a

breath of fresh air in the company – someone who can bring in new ideas and new focus.

If you already feel things internally are not very productive and morale is low, promoting
 internally is unlikely to bring about a change in perception. On the face of it internal hiring

can seem quicker and easier but in promoting an existing employee the company will need

to advertise to replace their job. In essence, you have to train two people up.

2. Advantage

When the company recruits externally, it opens the company up to a larger pool of

applicants, which increases its chance of finding the right person for the BM’s position.

External recruitment provides an opportunity for a fresh outlook on the company may need

to stay competitive. Bringing in fresh talent from the outside can help motivate the current

employees to produce and achieve more in hopes of obtaining the next promotional

opportunity. Looking outside the organization also allows a company to target the key

players that may make its competition successful. Hiring a candidate with a proven track

record for the competition allows the company to get an insider's view as to what the

competition is doing to be successful. This gives the organization a chance to stay a step

ahead of the competition. Hiring an external candidate also opens up many opportunities

to find experienced and highly-qualified and skilled candidates who will help a company

meet its diversity requirements.

Disadvantage

It can take longer and cost more than hiring from within the company. It can also damage

employee morale because current employees may feel this lessens their chances for

promotion. When employee morale decreases, productivity can also decrease. It also takes

more time to train an external candidate on the systems the company uses; therefore, taking
 the candidate a little longer to get up and running. It can be difficult to tell by a candidate's

information whether or not he or she will fit in with the company and its employees. While

a new employee may bring fresh outlooks and ideas, this can be considered a disadvantage,

because these ideas may produce conflict with current employees.

3. Advantage

A key benefit of succession planning is the opportunity for growth and development of a

company's employees. Many employees are motivated by the opportunity for promotion

and movement within a company, and succession planning can be highly valued by these

employees. Effective succession planning programs require a well-communicated process

that is clear to all employees, opportunities for participation based on interests and skills,

and a clear understanding that even when succession programs are in place, there are no

guarantees of succession into specific positions. Business is prepared for the immediate

loss of a key employee. Employees selected are continually trained and developed. An

ongoing supply of well trained, broadly experienced, well-motivated people who are ready

and able to step into key positions as needed. Defined career paths, which will help the

company recruit and retain better people. Retention of knowledge of business practices.

Retain a critically important employee who might otherwise leave if not formally

recognized as the successor.

Disadvantage

One of the weaknesses of succession planning is that, by definition, not all employees can

be identified as successors--there are just not that many key positions to be filled.
 Consequently, there is the potential for some employees to feel left out, passed over and

under-appreciated. Appointing the wrong person can lead to a variety of problems that

result in poorer company performance and turnover. Selecting someone too quickly to

appoint someone only to have a better candidate appear later on. A poorly conducted

succession planning process will lead to poor decisions, disharmony and ultimately poor

company performance as well.

VII. Recommendation

Recruitment and proper selection for the position of Branch Manager through external

hiring.

VIII. Action Plan

1. Job posting through newspaper ads, internet ads/web site, job boards, internal and

external refferal, radio and tv ads. (1-2 weeks)

2. Review applications and short list applications (1-2 weeks)

3. Interview the most qualified prospective employees (1-2 weeks)

4. Check references and perform background checks (1 week)

5. Select the most qualified person for the job (1 week)

6. Employment offer (1 week)

7. Training and development for the newly hired BM’s (1 week)

TOTAL: approx. 7 to 9 weeks

IX. Potential Problem Arising

It can damage employee morale because current employees may feel this lessens their

chances for promotion. When employee morale decreases, productivity can also decrease.

It also takes more time to train an external candidate on the systems the organization uses;

therefore, taking the candidate a little longer to get up and running. It can be difficult to tell

by a candidate's information whether or not he or she will fit in with the company and its

employees.