Case Study: The Houghton Refrigeration Company When responding to a case study or scenario, the HR practitioner should use a consistent, fact-based, problem-solving approach. The development of this skill will allow the HR practitioner to respond to issues as they arise using an analytical methodology in order to explore possible solutions. Houghton Refrigeration Company builds refrigerators for large appliance companies. It employs about 300 people, mostly assembly line workers, and is located in a small town in Ohio. The company typically builds, on a contract basis, chest-type freezers and small bar-type refrigerators. On occasion, however, it also builds standard-size refrigerators. The president of the company is a former engineer, as are most of the other executives. These individuals are very knowledgeable about engineering, but have received little training in the basic principles of management.

During the summer months, volume at the factory increases significantly, and the company needs to hire about 40 new employees to handle the heavy workload. Most of these new employees are college students who attend a small private college located about 15 minutes from the plant. Some high school students are hired as well.

When a new employee is hired, the company asks him or her to complete an application blank and then to show up at the plant gate ready for work. Employees receive no orientation. The worker is shown to a work station and, after a minimum amount of on-the-job training, the new employee is expected to start performing a job. Most of the jobs are quite simple and the training is typically completed within 10 minutes. The first-line supervisor usually shows the employee how to do a job once, then watches while the employee does the job once, leaves, and comes back about 20 minutes later to see how the employee is progressing. Typical jobs at the plant include screwing 14 screws into the sides of a freezer, placing a piece of insulation into the freezer lid, and handing out supplies from the tool room.

The company has had excellent experience with college students over the years. Much of the success can be attributed to the older workers coming to the aid of the new employees when difficulties arise. Most new employees are able to perform their jobs reasonably well after their on-the-job training is completed. However, when unexpected difficulties arise, they are usually not prepared for them and therefore need assistance from others.

The older workers have been especially helpful to students working in the "press room." However, Joe Gleason, the first-line supervisor there, finds it amusing to belittle the college students whenever they make any mistakes. He relishes showing a student once how to use a press to bend a small piece of metal, then exclaims, "You're a hot-shot college student; now let's see you do it." He then watches impatiently while the student invariably makes a mistake and then jokingly announces for all to hear, "That's wrong! How did you ever get into college anyway? Try it again, dummy."

One summer, the company experienced a rash of injuries to its employees. Although most of the injuries were minor, the company felt it imperative to conduct a series of short training programs on safe material-handling techniques. The company president was at a loss as to who should conduct the training. The human resource director was a 64-year-old former engineer who was about to retire and was a poor speaker. The only other employee in the human resource department was a new 19-year-old secretary who knew nothing about proper handling techniques. Out of desperation, the president finally decided to ask Bill Young, the first-line supervisor of the "lid-line," to conduct the training.

Bill had recently attended a training program himself on safety and was active in the Red Cross. Bill reluctantly agreed to conduct the training. It was to be done on a departmental basis with small groups of 10 to 15 employees attending each session.

At the first of these training sessions Bill Young nervously stood up in front of 14 employees, many of whom were college students, and read his presentation in a monotone voice. His entire speech lasted about one minute and consisted of the following text:

Statistics show that an average of 30 persons injure their backs on the job each day in this state. None of us wants to become a "statistic."

The first thing that should be done before lifting an object is to look it over and decide whether you can handle it alone or if help is needed. Get help if there's any doubt as to whether the load is safely within your capacity.

Next, look over the area where you're going to be carrying the object. Make sure it's clear of obstacles. You may have to do a little housekeeping before moving your load. After you have checked out the load and route you're going to travel, the following steps should be taken for your safety in lifting:

1. Get a good footing close to the load. 2. Place your feet 8 to 12 inches apart. 3. Bend your knees to grasp the load. 4. Bend your knees outward, straddling the load. 5. Get a firm grip. 6. Keep the load close to your body. 7. Lift gradually.

Once you've lifted the load, you'll eventually have to set it down. So bend your legs again and follow the lifting procedures in reverse. Make sure that your fingers clear the pinch points. And, finally, it's a good idea to set one corner down first.

After Bill's speech ended, the employees immediately returned to work. By the end of the day, however, everyone in the plant had heard about the training fiasco and all except the president were laughing about it.

Questions

How effective was Bill Young as a trainer? What characteristics of an effective trainer did he display and which did he not display? What could he have done to make the training more effective?

Discuss how the company determined who should attend the training program. Was this a good way to decide who should attend training? How else might they have decided who the trainees should be?

Evaluate Bill Young's delivery of the training program in terms of Gagn's nine events of instruction. What events did he use and which ones were absent? Describe what he might have done differently if he had used all nine of Gagn's events of instruction.

What were the most serious problems in Bill's delivery of the training program? What advice would you give Bill next time he delivers the training program?