The Jones Progressive Case Study Part $3$

Objective:

Students will practice business management skills by following a case study throughout MGMT $310$: Management Principles and Practices. Students will complete activities in teams as determined by the course instructor.

Assignment:

You will be using this case study progressively throughout this term. In it$,$ you will be meeting the Fields family, who are currently operating a family farm in Minnesota. They are hiring your team to help them develop a new business model. This case study closely follows the textbook Management: A Practical Introduction $(2021)$ by Angelo Kinicki and Denise Breaux Soignet. There are four separate deliverables, due as indicated by the course instructor: First Half $($PArts $1$ and $2)$ as a single case paper. The Second Half $($Parts $3$ and $4)$ as a single case paper.

Part One includes chapters $1-6$ and begins to address the planning function of management.

Part Two includes chapters $5-6$ and addresses the planning function of management.

Part Three includes chapters $8-10$ and covers the organizing function of management.

Part Four includes chapters $11-16$ and covers the leadership and controlling function of management.

Case Study $$ Part Three: People Make the Difference

Scene: Your team sent your Part Two deliverables to the Fields family about two weeks ago, but they haven$$t had time to meet with you until today. You have just arrived at the farm and Johanna, the middle sister, is greeting you on the porch.

Hi there, thank you for coming all the way up here again. We$$re sorry we couldn$$t meet with you sooner. You$$ll just be meeting with me today, because both Veronica and Josie are involved in other tasks. So$,$ that leaves me to discuss the next phase of the consulting project with you. This next phase is really to discuss our human resources practices. It is something I$$ve always been in charge of$,$ and is the part of business that I find most interesting.

First and foremost, we are thrilled about our new adventure. We think what you came up with is really wonderful work, and we couldn$$t be happier with our decision to hire your team. However, there are some people here on our staff who like the old way of doing things, and are resistant to change, even though they know we can$$t stay afloat financially without the new plan. It$$s so funny how people get so entrenched in their ways that they can$$t even see what$$s good for them! We think we can win them over, but we$$re going to need to be specific about our human resources management plan. That$$s where you can help. Though my sisters might disagree with me about its importance, I$$ve been reading about the benefits of defining a core culture and core values, so I$$d love some ideas on how we can strengthen those here.

Secondly, we will need some help with our staffing structure. You brought up some very valid points in your first set of deliverables, particularly the benefits of a formal management structure. We want to take that a step further and have you help us create at least three or four top manager positions at the Fields business. We would like to have you help us by defining the title of these roles, and the duties involved with each new management position.

Next, there$$s something we$$ve always meant to address but have never gotten around to it$,$ I guess. We are aware that our employees$$ quality of work life is not always top priority in the farming industry. In fact, it$$s common to engage in a free agent style of hiring, meaning our folks typically have few fringe benefits. Ideally, we would love to hear some proposals from you on how we might improve quality of work life here, now that things are changing so dramatically.

Please use your expert knowledge to tell us how we can make our employees happier these days.

Last but certainly not least, I am shy to tell you that we have never integrated any performance appraisals into our business. Now that we$$re turning a new leaf, we think it is important for our employees to have the opportunity to receive feedback from their managers, and to add to the predictability as to what might earn them a raise each year. I$$ll tell you, the way we do it now feels highly subjective to me and I would feel better knowing that everyone has the same chance as anyone else to understand what is expected of them at work, and how they can excel at it$.$ This will also allow us to work with our employees to correct any work deficiencies before they get out of hand. Who knows, if I had been able to catch the bookkeepers$$ flaws, we may not be in this predicament now.

But enough of living in the past. We are thrilled about our future and look forward to these next steps. Oh$,$ and let me run in the house for a moment to grab something for you before you go$.$ Josie made you each a loaf of our grandmother$$s famous corn bread for you to take home. She baked them just this morning, so they should still be warm...

Student Deliverables $$ Part