Running head: MAPLE LEAF SHOES LTD

Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd

Name
Institutional Affiliation

MAPLE LEAF SHOES LTD

Lance, the Consultant, tasked with looking into the role played by the Human Resource
Management in Maple Leaf shoes Limited employed a plan that had its strengths and
weaknesses. First, Lance takes an active step in attempting to interview the organization's senior
managers to have an insight on their understanding of the company. He, however, does not
succeed to interview all the directors. Lance uses questions that have a positive tone thus
allowing the managers to express themselves, for instance, "What are the major challenges
facing Maple Leaf Shoes in the next five years?" (Das, 2002, p. 80). Additionally, Lance appears
to work under the conviction that meeting of the client's expectations marks the effectiveness of
the Human Resource Department.
Lance opts to use personal interviews whose primary goal is to gather relevant and useful
information in understanding the role of the human resource department. He, however, fails to
get more useful information as he uses a short question checklist that does not assist in
understanding the function of human resource. It is also hard to make a conclusion on the issues
he uses as he adopts a free response format that does not allow for comparison on the answers
received. Lance also fails to meet with all the managers thereby making his meeting with Clark,
the firm's president, less important given that most of the interviews faced several disturbances
like receiving phone calls. Additionally, he is not yet well versed with the daily problems facing
staff and the human resource manager. As such, he appears less prepared to deliver a conclusive
study that will help maple leaf Ltd. solve its problems in Human Resource department.
It is important to note that Lance did not make an effort of meeting with the subordinate
staff, union officials and other employees who are the main reason for the setting up of the
human resource department. The failure to meet with the unions and subordinate staff denies him
the chance to have an all-round picture of the status of the human resource department in maple

MAPLE LEAF SHOES LTD

leaf Shoes Ltd. Seemingly, Lance does not intend to check the company's records to have an
understanding of the firm's past practices concerning the department. In the end, Lance has no
knowledge of the performance standards, job duties and the evaluation criteria used to measure
the effectiveness of the organization's human resource management. It is, therefore, clear that the
approach employed by Lance does not yield the much-expected results regarding understanding
the human resource department and in assisting the company to improve its operations.
In handling Lance's project, I would have put in place an interview schedule that is more
exhaustive and long to get the finer details that could allow the hiring of a new human resource
manager more fruitful. For instance, establish the duties performed by the outgoing human
resource manager, current work being done, their expectations and achievements made so far. In
carrying out the interviews, it would have been necessary to involve employees from different
categories, customers, and Union officials under the office of the human resource manager. It
could have been required also to contact staff in other areas through telephone interviews or mail
questionnaires to get more detailed information concerning the department. The use of
questionnaires could improve on the confidentiality of the respondents and thereby receive more
honest responses as opposed to personal interviews.
It could also be important to look at the past records in the human resource department to
evaluate its effectiveness and identify its challenges in performance thereby provide a better
understanding of the duties associated with a Human Resource Manager. For instance, the
provision of information by the union concerning the grievances of employees in the past and
safety violations is critical to have a clear picture of the current situation of the workforce.
Additionally, having to look at productivity data, absenteeism and employee turnover could be
necessary for getting to understand the level of challenges that the new manager is likely to face.

MAPLE LEAF SHOES LTD

The understanding of the challenges shall, therefore, make it easier for the management to recruit
the most appropriate candidate capable of handling the problems.
In interviewing the staff and managers, it could be essential to inquire on incidences from
the past that clearly reflect on the competency or incompetency of the department of human
resource. The identification of skills and incompetency could assist in identifying the
performance standards and job specification required in the recruitment of a new human resource
manager. Similarly, having to look at publication, reports and magazines of similar organizations
on human resource management could be necessary for getting to understand their job
descriptions, therefore, help in improving the role of Maple Leaf Shoes Limited's human
resource manager. Lastly, the need for employees to display their job skills could be a necessary
tool in getting to analyze the characteristics of well-performing employees in the company for its
success and therefore help them to utilize their capabilities for the success of the company.

MAPLE LEAF SHOES LTD

5
Reference

Das, H. (2002). Case Study on Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd.