HRM101-Introduction to HR and Leadership

Assessment Brief:

1.Students are required to complete the questions at the end of the Case Study. Use a

2.Question and Answer format.

Your Assessment should:

1. Be submitted electronically via the Blackboard Portfolio submission link.

2. Be referenced according to APA 6th referencing as per the Academic writing guide.

Changes at Oz Newspapers

The atmosphere in the room was tense. Ted Kimoski, chief financial officer for Oz Newspapers, had just finished his presentation. The general manager, John Campbell, sat quietly making notes. After pausing he broke the silence. ‘From what you have shown us, Ted, it seems that we face the problem of our costs not being competitive. Benchmarked against local best practice, our printing and distribution costs are the highest in the industry, but by rationalising our operations we can save $50million in annual costs. It is clear that our low productivity and high labour costs are killing us. Our newspaper sales and advertising income are both failing rapidly – people simply are not reading newspapers anymore. In short, we must use technology to make our operations more competitive. We have to change and move into the 21st century’’.

Ted looked directly at John. ‘John, that’s it in a nutshell. The Internet is a disruptive technology. We have to get readers to pay for online content. Readers have changed and they are not going to go back to buying newspapers. All our print operations are bleeding badly. Worse, the company’s overall financial position is deteriorating rapidly. If we don’t do something soon, we risk either being taken over or going out of business. Our share price has dropped 60 per cent in the past 12 months and it is now widely rumoured in the market that we are a takeover target.’

John nodded in acknowledgement, and then turned to face Paul Jaworski, editor in chief. ‘Paul what do you think?’ ‘Of course, Ted is right – our performance is appalling. Our problems are several. We have to rationalise our printing operations, we have to reduce our headcount and we have to make a massive push to embrace all things digital’.

We have terrible productivity because we don’t have labour flexibility’, interjected May Wong, HR manager. ‘Union restrictions make it impossible to work efficiently. Absenteeism and labour turnover are ridiculously high. Our workers are not motivated. We constantly face fights with the unions over change issues, outsourcing and the use of contractors. Yet, our pay rates and conditions of employment are in the top quartile for the industry’. ‘What’s more’, snapped Ted, ‘our people have a history of resisting change and management authority. We need to consolidate all printing at one site which will mean closing our plants in South Australia and NSW. The unions will resist the loss of 500 jobs. We are at the breaking point. The government’s FWA legislation is really encouraging the unions to flex their muscles. These IR changes could not have come at a worse time for us.’

 ‘Well, you can understand that’, said May. “Their jobs are so specialised they will find it difficult to get similar high paying jobs elsewhere.’ ’Well, the world is changing and they have to change too – if not they are going to be road kill like the rest of us’, snapped Ted. ‘Nevertheless, our employees and especially the unionised ones are not going to accept such decisions without a fight’, added May.

‘Well, if they haven’t noticed, newspaper publishing is a shrinking industry. Our shareholders are demanding action. They have to realise change is unavoidable. Technological and social changes are like a tsunami washing over this industry’,

Questions:

When responding to the questions below please consider the theory / key concepts that have been covered during your studies so far. Be sure to integrate the key concepts into your responses using academically reliable sources. Your responses should demonstrate further reading / research on the key topics.

1. Identify the key stakeholders and their likely reactions to the situation at Oz Newspapers.

2. What are the HR issues raised in this case? Explain how you would deal with them, supporting your assertions with research.

3. What are the key environment factors at play in this case? Explain how these environmental factors impact HR practice at Oz Newspapers.

4. Describe the role that the HR manager will need to take to support the company’s plan