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Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
First Year Audit Report
5/13/2013
Mallorie David
Neha Handa
Grace Odom
Jordyn Rothman
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Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 3
Strategic Management Structure ................................................................................................. 3
Mission Statement:................................................................................................................ 3
Corporate Strategy: ............................................................................................................... 3
Internal Analysis: .................................................................................................................. 4
External Analysis: ................................................................................................................. 4
Goals and Strategies: ............................................................................................................. 5
Formulate HR strategies: ........................................................................................................ 5
Final Audit Findings ................................................................................................................. 5
Wages: ................................................................................................................................ 5
Staffing: .............................................................................................................................. 6
Training: ............................................................................................................................. 8
Benefits:.............................................................................................................................. 9
Financial Decisions: ............................................................................................................ 10
Behavioral Decisions: .......................................................................................................... 12
Evaluation of the HR Department ............................................................................................. 14
Summary of Strengths and Weaknesses as an HR Department: ................................................... 14
Improving Company Performance: ........................................................................................ 15
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Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Executive Summary
The report below is a review of the goals, strategies, actions taken, and performance of the HR
Department of Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc. over the past two years. It will illustrate how well
the department made decisions that align with the company’s strategy and explain choices that
were both detrimental and beneficial to the company. Finally it will review the functionality of
the HR Department and its intended direction. To mentor and monitor the department’s progress
the following resources were used: HRManagement: The human resource management
simulation, Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, and Managing Human Resources:
Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits. Using these resources the HR Department was able to
perform better than the industry average in most of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and
achieve seven of our twelve goals.
Strategic Management Structure
Mission Statement: Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures and
distributes quality office supply products to our consumers in the United States. Our focus is on
creating accessible quality products while protecting our employees’, shareholders’, suppliers’
and consumers’ interests in safety and the environment.
Corporate Strategy: Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc. has an internal growth strategy. “Growth
requires that a company constantly hire, transfer, and promote individuals...” (Noe, Hollenbeck,
Gerhart, & Wright 2011, p.50). Since Symbiosis has had such a rapid increase in market share
over the last two years, the most responsible action would be to concentrate on the internal
workings of the company to create the most streamlined and efficient production line and office
environment possible. To achieve this while maintaining an internal growth strategy, training is
highly valued (Noe et al, p. 50).
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Internal Analysis: Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc. is a medium-sized firm with approximately
660 skilled and un-skilled workers (Smith, Golden, & Diegan 2013). Currently, Symbiosis has a
few weaknesses. The first is a low ratio of minorities and females at all job levels (Smith, et al.
2013). Secondly, the firm has no training programs available currently (Smith, et al. 2013). Next,
there is a lack of formal policies within Symbiosis which is an issue that needs to be rectified for
both the morale of employees and to protect against potential accidents and legal issues in the
future. Finally, the firm has no policy on promotions and has hired from the outside and from
within (Smith, et al. 2013). Employee morale is low which coincides with a comparatively high
turnover rate (Smith, et al. 2013). The healthcare plan of the firm is minimal and does not
provide comprehensive coverage to our employees. Together, these factors contribute to a high
rate of absenteeism. Symbiosis also has proven strengths. The company has stayed profitable
through rapid expansion. Despite being a manufacturing company, the workforce has continued
to be non-unionized. This saves money and time for Symbiosis executives who do not have to
worry about collective bargaining. The HR Department is confident that though the results may
have been slow to begin, they will continue to improve at a high rate.
External Analysis: Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc. competes directly with the ten other firms in
the industry. There is a high level of competition and as a whole the industry is slowly becoming
unionized, which currently has no effect on our firm (Smith, et al. 2013) but could become a
threat in the future if compensation and benefits become unsatisfactory. Another concern is that
all of these firms will be competing to hire the same talented employees. However, this could
also be considered an opportunity to obtain new knowledge and creativity within the employees.
If Symbiosis expands to its internal growth limit, an opportunity worth considering would be a
merger or acquisition.
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Goals and Strategies: After reviewing our internal and external analysis and applying those
strengths and weaknesses to our corporate strategy, the department formulated twelve goals (see
Table 1.a). The intent of the goals was to apply metrics that would demonstrate the effect budget
and incident decisions had on the internal growth strategy. These KPIs (shown in Table 2) are
directly related to the success of Symbiosis both with internal staff and externally in the industry.
Formulate HR strategies: Employee morale, grievances, accident rate, and absenteeism were a
focus of the department. We felt that by improving these KPIs the productivity and Unit Labor
Cost would both improve, thus propelling Symbiosis toward greater efficiencies and profits. In
order to achieve this improvement the department focused on training as a main expenditure. The
intent was to increase job knowledge, encourage internal promotion, and lessen the risk of
accidents, all of which could be achieved through increased training, safety and quality
programs.
At the end of the first year several goals were revised (see Table 1.b). The revisions were made
based on one of two factors: either the original goals were not SMART, or after review of the
first year it was determined that the goals were not realistically feasible within two years.
Final Audit Findings
Wages: The original strategy was to increase wages only once a quarter. By the end of the first
year we saw that our wages, while at or above industry level, were still significantly lagging the
local average. The department concluded that the inequity to local rates was a contributing factor
to grievances still being high compared to the beginning of the year. As a result, the goal was
revised to have wages match the local average. To that end, each quarter of the second year there
were wage increases at every level. The difference in scale was uneven between the 5 job levels
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and we set out to evenly increase the percentage compared to local wages within the job levels
(see Table 3). We did not succeed in meeting the revised goal, but by the end of the second year
all employees at levels 1 through 4 were at 98% of local wages (Smith, et al., 2013). This is 10%
higher than at the beginning of the two year period. Senior Management received the highest
wage increases and ended the period at 100% of local wages (Smith, et al., 2013). The difference
in pay was due to the fact that “an organization’s executives potentially have a much greater
effect on the organization’s performance than its lower-paid employees have” (Noe, et al.,
p.337). As expected these increases in wages lowered grievances from 37 at the end of the fourth
quarter to 18 at the end of the eighth quarter (Smith, et al., 2013), lower that than the industry
average of 23 (See Table 2). We also saw an increase in morale from 50 to 89, again exceeding
the industry average 70, over the two year period and we believe the wage increases were a
factor in that improvement (Smith, et al., 2013). We further think the steady wage increases,
without cutting benefits and programs, helped to improve absenteeism and productivity (see
Table 2 for all Key Performance Indicators).
Staffing: The HR Department has made a conscious decision to implement a strategy of
combining internal promotions with external hires. This is done to encourage forward growth
with our current employees and still brings in new thoughts, ideas, and creativity from the
outside (Noe, et al., p.176). Each quarter we have had a mix of internal promotions and external
hiring at levels 2-5. As shown in Table 4 employees were promoted for more than 50% of open
positions at level 2 and level 3. The percentage of promotions compared to new hires decreased
slightly at level 4 to 44.44% and even more at the Senior Management level, with only 1 out of 4
positions being filled through promotion. The rationale for increasing the external hiring at these
upper management levels was to “expose the organization to new ideas or new ways of doing
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business. An organization that uses only internal recruitment can wind up with a workforce
whose members all think alike and therefore may be poorly suited to innovation” (Noe, et al., p.
176). Since Symbiosis has expanded so greatly in such a short time, it was imperative to have
creative and innovative thinkers in Senior Management who would not get caught up in how
things used to be done.
The department also has a goal of increasing female and minority staff levels. Initially the
strategy was to set a minimum of 20% staff for each of those two categories. However, it became
clear at the end of the second quarter that 20% was not a high enough percentage and we
increased it to 30% in each category during the third quarter and then to 40% each in the fourth
quarter. It remained at 40% through the second year. While we did have improvement in our
KPIs over the two year period, from 12.7% to 17.9% and 7.8% to 13.7%, we did not achieve this
goal (Smith, et al., 2013). This was in part due to the forecasted decline of production targets in
the second year which led to a decrease in needed staffing. Therefore when employees resigned
or retired there was not a need to replace all of them and attrition was used to decrease the
number of staff. With staff decreasing, there were not as many opportunities to hire new
employees and increase our percentage of female and minority employees.
In addition to the challenge in the first quarter when the open positions created through staff
being promoted were not replaced, there was a mismanagement of staffing in the sixth quarter.
With too few second level managers the company incurred a $5,000 cost for overtime (Smith, et
al., 2013). This led to a decrease in productivity from 212 to 201 and an increase in turnover
from 5.3 to 6.2 in that quarter (Smith, et al., 2013). The error was promptly addressed and
corrected in the next quarter, with a subsequent increase in productivity to 215 and decrease in
turnover to 5.5 (Smith, et al., 2013). The combination of internal and external hiring, as well as
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focus on female and minority staffing has been a contributing factor to our decrease in turnover
from 9.8 to 7.3 and productivity which has increased from 200 to 207(Smith, et al., 2013).
Despite an increase of over $5 in Unit Labor Cost, through appropriate staffing levels and
training (discussed below) our productivity levels increased from 200 to 224 and our quality
index improved from 50 to 72 over the past two years (Smith, et al., 2013). Both of these ended
higher than the industry average of 210 and 58, respectively (Smith, et al., 2013).
Training: Symbiosis Manufacturing Inc., focused on an internal growth strategy, puts a strong
emphasis on training programs for its employees. We feel that training helps to “benefit the
organization when it is linked to organizational needs and when it motivates employees,” so that
is what we strive for (Noe, et al., p. 247). We put a large portion of our funds towards training
for new hires and promotions, as we are dedicated to keeping our company fully staffed at all
times. Unfortunately, in the first quarter, our company accidentally made a huge mistake that we
have not since been able to fully recover from; due to interdepartmental miscommunication, we
did not implement any training. We have been behind in the industry ever since doing this. Our
unit labor cost increased, quality index decreased, turnover increased, morale decreased, accident
rate increased from 494 to 510, grievances increased, productivity decreased from 200 to 181,
and absenteeism increased (Smith, et al., 2013). In the second quarter, we immediately
implemented training for new hires and promotions, managers, supervisors, the safety and
accident prevention program. This instantly turned around our KPIs, including the accident rate,
productivity, and the quality index (Smith, et al., 2013). We continued this training and increased
the funds towards them, as well as adding a program to establish and maintain quality. We
continued to increase the funds for all of these programs in the third and fourth quarters. Our
relevant KPIs at the end of the first year included a decrease in turnover from 9.8 to 7.3, an
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Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
increase in our quality index from 50 to 55, an increase in morale from 50 to 60, a decrease in
our accident rate from 494 to 331, and a slight increase in productivity from 200 to 207 (Smith et
al., 2013). Going into the second year, Symbiosis Manufacturing Inc. wanted to remain on the
pathway of internal growth, promoting thorough training programs. In the fifth quarter, we
maintained the same amount of training funds as the fourth quarter, neither increasing nor
decreasing any programs. In the sixth quarter, we increased the safety and accident prevention
program funds as well as the establishing and maintaining quality program funds (see Table 5).
In the following quarter, we kept these numbers the same. However, due to our conservation of
funds for any additional or unanticipated costs, at the end of the second year we were able to
increase our training for managers and supervisors as well as the establishing and maintaining
quality programs. Our actions through the second year brought our KPI of turnover down from
7.3 to 8.1, morale up from 60 to 89, quality index up from 55 to 72, accident rate down from 331
to 149, and productivity up from 207 to 224 (Smith et al., 2013). These were all very significant
changes, and all were positive except for the unexpected and drastic increase in turnover.
Benefits: In the beginning of the first year, we wanted to enhance the nearly non-existent health
coverage plan with lower deductibles for a net benefit change of 3.27% for the quarter (Smith, et
al., 2013). We expected this to decrease turnover, increase morale, and decrease grievances, but
the opposite happened for each; we feel that this was because of our lack of training
implementation for the first quarter, as stated before, and that trumped the benefits we gave our
employees, creating an overall negative reaction in all or most areas. We continued to realize that
employees come to expect benefits and that they make them happy when they are communicated
well, so we wanted to always give out any benefits when we could (Noe, et al., p. 387).
However, we did see a decrease in absenteeism. Following this, we did not add benefits until the
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third quarter, when we implemented employee-funded pension, for a net change of 0.40%.
Finally, we saw a decrease in turnover from 9.8 to 7.5, grievances from 44 to 31, and
absenteeism from 498 to 417, as well as an increase in morale from 50 to 53 (Smith, et al., 2013).
We wanted to keep these KPIs moving in their respective directions moving into the second
year’s decisions. We made no changes until the sixth quarter when we implemented 1 additional
vacation/personal/sick day for a net change for the quarter of +1.60% (Smith, et al., 2013). In the
seventh quarter, we added dental care and legal services, term life insurance and eye care, and
tuition reimbursement for a net change of +1.10% (Smith, et al., 2013). We wanted to add
prescription coverage but it was more expensive than all of the other benefits combined, except
for healthcare, so we felt these funds would be better put toward training, in keeping with our
internal growth strategy. At the end of this quarter, we saw the following changes from the end
of the first year to the end of the second: turnover increased from 7.3 to 8.1, grievances
decreased from 37 to 18, absenteeism decreased from 376 to 257, and morale increased from 60
to 89 (Smith, et al, 2013). Again, all of these KPIs, except for turnover, came out at the end with
very drastic and positive results. In addition, these KPIs all outperformed the industry average
(See Table 2): turnover was 8.1 compared to the industry average of 11.4; grievances were 18
compared to the industry average of 23; absenteeism was 257 compared to the industry average
of 362; and morale was 89 compared to the industry average of 70 (Smith, et al., 2013).
Financial Decisions: Symbiosis Manufacturing Inc. focused on how money would be used in
each quarter of a year. We forecasted the HR quarterly budget was $350,000. In the first quarter,
we tried to split up our money with what we thought we should spend it on. We spent $352,249,
which went towards benefits and hiring. However, we felt as if we should have spent more
money training people. Our profits suffered due to the fact that our employees did not have
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efficient training. During the second quarter we spent more money on training employees since
we lacked that in the first quarter. We spent a total of $334,580. In the third quarter we spent
$313,800. Since productivity increased from 194 to 202 there was less need for new hires
(Smith, et al., 2013). This allowed us to spend more on increasing wages for our current
employees. In the fourth quarter we decided to spend the rest of the money that we had.
Therefore, we spent $408,906 on such things as hiring costs, benefits increase in the form of a
pension program, training expense, and quality and safety program expenses. We did not go over
our annual budget for the first, second, or third quarters. However, by the end of the fourth
quarter, we went over our budget by $9,535 due to an unexpected lawsuit. Going into the fifth
quarter, we used what we learned from the previous year to try to make the best financial
decisions as possible. We spent $325,728 out of our second year budget of $1,600,000. We were
trying to be conservative with our money, so we only spent money on hiring costs, overtime
costs, wage increases, training expenses, and program expenses. In the sixth quarter we spent
$351,623. During the second year there was an expected drop in production target. This meant
that there was not as much need for new hires and that expense, rather we decided to focus more
on increasing benefits, research surveys, increasing wages and our continued focus on training
expenses. Our aim was to continue using $350,000 as our quarterly budget. Therefore, we spent
$34,726 in the seventh quarter. According to the newsletter, due to our decision on the incident
of exempt employees, we avoided a potential claim that would have cost us 4 times the amount
we paid (Smith, et al., 2013). Finally, since we had been so conservative all year, in the eighth
quarter we were able to spend $551,300. This left us with $23,723 which is within our range of
our goal to spend within 2% of budget (Smith, et al., 2013). Overall, in the second year, we did
not have to cut any programs and still ended up running under budget.
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Behavioral Decisions:
First Quarter: During quarter one an incident occurred regarding sexual harassment. We
decided to approach the situation by developing a stronger “zero tolerance” sexual harassment
policy and distribute a copy to all employees for $2,000 (Smith, et al., 2013). According to the
newsletter, should there be a court case, this decision would result in a loss of points due to a
lack of training being provided. We should have invested more money to decrease the liability of
our company. As a result, the productivity rate went down.
Second Quarter: During the second quarter an incident occurred regarding job analysis.
Out of the options we could have chosen, we decided do an analysis of all jobs in the firm,
including managerial, for $20,000. According to the newsletter, our course of action was an
excellent decision. KPIs such as morale, absenteeism, and accident rate benefited from the
decision (Smith, et al., 2013).
Third Quarter: During third quarter an incident occurred regarding recruiting for
temporary positions. After weighing our options, we decided to obtain temporary workers from a
Temporary Services company. Since it was mentioned that the administrative cost would be paid
for, we thought that this option provided the greatest benefit. However, according to the
newsletter, there was dissension caused amongst employees who wanted to get paid the
overtime. This resulted in an increase in grievances. Thankfully, the job did get completed even
though it was at a higher cost. Most of the KPIs stayed relatively unchanged from the previous
quarter. The turnover rate did go down by .05%, absenteeism went down by 10, and productivity
went up by 8 (Smith, et al., 2013). Even though it wasn’t the best decision, the company did
benefit.
Fourth Quarter: During quarter four we were presented with a staffing incident. We
decided that out of all the options we could pick, we would promote neither Margaret nor Beth
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since neither of them was willing to work the weekends or evenings that the job required.
Unfortunately, this was a poor decision and the company suffered. According to the newsletter,
Margaret and Beth both filed sex discrimination lawsuits resulting in attorney fees of $10,000.
As a result, the company went over its yearly budget by $9,535 (Smith, et al., 2013).
Fifth Quarter: During quarter five we were presented with a performance appraisal
incident. We chose to select the supervisor, subordinates, and self-appraisal to conduct the
appraisals. We also chose to select the Graphic Rating Scale as the appraisal method. According
to the newsletter, the supervisors were not pleased with our decision. They were angry that our
method allowed subordinates to evaluate them. This resulted in most of the KPIs fluctuating.
Turnover rate went down tremendously from 7.3 to 5.3 (Smith, et al., 2013). Grievances,
accident rate, and absenteeism went down (Smith, et al., 2013). The newsletter said that the
supervisor’s morale was low, however, according to the KPIs morale went up as well as
productivity (Smith, et al., 2013). Even though the supervisors did not like our decision, our
KPIs show that we did indeed benefit from it (Smith, et al., 2013).
Sixth Quarter: During quarter six we were presented with a compensation planning
incident. After reading the incident, we thought it was best to choose the option of profit sharing
or gain sharing. The newsletter explains that our decision was a good idea. It also says how
combining performance and compensation will increase productivity in a firm. However, due to
staffing issues our performance actually went down from 212 to 201 (Smith, et al., 2013). That
decline is not drastic, however, we thought that productivity would increase due to our decision.
Other KPIs such as absenteeism, grievances, and accident rate all declined. However, turnover
rate and morale increased (Smith, et al., 2013).
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Seventh Quarter: During quarter seven we were presented with an incident regarding our
exempt employees. After viewing the incident, we thought that that we should reclassify the
positions and pay the employees $10,000 for overtime worked during the past year (Smith, et al.,
2013). The newsletter described that our decision was very ethical and complies with regulatory
guidelines. We also avoided a potential claim that could have cost us four times the amount we
paid. Our KPIs show that our decision was effective. The turnover rate and accident rate went
down (Smith, et al., 2013). Our productivity increased from 201 to 215 and our morale also
increased from 72 to 77 (Smith, et al., 2013). Grievances and absenteeism did not change; they
both stayed at 17 and 314 (Smith, et al., 2013).
Eighth Quarter: During quarter eight we were presented with a safety issue incident. After we
discussed our options, we decided to select the option of hiring a full time safety specialist for
$15,000 (Smith, et al., 2013). We were happy to see that our decision resulted in a superior rating
from the government. We also acquired a safety award of the year from the industry association.
Due to our decision, the accident rate improved from 208 to 149 and was significantly better than
the industry average of 311(see Table 2). Morale and productivity both increased while
absenteeism decreased. It is worth noting that grievances went up by 1 and turnover ended up
increasing but again were all better than industry average (Smith, et al., 2013).
Evaluation of the HR Department
Summary of Strengths and Weaknesses as an HR Department: The last two years had both
challenges and growth for the department. Symbiosis had expanded so greatly that there was a
challenge of playing “catch-up” while working to achieve our goals and strategies. The first
quarter was rocky but the department worked together with open communication to improve our
standing and further help our employees have a safe, efficient, and profitable place to work.
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While the department was over budget at the end of the first year, we felt that we had made good
decisions based on the information we had at the time. Despite the titles of our positions, we all
gave input on each decision, regardless of the subject, and the leadership role was shared. The
department met weekly to review quarterly budgets and any special incidents that required our
attention. We discussed not only that quarter, but what we expected to see in the coming months
and how that would affect any of our originally planned expenditures. This routine allowed us to
brainstorm ideas, consider every option compared to our corporate and departmental goals and
strategies, and continue to strengthen our communication skills. As with any business not every
member could attend every meeting and that also enabled us to not get tied into one group
dynamic.
The only changes we would have made would be to start our weekly meetings earlier in the
project. This would enable all team members to make changes in her schedule and be available
for all meetings.
Improving Company Performance: The department worked cohesively to improve the metrics
of Symbiosis through alignment with our goals and strategies. Our quality index, turnover,
morale, accident rate, grievances, productivity, absenteeism, female and minority percentages
have all have improved (see Table 2). Training remained our top priority each quarter as we
strived to increase productivity and morale. Additionally, wage increases and new programs
helped lower grievances, and improve productivity, turnover, and morale. Through some
incidents we continue to learn what is most appropriate and what decisions will best move the
company in the direction of our goals. The budget overage at the end of the first year resulted in
a more conscious, conservative attitude toward the budget and an awareness of external factors
that may not have previously been considered. We also learned how important time-management
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is, especially when working with other managers or employees. With so many moving parts it
can be difficult to get all team members on the same page at the same time in order to meet
deadlines. While we have not always made the best decision, we have learned from each of them
and apply those lessons to the next item that presents itself for our review. Through all of these
experiences we are growing stronger and so is our company.
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Tables
Table 1.a: Goals and Strategies- Second Year Results
Goals
Strategies
Results
1. To promote diversity to 40% of
staff being females and minorities
Goal 1 will be achieved by having a minimum of 40% of all job vacancies
filled with minority and/or female employees.
Goal not achieved: We ended with 17.9% female and
13.7% minority. This was partially due to decreased target
production and fewer new staff hired
2. To increase productivity to 220
Goal 2 will be achieved by ensuring consistent and enhanced training at all
levels and increasing pay to closer to local averages.
Goal 3 will be achieved by allocating money to fringe benefits every First
quarter.
Goal 4 will be achieved by implementing an accident prevention and safety
program beginning in the second quarter of the first year and continuous
thereafter.
Goal achieved- Final Productivity level 224
Goal achieved- We never missed production
6. To improve quality levels to 70
Goal 5 will be achieved by maintaining full staffing with continuous
training.
Goal 6 will be achieved by implementing a formal a performance appraisal
system and affirmative action beginning in the fourth quarter of the first year
and first quarter second year, respectively, to be continuous thereafter.
7. To reduce turnover to 6
Goal 7 will be achieved by spending 15% quarterly on training.
8. To keep the expenses within 2% of
budget
Goal 8 will be achieved by referring to the budget analysis reports and
making sure that we are spending our maximum funds each year.
Goal not achieved: We ended with a turnover rate of 8.1.
The department is unsure why there was an increase of 2.6
between the 7th and 8th quarters
Goal achieved- The department has $23,723 available
9. To reduce absenteeism by 33%
Goal 9 will be achieved by adding a more comprehensive healthcare
program with prescription drug coverage.
Goal achieved- Final Absenteeism at 257, a reduction of
48%
10. To bring wages to the local
average
Goal 10 will be achieved by increasing wages proportionally per level
toward the local averages in the third quarter of each year.
11. To decrease unit labor cost to
$58.00
Goal 11 will be achieved by the culmination of a reduction of absenteeism
and an increase in productivity.
Goal not achieved: Did not begin wage increases early
enough and had to change strategy. Final salaries were at
98% of local.
Goal not achieved: Final Unit Labor Cost $64.23. The
department is unsure why the cost increased by $2.07
between the 7th and 8th quarters
12. To reduce grievances by 33%
Goal 12 will be achieved by implementing a Grievance Procedure beginning
in the second quarter and to be used continuously thereafter.
3. To increase morale to 70
4. To decrease the accident rate to 200
5. To have zero missed production
Goal achieved- Final Morale level 89
Goal achieved- Final Accident Rate 149
Goal achieved- Final Quality Level 72
Goal achieved- Grievances lowered from 31 to 18
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Table 1.b: Goals and Strategies- First Year Results
Goals
Strategies
Results
1. To promote diversity to 40% of
staff being females and minorities
Goal 1 will be achieved by having a minimum of 40% of all job
vacancies filled with minority and/or female employees.
Goal not achieved: We ended with 14.2% female and 10%
minority. We have increased the algorithm to 40% in the
hopes of meeting this goal
2. To increase productivity to 220
Goal 2 will be achieved by ensuring consistent and enhanced training at
all levels and increasing pay to closer to local averages.
Goal not achieved- First Year Productivity level 207: we are
almost halfway toward meeting our goal
3. To increase morale to 70
Goal 3 will be achieved by allocating money to fringe benefits every
First quarter.
Goal achieved- First Year Morale level 60: we are halfway
to meeting our goal
4. To decrease the accident rate to 200
Goal 4 will be achieved by implementing an accident prevention and
safety program beginning in the second quarter of the first year and
continuous thereafter.
Goal 5 will be achieved by maintaining full staffing with continuous
training.
Goal achieved- First Year Accident Rate 331: we are just
over halfway toward meeting our goal
6. To improve quality levels to 70
Goal 6 will be achieved by implementing a formal a performance
appraisal system and affirmative action beginning in the fourth quarter
of the first year and first quarter second year, respectively, to be
continuous thereafter.
Goal achieved- Final Quality Level 72
7. To reduce turnover to 6
Goal 7 will be achieved by spending 15% quarterly on training.
Goal not achieved: First Year Turnover Rate 7.3: we are
more than halfway toward meeting our goal
8. To keep the expenses within 2% of
budget
Goal 8 will be achieved by referring to the budget analysis reports and
making sure that we are spending our maximum funds each year.
Goal not achieved- Over budget by $9,535 due to
unforeseen lawsuit
9. To reduce absenteeism by 33%
Goal 9 will be achieved by adding a more comprehensive healthcare
program with prescription drug coverage.
Goal not achieved- First Year Absenteeism 376, a reduction
of 24.4%: we are more than halfway toward our goal.
10. To bring wages to the local
average
Goal 10 will be achieved by increasing wages proportionally per level
toward the local averages in the third quarter of each year.
Goal not achieved: Did not begin wage increases early
enough and had to change strategy.
11. To decrease unit labor cost to
$58.00
Goal 11 will be achieved by the culmination of a reduction of
absenteeism and an increase in productivity.
Goal not achieved: First Year Unit Labor Cost $59.24. We
are more than halfway toward our goal
12. To reduce grievances by 33%
Goal 12 will be achieved by implementing a Grievance Procedure
beginning in the second quarter and to be used continuously thereafter.
Goal not achieved- Grievances have increased from 31 to
37
5. To have zero missed production
Goal achieved- We never missed production
19
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Table 1.c: Goals - Original compared to Revision
Original Goals
1. To promote diversity
2. To increase productivity.
3. To increase morale to 70
4. To improve employee safety
5. To reduce carbon footprint
6. To improve quality program
7. To reduce turnover
8. To prevent overtime costs
9. To reduce absenteeism
10. To bring wages to the local average
11. To lower unit labor cost
12. To reduce grievances
Revised Goals
1. To promote diversity to 40% of staff being females and minorities
2. To increase productivity to 220
3. To increase morale to 70
4. To decrease the accident rate to 200
5. To have zero missed production
6. To improve quality levels to 70
7. To reduce turnover to 6
8. To keep the expenses within 2% of budget
9. To reduce absenteeism by 33%
10. To bring wages to the local average
11. To decrease unit labor cost to $58.00
12. To reduce grievances by 33%
Reasons for Revision
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
No change
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
No change
Made the goal SMART
Made the goal SMART
20
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Table 1.d: Strategies - Original compared to Revision
Original Strategies
Reasons for Revision
Goal 1 will be achieved by having a minimum of 40% of all job
vacancies filled with minority and/or female employees.
Revised Strategies
Goal 1 will be achieved by having a minimum of 40% of all job vacancies
filled with minority and/or female employees.
No change
Goal 2 will be achieved by ensuring complete staffing at all job
levels.
Goal 2 will be achieved by ensuring consistent and enhanced training at all
levels and increasing pay to closer to local averages.
Changed to reflect
SMART goal
Goal 3 will be achieved by allocating money to fringe benefits
every First quarter.
Goal 3 will be achieved by allocating money to fringe benefits every First
quarter.
No change
Goal 4 will be achieved by implementing an accident prevention
and safety program in the second quarter of the first year.
Goal 4 will be achieved by implementing an accident prevention and safety
program beginning in the second quarter of the first year and continuous
thereafter.
Goal 5 will be achieved by maintaining full staffing with continuous training.
Changed to clarify
continuous program
funding
Changed to reflect new
SMART goal
Goal 6 will be achieved by implementing a formal a performance appraisal
system and affirmative action beginning in the fourth quarter of the first year
and first quarter second year, respectively, to be continuous thereafter.
Changed to clarify
continuous program
funding
Goal 7 will be achieved by spending 15% quarterly on training.
Goal 7 will be achieved by spending 15% quarterly on training.
No change
Goal 8 will be achieved by keeping staffing at or above the
required limits as noted in the “Staffing Report” on
Interpretive.com.
Goal 8 will be achieved by referring to the budget analysis reports and making
sure that we are spending our maximum funds each year.
Changed to reflect
SMART goal
Goal 9 will be achieved by adding a more comprehensive
healthcare program with prescription drug coverage.
Goal 9 will be achieved by adding a more comprehensive healthcare program
with prescription drug coverage.
No change
Goal 10 will be achieved by increasing wages by 3-5% in the third
quarter of each year.
Goal 10 will be achieved by increasing wages proportionally per level toward
the local averages in the third quarter of each year.
Changed to allow
flexibility of budget
Goal 11 will be achieved by the culmination of a reduction of
absenteeism and an increase in productivity.
Goal 11 will be achieved by the culmination of a reduction of absenteeism and
an increase in productivity.
No change
Goal 12 will be achieved by implementing a Grievance Procedure
in the second quarter.
Goal 12 will be achieved by implementing a Grievance Procedure beginning in
the second quarter and to be used continuously thereafter.
Changed to clarify
continuous program
funding
Goal 5 will be achieved by using an HRIS (to be added second
quarter of the second year), email, and online training, policy
distribution and performance reviews to reduce the amount of
paper and ink used.
Goal 6 will be achieved by implementing a formal a performance
appraisal system and affirmative action in the fourth quarter of the
first year and first quarter second year.
21
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Table 2: Key Performance Indicators
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Key Performance Indicators
Balanced Scorecard
Balanced Scorecard Rank
Unit Labor Cost
Payroll
Quality Index
Turnover
Morale
Accident Rate
Grievances
Productivity
Absenteeism
Female Pct
Minority Pct
Missed Production
Budget Spent
Budget Spent (cum)
Budget Overage (cum)
Fringe Benefits Rank
Training Rank
Programs Rank
Market Research Rank
$
$
$
$
$
Industry Average
Percent of
Quarter 0
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Quarter 5
Quarter 6
Quarter 7
Quarter 8
end of Second Year Industry Average
74
73
77
77
79
86
86
88
89
N/A
N/A
1
11
4
5
4
4
4
4
2
N/A
N/A
59.10 $
64.37 $
62.36 $
60.46 $
59.24 $
58.46 $
62.83 $
62.16 $
64.23 $
60.88
106%
5,910,000 $
5,818,000 $
6,050,000 $
6,163,800 $
6,322,550 $
6,354,480 $
6,061,720 $
5,864,160 $
5,756,280
N/A
N/A
50
49
50
52
55
60
65
68
72
58
124%
9.8
9.9
8
7.5
7.3
5.3
6.2
5.5
8.1
11.4
71%
50
49
51
53
60
64
72
77
89
70
127%
494
510
438
387
331
276
245
208
149
311
48%
31
32
33
44
37
33
17
17
18
23
78%
200
181
194
202
207
212
201
215
224
210
107%
498
497
427
417
376
339
314
314
257
362
71%
12.7
13
12.8
13.6
14.2
16.8
17.2
17.9
17.9
N/A
N/A
7.8
8.4
8.5
9.3
10
12.2
12.5
13.3
13.7
N/A
N/A
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
N/A
N/A
$
352,249 $
334,580 $
313,800 $
408,906 $
325,728 $
351,623 $
347,626 $
551,300
N/A
N/A
$
352,249 $
686,829 $
1,000,629 $
1,409,535 $
1,735,263 $
2,086,886 $
2,434,512 $
2,985,812
N/A
N/A
$
$
$
$
9,535 $
9,535 $
9,535 $
9,535 $
9,535
N/A
N/A
1
2
4
4
5
6
6
6
7
N/A
N/A
1
4
3
3
4
2
4
3
1
N/A
N/A
1
5
7
7
6
6
1
1
1
N/A
N/A
1
1
3
3
2
3
1
4
1
N/A
N/A
Legend
Performed better than industry average
Performed below industry average
22
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Table 3: Wages Compared to Local Average
Employee level
5
4
3
2
1
First Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,000
0.9474
$ 14,000
0.8750
$ 12,000
0.8571
$ 10,000
0.8772
$
8,000
0.8889
Second Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,000
0.9474
$ 14,000
0.8750
$ 12,000
0.8571
$ 10,000
0.8772
$
8,000
0.8889
Third Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,180
0.9568
$ 14,180
0.8863
$ 12,150
0.8679
$ 10,100
0.8860
$
8,100
0.9000
Fourth Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,180
0.9568
$ 14,355
0.8972
$ 12,475
0.8911
$ 10,250
0.8991
$
8,153
0.9059
Employee level
5
4
3
2
1
Fifth Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,180
0.9568
$ 14,455
0.9034
$ 12,575
0.8982
$ 10,360
0.9088
$
8,235
0.9150
Sixth Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,300
0.9632
$ 14,720
0.9200
$ 12,880
0.9200
$ 10,488
0.9200
$
8,280
0.9200
Seventh Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 18,300
0.9632
$ 14,880
0.9300
$ 13,020
0.9300
$ 10,602
0.9300
$
8,370
0.9300
Eighth Quarter
Wages
% of Local
$ 19,000
1.0000
$ 15,680
0.9800
$ 13,720
0.9800
$ 11,172
0.9800
$
8,820
0.9800
Local Average
$
$
$
$
$
19,000
16,000
14,000
11,400
9,000
Local Average
$
$
$
$
$
19,000
16,000
14,000
11,400
9,000
Table 4: Staffing Levels
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Employee Level New Hire Promotion New Hire Promotion New Hire Promotion New Hire Promotion
5
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
4
1
1
1
0
1
1
2
0
3
1
2
3
4
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
8
7
3
4
5
4
1
50
N/A
67
N/A
50
N/A
54
N/A
Quarter 5
Quarter 6
Quarter 7
Quarter 8
Employee Level New Hire Promotion New Hire Promotion New Hire Promotion New Hire Promotion
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
1
2
0
4
1
1
0
3
2
2
2
0
0
2
2
0
2
1
28
N/A
0
N/A
0
N/A
0
N/A
Employee Level Total New Hire Total Promotion Total Posititions Percent of Promotion
5
3
1
4
25.00%
4
5
4
9
44.44%
3
10
21
31
67.74%
2
22
23
45
51.11%
1
249
0
249
23
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Table 5: Quarterly Training Expenses
Training Expense per Quarter
First Quarter Second Quarter
New Hires and Promotions
$
$
47,400
Training for Managers and Supervisors $
$
5,000
Safety & Accident Prevention Program $
$
12,000
Establish and Maintain Quality Program $
$
-
New Hires and Promotions
Training for Managers and Supervisors
Safety & Accident Prevention Program
Establish and Maintain Quality Program
Fifth Quarter
$
30,000
$
50,000
$
25,000
$
26,000
New Hires and Promotions
Training for Managers and Supervisors
Safety & Accident Prevention Program
Establish and Maintain Quality Program
Third Quarter
$
45,000
$
15,000
$
12,000
$
50,000
Fourth Quarter
$
45,000
$
40,000
$
12,000
$
13,000
Sixth Quarter Seventh Quarter Eighth Quarter
$
30,000 $
30,000 $
30,000
$
50,000 $
50,000 $
60,000
$
30,000 $
50,000 $
50,000
$
35,000 $
35,000 $
60,000
Industry Average End
of the Second Year
$
24,491
$
26,818
$
19,000
$
27,909
Percent Compared to
Industry Average
122%
224%
263%
215%
24
Symbiosis Manufacturing, Inc.
Works Cited
Cascio (2010). Managing Human Resouces: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (8th
Edition). McGraw –Hill Publishing.
Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright (2011). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management
(4th edition). McGraw –Hill Publishing.
Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright (2011). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management
(7th edition). McGraw –Hill Publishing.
Smith, J. R., Golden, P. A., & Schreier, J. W. (2013). HRManagement: The human resource
management simulation. Charlottesville, VA: Interpretive Simulations.