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Using what you learned in Chapter 9 about the linkage between strategy and HR Policy/practices, suggest the difficulties that HR faced after the Co pa! ac!uisition . Ans. HR department faced many difficulties such as: Both the companies has huge work forces and the HR Department had tough times in combining huge work forces of the two companies. There was huge amount of pressure on HR department to cut down the work force (by almost !"# in order to reduce the o$erheads. %sychological problems came up due to the insecurity among the employees. There was lack of coordination among the employees of the two companies. Also people started worry too much about losing the &ob and it impacted their works. 'ince the composition of the two companies and their work culture had difference( the HR department faced a lot of problems regarding the new image and the work. H% was fundamentally an engineering firm that has emphasi)ed precision* +uality and design* whereas* ,ompa+ was reputably known as a low-cost leader in the personal computing industry( hence employees were confused regarding the new image and the work culture. ,ompa+ was more focused on indi$idual performance* whilst H% was more focused on teamwork( this di$erging management style was a problem between the two companies.

". #uggest things you ight do as a benefits anager at HP that would both balance low cost andates and inno$ation aspirations . would recommend benefits programs to management by studying employee re+uirements and trends and de$elopments in benefits offered by other organi)ations. . would support the management by analy)ing benefit options and predicting future costs .n addition to health insurance and pension co$erage* we would offer employees life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance* disability insurance. . would also include relati$ely new benefits designed to meet the needs of the changing work force* such as parental lea$e* child and elder care* long-term nursing home care insurance* employee assistance and wellness programs* and fle/ible benefits plans. 0ne of my important tasks would be to help the leaders to agree on a clear and specific set of goals* with a focus on tangible* measurable results* which brings misunderstandings and conflict into the open.

Then* . would try to blend the company1s two cultures into one by implementing the following strategies: %assion for customers( Trust and respect( Achie$ement and contribution( Teamwork( 'peed and agility( 2eaningful inno$ation( and 3ncompromising integrity . would organi)e $arious psychological trainings to help employees to get rid of the negati$ity pertaining to the impact of this huge change in the management and culture. At the same time we would organi)e a number of trainings to educate the employees regarding the technology and .nno$ations. . would find out the list of people who are non performing and their work area would be changed or remo$ed from the company. .n this way company would send a strong message that company will not tolerate people who are not performing.

%. How ight you structure co unications, cost sa$ing/ controls, and new design issues to both sa$e on benefits cost and reinforce inno$ation& 'ach suggestion should be indful of both constraints. 0ne of the key suggestions will be to form different small teams based on the competencies of the indi$iduals. 4ach team would ha$e different operating model depending on the competencies they ha$e. 4ach team will align with the strategy of the company and contribute towards growth* cost efficiencies* financial and human capital de$elopment. The reward packages would be changed in order to align it more to pay for performance across the $arious le$el of work force. 5on performing employees would be warned and if re+uired would be remo$ed from their responsibilities. This would not only encourage people to work harder* but also company would sa$e lots of money and time. Talent management team would be e+uipped with a career de$elopment framework to help employees understand how their contribution is important to the company as well as the employee. .t would also help the employees to reali)e how they can grow in the company. 4mployees would be trained on Recognition 6 Reward for %erformance in order to inspire them to e/cel in their respecti$e fields.

(. )hen you are done, indicate the challenges of being both a low*cost pro$ider and inno$ator of the sa e corporate roof. 2ost crucial challenge would be to keep a balance between cost effecti$eness and being the inno$ations leader. .nno$ations need some huge initial capital in$estments in order to build a good Research 6 de$elopment team and to help them with latest technologies and all the facilities. .t is huge task for the manager to decide how far to go in terms of the in$estment in order being the leader of inno$ation Again if the company introduces a new product into the market at low price( customer may +uestion or doubt its1 +uality* because it is a low cost product. Hence* pricing becomes $ery important factor when the company wants to position itself as cost effecti$e as well as inno$ator There may be a conflict among the employees( as engineering department will go for inno$ations and purchase team would go for cost reduction. This may lead to an unhealthy situation.