Question 1c Environmental Scan
Job seekers in the Pacific Northwest face a challenge due to the high unemployment rate in the region. Urban areas like Seattle and Spokane have a surplus of qualified individuals, but attracting college-educated individuals to entry-level positions in retail is difficult. Retail stores are infamous for demanding long hours, including weekends and holidays, with low pay, which dissuades many potential applicants.
Filling managerial roles from within the company also presents challenges as Tanglewood prefers internal promotions. This approach allows employees to develop alongside the company and become familiar with its social and cultural environment. While this limits direct hiring into managerial positions, it cultivates loyalty among entry-level employees who are willing to patiently await opportunities for advancement.
Question 1e Preliminary Statement of Action Plan for Hiring for Washington Next Year
Tanglewood frequently uses internal promotions to fill vacancies for different roles. Specifically, 16% of shift leaders are expected to be promoted to department managers, 12% of department managers are expected to be promoted to assistant store managers, and 8% of assistant store managers are expected to be promoted to store managers.
According to the Markov Analysis results, it has been concluded that we must recruit individuals for the following positions to achieve the expected staffing levels:
We currently have an excess of 21 individuals in the Assistant Store Managers position. Store Managers:
It is important to offer current sales associates the chance to request promotions or transfer to other sales positions within the company. This will enable them to expand their understanding of the company and strengthen their loyalty. Ensuring that current associates feel valued and significant is crucial, as research suggests that only 46-66% of employees remain in the same position for a year.
Tanglewood believes that in order to maintain the company’s distinct culture and values in the long run, all new employees are required to work as store associates for a certain period of time. Therefore, external hiring is necessary to fill store associate positions.
Tanglewood should focus on hiring entry level employees such as high school students, college students, retired individuals, or high school graduates that have not continued their education in order to fill the 3,995 positions for store associates. The company should develop recruitment ads for employment websites, taking advantage of the success of internet-based hiring strategies. Additionally, employee referrals should be considered as another method of recruitment. It is crucial for Tanglewood to retain experienced and reliable sales associates. By hiring high school students, retirees, and college students, the company can retain these employees for several years before they may exit or pursue other opportunities.
Compare the percentages of employee representation for Tanglewood and the available labor market displayed in Table 1.3. Analyze if there are any specific classes or jobs where Tanglewood’s workforce representation differs significantly from the available workforce. What implications can be drawn from these patterns?
The text presents a comparison of employee representation percentages in the Spokane, WA area and at the Tanglewood store in Spokane, WA. According to Henemann (131), when the percentage of employee representation is lower than expected, a placement goal needs to be established. The Bureau of Census EEO Residence data for Spokane, WA indicates that Tanglewood has a gap in minority representation among shift leaders and female representation among store associates. This suggests that Tanglewood should adopt a more aggressive recruitment approach towards minorities and females to fulfill the placement goals.
Question 3:
Do you believe the company should implement a particular strategy to alter their recruiting and promotion procedures based on your analysis and the affirmative action plan? Is it feasible for the company to attempt to achieve their affirmative action objectives within one year? What are the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing internal promotions versus external hiring to address the issues regarding gender and ethnicity representation in supervisory roles?
Based on my analysis and the affirmative action plan, I believe that Tanglewood would benefit from altering their recruitment and promotion practices. While I understand the value in promoting from within to uphold the company’s values, incorporating a more diverse staff would enhance the company’s culture. By exclusively promoting internal candidates, Tanglewood risks perpetuating the current employee representation percentages.
When Tanglewood hires externally, they have the chance to bring in a more varied pool of candidates. By specifically reaching out to women and minorities during the recruitment process, Tanglewood can work towards its goals. Strategies such as advertising job openings in minority-focused news outlets and women’s interest media, sharing information with organizations that advocate for women and minorities, and recruiting from educational institutions with a significant number of minority and/or female students are all ways in which Tanglewood can enhance its recruitment practices (Henemann 134).
The company’s primary objective is to recruit/promote qualified individuals. If there are no qualified minority candidates, the company is not obligated to select a less qualified individual for the position (Henemann 131). It is not feasible for a company to achieve their affirmative action goals within a single year. It takes time to rectify such matters. Vacancies provide an opportunity to balance percentages at that stage.
Question 4: In addition to the specific targets for employee representation for the Spokane Flagship location, Tanglewood aims to establish estimates for the staffing policy of the entire chain regarding workforce demographic representation. How can individual stores contribute to the overall organizational objectives? Write a memo to be distributed to the individual stores that provides an overview of your targets for the organization as a whole and offers guidance on how they can help close any representation gaps discovered through their recruitment, hiring, and promotion practices.
Tanglewood is proud of its distinctive culture and values. The company has traditionally promoted from within, which has helped uphold this vision, but has hindered the development of a more diverse workplace. To create a more inclusive environment, Tanglewood believes it is important to actively seek and employ highly skilled individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Tanglewood has the chance to enhance our workforce and better serve the communities we operate in. By recruiting minorities from these communities, we enable customers to relate to the sales associates and managers. This, in turn, will establish a competitive advantage and foster a harmonious environment.
The promotion policy at Tanglewood will be revised to help the company meet the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) goals identified after analyzing the Spokane, WA store. Store Managers and Assistant Managers will be requested to attend regional meetings to discuss shortcomings in EEO areas and how these can be addressed during hiring. The insights obtained from these meetings will be utilized in developing our new Employment Policy.
At Tanglewood, our aim is to lead the industry by attracting and employing a diverse and skilled group of individuals.
Sources
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Census.gov. Bureau of the Census EEO. Retrieved 1 November 2013 from
Heneman, H., Judge, T., Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. Staffing Organizations-7th Ed. 2012. Mendota House-Middleton, Wisconsin. -
Kammeyer-Mueller, J. Tanglewood Casebook-7th edition. 2012. Warrington
College of Business. Mendota House-Middleton, Wisconsin.
