Monitoring and Regulating Corporate Identities - Case Study Example

Case Study Name of Student: Name of Course: Name of Instructor: Date of Submission: Case Study 1. What types of control (using management terminology) are not being carried out effectively in IT companies in India? Give examples of these control problem areas from the case study. From the case study, it can be identified that there was a lack of control in the human resource (recruitment) outsourcing process which in turn led to the current problems in the Indian IT industry. The following types of control were not carried out effectively in the IT Companies. i. Feed Forward Control The feed forward control is a control system which is focused on the regulation of the inputs to an organization. Linking this with the case study, it can be acknowledged that the inputs to the organization were employees. The IT companies in India have outsourced recruitments services to human resource management agencies that in turn provided them with employees who did not meet the qualifications required. Instead, the employees had faked curriculum vitaes which were only meant to enable them get into the well-paying IT industry. The IT companies did not have a way of regulating the employees who were employed by the companies hence were shortchanged by the recruitment agencies. At times, the human resource managers of the companies colluded with the recruitment agencies to shortchange their organizations. From the scenario above, it can be acknowledged that the IT companies lacked feed forward control. ii. Strategic Control Strategic control is a type of control approach that is focused on tracking the implementation of a strategy; taking note of any problems / challenges which arise or which have the potential of occurring over time (Naro & Travailee 2011, p.213). For this reason, strategic control can be regarded to as steering control. Linking this type of strategy with the case study, it can be acknowledged that the IT companies did little to control the recruitment process at their companies. It is also worth noting that staffing and recruitment are some of the most important processes in an organization. They dictate the kind of employees which an organization gets. In a bid to increase the efficiency of the recruitment process, the IT companies in India outsource the human resource management process to recruitment agencies but failed to control. This led to the lack of achievement of goals of the recruitment process. Increased strategic control of the outsourced HRM services would have ensured that the companies got the deliverables agreed upon. iii. Concurrent Control Concurrent control is a type of management control which takes place as a specific process / activity being monitored is in progress. Concurrent control ensures that a process is carried out according the specifications required (Barnat 2012, p.1). It can be acknowledged that concurrent control in the recruitment process in IT companies in India was lacking owing to the fact that the companies realized the faults in the process after the process was over. The companies should have controlled the process by establishing checkpoints in the process which ensured that the recruitment agencies delivered competent employees to the companies. Instead of controlling the process, the companies left it to the recruitment agencies to carry out the process as they pleased; hence ending up allowing falsified documents and incompetent employees into the industry. From the above, it can be appreciated that concurrent control lacked in the recruitment process. iv. Feedback Control Feedback control is focused on monitoring the output of a process. The output of the recruitment process in the case study is employees. From the case, I can be appreciated that the IT companies took little note of the employee who were delivered to them by the human resource agencies. They did not take the care to ascertain if the employees met the requirements required by the companies and in addition to ascertaining if the employees matched the details which they presented on paper. Owing to the fact that the recruitment employees fell way below the characteristics they indicated on paper, the IT companies felt shortchanged by the recruitment agencies. From the above discussion, it can be acknowledged that there was a lack of feedback control in the IT companies. 2. What strategies that reflect steps in the control process would you implement as the CEO of the Executive Recruiters Association (ERA) to reduce variations in accuracies of CVs throughout the Indian IT companies? In order reduce that the inaccuracies in the CVs throughout the Information, the CEO of the Executive Recruiters Association ERA should come up with the following strategies which reflect on the steps in the control process. i. Standardization of Recruitment Process In order to reduce inaccuracies of CVs in the Indian IT companies, ERA should come up with a strategy to bring about standardization in the staffing and recruitment processes carried out by the member recruitment agencies in India. On this point, it is important to note that the establishment of standards is one of the most important steps involved in the control process. Standards will provide the recruitment agencies with a specific framework which they have to follow in their process. Ideally, standards will provide a step by step checklist of the activities/ processes which the recruitment agencies have to follow (Merchant 2010, p.1). However, it is necessary for ERA to work hand in hand with stakeholders in the IT industry so as to ensure that the standards established are able to cater for their recruitment needs. Standardization of the recruitment process will provide a framework on which the performance of the agencies can be evaluated. From the above discussion, it can be acknowledged that standardization will be able to reduce inaccuracies in the CVs throughout the IT industry. ii. Establishment Of A Performance Measurement System It can be acknowledged that the magnitude of the problem in the IT industry is as a result of a lack of measurement / evaluation of the performance of the recruitment agencies in the market. As a result of this, the recruitment agencies had taken advantage of the fact that the T industry was in dire need of employees and that unemployed people were eager to get into the lucrative industry; hence contending with the unethical practice of faking CVs. In order to ensure that the current CV inaccuracies throughout the IT industry are reduced, the ERA should come up with a strategic plan of measuring the performance of the recruitment agencies. Key to the strategy should be the evaluation of performance according to the requirements of the clients and also the standards in the industry. The ERA should come up with a strategy of getting feedback from the IT industry; one which will be able to evaluate the performance of specific agencies (Merchant 2010, p.1). iii Rating System for the Recruitment Agencies Thirdly, the Executive Recruiters Association should come up with a strategy of rating the recruitment agencies in the market. This is a bid to enforce standards in the recruitment process. The rating process should follow the guidelines provided for by the standards established. On this point, it can be acknowledged that the compassion of the performance to a set of standards is a crucial aspect of the control process. It enables the stakeholders involved in a process to rate the actual output to the standards established. The rating system should include opinions from both the agencies and their clients. With the rating, a client in the IT industry will be able to choose an agency which will be able to provide it with the required recruitment goals and objectives. It will provide an avenue for the comparison of actual performance and established standards (Shalini 2010, p.1). Iv. Establishment of an action Plan The Executive Recruiters Association should also come with a strategy of dealing with agencies which fail to meet their agent’s requirements or those who fail to follow the standards set by the association. On this point, it can be acknowledged that there is a need for a corrective action in any control process. The corrective action ensures that the parry involved does not repeat its mistakes and also discourage others from failing to comply with the standards set in the industry (Shalini 2010, p.1). Linking this with the case study, the corrective action will be administered to agencies which allow CV inaccuracies in to the IT industry. The strategy established should be in line with ensuring that standards are followed in the industry in addition to ensuring that the companies in the IT industry do not lose faith in the recruitment agencies. From the discussions above, it can be acknowledged that the Executive Recruiters Association should come up with a strategy which encompasses all the steps involved in the control process. It can also be noted that the strategies proposed have a strong relationship with feedback control strategy which focused on the outputs of a process. 3. What follow up ‘Control’ checks would you use to ensure that the strategies you have brought in for compliance by the recruitment agencies are being followed?  In order to ensure that the recruitment agencies comply with the strategies recommended above, there is a need for control checks. The following section gives an in depth discussion of the control checks which needs to be adopted by the Executive Recruiters Association. i. Regular Feedback The Executive Recruiters Association should come up with a system which allows for a regular update from the industry on critical issues associated with the recruitment process. On this point, it should be acknowledged that the Executive Recruiters Association should act as a mediator between the recruitment agencies and the IT companies. It should allow for the free flow of information between the stakeholders involved (Modell 2009, p.65). The feedback system should uphold whistle blowing in addition to protecting whistle blowers. This will ensure that inaccuracies noted in the industry will be brought to book. The feedback system will also be instrumental in enabling Executive Recruiters Association evaluate its efficiency to provide the IT industry with competent and credible employees. ii. Regular Audit of Process In order to make the recruitment processes conducted by the recruitment agencies credible, the Executive Recruiters Association needs to audit the processes involved regularly so as to identify variations in the process. A regular audit of the process will also create assurance of the ability of the recruitment agencies to exhibit professionalism in their activities. Regular and random auditing will be able to counter check the activities of the recruitment agencies with respect to the standards established hence ensuring that the recruitment agencies comply with the strategies recommended above (International Federation of Accountants 2012, p.8). iii. Rating and Awarding Ceremonies Although there is a need for the Executive Recruiters Association to use legislative and forceful measures to enforce the standards on the agencies, there is also a need to develop a sense of ethics and commitment to professionalism in human resource management. A sure way of doing this is awarding the agencies for scoring highly in the rating systems. An award system will motivate the agencies to comply with the standards in addition to creating a good image for them in the market which is obviously good for business. Moreover, the ratings should be associated with a specific status in the market. It should be used to depict an agency’s capabilities. On this, the agencies would always strive to get the highest rating; hence compelling them to comply with the strategies outlined earlier (Kim & Hatcher 2009, p. 117). Iv. Revision of Standards The Executive Recruiters Association should also consider revising standards so as to embrace growth and development in the recruitment agencies. The Executive Recruiters Association should acknowledge that the human resource management field is as dynamic as other business process and organizational management systems. The revision of standards will counter check the ability of the recruitment agencies to provide the companies in the IT industry with the required skills, experience and knowledge. This is in line with the fact that the information technology filed is one of the most dynamic sectors in the world. A technology starts becoming obsolete the moment it is released to the market. In other instances, it becomes obsolete even before its release. For this reason, there is a need for IT companies to have an up to date human resource base which has hands on abilities to manage in the dynamic industry. The regular revision of standards will counter check the relevance of the recruitment agencies to the HR requirements in the industry. References Barnat, R., 2012. Types of Control, Retrieved on 25th October http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en104 International Federation of Accountants, 2012. Evaluating and Improving Internal Control in Organizations, pp. 1-27 Kim, J., & Hatcher, C., 2009. Monitoring and Regulating Corporate Identities Using the Balanced Scorecard, Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 116-135 Modell, S., 2009. Bundling Management Control Innovations A Field Study Of Organizational Experimenting With Total Quality Management and The Balanced Scorecard, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 59-90 Merchant, K., 2010. The Control Function of Management, MIT Sloan Management Review, http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-control-function-of-management/ Naro, G., & Travailee, D., 2011. The Role of the Balanced Scorecard in the Formulation and Control of Strategic Processes, Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 212-233 Shalini, A., 2010. Control in Management, Retrieved on 25th October http://www.bituh.com/2012/04/23/15-a-i-explain-the-steps-involved-in-the-controlling-process-discuss-the-importance-of-control-in-organization-explain-the-steps-involved-in-the-controlling-process/ Read More