Kristine Prais
MGT210 W01/Case #1
3/29/2016

Tanglewood: Staffing Levels and Staffing Quality

1. Staffing Levels a. Acquire vs. Develop Talent i. Whether a company chooses to acquire or develop talent within the organization both options have positive and negative outcomes. Developing existing talent within the organization would be a way for the company to slow down and concentrate on making sure they hold on to their strong company culture. Tanglewood stores want to keep their culture in focus and are proud of their high employee morale and participation, and I recommend developing existing talent within the company. b. Hire yourself vs. Outsource ii. Tanglewood is focusing its attention on centralizing its human resource department and has recently hired two educated individuals to help with reinforcing and improving the human resource function. Therefore, it would be beneficial to utilize these new additions to Tanglewood and not let the hiring be done by an outsource agency. Since Mr. Perrone and Mrs. Gonzalez have been informed of the weaknesses of the staffing process they are knowledgeable on what type of employees would be valuable for Tanglewood. c. External vs. Internal Hiring iii. Tanglewood is committed to providing maximum values and a strong culture for its employees. Tanglewood also wants their customers to experience a unique and personable shopping experience. Consequently, internal hiring will be beneficial for this company because it strives to employ the most qualified and committed individuals. Internal hiring boosts motivation, morale, and performance which helps form exceptional employees. d. Core vs. Flexible Workforce iv. Tanglewood currently only employs part-time and full-time employees and has not implemented a flexible workforce. Using a flexible workforce would put a strain on the corporate culture and the team-based philosophy of this organization. As a result, Tanglewood should sustain a core workforce. Since Tanglewood seeks to develop and maintain a core workforce it would be negatively impacted by combining their core workforce with a flexible workforce. e. Hire vs. Retain v. Tanglewood believes that their success stems from their strong company culture and this cannot be maintained if there is a high turnover rate. Retaining great employees is part of this companies success and instead of hiring new employees you should retain the employees that you have currently. Training and development are things that should be utilized daily, and remember that it is easier to retain employees who are engaged and dedicated to your company's success. f. National vs. Global vi. Tanglewood currently has twelve geographical regions within the United States with about 20 stores in each region. In certain aspects of business, it can be wise to outsource staffing activities such as customer service. If there needs to be a slow down period for analyzing certain aspects of the company and then outsourcing or offshoring would not be beneficial at this time. After this cool down period, it would be wise to globalize so that we stay competitive, and possibly lower the cost of productivity. g. Attract vs. Relocate vii. Based on the information that has been presented currently it is unclear which would be more productive because both options seem beneficial. Since there are multiple stores in different regions if outside hiring is needed then attracting new candidates is more reasonable. If there are a generous number of skilled candidates in a certain area that are a person-organization match for Tanglewood then relocate. Further analysis on demographics in current and potential location would help confirm this decision based on a long term strategy. h. Overstaff vs. Understaff viii. Understaffing should be focused on at this time because Tanglewood is currently overstaffed. By developing talents and hiring internally within the company this should level out the current staff. Consequently, leaving only the employees who are experts in their fields and will follow through with the company's vision. i. Short Term vs. Long Term Focus ix. Since it is very difficult to effectively achieve both focus goals then, at this point in time, short term focus is appropriate for Tanglewood. All of the previous issues that have been brought up need to be accomplished first. Focusing on current staffing needs will eventually open up an opportunity to focus on long term goals.

2. Staffing Quality j. Person-Job vs. Person-Organization Match x. Tanglewood stores operate under a team concept where participation and cooperation are required and employees share all tasks. A person-organization match would be best for Tanglewood since all of the employees are considered to be one team. k. Specific vs. General KSAO xi. Specific knowledge, skills, and abilities should be requirements for a job here at Tanglewood. Customer service is a top priority and settling for someone with general knowledge of customer service would not be the best option. Since the requirements of the jobs here at Tanglewood are specific the same should be for the employees. l. Exceptional vs. Acceptable Workforce Quality xii. An exceptional workforce quality is what Tanglewood needs, and should not settle for less. With an exceptional core workforce equipped with specific KSAO's Tanglewood will have a competitive advantage over other companies. If Tanglewood was to implement a flexible workforce strategy with general KSAO's then an acceptable workforce would be satisfactory. m. Active vs. Passive Diversity xiii. Active diversity in the workplace is legally and morally appropriate, and that is why Tanglewood is going to follow this strategy. Since we are located all around the United States it is necessary to actively pursue diversification so that Tanglewood can serve the needs of all of its customers.