Tanglewood Case 1 Essay

Submitted By addyrudy
Words: 1196
Pages: 5

Tanglewood Case 1
Adrienne Rudy
HRM 301
Professor Michelle Geiman
May 23, 2015

For Tanglewood Case 1, I will be discussing strategic staffing decisions as they apply to Tanglewood department stores. The staffing decisions pertain to either staffing level or staffing quality.
Acquire or Develop Talent Tanglewood regularly starts employees out as floor associates, whether they have retail experience or not, to develop the employees and preserve the unique culture and values. I suggest that Tanglewood develops the talent rather than acquire it. In developing talent, Tanglewood has the opportunity to train the employees in a way that aligns with the core values and the culture.
Hire Yourself or Outsource This strategy focuses on whether it is more beneficial for the company to handle their own hiring activities, or to have an external vendor handle the hiring activities instead. Due to the unique culture and the vision of Wood and Emerson, I suggest that Tanglewood handles all of the hiring activities. If Tanglewood chose to outsource the hiring to a vendor, they would not be able to make sure that they were hiring employees who share the same vision and dedication to the company.
External or Internal Hiring Hiring internally means that when there is a job opening, the position will be filled with a current employee. I suggest that Tanglewood hires internally for any managerial or department head positions. In doing so, an employee will be hired that already knows the policies, procedures, products, and other employees of the store. I think that hiring a manager or department head from within will make for an easier transition and the employee will be more successful in the position than an external hire.
Core or Flexible Workforce All of the full and part time employees of Tanglewood are part of the core workforce. Flexible workforce are those that are not regular employees, such as those from a temporary agency. I would suggest that Tanglewood utilize a core workforce only. If a flexible workforce is used, the associates will be less knowledgeable about the store, product, and policies of the store. Using a flexible workforce could also result in a decrease in the level of customer service due to the lack of knowledge and dedication to the company.
Hire or Retain The strategy of hiring or retention refers to strategies to either hire as vacancies occur, or to retain employees so that there are less vacancies. My suggestion is to strategize to come up with benefits or programs that will increase retention and decrease the vacant positions. A high turnover rate can be costly to a company, and it may be more cost effective to implement perks or benefits that will help increase retention. Also, increasing retention will cause the company to have more experienced and knowledgeable staff, and staff that can work their way up into management positions. I see no disadvantage to increasing retention.
National or Global This relates to the decision of whether or not to outsource manufacturing of the Tanglewood brand products to countries outside of the United States. For Tanglewood, I suggest keeping manufacturing in the United States. By doing so, Wood and Emerson can continue to take responsibility for the products that are made and sold under the Tanglewood brand. Outsourcing the work to other countries may save money, but may also reduce the quality of the products being manufactured.
Attract or Relocate This strategy refers to either attracting potential employees to the site of the store or relocating the stores to areas where there are more qualified candidates. Since Tanglewood is a department store, I would suggest against relocating any stores. Department stores are not typically opened in areas of sparse population, so anywhere that there are enough consumers to shop at the store, there will be enough employee candidates to work at the store. The majority of employees at Tanglewood are