Robert Clark was a worried man.He looked at the letter from Sam Polanyi, president of the Leather Workers’ Union’s local unitin Maple Leaf Shoes again. Polanyi had warned him of “dire consequences” if the firm did notproceed slowly on automation in its local plant. The union had urged its members to adopt a“work slow” tactic beginning next month. Worried by the decline and demise of giantorganizations such as General Motors, Chrysler, and Nortel, Maple Leaf’s workforce wasstrongly against any impending automation that could further reduce the workforce number ata time when the unemployment rates in various parts of Canada were at historical highs. Inthree months’ time, the contract negotiations with the same union had to be concluded.Automation and the newly proposed workweek would surely be important bargaining items.But what option did the firm have now? The competition from China, Korea, Indonesia, andMalaysia was devastating. Just in the last six months, the firm had lost two major retailsuppliers in the United States, which had pointed out that Maple Leaf’s shoes were too highpriced for its customers. Meanwhile, there were industry rumours that a major Indian footwearfirm is planning to enter the North American market. When that materializes, Maple Leaf Shoeswill likely face even greater competition at home. India has had a long history of producingquality footwear and can also take advantage of its cheap labour and emerging high-techindustries in producing high fashion, cheap dress shoes, and high endurance “cross-trainer”footwear.The recent warning from the local Human Rights Commission (HRC) did not help matters either.Apparently two female employees, who were denied promotion in the past, had complained tothe Commission. They had argued that the promotion criteria employed by the firm forsupervisory positions worked against women. When the HRC looked at the complaint, it did notconsider their cases to be strong enough to proceed further. However, it had warned thecompany about the concentration of women in low-paid jobs and lack of clear job specificationsfor supervisory positions. The Commission had urged immediate remedial actions, including anin-depth look at supervisory competencies and job specifications. The firm was expected tocome out with a remedial plan in the next 12 months.To top it all, neither Pat Lim nor Jane Reynolds was there in Wilmington to help him. JohnMcAllister, the firm’s previous human resource manager, had resigned to take up a similarposition in Western Canada. Maple Leaf Shoes had not hired a new manager in his place. Until2now, Pat Lim, General Manager (Marketing) was overall in charge of the human resourcefunction, although most of the routine decisions were made by Jane Reynolds, who in the pasthad served as special assistant to John McAllister. But recently Reynolds had been admitted toa local hospital for a surgical procedure. Clark has now been informed that Reynolds will not bereturning for some time.Given all the pressures, Clark decided to immediately fill the human resource manager’sposition. Clark retrieved the job ad the company had used when hiring John McAllister. Hemade some minor changes to it and decided to place it in local newspapers as soon as possible.A copy of the final advertisement that Clark prepared is shown in Exhibit 1.It was after making arrangements for the newspaper ad that Clark remembered his childhoodfriend, Joy Flemming, who ran a temporary-help agency in Toronto. Clark and Flemming wereschoolmates and had kept in touch with each other over the years. Flemming had built up asuccessful agency that supplied clerical and office staff on a temporary basis. While Clark knewthat Flemming’s agency primarily supplied clerical workers (and some technical/supervisorypersonnel), he was convinced that Flemming’s years of experience in the local industry wouldhave exposed her to successful human resource professionals elsewhere. He decided to hire Joyto also conduct a search.Joy was certain to ask him what kind of a person he was looking for. In Clark’s mind, he neededa tough individual—someone like John McAllister who could stand up to the unions and takecharge. Clark personally disliked handling employee-related matters; he would like to hiresomeone who would consult him on major issues but who was capable of making decisions onhis or her own. There was no formal job description for the HR manager’s position in MapleLeaf Shoes, although a consultant was currently working on writing a detailed job description.However, Clark did not value such a document. He was a great believer that these documentsmeant little except adding to the paperwork. A good person was what he needed now—a wellrounded, tough, experienced person like John who would run a tight ship.Oh, how much he missed John, Clark reflected sadly.EXHIBIT 1Maple Leaf Shoes LimitedREQUIRESA HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERMaple Leaf Shoes Limited, the maker of Fluffy Puppy, Cariboo, Madonna, and other brands of highquality footwear, which currently employs over 650 persons, requires a Human Resource Manager forits head office in Wilmington, Ontario. We are a fast-growing company with plans to expand operationsto several provinces and countries in the near future. Currently, we export to the United States and anumber of European countries.3As the Human Resource Manager, you will be responsible for overseeing all human resource functionsfor this large, expanding organization. You will be directly reporting to the President and be part of thetop management team.We are looking for an aggressive, results-oriented individual who can meet the organization’s challengesand facilitate our growth plans in the 21st century. This is a senior position and the typical recruit for thisposition will have at least 15 years’ experience in a senior management capacity. The salary and benefitswill be commensurate with qualifications and experience.We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and welcome applications from qualified womenand minority candidates.Apply in confidence to:Office of the PresidentMaple Leaf Shoes Limited1, Crown Royal Lane, Maple Leaf TownWilmington, Ontario.We help you put your best foot forward!DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (20 Marks) *For best outcomes, students should conduct further researchand refer to Legislation & Recruitment Chapters. Ensure that your answers are well supported.
What is your evaluation of the recruitment strategy used by Maple Leaf Shoes? (3 Marks)
Evaluate the recruitment advertisement. (3 Marks)
Design a new recruitment advertisement for the position of the human resource manager. (5 Marks)
Design an application form to be used for hiring a human resource manager in the firm. (5 Marks)
Sample Solution
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