Applicable VLOs for This Weeks Case Study

5. Apply the concepts of human resource management and organizational behaviour to establish and maintain effective working relationships

Brief Introduction to This Weeks Case Study

Linda the TENDER TOUCH store general manager is faced with an issue of emotional labor. His front office store employees are complaining about pay and are asking for an emotional labor raise. Linda is further researching the issue to make sure she drafts a strategic policy to address this issue.

This Weeks Detailed Case Study Information

Lukrisha, is a cashier at the TENDER TOUCH store, she loves her job, but sometimes, she just feels she cannot do it anymore. Its hard to deal with clients and its hard to keep your emotions in check. She must smile and greet every customer, even if they are frowning on her. Sometimes she faces difficult customers, but she cannot do anything about it because the companys policy is Clients First. This job caused her to exert a lot of emotional labour, when she comes home, shes exhausted, and she cannot do anything about it. She was thinking about shifting her career towards the back office where she wont face a lot of interactions. She also thought that she should be compensated for this added burden. She is not sure how to work it out, but she wants to make sure she is fully compensated for this extra emotional labor, to make it easier.

She was talking to a friend of her who works at another organization, and her friend told her that they get paid extra if they work with clients. The extra pay is to compensate for the extra stress that you face by working with clients. She went to the HR department and asked for a raise to make sure shes properly compensated for this extra work.

Low worker moral, is always bad news to Linda. Linda sat down and talked to the HR manager, and asked her what she thinks about this situation. The HR manager cited that the situation is a common one, and right now THE TENDER TOUCH doesnt have any policies in place to deal with these types of issues. Linda is afraid that this trend could affect the company in a negative way, and sales could suffer. Linda values the importance of positive client experience, and she guards it. Linda asked the HR manager for suggestions, and the HR manager suggest that they use strategic pay plans, in order to draft a policy for the emotional labor premium. The HR manager agreed with Linda and they decided to further analyze the issue and reach a decision as soon as possible.

Linda, was thinking about emotional labor, and she thought that compensating emotional labour could be a good idea. But before doing that she decided to go ahead and check what other companies are doing in this regard. So, she started analyzing his rivals and figured out that most of them add a certain base to their workers salaries in order to properly compensate emotional labor. Linda thought about it and decided to do the same thing to make sure she doesnt lose any employees for his competitors. She knows that the unemployment rate is pretty low these days and loosing workers could be disastrous for the company, especially when you take into consideration the tight labor conditions, and the shortage of skilled workers. Linda also thought about the overall compensation and realized that his company the TENDER TOUCH pays a rate which is lower than the industry average.

Linda must act quick in order to resolve this issue, otherwise the TENDER TOUCH could face a shortage of labor and an increase in the bottom line.

Deliverables, Format and Marking Scheme for This Weeks Case Study

Your task is:

1% define emotional labor.

1% what is meant by strategic pay plans.

1% analyze the situation at the TENDER TOUCH store and highlight what could happen if this issue is not resolved properly. Identify the consequences for employees, and for the TENDER TOUCH store

2% Design a strategic pay plan, which insures the highest level of satisfaction for employees, and the TENDER TOUCH store.

Note: Assume any missing/ required information. Clearly state your assumptions in your submissions. Prepare a 2-page word document with your findings.