HR managment

II. CASE STUDY/SCENARIO. Answer comprehensively. 10 points One example of combining national and organizational cultures is the health promotion program in IKEA's Glasgow store. There are 480 co-workers there, two-thirds of them part-time and two-thirds female-although the women are not concentrated disproportionately in part-time work. When applying to work at IKEA Glasgow, all applicants are asked to state their preference for full-time or part-time work. Another characteristic of the workforce is that it is mainly composed of staff who bring enthusiasm, commitment and energy," according to Burgess. In a newly opened store, a health promotion program may not be expected to be a particular priority. Nevertheless, in addition to subsidized healthy meals from the large and popular public cafeteria, all employees can take advantage of free podiatry (medical foot care) and massage sessions during work time. Burgess believes it is important that "co-wokers generally see IKEA as investing a lot in them--and the feedback we get suggests they do." Offering podiatry and massages relates in particular to the physical nature of much of the work, with staff often working on their feet and wearing protective boots. Doing physical work is not the exclusive preserve of shop floor staff; departmental and senior managers all help when needed. Business Controller David Montgomerie has taken advantage of the chiropody service. This was a new experience for him and although his initial motivation was the novelty value and curiosity, he now believes promotion of health awareness and general fitness is very important. One of Montgomerie's team is Abigail Jones, an IT specialist. Jones has also used the chiropody service, a first for her. "It's a good perk...IKEA is obviously interested in the well-being of staff and are very people- oriented." Stephanie Miller, a young part-time employee who works on the shop floor, believes that "health promotion to encourage a healthy lifestyle is a good idea and fun as well." She did not expect such services, but can see that they are valuable. The most recent initiative in IKEA's health promotion program is an upcoming Fit for Work week, IKEA will offer a range of fitness and occupational health activities during that week. The high rates of staff participation for previous Fit to Work weeks indicate that this program has been well-received by staff. 2 I Question: If you are the HR consultant, will you do the same HR strategy? Why or Why not? 10 points