Solcom Ltd. is a large engineering firm which employs over 1,500 people in its

operations throughout Canada. The company's headquarters are located in Winnipeg and

has been in operation since 1962.

The Personnel Records office at Solcom consists of five clerical employees who compile

and maintain the necessary record keeping on personnel files and answer questions about

personnel-related issues. Each clerk keeps records and answers enquiries in a different

functional area within personnel records. One person is responsible for handling

employee pensions, another does for insurance plans, a third is responsible for vacation

entitlements, and so on. For example, when someone becomes a Solcom employee, the

Personnel Records office clerk responsible for pensions receives the new employee's file

and prepares information within her area of responsibility. The file is then passed on to

the other clerks to input information on their functional area.

Solcom's operations have been expanding quickly and several problems with Personnel

Records office are emerging. Line managers complain that it is difficult to determine

who in Personnel Records is responsible for each particular personnel function. They

also note that the clerks seemed to "care" more about their particular personnel area (eg.

vacations, pensions) than about the overall quality of the personnel records and employee

needs. Furthermore, personnel records are sometimes incomplete because one or more

clerks do not receive the file from other clerks for updating.

The Personnel Records clerks are also showing signs of frustration as it becomes more

difficult to coordinate the workload with other staff in the Personnel Records office. This

is creating some tension among the clerks. The job is somewhat monotonous after

employees spend more than one year responsible for the same personnel records area.

These factors are resulting in serious morale problems, high turnover, and decreasing

productivity within the Personnel Records office. The manager of Personnel Records and

the Director of Human Resources realize that changes are needed, but it is not clear to

them how to improve the situation.

1. List the symptoms that suggest there is something wrong in this organization.
2. Which of the five job characteristics seem to have low values in the Personnel Records Office clerical jobs?
3. What would happen if the company introduced a job rotation program for these clerical staff?

You initial posting should be less then 400 words.