Case Description

In the given case we see Nitish who is an MBA graduate from a highly reputed college and have
experience in IT and business processes over a period of four years. When he was looking to
settle in a different city, he got a reference from his batch mate and decided to apply to
Solutions Unlimited which is a software solutions providing organization. Initially he liked the
work profile and its flexibility but things start going off-track during his recruitment itself with
the Human Resource managers, Meena and Venkat. Being offered a low package at a profile
clearly not suited for his level which led to an ego tussle with the HR department, particularly
with Meena. Only after intervention from Mr.Kapoor the situation gets resolved but results in a
clash of their personalities which in turn makes working at Solutions Unlimited very difficult for
Nitish. While working at the job he gets a various work opportunities, from planning and
designing of an application to developing a business plan with the MD. His experience with
other members of the organization was pleasant and everyone showed an immense amount of
belief in his potential. In spite of this, he had to face problems of non-payment of bills and
inconsistency in project allocation, which disturbed him and his work. Moreover, Mr. Alagus
and Meenas unprofessional behavior towards him made him uncomfortable in this new work
environment. Lack of clarity on HR policies and distorted chain of command created many
issues for Nitish which led him to be demotivated and rethink about his job.
Problem Statement
How HR policies of Solutions Unlimited can be improved to ensure utmost job satisfaction and
ensure best career opportunities to its employees?
Internal environmental analysis (SWOT)
Strengths

Informal organizational structure.

Orientation program in Amsterdam to help all the new recruits to get acquainted and
learn about the work culture of the organization.
The implementation of the 3-way review for the project after completion.
Each employee was assigned a mentor for motivation and for better learning of the
project.
This enhanced the productivity of the employees.

Weakness

Since the company was undergoing the transition stage the policies were not properly
implemented and communicated to the employees. This created ambiguity among the
employees in the system.

Less experienced HR professionals lacked the skills to handle company issues such as
recruitment, and resource allocation.
The hierarchy of the organization was not clearly defined. The resource allocation to the
projects was done in a systematic manner as there were no specific people involved in
the hierarchy for this purpose.
Lacked of interpersonal skills in the employees.
Orientation program was not provided to employees in the local office.

Opportunities

Venturing and transforming into IT consultancy solution from software solutions

provider.
Recruit new talented people in various domains to provide greater benefit to the
company.

Threats

High attrition rate among top management may cause a fall in reputation of the
company.
The working culture and weak communication of policies may tarnish the image of the
company.

Issues at Solutions Unlimited

The profile and the flexibility offered by the company was the main reason for Nitish to leave
his job and join Solutions Unlimited. But the company failed to adopt Nitish emotionally
because of the various conflicts that arose due to ineffective company policies.
The management initially failed to recognize the talent in Nitish and offered him an
inappropriate package and a responsible role. This led to negotiations and an intervention from
Mr. Kapoor which could have been avoided. A proper communication about the different
incentives provided by the company is not made. Most of the communication happened
verbally and also at wrong spaces like canteen etc. This in turn created unnecessary tension and
wastage of Nitishs productive time. Clearing of unsettled dues could have been better with a
comprehensive policy because all that the management had to do is to stick to it. This could
have saved a considerable amount of time.
An employee should be assigned work only after proper orientation. Nitish started working
before being inducted about the culture, value and practices in the organization. Nitish had a
pre-notion about the work practices and unless a proper orientation is given to him, it will be
difficult for the company to be better off.

Employees are less monitored. Ms. Meena was not prepared to assign suitable responsibilities
to Nitish. The company should focus to motivate employees. Flexible work culture is no more a
practice. Flexibility had become their undoing and the management urgently needs to exercise
control. The vacant positions in the hierarchy have to be filled immediately to ensure smooth
working climate.
The company was not ready to pay relocation and severance expenses that Nitish incurred in
the process of joining Solutions Unlimited. This tussle poured bitterness in Meena and Nitishs
relation even before he joined the organization as we can see by the fact that Meena didnt
attend the meeting which was to be held between her and Nitish.
Overloading of work would inversely affect the productivity of employees as a whole.
Decision criteria, alternatives and recommendations
Some of the important considerations to be kept in mind are Job satisfaction and motivation
level, transparency in company policies, work delegation, adherence to organizational culture,
values and corporate ethics.
There is always a natural tendency for every system to adapt to the changes. Solutions
unlimited is no exception. At the same time, it is difficult to predict whether the adaptation
process is for the good. If the adaptation process is catalyzed by adequate reforms in the policy,
the necessary orientation can be brought at low costs and at appropriate times. So, a suitable
policy change is preferred.
The organization is in a transition phase, that is, it is shifting from a software solution provider
to an IT consultancy firm. So the issues that might happen can be addressed by changing the
Organization structure. IT consultancy firms similar to Solutions Unlimited usually have a more
divisional structure and have more departments for reporting purposes. So recruitment team
should work towards filling these extra positions and not leave it vacant like how it was before.
Also it is important to note that the behavior of the senior HR employees towards a newly
recruited employee was not desirable and so training and personality development programs
should be conducted for improving the interpersonal skills of the employees in the
organization.
Mr. Manish as the Managing Director of Solutions Unlimited should not allow for individual
power centers to get created and take authority in dealing with them whenever he sees them.