Higher education Essay

†¢Assignment # 2 – Comprehensive Case: â€Å"Muffler Magic† Read the â€Å"Muffler Magic† case and write a four-to-five (4-5) page report that answers the following: 1. Specify three (3) recommendations about the functions of recruiting, selection, and training that you think Ron Brown should be addressing with his HR manager now. Currently you’re allowing your HR to hire employees without â€Å"carefully screening each and every candidate, checking their references and work ethic† due to such a high demand of staff. Envitably, you’re higher mediocre applicants for more than mediocre pay and at the risk of your name and overall profitability. Being able to answer minimal questions shouldn’t be enough to be hired as a technician and questions such as â€Å"what do you think the problem is if a 2001 Camery is overheating? What would you do? † should not be enough to secure a position within the company. Muffler Magic offers a range of products and services and engine issues is merely one of the many situations an employee may come across. How do these types of generic questions answer if your applicant is able to fulfill the requirements for â€Å"muffler replacements, oil changes, and brake jobs†? Obviously, from looking at the handful of situational mishaps you’ve described your HR department is merely hiring whoever walks into the office and in return you’re given inaccurate and potentially life threatening break jobs and repairs out of the companies pocket. This is not acceptable and it is no wonder why the company isn’t profiting. One of the reasons behinds why you don’t necessarily want to adapt or change some crucial points within the company is the money. If you broke down one instance where there was an error made by one of your associates, take the engine for instance a new engine can cost any consumer somewhere in the ballpark of $2,000 to $4,000*–not including the benefits or any extra perks. Now lets say that one of these errors happened in every single store then you’re looking at $50,000+ worth of mistakes coming out of Magic Mufflers pocket (keep in mind that estimated figure is from 1 mistake). With that type of money, I would imagine you could hire and appropriately train quite a few applicants that would be worth your time and money. I would recommend changing your recruiting, selecting and training standards immediately. Starting with the recruiting aspect of Magic Muffler. Instead of allowing the applicants come  to you, why don’t we go above and beyond and seek the preferred applicant. We can still advertise through local newspapers and internet, but we really should be seeking out those employees that have some kind of responsibility and potential retainability. The one major thing I didn’t see in the recruiting process you’re currently using is zoning in on what type of candidate are you looking for–in terms of education level and experience level based upon the types of work they will be working on. One of the huge factors to remember is â€Å"Presently, vehicles use high-tech computers and complex electronic systems to monitor the performance of the vehicle. A strong sense of understanding concerning the operation of a vehicle, including how each device interacts, as well as the ability to deal with electronic diagnostic equipment and digital reference manuals is key to the success of a technician†(http://www. careeroverview. com/auto-mechanic-careers. html) Therefore, Magic Muffler is in need of a qualified individual that is capable of working with UTD automotive machinery and possible situations that could arise. Therefore Magic Muffler should be spending their money recruiting individuals that â€Å"have successfully completed a vocational training program in automotive service technology†(ie:Automotive Youth Education Service (AYES)). For a more advanced position they will need ,in addition to vocational training, stoma kind of â€Å"Postsecondary automotive technician training† whether through a prior company, community college or technical college. Finally other â€Å"qualifications you should be focused on while recruiting is â€Å"the ability to diagnose the source of a problem quickly and accurately, good reasoning ability and a thorough knowledge of automobiles, strong communication and analytical skills and good reading, mathematics, and computer skills to study technical manuals† with the drive to continuously keep up with new technology and learn new service and repair procedures and specifications. † To find these types of applicants I would recommend some type of college recruiting; starting with on campus recruiting and then continuing the recuriting process with an onsite visit. Continuing with the selection process, I think its quite obvious that we should be focusing on a Personality Profile Analysis, which applicants can perform online and follow this up with a PPA(200 HRM BOOK). If you chose not to go that route you can always focus on tests of cognitive abilities (more specifically aptitude testing and motor/physical abilities). If these test’s pan out then we should go forward with a background check/reference check. This may seem to be an overwhelming process, but finding the perfect candidates is essential to low turnover rates and high satisfaction level across the board. The next step is to select the applicants that you are satisfied with their performance on the tests, interview and background check. After applicants are chosen and hired, we need to start with an orientation of the company and its overall goals and next is training. Although OTJ training does offer a lot to the employee it is not enough for these types of positions. Considering car technology is constantly advancing there needs to a need to continuously further your mechanics knowledge. As a responsible employer you should send your â€Å"experienced automotive service technicians to manufacturer training centers to learn to repair new models or to receive special training in the repair of components, such as electronic fuel injection or air-conditioners† and even beginner mechanics who show potential may be sent â€Å"to manufacturer-sponsored technician training programs to upgrade or maintain employees’ skills†. There are of course crucial training necessary, which cannot be offered OTJ and that is electronics training. This is vital because electrical components, or a series of related components, account for nearly all malfunctions in modern vehicles†. As the employee continues to thrive the company should offer additional training for possible certifications or advancement opportunities. For example: the â€Å"ASE certification has become a standard credential for automotive service technicians. While not mandatory for work in automotive service, certification is common for all experienced technicians in large, urban areas. Certification is available in eight different areas of automotive service, such as electrical systems, engine repair, brake systems, suspension and steering, and heating and air-conditioning. For certification in each area, technicians must have at least 2 years of experience and pass the examination. Completion of an automotive training program in high school, vocational or trade school, or community or junior college may be substituted for 1 year of experience. For ASE certification as a Master Automobile Technician, technicians must pass all eight examinations†. *http://www. ehow. com/facts_4830630_cost-car-engine-replacement. html 2. Write three (3) questions for a structured interview form that Ron Brown’s service center managers can use to interview experienced technicians. (Note: do not list possible answers. ) As I had said previously asking generic questions are not going to offer you the results in which most employers desire. There are a couple of things that should be kept in mind when creating these questions such as; which type of questions would be more effective in displaying the qualities Muffler Magic desires? Considering HR already has a lot to do with the hiring process, I think the appropriate form of interview would be a structured situational interview. After analyzing the positions and rating the jobs main duties, we would need to create questions reflecting such duties and daily knowledge to perform them. Three questions I would use to â€Å"test the waters† would be: What training(classroom or on the job), have you had with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment? Identify the diagnostic program and was it computer and software based? Have you worked with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment – computer and software? What was the diagnostic program and what was your involvement? What experience, knowledge, and skill do you have with air brake systems, anti lock, and heavy-duty truck suspensions? Relate your experience and describe your skills working with school bus, heavy-duty trucks, light duty pick-up truck, and van bodies/Relate your experience and describe your skills working with heavy and medium-duty diesel and gasoline-powered engines and light-duty pick-up truck and van engines. (www. msbo. org/library/HumanRes/Interview/Mech. doc).