Introduction
The auto service business is one area of business that has particular rules. The Muffler Magic case, which is the subject of this case study analysis, supports this claim. Even though “Muffler Magic provides quality Auto Repair,” it faced significant difficulties (“Some stuff we’de like you to know,” n.d., para. 1). In this paper, the author will analyze in detail the case of Muffler Magic to identify the company’s major issues and offer practical solutions.
Relevant Information about the Case of Muffler Magic
Before identifying the fundamental problems and suggesting appropriate solutions, the author of this analysis will highlight and describe a few essential facts about the Muffler Magic case. Dessler (2017) mentions that Muffler Magic is a network of auto service centers that provide all types of vehicle inspection and repair services. It is safe to say that this statement is not valid. Muffler Magic officials claim that “Muffler Magic specializes in custom exhaust repairs, mufflers, brakes, wheel alignments, and transmissions” as well as “brake line and fuel line replacements” (“Some stuff we’de like you to know,” n.d., para. 2). One of the essential facts is that the company has experienced a decline in company-wide revenues (Dessler, 2017). Given this situation, Ronald Brown, the person who runs the company, decided that the problem was financial in nature (Dessler, 2017). He and the Human Resources manager chose to consult with a professor who analyzed the situation and offered three recommendations (Dessler, 2017). Now Brown is faced with the complex task of correctly choosing the proposed advice on which his organization’s fate depends.
The Nature of the Key Problems, Their Identification, and Description
Poorly Organized Top Management
From the presented case, it can be stated there are two key issues, each of a different type. One of them derives from the managerial factors; it is poorly organized top management. There are only eight top managers, including Brown himself, who occupies several positions simultaneously (Dessler, 2017). It has been scientifically proven that if an organization’s leader occupies two or more positions, it causes a work overload that negatively affects the individual’s performative, control, and organizational abilities (Sirén et al., 2018). Work overload and the following “burnout also deteriorates or depletes cognitive and emotional resources” (Sirén et al., 2018, p. 956). The author of the current analysis believes that poorly organized management causes a work overload for Brown, which leads to diminishing firm revenues, ineffective recruiting, and decision making.
Bad Hiring Practices
It can be said that the second critical issue is a product of organizational factors. It is the poor hiring practices of Muffler Magic Human Resource Management. Dessler (2017) claims that their entire hiring culture was downloaded from the Internet. The author of this case study believes that this approach is unprofessional and harmful to the organization. It caused the ineffective “rework” that could potentially lead to significant financial and reputational losses (Dessler, 2017, p. 639). It is safe to say that a reformation or a complete change of the Muffler Magic recruiting system is needed.
Alternative Solutions
Expansion of the Management Personnel
Alternative solutions for each critical problem will be proposed and described here. The author suggested that poorly organized top management creates a work overload for Ronald Brown, which negatively affects all aspects of the company’s performance. Therefore, the appropriate solution to this issue would be to expand the Muffler Magic top management team. The expansion of the senior managerial staff would solve the current problems and contribute to the company’s further growth (Bhambhani, 2020). Some of Ronald Brown’s responsibilities must be performed by other people in order for him to focus on the global goals of the company.
Multiple Round Interview
The core of bad hiring practices is the lack of a structured and standardized interviewing process. Cappelli (2020) notes, “businesses have never done as much hiring as they do today… and they’ve never done a worse job of it” (para. 1). According to Dessler (2017), Human Resource managers in Muffler Magic are hiring almost anyone due to a lack of managerial staff and high demand for labor. Muffler Magic Human Resource Management should implement at least a two-step interview process. The first step would be a job application letter that Human Resource managers review. The second step is a specially designed interview that would allow the selection of professional candidates who would create and maintain the proper workplace culture.
Evaluating Each Proposed Solution
Evaluating Expansion of the Management Personnel
Expanding the management team is a common, frequently used, and well-established practice in many industries. It renews the workplace culture of the organization and allows people to contribute new and innovative ideas. Today’s Muffler Magic is no longer the muffler retail shop it was twenty years ago (Dessler, 2017). Put differently, the organization’s structure should match its size to successfully achieve the goals set by its leader, Ronald Brown.
Evaluating Multiple Round Interviews
The lack of a well-designed and standardized interview practice looks like a missing step in Muffler Magic recruiting model. There is on-the-job training, an effective training method that “improves employee working conditions” (Nguyen et al., 2020). A multi-stage interview would complement the on-the-job training approach and make the whole hiring process more skill-oriented, which is one of the critical parameters of the car repair business. Moreover, it can be said from personal experience that going straight to on-the-job training can be stressful for some applicants.
Recommended Solution
The most appropriate solution for the described issues that would be most beneficial for the good of Muffler Magic is to expand the management team. If multiple step interview approach were implemented in the current environment, it would only slow down the hiring process, complicate the work of top management, and increase the workload. It could lead to the burnout of many employees (Sirén et al., 2018). However, introducing multi-step interviews into the recruiting system could be the second step in optimizing and improving the company’s performance.
Conclusion
This case study analysis examines the case of Muffler Magic comprehensively. The author found, identified, and described two key issues. These are poorly organized top management and bad hiring practices. The most appropriate solutions to these issues are the expansion of the management personnel and multiple round interviews. Both proposed alternative courses of action have been evaluated in detail here. The solution that would be most beneficial in the conditions described by Dessler is the expansion of the management personnel. This case study analysis is backed up by several academic and news articles. It is worth noting that this research is an exciting experience that contributed to the development of the author’s analytical skills and showed new human resource management strategies.
References
Bhambhani, A. (2020). Premium Mounting Technologies gets Thomas Kercher as company CEO & Jörg Weber as COO; Founder Peter Grass to be CTO. TaiyangNews.
Cappelli, P. (2019). Your approach to hiring is all wrong.Harvard Business Review.
Dessler, G. (2017). Human resource management. Pearson Education.
Nguyen, T. Q., Nguyen, A. T., Tran, A. L., Le, H. T., Le, H. H. T., & Vu, L. P. (2020). Do workers benefit from on-the-job training? New evidence from matched employer-employee data. Finance Research Letters.
Sirén, C., Patel, P. C., Örtqvist, D., & Wincent, J. (2018). CEO burnout, managerial discretion, and firm performance: The role of CEO locus of control, structural power, and organizational factors.Long Range Planning, 51(6), 953-971.
Some stuff we’de like you to know. (n.d.). Muffler Magic. Web.