Épreuve U.E.

5 – Étude de cas (Finance/Strategy/ Performance Management,…)

jeudi 25 juin 2020 – 6-MRH2V2

PART 1 – FIRM STRATEGY

Question 1 :

Macro-environment Analysis Threats Opportunities

PESTEL

POLITICAL: Subsidies O
New Infrastructures O
Others: government, steadiness, tax and O
social policies, protection sociale,
economical policy …

ECONOMICAL: Development of retailers own trade T

market (market competition with
manufacturers, dealers & importers) T
Crisis

Others : economical cycle, PNB

evolution, interest rates, monetary policy,
unemployement, inflation, consumers
revenues…
T

CULTURAL TRENDS Cultural trends to increase product O

AND DEMOGRAPHY consumption

Mass french retailers want only French

T
TECHNOLOGY In this « art de la table » transformation T
TRENDS industry and consumption evolution
volume and quality are key

« Consumers still have an interest for

ENVIRONMENTAL “Made in France” articles as in their minds O
they are associated with more
environmental and health concerns,
securing them when using the products.”

LEGAL Health concerns T

« Annualisation of working time »/ legal O

social contract to helps industries

Micro-environment Analysis Threats Opportunities

PORTER

Pouvoir de négociation Major brands delegate O

des clients
Products awarded O

O
Industrialisation of production

Pouvoir de O
négociations des
fournisseurs

Menace des nouveaux T

entrants

Menace des produits T

de substitution

Intensité Few or no competitors O

concurrentielle

Pouvoir de l’état

1. What are the competitive advantages of GOLDENFORK?

 Quality of products provided

  Suppliers relationship
 Skills in the manufacturing process
 Competences in innovation and R&D
 Many distributions channel
 Customer relationship
 Image of “high-end” but affordable firm and products
 Stable market
 Leader in Europe (The firm is the only one in Europe to propose a complete offer)

2- Provide a conclusion about the strategic positioning of GOLDENFORK. Therefore what

should be their strategy? What is important for the firm?

- In the beginning, only a small industrial firm based on knives and forks, but the new
CEO diversify their products which was a good idea, now they have to keep this
“French quality” and develop more on the R&D;
- The company is in competition on its market with three actors:

o - Manufacturers who have closed most of their production facilities in Europe

to locate in China and chose to master their distribution channels. Others who
have decided to buy on-the-shelf items generating low cost banalized offers
instead of developing their R&D. In addition those competitors encounter law
issues as they are sued for counterfeit and unfair trading.
o - Importers whose competition is much linked with price competition very
much affected by raw material variations and foreign currency exchange
rates.
o - Dealers who are more and more influencing the market.

-
- Their concern is to anticipate consumption evolutions and to bring up innovation on
the market
- Focus on his image
- And rewards he differentiated in the high end segment

PART 2 - FINANCE
2.2 Using appendix 3 analyze the financial structure of GOLDENFORK.

- Cela est inquiétant, en effet position fragile, a negative financial structure

- high level of debts

- no treasury (no available cash)

2.3 Conclude on the financial cash situation of the firm.

PART 3 - HR QUANTITATIVE AUDIT

You are requested to analyze those documents and conclude about the positive points and the
current HR concerns which should be dealt with regarding the present status of the firm.

Please try to analyze completely the elements and don’t forget to mention the social climate.

- A lot of employees aged more that 55y (364 in 2009/2019 and 357 in 2011)

- Gender parity not respected (more than half of whole employees are women ( 682 out
of 1008)

- Concerning the seniority, we notice a majority of employees present in the company

for more than 18 years, we could then conclude that we are facing a mushroom
pyramid. Mushroom pyramid accounts for an important number of aging employees,
with high personal charges. HRP will have to deal with skills departure and
replacement (generally due to retirements). The company will have to focus on
motivation of youngest who can feel that will don’t see a real progression opportunity.
HR department will have to anticipate because we can notice that retirements
departures will come on a row.
- The company anticipate well with the creation of their own Marketing Business
School, to generate new talents from the beginning

- Saving time with training as they will be trained from the beginning with the firm’s
way of thinking and working

- 7 departures all due to retirements which is quite good for 3 years.

- 0 resignment/ lay offs employee decision, it shows a good motivation and loyalty
feeling

- Good points: creation of the Marketing School, create a pool of talent, a low and
stable rate of absenteeism, a low rate of maternity leave even if the fact that more
than half of employees are women, but explained by the seniority and the average age
of employees

- A good recruitment process not too long

 - Good shared value and good salesman targets, clear and SMART.

- A good induction path, with a booklet and a Godfather/mother to guide and help new
employees

PART 4 - HR STRATEGY and ADAPTATION

4.1 HR strategy

Analyze the HR strategy using a Balanced scorecard analysis (you are expected to present the
various schemes in the format you want: photograph of hand made Balanced Scorecard Sketches
or using the powerpoint formats provided during the course).

Balanced Scorecard :

4.2 Defining 8 priorities for the HR department

From the previous analysis draw your conclusions - What should be the first 8 priorities for the HR
Director?

4.3 Recruiting

In appendix 5 you see that Goldenfork developed a marketing school to attract and train young
people. What is the interest for Goldenfork? Why is it important?
Creating a marketing school is only advantageous to Goldenfork. Indeed as they have a majority of
aged employees, they have to anticipate and attract, train and retain new talents, so the first
purpose of this school is to create his own talent pool. It will be time and money saving in terms of
training after, and students will be operational directly

The three skills components important are knowledge, know how to be (behavior) and know how to
do (experience).

You decide to recruit young employees. Describe in every detail the complete recruitment process
you would use including the detail of your recruitment announcement and explaining where you
decide to communicate and why.

The recruitment process is quite good at the company, not too much steps, first will be to retain our
students, so before end of school year, we will have a job fair with all our senior student in a way to
recruit them to anticipate the retirements departure that are supposed to come, I will try to have a
better gender diversity, and recruit more men

4.4 Remuneration policy/ Performance

GOLDENFORK wants to motivate their employees they intend to use their remuneration policy.
How would you measure performance for salespeople?
Provide an incentive policy for Goldenfork with the various instruments you can use in France.

Performance for salespeople can be measured through their objectives, did they reach their
objectives?

To motive salespeople, HR department can set up a policy based on 2 remunerations. One fix and
another variable remuneration component, with several bonuses and allowances:

- Seniority bonus
- Performance bonus
- Christmas bonus
- Exceptional bonus for collective achievement

The specificity of those bonuses is that they are constant in value and paid to every employee.

Adding also non-cash benefits which are by now often mandatory, such as participation to transport
cost, social security,etc.

French “Epargne Salariale” can also include

- Participation (mandatory for a French company with more than 50 employees)

- Interessement
- Plan d’epargne PEE
- Maybe also a collective retirement plan PERCO, in a way to attract junior employees

But performance goes through also motivation and loyalty, and those criteria can be built through a
good working environment, (self) accomplishment, responsibility, rewards like salaries, advantages
(as we saw), professional growth, professional evolution and consideration

PART 5- HR INFORMATION SYSTEM

In appendix 6 you get elements regarding GOLDENFORK HR Information System. A few issues are
mentioned. However, you feel that a more sophisticated HRIS could be used by GOLDENFORK.
Provide in detail the various HR extra functionalities which should be developed in this HRIS and
explain. Why they are important regarding the positioning of this particular firm?

As a company with many distribution channels, it is important to have a good HRIS.

They a have a basic use of this tool. But as a big company with international exposure etc, the
HRIS system could be used for so much more such as :

- Internal promotion
- Pool of talent
- Internal communication
- HR marketing
- To aware employees of their market share (new market added or on the contrary
aware employees when there is a crisis such as Covid19 and what are the
repercussion)
- News concerning the Marketing School, in a way to have a follow-up on students
- A tool of HRP in a way to anticipate retirements departures and student who will soon
finish to recruit them.

it is important to have a good HRIS because as an international exposure it is important to

have a good follow-up on what is happening day by day and to be the more realistic and
pragmatic regarding the market evolution.