Ovania Case Study
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Ovania Case Study
Ovania Chemical Corporation, a producer of specialty chemicals, is taking the initiative to modernize. The modernization will include redesigning jobs performed by employees. The most critical job the company is evaluating for redesign is the position of the System Analyzer. This position is critical to operations because the system analyzer is responsible for monitoring all of the chemical components used in the production of goods. Ovania is looking to automate this position which will require system analyzers to have more technical skills. Overall, the changes the company is implementing will change the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of this position by more than 70 percent. The company anticipates that the transition to this new system will be a two year process. Ovania has already developed a committee to design the potential skill set that they feel will be needed to perform the system analyzer job and testing to evaluate that skill set was developed. Recruiting new applicants for the newly designed position was done internally and externally, with emphasis on recruiting from within the organization, as well as current system analyzers who were willing to retrain, prior to the two year implementation, for their positions. Prescreening for skills and experience were not considered as part of the application process in order to encourage a more diverse pool of applicants. Concern were raised, however, that some protected classes may find the position objectionable based on some of the requirements, such as entering treatment tanks to read gauges because the work is quite dirty. Applicants would be considered based on their performance on aptitude and ability tests. Testing would only take place for skills which the company felt it could not reasonably train an applicant for prior to the two year implementation date. The cutoff score for testing was decided upon
References: Bohlander, G. & Snell, S. (2007). Managing Human Resources, Thomson []