Mgmt453Grouppaper

Jackson, Moskovits, Naeem, Zin 1

University Of Illinois at Chicago

Human Resources Management

Kristen Jackson, Chaya Moskovits

Nida Naeem, Natalie Zin

Management 495

Professor Tarasievich

April 18, 2014


Executive Summary

Recruiting, Training, Managing performance, and Benefits are the four core functions of

Human Resources. This report will examine four different organizations and each organization’s

utilization of one of the four Human Resource functions mentioned above.

One of the most effective ways Google recruits is through advertising and promoting

their company’s overall environment of being fun, cool, and tech savvy. Google’s success and

the array of perks and on-site benefits gives it competitive advantage in recruiting over top

competitors. Google’s financial growth also attracts great talent from all over the world.

The laid back culture of the company attracts an overwhelming amount of applicants

consequently making it difficult to filter the best and the brightest talent. The structure of

Google’s hangout interviews has been criticized for being tedious, unpleasantly lengthy, and

irrelevant to the job.. Google’s mission of making the world a better place through advanced

technology and constant acquisition of top technology companies promises great opportunities in

the future.

Coca Cola’s performance evaluations are based off of rating systems that are carried out

twice a year. Coca-Cola has implemented a pay-for-performance structure to ensure employees

are meeting their business objectives. Employees self-appraise their progress for higher

satisfaction and also get evaluated by other sources, such as customers and supervisors. Pay-for-

performance system inspires employees to perform better. A bias or error in the evaluation

process can overlook a deserving employee’s contributions.

At Starbucks the total benefit package is called “ Your Special Blend”. The benefits are

tailored to the needs for their employees and partners. Starbuck’s benefits include Starbucks U,

life insurance, disability, medical, and many other benefits.


KPMG is a part of the “Big 4” accounting firms of the world and specialize in taxation,

auditing, and advisory services. Their new employee training consists of specific program for

each of the three major services they provide. They offer e-learning, simulations and classroom

learning for their new hires in taxation, auditing and advisory services. They also provide

training for new employees of other organizations as well.

Introduction

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the human resources profession and topics, we

have researched different companies and concentrations. Our concentrations include: Recruiting

with Google, Managing Performance with Coca-Cola, Benefits with Starbucks, and Training

new employees with KPMG. Our analysis is complete with SWOT analysis tool, as well as a rich

explanation of each concentration.

Google ——Recruiting

Company History

Google is a multinational corporation, which was founded, by current CEO Larry Page

and Sergey Brin on September 4, 1998 in Menlo Park, CA ("Company -Google"). Initially

starting off as a web search engine and made profits through advertising, today it’s the world’s

largest online web search technology and specializes in internet linked products and services.

The company went public in 2004 and as of May 2013, Google has created a workforce of

53,861 employees. In 2013, the company’s operating income was close to 60 billion US dollars

(“Google”). Over the years Google has gained recognition for connecting people and information

by being technology savvy, innovative, and by acquiring large companies such as: Motorola,

Push life, YouTube and many others ("Company -�“ Google.").


Key Terms

Recruiting: Any activity carried on by the organization with the primary purpose of

identifying and attracting potential employees (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 136). The

term refers to the process of attracting the right talent for the organization but it is sometimes

misinterpreted and people tend to affiliate it with the selection process. Companies use many

ways to recruit talent including advertising, social media, non-profit events, job fairs, and word

of mouth.

Google’s Recruiting Policies and System

Google scores number five in Forbes list of world’s most valuable brands (“Google”).

The company was also ranked number one in Fortune's 100 best companies to work for in 2014

("Best Companies to Work For 2014."). Google’s career page online immediately draws

potential employees attention, the company takes great pride in being different, suave, and fun.

Google attracts an overwhelming number of applicants each year. It receives a resume every 25

seconds, and sifts through around 40,000 applications in the process of picking their interns

alone. The benefits Google employees are provided with include: high compensations and

luxurious benefits including free gourmet food, accessibility to gym provided inside the working

facility, dry cleaning services. The benefits even go as far as providing free haircuts, massage,

and medical check ups on sight ("Google Film Gives Insight into Life as an Intern at Its

California Headquarter”).

Google’s recruiting structure is primarily a centralized operations model that ensures that

most of the recruiting is done by recruiting professionals. Most initials interviews are held online

on Google hangouts; Google HR staffer said, "You want people who like figuring out stuff


where there is no obvious answer” (Nisen, Max). Google does not require applicants to share

their GPA and test scoring anymore, they solely rely on one on one interviews and “an

applicant's ability to solve problems where there isn’t an obvious solution” (Nisen, Max).

From time to time Google releases online videos of what life is like inside Google. They

are frequently promoted on YouTube and reach millions of people all around the globe. The

videos often consist of current interns and employees talking about their life changing experience

while working at Google. The culture of the company is portrayed as very casual and laid back,

employees work hard and play hard, that being said it is extremely competitive to land a job at

Google. The interview process itself can be very intensive and lengthy. Google’s career page

encourages viewers to take a tour of their local operating office. The link includes videos, photo

galleries, and the unique characteristics about the facility ("Locations - Google Careers") .

Google’s advertising strategy is through social media; the company constantly brands the “cool”

image that attracts diverse and qualified potential applicants from around the globe.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Over the years, Google has earned a reputation for product quality and user-friendly

experience. Google’s biggest strength is the name of the company itself. Many people would feel

privileged to work for Google and have the experience on their resume. Serious job applicants

know that there is a lot of opportunity of growth and career development within the company.

As mentioned earlier, the on-site benefits are what sets Google apart from its competitors.

The free medical and dental services at work, as well as free food and entertainment that

includes; video games, wall climbing, pool tables, and the list goes on and on. Who wouldn’t

want that?


Google is an international company and operates in over 70 countries. Employees at

Google get to travel and get worldwide exposure. Employees have a lot of opportunity to easily

move up in any of the locations within the company. Another strength is the company's financial

stability. The ever-growing revenue attracts both investors and potential employees.

Weaknesses

Due to the eye-catching benefits and opportunities at Google, close to a million people

turn in applications every year from all over the world. This process itself is overwhelming and

cost the company a lot of money and time to process through all the applications. The biggest

challenge for the company is to filter through the applications and choose the right employees for

the right jobs. Finding those bright-minded geniuses within thousands of applications is a very

intensive and inconvenient process.

Many applicants complain about the tedious brain teasers that interviewees are required

to do, because they seem to be completely irrelevant to the job itself. Research conducted by

Google has also proven that these types of interviews determine little to nothing about the

employee's actual job performance in the future. Google has to create a better method of

scanning and conducting interviews with applicants to ensure future hiring success and remain

the top competitor and employer in and outside of their industry.

The hiring process at Google itself can take up to months. Although the company prides

the thoroughness of their hiring procedure, the length of the process can demoralize applicants.

In todays day and age, time is a valuable thing and this practice is extremely discouraging for

some of the serious applicants.


Opportunities

Technology has not reached its peak, we as consumers realize that with every passing day

technology is constantly evolving. People are switching to a more contemporary way of living

with new and advanced gadgets. Google has enormous potential and leads the way in many

technological discoveries. With the kind of talent that Google attracts and currently posses, the

company can continue to expand into other industries and grow it’s operations and profits.

Although Google acquired YouTube in it’s early years, Google has not completely

utilized YouTube features to full potential. Google definitely has more room to advertise and

connect to more talent through producing innovative ad campaigns through YouTube. YouTube

is a platform where millions of people connect from not just in United States, but all over the

world.

Google is already in the international market, but most of their locations are present in

America, Europe, and South Asia. They need to move into North Asian countries and spread

their operations there to have a more diverse workforce and target the market that exist within

those regions.

Threats

The biggest threat that Google should be concerned with is from it’s major competitors,

such as Microsoft. Microsoft is constantly competing with Google’s products, as well as the

overall company culture. Although, Microsoft is does not have the same company culture,

Google has been constantly under their radar. Many employees have left Google to work for

Microsoft because they are not too fond of the culture. They feel that Google focuses more

towards creating cool company culture, but not necessarily useful and essential products.


Another threat that Google needs to be aware of is that during their recruitment process

the overall culture of the company comes of as really cool and fun. Once the employees are

hired, this set of images may lead them to get carried away in all the fun activities and take their

responsibilities at work less seriously.

Google hires employees who are often overqualified for the job. This leaves employees

discouraged and unmotivated and they eventually end up leaving the company. They need to

come up with a better hiring and selection system to prevent such things from happening.

Coca-Cola ——Managing Performance

Company History

In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton, a pharmacist, created flavored syrup that could be used in

fountain machines. Two years after the creation, Coca-Cola became the world’s number one

selling sparkling beverage ("Coca-Cola History"). In 1891, Asa Griggs Candler took control of

the company. He created new marketing and branding strategies. He sold it Coca-Cola as a

patent medicine. After congress taxed medicines it was never sold as a medicine again

(Cantwell). In 1894, Joseph Biedenharn was the first to put Coca-Cola into bottles. In 1899,

Benjamin Thomas, Joseph Whitehead, and John Lupton obtained the rights to bottle and sell the

soda ("Coca-Cola History"). In the 1960s, Coca-Cola started to expand its brand and created

TaB, a weight-loss drink. In 1980’s, the new Coke was created and that did not go over well with

consumers who liked the classic tasting coke (Cantwell). As of May 2013, Coca-Cola’s market

capitalization is $173.05 billion. The CEO is Muhtar Kent who operates Coca-Cola with 150,900

employees and sales of $48.02 billion. Forbes lists it as third on the world’s most valuable brand

(“Coca-Cola”).


Key Terms

Administrative purpose: the ways in which organizations use the systems to provide information

for day-to-day decisions about salary, benefits, and recognition programs (Noe, Hollenbeck,

Gerhart, and Wright 226).

Assessment: Collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their behaviors,

communication style, or skills (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 519).

Developmental purpose: it serves as a basis for developing employees’ knowledge and skills

(Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 227.

Managing Performance: The process through which managers ensure that employees’ activities

and outputs contribute to the organizations goals(Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 525).

Self-Assessment: The use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values,

aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 526).

Strategic purpose: effective performance management helps the organization achieve its

business objectives (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 226).

Horns Error: When a bias is in a negative direction (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 243).

Coca-Cola’s Managing Performance Policies and System

Coca-Cola performance management system operates twice a year. At the start of the

year, competencies and performance objectives are assigned. Mid-year there is a formal check-in

evaluation to see how the progress of employee and to make sure they are on route for

completing their goals. Another formal appraisal is completed at the end of the year. The


evaluation is based off of metrics. Coca-Cola operates with a pay-for-performance structure;

employees are rewarded if performance improves.

The purpose of the performance management is both strategic and developmental. It is

done to ensure that employees are accomplishing business objectives. The use of the evaluation

is also used for future development of employees. When an employee exceeds expectations,

which is noted in performance evaluations. The evaluations can be utilized for support for future

promotion.

Coca-Cola utilizes a rating system for measuring performance. They use a scale of (1)

does not meet, (2) meets some, (3) meets, (4) meets and exceeds, and (5) exceeds. Every goal is

rated on this scale.

There are a few sources of information that Coca-Cola uses for performance information.

Employees self-appraise themselves twice a year; in the middle of the year and at the end of the

year. Coca-Cola also uses information provided by internal/external customers. An employee’s

supervisor also provides a formal middle of the year and end of the year evaluations. The

supervisor and employee meet during a scheduled discussion time for a mid-year performance

evaluation. The purpose of this evaluation is to see where one holds with the goals and to suggest

ways to accomplish those goals. Although, uniquely, the rating system for the mid-year

evaluation is either on track or off track; does not utilize the rating system.

Goals are set at the beginning of the year. Areas of success for the current and the

following year are determined and communicated at the beginning of the year. At the end of

year, employee evaluation will discuss the ratings and those who qualify for pay-for-

performance salary increase. Coca-Cola utilizes a standardized online template for self-


evaluations where employees will rate their goals. Once this self-evaluation is complete, a

supervisor completes one online as well. All the meetings are held in manager’s office.

Employees are only encouraged to communicate voice opinions when they are respectful for

suggesting improvements (Jurek).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The first strength of the performance evaluation is that it allows for self-evaluations. This

allows for employees to provide information about how well their performance has been, an

introspective evaluation of their performance. Additionally, it can enhance communication

between the two parties. Self-evaluation provide the employee with the ability to be a part of the

process, and in return gives employees higher satisfaction.

Pay-for-performance program is both a strength and weakness (described below). This

program creates a high stress environment that inspires employees to be high performing and

innovative employees. This gives employees incentives to high driving results.

An online evaluation is another strength because it ensures easy reporting, and also

guarantees that the evaluations will not be lost. This in turn provides an easy way to keep

records. It also enhances an employee’s ability to complete this task at any time or any day with

simplicity.

Weaknesses

The first weakness is that promotions are highly dependent on performance evaluations.

This could be a problem if there is error within the system of evaluation. For example, if a


supervisor gives an employee a bad evaluation based off something wrongful done in the past,

this would display a horns error. Essentially, a deserving employee can be overlooked for a raise

in salary and promotion because of errors in performance evaluations.

Another weakness is with the use of a rating scale. It can be too easy to use ,and therefore

unqualified people can misinterpret it. This system also does not give you details about the

performance or attainment of goals. It is very limiting in the information it can provide. It can be

difficult when firing someone because it can fail to assess which attributes are most important to

the job and firing.

A last weakness is that performance information is provided by three sources: the

customer, the supervisor, and the employee. This could leave gaps in getting a complete picture

of an employee’s performance.

Opportunities

The first opportunity is to restructure the performance information and expand it to a 360-

degree process. This would provide comprehensive information about an employee. It would

also help relieve the possibility of particular errors.

There is an opportunity to modify the mid-year evaluations to more than off track or on

track rating. Employees need to be a more in-depth look at their performance. This will give

employees more concrete feedback to help them stay on track or become on track for the goals.

A great opportunity that Coca-Cola has is to improve the communication between the

supervisor and employee. Establishing open communication allows for better, improved

evaluations. Voicing opinions will improve employee moral and sets a standard that Coca-Cola


cares about each individual employee. Essentially, it makes performance management more

effective.

Threats

Threat of off track and on track during mid-year evaluations can be detrimental to the

success of Coca-Cola. This method could fail to provide the employee with important feedback.

It could also be the difference between failure and success of Coca-Cola.

Meeting in supervisor’s office for the employee’s evaluation can be a threat as well. For a

great effective performance management process, the employee evaluation needs to be on a

neutral ground. This helps remove power trips and provides the environment that utilizes a two-

way communication.

The third threat is that a senior recruiter, who worked in the human resources department

for Coca-Cola for over three years, could not identify the performance evaluation as an

administrative purpose. This fails because the Coca-Cola is not correctly establishing the purpose

of their performance management system. As a company, Coca-Cola needs to better articulate its

purposes correctly and effectively.

Starbucks —— Benefits

Company History

Hearing the name Starbucks brings renounce to past memories; the nights we crammed

for tests, or the times that we had to work overtime. Almost everybody can recognize the logo of

Starbucks. What does the meaning behind the two tailed green mermaid logo means? When the

first Starbucks opened in 1971 at Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, the name [was] inspired


by Moby Dick [which] evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the

early coffee traders (“Our Heritage”). Thus, Starbucks is a two-tailed green mermaid.

Starbucks is now one of the largest companies in the world with “20,891 Starbuck stores

[including] 13279 stores in the United States” (“Loxcel Starbucks Store Map FAQ”). Today,

Starbucks is “[offering] some of the world finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffee (“Our

Heritage”), as well as many fine pastries such as: Muffins, Ice cream, Sandwiches and Greek

yogurt to indulge coffee (“Our Company”). Starbucks is not only providing a great customer

experience, but also fulfilling the benefit needs of the employees at Starbucks. Therefore, my

goal in this paper is to explain the employee benefits that Starbucks provides for its employees

by defining a few key terms, and a SWOT analysis on Starbucks benefits policy.

Key Terms

Almost at every organization employees “receive[s] a package of employee benefits

[which] is a compensation in forms other than cash”(Noe, 383). Employee benefits are supposed

to “help employers attract, retain and motivate employees” (Noe, 411). Although different

employees get different benefits, there are still five legally required benefits to protect workers

from the financial hardships of being out of work. They are defined in the table below:

Purpose Definitions


Social Security Supports and protect

retired workers (Noe,

386)

The federal Old Age, Survivors, Disability, and

Health Insurance program, which combines

retirement insurance, survivor’s insurance,

disability insurance, hospital insurance, and

supplementary medical insurance or the elderly

(Noe, 387).

Unemployment

Insurance

Assist laid-off

workers (Noe, 386)

A federally mandated program to minimize the

hardships of unemployment through payments to

unemployed workers, help in finding new jobs, and

incentives to stabilize employment (Noe, 387).

Workers’

Compensation

Insurance

Provide benefits and

services to workers

injured on the job

(Noe, 386)

State programs that provide benefits to workers

who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses, or to

their survivors (Noe, 388).

Family And

Medical Leave

Up to 12 weeks of

unpaid leave for

childbirth, adoption,

or serious illness

(Noe, 386)

Federal law requiring organizations with 50 or

more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of

unpaid leave after childbirth or adoption; to care for

a seriously ill family member, or for an employee’s

own serious illness; or to take care of urgent needs

that arise when a spouse, child, or parent in the


National Guard or Reserve is called to active duty

(Noe, 389).

Health Care Provision of 2010 law

phased in through

2014. The Patient

Protection and

Affordable Care Act

(Noe, 386).

Federal law requiring organizations with 50 or

more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of

unpaid leave after childbirth or adoption; to care for

a seriously ill family member, or for an employee’s

own serious illness; or to take care of urgent needs

that arise when a spouse, child, or parent in the

National Guard or Reserve is called to active duty

(Noe, 390).

Benefit Policies

Starbucks would not be successful without the CEO, Howard Schultz; however Schultz

would not be able to do it without the help of his employees. According to Larimore, the author

of The Starbucks Guide to World Domination, Schultz knew that it was important to build a

relationship between the employees and management. Therefore, starting in “1988 [Starbucks]

part-time employees became eligible for benefits.” Since then Starbucks has been prospering and

in 2013 Starbucks was listed as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the CNN Fortune

Magazine.

For Starbucks to be able to be listed in the 100 Best Companies to Work For, they must

have provided some good benefits for their company. The following are the Starbucks employee


benefits listed and explained.

Life Insurance

Starbucks provides basic life insurance coverage for all benefits-eligible partners. With a

term life insurance policy, “organizations provide benefits for accidental death and

dismemberment” (Noe, 396). Under the terms of the U.S. Benefits Plan Descriptions of

Starbucks, it provides financial protection to the families of Starbucks employees. Starbucks

offer three types of life insurance plans. These plans include: partner life insurance, spouse or

domestic life insurance, and child life insurance. Partner life insurance provides benefits to a

person that an employee designates as its beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person who receives

the life insurance payment if an employee passes away (163). Once an employee is enrolled in

partner life insurance, he or she can elect the spouse or domestic partner coverage. Spouse or

domestic partner life insurance is based on partner life insurance, so the benefits are similar. The

only difference is that the amount of life coverage elected for the spouse or domestic partner

cannot exceed 50% of the total partner life insurance coverage amount (165). Child Life

Insurance has the same guidelines as the spouse or domestic partner life insurance, but the

beneficiaries are for Starbuck employees’ children (166).

Disability

The disability insurance protects employees from the loss of income, if a disability makes

them unable to work. Thus, Starbucks provides partial replacement of lost wages when an

employee’s partner is unable to work due to an illness or injury (Your Special Blend, 6).

Short-term disability (STD) According to Noe, the author of the book Fundamentals of Human

Resource Management stated that a short-term disability is “insurance that pays a percentage of a


disabled employee’s salary as benefits to the employee for six months or less”(396). For

Starbucks employees, “they will be continued […] income for up to 26 weeks” (Your Special

Blend, 6).

Long-term disability (LTD) provides partial income replacement after STD ends.

Medical

The medical coverage for Starbucks employees is wide in range, but it depends on where

one lives. The usual “medical plans include: coverage for hospitalization, office visits, lab and x-

rays, emergency care, prescription drugs, and mental health and chemica l dependency

treatment”(Your Special Blend, 5).

Dental

The dental plan that Starbucks offer helps employees pay for various dental expenses. The

expenses that are covered include preventive services, which are things like oral exams,

cleanings and office visits. Basic services include: root canal treatments, surgeries, dentures and

bridgework. Major services include: initial placement of crowns, inlays, and gold foils, as well as

adjustments or replacements (U.S. Benefits Plan Description, 117).

Vision

Starbucks Vision plan covers “eye exams, lenses, frames and contacts” (Your Special

Blend, 6) and for employees to receive the vision benefit they must enroll into the program (U.S.

Benefits Plan Description, 125).


Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

This program helps with counseling for stress, emotional difficulties, and critical

incidents experienced in the workplace. It also helps provide counseling in personal concerns,

which includes: child care, elder care, and/or any financial, legal consultation (Your Special

Blend, 6).

Starbucks U

This program is to support partners “at all stages of their career and education journey. It

gives partners the flexibility to mix and match benefits to achieve their educational goals, and

provides financial saving by reducing out-of-pocket expense” (Your Special Blend, 7).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Starbucks maintains its competitive advantage by offering various benefits to their part-

time and full-time employees. One of the disadvantages to most part-time job employees,

excluding Starbuck’s employees, is the lack of benefits. However, in 1988, Starbucks was able to

identify the importance of giving benefits to part-time employees at an early stage (Larimore).

Starbucks not only provide benefits to part-time employees, but also keeps its employees

motivated with the various benefits for example, the Starbucks U benefit. This expresses the care

Starbucks has for their employees; in return the employees can help improve the quality and

quantity of the production. With the great attitude Starbucks have toward their employees, it has

earned them the title World’s Most Ethical (WME) Company in 2014 ("World’s Most Ethical

Companies – Honorees"). With the decent benefits provided, it also attracts educated that are

willing to spread the story of Starbucks while serving their products.


Weaknesses

Even though Starbucks has good benefits for every employee, there are still some

limitations, such as employees have to work at least two consecutive months to be able to take

advantages some of the benefits offered (Your Special Blend, 5). Following that, employees feel

that pay are not sufficient enough to adequately compensate the amount of labor required since

many of the part-time employees are paid minimum wage. At last, some part-time employees

cannot afford the health insurance provided because it is costly.

Opportunities

Now that Obama health care is put into practice, Starbucks is giving employees more

benefit opportunities. According to Pagliery, the author of Starbucks CEO: We Won't Cut

Benefits Because of Obamacare, Starbucks is willing to spend more on healthcare than on coffee

for the employees. In addition, Starbucks can minimize the waiting time period to let employees

take advantage of the numerous benefits that are offered. Another benefit opportunity that

Starbucks can provide is to research and communicate directly with employees on how to

improve the current benefits plan. This would not only allow Starbucks retain and attract

potential employees, but also satisfy current ones.

Threats

As previously mentioned about the Obama health care, the one threat could be is the

potential raise of money that will be needed to fund the healthcare benefit. This will affect the

employees’ health care coverage and probably Starbucks brand name. The other companies

matching the benefits can implement them into their own benefits package and even make

improvements, which can possibly eliminate Starbucks competitive advantage of offering


various amounts of benefits. Lastly, turnovers due to the fact that many employees feel that they

are underpaid and insurance for all employees which gives Starbucks competitive edge is

expensive and hard to afford with minimum wages.

Training New Employees ——KPMG

Company History

In 1911, two accounting firms by the names of William Barclay Peat & co. and Marwick

Mitchell & Co. merged to create a new organization called Peat Marwick International ("The Big

4 Accounting Firms"). For almost 80 years, the firm remained under the name Peat Marwick,

until 1987, when the firm merged with KMG ("The Big 4 Accounting Firms"). This merge

between Peat Marwick and KMG came the creation of the company we now know today as

KPMG. Each letter of KPMG has a significant meaning behind it. The “K” stands for K lynveld,

the last name of Piet Klynveld, who was one of the founders of KMG ("Learning and

Development"). The “P” stands for Peat. William Barclay Peat, the founder of the accounting

firm William Barclay Peat & Co. (KPMG campus). The “M” stands for Marwick, the last name

of James Marwick, who founded the accounting firm Marwick, Mitchell & Co. with Roger

Mitchell ("Learning and Development"). Lastly, the “G” stands for Goerdeler, the last name of

Dr. Reinhard Goerdeler, who was a founder of KGM, who later became chairman of KPMG

("Learning and Development").

Today, KPMG is part of the “Big Four” major accounting firms of the world. The “Big

Four” altogether audit more than 80% of the United States public companies ("The Big 4

Accounting Firms"). The “Big 4” is comprised of: Deloitte, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst &

Young, and KPMG. KPMG is the 4th largest of the “Big Four” and has around 94,000 employees


worldwide in 145 countries ("KPMG Company Summary"). Altogether, KPMG has three main

services, which include: Auditing, advising services, and taxation services ("The Big 4

Accounting Firms"). KPMG is continuously making company top lists, and in 2014 made

Fortune’s “100 Best Places to Work” list, landing in the 80th spot ("Best Companies to Work for

2014: Full List").

Key Terms

Training: A planned effort to enable employees to learn job- related knowledge, skills, and

behavior, with the goal of applying these on the job. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and

Wright,189).

Internship: On-the-job learning sponsored by an educational institution as a component of an

academic program (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 203).

Training Policies

KPMG offers a training program specifically for each of the three main services they

offer. First year auditors, advisory associates, and tax associates at KPMG each have their own

diverse, in-depth training programs.

The first year as an auditor at KPMG, new hires will endure a combination of different

learning styles. The audit training first starts with a program called “Pretty Liquid”, which is a

dynamic virtual engagement simulation (“Learning and Development”). “Pretty Liquid” is a

realistic simulated client site that is conveniently available from any computer or laptop, so

employees can gain hands-on experience with key practices that may be used later on in their

career (“Learning and Development”). “This curriculum blends e-learning with traditional


classroom courses, offering an optimal combination of coursework you can digest at your own

pace, and interactive learning that will expose you to the thoughts and experiences of your peers

and more experienced KPMG partners and professionals (“Learning and Development).” Also,

KPMG offers just-in-time learning courses. Just-in-time learning courses allow users to be part

of a “virtual classroom” and participate in more than 850 courses on demand, at their own time

(“Learning and Development”). This is a great way for new hires to interact with other new hires

from anywhere they want.

The second type of training KPMG offers is for taxation professionals. The tax training

course at KPMG gives new hire tax professionals the opportunity to help continuously develop

their skills and experiences (“Learning and Development”). The training will start with

“Taxcursion”, a virtual simulation used to help employees gain experience that they will be able

to apply to their job as a tax professional. “The simulation will respond to your individual needs:

when you hesitate, your simulated neighbor may pop his head over the cubicle wall to give you a

tip, or a reference card may come flying off your bulletin board (“Learning and Development”).”

This simulation tries to make the training as real as possible to the real working environment.

Lastly, there are just-in-time learning courses specifically made for this training as well that tax

professionals will have to complete.

The last type of training KPMG offers is for new advisory professionals. “In your first

year as an Advisory professional, you'll be introduced to core KPMG methodologies and

processes through the Advisory Fundamentals program. Within your first year, you'll also begin

to build on this foundation, and engage with your people management leader and mentor in

tailoring your ongoing learning plan (“Learning and Development”).” KPMG offers a Learning

Paths Resource Site, which provides courses for newly hired advisory professional catered to


every employee’s individual responsibilities, interests, and goals (“Learning and Development”).

The most important aspect of the advising training is creating a learning plan. The learning plan

process helps each advisory professional create a customized plan tailored to each of their

specific development needs (“Learning and Development”)” KPMG offers a wide variety of skill

courses to help aid in the learning plan process. Some of these courses include: Technical skills,

cross service skills, core business skills, leadership capabilities, and issue-based training

(“Learning and Development”). There are also just-in-time courses specifically for advising that

new hires will have to complete.

KPMG not only provides training courses for their new hires, but other organizations new

hires as well. KPMG provides an array of training options for its new hires from other

organizations that can be catered to fit what’s best for everyone. They have four diverse

approaches that the trainees can choose from, depending on their preferred style of learning.

These approaches are: On-Site, On-Demand, On-Line, and On-Request. The On-Site approach

encompasses Executive Education Public Seminars and private classes. This approach is best for

people who learn better by listening and in-person guided learning. KPMG has the most

knowledgeable people in the fields of accounting, business management, and finance teaching in

course and seminar settings (KPMG Learning). The On-Demand approach is web based self-

study. This approach works best for people who would rather train on their own time or learn

best by themselves. KPMG offers a variety of finance and accounting courses to cover current

topics going on within the field. After successful completion of the course and mastery exam,

employees are rewarded a certificate of completion (KPMG Learning).The On-Line approach is

taught through live podcasts with KPMG institute. “A highly effective and convenient way to do

this is through targeted webcasts, which creates open forums where peers can exchange insights,


share leading practices, and access the latest thought leadership (KPMG Learning).” This

approach works best for people who learn better through interacting with other employees, while

also learning at their own pace. Lastly, the On-Request approach is customized or tailored

training for employees. As stated by KMPG: “We know that your business and training goals

vary, and that you may require a more highly customized program. Our instructional designers

will work with you to understand your training goals and develop customized language,

examples, exercises, and activities—all to help your employees gain the skills they need (KPMG

Learning).”

KPMG also offers internships as an additional way of training new hires. An internship at

KPMG can open many doors and opportunities, and interns can gain valuable experience for

todays’ fast paced business world. An internship allows the opportunity to: Explore career

opportunities, Network, Find Mentors, and most importantly, gain experience (KPMG Campus).

KPMG offers internships in all 3 major services they offer, giving interns a preview of many

different career options. Interns are also given the opportunity to network with senior level

executives, which allows them to gain life-long connections for their career they can use later on.

Also, mentors are a very important aspect of KPMG’s internship program. On day one, interns

are given a mentor that they can interact with every day to ask any questions, and help guide

them through their learning as an accounting intern. Last, and most importantly, an internship at

KPMG allows you to gain experience that makes you more marketable to future employers

(KPMG Campus). KPMG does offer full-time positions to many successful interns, but the

experience gained will be attractive to other potential employers as well.

With this wide array of training options, new employees will: pursue self-directed study,

more effectively manage their training program, utilize case studies to illustrate more complex


situations, and obtain timely updates on accounting developments (KPMG Learning). “Our

training programs help organizations and their professionals develop the knowledge and skills

that put them in a position to understand, adapt, and even benefit from change now and in the

future (KPMG Learning).”

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The first strength about the KPMG training program is having an internship mentor.

Having an intern paired with a mentor on the first day and for the remainder of the program is a

great idea that sets KPMG above other internship programs. Not only will the intern learn from

someone already working in the company, but they also won’t feel alone and could ask questions

any time they need to. Another strength about KPMG’s training program is how they have a

training method for each major service. This will really appeal to potential applicants because

they will feel like the training is tailored to their specific career. A last strength is having training

programs that are a combination of simulation, e-learning, and classroom because it adds some

variety to the training. Some people benefit more from self-study, and KPMG accommodates

those specific needs. This will appeal more to people more with because they can do the training

from the comforts of their own homes, not just at work. Also, simulations offer great on-hand

experience that simulates real life situations in the workplace.

Weaknesses

A weakness in KPMG’s training approach is having so many different methods may be

too costly to the organization. Just having one uniform method would lower costs greatly. Also,

some training methods may get lower returns on investment, depending how effective the form


of training was on the new employee. A second weakness is that every intern in their internship

program is not always guaranteed a full time position at the end. This could deter some

prospective interns from applying because some want the peace-of-mind of knowing they can

secure a job at the end of the internship training program. A last weakness is that some of the

training methods are used to train employees in other organizations. This could be a potentially

bad thing because competitors can be using that information to their advantage to either copy

KPMG’s way of training, or know how to make theirs better.

Opportunities

One opportunity for KPMG’s training program is to have a “KPMG University”. Their

“Big 4” competitor, Deloitte, has its own university that all new hires are sent to complete their

training at. This would be a great idea for new employees at KPMG so everyone gets a uniform

way of training in an exciting environment. Another opportunity could be to offer an iPad or

tablet to all new employees to keep and use throughout training and into their career. Tablets are

a new trend that is very convenient and a great tool to utilize for training purposes, while also

serving as an incentive to new employees at the same time. One last opportunity for KPMG’s

new hire training program is to have job shadowing for each of the three service sections. Job

shadowing should be a requirement before the training is complete. Because not all of KPMG’s

employees come from their internship program, this would be a great way for new hires to really

see how working in the company will be and have a knowledgeable employee who is already in

the field to guide them. Having a “day-in-the- life” of a current employee will give new

employees a better overall feel for what the job really entails.

Threats


One of the biggest threats to KPMG’s new hire training program is always being

compared to the other “Big 4” corporations. The other 3 “Big 4” corporations are comprised of:

Deloitte, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and Ernst &Young. KPMG will always have to come up

with ways to differentiate itself from the others, and try to show how their training program is

better than the others. The companies will always want to try to outshine one another, saying one

company has the better trained employees than the other. Another threat is the chance of the

training not being adequate enough, and as a result, a new employee could make a decision that

could be detrimental to the organization. Poorly trained employees can lead to a bad reputation

and lower profits for the organization. One last threat to KPMG’s new employee training

program is the event of a technical problem. So much of KPMG’s training is done using

computer based learning and simulations that there needs to be a backup plan just in case

something wrong happens. Someone could maliciously corrupt the system or the simulator could

break down, there needs to be proper precautions to make sure the threat of that doesn’t happen.

This could potentially cost KPMG a great deal of money to try and correct, and also could

possibly waste a lot of time for the employee and the company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we discussed four topics within human resource management and applied

them to actual organizations. We discussed Recruiting with Google, Managing Performance with

Coca-Cola, Benefits with Starbucks, and Training New Employees with KPMG. Overall, we

explained each organization’s history, their policies, as well as the SWOT analysis for each

organization.


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