Online Custom «The Carter Cleaning Company» Essay Sample

Introduction

The Carter Cleaning Company is a dry cleaning company run by Jennifer and her father. The firm is challenged with a problem of employee turnover and employee theft. The company can tackle the issue of turnover by instituting practices that moderate the vice. However, employee theft remains an enormous problem for the firm since the employees always invent ways to beat the management controls set up to curb the practice. Also, employee theft happens among all types of epersonnel, for example a cleaner or a presser can steal company’s supplies when they access the store alone without presence of a manager. Alternatively, a cleaner can canvass within the neighborhood so that he/she can pick clothes, clean and have them pressed in the company, return them to the customer and get payment. This way, the money goes to his pocket and not the company’s records. The most serious form of the problem is posed by the store managers and the counter workers who handle the money. Despite the fact that all the cash received is entered into the cash register, the employees still devise ways of pocketing the company’s money without being exposed. The store managers can open the stores at any time of the day and steal the supplies.

The two problems faced by the company narrow down to one thing: employee honesty. This concept poses a different form of problem to Jennifer and her father when it comes to screening potential employees who submit their applications. For the working positions like cleaning and pressing, screening is easy since an applicant can be assessed practically. In order to curb the vice of employee theft, Jennifer and her father should institute new measures to screen out employees who may have a tendency of stealing from the company.

Answers to the Case Questions

Advantages and Disadvantages of Routinely Administering Honest Tests to Employees

Advantages. If the Carter Cleaning Company was to routinely administer honesty testing to its employees, it stands out to appear positive in some aspects. The honesty test helps to expose culprits in the company. This type of employees will always indulge in dishonest and dishonorable activities. Through honesty tests, Jennifer and her father will be able to identify the employees who are unfit for the company and can easily get rid of them. After identifying unsuitable workers, the management can decide to discharge them or make them participate in training programs that would improve their personalities and thus the overall picture and the company’s productivity. Dishonest employees will always have a tendency of stealing from the firm and deceiving the management. After identifying these individuals, the management can prevent future issues and losses by either firing them, passing them through correctional programs or putting them on less influential positions or positions with constant supervision.

Dishonesty test is one of the tools for personnel assessment. Personnel assessment implies to any method applied by the management to collect information on individuals/ employees with the aim of making a selection decision. These decisions can include promotions, placement, retention, referral, and entry into career advancement programs. By carrying out the routine honesty test, Jennifer and her father will be able to collect important information about the employees and enter them on their files. The data collected will help them in making critical decisions in the future, which can include retention and promotions of the employees. The information can also assist in solving cases and investigations of incidents that might arise in the future, for example theft of the company’s property. Conducting dishonest test is one way of selecting and assembling committed workforce, promoting the good organizational culture, and improving the overall performance of the company.

Lastly, honesty test acts as a motivator for the employees in both behavior and job performance. Since the workers realize implications of a negative result, they will always work hard to maintain a good reputation and performance. A well-performing workforce translates to a successful organization, thus by carrying out the routine honesty test, Jennifer, and her father will improve the overall performance of the Carter Cleaning Company. A negative result of the test of the employee can mean loss of job, lack of career advancement, and poor recommendation in the future when the need arises.

Disadvantages. Although the Carter Cleaning Company stands to benefit from the advantages of routinely conducted honesty test on its employees, there are also some disadvantages associated with the practice. Firstly, this test can give rise to very many issues, both legal and moral, and the company would rather avoid them. Alternatively the firm can apply the simple available honesty test, “paper and pencil” though this has a low impact on the cause itself. Secondly, the costs associated with the honesty test are high, thus this will affect the accounts of the company negatively. Lastly, conducting the honest test routinely counteracts the company’s efforts to empower the employees. Through commission the top management of the firm gives the employees powers to work and make decisions according to their discretion and expertise in various fields (Butler, 2010).

Other Screening Techniques the Company Could Use to Screen Out Theft-Prone and Turnover-Prone Employees

Jennifer and her father could apply other techniques to determine turnover-prone employees and those with a tendency of stealing from the company. These techniques could include an intense background check of the employees. A thorough background check is highly recommended as a tool to get rid of potential thieves. Jennifer and her father should conduct an investigation on the criminal records of the company’s employees and review the offenses which led to a conviction, but should not consider much on their arrest record. An employee with a history of shoplifting, petty stealing, and other crimes related to theft may have a higher tendency of stealing from the company as compared to an employee with a clean theft record. While conducting the background check on the criminal record, Jennifer and her father should consider factors like number of convictions, their recency and nature of the offense. For example, a traffic offense should not be an issue for a cashier position (Jackson, 2011).

Some organizations may decide to outsource the services of background checking of employees to a private security firm. Other larger organizations prefer to train or employ their candidates to conduct the background checks while some prefer a private investigator. Although the cost implications associated with the background checks may become an issue to the Carter Cleaning Company. Jennifer and her father should weigh and consider if the savings that could be recovered from theft extirpation will be diverted to fund the exercise. Alternatively, they can decide if the company will shoulder the cost or it will be the responsibility of an applicant/employee (Lee, 2011).

Reference check is another technique that the company should employ. Based on the assumption that the best predictor of a future behavior is the previous behavior, Jennifer and her father should conduct a reference check on the company’s employees since this will bring into light previous working habits of the employees. They should not just accept references as they are but should conduct a further check (Security, 2012).

The Carter Company should also use interviews as a technique to find out if an employee will steal or exit the company prematurely. An individual who has an interest in a position as a career of his choice is likely to work longer for the firm unlike the one who takes the job as a stop-gap on his way to higher goals (Buchko, 2011). Jennifer and her father should also pass the message that positions in the company are to be kept. Lastly, they should clearly communicate the company’s policies regarding theft issues to both new and present employees (Gans & Zhou, 2012).

How the Company Should Terminate the Employees Caught Stealing and the Procedures Set Out for Handling Reference Calls for Such Employees

Jennifer and her father should ensure that there are well laid down procedures for the termination of employees caught stealing, dishonest employees, or the ones involved in other malpractices related to the theft of a company property. Terminating of such workers should be done with involvement of relevant authorities to avoid further issues and losses which might arise in future, for example court cases whereby an employee can sue the company for illegal dismissal. Most importantly, this should be done only in the presence of concrete evidence of the theft and the culprit. Jennifer is advised that they should always involve the police in matters relating to theft. The company can then decide to prosecute the employee or not. Jennifer and her father should always handle the cases professionally and seriously. This will send a clear message to the other employees that the theft of company’s property is not tolerated at all.

Although other employers are hesitant in prosecuting their employees found stealing, it is advisable that Carter Company should file cases and build evidence with the police as well as the judiciary system. This way, the firm will benefit in future since it can provide truthful information to the prospective employers of the individual based on facts, and they can give evidence. Most references fail to disclose actual information because they fear liabilities. Jennifer and her father should keep records of the employees dismissed on theft grounds. The information can then be shared openly with the future employers of the persons whenever they call for references. This will help keep the dishonest employees out of service, thus it helps address the problem of employee theft at a bigger scope (Ryan, 2014).

Conclusion

The Carter Cleaning Company has two major problems; employee turnover and employee theft. The problem of employee turnover can easily be tackled by instituting measures that reduce the rate. This can also be achieved by identifying during interviews and hiring the employees that are likely to stay for long in the company. Employee theft remains a huge problem for the company since it cuts across all the positions in the company. The firm can gain a lot by conducting routine honesty test, but this can be limited by the cost aspect and moral and legal issues it is likely to trigger. The company can also invest more in other techniques to eliminate dishonest employees like background and reference check on the employees. Lastly, the firm should involve the relevant authorities when terminating employees found stealing, and keep proper records for referencing in future.