HR Leadership in Difficult Times: A Story of Saving Mountain Deer of the Ranch - Case Study Example

HR Leadership in Difficult Times: A Story of Saving Mountain Deer of the Ranch Parker and Clara Wolmington were sittingin their home. It was afternoon and they were expecting a few guests from Illinois. These guests were not someone they knew. Instead, they will be occupying their guest rooms for the next few days and also moving around their ranch to hunt their precious deer. This is the year 1955 when Parker and Clara Wolmington laid down the foundation of a Deer Christian Ranch which was later renamed as Deer Valley Ranch (“History”, 2012). A beautiful landscape comprising of Colorado Mountains: Mt. Antero, Mt. Princeton and Chalk Cliffs, surrounds the Ranch which increases the attraction of the place. The Wolmingtons have been the most gracious and kind hosts in the entire Colorado as their guests (more of clients) continue to repeat their returns year after year. There are guest rooms, family lunches and dinners, hunting time with exciting adventures and do-it-yourself guides that allow their clients to feel at home (“DVR”, 2012). After the death of Clara, Parker thought he was left alone. However, his fourth generation has now taken over the Deer Valley Ranch operations and continues to offer the same homely feeling and adventure to their guests which Parker and Clara together provided. At the age of 94, Parker died in 2011. Now, Levi, Halley, Cora, Daniel and Jordan are the heirs of the Deer Valley Ranch and have to ensure that it continues to thrive like before. Today is 19th March, 2012. Daniel woke up from his bed after a beautiful night sleep. It has been almost five months since Parker’s death, and things have been moving smoothly. Daniel smiled and lazily moved towards the morning newspaper lying on the breakfast table. Levi was in the kitchen and beautiful aroma of baked bread and hot coffee drifting from there and fresh morning air from the Colorado Mountains broadened Daniel’s smile even further. He felt really contended and comfortable while in “the west” and everything in control. Since the grandpa’s death, Daniel has been leading the Ranch’s affairs successfully. He has graduated from Colorado State University with a major in Human Resource Management (“CSÚ”, 2012). Levi, Jordan, Halley and Cora report to him as he is the oldest brother and also a charismatic leader. All of them like Daniel for his leadership qualities and the ability to envisage team working spirit in the Ranch that has only benefitted the entire Ranch family which includes its clients. But things do not remain all the same every day. Daniel took up the newspaper and all of a sudden, his smile turned into a horror stricken one. A shout from his mouth left Levi stranded between the desire to run to Daniel and the bread in the oven that was only seconds from ready. Levi’s mind decided for the former and she ran to Daniel who was pulling hard on the arm chair. “What happened?” asked Levi. Getting no response, she filled a glass of water and put it to Daniel’s lips. He took a long swallow of water and his mind started working. “We are in the recessions. Prices of food and inflation have risen tremendously and we have 7,000 deer and one goat in the Ranch to feed. How are we going to save our Ranch within no time?” said Daniel with a perplexed expression. “Don’t worry, everything will be alright”, answered Levi with a confident smile. “We just need to inform others and devise a strategy to save the deer from dying” said Levi. “Yes, you are right. Let me call Jordan, Halley and Cora. We should immediately sort out this matter”, exclaimed Daniel. Within an hour, all of the five heirs of Deer Valley Ranch were sitting outside the Ranch House. “We have to save our Grandparent’s Ranch as it means everything to us. The prices of the food have increased three times as of today’s newspaper. We have 7,000 deer and only one goat in the Ranch, which means we will not be able to provide the required level of food in terms of quantity and quality to the deer in the next few months. As a result, they will die and so will our Ranch. Today, we are gathered to devise a strategy to save our deer and our Ranch and to implement it in the next few days” said Daniel. After a long discussion, Halley pointed out that the best way to resolve this problem is to cut down the number of deer. As a result, we will have more food to feed a small number of deer. Everyone acknowledged the idea. Cora highlighted that though the idea of Halley is the most feasible one, still there are several difficulties that will create problems in the successful achievement of this objective. For instance, Cora pointed out that the team of experts will be needed who will test each deer and determine whether they are sick or healthy. In order to achieve this, a budget must be created for the saving of the herd in a legal way. Levi suggested that one way to reduce the herd is through more hunting opportunities for the hunters. After this entire brainstorm session, the minutes of the meeting were summarized and a clear action plan was determined. A budget of $15,000 was allocated for the saving of the herd and the Ranch. The resolution determined that each member of the Ranch family will focus on one factor of the issue for effectively resolving it. As a result, Halley was given the task to find the experts who will examine the herd. Cora was given the task to check the local, federal and tribe laws in regard to the hunting practices and thinning of the deer herd. Levi and Halley were responsible for the organizing and maintaining of the equipment that was required for this mega project. Daniel, being the leader, focused on the funding for this project. The total time frame for this project was set for one month. Daniel knew that they had limited number of people to undertake this heavy task yet, he used the HR technique of team building and delegating each person a task that was equivalent to his/her skills (Boselie & Paauwe, 2005; Brown & Fritz, 1994). Furthermore, using the Myer-Brigs Indicator Instrument, Daniel applies this instrument to measure the performance of each member of the Ranch family in view of the project at hand. However, Daniel will not be able to measure the ability of each member through Myer-Brigs Indicator as studies have shown that this instrument is not a valid one for measuring the ability of an individual but for measuring the job performance (Carskadon & Cook, 1982). Another important aspect of Myer-Brigs Indicator is to allow the individual to do more work with less resources. Daniel has applied the Myer-Brigs Indicator to build a team. Each member has been designated a relevant task that is based on the psychological, judgmental and feelings of each person (Thomas, 1992). Depending upon which one is auxiliary and which one is dependant, Daniel is able to easily designate the task to the best person on the team. Furthermore, Daniel also applied the economics theory proposed by Adam Smith that encourages division of labor in order to manage lack of resources, equipment, time and personnel. Being the leader at Ranch, Daniel has been able to divide the labor to form a team and specify each one a task with a limited timeline (Vogler & Stephen, 2007), thus applying all important theories to achieve the task. Next day, Daniel was having coffee at his office when Caro entered with a complete report on the legal aspect of the situation. The report found that according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the deer hunting is legal and can be done with a proper license that the Division issues to the farmers (“CDW”, 2012). Recently, to encourage farmers and hunters to hunt the deer, a big-game license has been designed that allows easier to hunt deer in large number. Likewise, the study showed that the thinning of deer herds has become a major concern for farmers in other States as well. For instance, in Ottawa, the residents are facing problems and life hazards due to the large number of deer which damage their residential property (“Óttawa”, 2012). As a result, a bill has been sent for the approval in the Parliament for thinning of these deer. Furthermore, Town & Country Board of Aldermen has approved a bill that empowers Buffalo Inc. to sharp shoot 300 deer in order to thin down their herd (Godwin, 2011). The Quality Deer Management Association has managed to reduce the number of deer through hunting, selling to the wholesalers and retailers (“QDMA”, 2012). Through this way, the deer herd can be easily reduced and with each sale, the investment will be recovered. The laws relating to ranching relates to the fencing, humane treatment to the animals and keeping the butchering areas clean (“Deerfarmer”, 2003). From the report, Daniel found that the best way is to get the license from the Colorado Division of Wildlife for the big-game and get the approval for sharp shooting from the Town & Country Board of Alderman (Leon, 2011). He asked Caro to get the license and approval. Halley entered the office with a team of experts from the Colorado Agriculture Department for testing the herd. They agreed to undertake the task for a payment of $3,000 and a deadline of one week. Meanwhile, Caro returned with the license and approval. The team set to work. After a week, it was found that 6,800 deer were fit, 250 were slightly sick and remaining 50 were critical. It was decided that these 50 will be killed. The sick deer will be treated and eventually sold to wholesalers. The rest will be allowed for hunting and sharp shooting. After a month, almost 2000 deer were hunted and only 5000 are left with the Ranch. Now, they are able to feed them and continue with their normal work life. References Boselie, P., & Paauwe, J., (2005). Human resource function competencies in European companies. Personnel Review, 34(5), 550-566. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1513491&show=abstract Brown, F.W., & Fritz, S., (1994). Determining the breadth of leadership and human resource management/development offerings in post-secondary departments of agricultural education. Faculty Publications: Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication Department, 14. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecfacpub/14/ Carskadon, T.G., & Cook, D.D. (1982). Validity of MBTI descriptions as perceived by recipients unfamiliar with type. Research in Psychological Type, 5, 89–94. CDW. (2012). Come hunt with us! Colorado Division of Wildlife. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Pages/Hunting.aspx CSU. (2012). Colorado State University. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/fwcb-home DVR. (2012). Deer Valley Ranch. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://deervalleyranch.com/ Deerfarmer. (2003). So you want to be a deer farmer. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://deer-library.com/artman/publish/article_69.shtml Godwin, C. (2011). Town & Country approves sharpshooting to thin deer herd. Newsweek. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://www.newsmagazinenetwork.com/2011101111019/town-country-approves-sharpshooting-to-thin-deer-herd/ History. (2012). History of Deer Valley Ranch. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://deervalleyranch.com/site/the-ranch/history.html Leon, R.D. (2011). How to start a deer farm. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://www.ehow.com/how_4449543_start-deer-farm.html Ottawa. (2012). November vote will determine whether deer hunting is permitted in Ottawa Hills. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://thebestdeerrepellent.com/deerrepellent/november-vote-will-determine-whether-deer-hunting-is-permitted-in-ottawa-hills QDMA. (2012). QDMA says no to deer breeding. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://buckmanager.com/ Thomas, G.L. (1992). Myers-Briggs and other modern astrologies. Theology Today 49 (3), 291–95. Vogler, J., & Stephen, H.R. (2007). The European Union in global environmental governance: Leadership in the making? International Environmental Agreement: Politics, Law and Economics, 7(4), 389-413. Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://www.springerlink.com/content/02x87231t547147k/ Read More