This year, despite HomeStyles move to new office space, we have seen

Essay topics:
The following appeared in a memorandum from the human resources department of HomeStyle, a house remodeling business:

“This year, despite HomeStyle’s move to new office space, we have seen a decline in both company morale and productivity, and a corresponding increase in administrative costs. To rectify these problems, we should begin using a newly developed software package for performance appraisal and feedback. Managers will save time by simply choosing comments from a preexisting list; then the software will automatically generate feedback for the employee. The human resources department at CounterBalance, the manufacturer of the countertops we install, reports satisfaction with the package.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion, be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion. (used with permission from mba.com)


The memorandum from homestyle's remodeling business states that the introduction of a new software package for employee appraisals will lead to a revamp in performance in the company and its employees due to its found success in another company in a related industry, and the streamlined feedback system. However the argument makes assumptions that are critical to evaluating the impact of the proposed software. As such additional information needs to be explored to see if this will combat homestyle's issues.

Firstly, the memorandum states that despite a move in company office, there is a decline in performance and morale. homestyle will benefit from looking into when this decline took place. As is, it is difficult to draw a conclusion as to what the root of the dip in morale and productivity is, and the hr department is assuming a new approach to appraisals will fix the issue. it could be that the employees preferred the previous office as it had better facilities or access, while the new office such benefits, resulting in a dip in morale and performance. Alternatively, there could have been a previous event that had an impact on homestyle's employees which began a decline long ago, but the decline is now only recognized by hr. Perhaps the office move actually weakened the decline, but there are still underlaying factors (unrelated to the appraisal system) that are having a negative impact. Regardless, without identifying the cause and timing of the decline in morale and productivity, it is difficult to assume the introduction of a new system will re-raise performance.

Secondly, while counterbalance has found satisfcation with the introduction of this new system, it is not so simple to assume it will positively impact homestyle's employees. counterbalance and homestyle, while in a related industry, are two completely different companies with a completely different set of employees. Not just with a software implementation, but any sort of new implementation, a company will benefit from analyzing and predicting the impact it will have on its own business and employees, rather than assuming success in one area equates to success in another area. Therefore homestyle would benefit from further collaboration of what issues counterbalance was tackling, and in which areas it was able to find success.

Lastly, the department makes the assumption that the improved efficiency of the software, that is to say the management's saving of time with pre-selected comments, will improve the morale and productivity among its employees. is there actually a problem with the current way appraisals and feedback is currently handled? would employees actually feel a disconnect from management when receiving preexisting comments, and lose further morale? Questions similar to these will further assist in evaluating whether this software will truly bring a positive impact to homestyle's business.

In order to have additional clarity on whether or not the introduction of the newly developed software package will bring positive results, no results, or even negative results to homestyle can be done with further analysis of their current situation. if the hr team can identify the timing and cause of its decline in morale and performance, it will have more access to information relevant to whether or not streamlined feedback systems will actually fix the root of the problem. collaboration with counterbalance's hr team to identify any challenges counterbalance faced as a company, what type of employees they have and how they reacted to the software package, and the actual results generated will also help homestyle's hr more accurately predict if its own problems will be solved. Furthermore, interaction with its employees through something like a survey will assist homestyle's hr identify the type of reception the introduction fo the software will have among the employees.

In conclusion, while the new software package may lead to a turnaround in homestyle's problems with declining morale and productivity, further information is need to evaluate whether or not this software package will truly have the intended impact the hr team is expecting.

Good Luck