Case Study ServiceMaster

1. Case StudyServiceMaster HR Management MBAO 6030

2. ServiceMaster What role if any have ServiceMaster’s goals (or values) played in the company’s success to date? MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management

3. ServiceMaster Does ServiceMaster’s operating approach provide a sustainable competitive advantage? Why haven’t others copied the ServiceMaster approach? MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management

4. ServiceMaster How important is Training and Development in shaping ServiceMaster’s business goals? How does ServiceMaster socialize its employees? How does Training and Development affect the continued growth goals of ServiceMaster? MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management

5. ServiceMaster What aspects of Human Capital Theory can be applied to explain the success of ServiceMaster’s approach to serving clients? What aspects of Human Capital Theory do not apply to ServiceMaster or provide predictions that run counter to ServiceMaster’s experience? MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management

6. ServiceMaster Why has ServiceMaster been willing to spend the resources it has on training and development on relatively low-skilled jobs with high turnover? MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management

7. ServiceMaster What do you think of government policies that require each firm to provide a fixed level of training to employees based as a percentage of payroll? Why and when would firms spend less than a socially optimal amount on training? What else might be done in an economy if firms under-invest in training compared to a socially optimal level? MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management

8. ServiceMaster: Epilogue Facts 2001: Revenues: $7.7 billion Employees: 72,000 Recent Growth due to acquisitions: • American Residential Services $272 MM (home maintenance services) • LandCare $167 MM (home landscaping services) MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management