Case Study
ServiceMaster
HR Management
MBAO 6030
ServiceMaster
What role if any have ServiceMaster’s goals (or
values) played in the company’s success to
date?
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MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management
ServiceMaster
Does ServiceMaster’s operating approach
provide a sustainable competitive
advantage?
Why haven’t others copied the ServiceMaster
approach?
MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management
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
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
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
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 underinvest in training compared to a socially optimal
level?
MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management
ServiceMaster: Epilogue
Facts 2001:
Revenues: $7.7 billion
Employees: 72,000
Recent Growth due to acquisitions:
1. American Residential Services $272 MM
(home maintenance services)
2. LandCare $167 MM (home landscaping
services)
MBAO 6030 Human Resource Management