Strategic human resources management case study sample

Cirque du Soleil is a circus that was started by street performers in the year 1984. At that time the Cirque du Soleil had only seventy three employees. The circus grew significantly and in less than two decades later it enjoys the services of 2100 employees all over the world out of which five hundred are artists (Delong and Vijayaraghavan 1). It is approximated that in the year 2001 approximately six million people attended a show hosted by Cirque du Soleil. This marked a significance growth of the circus within a period of less than two decades. The circushas been under the management of two people, Laliberte and Daniel Gautier for a long period of time. Laliberte was overseeing the creativity production while Daniel was overseeing the business of the circus. With the enormous growth of Cirque du Soleil, there have been serious problems associated with the human resources management. “Managing a company full of creative people was not always smooth” (Delong 1). This case study looks into the major human resources (HR) issues facing Cirque du Soleil, the strategic human resource problems which the issues cause and possible solutions to the problem.
Looking back into hisorty, Cirque du Soleil by 2001 had over two thousand employees meaning it is a continuously growing circus relative to when it was established with only 73 employees. Putting that in mind the circus has been under the management of only two people. “For most of Cirque’s existence, it was owned and managed equally by two men” (Delong 1). This has posed a major human resource issue with the insufficiency to manage the business as well as the human resources. Cantin as the casting director for Cirque is solely tasked with getting artists. She wonders if she is still fresh to assess the artists from Peru. Cantin further thinks, “Had she seen enough artists already?” (Delong 1). The company has large human resources which is an issue as it requires prudent management and control.
With the growing demand for the Cirque shows associated with the experience of the many years operation, a challenge rises in getting the right artists for their shows. “Cantin, casting director for Cirque said it was a constant challenge to find the right artists” (Delong 3). She has to move from country to county up to more than twenty countries trying to find the right artist. “At the same time that Cantin tried to select artist to fit into the currently conceived productions, she also looked for their potential contributions to future productions at cirque “ (Delong 4). This is a really HR issue.
The growing demand for artists by Cirque is a challenging human resource issue. Initially the Cirque has been getting fifty new artists after every two years but at the present moment it has to recruit one hundred artists annually. According to Delong, Cantin cannot help wondering, “How would it handle the growth and keep the shows and the staff fresh? How would it keep the magic?” (1). The Cirque requires that staff be refreshed yearly especially for the artists who form the product, that is in form of the shows. This turns out a major human resources issue that cannot be ignored if the Cirque du Soleil is to grow and exist for the foreseeable future.
The major human resource issues at Cirque du Soleil are likely cause strategic human resources problems; the artists are complaining of the management. Delong indicates that: “In 1987 and 1988, there had been ‘artists’ where many of the performers disputed whether management was doing what was best for them and consistent with the original spirit of the group” (1). This occurred at a time when the Cirque was under the management of only two men, Laliberte and Daniel Gautier. This pushed the Cirque to have management decentralized with three divisions that included Europe, Asia and North America, to oversee the shows around the world (Delong 1). However, this management model notably failed leading to its centralization with the headquarters located at Montreal, Canada (Delong 2).
The human resource issue of getting the right artists for the Cirque’s shows poses a creativity problem for their shows. A number of employees thought that Cirque lacked originality when compared with others in the market (Delong 10). Delong highlights the views of an artist, Oberacker, “to him the Cirque product was less astonishing given his previous exposure to highly creative costuming, lighting, and dance” (2). Oberacker says that, “Cirque is partly about putting it all together. We’re impressed because someone’s balancing on a beam or six minutes, but they’ve been doing that in Chinese acrobatics for millions of years” (Delong 2). He then compares where he was from, Broadway with Cirque, “But we add the lighting, the costumes, and it’s new for our audiences” (Delong 2). Failure to get the right artist will result into boring shows that will attract less people and with time the Cirque is likely to close down.
The growing demand for artists by Cirque is a challenge for the management to handle. Cantin, the casting director for Cirque wonders that if she can handle it while recruiting fresh artists (Delong 1). Delong points out Cantin’s own words: “How would it handle the growth and keep the shows and the staff fresh? How would it keep the magic?” (1). Cantin has to travel to over twenty countries seeking for talents as well as other requirements for the artists. Delong clears it out, “When hiring artist from different countries, Cantin took into consideration what their no artistic needs were” (Delong 4). Catering for the other needs is practically hectic for the management which has no option if it is to ensure good reaps from the shows. “We have cast children who live on the streets of Brazil, and we have changed their lives” (Delong 4). It becomes increasingly difficult to get new a hundred talented artists every year and still take care of their non artistic needs to as to shape future and promising shows.
The administration must ensure close contact with the artists and their artistic developments to ensure that originality is emphasized in their work. According to Delong, “Some employees worked at Cirque because they were learning and practicing their craft with the bets in their filed,” (9). The top management should attend the shows individual so that they closely monitor the artists’ artistic progress.
In conclusion, Cirque du Soleil by 2001 had over two thousand employees meaning it is a continuously growing circus relative to when it was established with only 73 employees. It encounters challenges rises in getting the right artists for their shows. The growing demand for artists by Cirque is a challenging human resource issue. The major human resource issues at Cirque du Soleil are likely to cause strategic human resources problems; the artists are complaining about the management. The human resource issue of getting the right artists for the Cirque’s shows poses a creativity problem for their shows. The growing demand for artists by Cirque is a challenge for the management to handle. The human resource is therefore a really challenge to the Cirque du Soleil which requires refreshment of the artists annually. To address the human resources issues Cirque needs to exploit and take advantage of the international markets. To ensure quality of products then management must be looked into. The administration must ensure close contact with the artists and their artistic developments to ensure that originality is emphasized in their work.

Works Cited

Delong, Thomas J., and Vineeta Vijayaghavan. “Cirque du Soleil.” Harvad Business School 1 Oct. 2002: n. pag. Print.