Essentials Of Contemporary Management 7th Edition Gareth Jones, Jennifer George - Solutions

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Think about the last group project you worked on. Describe that project and identify three performance criteria you think would be appropriate for evaluating the team members. Should every team member be able to rate one another on all these dimensions? Should the team-member ratings be used for
Angela Lacy, an African-American employee in your accounts receivable department, has filed a charge of discrimination, alleging she was unfairly passed over for promotion and regularly receives smaller pay increases than do employees who perform less well (she alleges). You have to go to your
1. Why do you think they made the change in the performance appraisal form?2. Do you think a problem exists? Are crew members simply worse on execution and service? Without any data, speculate on why rating differences exist, assuming some type of error is occurring. What three questions would you
Early in this chapter, we identified five reasons for the historical growth in the size of benefits packages. Which of these reasons still affect the growth of employee benefits today? Which actually might be current reasons for declines in the size of benefit packages?
Erinn Kelly, VP of Human Resources at Lawson Chemical, just purchased a local salary survey that has employee benefits data. She was shocked to see that Lawson has a larger benefits bill (38 percent of payroll) than the average in the community (31 percent). In a memo to you, she demands an
You are the benefits manager in a firm metaphorically described as part of the rust belt, in Syracuse, NY. The average age of your 600-person workforce is 43. Eighty-eight percent of your workforce is male, and there is hardly any turnover. Not much is happening on the job front. How do these facts
As HR director at Crangle Fixtures, your bonus this year is based on your ability to cut employee benefit costs. Your boss has said that it’s okay to shift some of the costs over to employees (right now they pay nothing for their benefits) but that he doesn’t want you to overdo it. In other
Describe how a benefits program might increase worker attraction, retention, and motivation.
1. Cost out these packages given the data in Exhibits 1 and the information obtained from various insurance carriers and other information sources (Exhibit 4).Exhibit 1: Current compensation costsAverage yearly wage...............$26,769Average hourly wage............... $13.12Dollar value of
James A. Klingon has a mandate from his boss to cut employee benefit costs. In a company expanding by 10 percent in employees every year, Jim decides to control costs through his selection strategy. Is he crazy? Or crazy like a fox? Explain.
Explain the concept of experience rating using examples from unemployment insurance. Would the same concept apply to workers’ compensation? Using the Internet, find out if experience rating plays a role in insurance coverage.
The CEO of Krinkle Forms Inc. says there is a serious problem with turnover, with data for her observation provided below. Seniority Turnover Rate 0–2 yrs ........61% 2–5 yrs ........21% 5 + yrs ..........9%
Why are defined contribution pension plans gaining in popularity in the United States and defined benefit plans losing popularity?
Some experts argue that consumer-directed health care is, amongst other things, a great communications tool for employee benefits. Defend this position.
1. Using what you learned in Chapter 9 about the linkage between strategy and HR policy/practices, suggest the difficulties that HR faced after the Compaq acquisition.2. Recent news about HP indicates they will keep the computer business. Suggest things you might do as a benefits manager at HP that
We read an article the other day that said it’s getting harder to find good people willing to serve on a corporate board of directors. Given what you learned in this chapter, speculate on why it’s hard to attract good people to this job.
What makes professional/scientist jobs different, such that they qualify for special group status in many companies? Why is the compensation of knowledge workers so frequently linked to the amount of time these workers have been out of school?
The differential between the salary of top executives and the lowest paid workers in the same country is quite small in Japan, at least in comparison to the United States. The same is true in unions (president of union versus union workers). Explain why the differential might be small in Japan and
Romance Novels, Inc, located in Cheektowaga, NY, has gradually increased the number of contingent workers (full-time, temporary) from 10 percent of the workforce to about 28 percent today. Why might they do this? Also, what equity problems can arise from hiring contingent workers, especially when
Why is it easier to explain a $2 million payout to Tiger Woods for working four days to win a Masters Championship than it is to explain why William Clay Ford made $30 million as CEO of Ford Motor Company?
1. Of the above information, what is most important in your design of a sales incentive plan for the three sales staff? How does this information affect your plan design?2. Your book talks about unit rate plans. Which of these types of plan would you use for sales of tickets? Which plan might be
What is spillover? How does it lead to underestimation of the impact unions have on wages?
Why don’t many public sector unions have the right to strike, a weapon almost universally guaranteed in the private sector? Make your explanation based on compensation.
If merit pay is supposed to increase individual equity and unions are very concerned about equity, why do unions frequently oppose merit pay for their membership?
. It is probably true that, if given a choice, unions would prefer to implement a skill-based pay system rather than some form of gain-sharing plan. Why?
Given all the information, explain why the following components of the new agreement are predictable outcomes.a. The new agreement gives a $5,000 signing bonus to eligible UAW-represented GM employees, which could be worth as much as $242.5 million.b. Entry-level assembly workers will be paid $2 to
Distinguish between nationwide and industry-wide pay determination. How do they compare to a business strategy-market approach?
Develop arguments for and against “typical” Japanese-style, “typical” German-style, and “typical” U. S. -style approaches to pay. Using the global guide, what factors are causing each approach to change?
Distinguish between global workers, expatriates, local nationals, and third-country nationals.
In the balance sheet approach to paying expats, most of total compensation is linked to costs of living. Some argue that expatriate pay resembles a traditional Japanese pay system. Evaluate this argument.
1. Think back to our discussion in Chapter 7 and in the current chapter regarding the labor cost difference between employing programmers in the United States versus overseas in locations like India and Eastern Europe. Is IBM’s growth in employment in such countries inevitable given labor cost
What is the nature of government’s role in compensation?
Explain why changes in minimum wage can affect higher-paid employees as well.
What is the difference between access discrimination and valuation discrimination?
Consider contemporary practices such as skill-competency-based plans, broad banding, market pricing, and pay-for-performance plans. Discuss how they may affect the pay discrimination debate.
What factors help account for the pay gap?
What kinds of proactive activities can an employer undertake to enhance the regulatory environment?
1. Go to www.dol.gov/regs/fedreg/notices/2006005457.pdf. Go to page 35120 and find the section with the title Final Voluntary Guidelines-Voluntary Guidelines for Self-Evaluation of Compensation Practices for Compliance With Executive Order 11246 With Respect to Systemic Compensation Discrimination
1. Is this company running afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? Refer back to the discussion earlier in this chapter. Would this company be able to document that the store managers are exempt from the FLSA (not to mention similar state laws)? Also, what would it cost to re-classify your
Is Ms. O’Neill exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act? Which exemption would be most relevant in this case?
How can employers control labor costs?
Why is the structure of the compensation function important?
Give some examples of how employers use inherent controls.
What activities in managing the pay system are likely candidates to be outsourced? Why?
Use Exhibit 18.14 to explain how the research on individual decision making can be used in pay communication.
1. How would you have reacted if you were Ms. Allen? Explain why.2. Put yourself in the place of the compensation director at Ms. Allen’s company. Based on the pay model and what you now know about compensation, are there any possible business- and work-related explanations for what Ms. Allen
1. What is the difference between these two sets of companies? Is it simply that one set of companies care more about its employees than the other set of companies? Or, is it also the case that Southwest, Nucor, and Lincoln Electric have set up their compensation strategies in a way that makes them
Describe the difference between efficiency and effectiveness and identify real organizations you think are, or are not, efficient and/or effective.
In what ways can managers at each of the three levels of management contribute to organizational efficiency and effectiveness?
Identify an organization that you believe is high performing and one you believe is low performing. Give five reasons why you think the performance levels of the two organizations differ so much.
What are the building blocks of competitive advantage? Why is obtaining a competitive advantage an important to managers?
In what ways do you think managers’ jobs have changed the most over the last 10 years? Why have these changes occurred?
Choose an organization such as a school or a bank; visit it; then list the different kinds of organizational resources it uses. How do managers use these resources to maintain and improve its performance?
Visit an organization and talk to first-line, middle, and top managers about their respective management roles in the organization and what they do to help the organization be efficient and effective.
Ask a middle or top manager, perhaps someone you already know to give examples of how he or she performs the management functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. How much time does he or she spend in performing each task?
Try to find a cooperative manager who will allow you to follow him or her around for a day. List the roles the manager plays and how much time he or she spends performing them.
Think of your direct supervisor. Of what department is he or she a member and at what level of management is this person?
How would you characterize your supervisor’s approach to management? For example, which particular management tasks and roles does this person perform most often? What kinds of management skills does the manager have?
Do you think the tasks, roles, and skills of your supervisor are appropriate for the particular job he or she performs? How could this manager improve his or her task performance? How can IT affect this?
How did your supervisor’s approach to management affect your attitudes and behavior? For example, how well did you perform as a subordinate and how motivated were you?
Think about the organization and its resources. Do its managers utilize organizational resources effectively? Which resources contribute most to the organization’s performance?
Describe the way the organization treats its human resources. How does this treatment affect the attitudes and behaviors of the workforce?
If you could give your manager one piece of advice or change one management practice in the organization, what would it be?
How attuned are the organization to the need to increase efficiency, quality, innovation, or responsiveness to customers? How well do you think the organization performs its prime goals of providing the goods or services that customers want or need the most?
1. Either by yourself or in a group, give three reasons why you think the behavior was unethical. For example, what rules or norms were broken? Who benefited or was harmed by what took place? What was the outcome for the people involved?2. What steps might a manager take to prevent such unethical
Decide what each partner’s managerial role in the restaurant will be. For example, who will be responsible for the necessary departments and specific activities? Describe your management hierarchy.
Which building blocks of competitive advantage do you need to establish to help your restaurant succeed? What criteria will you use to evaluate how successful you are managing the restaurant?
Discuss the most important issues that must be made about (a) planning, (b) organizing, (c) leading, and (d) controlling, to allow you or your partners to utilize organizational resources effectively and build a competitive advantage.
For each managerial task, list the issues to solve, and those roles which will contribute the most to your restaurant’s success.
1. What kinds of organizing and controlling problems is Achieva suffering from? 2. What kinds of management changes need to be made to solve them?
1. What kinds of skills did Steve Jobs have as a manager?2. How did he use these skills to change the way Apple operates?
1. What strategy has James Dyson used to develop and sell products like his cyclonic vacuum cleaner? 2. What leadership qualities does James Dyson exhibit? 3. What do you think is the Dyson Company’s core competency?
Discuss why managers who have different types of personalities can be equally effective and successful.
Can managers be too satisfied with their job? Can they be too committed to their organizations? Why or why not?
Assume that you are a manager of a restaurant. Describe what it is like to work for you when you are in a negative mood.
Why might managers be disadvantaged by low levels of emotional intelligence?
Interview a manager in a local organization. Ask the manger to describe situations in which he or she is especially likely to act in accordance with his or her values. Ask the manager to describe situations in which he or she is less likely to act in accordance with his or her values.
Watch a popular television show and as you watch it, try to determine the emotional intelligence levels of the characters each of the actors in the show portrays. Rank the characters from highest to lowest in terms of emotional intelligence. As you watched the show, what factors influenced your
Go to an upscale clothing store in your neighborhood and to a clothing store that is definitely not upscale. Observe the behavior of employees in each store as well as the store’s environment. In what ways are the organizational cultures in each store similar? In what ways are they different?
1. Either individually or in a group, thinks about the ethical implications of using personality and interest inventories to screen potential employees. How might this practice be unfair to potential applicants? How might organizational members who are in charge of hiring misuse it?2. Because of
Develop a list of options and potential courses of action to address the heightened competition and decline in profitability that your company has been experiencing.
Describe how you will communicate your decision to employees.
If your preferred option involves a layoff, justify why. If it doesn’t involve a layoff, explain why.
1. How would you describe Kenneth Frazier’s personality? 2. Which terminal values do you think might be especially important to him? 3. Which instrumental values do you think might be especially important to him? 4. In what ways do you think that Frazier might influence Merck’s culture in his
1. What are emotions and why are they critical to personal relationships? 2. Why do managers need to be concerned with their emotions and the emotions of their subordinates? 3. What are some of the strategies a person can use to keep emotions in check?
When are ethics and ethical standards especially important in organizations?
Why might managers do things that conflict with their own ethical values?
How can managers ensure that they create ethical organizational cultures?
Why are gay and lesbian workers and workers who test positive for HIV sometimes discriminated
Why might some employees resent workplace accommodations that are dictated by the Americans with Disabilities Act?
Choose a Fortune 500 company not mentioned in the chapter. Conduct research to determine what steps this organization has taken to effectively manage diversity and eliminate sexual harassment.
Was any sexual harassment involved in this situation? If so, what kind was it?
If you had authority over the decision maker (for example, you were his or her manager or supervisor), what steps would you take to ensure that the decision maker no longer treated diverse individuals unfairly?
1. Either individually or in a group, think about the ethical implications of requiring long hours and extensive amounts of travel for some jobs. 2. What obligations do you think managers and companies have to enable employees to have a balanced life and meet non-work needs and demands?
Discuss why the patterns of communication that you observed might be occurring in your restaurants.
Discuss whether your observation reflects an underlying problem. If so, why? If not, why?
Discuss whether you should address this issue with your staff and in your restaurants. If so, how and why? If not, why?
1. What initiatives are companies in India undertaking to attract and retain female employees? 2. Why are companies in India concerned about attracting and retaining female employees? 3. Do you think there are ethical issues involved in these initiatives? If so, what are they? If not, why not? 4.
1. Do you think it is ethical for Scott’s or other companies to fire employees who smoke, even if they only smoke outside of work? 2. In implementing Scott’s health initiatives, does Hagedorn put the interests of one group of stakeholders above those of another? 3. Which ethical rule does the
Why is it important for managers to understand the forces in the global environment that are acting on them and their organizations?

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Essentials Of Contemporary Management 7th Edition Gareth Jones, Jennifer George - Solutions

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