Questions and Answers of Managing Human Resources

“Pull” factors are issues or characteristics that draw a woman away from her job responsibilities. “Push” factors are characteristics that repel a woman from her current job responsibilities.
Join team members and research what companies are doing to retain women employees. Classify these management initiatives as addressing either “push” or “pull” factors.Are there approaches
Design a job that you think would maximize the retention of women. What characteristics would the job have in terms of policies, benefits, and so on? Would any costs associated with these job
In some countries, fake qualifications and forged certificates are as common as the real thing. To what extent do you think that this devalues the real thing? If it is so easy to obtain convincing
With your team members, identify how companies try to detect fraud. Do you think it is worth the cost? What could be the cost if it wasn’t done?
With your teammates, consider various jobs and the potential liability for each. For example, a cable installer would have access to private property, and teachers would work with children. Some jobs
What advice would you give someone who is actively seeking work in relation to their activities on social media?What should they avoid saying or doing? Should they consider “tidying up” their
The use of social media for public screening of job applicants can offer benefits to an employer such as a relatively low cost recruitment alternative and a means for finding information about
Validity of measures is a critical concept in hiring: it is needed to identify those who will be better workers, and it is needed to legally defend the selection process. In the case of using social
Companies have recently been created, such as Social Intelligence, that offer pre-employment social media screening. Using an Internet search, identify some of the companies offering this service.
In the roles of an employer, how would you handle a situation where employees have taken on a greater sense of social responsibility than that is immediately apparent in your organization? How would
You may have management colleagues who think that social responsibility isn’t an important issue for organizations and, therefore, it shouldn’t play a role in employee recruitment and selection.
With your teammates, look at some of the online jobopening announcements. Consider at least a dozen ads and summarize those that include a description of social responsibility commitments or
Consider your own interests and values. What is important to you and in what do you find meaning or purpose? Given this reflection, what type of social responsibility activities would most appeal to
As a team, identify the roles that you think are important for teams in the small business workplace. To help you get started, here are some possible basic team roles that have been identified in
Suppose that you worked for an organization that promoted the establishment and running of self-managed teams. As head of HR, you have traditionally taken the lead role in the recruitment and
Following a series of acquisitions, a company has looked at its pool of employees and geographical locations. In order to cut costs and streamline operations, largely by merging finance and
As a team, consider the following situation and then outline an action plan as to how you would propose to deal with it. Your company has traditionally had a young employee profile. As a retailer
A company discovers that a poorly performing factory has a significant level of voluntary turnover compared to other locations. The company is not sure if it is a symptom of poor management or
How would you measure value, brand, and retention equity in an organization? How often do you think the three characteristics should be measured?Turnover is costly for organizations. In addition to
MBA programs are not for everyone, and participation rates not only vary from country to country, but also by gender.In groups of five, one student will role-play an admissions tutor and try to
Follow up the previous exercise by going online and researching schools offering MBA programs in your country. You may have to broaden your search if there is nothing suitable in your immediate area.
Why would employers want to fire employees whose dependents are having serious health problems? Should this practice be illegal? What do you think would be the reaction of employees with healthy
Apart from the potential legal outcomes of the lawsuits discussed, are any larger ethical issues involved? Explain.The disabled are making big inroads in the diversity efforts of corporate America,
A company uses a series of selection measures to try and predict future job performance.The company gives the test to all applicants and then checks new hires’ job performance levels 12 months
You work for a medium-sized organization that has very distinct core values and social responsibilities. It is the only major employer in the locality and takes its community responsibilities very
If push factors can be controlled by employers, what could stop them from doing so?Women leave the workforce at higher rates than men. In part, this may help explain why only about 2 percent of top
Given your response to item 2, how would these measures be useful? What could they be used for?Turnover is costly for organizations. In addition to the direct costs of recruiting, hiring, and
How does New Belgium introduce fun into the workplace?How does having fun keep employees engaged and enthusiastic about their work and the company?Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch, the husband and wife
As described in the case on New Belgium Brewing Company as well as in this chapter’s opening vignette, companies are coming up with creative ways to introduce fun into the workplace in order to
Visit the New Belgium Brewing Web site (www.newbelgium.com) to learn more about the company. The company has a strong culture that values environmental sustainability. Here are its core beliefs:We
In 2003, Dinesh Thakur joined the Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy. Thakur, who went on to become the company’s director, uncovered fraudulent practices at the company in drug development,
Compare and contrast the progressive and positive discipline procedures. List the ways they are similar and the ways they are different.
A British Workplace Behavior Survey used a sample of 4,000 employees from four large organizations, and discovered three broad categories of ill-treatment at work.These included violence and injury
ChoicePoint is the largest company in the $4 billion background-checking industry. Is there anything ChoicePoint can do, as the industry leader, to be more sensitive and respectful to the privacy
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act covers background screeners, but it has not been aggressively enforced.The law says that screeners must use “reasonable procedures” to ensure “maximum
In 2014, the UK Home Office suspended the licenses of 57 private colleges. They launched an investigation into the UK subsidiary of the global testing company Educational Testing Service (ETS). They
With four or five other students, develop a comprehensive list of factors that represent barriers to whistle-blowing within an organization. Barriers to whistle-blowing come from three sources: (1)
Pearson’s Acclaim runs a system where digital badges are awarded to individuals when they enroll in a training course or project. Most achievement certificates and degrees are paper-based and not
What communication and HR practices does New Belgium use to keep employees in the loop so they feel involved with the company and part of a community?Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch, the husband and wife
What do you consider to be the primary opportunities related to the issue of illegal immigrants in the workforce? State your reasoning.Illegal immigrant labor is a global HRM issue that arises from
What do you consider to be the main challenges related to the issue of illegal immigrants in the workforce? State your reasoning.Illegal immigrant labor is a global HRM issue that arises from people
With a group of four or five students, determine which workplace rights or benefits illegal immigrant employees and regular employees share, and which ones employees who are citizens or legal
This exercise asks you to explore your attitudes concerning illegal immigrants in the workplace.a. Would you work for an employer who makes it a point to hire illegal immigrants? Why or why not?b.
Is it necessarily the case that working conditions and rules are less flexible in a unionized organization? Why or why not? If it is the case, then how does this affect management’s ability to make
What are two of the advantages and two of the disadvantages of a strike from management’s perspective? From the union’s perspective?
What, in your opinion, are the three most significant impacts of a union on the management of human resources?Explain, and indicate whether the impact for each one is positive or negative.
To avoid the NLRB’s cease-and-desist order, what should Amalgamated’s management have done differently in using problem-solving teams?Amalgamated Tool, a nonunion manufacturer of auto parts in
Students form into groups of four to six members and role-play National Labor Relations Board members. Each group discusses whether Amalgamated violated the Wagner Act’s prohibition of a company
It has been estimated that there are around 400 million trade-union members worldwide. A third of the tradeunion members live in China, although countries such as Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine are also
When employees are dissatisfied with the way they are being represented by a union, what are some tactics that employees can use to influence the union leaders to make changes in the union’s
A big challenge for the GM managers at the auto plant making the Chevrolet Sonic will be maintaining positive employee morale. They will be managing a workforce of 1,550 employees that is composed of
Assume you are an employee in a situation similar to the one described in this case, a situation in which you believe your union has not represented your interests fairly and made a deal with
A British Workplace Behaviour Survey explored prevalence of a wide range of behaviors that comprise “ill treatment”in the UK workplace. “Ill treatment” included• 47 percent reported
Bullying needs to be able to be defined in behavioral terms so that a workplace bullying policy can move from a concept to an operational reality. If bullying could be behaviorally defined, the
The beryllium sensitization of OSHA’s compliance officers has raised concerns for the thousands of industry workers who are exposed to beryllium. OSHA officers visit the workplaces only
OSHA has been criticized for its inadequate beryllium exposure standards. The agency did try to push through lower exposure limits in the l970s, but companies stopped passage of the new standards by
As a team, place yourselves in the position of managers in a company that assesses beryllium. What standard for beryllium exposure would you recommend? Would you defer to OSHA standards, knowing that
It is ironic that OSHA’s own officers were exposed to unsafe conditions. More than irony, some people are questioning not only the standards, but the safety culture within OSHA.Select
What kind of issues might an employee face when they return home after an extended period of service overseas? What are the common problems and how should an organization seek to help the individual
OSHA could lose credibility with companies over other safety issues due to the beryllium exposure problems.If you were hired as a consultant by OSHA, what would you recommend to reduce the possible
What is the likelihood that, in order to protect and to create jobs at home, some developed nations might take steps to curtail the practice of outsourcing to less-developed countries in the future?
Some people simply cannot adjust to the demands of postings overseas. They find it impossible to adapt to a radically different cultural environment. What is this called and what are the implications
What can a multinational firm do to reduce the level of stress that expatriates may feel as a result of real or perceived terrorist threats? Explain.One of the concomitants of international
Form an even number of teams of five members each, with one pro team and one con team working for the same university. The pro team is asked to defend the advantage of opening a branch campus, while
Research some recent articles dealing with the recent push by U.S. universities to start training foreign students abroad. Based on what you have read, what would you conclude in terms of the
Do you think the trend discussed in the case will help companies hire more skilled managers and employees to staff foreign operations? Explain.According to a recent report by the Chronicle of Higher
Some companies agree that the move toward internationalization by U.S. universities primarily reflect an attempt to get more money because foreign buyers are willing to pay top dollar to obtain a
Form teams of five. Each team will come up with a list of five positives and five negatives for the trend discussed in the case. Each team will outline a set of implications of what this trend means
If you were asked to design a set of incentives to induce expatriates to accept an assignment in a risky area, how would you set this up? And once the expatriate accepts the assignment, how would you
Form groups of five. Each group will analyze recent cases of terrorist attacks where expatriates were the target. Each team will present its findings to the entire class for approximately 10 minutes,
Form teams of five members each. Each team represents a group of HR managers from a large petroleum company operating in a high-risk area. Some students are appointed as CEOs. Teams will role-play
Do some research to learn why many multinationals prefer to send expatriates overseas rather than hire locals in dangerous areas. Based on your research, what are the advantages and disadvantages of
In 2015, Chad Shanks, the official social media manager for the Houston Rockets, tweeted at the end of a game with the Dallas Mavericks the following:After sending out the tweet, he got 7,600
Describe the steps in the traditional organizing drive.
a. Starbucks is opening new stores abroad every day, it seems. If you were in charge, would you use expatriate managers or host-country nationals to staff the new facilities? Explain your thinking.b.
Are people always an organization’s most valuable asset? Why or why not? Suppose your boss asked you to summarize the major peoplerelated concerns related to opening an office in India. What issues
What external forces influence a firm’s strategy?
What is the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures? To whom do the guidelines apply? What do they cover? Joe Alverez has filed a complaint with the EEO alleging that his employer,
Peter Lewiston was terminated on July 15, 2017, by the governing board of the Pine Circle Unified School District (PCUSD) for violation of the district’s sexual harassment policy. Prior to
Why is employee motivation such an important aspect of designing today’s jobs? The job characteristics model has five components—skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and
Think of a new type of business you would like to start up or manage. Which sources would you use to recruit employees who could help you make it a success?
Explain how realistic job previews (RJPs) operate.As a manager or business owner, would you use them?
What barriers to career advancement do women and minorities face?
To build a workforce that can respond to the healthcare industry’s rapid transformation, Scripps Health, in San Diego, accommodates the needs of employees at the beginning, middle, and later stages
How does the age of the applicants an employer hopes to attract affect the methods that are most likely to be effective? Visit the American Association of Retired Persons website at www.aarp.org for
1. Who are the primary stakeholders of Knights Apparel?2. For each stakeholder group, what are their major concerns?3. Describe the key roles and responsibilities of HR professionals at Knights
The demographic landscape has many implications for business. It also has implications for employees. From your perspective, what are the three most significant implications of the demographic
In 1872, Levi Strauss received a letter from Jacob Davis, a Nevada tailor who had been buying bolts of fabric from Strauss’s dry goods company. Davis wrote to explain how he used metal rivets to
Think about the most recent technological developments. What are the likely implications of these developments for employers during the next 10 years? For you as an employee?
Describe an incident of when you felt that you (or someone you know) were treated unfairly. Did the incident occur because of a lack of procedural, distributive, and/or interactional justice?
James Dale spent 12 years of his life working with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). As an assistant scoutmaster, he was proud of the work he was doing and the organization itself. In 1990, the Scouts
Jennifer Hill was excited about joining HITEK Information Services after receiving her bachelor of arts degree. Her job involved examining compensation practices, and her first assignment was to
Why do you think Boy Scouts of America denies membership to atheists and agnostics?
Describe the EEOC. Which employment laws and regulations does it administer and enforce? Do you see its scope growing or decreasing in the future?
Review Exhibit 3.11, which lists employee resource groups and interest groups at Google. If you were a Google employee, would you join one of these groups? If yes, which one? If no, why not? EXHIBIT
What do you think caused the change in policy toward sexual orientation?
Why do you think these forces didn’t apply to changing the policy on atheists and agnostics?
The trend toward outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is viewed as positive by many. However, some believe that these laws violate their religious freedoms. With
What are the pros and cons of being proactive in employing workers with autism?What are the possible effects on the person with autism, coworkers, their supervisor, and other stakeholders?

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