Questions and Answers of Managing Human Resources

To what extent should employers be responsible for the appropriate care of their employees’ children?
A recent report suggests that pay disparities by gender remain essentially the same whether or not the most senior executive is a man or a woman. Why do you think this is the case? Explain.
Many U.S. computer companies fear that if they do not hire foreign talent, then competitors in other countries will. What is your position on this? Explain.
Conflicts among minority groups may arise as they compete for what they perceive as a limited number of jobs and promotion opportunities. Is this perception accurate? What can firms do to avoid these
Outline a set of programs that you would put in place to improve the management of diversity in a particular firm. Based on the materials learned in this chapter, explain why you have suggested each
James L. Schneider, owner of a small computer design and software consulting company in San Francisco, complains that he has a difficult time competing with firms that bring foreign software
Ask members of the class to divide into pairs. Have the two students stare at each other for 1 full minute. After the time has elapsed have the students turn their backs to each other and change five
Of all the major demographic trends discussed in this chapter, which one(s) do you think will pose the greatest challenges for firms in the next 50 years or so? Explain.
The Society for Human Resource Management now utilizes the terms “diversity and inclusiveness” together. Why do you think that is the case? What would you do to accomplish both simultaneously?
Do you think companies can realistically design office-romance policies that are effectively implemented? Why or why not?
Do you think employees are more likely to react positively or negatively to office romance policies?
How would you go about deciding if a real or perceived romantic relationship at work is consensual or potentially forced on one of the parties?
Form teams of five. Each team is to develop a policy proposal for a medium size company on office romance. The proposal should include;(1) A definition of unacceptable office romance and office
Research organizations (including universities) that have introduced romance at work policies, sometimes as part of their sexual harassment policies. What, if anything, did these policies have in
What do you think is the main reason for the large disparity in the enrollment of women in full-time MBA programs versus medical and law school? Explain.
Should business schools actively promote the enrollment of women into their full-time MBA programs? If so, how should they do it? Explain.
Assume that you are part of a group of faculty chosen by the dean of the College of Business to help the dean increase the percentage of women in the MBA program. Students divide into groups of six,
One student will role-play Sylvia Ann Hewlett, a controversial author who has reminded women about the limitations of the biological clock for having children; one to three students will role-play a
Several schools, including DePaul University, the University of Toronto, and Pepperdine University, have started special MBA programs to appeal to stay-at-home mothers. Others, such as the University
While the cases discussed above are all very different, what do they have in common? Explain.
The class divides into teams of three to five students. Some teams are given the assignment of defending the position of one side (the plaintiff). Other teams are asked to argue in favor of the other
One student role-plays Phillis Dewitt and another student role-plays a top manager of Proctor Hospital. (Alternatively, one student may play the role of Lisa Harrison’s family and another the HRD
As noted in the case, the number of lawsuits under ADA is on the rise. Develop a 5- to 15-page (at instructor’s discretion) position paper where you argue in favor of one side or the other for any
The class divides into groups of three to five students. Each group should discuss what recommendations it would make to Wagner. After 10 to 15 minutes, each group should present its recommendations
One to three students will role-play a consultant brought in to interview Phillip Wagner (played by another student) and ask why these diversity problems have emerged at Northern Sigma. Based on the
Go to www.diversityinc.com and examine the 100 companies that have received diversity awards in recent years. What do these companies have in common in terms of effectively dealing with the issues
Suppose you are asked to write a recommendation letter for a friend whom you like but consider unreliable. Would it be ethical for you to write a positive reference even though you anticipate that
Some experts contend that urinalysis is an invasion of privacy and therefore should be prohibited unless there is a reasonable cause to suspect an employee of drug use. Is it ethical for companies to
You have been asked by your company to hire a new worker for your unit. You have been given responsibility for conducting the recruitment and selection. How would you recruit for your new worker?
A job applicant complained that his job interview was positively evaluated by one member of the interview panel and negatively evaluated by another panel member. Is the applicant describing a problem
A manager explained that he denied a promotion to a worker due to the results of his personal test. His personal test consisted of examining a worker’s car in the parking lot to determine if it was
One of your managers thinks that the ability to do the job is the most important issue in assessing job applicants. Another manager thinks that personality and fit are most important. Assuming that
Why is the departure of women an issue for organizations?
When trying to re-enter the workforce, women often find that they have to take a lower pay rate to “get back in the game.” Do you think this is fair? Why or why not?
If a lower wage discourages the re-entry of women, what, if anything, can be done about it?
Do you think fraud on résumés and job applications is an important issue for organizations? Why or why not?
Sometimes qualifications and credentials are important. For example, do you think it is important that your professors actually have the required qualifications (e.g., Ph.D.) to teach
If a fraudulent imposter can perform the job, what’s the harm?
Do you think that the use of social media for recruitment is an effective approach to recruit workers?
As a manager looking to hire additional workers, what steps would you take to maximize the effectiveness of your recruitment efforts using social media?
Using social media to recruit for job openings may disproportionately tap into younger applicants. Older workers could be unintentionally precluded from the applicant pool to the extent they are less
There are potential costs to the use of social media for screening job applicants. For example, checking public profiles could easily reveal to the religion, age, race, and so on of the job
Traditionally, hiring decisions were primarily based on the extent to which an applicant’s qualifications fit the job. In other words, the focus has been on hiring the person who, based on
What steps would you take to make sure that potential applicants are aware of the social responsibility commitments of your organization? That is, what would you recommend be done to make social
Social responsibility can be helpful in recruiting job applicants. However, the better the fit between individuals and the organization’s social responsibility commitments, the more this should
What can a company do to help a community when it decides to close a plant that is important to the community's economic prosperity?
The Manager’s Notebook “Volunteer Turnover in China” addressed the high rate at which workers in China have been choosing to quit their jobs. Do you think voluntary turnover is becoming more of
Is it ethical for top managers to receive cash bonuses while at the same time asking lower-level employees to accept a pay freeze?
How much notice of a layoff should a company be obligated to give?
Carrying out terminations usually is the responsibility of the manager. However, the manager may not always be involved in determining who should be let go. Do you think direct managers should have
You have noticed that the overall turnover rate for your company is about average for your industry. Does this average rate mean their turnover isn’t a problem? Considering the sources and types of
Employees have been terminated due to their postings on social media. Do you think that social media postings should be a cause for termination? Are there circumstances that might make termination a
Can employee turnover be a good thing? Explain. When is employee turnover a bad thing?
Survivors of layoffs might be considered the lucky ones who still have a job. However, layoff survivors can present a number of problems. What kind of problems might you expect layoff survivors to
What steps do most companies take to reduce voluntary turnover? Are they effective?
Do you think the voluntary turnover rate should be considered before opening a business operation there? Why?
If your company is opening up an operation in another country in which voluntary turnover is high, how could this problem be reduced? Specifically, rather than hiring local talent, talent could be
As a team, identify the steps you could take as managers to reduce the problem of high voluntary turnover you face in an overseas operation. For example, you could use domestic workers for the
As an old saying goes, you can’t manage something if you can’t measure it. In the case of voluntary turnover, you may be able to measure the level of turnover, but you need better measurement
Do you agree with the concept of employment-at-will? Why or why not?
If you had a choice, would you rather be employed as an at-will employee or have some employment protection? Why?
Exceptions to employment-at-will vary by state. As a team, choose a state and use the Internet to research the exceptions to employment-at-will there. Report your findings to the class. As a class,
Two small groups will be formed to represent pro and con employment-at-will positions. The two groups should debate the merits of the employment-at-will policy. Each team has five minutes to make its
Do you think terminations for the type of incidents presented here are fair? Why or why not?
Assume that the employees or managers in each of the scenarios perform at an above-average level. Should that matter in the decision to terminate or not terminate? Why or why not?
How could these social media–driven issues be prevented? Are there steps that you, as a manager, could take that would prevent these issues from happening in the first place?
Many private companies do not have a policy regarding the use of social media. As a team, identify why a social media policy would be useful. Draft an ideal social media policy. What are its key
Telling someone that they are being terminated can be a difficult and emotionally draining task. Using any of the scenarios presented in this case, or other relevant scenarios of your choosing,
Many companies do not have a policy regarding the use of social media. Identify why such a policy would be useful if an employee disputed a social media–based termination. Conducting an Internet
Is it appropriate for organizations to evaluate and compensate employees according to objective measures of performance, even though performance is at least partially determined by factors beyond
Students are asked to develop an appraisal form.1. Students should develop their own tool for appraising the performance of an instructor. Look for them to apply concepts discussed in this chapter.2.
Performance appraisal is a management tool. As such, managers often use the tool to benefit themselves or the company. For example, a manager may use overly positive performance ratings as a reward
Would you design a performance appraisal system based on behaviors, outcomes, or both? Why would you design it this way?
Your company is considering using relative ratings for its performance appraisal system. Are there potential problems with a relative system? What type of rating system, relative or absolute, would
Your workers complain that they don’t like the performance appraisal system because all they get is negative evaluations and feedback. What approach to performance feedback could reduce this
Some people have argued that performance appraisal should not be done. Take the position that performance appraisal is useful and should be done. Describe three benefits of conducting performance
A goal of performance management is to improve performance. Describe the factors that should be considered when diagnosing and improving performance.
Part of the forced raking label reflects the intent to force distinctions among the performance level of workers. In an absolute rating system, everyone could be rated “above average,” not so
As a manager, would you prefer to rely on an absolute performance rating system or a relative system, such as forced ranking? Why?
Proponents of forced ranking see the system as a means for a quick exchange of personnel in a way that lifts the aver- age performance level of the organization. Critics see the approach as possibly
As a team, address the effectiveness of the forced-ranking approach for improving the level of performance in an organization. Address the following issues:a. What is the logic of forced ranking?
Can you devise an absolute rating system that would guarantee differentiation among workers? Why or why not?
As discussed in the Manager’s Notebook “From Performance Appraisal to Performance Management,” social media is being used in some organizations as a tool to support performance. As a team,
What rational and political disadvantages are associated with the use of electronic performance review?
A number of companies offer software for reviewing worker performance. Some offer technology that can be installed on computers within an organization. Others offer Web-based services. As a team,
Reread the Manager’s Notebook “Make Ethics Part of Appraisal.” As a team, use the dimensions and behavioral examples in the notebook as starting points.a. Select a business and generate
As a team, consider that employee performance can be divided into the categories of business outcomes and ethics. In other words, consideration can be given to what an employee gets done and how it
Develop a set of criteria for judging the effectiveness of performance appraisal. For example, are the evaluation and feedback likely to be accepted? Will performance appraisal be useful? Will it
After completing the team experiential exercise, individually reflect on the class resolution or vote. If business outcomes were considered the priority among your fellow future managers, how does
As a team, consider a retail store, Emery’s Cookies, that makes and sells cookies. The job basically requires people to make cookies, wash dishes and clean, and interact with customers.a. How could
Not everyone can be good at everything about a job. Providing only positive performance feedback can give workers inaccurate pictures of their performance. What are the disadvantages of this
If a worker has some weak areas that affect how well he or she performs aspects of the job, the traditional approach would be to provide evaluation and feedback to the worker to try to improve those
Workers often share the same formal job title and set of tasks that need to be done. The practical reality in many organizations is that workers gravitate to particular tasks that they perform well.
Some companies reimburse the educational expenses of employees who take classes on their own. In an era when people can count less and less on a single employer to provide them with work over the
Are companies ethically responsible for providing literacy training for workers who lack basic skills? Why or why not?
Pick out some task with which you are familiar—mowing the lawn, tuning a car—and develop a job-instruction training sheet for it.
Areas in need of performance improvement, such as better customer service and more sales, can be easily identified as training goals. What can be wrong with simply assigning these objectives as goals
Traditionally, employee training has primarily been used to remove deficiencies. As described in this chapter, how can technology be used to shift training toward a tool that can improve capability?
Training is often used to improve performance problems. Describe when training would not be expected to improve performance.
Your boss has asked for an evaluation of the effectiveness of a training program. Describe the various levels of evaluation you could include in a report to your boss.

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