Questions and Answers of Managing Human Resources

Given your answers to the previous questions, estimate the combined impact of direct and indirect savings generated by training on the bottom line. Extrapolate this number over a one- or two-year
As you have read, training can increase revenue. The revenue could come from increased quality of the customer experience due to the impact of training. Consider, as an example, the table of customer
Make assumptions about the costs in each of these categories and any other direct costs you can think of. Also assume that you can expect a 10 percent reduction in each of these categories. Generate
Assume that training results in a 10 percent reduction in your turnover rate. Also, assume that the cost of a turnover is 1.5 times the departing employee’s salary. For a given average employee
With your teammates, choose a business and a type of training. Estimate the revenue and cost reductions that you could expect due to the training. Estimate the cost of the training. Consider
Join your teammates and consider the impact of training in technical and soft skills. For example, consider training in a production-related process and training in interpersonal skills.a. Using the
Where there is high voluntary turnover, managers often face difficulty in finding replacement workers. If you are a manager in a high–voluntary turnover situation and one of your workers decides to
Consider the following hypothetical situation and be prepared to answer the questions that follow. You have noticed that one of the students taking the final exam in a university course is cheating
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)
Consider how you would react to the following hypothetical situation: You live in a state that has legalized the use of recreational marijuana and enjoy using it on weekends as a way to reduce stress
Create a spreadsheet, either electronically or on paper, that includes the revenue and cost criteria discussed in this case. Include in the matrix a comparison of training a technical skill (such as
Using the evaluation framework presented in Figure 8.5, which level would the challenge training attempt to improve?
Join your teammates and consider the training to help employees challenge unethical behavior.a. How can the effectiveness of this training be maximized?b. Do your team members agree that this ethics
As a team, identify some examples of unethical behavior that college students might engage in. For each of these examples, determine whether challenges from other students would be effective or too
Do you think students can benefit from training focused on challenging unethical behavior? Why or why not? Share your team’s assessment with the rest of the class.
Generate examples of unethical behavior (either in a university or workplace setting).a. What behaviors reflect intimidation or bullying?b. How can these behavioral examples be used in training to
How could you measure the training needs for each of the three areas of country, job, and worker characteristics?
Do you think that the three categories of potential training needs (country, job, and worker) should receive the same or different weights? That is, should a deficit in a job competency be viewed as
If time or budget were limited, what areas of training would be the top priority?
How do you think the effectiveness of training for expatriate positions should be measured?
Training for repatriation is also an important consideration. How do you think the effectiveness of training for repatriates should be measured?
As a team, consider training for repatriation.a. Do your team members agree that training for repatriates should be offered?b. How could you know whether the training is effective?c. Share your
Decide for yourself or have your instructor assign your team to focus on either expatriates or repatriates. As a team, consider the three sources of possible training needs: country, job, and worker
The effectiveness of training is an important consideration, and the effectiveness of training for expatriates is no exception. Consider the four levels of measuring training effectiveness (Level 1:
How much responsibility does a company have for managing its employees' careers? Can a company take too much responsibility for employee career development? In what ways might this be harmful to
Explain the career-related factors to keep in mind when making the employee’s first assignments.
As a manager, what could you do to offer career development for your workers? Do you think it would be worth it? Why or why not?
What would you suggest about the use of social media as a career development tool? Is it a good option? How could it be better used in career development?
People have different comfort zones and aspirations that can affect their careers. How does the career anchor system (see Manager’s Notebook, “Anchor Yourself,”) take these individual
Describe the concept of career anchors. Why are they important in career development?
Distinguish between career development and advancement. Describe at least two steps that can be taken to improve development and two that can be taken to improve advancement.
Can being too focused on career enhancement have negative effects? Describe. Can a careerist orientation also have positive effects? Describe.
As a team, consider how the SWOT analysis might be streamlined for use by individuals. For example, develop a list of strengths that people could use to rate themselves. What key skills would your
As a team, apply the SWOT framework to an individual’s career. Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a fictitious colleague (thus avoiding the possible discomfort of asking
Ask peers and acquaintances about their career plans. Do most people have a career plan that they can state succinctly? Also ask how they arrived at their career plans. Consider the responses. Do you
Competencies are important to career success, but so, too, are career anchors. These two factors are analogous to ability and motivation being predictors of performance (see Chapter 5). Construct a
In some work environments, career aspirations are ignored and immediate performance is the focus. Do you think this lack of attention to career anchors is an ethical issue? Explain why or why not.
A key issue in career development has to do with the competencies associated with different career paths. Strengths and weaknesses on various competencies can be assessed and then a plan for
As a team, select a member to share career anchors and plans. As a class, assess whether there is a high degree of fit with career anchors. What is the consensus of the class regarding the importance
Use the Manager’s Notebook “Anchor Yourself” to assess your top career anchor(s). What type of career do you think you want to pursue? Does it match with your anchor? Do you think the degree of
How do you think mentors and mentees should be matched? Should they be assigned or allowed to choose each other?
As a team, consider the mentoring activity from the mentee perspective. Place yourselves in the position of someone who does not feel like part of the organization, has hit a plateau, or may be in
With your team, identify mentor selection criteria for mentors whose primary purpose would be to share organizational knowledge with international employees who need to develop this knowledge base.
Do you think mentoring is effective for developing a more unified organization? Ask peers, family members, and friends whether they have had a mentor in their career. Was the relationship helpful?
According to a 2010 study by economists Angus Deaton and Nobel Prize–winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, “high income doesn’t bring you happiness, he further a person’s household income
In a recent article by professors Hannah Riley Bowless from Harvard and Linda Babcock from Carnegie Mellon, the authors argue that “policy makers, academics, and media reports suggest that women
According to a recent report by the Society for Human Resource Management, “many job evaluation methods are subjective. Evaluators’ decisions about which jobs are worth more can be personal and
Some people believe that the recent trend toward giving employees nonmonetary rewards is simply a way to save money by using a cheaper method to retain, attract, and motivate employees. Do you agree?
Some people argue that is it is wrong for CEOs to earn multimillion-dollar salaries while some of their employees are earning the minimum wage or even being laid off. Some suggest that a firm’s top
Do you think employers nationwide should be banned from asking applicants about their compensation history? Do you think the introduction of such a law at the federal level would serve to reduce
Some states, such as Oregon, require that if a company violates the “compensation history ban law,” employees (mostly women) have to be reimbursed for any pay gaps that might be the result of
Do you think that one way to comply with the “compensation history ban law” would be to provide all candidates with a salary range for the job in question and see if they are still willing to
You are appointed to a committee of the HR department in corporate headquarters whose task is to develop recommendations on how to set pay levels when new offers are extended to prospective recruits.
Examine the “compensation history ban law” in various states and cities that have enacted this legislation. What is common across these jurisdictions? What are some unique aspects of this
Do you think that companies provide these types of family-oriented rewards for altruistic reasons? Do you see this as a trend? Explain.
Do you think employees who take advantage of these forms of family assistance support truly value these services more than they would an equivalent amount in take-home pay?
If you had a choice of working for a firm that offers you a higher wage but little in the way of family support services versus a firm that offers you a lower wage but better family support services,
Form teams of five. Each team is to develop a proposal for a medium-size company in the retail, hospitality, transportation, or manufacturing sectors to provide family-support rewards to employees.
Role-play a human resources manager trying to convince the company CEO and two of his executives (role-played by three students) that introducing some of the rewards discussed in the case opening is
Based on the data collected by the faculty council, name three compensation problems that exist at Mountain States University.
A group of six faculty members has come to see the dean to express dissatisfaction with pay compression (reduced pay differentials between lower and higher ranks) at the college. All six represent
One student will role-play a department chair who has just hired a full professor from another institution at a much higher salary than a full professor who has spent 20 years at the university.
Interview a number of professors or instructors of your choice and ask them if pay compression is a problem. If so, ask them to give you reasons as to why this happens, the consequences, and
Based on what you’ve read about Antle, do you agree with the problems identified by the committee? If not, what alternative set of problems or issues do you see?
Peter Merton has set up a committee composed of the HR director, two general managers, two senior employees, and one external HR consultant. The committee, com- posed of six students each, will
Students will assume various roles (HR director, general manager, senior employee, and external HR consultant) and each will represent his or her perspective depending on the assigned role. Role-play
Some companies have introduced “business literacy” programs on the assumption that pay-for-performance programs will only work if employees are aware of what brings money into the firm. Most
An insurance company compensates its work teams by awarding an annual bonus based on three factors: productivity, customer satisfaction, and quality of work. In one of its teams, four members came up
In 2002, Ford announced some of the details concerning the firing of former CEO Jacques A. Nasser, which followed a $5.4 billion loss during his last year in the job (Mullaney & Darnell, 2002).
How much consideration should the organization give to the psychological health of its employees when designing a pay-for-performance system?
Some critics of pay-for-performance programs warn that incentive pay may promote unethical behaviors among employees. Do you agree? Why or why not? What system would you put in place, if any, to
Do you think it is ethical for a company to give its CEO and its other top executive’s multimillion-dollar pay packages that are not closely tied to the company's performance?
Based on your experiences working in a group task (for instance, completing a course project), what major problems have you observed when the team is rewarded as a group (for instance, a grade for
Some companies offer “healthy living incentives” based on measurable criteria of current and future health (such as fat mass body index, blood pressure, and cholesterol). Do you believe that most
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, keeps his pay low to keep staff morale high and donates half of his pay to charity. Most of his pay is based on Whole Foods’ performance. Mackey has blogged that
Outline a set of features that you would put in place if you were asked to design a pay-for-performance system. Based on the materials learned in this chapter, explain why you have suggested each of
In recent years most companies have relied heavily on the use of stock-based compensation programs to reward senior executives. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using these incentive
A group of scholars has argued that use of extrinsic rewards tends to reduce intrinsic motivation. Why do the scholars reach that conclusion? Do you agree? Explain.
The class is divided into teams of five. Some teams are asked to defend the view that most financial incentives should be targeted for key contributors. The other teams are asked to defend the
The class is divided into teams of five. Let’s assume a firm with 5,000 employees has a pool of 50 million dollars annually to allocate either to bonuses for individual contributors or to support
Research the success (or failure) of pay-for-performance systems for individual employees. Based on your research, would you recommend that these systems be expanded, limited, or eliminated
What do you think accounts for the recent shortening of the pay-for-performance cycle? Do you see this as a positive trend? Explain.
What are some of the challenges of managing a pay-for-performance system as described here? Explain.
Do you think a short pay-for-performance cycle would work for some jobs better than others? If so, for which kinds of jobs is it more appropriate? Provide examples and explain.
The class is divided into groups of three to five members. Each team will provide a set of recommendations as to how pay-for-performance systems can be made more “agile,” whereby employees are
Take a look at some of the more recent HR literature on pay for performance, let’s say in the past three years. What are some of the major themes that you find? Why do you think those themes are
Do you agree with the proposal being made by the consulting firm? Why or why not? Explain.
As a small firm owner, do you think it is a good idea to distribute profit gains the board among all employees or would you rather distribute the profit gains based on individual contributions?
Divide the class into groups of three to five students. One set of teams will defend the proposition that incentives can be beneficial to a firm by reinforcing desired behaviors. Another set of teams
In a Midwestern state prone to frequent and severe snowstorms, the head of the Department of Transportation (DOT) has introduced a proposal to provide an incentive to snowplow operators linked to the
Many have blamed the Wall Street debacle of 2008–2012, which the Wall Street Journal has referred to as the “worst crisis since 1930s,” on the inappropriate use of pay incentives for top
Most large employers provide some sort of retirement fund for their employees. Do you think that companies are ethically bound to offer this benefit? Does the financial condition or size of the firm
Paid time off (PTO) policies pool vacation, sick leave, personal days, and floating holidays into a bank of days that employees can have for personal use. Normally, the use of one of these days
One way for companies to lower their workers' compensation costs is to move from a state with a high workers' compensation tax rate to one with a lower rate. Is this a legitimate reason for moving a
Cost containment is an important issue in employee benefit programs? Provide at least three employee benefits where cost containment is a high priority and explain how it works for each benefit.
Do you expect that Walmart’s new policy that extends paid parental leave to all full-time employees will have a positive effect on its ability to attract and retain employees in its retail stores
Will women benefit more than men from Walmart’s paid parental leave policy? What evidence would lead you to believe that women are likely to receive greater benefits from a paid parental leave
For many years Walmart focused exclusively on providing “everyday low prices” to customers so they could save money on the merchandise and food they bought at Walmart stores. In order to provide
This experiential exercise consists of a thought experiment that asks you to think how you would respond if placed in the following situation. You and your spouse are high school graduates and have
With a group of four or five students, discuss the legal implications of penalizing employees for not adopting healthy habits within wellness programs, as explained in the case. For example, can

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