Answer questions from Managing Human Resources 9^th edition. Cite all work using A PA format.

Book: Gomez-Mejia, L.R., Balkin, D.B., Cardy, R.L., & Carson , K.P. (2020).Managing human resources(9th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Chapter 10

10-2. In a feisty response to critics who accuse Wal-Mart of providing poverty-level wages (around $9.68 an hour on average) and few benefits, Wal-Mart Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr. said Wal-Mart offered good, stable jobs, noting that when it opens a store, more than 3,000 people often apply for 300 jobs. "It doesn't make sense," Mr. Scott said, "that people would line up for jobs that are worse than they could get elsewhere, with fewer benefits and less opportunities." Based on what you learned in this chapter, do you agree with Mr. Scott's assessment? Explain your answer.

10-3. Go to any of the salary survey sources listed in the Manager's Notebook "How Much Is a Position Worth in the Marketplace?" and research the salary ranges of four to five positions of your choice. Assume that you are planning to recruit five individuals into each of those positions. How would you use the salary survey data to arrive at a specific offer? Explain.

10-4. 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 could shrink the gender pay gap by negotiating more effectively for higher compensation. Yet women entering compensation negotiations face a dilemma: They have to weigh the benefits of negotiating against the social consequences of having negotiated. Research shows that women are penalized socially more than men for negotiating higher pay" (Riley-Bowless, H., and Babcok, L. [2013]. How can women escape the compensation negotiation dilemma?Psychology of Women Quarterly, 37[1], 80-96).

10-5. Fixed or assured pay is much less prevalent than it used to be. What impact do you think this has on employees' outlook? What, if any, are the negative and positive aspects of this trend? Explain.

10-6. 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 emotional. If the evaluation team knows the job incumbents, they may consider employees' personal qualities as job factors" (www.shrm.org. [2013]. Performing job evaluations). Based on what you have learned in this chapter, how can job evaluation be made more objective? Explain.

Chapter 11

11-2. One observer notes that "the problem with using pay as an incentive is that it is such a powerful motivational weapon that management can easily lose control of the situation." Do you agree? Why or why not?

11-3. Reread the Manager's Notebook "Incentives Come to Medicine: Do They Promote Unethical Behaviors Among Doctors?" Do you agree that it is a good idea to offer incentives to doctors for better patient care? What are the drawbacks? Can these problems be avoided? Explain.

11-4. 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 prevent this from happening? Explain.

Some incentives, because of the pressure they place on Copyright 2020 Pearson Education, Inc 165 employees, may encourage them to engage in unethical behaviors, cut corners, and hide negative information. To avoid the problems sometimes associated with pay- for-performance systems, managers should (1) link pay and performance appropriately, (2) use pay for performance as part of a broader HRM system, (3) build employee trust, (4) promote the belief that performance makes a difference, (5) use multiple layers of rewards, (6) increase employee involvement, and (7) consider using nonfinancial incentives. Employee participation in the design of the plan can enhance its credibility and long-term success.

11-5. 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 the entire team based on the quality of a completed class project)? What can be done to mitigate the problems you have identified? What could possibly go wrong if your recommendations are implemented? Explain.

11-6. 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 employees value these incentives over cash? Do you think these incentives are capable of changing employees' unhealthy habits? Explain.

11-7. Reread the Manager's Notebook "High-Priced CEOs: Are They Worth It?" Develop a list of arguments in favor of the position of Prof. Desai (that CEO pay is irrational) and a list of arguments in favor of consultant Popelka (that CEO pay is rational). Which of the two sets of arguments seems to make most sense to you? Explain.

Chapter 12

12-1 How might the increasing diversity of the workforce affect the design of employee benefits packages in large companies?

12-2. 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 requires notification of the supervisor in advance. However, PTO can also be used for unplanned reasons, such as sickness and emergencies. Suppose an employee feels he or she needs a "mental health" day and calls in sick to the supervisor in order to use a PTO day to avoid the routine of going to work that day. What are the ethics and consequences of using a PTO day this way? What would you do if you were the manager?

12-3. Why should younger employees (those in their 20s and 30s) care about retirement benefits?

12-4. Only a small percentage of part-time and temporary employees in the United States receive health insurance and retirement benefits compared to employees with full-time jobs. How serious a problem is this? Which people do you think are most likely to be affected by this lack of benefits coverage? What, if anything, can be done about this situation?

12-5. Some benefits experts claim that unemployment insurance and workers' compensation benefits create a disincentive to work. Why do you think they say this? Do you agree or disagree with this position?