Question: Explain the difference between affirmative action

> Bob Allenby's company handbook states that employees will be fired only if they violate the company's listed reasons for termination. Bob is fired, yet his conduct did not match any of the reasons outlined in the handbook. He has decided to file a lawsui

> Should companies have the right to read and monitor their employees’ e-mail?

> Some companies attempt to restrict the behavior of employees while they are off the job. The most common restriction is a prohibition against smoking. Less common, is a prohibition against public drinking. Is it ethical for a company to try to control it

> You are the HR consultant to a small business with about 40 employees. At the present time the firm offers only five days’ vacation, five paid holidays, and legally mandated benefits such as unemployment insurance payments. Develop a list of other benefi

> 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 business? What other ethical issues should employers th

> 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 (good or poor) make any difference to your analysis?

> A state university system in the southeast recently instituted a "Teacher Incentive Program" (TIP) for its faculty. Basically, faculty committees within each university’s college were told to award $5,000 raises (not bonuses) to about 40 percent of their

> Working individually or in groups, develop an incentive plan for the following positions: chemical engineer, plant manager, used-car salesperson. What factors did you have to consider in reaching your conclusions?

> One observer argues that external equity should always be the primary concern in compensation, noting that it attracts the best employees and prevents the top performers from leaving. Do you agree?

> 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?

> How much consideration should the organization give to the psychological health of its employees when designing a pay-for-performance system?

> 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). In addition to an annual pension for life of nearly $1 milli

> 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 with a way to speed up claims payments that, in turn,

> 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 employees are totally unaware of their company’s financial situ

> Working individually or in groups, choose three occupations (such as management consultant, HR manager, or salesperson) and use some of the sources described in the appendix to this chapter to make an assessment of the future demand for this occupation i

> 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 employees?

> Working individually or in groups, you are to develop a short-programmed learning program on the subject “Guidelines for Giving a More Effective Lecture.”

> Are companies ethically responsible for providing literacy training for workers who lack basic skills? Why or why not?

> 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 course of their careers, do you think employers have a res

> 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?

> Working individually or in groups, develop, over the period of a week, a set of critical incidents covering the classroom performance of one of your instructors.

> Working individually or in groups, develop a graphic rating scale for the following jobs: secretary, engineer, directory assistance operator.

> 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 for someone who spearheaded a project for the manager. L

> 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 their control? Should a salesperson, for instance, be paid

> How much notice of a layoff should a company be obligated to give?

> 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?

> Write a short essay discussing some of the ethical and legal considerations in testing.

> Working individually or in groups, visit the local office of your state employment agency. Come back to class prepared to discuss the following questions: What types of jobs seemed to be available through this agency, predominantly? To what extent do you

> 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 insist that applicants undergo urinalysis? Suppose a c

> In June 2003 Lockheed Martin Corp. sued the Boeing Corp. in Orlando, Florida, accusing it of using Lockheed’s trade secrets to help win a multibillion-dollar government contract. Among other things, Lockheed Martin claimed that Boeing had obtained those

> Working individually or in groups, bring to class several classified and display ads from the Sunday’s help wanted ads. Analyze the effectiveness of these ads using the guidelines discussed in the chapter.

> Use the Internet to find employers that now do preliminary selection interviews via the Web. Print out and bring examples to class. Do you think these interviews are useful? Why or why not? How would you improve them?

> 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 your friend will not be a good employee? If not, would it

> 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 engineers into the United States to do similar work for one-thi

> 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 kinds of conflicts?

> The United States is often viewed (by outsiders) as a litigious society, where everyone has a lawyer and is willing to sue someone else on the merest basis. Until recently, Europeans believed that sexual harassment suits are just part of this American pe

> To what extent should employers be responsible for the appropriate care of their employees’ children?

> What ethical problems might arise from giving preferential treatment to certain employees based on their group membership?

> Many managers and executives use golfing as an opportunity to combine business and pleasure. How could this practice damage an organization's diversity efforts? Are there any recreation activities that could enhance diversity efforts?

> Many organizations have policies requiring that members of certain demographic groups (such as women and African Americans) sit on certain (or all) committees. Are there any dangers to such a policy? Could the potential benefits outweigh the potential co

> Why should managers be concerned with understanding human resource law instead of leaving it to the experts?

> Is it ethical for top managers to receive cash bonuses while at the same time asking lower-level employees to accept a pay freeze?

> Working individually or in groups, describe the advantages and disadvantages of using the forced distribution appraisal method for college professors.

> What three steps are involved in developing an affirmative action program? How much flexibility does an employer have in developing the specific points in such a program?

> Suppose you are a plant manager and one of your employees has trouble controlling his anger and experiences wide swings in emotions due to bipolar disorder (a medical condition). You are aware that he has been under the treatment of a psychiatrist. This

> Is it ethical for a U.S. employer to require all employees speak only English at the workplace?

> Some businesses thrive on a sexual theme. For example, "Hooters" attracts customers by marketing a sexual environment. Many ad campaigns have explicit sexual themes. Are such marketing efforts ethical? What effect might these public images have on the wo

> Is it ethical to refuse to give preferential treatment to minorities and women, who have been widely discriminated against in the past?

> Assume you are the manager in a small restaurant; you are responsible for hiring employees, supervising them, and recommending them for promotion. Working individually or in groups, compile a list of potentially discriminatory management practices you sh

> Working individually or in groups, write a paper entitled “What the manager should know about how the EEOC handles a person’s discrimination charge.”

> Compare and contrast the issues presented in Bakke with more recent court rulings on affirmative action.Working individually or in groups, discuss the current direction of affirmative action.

> Working individually or in groups, discuss how you would set up an affirmative action program.

> Use a library source to determine the relative cost of living in five countries as of this year, and explain the implications of such differences for drafting a pay plan for managers being sent to each country.

> “Sexual harassment is a problem that occurs between two employees. The company should not be held liable for the actions of misbehaving employees.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer.

> Using the Internet or library sources, analyze the annual reports of at least five companies. Bring to class examples of how those companies say they are using their HR processes to help the company achieve its strategic goals.

> When American Greetings Corporation, the Cleveland greeting card and licensing company, redesigned about 100 jobs in its creative division, it asked workers and managers to reapply for the new jobs. Everyone was guaranteed a position and no one took a pa

> Many employees and union representatives complain bitterly about the practice of outsourcing work, particularly to foreign countries. Part of the complaint is that companies do this to avoid paying fair wages and providing employee benefits that U.S. wor

> Working in groups, list 10 examples showing how you did use (or could have used) human resource management techniques at work or school.

> Working individually or in groups, contact the publisher of a standardized test such as the Scholastic Assessment Test and obtain from the publisher written information regarding the test's validity and reliability. Present a short report in class discus

> Working individually or in groups, develop a list of selection techniques that you would suggest your dean use to hire the next HR professor at your school. Also, explain why you chose each selection technique.

> Working individually or in groups, find at least five employment ads either on the Internet or in a local newspaper that suggest that the company is family-friendly and should appeal to women, minorities, older workers, and single parents. Discuss what t

> Working individually or in groups, respond to these three scenarios based on what you learned in Chapter 2. Under what conditions (if any) do you think the following constitute sexual harassment? (a) A female manager fires a male employee because he refu

> Working individually or in groups, obtain copies of job descriptions for clerical positions at the college or university where you study, or the firm where you work. What types of information do they contain? Do they give you enough information to explai

> In some areas of the world, business practices that are contrary to Western values—such as child labor, payment of bribes to government officials, and sex or race discrimination in hiring and promotion—are common. Should U.S. corporations and their expat

> Working individually or in groups, develop a forecast for the next five years of occupational market conditions for various occupations such as accountant, nurse, and engineer.

> Contact the HR manager of a local business. Ask that person how he or she is working as a strategic partner to manage human resources given the firm’s strategic goals and objectives.

> In a group, develop several lists showing how trends like workforce diversity, technological trends, globalization, and changes in the nature of work have affected the college or university you are now attending.

> What role should HR specialists play in ensuring that employees follow a company’s code of ethics?

> Working individually or in groups, determine the nature of the academic discipline process in your college. Do you think it is effective? Based on what you read in this chapter, would you recommend any modifications?

> Working individually or in groups, obtain copies of the student handbook for your college and determine to what extent there is a formal process through which students can air grievances. Based on your contacts with other students, has it been an effecti

> Working individually or in groups, interview managers or administrators at your employer or college in order to determine the extent to which the employer or college endeavors to build two-way communication, and the specific types of programs used. Do th

> If you were the judge called on to make a decision on this case, what would your decision be, and why?

> Based on what you read in this chapter, on what legal basis could the 61-year-old California attorney claim he was a victim of discrimination?

> 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.

> Some people believe that the Internet is rewriting the rules of how to attract, motivate, and retain talent internationally. Consider Planet-Intra.com Ltd., a year-old software company that is nominally based in Mountain View, California. Alan J. McMilla

> Many believe that top managers care little about human resources compared to such areas as marketing, finance, production, and engineering. What might account for the perception, and what would you do to change it?

> 3M’s competitive business strategy is based on innovation. 3M requires that at least 25 percent of its annual sales come from products introduced over the previous five years, a goal it often exceeds. Specific HR programs adopted to implement this strate

> Many companies in the United States have recently put an end to the practice of giving an annual employee Christmas party due to complaints by employees with non-Christian religious backgrounds or spiritual values who claimed the Christmas party was a di

> In your opinion, which of the environmental, organizational, and individual challenges identified in this chapter will be most important for human resource management in the twenty-first century? Which will be least important? Use your own experiences in

> According to Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Dean of the College of Business at London Business School, in both the United States and Europe, women often choose to opt out of high-powered jobs. In her words: “The opt-out hypothesis could explain why, according to

> Some people believe that cross-cultural training often reinforces stereotypes by discussing aspects of a culture (i.e., “Punctuality is not as important to Southern Italians. It is acceptable to arrive a half hour late for an appointment.”) that may be a

> Assume you are the owner of a small business with 35 employees that produce shoes for the domestic market. Would you consider operating overseas to reduce labor costs and expand your market? What particular human resource issues are you likely to encount

> Today's organizations are flatter and offer fewer opportunities for advancement. How do you think careers should be developed in this type of organizational environment?

> How might an international firm trying to adapt HRM practices to the local culture produce worse results than it would produce by “exporting” HRM practices from the home office?

> One of your colleagues argues that domestic violence isn’t a concern of the business. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

> In February 2004, a 315-foot tall, 2-million pound erection crane collapsed on a construction site in East Toledo, Ohio, killing four ironworkers. Do you think catastrophic failures like this are avoidable? If so, what steps would you suggest the general

> Do you think that wellness programs are worth their cost to a company? Explain.

> Do you think that OSHA standards for combustible dust are needed? Why or why not?

> 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?

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

> A customer survey for Landmark Company reports that people do not trust what sales representatives say about their firms’ products. How might you use the compensation system to help change this negative image?

> 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 t

> 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

> 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 earner should earn no more than 20 times what the lowest

> It seems preferable to use objective performance data (such as productivity figures) when available, rather than subjective supervisory ratings, to assess employees. Why might objective data be less effective performance measures than subjective ratings?

> 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,

> Working individually or in groups, compile a list of the factors at work or in school that create dysfunctional stress for you. What methods do you use for dealing with the stress?

> 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 effecti

> 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 differences into account? Do you think if people are guided by their “

> 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?