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 stratospheric CEO pay is bad for business because it creates employee dissatisfaction, reduces employee loyalty, and induces the most talented employees to leave. Do you agree with Mackey’s outlook? Do you think more CEOs should follow his example? Explain.
> Using the evaluation framework presented in Figure 8.5, which level would the challenge training attempt to improve?
> 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 salary of your choosing, estimate the reduced costs due to t
> 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 the direct cost savings estimate due to the training.
> 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 survey responses before and after training. The number
> What recommendations would you make to improve the compensation system in a way that would likely improve customer satisfaction?
> In what ways might your group’s compensation plan contribute to the customer satisfaction problems?
> On what laws and legal concepts did the employer apparently base its termination of this 61-year-old attorney?
> Based on what laws or legal concepts could you take the position that it is legal to fire someone for poor performance even though there may be a discriminatory aspect to the termination (which is not to say that there necessarily was such a discriminato
> Do you think it is fair for a company to discipline employees by charging higher fees for those who show evidence of “unhealthy life styles”? According to Dr. Kevin Volpp, director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the Unive
> In recent years there has been an increase in the number of companies that have wrongly classified an “employee” as a “contract worker,” and consequently were taken to court by workers who believed they were entitled to certain rights and privileges enjo
> Of all the issues affecting HR practices discussed in this chapter, which three in your opinion are the most important ones? Justify your answer.
> Go back to the Manager’s Notebook “How Harley-Davidson Is Taking Advantage of a Diverse Customer Base.” If you were a HR manager of a company such as Harley-Davidson, what human resource programs would you put in place to help the company expand its cust
> Roughly two generations ago many HR articles decried problems with performance appraisal. A common complaint was that managers did not devote sufficient time to conducting the appraisals and that biases were rampant. Another common complaint was that mos
> 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 time period.
> What do you see as the main advantages and disadvantages of Internet-based recruiting? Explain.
> U.S. law does not prohibit selection decisions based on marital status, as long as they are applied equally to men and women. Why might a company have such a policy? Is it ethical? Is it in the best long-term interests of the company?
> Reread the Manager’s Notebook “Learning How to Cope with Political Risks.” How do you think firms can better utilize HR practices to avoid the pitfalls illustrated in the Manager’s Notebook? Explain.
> Some people believe that U.S. MNCs should serve as vehicles for cultural change in developing countries by introducing modern U.S. HRM practices and instilling values (such as punctuality and efficiency) in the workforce that are necessary for industrial
> Reread the Manager’s Notebook “Toxic Factories Take Toll on China’s Labor Force.” Do you think it is fair for a company to take advantage of lax environmental standards in other countries? Should a multinational company take special care (even if it is m
> U.S. MNCs experience a much higher rate of early returns with their expatriate employees than European and Japanese MNCs do. What explains this difference? What HRM policies and procedures would you develop to reduce this problem?
> As noted in the chapter-opening vignette, Toyota ran into trouble for two reasons. One, was that the company centralized most decision making in its corporate headquarters. The second was that the CEO pressured top engineers to cut costs to improve profi
> It was argued in this chapter that an empowerment approach to improving safety could yield positive results. The operation of consultative safety teams including cleaning workers was used as an example. However, a participative approach to safety improve
> How can managers use the organization's reward system to encourage workplace safety?
> How could genetic testing be used to discriminate?
> 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 deficiencies. How else could those deficiencies be impr
> If a job is potentially hazardous to the fetus of a pregnant employee, should it be legal for the company to restrict the job to men?
> What kind of policies do you think would work best to prevent workplace violence?
> Do you think social media is a useful way for offering a wellness program? Why or why not? What major characteristics do you think a social media– based wellness program should have?
> What is the difference between the objectives of workers’ compensation and the objectives of OSHA?
> Some experts in the field of labor relations believe that when a union can pose a credible threat of a strike to management in the collective bargaining process, both parties—union and management—are motivated to move in the direction of a settlement and
> Assume that a union has organized the faculty at the university or the college where you are a student. What impact would you expect the union to have on the faculty? Which faculty would you expect to support the union? To not support the union? How woul
> It is often said that "good pay and good management" are the keys to successful union avoidance. Spell out the kinds of policies and practices companies should develop if they want to keep their workers from unionizing. Do you think the employee relation
> How can management’s collective bargaining tactics be influenced by the company's labor relations strategy? Provide examples.
> Why have labor and management tended to treat each other as adversaries in the U.S. labor relations system?
> Can you think of a job-related reason why a company would decide to restrict dating between employees and enforce a no-dating policy? Do you think employers have a right to restrict any or all of the following off-duty conduct of their employees: (1) smo
> Motivating workers is an important goal for managers. Do you think that providing feedback on strengths helps accomplish this goal? Identify other purposes for performance appraisal. How well does a strength-based approach meet with those purposes?
> When a whistle-blower steps forward and discloses corruption or misconduct performed by a manager, how does a company benefit from this action? What can HR staff working with management do to reduce the fear and risk to employees from being a whistle-blo
> National Medical Enterprises, Inc., a $4 billion operator of hospitals and psychiatric treatment centers, faced criminal probes for practices such as widespread overbilling and fraudulent diagnoses to extend patients’ hospital stays. Investigators found
> Do employers have rights? If so, what are these rights?
> Why have managers needed to place greater emphasis on employee rights in recent years?
> A minority of employees are actually demotivated by being given public recognition in front of their coworkers. Why might some employees feel uncomfortable being recognized in a public ceremony? Do you think that this could be an issue related to diversi
> Some communication experts claim that men and women have different styles of communication that create barriers to decoding messages from a sender of the opposite sex. What do you think are the important differences between the way men and women communic
> Do you think most employees have reservations about using an appeals procedure such as an open-door policy? What can managers do to convince employees that the available procedures are fair and effective?
> Shelly Wexler tells her supervisor, Rob Levine, that having to care for her aging mother is forcing her to leave work early and is making her increasingly "stressed out." While Rob refers her to the company's EAP, he also tries to convince her to put her
> Employee privacy has been called “today’s most important workplace issue.” What kinds of dilemmas have the new technologies created regarding employee privacy? What other kinds of problems have the new technologies created in employee relations and commu
> 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 a
> 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 inaccuracy?
> Why should younger employees (those in their 20s and 30s) care about retirement benefits?
> 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,
> 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
> 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.
> 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 avo
> 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?
> This chapter identifies three assumptions underlying pay-for-performance plans. Do you believe these assumptions are valid?
> 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? Do you think this is fair? Explain.
> 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.
> What rational and political disadvantages are associated with the use of electronic performance review?
> 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 i
> 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,
> Companies use various tactics to encourage managers to make employee development a top priority. What do you think of this policy of tying financial rewards to people development? What are some other ways companies can hold managers accountable for devel
> People who adopt a careerist strategy focus on career advancement through political machinations rather than excellent performance. Experts have pointed out four ways in which workers try to influence their superiors' opinions of them: favor doing (doing
> What challenges do non-traditional family units pose to company career development plans? How can companies meet these challenges?
> 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 in a training program? How would you recommend a train
> Auto-Valve was an example in this chapter of an organization that used a simple spreadsheet to determine which skills were most critical and should be taught to employees first. Using the general spreadsheet approach, how could you determine which traini
> Simuflite, a Texas aviation training company, expected to whip the competition with FasTrak, its computer-based training (CBT) curriculum for corporate pilots. Instead, the new venture sent Simuflite into a nose dive. In traditional grounding-school trai
> How important is it that the effectiveness of a training program be measured in dollar terms? Why is it important to measure training effectiveness in the first place?
> Illiterate workers can suffer from embarrassment and fear that keep them from admitting their problem. Instead, they may cope by asking questions, observing others, and relying on informal assistance from others. If illiterate workers can effectively cop
> Can you devise an absolute rating system that would guarantee differentiation among workers? Why or why not?
> Some firms swear by unorthodox interview methods. For example, Tech Planet, of Menlo Park, California, uses weekly lunches and “wacky follow-up sessions” as substitutes for first-round job interviews. During the informal meals, potential staffers are exp
> How effective do you think training can be in raising employee motivation?
> Performance problems seem all too common in your workplace. People don't seem to be putting forth the needed effort, and interpersonal conflict on the work teams seems to be a constant. Is training the answer? If so, what kind of training should be done?
> You're the owner of a 25-employee company that has just had a fantastic year. Everyone pulled together and worked hard to achieve the boost in company profits. Unfortunately, you need to sink most of those profits into paying your suppliers. All you can
> What criteria do you think should be used to measure team performance? What sources should be used for the appraisal? Should individual performance still be measured? Why or why not?
> Do you think performance appraisals should be done? Is it worth the cost?
> "Occasionally an employee comes along who needs to be reminded who the boss is, and the appraisal is an appropriate place for such a reminder." Would the manager quoted here be likely to use a rational or a political approach to appraisal? Contrast the r
> What is comparability? How can it be maximized in performance appraisal?
> How important are rating formats to the quality of performance ratings? What is the most important influence on rating quality?
> 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 you recommend and why?
> One of the performance dimensions used in a certain organization is “communication”—specifically, “listens and observes attentively, allowing an exchange of information” and “speaks and writes clearly and concisely, with an appropriate awareness of the i
> As a manager, would you prefer to rely on an absolute performance rating system or a relative system, such as forced ranking? Why?
> Managing survivors in a layoff is important. As a manager, what concerns would you have about the surviving workforce after a layoff? How can the HR management staff be of assistance in providing support for the survivors of a layoff?
> 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 input into which of their workers should be laid off? Wh
> Under what set of conditions should a company lay off employees without giving them advance notice?
> Under what circumstances might a company's managers prefer to use layoffs instead of early retirements or voluntary severance plans as a way to downsize the workforce?
> In an age when more and more companies are downsizing, an increasingly trendy concept is the “virtual corporation." The idea is that a company should have a core of owners and managers, but that, to the greatest degree possible, workers should be conting
> Would an employer ever want to increase the rate of employee turnover in a company? Why or why not?
> 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 an issue in the United States? If you are a manager, do you
> 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 turnover discussed in Exhibit 6.1, describe how this ave
> The departure of senior workers through retirement can mean that years of experience and knowledge are walking out an organization’s doors. This “brain drain” can cripple an organization’s ability to remain competitive, particularly if it is difficult to
> After eight years as marketing assistant for the New York office of a large French bank, Sarah Schiffler was told that her job, in a non-revenue-producing department, was being eliminated. Her choices: She could either be laid off (with eight months of s
> 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?
> You work for a medium-sized, high-tech firm that faces intense competition on a daily basis. Change seems to be the only constant in your workplace, and each worker's responsibilities shift from project to project. Suppose you have the major responsibili
> Interviewing unqualified applicants can be a frustrating experience and a waste of time for managers, peers, or whoever is responsible for interviewing. How can the HR department minimize or eliminate this problem?
> A company has come up with a new selection test and decides to try it out on some of its current workers before giving it to job applicants. A group of its current workers volunteered to take the test and 84 percent were male and 7 percent were over the
> Recent economic difficulties, restructuring, and plant closings have left many people without jobs and looking for new career paths. A hiring employer can now enjoy being able to select from among far more applicants than was typical. Unfortunately, many
> Doug Dokolosky, a former IBM executive who specializes in coaching women, argues that "to reach the top requires sacrifice and long hours. If that is your ambition, forget things like balancing work and family...." Do you think most U.S. firms just pay l
> 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.
> Consider the Manager’s Notebook “The Rise of the Older Worker.” Do you think that young employees are now appreciating the wisdom of older workers more than at earlier times? Why do you think the United States has traditionally held older workers at a di
> Consider the Manager’s Notebook “Religious Differences Moving to the Forefront of Inclusiveness.” Do you think that the owners of a company, major shareholders, or top management have a right to use their religious beliefs as a basis for establishing HR
> The European Parliament recently voted 504 to 110 to scold companies for “sexual stereotyping” in marketing their products. One reporter noted that “The lawmakers’ ire has many targets, from a print ad for Dolce & Gabbana (which has a woman in spike heel
