Some organizations have detailed affirmative-action plans, complete with goals and timetables for women and minorities, yet have no formal human resource plan for the organization as a whole. Why might this be the case? What does this practice suggest about the role of human resource management in these organizations?
> Continuing the example in question 7, imagine that you are preparing for your first performance feedback session. You want feedback to be effective—that is, you want the feedback to result in improved performance. List five or six steps you can take to a
> Suppose you were recently promoted to a supervisory job in a company where you have worked for two years. You genuinely like almost all your co-workers, who now report to you. The only exception is one employee, who dresses more formally than the others
> Imagine that a pet supply store is establishing a new performance management system to help employees provide better customer service. Management needs to decide who should participate in measuring the performance of each of the store’s salespeople. From
> Give two examples of an administrative decision that would be based on performance management information. Give two examples of developmental decisions based on this type of information.
> How can teamwork, empowerment, knowledge sharing, and job satisfaction contribute to high performance?
> What is a high-performance work system? What are its elements? Which of these elements involve human resource management?
> Why should human resource departments measure their effectiveness? What are some ways they can go about measuring effectiveness?
> Federal law requires that employers not discriminate based on a person’s race, sex, national origin, or age over 40. Is this also an ethical requirement? A competitive requirement? Explain.
> How can HRM technology make a human resource department more productive? How can technology improve the quality of HRM decisions?
> Summarize how each of the following HR functions can contribute to high performance. a. Job design. b. Recruitment and selection. c. Training and development. d. Performance management. e. Compensation.
> How can an organization promote ethical behavior among its employees?
> Many employees are unwilling to relocate because they like their current community and family members prefer not to move. Yet preparation for management requires that employees develop new skills, strengthen areas of weakness, and be exposed to new aspec
> In an organization that wants to use work experience as a method of employee development, what basic options are available? Which of these options would be most attractive to you as an employee? Why?
> A company that markets sophisticated business management software systems uses sales teams to help customers define needs and to create systems that meet those needs. The teams include programmers, salespeople who specialize in client industries, and sof
> What are the four broad categories of development methods? Why might it be beneficial to combine all these methods into a formal development program?
> How does development differ from training? How does development support career management in modern organizations?
> Why might an organization benefit from giving employee development opportunities to a dysfunctional manager rather than simply dismissing the manager? Do these reasons apply to non-management employees as well?
> What is the glass ceiling? What are the possible consequences to an organization that has a glass ceiling? How can employee development break the glass ceiling? Can succession planning help with this problem? Explain.
> Why do all managers and supervisors need knowledge and skills related to human resource management?
> What are the manager’s roles in a career management system? Which role do you think is most difficult for the typical manager? Which is the easiest role? List reasons why managers might resist becoming involved in career management.
> Why should organizations be interested in helping employees plan their careers? What benefits can companies gain? What are the risks?
> What are the three roles of a coach? How is each coach different from a mentor? What are some advantages of using someone outside the organization as a coach? Some disadvantages?
> Many people feel that mentoring relationships should occur naturally, in situations where senior managers feel inclined to play the role. What are some advantages of setting up a formal mentoring program, rather than letting senior managers decide how an
> Suppose the managers in your organization tend to avoid delegating projects to the people in their groups. As a result, they rarely meet their goals. A training needs analysis indicates that an appropriate solution is training in management skills. You h
> Many organizations turn to e-learning as a less expensive alternative to classroom training. What are some other advantages of substituting e-learning for classroom training? What are some disadvantages?
> Assume you are human resource manager of a small seafood company. The general manager has told you that customers have begun complaining about the quality of your company’s fresh fish. Currently, training consists of senior fish cleaners showing new empl
> “Alicia!” bellowed David to the company’s HR specialist, “I’ve got a problem, and you’ve got to solve it. I can’t get people in this plant to work together as a team. As if I don’t have enough trouble with our competitors and our past-due accounts, now I
> Why do organizations provide diversity training? What kinds of goals are most suitable for such training?
> Who should be involved in onboarding of new employees? Why would it not be appropriate to provide employee orientation purely online?
> If you were to start a business, what aspects of human resource management would you want to entrust to specialists? Why?
> A manufacturing company employs several maintenance employees. When a problem occurs with the equipment, a maintenance employee receives a description of the symptoms and is supposed to locate and fix the source of the problem. The company recently insta
> How do U.S. laws affect organizations’ use of each of the employment tests? Interviews?
> Why does predictive validation provide better information than concurrent validation? Why is this type of validation more difficult?
> Choose two of the selection methods identified in this chapter. Describe how you can compare them in terms of reliability, validity, ability to generalize, utility, and compliance with the law.
> Why should the selection process be adapted to fit the organization’s job description?
> What activities are involved in the selection process? Think of the last time you were hired for a job. Which of those activities were used in selecting you? Should the organization that hired you have used other methods as well?
> Some organizations set up a selection process that is long and complex. In some people’s opinion, this kind of selection process not only is more valid but also has symbolic value. What can the use of a long, complex selection process symbolize to job se
> How can organizations improve the quality of their interviewing so that interviews provide valid information?
> For each of the following jobs, select the two kinds of tests you think would be most important to include in the selection process. Explain why you chose those tests. a. City bus driver b. Insurance salesperson c. Member of a team that sells complex
> Suppose your organization needs to hire several computer programmers and you are reviewing résumés you obtained from an online service. What kinds of information will you want to gather from the “work experience” portion of these résumés? What kinds of i
> Traditionally, human resource management practices were developed and administered by the company’s human resource department. Line managers now play a major role in developing and implementing HRM practices. Why do you think non-HR managers are becoming
> Suppose an organization expects a labor shortage to develop in key job areas over the next few years. Recommend general responses the organization could make in each of the following areas: a. Recruitment b. Training c. Compensation (pay and employee be
> How can organizations improve the effectiveness of their recruiters?
> Recruiting people for jobs that require international assignments is increasingly important for many organizations. Where might an organization go to recruit people interested in such assignments?
> Discuss the relative merits of internal versus external recruitment. Give an example of a situation in which each of these approaches might be particularly effective.
> Give an example of a personnel policy that would help attract a larger pool of job candidates. Give an example of a personnel policy that would likely reduce the pool of candidates. Would you expect these policies to influence the quality as well as the
> Why do organizations combine statistical and judgmental forecasts of labor demand, rather than relying on statistics or judgment alone? Give an example of a situation in which each type of forecast would be inaccurate.
> In the transitional matrix, which jobs seem to rely most on internal recruitment? Which seem to rely most on external recruitment? Why? 2007 2004 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (1) Sales manager (2) Sales representative (3) Sales apprentice (4) As
> Review the sample transitional matrix shown in Table 5.1. What jobs experience the greatest turnover (employees leaving the organization)? How might an organization with this combination of jobs reduce the turnover? 2007 2004 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
> Assume you are a manager of a fast-food restaurant. What are the outputs of your work unit? What are the activities required to produce those outputs? What are the inputs?
> What skills are important for success in human resource management? Which of these skills are already strengths of yours? Which would you like to develop?
> Modern electronics have eliminated the need for a store’s cashiers to calculate change due on a purchase. How does this development modify the job description for a cashier? If you were a store manager, how does this affect the skills and qualities of jo
> What ergonomic considerations might apply to each of the following jobs? For each job, what kinds of costs would result from addressing ergonomics? What costs might result from failing to address ergonomics? a. A computer programmer b. A UPS delivery
> Suppose you have taken a job as a trainer in a large bank that has created competency models for all of its positions. How could the competency models help you succeed in your career at the bank? How could the competency models help you develop the bank’
> Discuss how the following trends are changing the skill requirement for managerial jobs in the United States: Increasing use of social media. Increasing international competition. (c) Increasing work-family conflicts.
> Consider the “job” of college student. Perform a job analysis on this job. What tasks are required in the job? What knowledge, skills, and abilities are necessary to perform those tasks? Prepare a job description based on your analysis.
> The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that employers make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. How might this requirement affect law enforcement officers and firefighters?
> For each situation in the preceding question, what actions, if any, should the organization take? Situation in preceding question a. A veteran of the Iraqi conflict experiences lower-back pain after sitting for extended periods of time. He has applied f
> What is the role of each branch of the federal government with regard to equal employment opportunity?
> How can organizations motivate employees to promote safety and health in the workplace?
> OSHA penalties are aimed at employers, rather than employees. How does this affect employee safety?
> Imagine that a small manufacturing company decides to invest in a materials resource planning (MRP) system. This is a computerized information system that improves efficiency by automating such work as planning needs for resources, ordering materials, an
> What are an organization’s basic duties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act?
> Given that the “reasonable woman” standard is based on women’s ideas of what is appropriate, how might an organization with mostly male employees identify and avoid behavior that could be found to be sexual harassment?
> To identify instances of sexual harassment, the courts may use a “reasonable woman” standard of what constitutes offensive behavior. This standard is based on the idea that women and men have different ideas of what behavior is appropriate. What are the
> How does each of the following labor force trends affect HRM? a. Aging of the labor force b. Diversity of the labor force c. Skill deficiencies of the labor force
> How is the employment relationship typical of modern organizations different from the relationship of a generation ago?
> What HRM functions could an organization provide through self-service? What are some of advantages and disadvantages of using self-service for these functions?
> Why do multinational organizations hire host-country nationals to fill most of their foreign positions, rather than sending expatriates for most jobs?
> Suppose an organization decides to improve collaboration and knowledge sharing by developing an intranet to link its global workforce. It needs to train employees in several different countries to use this system. List the possible cultural issues you ca
> In recent years, many U.S. companies have invested in Russia and sent U.S. managers there in an attempt to transplant U.S.-style management. According to Hofstede (see Figure 15.3), U.S. culture has low power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and long-ter
> What are some HRM challenges that arise when a U.S. company expands from domestic markets by exporting? When it changes from simply exporting to operating as an international company? When an international company becomes a global company?
> Why do organizations outsource HRM functions? How does outsourcing affect the role of human resource professionals? Would you be more attracted to the role of HR professional in an organization that outsources many HR activities or in the outside firm th
> Identify the parent country, host country or countries, and third country or countries in the following example: A global soft-drink company called Cold Cola is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It operates production facilities in Athens, Greece and in
> In the past, a large share of expatriate managers from the United States have returned home before successfully completing their foreign assignments. Suggest some possible reasons for the high failure rate. What can HR departments do to increase the succ
> What abilities make a candidate more likely to succeed in an assignment as an expatriate? Which of these abilities do you have? How might a person acquire these abilities?
> For an organization with operations in three different countries, what are some advantages and disadvantages of setting compensation according to the labor markets in the countries where the employees live and work? What are some advantages and disadvant
> Suppose you work in the HR department of a company that is expanding into a country where the law and culture make it difficult to lay off employees. How should your knowledge of that difficulty affect human resource planning for the overseas operations?
> Besides cultural differences, what other factors affect human resource management in an organization with international operations?
> How do HRM practices such as performance management and work design encourage employee empowerment?
> If the parties negotiating a labor contract are unable to reach an agreement, what actions can resolve the situation?
> Suppose you are the HR manager for a chain of clothing stores. You learn that union representatives have been encouraging the stores’ employees to sign authorization cards. What events can follow in this process of organizing? Suggest some ways that you
> What legal responsibilities do employers have regarding unions? What are the legal requirements affecting unions?
> When an organization decides to operate facilities in other countries, how can HRM practices support this change?
> How has union membership in the United States changed over the past few decades? How does union membership in the United States compare with union membership in other countries? How might these patterns in union membership affect the HR decisions of an i
> Why do managers at most companies prefer that unions not represent their employees? Can unions provide benefits to an employer? Explain.
> Why do employees join labor unions? Did you ever belong to a labor union? If you did, do you think the union membership benefited you? If not, do you think a union would have benefited you? Why or why not?
> What are the legal restrictions on labor-management cooperation?
> What can a company gain from union-management cooperation? What can workers gain?
> What are the usual steps in a grievance procedure? What are the advantages of resolving a grievance in the first step? What skills would a supervisor need so grievances can be resolved in the first step?
> Why are strikes uncommon? Under what conditions might management choose to accept a strike?
> Imagine that you are the human resource manager of a small architectural firm. You learn that the monthly premiums for the company’s existing health insurance policy will rise by 15 percent next year. What can you suggest to help your company manage this
> What are some advantages of offering a generous package of insurance benefits? What are some drawbacks of generous insurance benefits?
> How do tax laws and accounting regulations affect benefits packages?
> Merging, downsizing, and reengineering all can radically change the structure of an organization. Choose one of these changes and describe HRM’s role in making the change succeed. If possible, apply your discussion to an actual merger, downsizing, or ree
> In principle, health insurance would be the most attractive to employees with large medical expenses, and retirement benefits would be most attractive to older employees. What else might a company include in its benefits package to appeal to young, healt
> Define the types of benefits required by law. How can organizations minimize the cost of these benefits while complying with the relevant laws?
> Why do employers provide employee benefits, rather than providing all compensation in the form of pay and letting employees buy the services they want?
> Why is it important to communicate information about employee benefits? Suppose you work in the HR department of a company that has decided to add new benefits—dental and vision insurance plus an additional two days of paid time off for “personal days.”
> What legal requirements might apply to a family leave policy? Suggest how this type of policy should be set up to meet those requirements.
