罗宾斯《管理学原理》

CHAPTER 6 - STAFFING AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

After reading this chapter students should be able to:

1. Describe the human resource management process.

2. Identify the influence of government regulations on human resource decisions.

3. Differentiate between job descriptions and job specifications.

4. Contrast recruitment and downsizing options.

5. Explain the importance of validity and reliability in selection.

6. Describe the selection devices that work best with various kinds of jobs.

7. Identify various training methods.

8. Explain the various techniques managers can use in evaluating employee performance.

9. Describe the goals of compensation administration and factors that affect wage structures.

10. Explain what is meant by the terms “sexual harassment,” “labor-management cooperation,” “workplace violence,” workplace spirituality, and “layoff-survivor sickness.”

Opening Vignette
SUMMARY
Just how much control does an employer have over an employee’s life?  Can an employer tell an employee what he or she can or cannot do both on and off the job?  In today’s organizations, employers have dramatic control over the personal lives of their employees--both at work and outside of work.  Consider the case of two model and long term employees of the Weyco Company, an insurance consulting business located in the suburbs of Lansing, Michigan.
Sometime in 2003, the owner of Weyco informed all of his employees that he was implementing a smokeless company., and that any employee who was found to be smoking after January 1, 2005 would be fired.   He notified employees that he would begin a random testing program of employees and anyone who was found to have nicotine in their system would lose there jobs.  Because he knew it was difficult to quit smoking, the owner gave them approximately 15 months to quit the smoking habit. He also sponsored a number of smoking cessation programs in the company,  gave his employees time off from work to attend these sessions, and offered whatever support they needed. 
Shortly after January 1, 2005, many employees were tested.  Four employees were found to have nicotine in their system, and were fired (some had up to 20 years with the organization).  Upset, these four employees asked one simple question--was their firing legal? Was their termination fair, and did it violate their privacy to be treated in this manner?  Interestingly, what the owner of Weyco did was legal.  Because of rising health care costs, and the associated increased premiums for smokers, the real question at issue for the owner was not one of employee rights, but one of business necessity.  Being such, employment laws do not offer job protection to employees fired under such circumstances.   While terminating employees because of smoking may be legal, the question of whether an employer can dictate other off-site, non-work behaviors?  What if health care costs data shows that individuals who have an unhealthy diet and overeat, who drink too much alcohol, or who engage in dangerous sporting activities (like skydiving or motorcycle riding without a helmet) face substantially greater health issues--- which further increase health care premiums for employers.  Does that mean employers could fire an employee for engaging in those behaviors?  The answer may be an unqualified yes. 

Teaching Notes:
1. Begin the discussion of this case by asking the students to consider the situation from both their own and an employer’s perspectives. 
2. Then, discuss these issues:
• In what ways can a company proactively manage issues associated with increased health care premiums?
• How much of an employees physical wellness is the organization’s responsibility? The employee’s? 
• How much of an employee’s mental wellness is the organization’s responsibility? The employee’s?
• Should employees have the option of paying the differential for their health or recreation issues associated with rising health care costs (instead of the company having the ability to fire individuals at risk?

I. MANAGERS AND THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

A. Introduction (PPT 6-2)

1. The quality of an organization is determined by the quality of people it employs.

2. Staffing and human resources management decisions and methods are critical to ensuring that the organization hires and keeps the right personnel.

a) In many organizations, specialists do human resources management activities.

b) In other cases, HRM activities may be outsourced to companies like HR Tech.

c) Many small business managers must do their own hiring without the assistance of HRM specialists.

d) Managers in larger organizations are frequently involved in HRM activities (e.g., recruiting candidates, reviewing application forms, interviewing applicants, inducting new employees, making decisions about employee training, providing career advice to employees, evaluating employees’ performance, etc.).

3. Exhibit 6-1 introduces the key components of the human resources management process. (PPT 6-2).

a) It represents eight activities, or steps, that if properly executed, will staff an organization with competent, high-performing employees.

4. The first three steps represent employment planning, the addition of staff through recruitment and the reduction in staff through downsizing, and selection.

a) Executed properly, these steps lead to the identification and selection of competent employees.

b) They are important to assist organizations in achieving their strategic directions.

5. Orientation and training and development assist people in adaptation to the organization and ensure that their job skills and knowledge are kept current.

6. Finally, the HRM process helps to identify performance goals, correct performance problems if necessary, and help employees sustain a high level of performance (e.g., performance appraisal, compensation and benefits, and safety and health).

7. The external environment influences the entire employment process.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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II. THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF HRM (PPT 6-2, 6-3)

A. What are the Primary U.S. Laws Affecting HRM?

1. See Exhibit 6-2 for examples. 

2. Not many major federal employment discrimination laws were passed in the past decade.

3. Many state laws have been passed during the past decade, which add to the provisions of federal laws.

a) Example, in many states, it is illegal to discriminate against an individual based on sexual orientation.

4. Today’s employers must ensure that equal employment opportunities exist for job applicants and current employees.

a) Example, decisions regarding who will be hired or which employees will be chosen for a management training program must be made without regard to race, sex, religion, age, color, national origin, or disability.

b) Exceptions can occur only when special circumstances exist.

c) Example, a community fire department can deny employment to a firefighter applicant who is confined to a wheelchair.

1) But if that same individual is applying for a desk job, such as fire department dispatcher, the disability cannot be used as a reason to deny employment.

d) Example, employment laws protect most employees whose religious beliefs require a specific style of dress (robes, long shirts, long hair, etc.).

1) But if the specific style of dress may be hazardous or unsafe in the work setting (e.g., when operating machinery), a company could refuse to hire a person who would not adopt a safer dress code.

5. Balancing the “shoulds and should-nots” of complying with these laws often falls under the realm of affirmative action.

a) The organization not only refrains from discrimination but actively seeks to enhance the status of members from protected groups.

6. American managers are not completely free to choose whom they hire, promote, or fire.

B. Does HRM Face the Same Laws Globally? (PPT 6-4)

1. You need to know the laws and regulations that apply in your locale.

a) Canadian laws pertaining to HRM practices closely parallel those in the United States.

1) The Canadian Human Rights Act provides federal legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, marital status, sex, physical or mental disability, or national origin.

2) There is more decentralization of lawmaking to the provincial level in Canada.

b) In Mexico employees are more likely to be unionized than in the United States.

1) Labor matters in Mexico are governed by the Mexican Federal Labor Law.

2) An employer has 28 days to evaluate a new employee’s work performance and then the employee has job security—termination is difficult and expensive.

3) Infractions of the Mexican Federal Labor Law are subject to severe penalties, including criminal action.

c) Australia’s discrimination laws were not enacted until the 1980s.

1) Generally apply to discrimination and affirmative action for women.

2) A significant proportion of the work force is unionized.

3) The Workplace Relations Bill, passed in 1997, gives employers greater flexibility to negotiate directly with employees on pay, hours, and benefits and simplifies federal regulation of labor-management relations.

d) HRM practices in Germany are similar to those in most Western European countries.

1) Legislation requires companies to practice representative participation.

2) Goal of representative participation is to put labor on a more equal footing with the interests of management and stockholders.

(a) Work councils—groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decisions involving personnel.

(b) Board representatives—employees who sit on a company’s board of directors and represent the interest of the firm’s employees.

III. EMPLOYMENT PLANNING

A. Defined  (PPT 6-5)

1. Employment planning is the process by which management ensures that it has the right number and kinds of people in the right places at the right times, who are capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objectives.

2. Employment planning translates the organizational mission and objectives into a personnel plan.

a) Assessing current human resources needs.

b) Addressing future human resources needs and developing a program to meet these needs.

B. How Does an Organization Conduct an Employee Assessment?  (PPT 6-6)

1. Management begins by reviewing its current human resource status through a human resource inventory.

a) The input for this report is derived from forms completed by employees (e.g., name, education, training, prior employment, languages spoken, capabilities, specialized skills, etc.).

b) This inventory enables management to assess what talents and skills are currently available in the organization.

2. Another part of the current assessment is the job analysis.

a) Job analysis is more fundamental than an inventory and is a lengthy process, one in which work flows are analyzed and skills and behaviors that are necessary to perform jobs are identified.  (PPT 6-6)

b) Ultimately, the purpose of job analysis is to determine the kinds of skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to successfully perform each job.

c) This information is then used to develop or revise job descriptions and job specifications.

3. A job description is a written statement of what a jobholder does, how it is done, and why.

a) It typically portrays job content, environment, and conditions of employment.

4. The job specification states the minimum qualifications that an incumbent must possess to perform a given job successfully. (PPT 6-7)

a) It identifies the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to do the job effectively.

5. Both are important documents for recruiting and selecting.

a) The job description can be used to describe the job to potential candidates.

b) The job specification keeps the manager’s attention on the list of qualifications necessary for an incumbent to perform a job, and assist in determining whether candidates are qualified.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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C. How Are Future Employee Needs Determined?

1. Future human resources needs are determined by the organization’s strategic direction.

2. Demand for human resources is a result of demand for the organization’s products or services.

3. Using estimated total revenue, management can attempt to establish the number and mix of human resources needed to reach that revenue.

a) When particular skills are necessary and in scarce supply, the availability of satisfactory human resources determines revenues.

b) Example, upscale chain of assisted-living retirement facilities where revenues are limited by ability to locate and hire a qualified nursing staff to fully meet the needs of the residents.

4. In most cases, the overall organizational goals and the resulting revenue forecast provide the major input determining the organization’s human resources requirements.

5. After assessing current capabilities and future needs, a program can then be developed that matches these estimates with forecasts of future labor supply.

IV. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION (PPT 6-8)

A. Introduction

1. Once managers know their current staffing levels—whether they are understaffed or overstaffed—they can begin to do something about it.

2. To fill vacancies, they use recruitment—the process of locating, identifying, and attracting capable applicants.

3. If employment planning indicates a surplus, management will want to reduce the labor supply and initiate downsizing or layoff activities.

B. Where Does a Manager Look to Recruit Candidates?

1. Candidates can be found by using several sources, including the World Wide Web.

a) See Exhibit 6-3. 

2. The source that is used should reflect the local labor market, the type or level of position, and the size of the organization.

3. Are certain recruiting sources better than others?

a) Employee referrals generally produce the best candidates.

(1) Applicants referred by current employees are prescreened by those employees.

(2) Current employees often make referrals when they are reasonably confident that the referral won’t make them look bad.

b) Employee referrals may not increase the diversity and mix of employees.

4. How does a manager handle layoffs?
 
a) Downsizing has become a relevant means of meeting the demands of a dynamic environment.

5. What are a manager’s downsizing options?

a) See Exhibit 6-4. (PPT 6-14)

b) Regardless of the method chosen, employees may suffer.

C. Is There a Basic Method of Selecting Job Candidates?

1. The selection process is a prediction exercise—it seeks to predict which applicants will be “successful” if hired.

2. Successful in this case means performing well on the criteria the organization uses to evaluate its employees.
3. Any selection decision can result in four possible outcomes. (See Exhibit 6-5.) 

4. A decision is correct when

a) the applicant was predicted to be successful (was accepted) and later proved to be successful on the job, or

b) the applicant was predicted to be unsuccessful (was rejected), and, if hired, would not have been able to do the job.

5. Problems occur, however, when we make reject errors or accept errors.

a) Reject errors occur when we reject candidates who, if hired, would have performed successfully on the job.

b) Reject errors can open the organization to charges of employment discrimination.

c) Accept errors occur when we accept those who subsequently perform poorly.

d) Accept errors cost the organization—training costs, costs generated or profits foregone because of the employee’s incompetence, the cost of severance, and subsequent costs of additional recruiting and selection screening.

6. Major thrust of any selection activity:  reduce probability of making reject errors or accept errors while increasing the probability of making correct decisions.

7. What is reliability? (PPT 6-9)

a) Reliability addresses whether a selection device measures the same characteristic consistently.

b) If a test is reliable, an individual’s score should remain fairly stable over time, assuming that the characteristics it is measuring are also stable.

c) No selection device can be effective if it is low in reliability.

d) To be effective predictors, selection devices must possess an acceptable level of consistency.

8. What is validity? (PPT 6-9)

a) Any selection device that a manager uses where there is a proven relationship between the selection device used and some relevant measure.

b) The law prohibits management from using any selection device that cannot be shown to be directly related to successful job performance.

c) This constraint also applies to entrance tests.  Management must be able to demonstrate that, once on the job, individuals with high scores on this test outperform individuals with low scores.

d) The burden is on management to verify that any selection device it uses to differentiate applicants is related to job performance.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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D. How Effective Are Tests and Interviews as Selection Devices? (PPT 6-10)

1. Managers can use a number of selection devices to reduce accept and reject errors.

2. The best-known devices include written and performance-simulation tests, and interviews.

3. How do written tests serve a useful purpose?
 
a) Typical written tests include tests of intelligence, aptitude, ability, and interest.
 
b) Written tests were widely used for twenty years after World War II.

c) They fell into disfavor in the late 1960s, frequently characterized as discriminatory.

d) But, since the late 1980s, written tests have made a comeback; many of them are Internet-based.

1) Managers have become increasingly aware that poor hiring decisions are costly and properly designed tests reduce their likelihood.

2) The cost of developing and validating written tests for a specific job has come down.

e) Tests of intellectual ability, spatial and mechanical ability, perceptual accuracy, and motor ability are moderately valid predictors for many semiskilled and unskilled operative jobs.

f) An enduring criticism of written tests is that intelligence and other tested characteristics can be somewhat removed from the actual performance of the job itself.

4. What are performance-simulation tests?
 
a) Determine if an applicant can do a job by having him/her do it.

b) Based on job analysis data and therefore are more job related than written tests.

c) Performance-simulation tests are made up of actual job behaviors rather than substitutes.
 
d) The best-known performance-simulation tests are:

1) Work sampling—a miniature replica of the job.

(a) Suited to routine jobs.

2) Assessment centers—simulating real problems one may face on the job.

(a) For selecting managerial personnel.

e) The advantage of performance simulation over traditional testing methods—because content is essentially identical to job content, performance-simulation should be a better predictor of short-term job performance and should minimize potential employment discrimination allegations.

f) Well-constructed performance-simulation tests are valid predictors.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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5. Is the interview effective?

a) The interview, along with the application form, is an almost universal selection device.

b) The value of the interview as a selection device has been the subject of considerable
 debate.

c) Interviews are reliable and valid selection tools when structured and well organized.

d) The typical interview often provides little in the way of valuable information.

e) All kinds of potential biases can creep into interviews. (PPT 6-11)

1) Prior knowledge about the applicant will bias the interviewer’s evaluation.

2) The interviewer tends to hold a stereotype of what represents a “good” applicant.

3) The interviewer tends to favor applicants who share his/her own attitudes.

4) The order in which applicants are interviewed will influence evaluations.

5) The order in which information is elicited during the interview will influence evaluations.

6) Negative information is given unduly high weight.

7) Deciding on an applicant’s suitability within the first four or five minutes of the interview.

8) Forgetting much of the interview’s content within minutes of its conclusion.

9) Most valid in determining an applicant’s intelligence, level of motivation, and interpersonal skills. (PPT 6-12)

10) Structured and well-organized interviews are more reliable.

f) Managers can make interviews more valid and reliable.

Developing Your Interviewing Skill
Interviewing Job Applicants
Developing Your Interviewing Skill

Every manager needs to develop his or her skills at interviewing. Here are the key behaviors involved.

Steps in Practicing the Skill

1) Review the job description and job specification.
2) Prepare a structured set of questions you want to ask all applicants for the job.
3) Before meeting a candidate, review his or her application form and resume.
4) Open the interview by putting the applicant at ease and by providing a brief preview of the topics to be discussed.
5) Ask your questions and listen carefully to the applicant’s answers.
6) Close the interview by telling the applicant what is going to happen next.
7) Write your evaluation of the applicant while the interview is still fresh in your mind.

Practicing the Skill – Interviewing

 9) Review and update your resume.
 10) Then have several friends critique it who are employed in management-level positions or in management-training programs.
 11) Ask them to explain their comments, and make any changes to your resume that they think will improve it.
 11) Now inventory your interpersonal and technical skills and any practical experiences that do not show up in your resume.
 12) Draft a set of leading questions that you would like to be asked in an interview that would give you a chance to discuss the unique qualities and attributes you could bring to the job.

Teaching Tips:
Students enjoy  practicing interviewing and things related to it, as they know they will be doing it soon as they move on through school and begin their careers.  Review with students the following steps for effective interview preparation below.  You can have students bring their resumes, personal inventories, and sample questions they’d like to be asked to class and then pair them together to practice interviewing. 

g) Behavioral or situational interviews are becoming more popular.

(1) Candidates are presented with a situation (which often involve role-playing) and interviewers look to see how the candidate behaves under stress. 

(2) Research in this area suggests behavioral interviews are nearly 8 times more effective for predicting successful job performance.

h) How can you close the deal?

1) Selling applicants on the job and only exposing positive characteristics may lead to a work force that is dissatisfied and prone to high turnover.

2) Every job applicant acquires a set of expectations about the company and the job.

3) Excessively inflated information can have negative effects on the company.

(a) Mismatched applicants are less likely to withdraw from the search process.

(b) Inflated information builds unrealistic expectations, quicker dissatisfaction.

(c) New hires are prone to become disillusioned and less committed to the organization if they feel they were misled.

Ethical Dilemma in Management

SUMMARY
The Stress Interview
Your interview day has finally arrived. The first few moments appear mundane enough. The questions to this point, in fact, seem easy. Your confidence is growing. Suddenly, the questions get tougher. Mrs. Wenslow leans back and asks about why you want to leave your current job. You explain—for personal reasons. Mrs. Wenslow begins to probe deeper. You explain, it’s due to conflict with your boss.  Mrs. Wenslow challenges your reason and asks if you’re confident enough to make it in this company. You respond with an angry tone in your voice and fall victim to the stress interview.
Stress interviews are becoming more commonplace in today’s business. Interviewers want to observe how you’ll react when you are put under pressure. Those who demonstrate the resolve and strength to handle the stress indicate a level of professionalism and confidence. On the other hand, they are staged events. It’s possibly humiliating; at the very least it’s demeaning.

Questions
1. Should stress interviews be used?

2. Should human resources advocate their use?

3. Does getting angry in an interview when pressured indicate one’s propensity toward violence should things not always go smoothly at work? 

4. What’s your opinion?

Teaching notes
1. Before opening this entire lecture, consider staging a stress interview in front of your class. Due to the touchiness of the process, you should stage the entire thing, including briefing the “candidate.”

2. Select a student from the class or a student assistant—someone you know fairly well.

3. Explain what you want to do, stage a stress interview in front of the class, and rehearse just a bit in your office so the student feels what it will be like.

4. At the beginning of class, announce that as you are going to be talking about selection you want to show students what an interview should look like. Explain that since you are looking for a student assistant anyway, you thought you’d interview one candidate in front of the class.

5. Introduce the student, begin the interview.

6. Follow the pattern in the vignette. As you enter the “stress” portion of the interview, raise its intensity and keep it going only to the level and length of making your point. This will be a highly stressful experience for the students.

7. End the interview, excuse the student, and ask the class to “critique” the interview.
---You may have to draw the students out, as they will be reluctant to criticize you.
---Make a list of the strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes of the students, for use in the discussion of the questions in the vignette.
---Now reveal that this was a stress interview and ask and discuss the questions listed in the vignette. One caution. Be sure to emphasize several times during the discussion and at the end of the exercise that this was all staged and that you would NOT conduct an interview like this, regardless of the validity of the technique. Otherwise, you might not see any more of your students in your office for the rest of the semester! 

i) A realistic job preview (RJP) includes both positive and negative information about the job and the company.

1) Applicants given a realistic job preview hold lower and more realistic job expectations.

2) The result is fewer unexpected resignations by new employees.

3) For managers, realistic job previews offer a major insight into the HRM process; retaining good people is as important as hiring them.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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V. ORIENTATION, TRAINING, AND DEVELOPMENT

A. How Do We Introduce New Hires to the Organization? (PPT 6-14)

1. Once selected, the job candidate needs to be introduced to the job and organization—  orientation.
2. The major objectives of orientation:

a) Reduce the initial anxiety.

b) Familiarize new employees with the job, the work unit, and the organization.

c) Facilitate the outsider-insider transition.

3. Job orientation expands on the information the employee obtained during recruitment and selection.

a) This is the time to clarify the new employee’s specific duties and responsibilities and to rectify any unrealistic expectations new employees might hold.

4. Work-unit orientation:

a) familiarizes the employee with the goals of the work unit.

b) makes clear how his/her job contributes to the unit’s goals.

c) provides introduction to his/her co-workers.

5. Organization orientation informs the new employee about the organization’s objectives, history, philosophy, procedures, and rules.

6. Should also include relevant personnel policies such as work hours, pay procedures, overtime requirements, and benefits, as well as a tour of the organization’s physical facilities.

7. Management has an obligation to make the integration of the new employee into the organization as smooth and as free of anxiety as possible.

B. What Is Employee Training? (PPT 6-15)

1. Employee training is a learning experience in that it seeks a relatively permanent change in employees such that their ability to perform on the job improves.

a) It involves changing skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behavior.

b) Determining training needs typically involves generating answers to several questions. (See Exhibit 6-6.)  

2. Warning signals indicating training may be necessary—decreases in production numbers, lower quality, more accidents, and higher scrap or rejection rates.

3. How are employees trained?
 
a) Most training takes place on the job.
 
1) On-the-job training (OJT) can disrupt the workplace and result in an increase in errors while learning.

2) Some skill training is too complex to learn on the job.

4. What are some of the typical methods used?

a) Two ways of classifying training are on the job and off the job.

b) See Exhibit 6-7 for typical training methods.

5. How can managers ensure that training is working?

a) Measure results—evaluate the training program.

b) Training programs are typically evaluated by asking several managers, representatives from HRM, and a group of workers who have recently completed the program to provide their opinions.

1) The reactions of participants or managers, while easy to acquire, are the least valid.

2) Their opinions are heavily influenced by factors that may have little to do with the training’s effectiveness—difficulty, entertainment value, or the personality characteristics of the instructor.

3) Trainees’ reactions to the training may provide feedback on how worthwhile the participants viewed the training to be.

c) Training must also be evaluated in terms of how much the participants learned, whether their behavior changed, and whether the training program achieved its desired results.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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VI. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

A. What Is a Performance Management System?  (PPT 6-16)

1. A performance management system is a process of establishing performance standards and evaluating performance in order to arrive at objective human resources decisions as well as to provide documentation to support any personnel actions.

2. See Exhibit 6-8, performance appraisal methods. (PPT 6-17, 6-18)

3. The written essay requires no complex forms or extensive training to complete.
 
a) A “good” or “bad” appraisal may be determined as much by the evaluator’s writing skill as by the employee’s actual level of performance.

4. The use of critical incidents focuses the evaluator’s attention on those critical or key behaviors that separate effective from ineffective job performance.

5. Adjective rating scales are one of the oldest and most popular methods of appraisal.

a) This method lists a set of performance factors (e.g., quantity and quality of work, job knowledge, cooperation, loyalty, attendance, honesty, initiative).

b) The evaluator then goes down the list and rates each factor on an incremental scale.

6. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS).

a) Combines the major elements from the critical incident and graphic rating scale.

b) The appraiser rates an employee according to items along a numerical scale, but the items are examples of actual behavior on a given job rather than general descriptions or traits.

7. The 360-degree appraisal seeks performance feedback from oneself, bosses, peers, team members, customers, etc.

a) Used in approximately 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 firms.

8. Traditional performance evaluation systems may be archaic.

a) Due to downsizing, supervisors have greater work responsibility and more direct reports.

b) The growth of project teams and employee involvement places the responsibility of evaluation where people are better able to make an accurate assessment.

9. The 360-degree feedback process also has some positive benefits for development concerns.
 
a) Many managers simply do not know how their employees truly view them and the work they have done.

b) Research studies into the effectiveness of 360-degree performance appraisals report positive results from more accurate feedback, empowering employees, reducing the subjective factors in the evaluation process, and developing leadership in an organization.

10. Should we compare people with one another or against a set of standards?

a) Multi-person comparisons compare one person’s performance with that of others.

1) They are relative, not absolute, measuring devices.

b) The three most popular forms: group-order ranking, individual ranking, and paired
comparison.  (PPT 6-17, 6-18)

c) The group order ranking.

1) The evaluator places all employees into a particular classification such as “top one-fifth,” “second fifth,” etc., including “bottom fifth.”

2) If a rater has 20 employees, only 4 can be in the top fifth and 4 must be relegated to the bottom fifth.

d) The individual ranking approach.

1) The evaluator merely lists the employees in order from highest to lowest.

2) Only one can be “best” and there can be no ties.

e) The paired comparison approach.

1) Each employee is compared with every other employee in the comparison group and rated as either the superior or weaker member of the pair.

2) Each employee is assigned a summary ranking based on the number of superior scores received.

3) This approach can become unwieldy with large numbers of employees.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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11. Isn’t MBO an appraisal approach too? (PPT 6-18)

 a)    Introduced in Chapter 3.

 b)    MBO is also a mechanism for appraising performance.

 c)    Employees are evaluated by how well they accomplish a specific set of objectives that
 have been determined to be critical in the successful completion of their jobs.
d)    MBO’s popularity among managerial personnel is probably due to its focus on end goals.

1) Managers tend to emphasize such results-oriented outcomes as profit, sales, and costs.

e) This emphasis meshes with MBO’s concern with quantitative measures of performance and allows managers to choose the best path for achieving their goals.

12.  Self Assessment #43 “How Good am I at Giving Performance Feedback?”

B.   What Happens When Performance Falls Short?  (PPT 6-19)

1. What if an employee is not performing in a satisfactory manner?

2. A manager needs to find out why.

a) If it is because the employee is mismatched (a hiring error), something relatively simple can be done.

b) If the problem is associated with the desire to do the job, it becomes a discipline problem.
 
1) A manager can rely on employee counseling and/or can take disciplinary action. (See Exhibit 6-9.)

3. Employee counseling is a process designed to help employees overcome performance-related problems.

a) It attempts to uncover why employees have lost their desire to work productively.

b) It is designed to find ways to fix the problem.

c) The premise is fairly simple:  it is beneficial to both the organization and the employee.

d) If the employee can’t or won’t accept help, then disciplinary action must be taken.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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VII. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

A.   How Are Pay Levels Determined?  (PPT 6-20)

1. The goals of compensation administration are

a) to design a cost-effective pay structure that will attract and retain competent employees.

b) to provide an incentive for these individuals to exert high energy levels at work.

c) to ensure that pay levels will be perceived as fair by all employees.
1) Fairness means that the established pay levels are adequate and consistent for the demands and requirements of the job.

2. The primary determination of pay is the kind of job an employee performs.

a) Different jobs require different kinds and levels of skills, knowledge, and abilities, and these vary in their value to the organization as does the responsibility and authority of various positions.

3. Pay levels may be influenced by the kind of business, the environment surrounding the job, geographic location, and employee performance levels and seniority.

a) Private-sector jobs typically provide higher rates of pay than comparable positions in public and not-for-profit jobs.

b) Employees who work under hazardous conditions, work unusual hours, or work in geographic areas where the cost of living is higher, are typically more highly compensated.

c) Employees who have been with an organization for a long time may have had a salary increase each year.

4. The most important factor is management’s compensation philosophy.

a) Some organizations don’t pay employees any more than they have to.

b) Others commit to a compensation philosophy of paying at or above area wage levels.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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B. Why Do Organizations Offer Employee Benefits?  (PPT 6-21)

1. When an organization designs its overall compensation package, it has to take into account another element, employee benefits.

2. Employee benefits are nonfinancial rewards that are designed to enrich employees’ lives.

a) Once viewed as “fringes,” today’s benefit packages reflect a considered effort to provide something that each employee values.

3. The benefits offered by an organization will vary widely in scope.

4. Most are required to provide social security and workers’ and unemployment compensations.

5. Organizations also provide an array of benefits, such as paid time off from work, life and disability insurance, retirement programs, health insurance, etc.

a) Costs of some of these, such as retirement and health insurance benefits, are frequently paid by both the employer and the employee.

VIII. CURRENT ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

A. How Can Work Force Diversity Be Managed?  (PPT 6-22)

1. Consider how work force diversity affects recruitment, selection, and orientation.

2. Improving work force diversity requires managers to widen their recruiting net.

a) To increase diversity, managers must increasingly turn to non-traditional sources such as women’s job networks, over-50 clubs, urban job banks, disabled people’s training centers, ethnic newspapers, and gay rights organizations.

3. Once a diverse set of applicants exists, efforts must be made to ensure that the selection process does not discriminate.

a) Applicants need to be made comfortable with the organization’s culture and be made aware of management’s desire to accommodate their needs.

4. Orientation is often difficult for women and minorities.

a) Many organizations provide special workshops to raise diversity consciousness among current employees as well as programs for new employees that focus on diversity issues.

b) The thrust of these efforts is to increase individual understanding of differences.

c) A number of companies also have special mentoring programs for female and minority managers who have few role models.

B. What Is Sexual Harassment? (PPT 6-23, 6-24)

1. Sexual harassment is a serious issue in both public and private sector organizations.

a) More than 12,000 complaints are filed with the EEOC each year.

b) More than 15 percent of the complaints are filed by males.

c) Sexual harassment is estimated to be the single biggest financial risk facing companies today—and result in upwards of a 30-percent decrease in a company’s stock price.

1) Mitsubishi paid out more than $34 million to 300 women because of sexual harassment.

2) Results in millions lost in absenteeism, low productivity, and turnover.

d) Sexual harassment is a global issue.

2. Sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment.

a) It can occur between members of the opposite or of the same sex.

b) It can occur between employees of the organization or involve an employee and a non-employee.

c) Such an activity was generally protected under Title VII (sex discrimination) in the United States.

d) In recent years, this problem has gained more recognition.

3. Much of the problem is defining what constitutes this illegal behavior.
 
4. In 1993, the EEOC cited three situations in which sexual harassment can occur where there are instances of verbal or physical conduct toward an individual.

a) Creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile environment;

b) Unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work; or

c) Adversely affects an employee’s employment opportunities.
 
5. For many organizations, it’s the offensive or hostile environment issue that is problematic.
 
6. The Supreme Court case of Meritor Savings Bank vs. Vinson supported the hostile environment concept; it also identified employer liability.

a) An organization can be held liable for sexual harassment actions by its managers, employees, and even customers!

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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7. How do organizational members determine if something is offensive?

a) It depends on the people in the organization and the environment in which they work.

b) We all must be attuned to what makes fellow employees uncomfortable—and if we don’t know, then we should find out!

1) This means understanding one another and respecting others’ rights.

8. What can a company do to protect itself?

9. The courts want to know two things:

a) Did the organization know about, or should it have known about, the alleged behavior?
b) What did management do to stop it?

10. In 1993, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. that victims do not have to suffer substantial mental distress to receive a jury award.

11. In June 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that sexual harassment may have occurred even if the employee had not experienced any “negative” job repercussions.

a) Case of Kimberly Ellerth, a marketing assistant at Burlington Industries.

b) What the Supreme Court’s decision in this case indicates is that “harassment is defined by the ugly behavior of the manager, not by what happened to the worker subsequently.”

12. Whenever involved in a sexual harassment matter, the harasser may have rights, too.

a) No action should be taken against someone until a thorough investigation has been conducted.

b) The results of the investigation should be reviewed by an independent and objective individual before any action against the alleged harasser is taken.

c) The harasser should be given an opportunity to respond to the allegation, and have a disciplinary hearing if desired.

d) An avenue for appeal should also exist for the alleged harasser—an appeal heard by someone in a higher level of management who is not associated with the case.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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C. Can Unions and Management Cooperate? (PPT 6-25)

1. Historically, the relationship between a labor union and management has been based on conflict.

2. Times have changed somewhat.

a) Management has become increasingly aware that successful efforts to increase productivity, improve quality, and lower costs require employee involvement and commitment.

b) Some labor unions have come to recognize that they can help their members more by cooperating with management rather than fighting it.

3. Current U.S. labor laws may have been a barrier to both parties becoming cooperative partners.

a) As a case in point, the National Labor Relations Act was passed to encourage collective bargaining and to balance workers’ power against that of management.

b) It also sought to eliminate the then widespread practice of firms setting up company unions to undermine the efforts of outside unions to organize their employees.
 
c) So the law prohibits employers from creating or supporting a “labor organization.”

d) Ironically, labor laws—like the National Labor Relations Act—may have also presented a minor roadblock to management and labor cooperation in setting up employee committees.

4. The current legal environment doesn’t prohibit employee-involvement programs in the United States.

a) To comply with the law, employee-involvement programs must have independence.

b) What kinds of actions would indicate that management does not dominate an employee-involvement program?

1) Choosing program members through secret ballot elections.

2) Giving program members wide latitude in deciding what issues to deal with.

3) Permitting members to meet apart from management.

4) Specifying that program members are not susceptible to dissolution by management whim.

5. The key theme that labor laws appear to be conveying is that where employee involvement programs are introduced, members must have the power to make decisions and act independently of management.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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D. Can Managers Prevent Workplace Violence?  (PPT 6-26)

1. Today a much greater emphasis is being placed on the increasing violence that has erupted on the job.

a) More than 1000 employees are murdered, and more than 300,000 employees are assaulted on the job each year.

b) Homicide has become the number three cause of work-related death in the United States.

2. Two factors have contributed greatly to this—domestic violence and disgruntled employees.

3. Because circumstances of each incident are different, a specific plan of action for companies to follow is difficult to detail.

a) First, the organization must develop a plan to deal with the issue.

b) Organizations can review all corporate policies to ensure they are not adversely affecting employees.

c) Organizations can assure that all employees are treated with respect and dignity.

d) Organizations must also train their supervisory personnel to identify troubled employees before the problem results in violence.

1) Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can be designed specifically to help these individuals.

e) Organizations should also implement stronger security mechanisms.

4. Organizations must be prepared to deal with the situation and to offer whatever assistance they can to deal with the aftermath.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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E.  What is Workplace Spirituality? (PPT 6-27)

1. Workplace spirituality is not about organized religious practices.
 
a) Workplace spirituality is about recognizing that employees have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of an organizational community. 

b) Spiritual organizational cultures recognize that employees have both a mind and a spirit. 

2.   Why the emphasis on Spirituality in today’s organizations?

a)  Historical models of management focused on organizational efficiency without feelings. 

b)  Today, just as consideration of emotions helps us

3.  What does a Spiritual Organization Look Like?

a)  Concerned with ethics, values, motivation, work/life balance, and leadership elements of an organization.

b)  Helps employees develop and reach their full potential.

c) Addresses problems created by work/life conflicts.

d) Critics question the legitimacy of organizations imposing their spiritual values on employees, and on whether spirituality and profitability are compatible.

e) Studies show that organizations that have introduced spirituality have increased productivity, reduced turnover, greater employee satisfaction, and increased organizational commitment. 

4. HRM and Spirituality

a) HRM is the leader or vehicle for workplace spirituality.

b)   HRM has introduced many of the initiatives associate with workplace spirituality for years. 

F. How Do “Survivors” Respond to Layoffs? (PPT 6-28)

1. Many organizations have done a fairly good job of helping layoff victims by offering a variety of job-help services, psychological counseling, support groups, severance pay, extended health insurance benefits, and detailed communications.

2. Although some affected individuals react very negatively to being laid off, the assistance offered reveals that the organization does care about its former employees.
 
3. Unfortunately, little is done for those who retain their jobs and have the task of keeping the organization going or even of revitalizing it.

4. Both victims and survivors experience feelings of frustration, anxiety, and loss.

5. A new syndrome:  layoff-survivor sickness.

a) It is a set of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of employees who survive involuntary staff reductions.

b) Symptoms include job insecurity, perceptions of unfairness, guilt, depression, stress from increased workload, fear of change, loss of loyalty and commitment, reduced effort, and an unwillingness to do anything beyond the required minimum.
6. Managers may want to provide opportunities for employees to talk to counselors about their guilt, anger, and anxiety.

7. Group discussions can also provide an opportunity for the survivors to vent their feelings.

8. Every attempt should be made to ensure that those individuals who are still working in the organization know that they are valuable and much-needed resources.

Teaching Notes  _______________________________________________________________________
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Review, Comprehension, Application
Chapter Summary

1. The human resources management process seeks to staff the organization and to sustain high employee performance through its various functions.

2. Since the mid-1960s, the U.S. government has greatly expanded its influence over HRM decisions by enacting new laws and regulations.

3. A job description is a written statement of what a job holder does, how it is done, and why it is done.  A job specification states the minimum acceptable qualifications that a potential employee must possess to successfully perform a given job.

4. Recruitment seeks to develop a pool of potential job candidates.  Typical sources include an internal search, advertisements, employee referrals, employment agencies, school placement centers, and temporary services.  Downsizing typically reduces the labor supply within an organization through options such as firing, layoffs, attrition, transfers, reduced workweeks, early retirements, and job sharing.

5. All HRM decisions must be based on factors or criteria that are both reliable and valid.  If a selection device is not reliable, then it cannot be assumed to measure consistently.  If a device is not valid, then no proven relationship exists between the criterion and successful job performance.

6. Selection devices must match the job in question.  Work sampling works best with low-level jobs; assessment centers work best for managerial positions.  The validity of the interview as a selection device increases at progressively higher levels of management.

7. Employee training can be on the job or off the job.  Popular on-the-job methods include job rotation, understudying, and apprenticeships.  The more popular off-the-job methods are lectures, films, and simulation exercises.

8. Managers can use several techniques in evaluating employee performance, such as comparing employee performance against some set performance standard, comparing employees with one another, or measuring performance on the basis of preset objectives.  One of the newer performance evaluation methods used in contemporary organizations is the 360-degree evaluation, whereby an employee is evaluated by bosses, peers, direct reports, if any, and possibly customers.

9. Compensation administration attempts to ensure that pay levels will be perceived as fair by all employees.  Fairness means that the established levels of pay are adequate and consistent for the demands and requirements of the job.  Therefore, the primary determination of pay is the kind of job an employee performs.

10. Sexual harassment encompasses sexually suggestive remarks, unwanted touching and sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature.  Labor-management cooperation involves mutual efforts on the part of a labor union and the management of an organization.  Workplace violence refers to the increase in violent crimes being committed at the work site  Workplace spirituality is about recognizing that employees have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work.  The layoff-survivor sickness is the set of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of employees who remain after involuntary staff reductions.

Companion Website
We invite you to visit the Robbins/DeCenzo Companion Website at www.prenhall.com/robbins for the chapter quiz and student PowerPoints.

 Diversity Perspectives: Communication and Interpersonal Skills, by Carol Harvey and June Allard
1. Why was Melanie’s perception of her performance in regard to the diversity-training program so different from the CEO’s?
From her perspective she had provided a training opportunity in a cost effective and timely manner. However, the CEO realized that her training program was ineffective because it was not compatible with the organization’s growth strategy, which was making the company’s workforce increasingly diverse. However, he should have brought this issue to her attention as soon as he became aware of the problem rather than waiting until her annual appraisal.

2.  Assume that you are an outside consultant who has been given the task of creating a new diversity-training program for Columbia. What is your assessment of the problems with the existing plan?
     When an organization substantially increases the diversity of its workforce, systemic changes in the way that the organization manages its employees are often necessary. Training alone, especially a passive training method such as watching a video, will not necessarily resolve differences in perspectives. In addition, many workers did not speak English as a first language and may not have totally understood the film. Changing employee attitudes and behaviors around diversity requires a more comprehensive training program that is developed to meet the particular needs of the organization.
     Currently, only the new hourly workers are receiving the training. After a new training program is developed, all members of the workforce, from the CEO on down need to participate in the program. Lastly, if Melanie developed a feedback system to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program in the beginning, she would have been aware that it was not working long before her performance appraisal.

Reading for Comprehension
1. How does HRM affect all managers?
Answer – The quality of an organization is determined by the quality of people it employs. Staffing and human resources management decisions and methods are critical to ensuring that the organization hires and keeps the right personnel. Many small business managers must do their own hiring without the assistance of HRM. Managers in larger organizations are frequently involved in HRM activities.

2. Contrast reject errors and accept errors. Which one is most likely to open an employer to charges of discrimination? Why?
Answer – Reject errors can open the organization to charges of employment discrimination because acceptable candidates are rejected prematurely or inappropriately. Accept errors cost the organization—training costs, profits foregone because of the employee’s incompetence, the cost of severance, etc. These errors exist when the wrong candidate is hired.

3. What are the major problems of the interview as a selection device?
Answer – The interview, along with the application form, is an almost universal selection device. The value of the interview as a selection device has been the subject of considerable debate. Interviews can be reliable and valid selection tools when structured and well organized, and when interviewers hold to common questions.

But the typical interview often provides little in the way of valuable information. All kinds of potential biases can creep into interviews.
• Prior knowledge about the applicant will bias the interviewer’s evaluation.
• The interviewer tends to hold a stereotype of what represents a “good” applicant.
• The interviewer tends to favor applicants who share his/her attitudes.
• The order in which applicants are interviewed will influence evaluations.
• The order in which information is elicited during the interview will influence evaluations.
• Negative information is given unduly high weight.
• The interviewer may make a decision concerning the applicant’s suitability within the first four or five minutes of the interview.
• The interviewer may forget much of the interview’s content within minutes of its conclusion.
• The interview is most valid in determining an applicant’s intelligence, level of motivation, and interpersonal skills.
• Structured and well-organized interviews are more reliable than unstructured and unorganized ones.

4. What is the relationship between selection, recruitment, and job analysis?
Answer – Job analysis is more fundamental than an inventory and is a lengthy process, one in which work flows are analyzed and behaviors that are necessary to perform jobs are identified. Ultimately, the purpose of job analysis is to determine the kinds of skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to successfully perform each job. This information is then used to develop job descriptions and job specifications. The job description can be used to describe the job to potential candidates. The job specification keeps the manager’s attention on the list of qualifications necessary for an incumbent to perform a job and qualifying candidates.

5. How are orientation and employee training alike? How are they different?
Answer – Once selected, the job candidate needs to be introduced to the job and organization. Job orientation expands on the information the employee obtained during the recruitment. The major objectives of orientation are
• Reduce the initial anxiety.
• Familiarize new employees with the job, the work unit, and the organization.
• Facilitate the outsider-insider transition.

Employee training is a learning experience in that it seeks a relatively permanent change in employees such that their ability to perform on the job improves. It involves changing skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behavior. Determining training needs typically involves generating answers to several questions. See Exhibit 6-6.

6. What can managers do to help prevent workplace violence?
Answer – Even though the circumstances of each incidence of workplace violence may be different, making it difficult for companies to detail a specific plan, managers can help develop a plan to deal with workplace violence.  Managers can also review all corporate policies to ensure they are not adversely affecting employees and can assure that all employees are treated with respect and dignity.  Managers can also request to receive training in how to identify troubled employees before the problem results in violence.  Managers can be familiar with employee assistance programs (EAPs) that may be available to help these individuals.  Finally, managers can work to see that stronger security mechanisms are implemented to screen people who don’t belong on company premises.

Linking Concepts to Practice
1. Should an employer have the right to choose employees without government interference in the hiring process? Explain your position.
Answer – Students’ positions will vary. They should seek a balance in their answer. While no businessperson likes someone from the “outside” telling him/her what to do, the reality is that the government interference “balances” the power relationship between an employer and a job candidate.

2. Do you think there are moral limits on how far a prospective employer should delve into an applicant’s life by means of interviews, tests, and background investigations? Explain your position.
Answer – This will be a touchy issue. Most students will probably feel their private lives are their own business. A few will not. Key here is discussing the relationship between nonwork-related behaviors having an impact on work. For example, if someone has an alcohol or drug problem, even if it isn’t practiced on the job, can it, will it eventually impact their job performance? Probably.

3. What in your view constitutes sexual harassment? Describe how companies can minimize sexual harassment in the workplace?
Answer – Sexual harassment is a serious issue in both public and private sector organizations. It is defined as any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment. It can occur between members of the opposite or of the same sex. A workplace environment that is free from sexual harassment is generally guaranteed under employment discrimination laws.

The EEOC cites three situations in which sexual harassment can occur. These are instances where verbal or physical conduct toward an individual (1) creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile environment; (2) unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work; or (3) adversely affects an employee’s employment opportunities. For many organizations, it’s the offensive or hostile environment issue that is problematic.

A company can do some things to protect itself. The courts want to know two things—did the organization know about, or should it have known about, the alleged behavior; and what did management do to stop it? Therefore the organization needs to educate all employees on sexual harassment matters and have mechanisms available to monitor employees.

4. Why should managers be concerned with diversity in the workplace? What special HRM issues does diversity raise?
Answer – Society and the work force are becoming more diverse, therefore the labor pool and future workers are going to be more diverse. In order to be humane and effective, managers need to be conscious of these changes. Improving work force diversity requires managers to widen their recruiting net. Managers increasingly must turn to nontraditional sources.

Once a diverse set of applicants exists, efforts must be made to ensure that the selection process does not discriminate. Applicants need to be made comfortable with the organization’s culture and be made aware of management’s desire to accommodate. Orientation is often difficult for women and minorities. A number of companies also have special mentoring programs to deal with the reality that lower-level female and minority managers have few role models with whom to identify.

5. Victims of downsizing are not those employees who were let go. Rather, the victims are the ones who have kept their jobs. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Defend your position.
Answer – Students can have a variety of responses, but they should consider the validity of this statement. Both victims and survivors experience feelings of frustration, anxiety, and loss.
There is a lot of trauma to downsizing and “survivors” share it. They may ask themselves why they weren’t cut, when will the next cut take place, will they get caught in that one—after all the others have taken the available jobs in the marketplace as well.
A new syndrome layoff-survivor sickness. It is a set of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of employees who remain after involuntary employee reductions. Symptoms include job insecurity, perceptions of unfairness, guilt, depression, stress from increased workloads, fear of change, loss of loyalty and commitment, reduced effort, and an unwillingness to do anything beyond the required minimum. Managers may want to provide opportunities for employees to talk to counselors about their guilt, anger, and anxiety. Group discussions can also provide an opportunity for the “survivors” to vent their feelings.

6. Workplace violence is indicative of the violence that exists in our society. Accordingly, no amount of prevention can eliminate all workplace violence occurrences. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.
Answer – A much greater emphasis today is being placed on the increasing workplace violence. Two factors have contributed greatly to this—domestic violence and disgruntled employees. Companies can reduce workplace violence and reduce their liability.
• First, the organization must develop a plan to deal with the issue.
• Organizations must also train their management personnel to identify troubled employees before the problem results in violence.
• Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can be designed specifically to help these individuals.
• Organizations should also implement stronger security mechanisms.
• Organization must be prepared to deal with the situation.

Integrative Chapter Skills

Rescuing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Purpose: The purpose of this case is to introduce students to the importance of fitting the organization with its mission. This case will also serve as an example of how the human resource strategy of a firm might have important consequences for the organization’s ultimate mission and business model.
Below you will find the mission statements for the Homeland Security department and FEMA
Homeland security Strategic Plan — Securing Our Homeland
The National Strategy for Homeland Security and the Homeland Security Act of 2002 served to mobilize and organize our nation to secure the homeland from terrorist attacks. This exceedingly complex mission requires a focused effort from our entire society if we are to be successful. To this end, one primary reason for the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security was to provide the unifying core for the vast national network of organizations and institutions involved in efforts to secure our nation. In order to better do this and to provide guidance to the 180,000 DHS men and women who work every day on this important task, the Department developed its own high-level strategic plan. The vision and mission statements, strategic goals and objectives provide the framework guiding the actions that make up the daily operations of the department.
FEMA Mission
DISASTER. It strikes anytime, anywhere. It takes many forms -- a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, a fire or a hazardous spill, an act of nature or an act of terrorism. It builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning. Every year, millions of Americans face disaster, and its terrifying consequences.
On March 1, 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation.
 Based on your successful reorganization of the Homeland Security department, Chertoff has approached your group again with what he considers an even more challenging project. Currently FEMA is structured as a department that reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland security. After the substantial failings during the Katrina crisis and recent reporting that FEMA mismanaged food intended for KATRINA victims FEMA has come under attack from both a hostile press and an inquiring Congress. An example of the current issues surrounding FEMA was a recent report that as many as 6 million prepared meals spoiled in the Gulf Coast heat last summer when the FEMA ran short of warehouse and refrigeration space, according to agency officials.
 The recent restructuring of the Homeland security department has brought forth a call to re-address whether FEMA should remain a part of Homeland security. You were brought into a top level meeting where various stakeholders argued for different versions of FEMA should look like going forward. After the meeting your group compiled the key statements and has been asked to give Chertoff a report of your recommendation soon.
 From the Military: Various key members of the joint chief of staff representing all four branches of the military want to increase their contribution to the functioning of FEMA. Specifically, the military argues that they would not make FEMA a military controlled agency, but that there are several benefits to increasing the role of the military in the design and operation of a new FEMA. First, it was argued that the two critical shortcomings regarding FEMA is its inability to handle large scale operations on short notice, and its inability to garner and coordinate large numbers of individuals on very short notice. These are the two things that the military does very well. Several generals also note that many of the largest military bases are located in states that are often affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornados. The generals also mention that there is a historic link between the various National Guard units and the active duty military as many of the current national guardsman are former enlisted soldiers in the various branches. Specifically, one general mentions that we would have never allowed 6 million meals to rot. That just does not happen where we work.
 There were several private sector consultants in attendance. These consisted of 2 CEOs at major fortune 500 firms, and 2 leading management consultant groups. Your group was brought in as an advisory group to the Secretary of Homeland Security. The criticisms from the private sector were quite blistering. First, they questioned the need for FEMA as a federal level organization. One CEO stated flatly “disaster relief is best handled at the state level, the idea that a federal bureaucracy can better handle things from Washington than local officials who are held to higher levels of accountability among the constituents is non-sense.” The private sector representatives pushed for a devolution of control of FEMA to state run agencies with the federal government left in charge with nothing more than to provide financial aid. The second CEO mentioned that currently FEMA has 2,600 employees and 4,000 stand-by employees. Based on his assessment of what FEMA should really be tasked with, in the private sector the organization would be 1/10th that size.
The consultant group noted how the work that had always been done by the Red Cross seemed to be redundant with many of FEMA’s espoused responsibilities. The idea of a non-profit, charitable organization being given a bigger role in future efforts is intriguing. One individual from that group wondered out loud if in fact it would be a better investment dollar-for-dollar to begin to support the Red Cross officially from the federal government. The real issue in emergencies is coordinating man-power. It seems that either the Red cross, the military, the National Guard might all be better capable to handle these large scale emergencies than the department as it is currently structured.
Another top consultant also mentioned that it seems that it would be easier to get volunteers to help as it has been her experience that most Americans are more than willing to help but don’t always know how. She conducted a survey and found that substantially more individuals respected and trusted the Red Cross than they did the federal government to handle emergencies.
The response by the representatives from FEMA was direct. They argued against the perception in the meeting that federal employees were incompetent. They mentioned that FEMA has a very complex and different role in the post 9-11 age. The undersecretary made the following counter-arguments.
1. The committee has wrongly focused much of its attention on how to handle natural disaster relief, but missed the fact that terrorist related disasters are just as likely if not more dangerous to our country and only FEMA can handle man made disasters.
 2. The undersecretary also mentioned that FEMA is tasked with coordinating many partnerships. These partners include state and local emergency management agencies, 27 federal agencies and the American Red Cross.
3. The federal government is fully capable of handling large scale crises and it could certainly be argued where the majority of the criticism should lie when considering the relative effectiveness of the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans during the Katrina crisis.
Teaching Tips for Group task
Part I of students’ assignment:  Secretary Chertoff has asked you for two pieces of advice. First, he wants your impression of the various arguments given for the future direction of FEMA. In your estimation what direction should FEMA take going forward as it attempts to meet future challenges? What do you see as the critical factors influencing the negative performance of the agency thus far?
Answer:  Student answers will vary; this question is really more about the overall strategy of FEMA.  However, students can consider the validity of the different arguments, and specifically consider the HR implications of each perspective (which will help them consider the next question). These first question s can be used as a backdrop for the next question.  
Part II of students’ assignment:  More importantly, Secretary Chertoff wants you to consider the future of FEMA in light of the human resource management dilemmas brought forward by the various members of the previous committee meeting. What should the organization look like and who should fill the ranks of FEMA in the future? The impression you have gathered from the meeting is that there are three general types of employees that could fill the ranks of FEMA:
 1. Individuals with ties to the military, either those who have ETS’ed (End time in service) – or those with loose ties to the military and its vast infrastructure.
 2. Career Civil Servants which is the current focus of FEMA.
 3. Volunteer workers – or workers from the non-profit industry and network.
 Should FEMA focus on one of the three going forward or consider a mix of two or three types of individuals? What are the critical strengths and weaknesses of each?
Answer:  Students’ answers will vary and their answers will provide the opportunity for a lively debate.  Be sure to focus students on the attributes that come with different employee populations and the kinds of issues they will raise for HRM.  Students should be encouraged to also consider the private sector argument of the CEOs---why, if the current focus of FEMA is career civil servants, is the CEO’s argument of inefficiency being presented? (Raises the case of organizational factors/context on HRM---here, they have civilians working, just like the “private sector” but a government structure/agency.  
 Part III of the students’ assignment:  The Secretary would also like you to address the degree to which the Agency should be centralized in Washington D.C. to maintain links with terror based emergency management or be de-centralized to the various state run agencies.
Answer:  This question really gets more at the material from Organizational Design and Structure than from this chapter specifically---but it is valuable in that it prompts the students to consider their answer to above in the context of the overall state versus Federal argument. 

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