Chapter 1
The Strategic Role of Human Resource Management
Cases and Exercises
Experiential Exercise: HRM As A Strategic Partner in Strategic Planning (page 29)
Examples of possible answers to the critical issues are:
Critical Issue Effect on existing employees Potential HR role(s)
(Example)
1. Distance learning
technology
(Example)
Need for better computer skills.
(Example)
Provide greater technical
training.
2. Government
reductions in funding
to higher education
Less money for raises –
potential turnover
Focus on HR programs that
increase job satisfaction.
Improvements in productivity.
3. Greater workforce
diversity
Current employees may have
communication difficulties;
culture shock
Diversity training needs will
increase
4. More international
students
Greater classroom diversity;
communication challenge.
Cross cultural training for
faculty. Orientation for
International students.
1. High percentage of
faculty to retire over
next decade.
More faculty will be needed Recruiting program to attract
faculty. Retention program
for existing faculty.
Retirement programs for
retirees.
2. Local large
business is
developing its own
corporate
university.
May draw faculty to the
corporate university.
Employee retention
programs.
Questions:
1. Which environmental change would have the greatest impact on the human
resource needs of the university? Students will form their own opinions (there is
no right answer). Probe students as to how they reached their decision. Most likely
either the reductions in government funding or the local business will develop its own
corporate university.
2. What environmental change will be the most difficult for your HR group to
manage? You should expect a range of responses based on local conditions.
Diversity will likely surface as a major issue. Any of the critical issues could top this
chart. Look for good rationale that displays an understanding of the complications
that each one presents for an HR staff.
3. Overall, how will this combination of changes affect your organization?
Bright students will consider issues like the staffing level of the current HR
organization. Some may raise the issue of “who trains the trainers?” Students should
note that in every environmental change, there are some effect on the HR needs of
the organization and therefore on the HR department itself. These changes will force
the organization to become more responsive and proactive to change, and focused
on meeting the competitive challenges of the environment.
Case Incident: Jack Nelson’s Problem (page 30)
1. What do you think was causing some of the problems in the savings and
loan home office and branches? There is clearly a problem with communication,
and the effects are felt in the area of employee commitment. Additional contributing
factors include the lack of consistency in the policies and procedures of various
locations. There is no cohesiveness to the staffing activities of this organization.
2. Do you think setting up a HR unit in the main office would help? Of course
we think it would! Since there are HR-related problems both in the home office and
in the branches, it is clear that if a personnel office were set up, it would need to help
to coordinate the HR activities in the branches.
3. What specific functions should it carry out? What HR functions would then
be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? There is room for quite
a bit of variation in the answers to this question. Our suggested organization would
include:
HR Unit: job analyses, planning labor needs and recruiting, providing
advising and training in the selection process, orientation of new employees,
managing wage and salary administration, managing incentives and benefits,
providing and managing the performance appraisal process, organization-wide
communications, and providing training & developing services.
Supervisors and Other Line Managers: interviewing and selection of job
candidates, training new employees, appraising performance, departmental &
personal communications, and training & development.
Case Application: Turnover in the Bank (page 30)
The Conservative State Savings Bank was a medium sized bank located in a large
southern city. A sizeable unit of the bank, the check processing department, was
staffed by women aged eighteen to forty. The department had been experiencing an
annual turnover rate of about 40 percent, greatly reducing operating efficiency.
1. What were some of the possible problem Juanita Nelson found in her
investigation of employee turnover? The employees provided a variety of
reasons (many of which were different or more detailed then they provided at the
time of their departure). Among the problems employees mentioned were: boring
work, impersonal treatment, inflexible work schedules (including weekend work),
compensation issues (amount and confidentiality), supervisor indifference,
“forced contribution” to the company’s charitable fund, and poor supervision.
One employee even suggested the company needed a union.
2. Should Nelson also survey the supervisors before making
recommendations? Absolutely! First, Nelson has only heard one side of the
story. While there is great consistency between employee accounts, the stories
also lack a management perspective. Second, any solution that Nelson
recommends will need the support of management. She needs to understand
what has stood in the way of supervisors being more effective in their jobs.
3. Based on the case, what role(s) could the HR department beyond
recruiting? A number of strategic roles for HR are implicitly identified in the case
including: quality of worklife measurement, job design, employee selection
(matching employees skills to jobs), training employees, supervisory training,
compensation plans, and labor relations. HR could be a significant advisor to
operations – improving the quality and efficiency of the work while also becoming
a better workplace for employees.
Chapter 2
Equal Opportunity and the Law
Cases and Exercises
Experiential Exercise: Too Informal? (page 73)
1. How could the EEOC prove adverse impact? This could be proven fairly
easily by showing that none of the 20 non-Hispanic candidates from the state
employment office were hired while Hispanic candidates were. Additionally, they
may want to find non-Hispanic candidates who tried to apply but were turned
away because the company does not accept walk-in applicants.
2. Cite specific discriminatory personnel practices at John Jones’ company.
By using the “old-boy network” method of recruiting (seeking referrals from
current employees), the company prevented non-Hispanics from applying. There
was a strong disparate impact.
3. How could Jones’ company defend itself against the allegations of
discriminatory practice? Maybe they could plead ignorance? Jones’ best
defense may actually be to recognize the deficiency of his company’s practices
and aggressively seek to formalize its procedures.
4. Would it make sense for this company to try to defend itself against the
discrimination allegations? It actually may not make sense to try to defend
itself. The EEOC is more interested in compliance than in sanctions or
punishment. Seeking to change the process to reach compliance may be the
best defense against fines or lawsuits.
Case Incident: A Case of Racial Discrimination? (page 74)
1. What do you think of the way Chapman handled the accusations from
Peters in his conversation with Anderson? How would you have handled
them? There is no indication in the case that Chapman asked Peters opinion of
what was happening. If that is true, then Chapman may have entered the
meeting already having pre-judged Peters. If it were my situation to manage, I
might begin by questioning Peters more thoroughly as to the nature of the notes
he received. I would also want to know why Peters had not confronted Anderson
directly and asked her to stop.
2. Do you think Peters had the basis for a sexual harassment claim against
Anderson? Why or why not? If you allow the class time to explore this, the
class will likely divide over this issue. An essential element is Peters’ lack of
confrontation of Anderson. Peters might have had a reasonable claim of
harassment had he informed Anderson of his disapproval of her behavior
(informality, notes, and calls) and had she then persisted in her actions. At this
stage, he appears to have very little legal grounds for harassment.
3. What would you do now if you were Chapman to avoid further incidence of
this type? I would take a number of steps. First, I would meet with the hospitals
attorney to review what happened and get a firm legal opinion. Second, I would
make sure that the hospital has a clear written policy and documentation from
each employee that they have reviewed the policy. The policy should include a
standard procedure for handling this type of problem. Finally, I would want to
include this the subject of harassment in orientation and training programs for
doctors and staff.
Case Application: All in the Family (page 75)
1. To what extent did Minardi’s vacant position advertisement correspond to
the qualifications Louis Minardi was looking for? Minardi was looking for
someone to supervise eight men who were older and who had worked in a
bakery 7-10 years. It seems he really preferred someone with bakery
experience. The add suggested that either technical training or supervisory
experience were sufficient. Minardi wanted someone he was comfortable with
and his “men” were comfortable with.
2. Suggested Question: Why might Takia feel she was discriminated against?
Takia had the requirements noted in the advertisement. In her interview, she may
have felt she was not taken seriously (her interview was interrupted several
times. Minardi asked her about her boyfriend (which might suggest to her that
she needs a man’s permission to do her job), he asked her directly about her
experience supervising men (sent the message that supervising women was not
valid experience for supervising men) and paid little attention to her assertions
that she had education in her field (a criteria listed in the job description). The
employment application asked questions that did not relate to the job (do you
owe money?). The person hired appears to be about her age.
3. Suggested Question: What could Minardi have done differently that would
have reduced the likelihood of having a this type of problem? Minardi did not
appear to have thoughtfully considered the requirements for the position. His
advertisement was misleading. He does not appear to have considered the
possibility that a woman could accomplish the task. While it does not mention the
age of the person hired, he also appears to be young. Minardi would likely have
benefited from some professional consultation before he began the hiring
process.
Chapter 3
Job Analysis
Cases and Exercises
Experiential Exercise: The Job Description (page 115)
Use this exercise to help students:
•Obtain some hands-on experience with job analysis.
•To gain some understanding that different methods will likely yield different
results.
Case Incident: Hurricane Bonnie (page 119)
1. Should Phil and Linda ignore the old-timers’ protests and write up the job
descriptions as they see fit? Why? How would you go about resolving the
differences? In all likelihood, the old-timers are accurate in their descriptions.
There are several of them, and it appears that all of their descriptions agree.
Also, since they were the ones actually doing the work, it is likely that they were
the only ones who knew what was actually being done. One way to resolve the
differences would be to examine the specific items that Phil and Maybelline feel
the old-timers are padding their jobs with. Ask for evidence from the old-timers
that they did these functions, and ask for evidence from Phil and Maybelline that
someone else carried out those tasks.
2. How would you have conducted the job analysis? Other options may have
been to conduct personal interviews instead of the questionnaires. However, it is
unlikely that the resulting disagreement would have been avoided by using
another method. The method that they used was a good one.
Case Application: Does Your Secretary Rank Higher Than Mine (page 119)
4. What do you think the problem is from Garrett’s point of view? Garrett has
expressed concern that his secretary will be ranked lower than the secretaries of
other vice presidents, reducing her secretary. If this happens, he feels his
secretary will leave.
5. How should Elizabeth address each of the concerns expressed? While
wanting to meet Garrett’s concerns, Elizabeth must recognize her responsibility is
to the company as a whole. She must develop a rational analysis that can
support her recommendations.
6. What can Elizabeth do to prepare herself for any resistance to the analysis
from the secretaries themselves?. Elizabeth needs to inform the secretaries of
the true purpose of the survey. Compensation at Dublin should be based on how
well employees perform at particular jobs. Over time, it seems the jobs at Dublin
have sufficiently changed so that not all secretaries are performing the same
level of work. Some secretaries may be underpaid.
7. Given current advances in office technology such as sophisticated
spreadsheet programs, voice mail systems, and e-mail as well as the
elimination of many middle-management positions through downsizing,
secretaries in many firms are taking on quasi-management tasks. How can
Elizabeth account in her job analysis for the many degrees to which
individual secretaries at Dublin are doing so? Elizabeth needs to capture as
much information as possible about the 1) technical nature of the work and 2) the
work volume. These two dimensions, in addition to her other information, will
help her determine the boundaries of jobs (what skills/competencies they
contain).
Chapter 4
Personnel Planning and Recruiting
Experiential Exercise
Forecasting Personnel Requirements (pages 166-167)
. Based on the admittance trends, what number of nurses do you estimate
Park General Hospital will need over the next 2 years? Next year = 625. Year
after next = 636.
2. Based on turnover forecasts, how many nurses do you estimate Park
General Hospital will need to replace in the next 2 years? Total for next year
should be 65 and the following year should be 70.
3. Given your answers to items 1 and 2, how many nurses does your
department need to recruit? The charts are not entirely clear about the current
number of nurses employed. The admittance trends chart seems to skip the
current year. This may throw off some students. However, they should use trend
analysis to conclude that there are most likely 620 nurses currently. Based on
