89. (p. 300) Women usually find it easier than men to obtain mentors and engage in networking.
90. (p. 300) So far, among all minority groups, only Asian-Americans have realized the need for networking.
91. (p. 300) The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that women cannot be barred from “men only” clubs where
business contacts are made and business activity occurs.
92. (p. 299) Haller’s School of Truck Driving is proud of its training methods. Before its students are ever allowed
on the road with a big rig, they are taught safe driving techniques with the help of sophisticated, computerized
equipment that comes as close as possible to duplicating real driving conditions, right down to the sights,
sounds, bumps and vibrations experienced on the road. Haller’s is using a training method known as job
replication.
93. (p. 298) Randall Rahn is learning to be a carpenter by working alongside experienced carpenters. After one
more year of this type of training, his union will classify Randall as a journeyman. Randall is involved in an
apprenticeship program.
94. (p. 298) Hector Cruz is receiving training in maintaining and repairing assembly line robots at a school that
uses equipment very similar to that used on the job. This sort of training is known as vestibule training.
95. (p. 299) Iris Bloom recently was hired to a management position at the Kaye & Hoke Corporation. In order to
give her an appreciation of the different functional areas of her new company, she has been given assignments
96. (p. 299) Jim Marlowe currently holds the position of assistant manager in his firm’s credit department. He
works closely with a more experienced manager to learn how to perform all of the functions involved in credit
management. Jim believes he will soon be experienced enough to take over a senior position in his department.
Jim is benefiting from being an understudy.
97. (p. 299) When Sally Miller was hired to a lower-level management position at Zinwick and Associates, she
was introduced to Wendy Hopper, and told that Wendy would be her mentor. As a mentor, Wendy will coach
and guide Sally, introduce her to the right people, and be her organizational sponsor.
98. (p. 300) While efforts to train and develop women and minority managers appeal to many firms on the basis of
legal and moral considerations, it rarely pays off in an economic sense.
99. (p. 300–301) A performance appraisal is an evaluation in which the performance level of employees is measured
against established standards to make decisions about promotions, compensation, additional training, or firing.
100. (p. 301) Establishing performance standards is a crucial step in the performance evaluation process.
101. (p. 301) Most experienced workers have a clear idea of what is expected of them even if managers do not
communicate their expectations explicitly.
102. (p. 301) Because of legal implications, managers should not use the results of performance appraisals to make
decisions about promotions and compensation.
103. (p. 301) Performance standards should be understandable, measurable, and reasonable.
104. (p. 301) The most difficult step in the performance appraisal process is the actual performance evaluation.
105. (p. 301) A performance appraisal provides an opportunity for employees to make suggestions about how a
particular task could be better performed.
106. (p. 301) An effective performance appraisal system provides a way for the company to satisfy legal
conditions concerning promotions, compensation, and policies.
107. (p. 301) The last step in the performance appraisal process is to discuss the results with the employee.
108. (p. 301) Performance appraisals are very useful for new, inexperienced workers and first-line managers, but
have little value for top management.
109. (p. 301) Top level managers can benefit from having their performance evaluated by subordinates.
110. (p. 301) The main reason firms conduct performance appraisals is to establish a formal record of job
performance that will protect them from lawsuits filed by unhappy workers.
111. (p. 301) John Jacobs has been working on performance appraisals. He has already established reasonable,
understandable, and measurable performance standards and communicated them clearly to his subordinates.
Because of these efforts, the next step in the appraisal process should be relatively easy.
112. (p. 301) During a performance appraisal, manager Regina Herrera noticed that one of her subordinates, John
McDermott, was doing part of his job in a very inefficient way. One drawback of a performance appraisal is
that it does not allow for feedback during the evaluation process.
113. (p. 301) Mollie Herndon is an office manager at Beaux Neaux Legal Services. The company’s top
management recently announced it was adopting a 360-degree review process for performance appraisals of its
office managers. Once this policy goes into effect, Mollie can expect her evaluations to include feedback from
both the managers above her and the employees she supervises.
114. (p. 301) One drawback of performance appraisals is that they cannot be completed for top management
because there is no one above this level of management to carry out and evaluate the results.
115. (p. 302) Compensation is one of the main marketing tools a firm uses in its efforts to attract qualified
employees.
116. (p. 302) Airlines, banks, hospitals and many other service organizations are so labor intensive that the cost of
labor is their primary cost of operations.
117. (p. 302) The long-term success of a firm often depends on its ability to control employee costs and optimize
employee efficiency.
118. (p. 302) In recent years labor unions representing workers in the steel and automobile industries have taken a
strong stance against accepting any cuts in pay or other forms of compensation.
119. (p. 302) One objective of a carefully managed compensation and benefit program is to keep valued employees
from leaving and starting competing firms.
120. (p. 302) An advantage of the Hay system of compensation is that it gives managers the flexibility to adjust
pay for workers to reflect the value of their contribution to the firm.
121. (p. 303, figure 11.5) Blue collar and clerical workers are normally paid a salary.
122. (p. 303, figure 11.5) Bonuses can consist of cashless rewards as well as monetary payments.
123. (p. 303-304) In an ongoing study, Jay Schuster concluded that the best way to compensate members of a team
is to base each member’s pay on her or his individual performance.
124. (p. 304) Skill-based pay is a method of compensating teams in which base pay is raised when team members
learn and apply new skills.
125. (p. 304) Skill-based pay is a common method for compensating teams.
126. (p. 304) An advantage of a skill-based system of pay for compensating teams is that such a system is easy to
apply and administer.
127. (p. 304) Expenditures on fringe benefits have declined as a percentage of total payroll costs over the past
several decades.
128. (p. 304) Fringe benefit payments account for about thirty percent of payroll costs today.
129. (p. 304) Employees sometimes prefer increases in fringe benefits rather than increases in wages or salaries,
because many fringe benefits are not subject to taxes.
130. (p. 304) On-site haircuts and free breakfasts are examples of soft benefits some firms provide for employees.
131. (p. 304) A fringe benefits plan that allows employees to choose the benefits they want up to a certain dollar
amount is known as a soft benefit plan.
132. (p. 305) Many firms are now contracting with outside companies to administer their employee benefits plans.
133. (p. 306, Reaching Beyond Our Borders box) According to the “Reaching Beyond Our Borders” box in Chapter 11, human
resource managers will be able to count on the superiority of American business practices as they help manage a
global workforce.
134. (p. 302) One objective of a carefully managed compensation plan is to keep labor costs low. In order to
achieve this objective, a firm should strive to keep wages, salaries and benefits at or below the compensation
levels of its competitors.
135. (p. 303, figure 11.5) As a salesman, Rob Lytle’s pay is based on a percentage of his total sales. This type of pay
arrangement is known as a commission.
136. (p. 303, figure 11.5) Janet Pfingsten works for a large corporation. Her company allows her (and other
employees) to buy its stock at a specified price even if the actual market price is higher. For example, she
recently bought 200 shares of her company’s stock at $18 per share even though its current market price is over
$30 per share. This type of arrangement means that Janet’s company is offering its employees a dividend
reinvestment plan.
137. (p. 302) Employees at The Eastern Eagle newspaper are paid according to the Hay system. Ralph and Steve
do the same type of work and report to the same supervisor. Ralph has been working at the newspaper for 14
years while this is only Steve’s third year. The supervisor believes Steve is the more enthusiastic and
hard-working of the two. Under the Hay system, Steve will probably earn more than Ralph.
138. (p. 303-304) The Amabala Corporation is reorganizing to make more extensive use of teams. The company
plans to continue paying its workers based on their individual performance. This approach is likely to maximize
the success of the team by encouraging all team members to exert their best effort.
139. (p. 304) Recent trends suggest that the best way for firms to control labor costs is to focus on limiting the
growth of wages and salaries rather than controlling fringe benefits.
140. (p. 304) Employees at the Kempton Company have been complaining that the company’s fringe benefits
package forces all employees to take the same benefits regardless of differences in their needs. Kempton could
reduce this criticism by establishing a cafeteria-style fringe benefits plan.
141. (p. 306) Flextime plans are popular with employees because they allow them to work fewer hours while still
earning the same income.
142. (p. 306-307) A common feature of flextime plans is the establishment of core times when all employees are
expected to be at their job stations.
143. (p. 307) Sun Microsystems has experimented extensively with flextime and has found that it has a generally
positive impact on productivity.
144. (p. 307) Flextime plans are particularly well suited for workers on an assembly line.
145. (p. 307) In a compressed workweek, employees work more hours each day, but work fewer days each week.
146. (p. 307) Even though they are relatively new concepts, flextime and compressed workweeks already have
proven to be extremely popular with many types of workers.
147. (p. 307) Almost 10 million U.S. workers now work at least several days a month at home.
148. (p. 308) Telecommuting can actually save employers money by reducing their need for office space.
149. (p. 308) Job sharing has received a great deal of attention in recent years as more women with small children
have entered the labor force.
150. (p. 309) Job sharing tends to increase absenteeism and tardiness, because part-time workers are not as
dedicated and loyal as full-time workers.
151. (p. 309) A disadvantage of job sharing is that it requires a firm to hire, train, motivate, and supervise more
employees.
152. (p. 309) Most companies that have tried job sharing have concluded that the extra cost of hiring and training
additional workers outweigh its benefits.
153. (p. 306) Akiko Animoto works for a company that allows her to choose when she begins and ends her
workday, as long as she works a required number of hours and is at her job station at certain specified core
times. Akiko’s company is using a compressed workweek plan.
154. (p. 307) Bev Bird’s company has announced that it will implement a compressed workweek schedule. If Bev
takes part in this plan, she will be allowed to work fewer hours each week, as long as she completes all
assignments.
155. (p. 309) Melville Bank is about to implement a job sharing plan. The bank is likely to find that scheduling
workers for peak periods will become easier as the result of this policy.
156. (p. 309) Managers at the Halperin Credit Union are concerned that many of the company’s employees are
frequently late for work and appear to be dealing with personal problems during work hours. Job sharing might
be a good staffing arrangement for Halperin to implement.
157. (p. 309) Internal promotions often are a cost effective way of filling positions within a firm because the
employees filling the position are already familiar with the organization’s culture and procedures.
158. (p. 309) Transferring an experienced worker to a new position at the same level within an organization can be
an effective way to motivate the worker to remain with the company.
159. (p. 310) The “employment at will” doctrine maintained that a firm could only fire a worker if it could
demonstrate “just cause.”
160. (p. 309) In recent years, many companies have avoided hiring permanent workers during periods of growth
by using temporary employees and outsourcing some of their functions.
161. (p. 310) A golden handshake refers to the severance pay that is offered to a worker that is laid off when the
firm downsizes.
162. (p. 310) Exit interviews by a third party can be an effective way for a firm to prevent future losses of valuable
employees.
163. (p. 309) The prevalence of flatter corporate structures in recent years has increased the number of workers
that firms promote.
164. (p. 310) The doctrine of “employment at will” means that employees must be allowed to keep their jobs as
long as they are willing and able to perform their required duties. Under this doctrine, employers can only fire
or layoff an employee if the firm is in serious financial difficulty or the employee is grossly incompetent or has
committed a felony.
165. (p. 310) Sam Woodall, has been a manager for the Gallinghouse Company for 36 years. He fondly remembers
the “good old days” when he could fire a worker for just about any reason. He feels that today’s laws and
regulations limiting his ability to fire workers undermine his authority and force him to keep employees that
don’t measure up to his standards. Sam’s views suggest he would favor a return to the doctrine of “employment
at will.”
166. (p. 310) Top managers at Unifaze Corporation have decided that the company must downsize, but are
concerned about the effect the reduction in employment will have on the morale of the remaining employees.
One way top management could keep morale from suffering would be to establish an early retirement program.
167. (p. 310-311) Roberta Sampson is a human relations manager at Quitex Electronics. She is puzzled by a
significant increase in the number of good employees that have recently resigned. Roberta should consider
doing exit interviews with employees who leave the firm, but should make sure that someone other than the
employees’ direct manager conducts each interview.
168. (p. 311) The federal government began taking an active role in the regulation of human resource management
practices in the late 1880s.
169. (p. 311) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, or compensation,
based on race, religion, creed, sex, or national origin.
170. (p. 311) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
171. (p. 311) Congress has given the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission broad powers to issue
guidelines for acceptable employer behavior concerning employment opportunities.
172. (p. 311) The effectiveness of the EEOC has been limited because Congress never gave it any authority to
enforce its mandates.
173. (p. 311) Affirmative action programs are the least controversial method of correcting job inequities created by
the discrimination of the past.
174. (p. 312) Reverse discrimination is the term the EEOC uses to refer to activities designed to “right past
wrongs” that resulted from discrimination against women and minorities.