ROADMAP: CASE STUDY
Thinking Ethically
Should Managers Feel Obligated to Be Mentors?
This is a delicate question and one that female managers struggle with. Some female
managers take on too many protégés and neglect their own career development. Experts
recommend that mentors think more strategically about who and how many protégés commit to.
IT is also recommended that current leaders go outside of the status quo and be aware of when
to mentor women and minorities so they have equal chance at development.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses:
1. Does committing significant time to mentoring employees necessarily mean that a
manager cannot develop his or her own career? Why or why not??
2. Suppose you manage a mentoring program for your employer, and a well-liked manager
tells you she receives so many requests to be a mentor that she isn’t sure hot to handle
them fairly. How could you help keep the program fair and equitable?
ROADMAP: Review and Discussion Questions
1. How does development differ from training? How does development support career
management in modern organizations?
2. What are the four broad categories of development methods? Why might it be beneficial
to combine all of these methods into a formal development program?
3. Recommend a development method for each of the following situations and explain why
you chose that method.
a. An employee recently promoted to the job of plant supervisor is having difficulty
motivating employees to meet quality standards.
b. A sales manager annoys salespeople by dictating every detail of their work.
c. An employee has excellent leadership skills but lacks knowledge of the financial side
of business.
d. An organization is planning to organize its production workers into teams for the first
time.
4. A company that markets sophisticated business management software systems uses
sales teams to help customers define needs and to create systems that meet those
needs. The teams include programmers, salespeople who specialize in client industries,
and software designers. Occasionally sales are lost as a result of conflict or
communication problems among team members. The company wants to improve the
effectiveness of these teams and it wants to begin with assessment. How can the teams
use 360-degree feedback and psychological tests to develop?
The responses provided to this question by the individual students will vary. However, all
responses provided to this question should demonstrate a clear understanding of the
chapter material and its concepts.
5. In an organization that wants to use work experience as a method of employee
development, what basic options are available? Which of these options would be most
attractive to you as an employee? Why?
6. Many employees are unwilling to relocate because they like their current community and
family members prefer not to move. Yet preparation for management requires that
employees develop new skills, strengthen areas of weakness, and be exposed to new
aspects of the organization’s business. How can an organization change an employee’s
current job to develop management skills?
7. Many people feel that mentoring relationships should occur naturally, in situations where
senior managers feel inclined to play the role. What are some advantages of setting up
a formal mentoring program, rather than letting senor managers decide how and whom
to help?
8. What are the three roles of a coach? How is each coach different from a mentor? What
are some advantages of using someone outside the organization as a coach? Some
disadvantages?
9. Why should organizations be interested in helping employees plan their careers? What
benefits can companies gain? What are the risks?
10. What are the manager’s roles in a career management system? Which role do you think
is most difficult for the typical manager? Which is the easiest role? List reasons why
managers might resist becoming involved in career management.
11. What is the glass ceiling? What are the possible consequences to an organization that
has a glass ceiling? How can employee development break the glass ceiling? Can
succession planning help with this problem? Explain.
12. Why might an organization benefit from giving employee development opportunities to a
dysfunctional manager rather than simply dismissing the manager? Do these reasons
apply to nonmanagement employees as well?
ROADMAP:
Taking Responsibility
Taking Care of Employees Helps the Patent Office Serve the Public
David Kappos is the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO). The
agency went from the 172nd place, out of 222 agencies, to the top place to work in the
federal government. The key to the increase in employee satisfaction is the employee
development program that Kappos implemented. He developed a leadership development
plan for all employees because of the belief that all employees need leadership skills. He
also uses a “180-degree” assessment that combines self-assessments with feedback from
supervisor or mentors. All senior managers go through a 360-degree feedback every two
years.
Discussion Questions with Possible Response:
1. Besides the approaches to employee development described in the case, how else
would you recommend that the USPTO provide for employee development?
.
2. How could the USPTO strengthen the development program’s contribution to achieving
the goal of creating a service-oriented culture?
.
Managing Talent
Proctor & Gamble’s Succession Management Slip-Up
Proctor & Gamble made the unusual decision of bringing back the former CEO, Lafley, when the
current CEO, McDonald, retired. This sent the message that Proctor & Gamble had not
prepared anyone for the CEO position. Lafley had mentored McDonald, but McDonald’s focus
was on managing operations and didn’t’ have practice setting strategy or leading organizational
change. P&G has a long history of employee development so this was seen as a failure and not
normal for the P&G culture.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. Although the board of directors is responsible for filling the CEO position, how could HR
managers support the board with a succession management program?
2. Based on the information given, what developmental approaches were part of McDonald’s
career development? What approaches would you recommend for preparing P&G’s next top
executives?
HR in Small Business
Employee Sabbatical Benefits Others at Little Tokyo Service Centers
This case highlights the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) which is an organization in Los
Angeles that provides a range of social services such as counseling, transportation, translation
and consumer education, to Asians and Pacific Islanders. Bill Watanabe, its executive director,
took a three month sabbatical in which he travelled, vacationed, and then wrote his
autobiography. He found that stepping away for a few months freshened his perspective on
LTSC.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses:
1. Based on the information given, how well did Little Tokyo Service Center follow the
career management process described in Figure 8.3? Which elements of that system, if
any, were missing?
2. Imagine that LTSC called you in as a consultant before Watanabe started his sabbatical.
The agency has asked you to help obtain the maximum developmental benefit from the
sabbatical arrangement. How would you recommend Watanabe, the board of directors,
and the second tier of management proceed?
3. Keeping in mind that an agency like LTSC would have limited funding and just a few
senior managers, suggest two additional developmental activities that are likely to be
most beneficial to the organization, and explain why you chose them.
HRM DVD Vol 3 Suggested Video with Discussion Questions and Possible Responses
Working for the Best: The Container Store (11:23)
Video Summary
The Container Store has no parallel in the retail industry. It pays its employees 50% to 100%
above the industry average, has a turnover rate 75% below industry average, and has the
happiest, most empowered employees in the industry.
Garrett Boone, Co-Founder and CEO explains the company’s philosophy throughout this video.
He explains that the operating philosophy of The Container Store can be captured in the
following maxim: “1 great person = 3 good people.” Their hiring practices actually reflect these
values. Their mission is not only to satisfy customers but to exceed their expectations. The
video exemplifies this by citing examples of employee kindness to customers well beyond what
is expected.
The video then traces the history of management theory beginning with Taylor and concluding
with Vroom’s expectancy theory model. The video provides examples from The Container Store
that support theoretical tenets across several models. For example, Theory Y and Theory Z
management principles apply to the belief in people to work effectively without close supervision
and to work in a team environment. Herzberg’s motivators and hygiene factors are exemplified
by the 100% cross-training goal for all employees at the company. Development is also a key
concern with Boone and his team: Drucker’s MBO could apply here.
The video concludes by suggesting that one management theory of motivation does not and
cannot fit all company models. The Container Store sees its business as “situational” requiring
flexibility in terms of customer response. Empowerment is the only answer. Several of the
values and practices of The Container Store clearly support a “situational” approach to
management and motivation–they draw from Maslow, McGregor, Drucker, Herzberg and Vroom.
Open communication is at the heart of the company’s culture–it is a privately held firm but
shares all information with employees including the financials. In a sense, the CEO sees
“communication” as being the #1 core value of The Container Store and as such is equivalent
with leadership.
Discussion Questions
1. How has the Container Store’s hiring practices helped to create their success?
2. How does the Container store use Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to create its foundation of
HR practices?