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Name: ___________________________
Date: ___________________________
critical thinking exercise 11-5
BEST COMPANIES FOR WORKING MOMS
An important segment of the worker pool is the working mother. Companies that want to attract
and/or retain these employees have found creative ways to adjust to the flexibility that raising children
can require. Each year Working Mother magazine publishes a list of the best companies to work for. Top
considerations for inclusion are flexible scheduling, child-care options, and time off for new parents.
Companies were scored on 500 different items in their application for inclusion on the list. The compa-
nies also had to provide supporting documentation.
Go to the website for Working Mother magazine (www.workingmother.com).x (Sometimes the
Web address for a location changes. You might need to search to find the exact location mentioned.)
1. List the top 10 companies for working women for the current year.
2. Choose one of the winners and research the company.
a. Are any members of the top management female? If so, who?
b. Find the company’s mission statement. (Hint: Look for the “investor relations” section.)
Does the mission reflect the company’s concern for working mothers? If it does, how?
3. Go back to the Working Mother site and locate winners for previous years. Are there any compa-
nies that have won more than once? If so, list them.
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bonus
cases
bonus case 11-1
INCARCERATED CALL CENTERS
Overcrowding, skyrocketing costs, and high recidivism rates cripple the American penal system.
But even with the nation’s penitentiaries in such a state, at least one entrepreneur found a way to trans-
form prisoners into productive members of society, both behind bars and on the outside. James Hooker is
the founder and CEO of Televerde, a company that seeks businesses willing to buy complex, multimil-
lion-dollar software from tech giants like Cisco, NetApp, and Hitachi. At the heart of Televerde’s opera-
tion are 250 incarcerated women who work at four different call centers within the Arizona State Peniten-
tiary in Perryville.
Purchased by Hooker in 1995, Televerde grew from a six-person call center running out of a
trailer into a profitable operation taking in $12.1 million annually. Detractors claim that Hooker’s uncon-
ventional staff is robbing law-abiding citizens of work in this already rough job market. But Hooker is
quick to point out that the facts read differently. Televerde employees make the federal minimum wage of
$7.25, with one-third of each prisoner’s salary going back into the system for room and board. Also, the
recidivism rate of Televerde alumni is amazingly low. Over the last 14 years only 11% of released
Televerde employees have gone back to jail. This is remarkably better than the national average of 40%
of female felons returning to custody within just three years. Alumni from the Perryville prison also come
out with a heap of savings, averaging $15,000 per prisoner.
Hooker hires back approximately 25% of his former inmate staff after their release. Many obtain
their high school diploma, a requirement for employment at Televerde, while incarcerated, with one for-
mer prisoner even going on to obtain her MBA at Arizona State University. Besides its contributions to
the lives of its employees and the Perryville prison in general, Televerde simply runs a better operation
than its competitors. In a study conducted comparing Televerde with a rival company, Televerde deliv-
ered five times as many high-quality leads than its competitor. Hooker attributes this to his staff, whom he
claims are “50 times more motivated than someone on the outside.” xi
discussion questions for bonus case 11-1
1. Could the Televerde system work in other states?
2. What is a key strength of the Televerde system?
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notes on discussion questions for bonus case 11-1
1. Could the Televerde system work in other states?
There doesn’t seem to be any reason that the Televerde system could not work in other states giv-
2. What is a key strength of the Televerde system?
Televerde provides inmates an opportunity to save money and develop a marketable skill they can
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bonus case 11-2
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND WOMEN WORKERS
The steadily increasing flow of women into the workforce has caused human resource planners
and chief executive officers to consider women’s needs more carefully when doing human resource plan-
ning.
Affirmative action laws are partially responsible for increasing the number of women in the
workplace. Another cause of the influx of women is demographics: The workforce is no longer expanding
in the traditional way, since population growth has slowed. As companies expand and the population
doesn’t, HR managers will have to hire more women and minorities to fill their needs for employees. This
is causing some employers to incorporate benefits in their overall benefit package that are especially ad-
dressed to women.
Among the more important issues for both males and females is how to balance work and family.
The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act gives employees the right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for pa-
rental leave or family medical leave. Upon return, an employee must be returned to the same or equiva-
lent position.
Maternity leave is a controversial area of human resources. Some say women should be guaran-
teed paid maternity leave. These groups claim that when women leave their jobs to have children it has a
negative effect on their careers that doesn’t affect men. Women thus lose seniority since career ladders
are not designed for people who take leave.
Some companies now offer women benefits in a “cafeteria plan.” Basically, that means that
women are able to choose from a variety of benefits to suit their individual needs. A parent may choose
parental leave, for example, while a single woman may choose an extra week of vacation.
Child care is another area where companies are beginning to provide assistance to parents. IBM,
for example, has set up a referral service to help employees find day care in the community. Other coun-
tries, such as France, Belgium, Italy, Israel, and Canada, have day care systems that are subsidized by the
government to help ease the financial burden on parents. In many cases, the salary of a working mother in
the United States may barely cover the cost of keeping a child in day care.
Other benefits that can help parents manage work while raising a family—flextime, part-time
work with partial benefits, and job sharing—can also benefit employers. These benefits reduce the need
for parents to spend time at work dealing with family issues.
Flextime allows workers to come in during a two-hour period and leave within a two-hour period,
as long as they are at work between certain hours (known as core time). A new arrangement for part-time
workers allows them to reduce their work time and keep some proportion of their benefits. With job shar-
ing, two workers share a job and a salary, along with benefits.
A company called Chicken Soup in Minneapolis provides day care for ill children so that parents
won’t have to stay home from work when a child is ill. Many large corporations, such as 3M, Dayton
Hudson, and First Bank Systems, have provided funding for the project.
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discussion questions for bonus case 11-2
1. Have companies done enough to adjust to women in the workplace?
2. Which of the issues mentioned so far do you feel is most important? Why?
3. What else could companies do, if anything, to assist women workers? Would you recommend
that they do that?
notes on discussion questions for bonus case 11-2
1. Have companies done enough to adjust to women in the workplace?
Some companies have, but many have done little or nothing. In the future, all companies will
2. Which of the issues mentioned so far do you feel is most important? Why?
The most important issue is freedom to choose options in benefits. Not all families have children
families. Flexible systems can be fair to all.
3. What else could companies do, if anything, to assist women workers? Would you recommend that
they do that?
It is not wise to focus on women in isolation. It is best to study families, work, and home situa-
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bonus case 11-3
THE DEPARTMENT STORE DILEMMA
“This is a rough decision,” said Stan Wheatley, store manager and vice president of Bassfield
Department Store. Bassfield, a large urban retailer with 350 employees, is a family-owned business that
has operated in Levittston for over 30 years. Wheatley believes strongly in delegating authority to lower
levels of management. However, Adele Stafford, manager of the women’s sportswear department, has
recently referred a problem to him.
Six weeks ago, Mary Alice Brooks, aged 23, was hired as a temporary employee. She has an out-
standing personality and immediately made friends with the senior workers in the department, as well as
with other salespersons and clerks in the store. Moreover, she is an exceptional salesperson who relates
well to customers. In fact, many had gone out of their way to tell Adele Stafford how much they enjoyed
dealing with Mary Alice. After Mary Alice’s two-week temporary period, her manager requested that she
be hired on a full-time basis; Mary Alice’s husband has recently undergone major surgery, so Mary Alice
was glad to have full-time work.
Four days ago, Bill Chavez, personnel manager of the store, realized that Mary Alice had not tak-
en the medical exam required of all full-time employees. When Mary Alice took the exam that afternoon,
she didn’t pass it due to an existing heart condition. Because of restrictions in the company’s medical in-
surance program, she could not be hired. Chavez told Stafford that Mary Alice would have to be termi-
nated. Stafford, women’s sportswear manager, argues strongly that an exception be made in Mary Alice’s
case. Several employees have also told the personnel manager that it is unfair to Mary Alice to release her
now, since it was his own oversight. Also, they argue that the company should be willing to help people
in situations such Mary Alice’s, since they have an EEOC program and have even hired some employees
with disabilities in the past.
But Chavez, the personnel manager, says that Mary Alice must go. The rule is that all permanent
employees must pass the physical, and Mary Alice did not.
Stafford appealed the decision to Wheatley, the store manager, who said he would let her know
something the next day. As he ponders a way out of the dilemma, Wheatley is aware of the results of a
survey on his desk: 42% of the employees say that they would consider joining a union if one attempted
to organize the store.
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discussion questions for bonus case 11-3
1. What are the key issues in the case?
2. Develop several realistic alternatives for Wheatley to consider.
3. What decision do you recommend that Wheatley make?
notes on discussion questions for bonus case 11-3
1. What are the key issues in the case?
It is a good idea to let students develop this case. They should consider that the company policy is
2. Develop several realistic alternatives for Wheatley to consider.
A store manager is very concerned with sales and profit; therefore, it would be hard to let go a
stellar sales performer. Among the alternatives:
a. Seek a second opinion from another physician to determine the exact extent of Mary Al-
ice’s condition.
f. Fire Mary Alice.
3. What decision do you recommend that Wheatley make?
I have used this case in my Intro classes several times over two decades. With very few excep-
tions, students have decided to keep Mary Alice on despite the manager’s recommendation. A few want
to fire Chavez. Some think the employees should unionize to protect themselves from unfair practices.
willing to accept higher insurance premiums to keep this valuable worker?
A very important point to consider: Is this policy even legal? Can you reject a potential employee
because of a medical problem? Does this violate the Americans with Disabilities Act? If you fire Mary
Alice, are you opening your company to a wrongful termination lawsuit?
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endnotes
i Source: David Zax, “Falling for the Job,” Time, September 16, 2013.
ii Source: Alina Dizik, “Wooing Job Recruiters with Video Resumes,” The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2010.
iii Sources: Rachel Farrell, “Interviewees Say the Darndest Things,” CareerBuilder, September 15, 2010; Alicia
Dennis, “‘Cow Car’ Isn’t Just an Interviewer’s Tall Tale,” Austin Business Journal, January 31, 2003; Press release,
“Note to Job Candidates: Avoid Bringing Doughnuts, Dogs, and Dates to the Interview,” Officeteam.com, Septem-
ber 25, 2002.
iv Source: Helen A. S. Popkin, “Facebook: The Evil Interface,” MSNBC.com, May 3, 2010.
v Source: Chuck Salter, “Solving the Real Productivity Crisis,” Fast Company, January 2004, p. 37.
vi Source: Sue Shellenbarger, “Does Avoiding a 9–to–5 Grind Make You a Target for Layoffs?” The Wall Street
Journal, April 22, 2009.
vii Source: Carol Hymnowitz, “Retirement Today: For Many, Even Former Corporate Professionals, It’s Not Hap-
pening,” The Washington Post, September 27, 2013.
viii The Internet is a dynamic, changing information source. Web links noted of this manual were checked at the time
of publication, but content may change over time. Please review the website before recommending it to your stu-
dents.
ix The Internet is a dynamic, changing information source. Web links noted of this manual were checked at the time
of publication, but content may change over time. Please review the website before recommending it to your stu-
dents.
x The Internet is a dynamic, changing information source. Web links noted of this manual were checked at the time
of publication, but content may change over time. Please review the website before recommending it to your stu-
dents.
xi Source: Victoria Barret, “Salvation at the Call Center,” Forbes, June 28, 2010.