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Evidence-Based HR
People with disabilities no longer have to struggle with technology, as there is a proliferation of
assistive technologies that adapt computers for disabled individuals. These technologies include
screen magnifiers, speech recognition software, video captioning, and screen readers. However,
a study conducted by researchers at the Employment and Disability Institute at Cornell
University discovered that out of 10 jobs boards and 31 corporate e-cruiting web sites, none of
them met the standards for Bobby. Bobby is a software program designed to check for errors
that cause accessibility concerns. Phase 2 of this study discovered that only 1 in 10 members of
the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) said they knew that their firm had
evaluated their websites for accessibility for people with disabilities.
Retaliation for Participation and Opposition—Title VII states that employers cannot retaliate
against employees for either "opposing" a perceived illegal employment practice or
"participating in a proceeding,” related to an alleged illegal employment practice.
1. Opposition refers to expressing to someone through proper channels that
you believe that an illegal act has taken place.
2. Participation refers to actually testifying in an investigation, hearing, or
court proceeding regarding an illegal employment act.
3. However, there is no unlimited right to present one's employer as racist or
sexist, particularly if an employee goes outside of the appropriate
channels.
VI. Current Issues Regarding Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity—Organizational
demography is changing, and therefore issues regarding diversity are increasingly
important.
A. Sexual Harassment—The Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation
hearings increased the visibility of the issue of sexual harassment. Sexual
harassment refers to unwanted sexual advances (see in the text Table 3.4 and
Figure 3.3 for the number of sexual harassment complaints filed with the EEOC).
1. Quid pro quo harassment occurs when some type of benefit or punishment
is made contingent upon the employee submitting to sexual advances.
Example: The Bundy v. Jackson case facts showed that the plaintiff
repeatedly received sexual propositions from her fellow employees and
supervisor. She rejected these advances and was eventually passed over
for promotion without reason.
2. A hostile working environment occurs when someone's behavior in the
workplace creates an environment that makes it difficult for someone of a
particular sex to work.
Example: Ron Clark Ford of Amarillo, Texas recently agreed to pay
$140,000 to six male plaintiffs who alleged that they and others were
subjected to a sexually hostile work environment and different treatment
because of their gender by male managers.
3. There are three critical conditions in these cases:
a. The plaintiff cannot have "invited or incited" the advances.
b. Harassment must have been severe.
c. The court must determine the liability of the organization for
actions of its employees.
4. Preventative steps for firms include development of a policy statement,
training in inappropriate behaviors, development of a reporting
mechanism, and disciplinary policy.
B. Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination—Affirmative Action was
conceived of as a way of taking extra effort to attract and retain minority
employees.
1. Imposed quota programs are negotiated with the EEOC and
hold a certain number of positions for minorities or women.
2. The entire debate over affirmative action continues to
invoke attention. Many people do not support the idea of quotas or
preferential treatment. This issue was an important topic in the 1996
presidential campaigns.
C. Outcomes of the Americans with Disabilities Act—Under the ADA, a firm must
make "reasonable accommodation" to a physically or mentally disabled individual
unless doing so would impose "undue hardship." While this was a laudable goal,
the impact of the act is not necessarily what was intended. (See Table 3.5 in the
text)
1. There has been increased litigation.
2. The kinds of cases being filed do not reflect Congressional intent: 52
percent of the claims deal with firings rather than allegations of
discrimination in hiring.
3. Although the act was passed to protect people with major disabilities such
as blindness or paralysis, these types of disabilities account for less than 4
percent of the disabilities claimed.
4. The law has not resulted in a major increase in the proportion of people
with disabilities who are working.
Competing through Sustainability:
Protecting Workers in the Apparel Industry
Organizations today face tough decisions when it comes to manufacturing costs. Many
organizations, especially those in the apparel industry, can save tremendous amounts of money
by hiring third party contractors to run plants overseas – in some cases, enabling the company to
hire workers for as little as $37 per month.. However, many of these third party contractors do
not appear concerned for issues like worker safety. In Bangladesh for example, a January 2013
factory fire killed 7 workers, and fire 2 months earlier killed 112.
Some companies are taking a proactive stance to protect those individuals who are working for
these third party contractors. Gap, Inc. announced in October 2012 that it would roll out a
comprehensive building and fire safety plan to achieve just that. This plan included features
such as Chief Fire Safety Inspectors who will conduct fire safety inspections, a Worker Support
Program providing up to $2 million to help workers displaced by their fire safety remediation
program, and providing these vendors accelerated access to funding to enhance fire and building
safety.
Discussion Question
1. What are the benefits to the implementation and maintenance of a building and fire safety
program like the one Gap, Inc. developed? What are the challenges?
The primary benefit of these programs is the assurance that workers who are providing
VII. Employee Safety—Regulated by both federal and state law.
A. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 is the most
comprehensive legislation regarding worker safety. OSHA gave authority to the
federal government to establish and enforce occupational safety and health
standards for all places of employment affecting interstate commerce. The
Department of Health is responsible for conducting research to determine specific
codes of safety for specific operations. The Department of Labor can authorize
individual states to substitute their own standards irk their states.
1. Employee Rights under OSHA—These include the general duty clause,
which states that an employer has the duty to furnish employees with a
place of employment free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely
to cause death or serious physical harm. Table 3.6 in the text contains
other employee rights under the act.
2. OSHA Inspections—These may be instigated by employee request, by the
Department of Labor as part of its targeted industry program, or as a randomly
selected firm. Compliance officers make unannounced visits.
3. Citations and Penalties—If a compliance officer finds a violation, a
citation is issued and a fine is assessed as well. The employer may contest
the citation within 15 days. OSHA has been successful in raising the level
of awareness of occupational safety. However, occupational illnesses have
risen fivefold between 1985 and 1990. Standards are restrictive,
enforcement is uneven, and fines are low. Safe employee behavior is an
important element of outcomes.
4. The effect of OSHA—OSHA has been unquestionably successful in
raising the level of awareness of occupational safety. Yet, because
legislation alone does not necessarily guarantee safety, many employers go
beyond the letter of the law. Table 3.7 shows some of the most recent
statistics regarding workplace illnesses and injuries.
B. Safety awareness programs are employer programs that attempt to instill
symbolic and substantive changes in the organization’s emphasis on safety. There
are three primary components of a safety awareness program:
Identifying and Communicating Job Hazards—Several techniques are useful in
identifying specific elements of a job that are hazardous.
a. The job hazard analysis technique breaks jobs down
into basic elements that are then rated for their potential for harm.
b. Technic of Operations Review (TOR) focuses on past
accidents and their causes. Job hazards must be communicated to
those at risk; supervisory contact is important, while written
memos provide documentation.
2. Reinforcing Safe Practices—The reinforcement of safe practices may be
accomplished by using a safety incentive program. Focusing on
awareness of specific injuries may be a more efficient way of handling
safety and may limit the number of employees affected. (See Table 3.8 in
the text for a ten-step program for reducing eye-related injuries.)
3. Promoting Safety Internationally—Depending on the cultural
characteristics of given countries, differing approaches to safety in the
workplace may need to be developed by U.S. multinational firms.
Bottom-up or top-down programs will fit one culture better than another
based upon whether they are individualistic or collectivist.
Competing Through Technology:
Undercovers Work
Today’s fast paced work environment can get ahead of workers. Many people today are taking
their work to bed with them in order to keep up. A recent poll conducted by Good Technology
revealed that half of their respondents read and replied to emails in bed, while a British study
showed 20% or Brits spend between 2 and 10 hours work working from bed.
Sounds like we are very dedicated to our work, but such dedication comes at a cost. Potential
drawbacks to these behaviors can include workers potentially taking more time at work to do
their personal online business (shopping, Facebook updates, etc.), insomnia, and generating
feelings of guilt for turning devices off.
Even bedding manufacturers are capitalizing on this trend. Bedmaker E.S. Klust offers a giant 7
x 7 foot bed that allows for room to spread paperwork out while in bed, and Reverie offers a
split zone bed allowing 1 person to lay horizontally while the other is propped up to work.
Discussion Question
1. To what extent do you think that workers working from bed is a value-added for employers
(i.e. what are the benefits to the employer?). What are the costs or drawbacks? Is it worth
it?
Student answers can vary. Look for evidence that students understand the facets of having
A Look Back
The Wal-Mart scenario discusses how Wal-Mart faces legal challenges with regard to
potentially discriminating against women in their pay systems. A Wal-Mart spokesman
argues that the statistical studies were intended to help identify and eliminate pay
disparities.
1. Based on what you read, do you think that Wal-Mart will win or lose the class action pay
discrimination case brought against them?
Student answers may vary. Some may say that Wal-Mart will lose because it was aware
2. Assume that you have taken over the HR function at Wal-Mart and want to make sure
that your pay system is fair, so you commission a salary study that reveals pay differences
between men and women. If you publicize the data and try to fix it, you open the
company to liability for past discrimination. What do you do?
3. What do you think? Is a statistical disparity proof of discrimination, and if one exists,
does that open every member of the protected group up to a remedy, even if they had not
individually been discriminated against?
Chapter Vocabulary
Equal employment opportunity
Americans with disabilities act (ADA) of 1990
Equal employment opportunity commission (EEOC)
Utilization analysis
Goals and timetables
Action steps
Disparate treatment
Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
Disparate impact
Four-fifths rule
Standard deviation rule
Reasonable accommodation
Occupational safety and health act (OSHA)
General duty clause
Safety awareness program
Job hazard analysis technique
Technic of operations review (TOR)
Discussion Questions
1. Disparate impact theory was originally created by the court in the Griggs case before
finally being codified by Congress 20 years later in the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Given
the system of law in the United States, from what branch of government should theories
of discrimination develop?
Students may respond in at least two ways to this question. In general, it is up to the
interpretation of the current law.
2. Disparate impact analysis (the four-fifths rule, standard deviation analysis) is used in
employment discrimination cases. The National Assessment of Education Progress
conducted by the U.S. Department of Education found that among 21- to 25-year olds: (a)
60 percent of whites, 40 percent of Hispanics, and 25 percent of blacks could locate
information in a news article or almanac; (b) 25 percent of whites, 7 percent of Hispanics,
and 3 percent of blacks could decipher a bus schedule; and (c) 44 percent of whites, 20
percent of Hispanics, and 8 percent of blacks could correctly determine the change they
were due from the purchase of a two-item restaurant meal. Do these tasks (locating
information in a news article, deciphering a bus schedule, or determining correct change)
have adverse impact? What are the implications?
First, based upon the four-fifths rule, all of these tests have adverse impact. Relative to
It may be interesting to talk with students about what kind of jobs would necessitate the
3. Many companies have dress codes that require men to wear suits and women to wear
dresses. Is this discriminatory according to disparate treatment theory? Why or why not?
This question should allow for an interesting discussion among students. In general, this
code could be seen as discriminatory. The firm would have to show some business
4. Cognitive ability tests seem to be the most valid selection devices available for hiring
employees, yet they also have adverse impact against blacks and Hispanics. Given the
validity and adverse impact and considering that race norming is illegal under CRA 1991,
what would you say in response to a recommendation that such tests be used for hiring?
If, in fact, cognitive ability tests predict job performance, then they certainly are one
element of a selection process that could be legally used. It might be helpful if the firm
5. How might the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirement affect workers such as law
enforcement officers and fire fighters?
Given the overwhelming impact of these jobs on the security and safety of society, it will
be very important for managers in these fields to carefully examine the essential
6. The reasonable woman standard recognizes that women have different ideas of what
constitutes appropriate behavior than men have. What are the implications of this
distinction? Do you think it is a good or bad idea to make this distinction?
Again, this question should provoke an interesting discussion. Clearly, the implications
are that men may act in ways that they deem OK, while women (any reasonable ones)
would find the behavior offensive. This creates a problem of equity. However, this
7. Employers' major complaint about ADA is that the costs of making reasonable
accommodations will make them less competitive relative to other businesses (especially
foreign ones) that do not face these requirements. Is this a legitimate concern? How
should employers and society weigh the costs and benefits of ADA?
Clearly, losing international competitiveness is a legitimate concern in this economy. If
these companies can show the size and serious nature of the economic hardship, then the
8. Many have suggested that OSHA penalties are too small and misdirected (i.e., aimed at
employers rather than employees) to have any significant impact on employee safety. Do
you think that OSHA related sanctions need to be strengthened, or are existing penalties
sufficient? Defend you answer.
Given the small size of OSHA penalties, it is no wonder that some companies continue to
refuse to make changes in their workplaces. It is likely that in most cases the cost of
Self-Assessment Exercise
Manager’s Hot Seat Exercise: Office Romance: Groping for Answers
I. Introduction
The scenario portrayed in this video segment highlights important and realistic challenges
faced by managers. This case may be effectively used in a management or organizational
behavior course to illustrate problem solving and decision making concepts, interpersonal
communication processes, or conflict management. For a course in Human Resource
Management, this scenario provides a rich background to discuss the potential risk of
sexual harassment and the roles HR and managers need to play if faced with such a
situation.
II. Learning Objectives
1. To assess students understanding of the analytical decision making approach and to
apply it to a novel scenario.
2. To assess students’ ability to detect communication strengths and weaknesses.
3. To have students identify key issues related to inter-office romances and the legal and
managerial implications, therein.
III. Scenario Description:
Overview: Abbe Willsby and Randall Keene are co-leaders of a 15-employee team in a
retail/fashion company. Soon after Randall separated from his wife, the two began an
affair… Six months later Abbe breaks off the relationship after hearing rumors that
Randall still has an intimate relationship with his wife. She sends an email to the
manager, Bill Schule, with complaints of sexual harassment and insists something be
done. Abbe contends that her former boyfriend and co-leader is flirtatious, inappropriate
and constantly discussing past intimate encounters they’d shared, while they work
together. Prompted by the email sent by Abbe, Randall meets with the Manager asking
for help with the situation.
Profile:
Bill Schule has been working in a managerial capacity for over 22 years at various
companies. Presently, Bill is a Senior Sales Executive at HypeTec, managing a sales
force of 40 people. He has 15 teams, each led by a pair of highly experienced
salespeople.
Randall Keene has worked for HypeTec for 6 years and has been one of Bill’s team
leaders for the past 3 years. Together, he and Abbe Wilsby have excelled at
motivating and managing their team, raising the bar for all the sales teams within the
department.
References: The references included in the DVD are:
Concepts in Decision Making (PPT 1-3)
Six Steps in Decision Making (PPT 1-5)
Components of Active Listening (PPT 1-8)
The Communication Process (PPT 1-9)
Back History: Unbeknownst to Schule, Willsby and Keene had been engaged in a
serious office romance for the past 6 months. Their romance had little effect on the office
environment – the pair had gone from productive team leaders to productive team leaders
in love, without any disruption……until the affair ended. A week of hostility and anger
permeated the Willsby-Keene team, with a huge drop in productivity reported at the end
of a 2-week period. Willsby had broken off the affair because Keene was still involved
with the wife from whom he had supposedly separated.
Willsby was adamant that the breakup was not the problem – she was a professional
woman and any woes of heartbreak or betrayal were not going to interrupt her
performance in any way. The problem was that Keene was harassing her throughout the
workday, with lots of sexual innuendo, reference to their past intimacies, sexually
charged emails, and veiled threats that if she didn’t “go back to him”, he would have her
tossed out of their department.
Willsby sends an email to Keene, cc-ing Schule, that annotates and lists the instances of
harassment, excerpts from emails etc… She is insisting that Keene relocates to another
team, or she will be filing a suit of sexual harassment against Keene and suit of a hostile
environment against Hypetec.
