1. culture, reflect the values of the organization, demonstrate economic
feasibility, and be sustainable in the long term.
a. Such benefits will likely improve employees’ psychological well-being
and therefore increase organizational performance.
B. Drafting and Enforcing Employment Policies
1. Employment policies that are informed by current laws but go beyond
minimum requirements will help define a positive organizational culture and
set high standards for performance.
a. Policies differ from benefits in that they provide the guidelines for
behavior, not just the working conditions.
2. Any policy must have enforcement to be effective. Human resource managers
are responsible for setting the organizational consequences of infractions, and
often for enforcing the policies as well.
3. Sometimes, human resource managers will need to take action even when the
employee’s direct manager may not agree, especially if compliance with the
law is at issue.
C. Managing Work–Life Conflicts
1. Work-life conflicts grabbed management’s attention in the 1980s, largely as a
result of the growing number of women, with dependent children, entering the
workforce.
2. In response, most major organizations took actions to make their workplaces
more family friendly.
a. They introduced on-site childcare, summer day camps, flextime, job
sharing, leaves for school functions, telecommuting, and part-time
employment.
3. But organizations quickly realized work-life conflicts were not limited to
female employees with children.
a. Male workers and women without children were also facing this problem.
b. Heavy workloads and increased travel demands, for instance, made it
increasingly hard for many employees to meet both work and personal
responsibilities.
4. Organizations are modifying their workplaces with scheduling options and
benefits to accommodate the varied needs of a diverse workforce.
a. Employees at NestléPurina can bring their dogs into the office; SAS
Institute has on-site child care, a health care center, and a fitness center;
and other firms offer perks ranging from on-site laundry to food services
and free child care.
b. Exhibit 17-4 lists some initiatives to help employees reduce work-life
conflicts.
5. Time pressures aren’t the primary problem underlying these conflicts.
a. It’s the psychological incursion of work into the family domain and vice
versa when people are worrying about personal problems at work and
thinking about work problems at home.
b. This suggests organizations should spend less effort helping employees
with time-management issues and more helping them clearly segment
their lives.
c. Keeping workloads reasonable, reducing work-related travel, and offering
on-site quality childcare are examples of practices that can help in this
endeavor.
6. Not surprisingly, people differ in their preference for scheduling options and
benefits.
a. Some prefer organizational initiatives that better segment work from their
personal lives, as flextime, job sharing, and part-time hours do by allowing
employees to schedule work hours less likely to conflict with personal
responsibilities.
b. Others prefer ways to integrate work and personal life, such as on-site
childcare, gym facilities, and company-sponsored family picnics.
D. Mediations, Terminations, and Layoffs
1. Human resource departments often take center stage when unpleasant events
such as disputes, substandard performance, and downsizing occur.
2. Employees need to be able to trust their human resource professionals to
maintain appropriate confidentiality and a balanced perspective.
3. Managers need to be able to trust HR, too, to know the laws and represent the
company’s perspective.
4. The HR human resource professional should be well trained in mediation
techniques and rely upon company policies to seek positive resolution.
a. Sometimes, human resource managers are integral to the termination
process, when employees are not able to resolve issues with management.
b. Termination processes are subject to union labor contracts and laws, which
can confound the situation.
i. In Spain, for instance, labor laws have traditionally protected older
workers with near-guaranteed employment.
5. For departing employees, the HR department is often the last stop on their
way out the door.
a. HR managers are thus in charge of leaving a favorable impression with the
employee and collecting helpful input from the exit interview.
b. This is never truer than when organizations terminate employees in
layoffs.
c. Employees who think the layoff process was handled fairly are more apt to
recommend the company to others and to return to work if asked.
d. Employees who survive a layoff and stay employed with the company also
evaluate the fairness of the downsizing process, according to another
study, particularly in individualistic countries.
6. In sum, the role of HR is increasing for organizations worldwide, and top
management is realizing human resource leadership is needed to create the
cultures and positive business outcomes top corporations need to stay
competitive.
VII. Summary and Implications for Managers
A. An organization’s human resource (HR) policies and practices create important
forces that greatly influence organizational behavior (OB) and important work
outcomes.
1. HR departments have become increasingly integral in shaping the
composition of the organization’s workforce.
B. First, as more organizations have turned to internal recruitment methods, HR
departments have taken the lead in creating online portals and other easy-access
methods for candidates to learn about the organization and be attracted to apply.
C. Second, HR departments are involved in all phases of selection: initial selection,
substantive selection, and contingent selection.
1. The greatest increase in the involvement of HR in selection may be in the
initial selection phase, wherein HR professionals develop, monitor, and screen
the great numbers of applications that are submitted.
2. However, HR involvement has increased in all areas of selection, and HR
professionals are responsible for understanding the applicable laws and
guidelines to serve as an informed, up-to-date resource for managers.
D. In effective organizations, HR remains present throughout an employee’s time
with the organization.
E. HR departments create and administer training and development programs, and
they set policies and practices with top management that govern the performance
evaluation system.
F. HR serves in a leadership capacity with responsibilities including the need to
regularly communicate practices to employees, design and administer benefit
programs, manage work-life conflicts, and conduct mediations, terminations, and
layoffs.
G. HR should bring an awareness of ethical issues to all stages of an individual’s
experience with the organization.
H. Knowledgeable HR professionals are therefore a great resource to all levels of the
organization, from top management to managers to employees. Specific
implications for managers are below:
1. An organization’s selection practices can identify competent candidates and
accurately match them to the job and the organization. Consider assessment
methods that are most likely to evaluate the skills directly needed for jobs you
are looking to fill.
2. Use training programs for your employees to achieve direct improvement in
the skills necessary to successfully complete the job. Employees who are
motivated will use those skills for their greater productivity.
3. Training and development programs offer ways to achieve new skill levels
and thus add value to your organization. Successful training and development
programs include and ethical component.
4. Use performance evaluations to assess an individual’s performance accurately
and as a basis for allocating rewards. Make sure the performance evaluations
are as fair as possible. As demonstrated in Chapter 7 in our discussion of
equity theory, evaluations perceived as unfair can result in reduced effort,
increases in absenteeism, or a search for another job.
5. Give your employees the opportunity to participate in their evaluations so they
understand the performance criteria and engage with the improvement
process.
Career OBjectives
How do I fire someone?
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Describe the value of recruitment methods; Identify the most useful substantive
selection methods
Learning Outcome: Describe the components of human resource practices
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Diverse and multicultural work environments; Reflective
thinking
One of the people who reports to me really isn’t living up to his job responsibilities, and
I’m afraid that I have to let him go. I have no idea how to approach him so the meeting
will turn out okay. What’s the best way to terminate him? — Ariana
Dear Ariana:
Most supervisors agree that terminating a problem employee can be one of the hardest
parts of management. In general, the number-one way to reduce the stress of firing is to
avoid giving surprises. A problem employee needs to be told as soon as possible that
there are issues with performance. Be sure to document performance problems early, and
let your employee know the consequences of failing to improve. It may even be the case
that identifying problems can eliminate the need for firing through initiating development
strategies and providing training that improve his performance.
If you’ve decided the termination needs to proceed, then begin to plan the termination
meeting. Good HR guidance can be one of your best resources in this process. It’s natural
to be worried about how your employee is going to react, but here are some strategies
that may help you end the employment relationship in a way that minimizes conflicts:
• Ask your HR representatives what alternatives and techniques they’d recommend. Many
companies have established policies and procedures that will help you conduct this
meeting in a professional manner.
• Practice. A chance to practice the meeting with a neutral party (not someone with
connections to the person or your organization) will help you reduce stress and anticipate
how the meeting will go.
• Be sure to respect your employee during the process. When possible, conduct the
termination behind closed doors. Send a clear message that his employment is at an end.
The last thing you want is a situation where he doesn’t get the message or feels you are so
indecisive that he can argue his way out of the termination. Attempts to “soften the blow”
by providing positive feedback or working your way up to the bad news are often
confusing and can create an opening for an extended, unpleasant, and unproductive
argument.
• Avoid going over past mistakes in detail. At the point of termination, there is no reason
to rehash old problems you’ve previously discussed—it’s better to just make a clean
statement that things aren’t working out, and your documentation should have the details
for later reference if needed. Going over the reasons the relationship is over will make
your employee feel insulted or offended.
• Have an after-meeting plan. What are your organization’s policies—does your
employee need to be escorted immediately out of the building, for instance? What are the
policies for returning business property? Demonstrate adherence to the plan to keep the
termination process objective.
Of course, none of this advice can remove all the stress of terminations, but a
combination of preparation, respect, and clarity can help make the situation better than it
would be otherwise.
Sources: S. R. McDonnell, “10 Steps Needed to Properly Fire Someone,” Entrepreneur,May 26, 2015, http://www.entrepreneur
.com/article/246573; E Frauenheim, “Employee Crisis Communications 101,” Workforce, November 13, 2013, http://www
.workforce.com/articles/20036-employeecrisis- communications-101; and R. A. Mueller-Hanson and E. D. Pulakos, “Putting the
‘Performance’ Back in Performance Management,” SHRM-SIOP Science of HR White Paper Series, 2015, http://www.shrm.org/
Research/Documents/SHRM-SIOP%20 Performance%20Management.pdf.
An Ethical Choice
HIV/AIDS and the Multinational Organization
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Describe the leadership role of HR in organizations
Learning Outcome: Describe the components of human resource practices
AACSB: Written and oral communication; Ethical understanding and reasoning; Diverse and
multicultural work environments; Reflective thinking
It wasn’t long ago that an AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence, and the ethical choices
for HR departments revolved around palliative care and death benefits. Thankfully, those
days are gone, at least for most. Now the ethical choice is about the standards of care and
support organizations want to provide, for which employees worldwide, and for how
long. “There has been an uptick with those employed that have HIV/AIDS” as the disease
has become more chronic than fatal, said Randy Vogenberg of the Institute for Integrated
Healthcare. However, whether someone can continue working still depends upon drug
therapy, workplace accommodations, and employee education. In most countries,
standards are not specifically mandated, leaving employers to choose the level of support
to offer. “It’s not a question of whether a business is going to be confronted with this,”
labor law attorney Peter Petesch says. “It’s a question of how soon.”
By current estimates, more than 1.2 million people in the United States and 36.9 million
people globally live with HIV. Over two-thirds of HIV infections are in sub-Saharan
Africa, and 76 percent of infected individuals live in developing countries. Worldwide,
there is little consistency in the approach to the problem. Few U.S. companies have
specific HIV/AIDS policies, for example, and although benefit plans cover the illness,
employees’ out-of-pocket costs for the expensive drug therapy can range significantly.
HIV/AIDS treatment is available in Europe through the national health care system.
Some larger African companies run clinics where national health care or insurance is
insufficient, but not all companies offer insurance. In India and China, insurers do not
cover HIV/AIDS, so companies need to consider separate employee reimbursement to
match their intentions for coverage.
When it comes to HIV/AIDS, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or more
literally, dramatic corporate savings. Research found that the investment companies spent
on preventing the disease from spreading and on treating infected employees saved
money and lives. HR initiatives like providing peer educators to teach employees about
prevention and accommodation, free counseling services, free voluntary testing, and
well-being monitoring have been effective worldwide.
“Nobody needs to die of this disease anymore,” said Jenni Gillies, head of business
development for beer brewer SABMiller, which has 70,000 employees in 75 countries.
But there are costs and responsibilities associated with each decision about the level of
care to support or supply, and how far companies should meet this need over other
employee needs will be a constant question. Some organizations may conclude that
governments and other systems are responsible for the care of citizens. It’s a tough call.
Meanwhile, individual managers can assist in preventing discrimination and encouraging
education.
Sources: “HIV/AIDS Basics Statistics,” Center for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics.html, accessed July 21,
2015; J. Mooney, “People with HIV and AIDS: Living and Working Longer,” HR Magazine, June 2012, 41–44; SABMiller corporate
website, “Inside View” page, www.insideview.com/directory/sabmiller-plc, accessed June 18, 2013; and World Health Organization,
“HIV/AIDS” fact page, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs360/en/, updated July 2015.
Class Exercise
1. Ask students to read the article on multinational benefits at
http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/MultinationalBenefits.a
spx.
2. Assign each student to the role of an HR manager working on benefits in different
parts of the world.
3. Ask each student, acting in this role, to prepare an action plan that considers
issues related to HIV/AIDS that were outlined in this feature and which reflect the
concerns raised in the article on multinational benefits.
4. Have each student write up his or her action plan and submit it to another student
in the class.
5. Have the second student evaluate the action plan and make recommendations for
change, if needed.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.
Myth or Science?
The24-Hour Workplace Is Harmful
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Identify the most useful substantive selection methods
Learning Outcome: Describe the components of human resource practices
AACSB: Reflective thinking
This statement appears to be true in many cases. Although technology makes it possible
for employees to be plugged in all the time, in constant contact around the globe, research
suggests that employers who push employees to check in at all hours and stay connected
may well be doing themselves (and their employees) a disservice.
A growing body of research has uncovered serious health consequences of insufficient
sleep, and work practices that encourage employees to be plugged in 24 hours per day
may be making the situation worse. One study examined how late-night work influenced
job outcomes by having employees complete diary surveys on their sleep and
engagement at work over multiple days. Those who used smartphones at night for work
were less engaged in their work tasks the next day, even after accounting for other
technology use.
From another angle, researchers have looked at the personal consequences of
“workaholism,” which is the tendency to think constantly about work off the job and to
feel compelled to work excessive hours. This habit is associated with higher levels of
burnout, stress, and family problems. While workaholism is partially driven by
personality factors, surveys suggest that features of the workplace itself can enhance
workaholic tendencies, including excessive workloads, conflicting work priorities, and
time pressures. The employee may not immediately perceive these effects, since
workaholics are often highly committed to their work and enjoy it in the short term, until
burnout occurs.
The key to maintaining performance over time may lie in developing psychological
detachment from work. Alongside studies showing the negative effects of overexposure
to work demands, we can place another body of work showing that short regular breaks
made up of total rest and avoidance of work responsibilities can recharge a person’s
energy. Unplugging from constant work demands for short periods actually makes us
much more productive over the long haul. Therefore the evidence is clear: unplug to
recharge yourself. HR can support this effort by presenting the research findings to
managers and helping to establish practices and boundaries that benefit everyone.
Sources: K. Lanaj, R. E. Johnson, and C. M. Barnes, “Beginning the Workday Yet Already Deprived? Consequences of Late-Night
Smartphone Use and Sleep,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 124 (May 2014): 11–23; M. A. Clark, J. S.
Michel, L. Zhdanova, S. Y. Pui, and B. B. Baltes, “All Work and No Play? A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Correlates and
Outcomes of Workaholism,” Journal of Management, February 2014, doi: 10.1177/0149206314522301; S. Sonnentag and C. Fritz,
“Recovery from Job Stress: The Stressor-Detachment Model as an Integrative Framework,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 36
(2015): S72–S103.
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into teams of three to five students each.
2. Ask each group to read the article at
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-05/five-charts-that-show-work
-life-balance-is-dead.
3. Then, students should discuss which policies they would most value as they try to
create a work-life balance. Students should consider whether their perspectives
would change over time, and if so, how, and whether their perspectives differ by
gender.
4. Next, ask students to make a case for their positions and develop an overall policy
on work-life balance for their organization.
5. Each team should present its findings to the class and discuss the similarities and
differences between each recommended policy.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.
Personal Inventory Assessments
Positive Practices Survey
Take this PIA to learn more about positive practices you can use today and in the future.
Point/Counterpoint
Employers Should Check Applicant Criminal
Backgrounds
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Specify initial selection methods; Identify the most useful substantive selection
methods
Learning Outcome: Describe the components of human resource practices
AACSB: Information technology; Reflective thinking
Point
Depending on where you live, you may have been asked about your criminal arrest
record on a job application. Even if you weren’t asked outright, the company may have
investigated anyway by using a background check service. Surveys suggest that nearly 70
percent of companies do some sort of criminal background check on job applicants.
When so many are using the same basic strategy, it’s likely they have a good reason.
Companies check criminal records for many purposes. Most obviously, nothing predicts
future criminal behavior like prior criminal behavior. Many employees have used the
access and privileges of their jobs to commit crimes, ranging from theft to assault or even
murder. A check of their criminal records may have helped screen out these individuals.
As Lucia Bone, founder of the nonprofit Sue Weaver Cause, says, “It is the employer’s
responsibility to protect both their business, their employees, and their customers.” This
is a deeply meaningful issue for Bone. The organization she founded is named after her
sister, Sue Weaver, murdered by a man with a criminal record who had access to her
home to clean air ducts. Many hiring managers check criminal backgrounds specifically
because they do not want their own lack of diligence to lead to similarly tragic outcomes.
Besides signaling the direct risk of criminal activity on the job, criminal records may be
good behavioral indicators of other deviant workplace behavior. People who are willing
to violate social conventions in one area may well be likely to violate them in others.
When employers screen for use of illegal drugs or shoplifting arrests, they are trying to
identify people who might lie to supervisors or embezzle money. Information gathered
from criminal records is likely to be more objective and accurate than a manager’s gut
feelings about who is going to pose a problem in the future.
Counterpoint
According to sociologist Devah Pager, the high U.S. incarceration rate means employers’
hiring decisions have major labor market and social implications if based on criminal
records. Koch Industries has stopped asking applicants about criminal records. CEO
Charles Koch notes, “If ex-offenders can’t get a job, education, or housing, how can we
possibly expect them to have a productive life?” Koch’s concern is valid. One study
linked a young-adult arrest record to lower incomes and education levels later in life, and
a conviction record to even lower levels.
There are also substantial racial and ethnic group differences in arrest rates, and men are
much more likely to have arrest and conviction records than women. The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) concludes that excluding individuals
with criminal records from jobs effectively discriminates against African American men
in particular.
Furthermore, criminal background checks don’t necessarily give employers the
information they seek. A core principle of modern criminal justice holds that we all are
innocent until proven guilty. However, some screens will turn up both conviction and
arrest records. This is problematic because fewer than half of arrests end in conviction.
While the use of arrest records is prohibited in many localities, that is far from a universal
rule. Other investigations have found that online criminal records checks are prone to
false positives, reporting that someone has a criminal past who really doesn’t.
Another problem is lack of relevance. While many would agree that a person convicted of
assault is not a good candidate for work that requires carrying a weapon or associating
with vulnerable populations, it’s less clear how a petty-theft conviction might raise the
same concerns. Sociologist Christopher Uggen summarizes by observing, “We haven’t
really figured out what a disqualifying offense should be for particular activities.”
Sources: B. Appelbaum, “Out of Trouble, but Criminal Records Keep Men out of Work,” New York Times, February 28, 2015,
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/business/out-of-trouble-but-criminal-records-keep-men-out-of-work.
html?_r=0; C. Zillman, “Koch Industries Stops Asking Job Candidates about Their Criminal Records,” Fortune, April 27, 2015,
http://fortune.com/2015/04/27/koch-industries-stops-asking-job-candidates-about-their-criminal-records/; and G. Fields and J. R.
Emshwiller, “As Arrest Records Rise, Americans Find Consequences Can Last a Lifetime,” Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2014,
http://www.wsj.com/articles/as-arrest-records-rise-americans-find-consequences-can-last-alifetime-1408415402.
Class Exercise
1. Create teams of three to five students each.
2. Ask the teams to read the article at
http://www.socialfish.org/2010/07/keep-it-legal-social-media-and-hiring.html.
3. Ask the teams to prepare a whitepaper as if they were a management team in a
major firm.
4. The paper should determine what the position of the firm will be based on the
teams’ consensus of opinion weighing the Point and Counterpoint ideas and the
legality aspects of using social media for background checks.
5. Have each team present its whitepaper to the class.
Teaching Notes
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.