978-0134235455 Chapter 1 Solution Manual

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-8

1-1. All managers should be able to answer, What is human resources

management, and why it’s important.

1-2. The trends shaping human resource management.

1-3. New digital technologies such as mobile and social media will make

human resource management today more distributed.

1-4. To do so, the human resource managers need new competencies.

1-5. Understanding the overall plan of this book.

Discussion Questions:

1-1: Explain what HR management is and how it relates to the management process.

This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student

1-2: Give examples of how HR management concepts and techniques can be of use to all

managers.

HR management concepts and techniques can help all managers to ensure that they get

results – through others. These concepts and techniques also help managers avoid common

personnel mistakes such as: hiring the wrong person; experiencing high turnover; finding

1-3: Illustrate the HR responsibilities of line and staff managers.

Line managers are someone’s boss; they direct the work of subordinates in pursuit of

accomplishing the organization’s basic goals. Some examples of the HR responsibilities of

line managers are: placing the right person on the job; starting new employees in the

organization (orientation); training employees for jobs that are new to them; improving the

job performance of each person; gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth

1-4: Compare the authority of line and staff managers. Give examples of each.

This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-9

Individual and Group Activities:

1-5: Working individually or in groups, develop outlines showing how trends like

workforce diversity, technological innovation, globalization, and changes in the

nature of work have affected the college or university you are now attending.

Present in class.

The list might include items such as the growth of adult (non-traditional aged) students,

1-6: Working individually or in groups, contact the HR manager of a local bank. Ask

the HR manager how he or she is working as a strategic partner to manage

human resources, given the bank’s strategic goals and objectives. Back in class,

discuss the responses of the different HR managers.

The students should ask the HR manager to discuss how his/her role as a strategic partner

is improving the bank’s performance, and if the bank’s culture is more innovative and

1-7: Working individually or in groups, interview an HR manager; based on that

interview, write a short presentation regarding HR’s role today in building a more

competitive organization.

The responses here will, of course, depend upon the organization and HR manager

interviewed. Hopefully, items such as workforce diversity, technological trends,

1-8: Working individually or in groups, bring several business publications such as

Bloomberg’s Business Week, or The Wall Street Journal to class or access them in

class via the Web. Based on their contents, compile a list entitled, “What HR

managers and departments do today.”

The students should look for articles and advertisements that deal with any of the

following topics: conducting job analyses, planning labor needs, and recruiting job

candidates; selecting job candidates; orienting, training, and developing employees;

1-9: Based on your personal experiences, list ten examples showing how you did use (or

could have used) human resource management techniques at work or school.

Depending on the degree of their work experience, students will cite a wide range of

examples, possibly including some of the following: 1) situations where they have

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-10

them through human resource systems; 2) employed the services of non-traditional

workers (or been employed as a non-traditional worker); 3) developed metrics to measure

how they have added value in terms of human resource contributions; 4) kept themselves

1-10: Laurie Siegel, senior vice president of human resources for Tyco International, took

her job just after numerous charges forced the company’s previous Board of

Directors and top executives to leave the firm. Hired by new CEO Edward Breen,

Siegel had to tackle numerous difficult problems starting the moment she assumed

office. For example: she had to help hire a new management team, she had to do

something about what the outside world viewed as a culture of questionable ethics at

her company, and she had to do something about the company’s top management

compensation plan, which many felt contributed to the allegations by some that the

company’s former company officers had used the company as a sort of private ATM.

Siegel came to Tyco after a very impressive career. For example, she had been head

of executive compensation at Allied Signal, and was a graduate of the Harvard

Business School. But, as strong as her background was, she obviously had her work

cut out for her when she took the senior vice president of HR position at Tyco.

Working individually or in groups, conduct an Internet search and do library

research to answer the following questions: What human resource management-

related steps did Siegel take to help get Tyco back on the right track? Do you think

she took the appropriate steps? Why or why not? What, if anything do you suggest

she do now?

Tyco’s top executives, (the Chairman/Chief Executive as well as the CFO) had been

accused of playing fast and loose with corporate accounting and of using the company’s

coffers as personal piggy banks. Upon taking office, Breen fired the entire board of

Breen’s directive to Siegel was that her first priority be setting up corporate-governance

and compensation systems and controls, then to transition “to really driving the talent

machine.” Siegel’s first step was to draft a strict company code of ethics. She then

arranged to have it taught simultaneously at a special ethics training day to every Tyco

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-11

pay is limited to two times an individual’s yearly salary plus bonus. Post-handshake

As a result of the above steps, Tyco is now aiming for higher marks in ethics. It has

written and circulated a multi-page ethics policy, and hired more than 100 internal

auditors to enforce it. It has a new corporate ombudsman to address employee concerns

about ethics and policies. All of Tyco’s employees attended mandatory one-day ethics

Students will probably agree that, in general, Siegel took the appropriate steps, and the

turnaround and recovery of Tyco’s finances, profits, and stock prices are testimony to the

effectiveness of her approach. Suggestions for what Siegel should do moving forward

1-11: Appendices A and B at the end of this book list the knowledge someone studying

for the HRCI (Appendix A) or SHRM (Appendix B) certification exam needs to

have in each area of human resource management (such as Strategic Management

and Workforce Planning). In groups of several students, do four things: (1) review

Appendix A and/or B; (2) identify the material in this chapter that relates to the

Appendix A and/or B required knowledge lists; (3) write four multiple-choice

exam questions on this material that you believe would be suitable for inclusion in

the HRCI exam; and (4) if time permits, have someone from your team post your

team’s questions in front of the class, so that students in all teams can answer the

exam questions created by the other teams.

Experiential Exercise: HR and “The Profit”

Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to provide practice in identifying and applying the basic

concepts of human resource management by illustrating how managers use these techniques in

their day-to-day jobs.

Required Understanding: Be thoroughly familiar with the material in this chapter, and with at

least one or two episodes of CNBC’s The Profit with Marcus Lemonis

http://www.tv.com/shows/the-profit/watch/. (Access a library of past episodes at URLs as

http://www.cnbc.com/live-tv/the-profit)

How to Set Up the Exercise/Instructions:

• Divide the class into teams of several students.

• Read this: As you may know by watching billionaire Marcus Lemonis, as he works with

actual small businesses in which he’s taken an ownership share, human resource

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-12

managers need to do to be successful. For example, at Grafton Furniture, a lack of clarity

answer the following questions:

1-12: What specific HR functions (recruiting, interviewing, and so on) can you identify

Mr. Lemonis addresses on this show? Make sure to give specific examples based

on the show.

Student responses will vary but should use the information found in the text to explain

1-13: What specific HR functions can you identify as being problematical in this

company? Again, please give specific answers.

Student answers will vary but should include addressing line and staff manager’s

1-14: In terms of HR functions (such as recruiting, selections, interviewing,

compensating, appraising, and so on) what exactly would you recommend doing

to improve this company’s performance?

Student responses will vary but should use the information found in the text to explain

1-15: Present your team’s conclusions to the class.

Application Case: Jack Nelson’s Problem

1-16: What do you think was causing some of the problems in the bank home office and

branches?

There is clearly a problem with communication, and the effects are felt in the area of

employee commitment. Additional contributing factors include the lack of consistency in

1-17: Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?

Of course it would! Since there are HR-related problems both in the home office and in

the branches, it is clear that an HR unit in the main office would help to coordinate HR

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-13

1-18: What specific functions should an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would

then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the

Internet play in the new HR organization?

There is room for quite a bit of variation in the answers to this question. Our suggested

organization would include: HR Unit: conducting job analyses, planning labor needs,

recruiting, providing advice and training in the selection process, handling orientation of

new employees, managing wage and salary administration, managing incentives and

Continuing Case: Carter Cleaning Company – Introduction

1-19: Make a list of 5 specific HR problems you think Carter Cleaning will have to grapple

with.

Potential answers could include the following:

1) Staffing the company with the right human capital by identifying the skills and

competencies that are required to perform the jobs and the type of people that should be

2) Planning and establishing operational goals and standards and developing rules and

procedures to support business goals and strategies. Failure to do so will result in a lack

3) Implementing effective performance management by setting performance standards,

offering high-quality appraisal of performance, and providing ongoing performance

4) Designing an effective compensation system that will give the company the ability to

attract, retain, and motivate a high-quality workforce, and providing appropriate wages,

5) Training and developing employees both at the management and employee level to be

able to perform the job to meet the performance expectations. This should include a new

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-14

Lack of attention to this component may result in errors, increased operational costs, high

My Management Lab

Students can find the following assisted-graded writing questions at mymanagementlab.com.

Answers to these questions are graded against rubrics in the MyLab.

1-21: From a practical point of view, why is it important for all managers and future managers

to have a good command of human resource management concepts and techniques?

1-22: Think of some companies that you are familiar with or that you’ve read about where you

think the human resource managers have been successful in “adding value.” What do the

HR managers do to lead you to your conclusion?

Key Terms:

Organization – A group consisting of people with formally assigned roles who work together to

achieve the organization’s goals.

Manager – Someone who is responsible for accomplishing the organization’s goals, and who

does so by managing the efforts of the organization’s people.

Managing – To perform five basic functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and

controlling.

Management Process – To perform the five basic functions: planning, organizing, staffing,

leading, and controlling.

Human Resource Management (HRM) – The process of acquiring, training, appraising, and

compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness

concerns.

Authority – The right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-15

Line Authority – Traditionally gives managers the right to issue orders to other managers or

employees.

Staff Authority – Gives a manager the right to advise other managers or employees.

Line Manager – A manager who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and is

responsible for accomplishing the organization’s tasks.

Staff Manager – A manager who assists and advises line managers.

Strategic Human Resource Management – Formulating and executing human resource

policies and practices that produce the employee competencies and behaviors the company needs

to achieve its strategic aims.

Employment Engagement – The extent to which an organization’s employees are

psychologically involved in, connected to, and committed to getting their jobs done.

Ethics – The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group; specifically, the standards

you use to decide what your conduct should be.