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Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-6
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
14-1: Employee Relations is the activity that involves establishing and maintaining the
positive employee-employer relationships.
14-2: Managers and HR Management use programs to develop positive employee relations.
14-3: Ethics refers to the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group, and
specifically to standards you use to decide what your conduct should be.
14-4: A fair and just discipline process is based on rules and regulations, a system of
progressive penalties, and an appeal process.
14-5: There are several things that any manager intent on building positive employee relations
and employee engagement can draw from by studying “Best Companies to Work For.”
Discussion Questions:
14-1: Explain how you would ensure fairness in disciplining, discussing particularly the
prerequisites to disciplining, disciplining guidelines, and the discipline without
punishment approach.
There are many things that can be helpful: Make sure the evidence supports the charge of
employee wrongdoing. • Ensure that the employee’s due process rights are protected. •
Warn the employee of the disciplinary consequences. • The rule that was allegedly
violated should be “reasonably related” to the efficient and safe operation of the
particular work environment. • Fairly and adequately investigate the matter before
14-2: Why is it important in our litigious society to manage electronic monitoring
properly?
This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student
14-3: Provide two examples of behaviors that would probably be unethical but legal, and
three that would probably be illegal but ethical.
When most students think of ethical behavior, they think of rules for distinguishing
between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("do unto others as you would have
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-7
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
can become blurred and often debated. Here are several examples to help make the
Unethical but legal:
o Submitting the same paper for two different course assignments.
o Listing information on your resume that is incorrect in order to obtain a job that
you might not otherwise be qualified for.
o Operating a motor vehicle while over your state’s legal limit for alcohol
intoxication.
o Stopping at a red light but then proceeding through the intersection before you
14-4: List 10 things your college or university does to encourage ethical behavior by
students and/or faculty.
This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student
14-5: You need to select a nanny for yourself or a relative’s child, and want someone
ethical. What would you do to help ensure you ended up hiring someone ethical?
Asking questions about values and paying attention to both the answers and the
nonverbal cues that accompany them, finding out how the nanny acted in past situations,
14-6: You believe your coworker is being bullied. How would you verify this and what
would you do about it if it is true?
It is important to conduct a full investigation of suspicions. Asking trusted employees for
feedback on performance in the unit on a regular basis often will assist in clarifying
where problems exist. Once the allegations are clear, meeting with the employee to
14-7: Define employee relations and discuss at least four methods for managing it.
Employee relations is the activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive
employee–employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation,
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-8
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
Individual and Group Activities:
14-8: Working individually or in groups, interview managers or administrators at your
employer or college in order to determine the extent to which the employer or
college endeavors to build two-way communication, and the specific types of
programs used. Do the managers think they are effective? What do the employees
(or faculty members) think of the programs in use at the employer or college?
Encourage students to be precise and inquisitive in their pursuit of this information.
14-9: Working individually or in groups, obtain copies of the student handbook for your
college and determine to what extent there is a formal process through which
students can air grievances. Based on your contacts with other students, has it been
an effective grievance process? Why or why not?
Ask what effect this has on the sense of organizational justice.
14-10: Working individually or in groups, determine the nature of the academic discipline
process in your college. Do you think it is effective? Based on what you read in this
chapter, would you recommend any modifications?
Encourage students to be inquisitive and insightful as they examine this critical and real
14-11: 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 in 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.
Material from this chapter that applies to the HRCI exam would include: the meaning of
ethics, ethics and the law, ethics fair treatment and justice, what shapes ethics behavior at
work, ethics policies and codes, the organization’s culture, HR ethics activities, building
14-12: In a research study at Ohio State University, a professor found that even honest
people, left to their own devices, would steal from their employers. In this study, the
researchers gave financial services workers the opportunity to steal a small amount
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-9
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
of money after participating in an after-work project for which the pay was
inadequate. Would the employees steal to make up for the underpayment? In most
cases, yes. Employees who scored low on an honesty test stole whether or not their
office had an ethics program that said stealing from the company was illegal.
Employees who scored high on the honesty test also stole, but only if their office did
not have such an employee ethics program—the “honest” people didn’t steal if there
was an ethics policy.
Individually or in groups, answer these questions: Do you think findings like these
are generalizable? In other words, would they apply across the board to employees
in other types of companies and situations? If your answer is yes, what do you think
this implies about the need for and wisdom of having an ethics program.
You should receive a wide variety of responses to this question. It is a real question of
whether the employees who scored high on honesty tests will, in fact, respond differently
Experiential Exercise: Discipline or Not?
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to provide you with some experience in analyzing and
handling an actual disciplinary action.
Required Understanding: Students should be thoroughly familiar with the facts of the
following incident, titled “Botched Batch.” Do not read the “award” or “discussion” sections
until after the groups have completed their deliberations.
How to Set up the Exercise/Instructions: Divide the class into groups of four or five students.
Each group should take the arbitrator’s point of view and assume that they are to analyze the
case and make the arbitrator’s decision. Review the case again at this point, but please do not
read the award and discussion sections. Each group should answer the following questions:
14-13: Based on what you read in this chapter, including all relevant guidelines, what
would your decision be if you were the arbitrator? Why?
14-14: Do you think that after their experience in this arbitration the parties involved will
be more or less inclined to settle grievances by themselves without resorting to
arbitration?
Botched Batch
Facts: A computer department employee made an entry error that botched an entire run of
computer reports. Efforts to rectify the situation produced a second set of improperly run reports.
Because of the series of errors, the employer incurred extra costs of $2,400, plus a weekend of
overtime work by other computer department staffers. Management suspended the employee for
3 days for negligence, and revoked a promotion for which the employee had previously been
approved. Protesting the discipline, the employee stressed that she had attempted to correct her
error in the early stages of the run by notifying the manager of computer operations of her
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-10
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
mistake. Maintaining that the resulting string of errors could have been avoided if the manager
had followed up on her report and stopped the initial run, the employee argued that she had been
treated unfairly because the manager had not been disciplined even though he compounded the
problem, whereas she was severely punished. Moreover, citing her “impeccable” work record
and management’s acknowledgment that she had always been a “model employee,” the
employee insisted that the denial of her previously approved promotion was “unconscionable.”
(Please do not read beyond this point until after you have answered the two questions.)
Award: The arbitrator upholds the 3-day suspension, but decides that the promotion should be
restored.
Discussion: “There is no question,” the arbitrator notes, that the employee’s negligent act “set in
motion the train of events that resulted in running two complete sets of reports reflecting
improper information.” Stressing that the employer incurred substantial cost because of the error,
the arbitrator cites “unchallenged” testimony that management had commonly issued 3-day
suspensions for similar infractions in the past. Thus, the arbitrator decides, the employer acted
with just cause in meting out an “evenhanded” punishment for the negligence. Turning to the
denial of the already approved promotion, the arbitrator says that this action should be viewed
“in the same light as a demotion for disciplinary reasons.” In such cases, the arbitrator notes,
management’s decision normally is based on a pattern of unsatisfactory behavior, an employee’s
inability to perform, or similar grounds. Observing that management had never before reversed a
promotion as part of a disciplinary action, the arbitrator says that by tacking on the denial of the
promotion in this case, the employer substantially varied its disciplinary policy from its past
practice. Because this action on management’s part was not “evenhanded,” the arbitrator rules,
the promotion should be restored.
Application Case: Enron, Ethics, and Organizational Culture
14-15: Based on what you read in this chapter, summarize in one page or less how you
would explain Enron’s ethical meltdown.
Lax oversight by the six-person audit committee was a major contributor to the collapse
of the firm. Executives carried out a series of complex financial transactions designed to
14-16: It is said that when one securities analyst tried to confront Enron’s CEO about the
firm’s unusual accounting statements, the CEO publicly used vulgar language to
describe the analyst, and that Enron employees subsequently thought doing so was
humorous. If true, what does that say about Enron’s ethical culture?
Enron promoted a culture of reckless financial deals, avarice, and deceit. A sense of
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-11
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
14-17: This case and chapter had something to say about how organizational culture
influences ethical behavior. What role do you think culture played at Enron? Give
five specific examples of things Enron’s CEO could have done to create a healthy
ethical culture.
Create an independent external board of directors to oversee the goals and corporate
strategies, create and implement effective auditing practices, select a CEO who is
responsible for the ethical behavior of the organization, remove the CEO if not effective,
Continuing Case: Carter Cleaning Company – Guaranteeing Fair Treatment
14-18: What would you do if you were Jennifer, and why?
The difficulty is that even though they have always “felt strongly about not allowing
employees to smoke, eat, or drink in their stores,” they had apparently never established
any policies about this. Given this, it seems appropriate to give them a strong verbal
14-19: Should a disciplinary system be established at Carter Cleaning Centers?
Definitely, a corrective coaching program should be implemented immediately. This
type of program will help employees understand why their behavior/performance is not
14-20: If so, what should it cover? How would you suggest it deal with a situation such as
the one with the errant counter people?
It should cover all behavior and performance that is expected of employees. It would
identify the steps of the process, including verbal warnings, written warnings, and
14-21: How would you deal with the store manager?
The real question is whether the store manager knew about their beliefs about eating in
the store. If he or she did, then a written warning is appropriate – if not, then a strong
Hotel Paris: Improving Performance at the Hotel Paris – The Hotel Paris’s New
Ethics, Justice, and Fair Treatment Process
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-12
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
14-22: Based on what you learned in this chapter, what do you think of the adequacy and
effectiveness of the steps Lisa has taken so far?
Student answers will vary however, it was very smart of Lisa to do her research and
14-23: List three more specific steps Hotel Paris should take with respect to each individual
human research function (selection, training, and so on) to improve the level of
ethics in the company.
Answers will vary. However, some possible steps would be to incorporate honesty testing
in selection, to train employees using ethics cases, and to discipline immediately and
14-24: Based on what you learned in this chapter, write a short (less than one page)
explanation Lisa can use to sell to top management the need to further improve the
hotel chain’s fairness and justice processes.
Senior leadership should be educated that claims of unfair treatment can be both
expensive and expansive. Litigation to defend a claim can be costly and result in an
unpopular reflection of the organization in the media. Also, recent cases have included
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.
14-25: What techniques would you use as alternatives to traditional discipline? Why do you
think alternatives like these are important, given industry’s need today for highly
engaged and committed employees?
14-26: Using several “Best Companies to Work For” as examples, explain what you would do to
improve employee relations in an organization.
Key Terms:
Employee Relations – The activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive
employee–employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, morale,
and discipline, and to maintaining a positive, productive, and cohesive work environment.
Fair Treatment – Reflects concrete actions, such as “employees are treated with respect,” and
“employees are treated fairly.”
Chapter 14: Building Positive Employee Relations 14-13
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
Procedural Justice – Refers to just procedures in the allocation of rewards or discipline in
which the actual results or outcomes are evenhanded and fair.
Distributive Justice – Refers to a system of distributing rewards and discipline in which the
actual results or outcomes are evenhanded and fair.
Social Responsibility – Refers to the extent to which companies should and do channel
resources toward improving one or more segments of society other than the firm’s owners or
stockholders.
Organizational Climate – The perceptions a company’s employees share about the firm’s
psychological environment; for instance, in terms of things like concern for employee’s well-
being, supervisory behavior, flexibility, appreciation, ethics, empowerment, political behaviors,
and rewards.
Suggesstion Teams – Temporary teams whose members work on specific analytical
assignments, such as how to cut costs or raise productivity.
Problem-Solving Teams – Teams that identify and research work processes and develop
solutions to work-related problems.
Quality Circle – A special type of formal problem-solving team; usually composed of 6 to 12
specially trained employees who meet once a week to solve problems affecting their work area.
Self-Managed/Self-Directed Work Team – A small (usually 8 to 10 members) group of
carefully selected, trained, and empowered employees who basically run themselves with little or
no outside supervision, usually for the purpose of acomplishing a specific task or mission.
Ethics – The study of standards of conduct and moral judgment; also the standards of right
conduct.
Organizational Culture – The characteristics values, traditions, and behaviors a company’s
employees share.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) – The ECPA is a federal law intended to
help restrict interception and monitoring of oral and wire communications.
