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1.
B. Communicating HR Practices
2. It is not enough to simply have a practice in place; HR needs to let employees know
3. The evidence supporting the contribution of communication and perception to HR
effectiveness is considerable.
to remain with the company, but the HR practices led to these positive outcomes
4. The effectiveness of HR practices also depends on employee attitudes.
when employees felt motivated.
5. Practices tend to be perceived differently in various business cultures.
different selection techniques.
b. Structured interviews are popular in some countries and nonexistent in others.
C. Designing and Administering Benefit Programs
2. Ideally, a benefit program should be uniquely suited to the organizational culture,
sustainable in the long term.
a. Such benefits will likely improve employees’ psychological well-being and
therefore increase organizational performance.
D. Drafting and Enforcing Employment Policies
1. Employment policies that are informed by current laws but go beyond minimum
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
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.
E. Managing Work-Life Conflicts
family friendly.
a. They introduced on-site childcare, summer day camps, flextime, job sharing,
leaves for school functions, telecommuting, and part-time employment.
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
4. Organizations are modifying their workplaces with scheduling options and benefits to
perks ranging from on-site laundry to food services and free child care.
5. Time pressures aren’t the primary problem underlying these conflicts.
work problems at home.
b. This suggests organizations should spend less effort helping employees with
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.
F. 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.
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.
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
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
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:
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
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.
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:
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
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
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
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.
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
Benefits”
http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/MultinationalBenefits.aspx.
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
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
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
Myth or Science?
The24-Hour Workplace Is Harmful
This exercise contributes to:
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.
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
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
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
Class Exercise
1. Divide the class into teams of three to five students each.
2. Ask each group to read the article at Bloomberg “Five Charts That Show Work-Life
Balance is Dead,”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-05/five-charts-that-show-work-life-bal
ance-is-dead.
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
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
MyLab Management
Personal Inventory Assessments
Positive Practices Survey
MyLab Management
Watch It!
Patagonia: Human Resource Management
If your instructor has assigned this activity, go to www.pearson.com/mylab/management to
complete the video exercise.
Point/Counterpoint
Employers Should Check Applicant Criminal Backgrounds
This exercise contributes to:
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
