Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Answers to In-Text Questions
Chapter 10: Managing Employee Separations and Retention
Keeping The Seats Occupied: Analytics as a Retention Management Tool in the Trucking
Industry
Case discussion questions:
1. What types of data, in addition to those mentioned in the case, do you think can be used
to develop predictive models regarding turnover? If you were developing such a model,
what information would you want to collect so that you could predict turnover? Would
you advise a company to use all information available to them in these predictive
models?
Student responses will vary but might include looking at salaries on the new job and a
2. Do you think the determinants of why employees quit and why they are dismissed would
be different? What factors would you expect to be more closely related to voluntary
turnover? What factors are more likely to predict whether the employee is dismissed?
There should be a difference in determinants for those who quit and those who are
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
3. What are the pros and cons of using social media profiles to predict turnover? What do
you think about the ethics of this practice?
This is an interesting question. Many organizations look at the social media profiles for
4. What are your thoughts about identifying the specific employees with high risk for
turnover and intervening directly with them? What advantages and risks do you see in
this approach? Do you think this approach is better than checking in with all employees
regularly?
There are definitely advantages of working with employees who are at risk of turnover.
Turnover is costly for an organization, and clearly an issue in this industry. The risk is the
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Spotlight on Ethics: Compassionate Delivery of Layoff News
Questions:
1. What reasons can you think of to explain why employers chose to use what can be
perceived as insensitive layoff announcements like those described here?
There are very few valid reasons why a company should act insensitively during a layoff
2. Find an example in the news or in the HR literature of a layoff that was handled with
respect and compassion for the workers. Were there any problems nevertheless? What
did the company do right, and what could have been done better?
Responses will vary by students based on their research. There would most likely a
Mini-Case Analysis Exercise: Dismissing an Employee
Questions:
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
1. What would you advise Eric to do? Should Eric dismiss Laura? Explain your rationale.
What would be the consequences of dismissing and not dismissing Laura?
Care must be taken here. Terminating Laura could be a violation under the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act. One “average” performance review does not
2. What additional information would be helpful to you in making your recommendation
about this case?
Specific information on what Laura does well should be gathered, in addition to areas
3. Let’s say you decided not to dismiss Laura in the short run. What would be your
recommended action plan to solve this problem?
Laura needs to be made aware of her shortcomings and her need to improve. She should
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
4. What type of procedures would be helpful to have in this company? Provide your
recommendations for structural changes so that cases such as these are more easily
resolved.
Procedural changes might include performance appraisals that take place more than
HR Decision Analysis Exercise: Full Disclosure
Please provide the rationale for your answer to each of the questions below.
Is your idea to reassure layoff survivors legal, ethical, and fair?
To tell employees they will not be laid off in the future when there is a chance they will is not
fair or ethical. This might be legal because the WARN Act does not appear to apply in this case.
Is it evidence based/evidence informed?
The layoff decision seems to be evidence informed. The decision of telling current employees
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Does it foster healthy employee–employer relationships?
When employees hear about the potential for future layoffs they are likely to feel betrayed and not trust
Is it time- and cost-effective?
This does not appear to be time- or cost-effective. Students might consider how the current layoffs will
Does it take a systematic stakeholder perspective?
This does not take a systematic stakeholder perspective. The needs and consideration of the
Considering your analysis above, overall, do you think this would be an effective decision?
Why or why not?
While student opinions might vary, students need to consider the short-term and long-term
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
What, if anything, do you think should be done differently or considered to help make this
decision more effective?
Alternatives should be considered such as early retirement, restructuring, and training.
HR Decision-Making Exercise 10.3: Creating a Retention Management System
1. How would you assess why employees are leaving? After you choose your method of
measurement (survey, interviews), develop questions to include in your instrument. How would
you analyze the data to identify the top reasons for employee departures?
Students will develop a variety of assessment tools including surveys, interviews, and group
2. Let’s assume that you found out the top three reasons for turnover in this company are
Bauer, Human Resource Management
SAGE Publishing, 2020
1. Management is very authoritarian and not supportive of employees.
What would be your proposed action plan to deal with these issues? Be specific, and make sure
that your recommendations focus on recruitment, selection, training, compensation, and any
other stages of employment cycle.
Students will develop a variety of ways to cope with these issues. They might develop a team-