Discussion Questions
by Robert L. Cardy, David B. Balkin, Luis R. Gómez-Mejía
Managing Human Resources, Eight Edition
- Full-Circle Learning MyLabTM: Learning Full Circle for Marketing, Management, Business Communication, Intro to Business, and MIS
- Managing Human Resources
- Managing Human Resources
- Brief Contents
- Contents
- Preface
- PART I Introduction
- CHAPTER 1 Meeting Present and Emerging Strategic Human Resource Challenges
- CHALLENGES
- Human Resource Management: The Challenges
- Planning and Implementing Strategic HR Policies
- The Benefits of Strategic HR Planning
- Encouragement of Proactive Rather than Reactive Behavior
- Explicit Communication of Company Goals
- Stimulation of Critical Thinking and Ongoing Examination of Assumptions
- Identification of Gaps between Current Situation and Future Vision
- Encouragement of Line Managers’ Participation
- Identification of HR Constraints and Opportunities
- Creation of Common Bonds
- The Challenges of Strategic HR Planning
- Maintaining a Competitive Advantage
- Reinforcing Overall Business Strategy
- Avoiding Excessive Concentration on Day-to-Day Problems
- Developing HR Strategies Suited to Unique Organizational Features
- Coping with the Environment
- Securing Management Commitment
- Translating the Strategic Plan into Action
- Combining Intended and Emergent Strategies
- Accommodating Change
- Strategic HR Choices
- The Benefits of Strategic HR Planning
- Selecting HR Strategies to Increase Firm Performance
- The HR Department and Managers: An Important Partnership
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- References
- CHAPTER 1 Meeting Present and Emerging Strategic Human Resource Challenges
- PART II The Contexts of Human Resource Management
- CHAPTER 2 Managing Work Flows and Conducting Job Analysis
- CHALLENGES
- Work: The Organizational Perspective
- Work: The Group Perspective
- Work: The Individual Perspective
- Designing Jobs and Conducting Job Analysis
- The Flexible Workforce
- Human Resource Information Systems
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 3 Understanding Equal Opportunity and the Legal Environment
- CHALLENGES
- Why Understanding the Legal Environment Is Important
- Challenges to Legal Compliance
- Equal Employment Opportunity Laws
- EEO Enforcement and Compliance
- Other Important Laws
- Avoiding Pitfalls in EEO
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- APPENDIX TO CHAPTER 3 Human Resource Legislation Discussed in This Text
- CHAPTER 4 Managing Diversity
- CHALLENGES
- What Is Diversity?
- Challenges in Managing Employee Diversity
- Diversity in Organizations
- Improving the Management of Diversity
- Creating an Inclusive Organizational Culture
- Top-Management Commitment to Valuing Diversity
- Appraising and Rewarding Managers for Good Diversity Practices
- Diversity Training Programs
- Support Groups
- Accommodation of Family Needs
- Senior Mentoring Programs
- Apprenticeships
- Communication Standards
- Diversity Audits
- Management Responsibility and Accountability
- Some Warnings
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 2 Managing Work Flows and Conducting Job Analysis
- PART III Staffing
- CHAPTER 5 Recruiting and Selecting Employees
- CHALLENGES
- Human Resource Supply and Demand
- The Hiring Process
- Challenges in the Hiring Process
- Meeting the Challenge of Effective Staffing
- Selection
- Legal Issues in Staffing
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 6 Managing Employee Separations, Downsizing, and Outplacement
- CHAPTER 5 Recruiting and Selecting Employees
- PART IV Employee Development
- CHAPTER 7 Appraising and Managing Performance
- CHAPTER 8 Training the Workforce
- CHALLENGES
- Key Training Issues
- Training Versus Development
- Challenges in Training
- Managing the Training Process
- A Special Case: Orientation and Socialization
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 9 Developing Careers
- PART V Compensation
- CHAPTER 10 Managing Compensation
- CHALLENGES
- What Is Compensation?
- Designing a Compensation System
- Job Versus Individual Pay
- Compensation Tools
- Job-Based Compensation Plans
- Skill-Based Compensation Plans
- Special Compensation Issues in Small Firms
- The Legal Environment and Pay System Governance
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 11 Rewarding Performance
- CHALLENGES
- Pay for Performance: The Challenges
- Meeting the Challenges of Pay-for-Performance Systems
- Develop a Complementary Relationship Between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Rewards
- Link Pay and Performance Appropriately
- Use Pay for Performance as Part of a Broader HRM System
- Build Employee Trust
- Promote the Belief That Performance Makes a Difference
- Use Multiple Layers of Rewards
- Increase Employee Involvement
- Stress the Importance of Acting Ethically
- Use Motivation and Nonfinancial Incentives
- Types of Pay-for-Performance Plans
- Designing Pay-for-Performance Plans for Executives and Salespeople
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- References
- CHAPTER 12 Designing and Administering Benefits
- CHAPTER 10 Managing Compensation
- PART VI Governance
- CHAPTER 13 Developing Employee Relations
- CHALLENGES
- The Roles of the Manager and the Employee Relations Specialist
- Developing Employee Communications
- Encouraging Effective Communications
- Employee Recognition Programs
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 14 Respecting Employee Rights and Managing Discipline
- CHAPTER 15 Working with Organized Labor
- CHALLENGES
- Why Do Employees Join Unions?
- Labor Relations and the Legal Environment
- Labor Relations in the United States
- Labor Relations in Other Countries
- Labor Relations Strategy
- Managing the Labor Relations Process
- The Impact of Unions on Human Resource Management
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 16 Managing Workplace Safety and Health
- CHAPTER 17 International HRM Challenge
- CHALLENGES
- The Stages of International Involvement
- Determining the Mix of Host-Country and Expatriate Employees
- The Challenges of Expatriate Assignments
- Effectively Managing Expatriate Assignments with HRM Policies and Practices
- Developing HRM Policies in a Global Context
- Human Resources Management and Exporting Firms
- Summary and Conclusions
- Key Terms
- Discussion Questions
- CHAPTER 13 Developing Employee Relations
- Appendix
- Concise Dictionary of HR Terminology
- Company, Name, and Product Index
- Subject Index
- Pearson’s MyLab™
Discussion Questions
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13-1. Employee privacy has been called “today’s most important workplace issue.” What kinds of dilemmas have the new technologies created regarding employee privacy? What other kinds of problems have the new technologies created in employee relations and communications, and how might managers deal with them?
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13-2. Shelly Wexler tells her supervisor, Rob Levine, that having to care for her aging mother is forcing her to leave work early and is making her feel increasingly “stressed out.” Rob refers her to the company’s EAP, but he also tries to convince her to put her mother in a home for the aged and even gives her some information about nursing homes in the area. Do you think Rob is just showing ordinary concern for his employee, or do you think he is overstepping managerial boundaries? Discuss the supervisor’s role in implementing an EAP. Should a supervisor try to diagnose an employee’s personal problem? Why or why not?
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13-3.
Do you think most employees have reservations about using an appeals procedure such as an open-door policy? What can managers do to convince employees that the available procedures are fair and effective? -
13-4.
Some communication experts claim that men and women have different styles of communication that create barriers to decoding messages from a sender of the opposite sex.
What do you think are the important differences between the way men and women communicate with each other in a work environment? What are the implications of these sex differences in communication from the perspective of effective employee relations?
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13-5. A minority of employees are actually demotivated by being given public recognition in front of their coworkers. Why might some employees feel uncomfortable being recognized in a public ceremony? Do you think that this could be an issue related to diversity in the workplace? Assuming that you are a manager and you are aware that one of your employees does not respond well to public recognition, what can you do to recognize this employee’s good performance as an individual or part of a team?
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