C H A P T E R
T W E L V E
Human
Resource
Management
12
Lecture Outline
Introduction
Why Human Resource Management Is Important
The Human Resource Management Process
Human Resource Planning
Current Assessment
Meeting Future Human Resource Needs
Recruitment and Decruitment
Selection
What Is Selection?
Validity and Reliability
Types of Selection Devices
What Works Best and When?
Orientation
Employee Training
Employee Performance Management
Performance Appraisal Methods
Written Essays
Critical Incidents
Graphic Rating Scales
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
Multiperson Comparisons
Objectives
360 Degree Feedback
Compensation and Benefits
Career Development
The Way It Was
You and Your Career Today
Current Issues in Human Resource Management
Managing Downsizing
Managing Workforce Diversity
Recruitment
Selection
Orientation and Training
Sexual Harassment
Work-Life Balance
Throughout their careers in the business world,
your students will likely hear managers say, “My
most important resource is the people who work in
this organization.” Indeed, the employees in every
company are the lifeblood of the organization. By
taking steps to ensure the health, safety, and
general well-being of employees, a manager is
taking care of not only the employees, but also the
customers whom those employees serve.
Today’s business organizations are becoming
increasingly cognizant of the importance of having
strong human resource management practices and
policies. “A Manager’s Dilemma” describes how
Scotiabank (Canada’s third-largest bank) not only
strives to place the right employees in the right
location at the right time, but also views HR as a
vital strategic player in the leadership of this
global institution. CEO Rick Waugh provides his
HR staff with opportunities to develop leadership
skills so that they will be equipped to participate
in strategic planning for Scotiabank. Further, he
seeks to develop the full potential of the bank’s
workforce by exploring ways to ensure more
representation of women in the executive levels of
management at the bank. In studying Chapter
Twelve, your students will be challenged to
consider how managers like Rick Waugh can
utilize their
most valuable resource to
accomplish the goals
of their organization in
today’s global business environment.
166
A variety of PowerPoint slides, including both original text art and newly created
images, are available for your use in enhancing the presentation of Chapter Twelve
materials to your students.
ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1.
INTRODUCTION
The quality of an organization is, to a large degree, dependent upon the quality
of the people it hires and retains. Chapter Twelve examines the concepts of
human resource management.
 NOTES
Q&A
2.
12.1 Why is human resource management considered part of the organizing function?
WHY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT
Various studies have concluded that an organization’s human resources can be
an important strategic tool and can help establish a firm’s sustainable
competitive advantage.
A.
Whether or not an organization has a human resource department, every
manager is involved with human resource management activities.
B.
Managers must see employees as partners, not as costs to be minimized.
C.
Studies that have explored the link between HRM policies and practices
and organizational performance have found that certain HRM policies
and practices have a positive impact on performance.
1.
These high-performance work practices are human resource
policies and practices that lead to both high individual and high
organizational performance.
2.
Examples of high-performance work practices are shown in
Exhibit 12-1 and PowerPoint slide 12-7.
 NOTES
3.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Materials I Plan to Use:
THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
A.
The human resource management process consists of activities
necessary for staffing the organization and sustaining high employee
performance.
167
 NOTES
Q&A
12.2 I’ve heard the term “personnel management” used. How is HRM different?
B.
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
The eight steps of the human resource management process are
illustrated in Exhibit 12-2 and PowerPoint slide 12-9.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Important Environmental Considerations
A number of environmental forces constrain human resource
management activities. The two factors most directly influencing the
HRM process are employee labor unions and governmental laws and
regulations.
1.
Unionization can affect a company’s human resource
management activities.
a.
A labor union is an organization that represents
workers and seeks to protect their interests through
collective bargaining.
Materials I Plan to Use:
12.3 Don’t unions lead to unmotivated and disgruntled employees?
b.
c.
 NOTES
Good labor-management relations, the formal
interactions between unions and an organization’s
management, are important.
Although only about 13.5 percent of the workforce in
the United States is unionized, that percentage is higher
in other countries.
Materials I Plan to Use:
2.
Federal laws and regulations have greatly expanded the federal
government’s influence over HRM (see Exhibit 12-3 and
168
PowerPoint slide 12-11). Balance of the “should and shouldnots” of many of these laws often fall within the realm of
affirmative action—programs that enhance the organizational
status of members of protected groups.
 NOTES
Q&A
12.4 Don’t current laws in the United States tie managers’ hands in terms of personnel
issues like hiring, promotions, and terminations?
 NOTES
Q&A
4.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Materials I Plan to Use:
12.5 It seems that HR rules and regulations focus on the negative. Are there any
benefits to these rules and regulations?
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Human resource planning is ensuring that the organization has the right
number and kinds of capable people in the right places and at the right times.
A.
Current Assessment
Managers begin HR planning by conducting a current assessment of the
organization’s human resource status.
1.
This assessment is typically accomplished through a human
resource inventory.
2.
Another part of the current assessment process is the job
analysis, which is an assessment that defines jobs and the
behaviors necessary to perform them.
3.
From this information, management can draw up a job
description, which is a written statement that describes a job.
4.
In addition, management must develop a job specification,
which is a statement of the minimum qualifications that a person
must possess to perform a given job successfully.
 NOTES
B.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Meeting Future Human Resource Needs
Future HR needs are determined by looking at the organization’s
mission, goals, and strategies. Developing a future program requires
169
 NOTES
5.
RECRUITMENT AND DECRUITMENT
A.
Recruitment is the process of locating, identifying, and attracting
capable applicants.
B.
Job candidates can be found using a number of different sources
(see Exhibit 12-4 and PowerPoint slide 12-17), including:
1.
Job fairs
2.
Web-based recruiting (e-recruiting)
3.
Employee referrals (the source that usually provides the best
candidates)
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
6.
matching estimates of shortages—both in number and in type—and
highlighting areas in which the organization will be overstaffed.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Materials I Plan to Use:
Decruitment is reducing an organization’s workforce. Decruitment
options include firing, layoffs, attrition, transfers, reduced workweeks,
early retirements, and job sharing. (See Exhibit 12-5 and PowerPoint
slide 12-18.)
Materials I Plan to Use:
SELECTION
Selection is screening job applicants to ensure that the most appropriate
candidates are hired.
A.
Selection is an exercise in prediction.
1.
Prediction is important because any selection decision can result
in four possible outcomes (see Exhibit 12-6 and PowerPoint
slide 12-20).
2.
The major aim of any selection activity should be to reduce the
probability of making reject errors or accept errors, while
increasing the probability of making correct decisions.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
170
B.
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
Q&A
Validity and Reliability
1.
Validity is the proven relationship that exists between a
selection device and some relevant job criterion.
2.
Reliability is the ability of a selection device to measure the
same thing consistently.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Types of Selection Devices
Managers can select employees using numerous and varied selection
devices. Exhibit 12-7 and PowerPoint slide 12-22 list the strengths and
weaknesses of each of these devices.
1.
The application form is used by almost all organizations for job
candidates.
2.
Written tests can include tests of intelligence, aptitude, ability,
and interest.
3.
Performance-simulation tests involve having job applicants
simulate job activities. Two well-known examples of
performance-simulation tests are described below:
a.
Work sampling is a type of job tryout in which
applicants perform a task or set of tasks that are central
to that job.
b.
Assessment centers are used to evaluate managerial
potential through job simulation activities.
Materials I Plan to Use:
12.6 If interviews have serious limitations in terms of validity and reliability, why do
managers continue to use them?
Practical Interactive Skills Modules
PRISM #11
Have students visit the Web for PRISM #11 on interviewing.
4.
Interviews are a widely used selection device, although many
concerns have been voiced about their reliability and validity.
Exhibit 12-8 and PowerPoint slide 12-26 list several
171
 NOTES
Q&A
suggestions for making interviews more valid and reliable.
Exhibit 12-9 and PowerPoint slide 12-27 list examples of
questions that interviewers should not ask. In a new approach to
interviewing, situational interviews require candidates to roleplay in mock scenarios.
Materials I Plan to Use:
12.7 If I’m interviewing a job applicant, what can and can’t I legally ask?
5.
6.
 NOTES
D.
 NOTES
7.
Background investigations can be done through the verification
of application data and/or reference checks.
Physical examinations are useful for jobs that have particular
physical requirements, but are most often used by the company
for insurance purposes to ensure that new hires will not submit
claims for conditions that existed before the date of hire.
Materials I Plan to Use:
What Works Best and When?
1.
Exhibit 12-10 and PowerPoint slide 12-28 provide a summary
of the validity of various selection devices for particular types of
jobs.
2.
A realistic job preview is a preview of a job that provides both
positive and negative information about the job and the
company. Including an RJP can increase job satisfaction among
employees and reduce turnover.
Materials I Plan to Use:
ORIENTATION
Orientation is introducing a new employee to his or her job and the
organization.
A.
Types of Orientation
1.
Work unit orientation familiarizes the employee with the goals
of the work unit, clarifies how his/her job contributes to the
unit’s goals, and includes an introduction to his/her coworkers.
172
2.
B.
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
D.
 NOTES
8.
Organization orientation informs the new employee about the
organization’s objectives, history, philosophy, procedures, and
rules.
Major objectives of orientation include the following:
1.
To reduce initial anxiety.
2.
To familiarize new employees with the job, the work unit, and
the organization.
3.
To facilitate the outsider-insider transition.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Formal orientation programs are prevalent in many organizations,
particularly in large ones.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Managers have an obligation to new employees to ensure that their
integration into the organization is as smooth and as comfortable as
possible.
Materials I Plan to Use:
EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Employee training is a critical component of the human resource management
program.
A.
Skill categories include the following:
1.
Technical skills, which include basic skills (reading, writing, and
mathematics) and job-specific competencies.
2.
Interpersonal skills, which involve the ability to interact
effectively with coworkers and bosses.
3.
Problem-solving skills, which involve the ability to solve
problems that arise.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
173
Q&A
?
12.8 Why has employee training become such a big deal?
Focus on Leadership
How to Find and Train
Effective Leaders
Ask how many of your students have heard the statement, “Leaders are born, not made.”
Lead a discussion in which students offer insights about this concept, based on their own
experience. If individuals can be trained to be effective leaders, what kinds of training
methods should be used?
You might wish to use this discussion as an introduction to an out-of-class assignment on
the qualities and skills necessary for effective leadership. Divide the class into groups of
five or six students. Each group of students will select a leader from the real world of
business, education, or government in your area and make an appointment for an
interview with that leader. After the interview sessions, have each group of students
make a presentation to the entire class to report the first-hand information they have
gained about leadership qualities and skills.
Note: Be sure that your students send a written thank-you note to the leader they
interviewed, telling him/her of their appreciation for that individual’s time and effort in
sharing their time and expertise.
B.
 NOTES
Exhibit 12-11 describes the major types of training that organizations
provide.
1.
On-the-job training. This type of training is very common, and it
may involve job rotation. Job rotation is on-the-job training that
involves lateral transfers to enable employees who work on the
same level of the organization to work in different jobs. On-thejob training can also involve mentoring, coaching, experiential
exercises, and classroom training.
2.
Technology-driven training methods. Today’s organizations are
increasingly relying on technology-based training, including elearning applications to communicate important information and
to train employees.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Practical Interactive Skills Modules
PRISM #8
Students should visit the Web for PRISM #8 that deals with
disciplining employees.
174
9.
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
A.
Managers need to know whether their employees are performing their
jobs efficiently and effectively or when improvement is needed.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise in Feedback
Managers need to know how effectively employees are performing and where there is
room for improvement. Likewise, employees need to know how they are performing and
how they might improve. A significant part of the manager’s job is to provide employee
feedback. Students should complete SAL #III.A.3 “How Good Am I at Giving
Feedback?” Once completed, students should consider the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
What is the link between feedback and human resource management?
How do you think this information will help you as a manager?
B.
C.
A performance management system establishes performance
standards that are used to evaluate employee performance.
Performance Appraisal Methods (Exhibit 12-13 and PowerPoint slide
12-34 summarize the advantages and disadvantages of each of these
methods.)
1.
A written essay appraises performance using a rating scale on a
set of performance factors.
2.
Critical incidents are used to appraise performance by focusing
on the critical job behaviors. In this technique the appraiser
writes anecdotes to describe what the employee did that was
especially effective or ineffective. Only specific behaviors,
rather than vaguely defined personality traits, are cited.
3.
The use of graphic rating scales is one of the oldest and most
popular performance appraisal methods. This method appraises
performance using a rating scale on a set of performance factors.
Graphic rating scales list a set of performance factors; the
evaluator goes down the list and rates the employee on each
factor, using an incremental scale.
4.
Using behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) is an
appraisal approach that appraises performance using a rating
scale on examples of actual job behavior. BARS combines major
elements from the critical incident and graphic rating scale
approaches. The appraiser rates an employee according to items
175
5.
6.
 NOTES
?
along a scale, but the items are examples of actual behavior on
the job rather than general descriptions or traits.
Multiperson comparison appraises performance by comparing
it with others’ performance.
Management by objectives (MBO) is another mechanism for
appraising performance.
It is often used to assess the
performance of managers and professional employees.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Thinking Critically About Ethics
Store Policies for Employees
In many specialty stores, hourly employees are expected to purchase and wear the
store’s latest fashions. Low-wage retail employees, however, complain that they cannot
afford to buy these clothes. In California, a number of lawsuits about this situation have
been filed.
Ask students to consider and identify ethical implications of these practices for both
employees and the companies involved. Ask students to develop a solution that is ethical
and consistent with good HRM practices.
7.
 NOTES
10.
Materials I Plan to Use:
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
How do organizations determine the compensation levels and benefits that
employees will receive?
A.
The purpose of having an effective reward system is to attract and retain
competent and talented individuals who can help the organization
achieve its mission and goals.
 NOTES
Q&A
360 degree feedback appraises performance by using feedback
from supervisors, employees, and coworkers.
Materials I Plan to Use:
12.19 Who decides what an organization’s compensation system is going to include?
176
B.
A compensation system can include base wages and salaries, wage and
salary add-ons, incentive payments, and benefits and services.
 NOTES
C.
Materials I Plan to Use:
What factors determine the compensation and benefits packages for
different employees? A number of factors influence these differences
(see Exhibit 12-14 and PowerPoint slide 12-36):
1.
Under a skill-based pay system, employees are compensated for
the job skills they can demonstrate. Research shows that skillbased pay systems tend to be more successful in manufacturing
organizations than in service organizations.
2.
Under a variable pay system, an individual’s compensation is
contingent on performance.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
3.
 NOTES
?
Flexibility is becoming a key consideration in the design of an
organization’s compensation system.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Managing IT
HR and IT
As your students have read in their textbook, e-learning is used to improve every aspect of
the way they do business—including the management of their human resources. Ask your
students to share how the businesses where they work use IT to automate processes,
particularly HR functions. Your students will likely be familiar with some of the HR
processes in their workplace, including ways in which IT facilitates compensation and the
provision of employee benefits.
If your classroom has Internet capabilities, you and your students can explore Web sites of
larger companies to discover how these companies use the Internet in recruiting
employees. Two excellent examples are the following:


Proctor & Gamble at [http://www.pg.com/jobs/jobs_us/sectionmain.jhtml]
Goldman-Sachs at [http://www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/index.html]
177
11.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
A career is defined as the sequence of positions held by a person during his/her
lifetime.
A.
The Way It Was
1.
Historically, career development programs were designed by
organizations to help employees advance their work lives within
a specific organization.
2.
However, widespread internal changes have altered the idea of a
traditional organizational career.
3.
Now, it is the individual—not the organization—who is
responsible for his/her own career.
 NOTES
Q&A
12.10 Why are individuals now the ones who are responsible for their own careers?
B.
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
You and Your Career Today
The idea of increased personal responsibility for one’s career has been
described as a boundaryless career in which individuals, rather than
organizations, define career progression, organizational loyalty,
important skills, and marketplace value.
1.
The challenge for individuals is that there are no norms, and few
rules exist to guide them.
Materials I Plan to Use:
12.11 As a job applicant, what can I do to improve my chances of looking good in
an interview?
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise in Job Satisfaction
Individual responsibility for one’s career has become important in recent years. The
responsibility for career path, development, and progression has shifted from the
organization to the individual. Students should complete the SAL #I.B.3 “How Satisfied
Am I with My Job?” and address the following issues:



What did you learn about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything surprise
you about your assessment?
How does job satisfaction relate to human resource management?
How do you think this information could help you as a manager?
178
2.
3.
 NOTES
12.
The optimum career choice is one that offers the best match
between what a person wants out of life and his/her interests,
abilities, and market opportunities.
Exhibit 12-15 and PowerPoint slide 12-38 provide results of a
survey of college graduates regarding what they consider to be
important in their first jobs.
Materials I Plan to Use:
CURRENT ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Several contemporary human resource issues concern today’s managers.
A.
Managing downsizing, which is the planned elimination of jobs in an
organization, is a challenge for management in a tight economy.
Downsizing can occur when management faces (1) the need to cut costs,
(2) declining market share, and/or (3) overly aggressive organizational
growth.
 NOTES
B.
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Managing Workforce Diversity
In a business environment where the composition of the workforce is
changing, these changes affect recruitment, selection, orientation,
training, and development of employees.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is any unwanted action or activity of a sexual nature
that explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment,
performance, or work environment.
Materials I Plan to Use:
179
Q&A
12.12 Is it possible for a single person in a company to ask another single person in the
company for a date without being charged with sexual harassment?
D.
 NOTES
Work-Life Balance
Family concerns, especially work-life balance, are another issue of
current importance in human resource management.
1.
Organizations increasingly realize that employees cannot
completely leave their family needs and problems behind when
they walk into the workplace each day. Businesses are
responding to these needs by developing programs to help
employees deal with family issues that may arise.
2.
Many progressive organizations provide a variety of scheduling
options and benefits that provide more flexibility at work in
order to allow employees to better balance or integrate their
work and personal lives.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise in Work-Family Conflict
Work-life balance is an important issue in contemporary human resource management.
Employees have needs that cannot be ignored while on the job. Have students complete
the SAL #III.B.3 “Am I Experiencing Work-Family Conflict?” and address the following
issues:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can work-family conflict impact job performance?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
Answers to Thinking About Management Issues
1.
How does HRM affect all managers?
Since a manager’s most valuable resource are the people who work in the
organization, obtaining the right employees at the right time and placing them in
the right places is essential for managerial success. To motivate, retain, and
equip these employees for optimal performance, a manager must have
knowledge and skill in human resource management.
2.
Should an employer have the right to choose employees without governmental
interference? Support your conclusion.
Student responses to this question will vary. This question provides an excellent
vehicle for class debate. You might let half of the class take the perspective of
180
supporting government legislation and regulations and the other half assume the
position of opposing government legislation and regulations in this area.
3.
Some critics claim that corporate HR departments have outlived their
usefulness and are not there to help employees, but to keep the organization
from legal problems. What do you think? What benefits are there to having a
formal HRM process? What drawbacks?
Every organization must recognize the importance of legal and social
responsibility as a corporate citizen in the community. As students learn in the
study of this chapter, HRM is concerned with a wide spectrum of functions, and
legal considerations are a part of each of these HR functions. A formal process
helps to provide objective compliance with the law and promotes an attitude of
fairness and respect for the rights and welfare of all employees.
4.
Studies show that women’s salaries still lag behind men’s, and even with equal
opportunity laws and regulations, women are paid about 76 percent of what
men are paid. How would you design a compensation system that would
address this issue?
Students will probably come up with different suggestions for addressing these
inequities. Be sure to remind students that many factors influence an
organization’s compensation system. In fact, this would be a good time to review
these factors with the class.
5.
What drawbacks, if any, do you see in implementing flexible benefits?
(Consider this question from the perspective of both the organization and the
employee.)
In answering this question, half of the students in your class might consider the
question from the organization’s viewpoint and make a list of pros and cons,
while the other half of the students in the class could consider this question from
the employee’s viewpoint, also making a list of pros and cons.
6.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of realistic job previews? (Consider this
question from the perspective of both the organization and the employee.)
This question would be a good springboard for debate as well, with half of the
class looking at RJPs from the organization’s viewpoint and the other half of the
class looking at RJPs from the employee’s viewpoint. In addition, students
should be encouraged to describe occasions when they have received an RJP in
an interview setting. Students could also be encouraged to share aspects or
characteristics of jobs they currently hold that should be communicated by an
interviewer to prospective employees as part of an RJP in an employment
interview.
7.
What, in your view, constitutes sexual harassment? Describe how companies
can minimize sexual harassment in the workplace.
You might provide an opportunity for small group discussion of this question
and encourage students to research (perhaps on the Web outside of class)
strategies currently used by large and small companies to minimize sexual
harassment in the workplace. In the class session immediately following the
small group discussions, ask students to share their answers and opinions
regarding issues raised by this question.
181
8.
Go to the Society for Human Resource Management Web site [www.shrm.org]
and find the HR News section. Pick one of the “News Stories” to read. Write
a summary of the information. At the end of your summary, discuss the
implications of the topic for managers.
As part of the class discussion of this exercise, be sure to discuss student
participation in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Does
your university have a chapter of SHRM? Do your students realize the many
valuable benefits of joining and participating in this organization? If your school
does not have a SHRM chapter, encourage your students to explore the SHRM
Web site to learn how a SHRM chapter can be established on your campus.
Information can be found by accessing [www.shrm.org] and clicking on the link
“Membership Center,” which leads to the link “Student Membership.”
WORKING TOGETHER—Team-Based Exercise
Students are asked to assume the position of director of human resources for a gift
registry Web site based in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company is expanding rapidly and
must hire 30 new employees. However, the company wants to increase its workforce
diversity, so the HR office is attempting to develop a recruitment strategy for that
purpose.
Form groups of five to six students each. Each group should be assigned a particular
minority group for which to develop a recruitment strategy. (Some minority groups that
have been used in the past include African Americans, Native Americans, Asians,
Hispanics, individuals who are physically challenged, and workers who are over 40 years
old.) In developing their recruitment strategy, students should be as specific as possible;
for example, they might list specific organizations, journals/magazines, newspapers,
college campuses, radio and/or TV stations they would use to target their minority group.
Answers to Case Application Questions
Hostile Mint
1.
What HR problems were evident at the Denver Mint?
Firms in the United States must establish programs to prevent sexual harassment
within their organization. At the Denver Mint, apparent problems included a
hostile work environment for female employees; alleged retaliation by
management for complaints made by female employees; and alleged failure of
management to address female employees’ complaints of sexual harassment in
the workplace.
2.
Some businesses use a zero tolerance policy—unacceptable and detrimental
behavior is not tolerated under any circumstances. Is a zero tolerance policy
an appropriate response for combating sexual harassment? Why or why not?
182
If a business enforces its zero tolerance policy, it can be an appropriate response
in order to protect employees against sexual harassment and to promote a safe
workplace. Any policy or rule must be enforced consistently in order to be
effective.
3.
What types of training might you suggest for the employees of the
Denver Mint? Explain what this training should include and how you would
present it.
Students will provide varied responses here. Their answers should include an
emphasis on human resource policies, respect for individuals, a zero tolerance
policy, and an emphasis on safety in the workplace, quality, and productivity.
After reading and studying Chapter Twelve, students might visit the American
Management Association’s (AMA) Web site at [http://www.amanet.org/onsite/
sexual%2Dharassment/?CMP=KAC-G1110&gclid=CLz4n97rwYYCFQpb
UAodymkWQg] for additional information on training methods designed to
prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace.
4.
If you were the superintendent in charge of this facility, what steps would you
take now that a settlement has been reached to ensure that your workplace
becomes a model workplace? (Hint: You might want to look up the U.S. Mint
Strategic Plan at [www.usmint.gov].)
Students’ suggestions in answering this question will vary. Answers should
reflect their understanding of the importance of establishing written policies and
not only espousing values but also enacting them. In answering this question,
students should access the Web site of the U.S. Mint’s Strategic Plan at
[http://www.usmint.gov/downloads/foia/2000_final_Strat_plan.pdf]. As they
read and examine this strategic plan, your students will notice that part of the
mission of the U.S. Mint states: “We will dedicate ourselves to excellence and
integrity, providing a safe workplace and rewarding work for every employee.”
Other organizations can learn that ignoring the importance of having enforceable
sexual harassment policies can lead to low employee morale, significant costs,
lost productivity, poor quality, and a poor public perception that can negatively
affect overall performance.
ADDITIONAL CHAPTER INFORMATION
The article “People and Plans: Training’s Role in Homeland and Workplace Security”
focuses on the role of training in the homeland and in the workplace. In the United
States, news of homeland security appears daily in newspapers, on television, in metro
stations and airports, and in workplaces. Security in private industry is one of the major
areas of concern. Although experts point out that U.S. business interests were targeted in
the attack on the World Trade Center and in distribution of anthrax through the U.S.
Postal Service a year after September 11, 2001, only half of organizations surveyed by
the Society for Human Resource Management had implemented tighter security
measures. The article is published in T+D (Training and Development), Sep 2003, Vol.
57 Issue 9, p. 66.
You can read an informative article1 from the Department of Homeland Security about
HRM practices relating to another aspect of safety and security in the workplace. This
article describes the efforts of U.S. companies and federal agencies to provide
183
emergency preparedness tools and training for businesses in the year following the tragic
devastation suffered as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
1
Department of Homeland Security (2006). U.S. Department of Homeland Security Launches
‘Ready Business’ Mentoring Initiative in Time for Hurricane Season. Federal Information and
News
Dispatch,
Inc.
Retrieved
August
3,
2006,
from
http://web.lexisnexis.com/universe/document?_m=012fb68aaa520558be5e0e9c89092fc1&_docnum=1&wchp=d
GLzVzz-zSkVA&_md5=b9ea5dfdcbf917cdd094174dad3b2837
184