Masters Program in Business Administration (MBA )
Specializations :- Human Resource Management
Case 1 :-
Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment
At an office of Goldman, Sachs and Company in Boston, some male employees allegedly pasted photos of bare-breasted women on company newsletters, next to biographies of new female employees (suggesting that the photos were pictures of the new staff members). Copies of the newsletters were circulated around the office. Sexist literature such as “The Smart Man’s Creed or Why Beer Is Better Than Women” (“After you’ve had a beer, ………………..
courts have yet to establish consistent record concerning the issue of “hostile environment” as illegal harassment. For example, a federal district court in Michigan dismissed a claim by Vivienne Rabidue that sexual posters and obscene language in her office at Osceola Refining Co. constituted illegal sexual
harassment.
However, Joanne Barbetta has won the first round of her court battle with Chemlawn. The judge hearing her complaint rejected Chemlawn’s motion to dismiss the suit; he has ordered Ms. Barbetta’s case to trial. Chemlawn is expected to present a vigorous defense, asserting that the men involved in the newsletter incident have been disciplined and that the situations Ms. Barbetta cites fall far short of creating a hostile, harassing environment because they occurred “over the course of two years.”
Questions
1. Assumes that you are an HR executive for a company that manufactures and sells agricultural products (for example, fertilizers and grain feeds). The company’s workforce of 1,200 employees is 70 percent male and 30 percent female. Drawing from this case and the chapter content, develop an antiharassment policy and program. What are the major challenges you see in implementing the program?
2. Many experts assert that reported cases of sexual harassment represent only a small percentage of the total number of incidents that actually occur in the workplace. If their assertion is true, why do so many cases go unreported? How would your HRM policy on harassment address this situation?
3. As research indicates, people differ widely in their perceptions of sexual harassment. What is a harmless remark to one individual can be an annoying, even infuriating insult to another. In your view, what separates harmless conduct from harassing behavior? In the same vein, when does a sexist environment become a hostile, harassing one?
Case 2 :-
Are New Recruits Looking for Work – Life Balance?
Anyone who has tried to balance his or her time between a busy job and a fulfilling personal life knows challenging this can be. An Indisputable fact is that work and personal lives are interconnected. Companies know this. Potential recruits also know this. It’s become more of an issue in recent years due to some important demographic changes that are affecting many workers. For example, companies are experiencing rising demand for the expansion …………….
As new college graduates increasingly find themselves providing care to both their aging parents and young children, the value of these programs will only increase. Undoubtedly, this will make work-life friendly companies more attractive in the marketplace.
Questions
1. Why is there a need for companies to offer work-family balance programs such as flextime, telecommuting, and job sharing?
2. Of the three programs discussed above, which be the most important program for you personally when deciding whether or not to join an employer? Why?
3. Some organizations do not believe in offering any of these work-life balance programs. What do you think their reasoning is? Explain.
Case 3 :-
Creative Staffing Solutions: A Pipeline of Human Assets
Finding the talent, competence, and expertise needed to operate a business, run a project, or grow a company is always a challenging job. In the recent labor market, even with an economic downturn, firms have had difficulty finding enough employees who are skilled in specific areas such as management information technology, software programming, and …………………..
says Wahlquist. Creative Staffing Solution intends to remain part of the process as well.
Questions
1. How can Creative Staffing Solutions create a learning environment for job candidates before they accept a position or while they are between positions?
2. What type of job candidates would use the temporary job support and services provided by a firm like CSS?
3. What difficulties might Creative Staffing Solutions have to deal with in using electronic job and resume posting?
Case 4 :-
Human Resource Planning and Virtual Human Resource Management
Just a few years ago, computer technology offered a revolutionary change in human resource management. Organizations experimented with computerized skills inventories, pay and benefits administration, and applicant tracking systems. Today, the revolution continues but is undergoing fundamental changes as computer technology and the Internet grow at unprecedented rates. Human resource management is moving away from a mainframe technology to the world of virtual reality, with the Internet at its core. Although many forces ……………………….
the privacy and integrity of these virtual human resource systems. The challenges are immense, but the organizational consequences can be invaluable.
Questions
1. How has the emergence of the Internet changed the way that organizations plan and mange their human resource needs?
2. What kinds of future human resource activities might we see developed over the next several years?
3. What are the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of the Internet by Individual employees for human resource activities? Are you concerned about violations of your own privacy because of these kinds of Web applicants?
4. What specialized skills will the future HRIS professional need in order to effectively manage an organization’s virtual human resource function
Case 5 :-
Toyota in France: Culture Clash?
Hiroaki Watanabe, the Japanese general manager of the first major Toyota plant in Valenciennes, France (and in continental Europe), has a lot at stake. He is in charge of a modern and efficient $570 million Toyota Motor factory designed to manufacture the Yaris, a subcompact car. The plant was designed to employ 2,000 workers. Currently, there are about 200 …………………
r the past 20 years. To underscore the importance of Toyota to this region, more than 30,000 people applied for the 2,000 jobs at the factory when it first opened its doors.
Questions
1. What potential conflicts could arise between the Japanese managers/trainers and the French employees? Explain.
2. What do you think of Mr. Watanabe’s approach to preparing himself for French culture? Do you think that his approach would be useful for American managers? Why or Why not?
3. What kind of organizational culture did Mr. Watanabe want to establish at the factory in Valenciennes, France? Do you think he’ll try to manage the plant just like a Toyota factory in Tokyo? Why or Why not?
4. What implications are there for the French employees of the plant if its good fortune takes a turn for the worse, and the factory consequently shuts its doors? Explain.
Case 6 :-
OSHO and Unions versus Manufactures: Is Workplace Ergonomics a Problem?
During the Industrial Revolution a century ago, workplace injuries were so commonplace that they were simply considered one of the hazards of having a job. Children and adults were often maimed or disfigured in factory accidents. Today strict regulations cover safety in the workplace, guided by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHO).
During the past couple of decades…………………
may be a way to retain good employees.”
Questions
1. Do you agree or disagree that ergonomics in the workplace should be covered by federal regulations? Explain your answers.
2. Choose a job with which you are familiar and discuss the possibilities for repetitive stress injuries that could occur on this job and ways they could be prevented.
3. Imagine that you are the human resources manager for a company that hires workers for the selected in question 2. What steps might you encourage company officials to take to identify and prevent MSDs?
Specializations :- Human Resource Management
Case 1 :-
Meeting the Challenge of Sexual Harassment
At an office of Goldman, Sachs and Company in Boston, some male employees allegedly pasted photos of bare-breasted women on company newsletters, next to biographies of new female employees (suggesting that the photos were pictures of the new staff members). Copies of the newsletters were circulated around the office. Sexist literature such as “The Smart Man’s Creed or Why Beer Is Better Than Women” (“After you’ve had a beer, ………………..
courts have yet to establish consistent record concerning the issue of “hostile environment” as illegal harassment. For example, a federal district court in Michigan dismissed a claim by Vivienne Rabidue that sexual posters and obscene language in her office at Osceola Refining Co. constituted illegal sexual
harassment.
However, Joanne Barbetta has won the first round of her court battle with Chemlawn. The judge hearing her complaint rejected Chemlawn’s motion to dismiss the suit; he has ordered Ms. Barbetta’s case to trial. Chemlawn is expected to present a vigorous defense, asserting that the men involved in the newsletter incident have been disciplined and that the situations Ms. Barbetta cites fall far short of creating a hostile, harassing environment because they occurred “over the course of two years.”
Questions
1. Assumes that you are an HR executive for a company that manufactures and sells agricultural products (for example, fertilizers and grain feeds). The company’s workforce of 1,200 employees is 70 percent male and 30 percent female. Drawing from this case and the chapter content, develop an antiharassment policy and program. What are the major challenges you see in implementing the program?
2. Many experts assert that reported cases of sexual harassment represent only a small percentage of the total number of incidents that actually occur in the workplace. If their assertion is true, why do so many cases go unreported? How would your HRM policy on harassment address this situation?
3. As research indicates, people differ widely in their perceptions of sexual harassment. What is a harmless remark to one individual can be an annoying, even infuriating insult to another. In your view, what separates harmless conduct from harassing behavior? In the same vein, when does a sexist environment become a hostile, harassing one?
Case 2 :-
Are New Recruits Looking for Work – Life Balance?
Anyone who has tried to balance his or her time between a busy job and a fulfilling personal life knows challenging this can be. An Indisputable fact is that work and personal lives are interconnected. Companies know this. Potential recruits also know this. It’s become more of an issue in recent years due to some important demographic changes that are affecting many workers. For example, companies are experiencing rising demand for the expansion …………….
As new college graduates increasingly find themselves providing care to both their aging parents and young children, the value of these programs will only increase. Undoubtedly, this will make work-life friendly companies more attractive in the marketplace.
Questions
1. Why is there a need for companies to offer work-family balance programs such as flextime, telecommuting, and job sharing?
2. Of the three programs discussed above, which be the most important program for you personally when deciding whether or not to join an employer? Why?
3. Some organizations do not believe in offering any of these work-life balance programs. What do you think their reasoning is? Explain.
Case 3 :-
Creative Staffing Solutions: A Pipeline of Human Assets
Finding the talent, competence, and expertise needed to operate a business, run a project, or grow a company is always a challenging job. In the recent labor market, even with an economic downturn, firms have had difficulty finding enough employees who are skilled in specific areas such as management information technology, software programming, and …………………..
says Wahlquist. Creative Staffing Solution intends to remain part of the process as well.
Questions
1. How can Creative Staffing Solutions create a learning environment for job candidates before they accept a position or while they are between positions?
2. What type of job candidates would use the temporary job support and services provided by a firm like CSS?
3. What difficulties might Creative Staffing Solutions have to deal with in using electronic job and resume posting?
Case 4 :-
Human Resource Planning and Virtual Human Resource Management
Just a few years ago, computer technology offered a revolutionary change in human resource management. Organizations experimented with computerized skills inventories, pay and benefits administration, and applicant tracking systems. Today, the revolution continues but is undergoing fundamental changes as computer technology and the Internet grow at unprecedented rates. Human resource management is moving away from a mainframe technology to the world of virtual reality, with the Internet at its core. Although many forces ……………………….
the privacy and integrity of these virtual human resource systems. The challenges are immense, but the organizational consequences can be invaluable.
Questions
1. How has the emergence of the Internet changed the way that organizations plan and mange their human resource needs?
2. What kinds of future human resource activities might we see developed over the next several years?
3. What are the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of the Internet by Individual employees for human resource activities? Are you concerned about violations of your own privacy because of these kinds of Web applicants?
4. What specialized skills will the future HRIS professional need in order to effectively manage an organization’s virtual human resource function
Case 5 :-
Toyota in France: Culture Clash?
Hiroaki Watanabe, the Japanese general manager of the first major Toyota plant in Valenciennes, France (and in continental Europe), has a lot at stake. He is in charge of a modern and efficient $570 million Toyota Motor factory designed to manufacture the Yaris, a subcompact car. The plant was designed to employ 2,000 workers. Currently, there are about 200 …………………
r the past 20 years. To underscore the importance of Toyota to this region, more than 30,000 people applied for the 2,000 jobs at the factory when it first opened its doors.
Questions
1. What potential conflicts could arise between the Japanese managers/trainers and the French employees? Explain.
2. What do you think of Mr. Watanabe’s approach to preparing himself for French culture? Do you think that his approach would be useful for American managers? Why or Why not?
3. What kind of organizational culture did Mr. Watanabe want to establish at the factory in Valenciennes, France? Do you think he’ll try to manage the plant just like a Toyota factory in Tokyo? Why or Why not?
4. What implications are there for the French employees of the plant if its good fortune takes a turn for the worse, and the factory consequently shuts its doors? Explain.
Case 6 :-
OSHO and Unions versus Manufactures: Is Workplace Ergonomics a Problem?
During the Industrial Revolution a century ago, workplace injuries were so commonplace that they were simply considered one of the hazards of having a job. Children and adults were often maimed or disfigured in factory accidents. Today strict regulations cover safety in the workplace, guided by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHO).
During the past couple of decades…………………
may be a way to retain good employees.”
Questions
1. Do you agree or disagree that ergonomics in the workplace should be covered by federal regulations? Explain your answers.
2. Choose a job with which you are familiar and discuss the possibilities for repetitive stress injuries that could occur on this job and ways they could be prevented.
3. Imagine that you are the human resources manager for a company that hires workers for the selected in question 2. What steps might you encourage company officials to take to identify and prevent MSDs?
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