Questions and Answers of Future of Business

How are social and economic factors influencing companies’ approaches to hiring, motivating, and retaining employees?
6. Use a search engine to find companies that offer “work–life benefits.” Link to several companies and review their employee programs in this area. How do they compare? Which benefits would be
5. You have two great job opportunities. Both are equally attractive in terms of job content and offer the same salary. However, one offers year-end bonuses, whereas the other includes stock options
4. You’ve been asked to develop a staff recognition program for your company but don’t have a clue where to start! Three sites with articles and other useful information are Incentive magazine,
3. Openbook management is one of the better-known ways to create a participatory work environment. Over 2,000 companies have adopted this practice, which involves sharing financial information with
2. More companies are offering their employees stock ownership plans. To learn the differences between an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and stock options, visit the National Center for
1. Looking for 1,001 ways to motivate or reward your employees? Bob Nelson can help. Visit his Nelson Motivation site at http://www.nelson-motivation.com to get some ideas you can put to use to help
5. Team Activity Assemble a team of three to five students. Imagine that you are the management team for a start-up business with limited resources but a need for a highly motivated, skilled
4. If you were offered the opportunity to job share, would you need to have a partner who was motivated by the same things as you are? Why or why not? (Interpersonal)
3. Not all jobs are intrinsically motivating. For example, many entry-level jobs often involve repetitive and simple tasks that can become rapidly boring. (You may have worked a job that fits that
2. Think of a task or project you have completed recently that required a great deal of effort.What motivated you to exert so much energy to complete the task or project? Describe your motivation in
1. Are you motivated more by intrinsic rewards (satisfaction, sense of accomplishment, etc.) or by extrinsic rewards (money, bonuses, etc.)? Interview some friends and classmates to find out what
4 How are McGregor’s Theories X and Y and Ouchi’s Theory Z used to explain worker motivation?
3 What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and how do these needs relate to employee motivation?
3 What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and how do these needs relate to employee motivation?
2 What did Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne studies reveal about worker motivation?
1 What are the basic principles of Frederick Taylor’s concept of scientific management?
1 What are the basic principles of Frederick Taylor’s concept of scientific management?
Why are absenteeism and turnover rates increasing and what is the impact on companies?
Why are sabbaticals growing in popularity as work-life balance tools?
What benefi ts can an organization derive from training and educational opportunities and stock ownership programs?
Are all employees motivated by the same economic incentives? Explain.
What are the four work-scheduling options that can enhance employee performance?
Explain the diff erence between job enlargement and job enrichment.
What impact, if any, do these cultural differences have on managers managing an entirely American workforce? Explain.
In today’s global business environment, with its diversity of perspectives, can a manager ever successfully use equity theory? Why or why not?
What are the main elements of reinforcement theory?
How does goal-setting theory contribute to our understanding of motivation?
Discuss the three relationships central to expectancy theory.Explain the comparison process that is a part of equity theory.
How do the Theory X, Theory Y, and Theory Z management styles diff er?
How can a manager use an understanding of Maslow’s hierarchy to motivate employees?
What did Elton Mayo’s studies reveal about employee productivity?
How well do you think the principles of RitzCarlton could extend to hotel chains like Motel 6 (which has a different customer) or even to another industry? Explain.
Is employee satisfaction entirely the responsibility of management? Why or why not?
What impact do you think focusing on employees’ higher-level needs has on the customer experience at Joie de Vivre? On Conley’s business as a whole?
Can companies thrive by focusing on only one or two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Why or why not?
4. Divide work and responsibility between management and workers according to who is better suited to each task.
3. Encourage cooperation between workers and managers so that each job can be accomplished in a standard, scientifically determined way.
2. Scientifically select, train, teach, and develop workers.
1. Develop a scientific approach for each element of a person’s job.
Imagine you are the manager of a baseball team. How might you motivate a pitcher to pitch a perfect game? How might you motivate the team to win an individual game? How might you motivate the team to
Gus reveals that Billy has also motivated the team to succeed. Pick a motivational theory discussed in the chapter and use it to explain how you think Billy has motivated the team.
The chapter also discusses several current theories of motivation. Again, pick one and explain how it best describes Gus’s motivation of Billy Chapel on the pitcher’s mound.
The chapter discusses several early theories of motivation. Pick one and explain how it best describes Gus’s motivation of Billy Chapel on the pitcher’s mound.
What steps are companies taking to ensure that employees are not discriminated against
What are the major sources of workplace discrimination? Cite specific examples from the case.
Why is workplace diversity so important in today’s business environment?
8. Although we tend to think of labor unions as representing manufacturing employees, many office and service industry employees, teachers, and professionals belong to unions. Visit the Web sites of
7. Not everyone believes that unions are good for workers. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation offers free legal aid to employees whose “human and civil rights have been violated by
6. What are the key issues facing labor unions today? Visit the AFL-CIO Web site, http://www.aflcio.org, and Labornet, http://www.labornet.org. Select three current topics and summarize the key
5. Web-based training is becoming popular at many companies as a way to bring a wider variety of courses to more people at lower costs. The Web-Based Training Information Center site at
4. You’ve been asked to give a speech about the current status of affirmative action and equal employment to your company’s managers. Starting with the Web site of the American Association for
3. As a corporate recruiter, you must know how to screen prospective employees. The Integrity Center Web site at http://www.integctr.com offers a brief tutorial on preemployment screening, a glossary
2. Working as a contingent employee can help you explore your career options. Visit the Manpower Web site at http://www.manpower.com, and use the Job Search feature to look for several types of jobs
1. Go to the Job Web site of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, http://www.jobweb.com, and click on Resumes & Interviews. Read the relevant articles to learn how to prepare an
9. Team Activity Divide the class into two groups. One group will take the position that workers should be required to join unions and pay dues. The other group will take the position that workers
8. Have you or a family member ever been a union member? If so, name the union and describe it in terms of membership size, membership characteristics, strike history, recent bargaining issues, and
7. Team Activity Select two teams of five. One team will take the position that employees are simply a business expense to be managed. The second team will argue that employees are an asset to be
6. Using BCRC, research articles featuring a recent strike or a labor contract settlement. Report to your class the specifics of the strike or settlement. (Technology, Resources)
5. Assume you are a director of labor relations for a firm faced with a union certification election in 30 days. Draft a letter to be sent to your employees in which you urge them to vote “no
4. Go to the government documents section in your college or university library and inspect publications of the Department of Labor (DOL), including Employment and Earnings, Compensation and Working
3. Assume you have been asked to speak at a local meeting of human resources and labor relations professionals. The topic is whether union membership will increase or decline in the next 50 years.
2. The fringe benefit package of many employers includes numerous items such as health insurance, life insurance, pension plan, paid vacations, tuition reimbursement, employee price discounts on
1. Would an overseas job assignment be good for your career development? If you think so, what country would you prefer to live and work in for two or three years, and what type of job would you like
10 What are the key laws and federal agencies affecting human resource management and labor relations?
9 How are grievances between management and labor resolved, and what tactics are used to force a contract settlement?
9 How are grievances between management and labor resolved, and what tactics are used to force a contract settlement?
8 What is collective bargaining, and what are some of the key negotiation issues?
Why does the service industry provide an opportunity for labor union growth?
Explain the concept of hiring for fi t.
How do the Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts impact labor–management relations?
Describe the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Discuss the laws that govern wages, pensions, and employee compensation.
What are some tactics for pressuring for a contract settlement?
In what ways do arbitrators act like judges?
Describe the grievance procedure.
Explain the diff erences among a union shop, agency shop, and an open shop.
What are the various topics that may be covered during collective bargaining?
Discuss the modern labor movement.
Can a firm give its employees too much in terms of benefits and services? Explain.
Are there any drawbacks to tailoring benefit programs to the needs of parents (versus people with no children)? What are they? How could they be mitigated?
Explain the concept of a cafeteria-style benefi t plan.
What is the diff erence between direct and indirect pay?
How does a fi rm establish a pay scale for its employees?
Is more feedback always better, or can there be too much feedback?
Some Whirlpool managers go beyond the required quarterly review and meet with each of their reports for 45 minutes every two weeks.
What role do performance reviews play in a company’s overall business strategy?
What are some of the ways that prospective employees are tested?
Describe the employee selection process.
What is meant by recruitment branding?
What are some methods fi rms use to recruit applicants?
What are the two sources of job applicants?
Why do you think podcasting would be most useful for global recruiting efforts?
For what kind of job or company would podcasting be the most effective recruitment tool?
Distinguish between job analysis, job description, and the job specifi cation.
Defi ne human resource management?
As an individual, what laws might apply to Jiff’s situation? What laws might apply to Bowfinger’s situation? Explain your answers?
The run across the freeway was clearly dangerous and, ultimately, Jiff was lied to when he was told the highway was full of stunt drivers. Suppose you were a union steward. How would you propose that
It is obvious that Jiff receives on-the-job training during his run across the freeway, but specifically describe the type of training he received and explain why another method of training might
Bowfinger engaged in several of the steps in the employee selection process before hiring Jiff.Describe the steps that he did go through, and explain why he didn’t go through other steps.

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