Dean Fuller had applied for an opening in the purchasing department of the Pine Village Community Medical Center (CMC). Fuller's resume showed he was an excellent college student, and he had worked as a purchasing manager/bookkeeper for a small retail chain. However, Fuller had been frustrated in his efforts to obtain a job when he was recently laid off by the retail firm. Fuller is a quadriplegic. At CMC, the human resources department prescreened applicants, then submitted resumes to the purchasing department director, Paul Sablic, for review. Sablic is the hiring authority.Sablic selected four applicants to interview, including Fuller. Sablic decided that Helen Hoczyk was the best person for his department. When finding out that he had been turned down for this job, Fuller asked to meet with Michael Connors, CMC's director of Human Resources. In his meeting with Connors, Fuller stated, "When I come into an interview and shake hands, I can't shake firmly. They see me in a wheelchair. Those things stick in their heads. They didn't ask me about my condition. I was struck by a drunk driver 6 years ago. I returned to my purchasing job after extensive rehabilitation but lost that job when the retail chain went out of business. In January, I moved to Pine Village to continue physical therapy. I've had several job interviews, but no one gives me a chance to describe how I could handle certain aspects of the job. I would be an effective purchasing assistant." To reinforce his claims, Fuller described several technological adaptive aids he used in his work, and he showed Connors papers that documented the long hours he put in at his previous job. Fuller's former employers spoke highly of his abilities in several recommendation letters that Fuller shared with Connors. Connors listened patiently, making notes as Fuller talked. He was startled by Fuller's last statement, "Everyone has disabilities, whether they're obvious like mine or the inability to get along with people or to do the work required. Perhaps I need to see a lawyer. Q1: If Connors wants to effectively manage risk in this situation, what would be a good response to Fuller, who is threatening to get a lawyer? Does Connors have an opportunity to mitigate the risk? How? Describe the best course of action you recommend and support your action choice with good HRM practices.

Q2: Discuss the issues incorporating concepts from Chapter 3 as well as from the human perspective. You have a person, you have managers, and you have a company, all having various sensitivities. I gave some ideas to consider when you respond to this reflective question.

Q3: Connors is the HRM guy. What should he do to review this matter? Are there any items you recommend Connors examine before his meeting with the hiring authority? Hint: Where do we describe what employeesshould do,and where do we describe the physical requirements of a job? We need some objective way to measure Dean's ability to do the job. Explain why the documents may be helpful for Connors to look at.

Q4: Related to Q3. If Sablic wants to show that he hired the best applicant for the job, and that he based his decision on objective criteria, how can this be demonstrated? What would you require to convince you that Helen was the better applicant when compared to Dean?

Q5: Describe an action you would recommend here.

Q6: To answer this question, you should have conducted the research identified in the Unit 5 Introduction. Visit O*Netand investigate the job description(s) for "Purchasing Manager/Bookkeeper" and "Purchasing Assistant", the job Dean previously held and the job he applied for. Can you locate information about typical physical requirements for these types of jobs? Can you think of reasonable accommodations that could assist Dean if he is otherwise fully qualified and knowledgeable for the job? Describe your findings and recommendations.

Q7: Explain.