HRM 300T Week 1 Apply Assignment

The HR department at Clearwater Electronics require all HR professionals in their main office in the United States to be well-informed about global HR issues and processes. Which statement best explains why it is important for HR professionals who never plan to work abroad in one of the company subsidiaries to be well-informed about global HR?

An HR professional must understand global HR to be able to work and communicate effectively with employees in different countries and when faced with different national guidelines.

Clearwater Electronics is having a hard time matching its demand for staffing needs. The COO has asked the HR director to develop a forecast to project temporary labor versus full-time employees. Why is this type of analysis helpful for human resource planning (HRP)?

Because HR planning allows the company to understand employee demand and match it to the supply, the HR director will be able to assess more accurately how positions can be filled, whether internally or externally.

The results of unethical behavior in a business can be catastrophic, both financially and in reputation. Clearwater Electronics currently has a solid reputation as an ethical organization and wants to maintain that reputation. Top management has tasked the HR department to reinforce ethical behavior consistently throughout the company. Given that responsibility, why is it especially important for the HR professionals themselves to behavior ethically?

Because HR professionals in positions of authority are responsible for creating and sustaining a positive work environment, it is important that they always behave ethically.

As the HR director of Clearwater Electronics, you know it is important for HR to be as close as possible to where the people and problems are located. Which reason best explains why it is important for HR to know the line managers and their needs?

Because line managers are responsible for their employees, it is necessary for HR to empower them to implement HR initiatives and make sure they are successfully carried out.

Clearwater Electronics wants to strategically attract new talent to the organization to support future growth. Why is it important for the HR director to work with top management to improve the firm's recruiting system?

Because the HR director is responsible for the firm's talent management. It is important to work with top management to ensure the recruiting strategy meets the firm's overall needs and attracts top talent.

Clearwater Electronics has installed several new machines that will improve line productivity. The training and development specialist at Clearwater Electronics is working the line managers who are responsible for the new machines to develop a training program for line workers. Why is a training program needed in this situation, and how can it best help the employees?

Because the employees lack the technical skills needed to run the new machines, the training program will help them improve their knowledge and skills and thus improve their performance.

Clearwater Electronics is planning to open an office in Shanghai, China, and the HR department has been asked to benchmark the compensation practices of other multinational organizations in the region. Why is benchmarking a first good step to developing a compensation and benefits plan to attract and retain new employees who will contribute to the organization?

Benchmarking will ensure that salary and benefit decisions are made on solid data. This information will aid and influence the cost management of the organization.

As the HR director of Clearwater Electronics, you are the direct supervisor for several employees within your department. As their direct supervisor, you are tasked with conducting individual performance appraisals and providing feedback on their performance. Why should you and your direct reports take this activity seriously?

Employees want consistent feedback to know how well they are doing their jobs and what they can do to improve.

Caitlyn has worked in HR for Clearwater Electronics for more than 20 years. She has found that many employees are now more concerned with working in an environment where they can grow personally that with their level of compensation. How can Caitlyn and the HR department best provide opportunities for their employees to grow?

HR can provide training and development activities to help employees improve

Productivity is an important goal for Clearwater electronics. Like most productive organizations, Clearwater recognizes the contributions human resource management (HRM) can make to improve productivity through people. How can HRM best ensure that the work environment at Clearwater is one in which employees are productive and add value?

HR managers can contribute by providing work organization and design that allow for an increase of output as well as quality.

Clearwater Electronics has an employee recruitment and retention goal of 90%. How does HR planning best help the company meet or exceed its employee recruitment and retention goal?

HR planning helps the organization know how many employees the organization needs as well as what type of employees to hire.

You are the HR director for Clearwater Electronics and have been invited to the organization's yearly strategic goal-setting meeting. You started with the company six months ago, so this is the first time you have been invited to attend. Why do you think it important you attend this meeting and how do you think HR can best contribute to the organization?

It is important to attend to better understand the organization's strategic position in the market and align human resources with that strategy.

An employee on one of Clearwater Electronics production lines violated safety protocols by disabling a machine's safety guard. The line manager wrote up the employee and submitted the violation to HR. Why is it important for managers and HR to work together to promote safety-first culture?

It is necessary for them to work together because neglecting safety issues can cost the company substantially when workplace injuries occur.

The HR director at Clearwater Electronics has been asked to work on the company's globalization process. Management has specifically asked that all managers in the company subsidiaries come from the corporate office, and the HR director is developing a job description template with a list of competencies needed for these managers to be successful. In addition, she is developing a survey to assess family interest and needs. What is the best reason for the family survey to be included in any future job posting where a manager might take their family abroad?

Many incidents where expatriates return home early due to family related problems, and it is best to ensure that family needs and expectations are managed appropriately prior to relocation.

The HR department at Clearwater Electronics has been asked to develop a job description for a new managerial position in Dubai. Clearwater's policy states that subsidiary managers should be employees from the parent company. What benefits does the company hope to realize from this ethnocentric approach?

NOT: An employee from the parent company will cost the company less than it would cost to hire and train a local national from Dubai.

Clearwater Electronics just hired a new warehouse manager in India. He has several employees who report to him. The HR director will be training the warehouse manager to conduct quarterly performance appraisals and has sent him the performance appraisal form she uses for her own direct reports as a template. However, she has asked him to modify it to better assess the needs of the Indian subsidiary. Why is it important that the warehouse manager make the modifications?

NOT: It is important for the performance appraisal to be consistent among the company subsidiaries. Therefore, the warehouse manager can contact managers in other countries to see what their performance appraisals contain.

The HR director at Clearwater Electronics has had negative feedback from employees about perceived inequalities in compensation among its company subsidiaries. While the HR director believes compensation is already consistent and fair, a review of the compensation and benefits packages will be conducted and shared with the employees. Which of the following statements gives the best reason for conducting and sharing the compensation assessment?

NOT: It is important that employees see that their contribution is valued. It is important that employees see that something is being done because of their feedback

Clearwater Electronics now has 1,600 employees and an HR department with several employees. However, it was not always that large. In its second year, the company was growing steadily and hired its 40th employee. At that time, the CEO decided to hire an HR generalist to manage all human resources functions. Why was this decision the best thing for the company at the time?

NOT: The company needed someone who could manage complex HR report functions in a timely manner as well as manage the time-consuming task of recruiting. The CEO, who had been handling the HR functions, was overwhelmed by all the HR tasks as well as the overall company responsibilities and needed someone dedicated to HR.

Susan Lopez, the CEO of Clearwater Electronics, has recently provided details of a large change initiative that is forecasted to begin next year. As pat of the briefing, Susan explained that previous company-wide changes were rough, that both time and money were wasted, and that employee morale suffered. If the previous organizational change was so painful, why would the CEO feel it important to implement another change initiative, and how can HR best support the CEO in this initiative?

The CEO wants Clearwater Electronics to improve its market position and be prepared for the competitive and uncertain environment in today's global economy. HR can help the CEO by monitoring the effectiveness of the changes.

A line manager at Clearwater Electronics has just hired a female employee who is pregnant. Her baby is due at the same time production peaks, which is extremely inconvenient for the line manager, who is responsible for production numbers. The line manager did not know the employee was pregnant when he hired her. He has now hinted to the employee that her pregnancy will make it harder for her to do her job in hope that with enough hints, the employee will decide to quit or transfer to another position. Clearwater Electronics has a strong policy to prevent and address employment discrimination. Why should the HR director become involved in this situation instead of leaving it up to the line manager to handle?

The HR director is legally responsible to enforce all antidiscrimination laws.

The scarcity of qualified HR managers with global experience has been identified as a major challenge for the HR department at Clearwater Electronics. Therefore, the HR director has developed a job rotation program where selected, highly skilled HR managers will work abroad in one or more assignments during their career. Why is it most important for these HR managers to increase their appreciation of cross-cultural differences, develop a global perspective, strengthen their technical skills, and broaden their socioeconomic and political knowledge?

These skills and abilities will enable the HR managers to manage, engage, and support employees in the company's international subsidiaries more effectively.