HRM/300T: Fundamentals Of Human Resource Management Wk 5 - Apply: Week 5 Apply Assignment

Recent successes at Clearwater Electronics have created additional financial resources for the company. As a result, management has decided to install a new incentive system for the entire organization. Management has asked the director of HR to research and present an incentive system that will best align employee motivation with firm productivity. Which of the following options is most likely to create this alignment and why?

A profit-sharing plan would allow all employees to align their work with company goals, contribute through increased productivity, and then share in the increased profits.

Over the past 40 years, the HR department at Clearwater Electronics has changed and evolved in its contribution to the organization, becoming a strategic partner that helps implement significant changes for the company's success. Which statement best explains why the company has been successful in improving human resource management?

Aligning human resources with the strategic goals and objectives of the firm has enabled new ideas and techniques to drive effective organizational change.

The HR department has conducted a series of employee surveys and discovered that many employees are unhappy with their current benefits packages. After a thorough analysis, HR decides that expanding the benefits that are offered is the best option moving forward. However, in order to increase benefits, the additional costs must be justified to the board of directors. Which of the following is the best justification for the additional costs of offering better employee benefits?

Better employee benefits help attract and retain excellent employees.

The HR director at Clearwater Electronics has been asked to create a series of job classifications for a new group of jobs that have recently emerged within the public relations (PR) department. An important part of the process is to decide the number of job classes to use. Which statement best explains why it is important to have the proper number of job classes?

Having the right number of job classes gives a framework for setting fair and equitable compensation for similar jobs and eliminates errors from job evaluations.

At the last board meeting of Clearwater Electronics, the HR director discussed the threat of a new entrant in the computer chip market, Silicon Unlimited. The HR director is concerned that Silicon Unlimited will try to poach some of Clearwater's top talent and wants the board's approval to make counteroffers to employees should this happen. Why is reducing the availability of top talent a good strategy to combat the threat of this new competitor?

It will create a barrier to entry for Silicon Unlimited and make it more difficult for the company to begin operations.

Clearwater Electronics has experienced tremendous growth recently, and the sales office projects there to be a 70 percent increase in product demand. Normally Clearwater runs two shifts (day and swing) Monday through Friday, but now additional shifts have been added to the weekend in order to meet the current demand. Employees have reported the additional workload is causing them stress, and there has been an increase in absenteeism, accidents, and product errors. To respond proactively to the issue, the HR department is making sure employees have clear job expectations, understand health and safety measures, and know about the company's wellness and employee assistance programs. Additionally, the company is looking at ways to decrease the work overload, including adding another shift (graveyards) or hiring temporary workers. Which of the following statements best explains why it is important for the company to reduce the stress their employees experience on the job?

Lack of stress management in the workplace contributes to illness, absence, turnover, and underperformance, all of which reduce productivity.

In the most recent negotiations, the union demanded a decrease in floor automation as well as additional paid time off for every employee on the floor. With the implementation and cost of a recent retirement plan for all employees at Clearwater Electronics, management felt that such demands were unacceptable, and negotiations have stalled for a month. The company and the union have agreed to mediation. Which statement best explains why mediation is a better option than arbitration for Clearwater in this situation?

Mediation has no power to impose a settlement, so the company can still protect its position.

Due to a recent patent expiration, a new industry-wide computer chip design has been released. As a result, the company that develops and produces the chip fastest will have a significant increase in revenue and market share. The HR department at Clearwater Electronics responds quickly to the patent expiration—a feature of the external environment—by hiring more innovative employees who can help with the implementation of the chip. Which of the following statements best describes the necessity for Clearwater Electronics to respond quickly to the external environment?

Organizations that can respond quickly and efficiently to the external environment often have a competitive edge over their competitors.

The managers at Clearwater Electronics sometimes focus so much on day-to-day operations that they can lose sight of the goals of the company and how it plans to achieve those goals—its strategy. The HR department has been given the responsibility to remind the managers of the strategy, vision, purpose, and values that drive Clearwater's business. Why is HR the right department to carry out this assignment?

The HR department contributes significantly to organizational success since it is mainly responsible for aligning the workforce with company strategy.

A central part of Clearwater Electronics' strategic plan is to design and implement a new warehouse management system (WMS). This new system should improve many of the systems and processes within the organization. As a result, most employees will experience a significant amount of change. Why would the HR director be tasked to manage this change process?

The HR director has the responsibility to align the organization's employees with its strategic goals and make sure employees understand how the change affects them.

Because most of Clearwater Electronics' nonexempt employees belong to the union, the HR department at Clearwater Electronics recently hired a labor relations specialist, a new position in the company. Which statement gives the best reason for the company to have union expertise in the HR department?

The company needs the expertise to navigate the many changes in union legislation.

The HR director of Clearwater Electronics had a meeting with upper management to discuss new technology the company will be installing in the future and how to help employees adapt to the changes. The group developed a plan to start a task force with representatives from the departments involved: HR, production, maintenance, engineering, planning and scheduling, and quality. Which statement is the best reason why the company should involve employees from all levels in the task force?

The company wants its employees to learn collaboratively and creatively and ultimately increase the transfer of knowledge and buy-in to all other employees.

The HR department at Clearwater Electronics received notice that a grievance procedure was filed by an employee. A member of the HR department has met with the employee, a union representative, and the employee's immediate supervisor to resolve the issue of concern. A resolution was reached, and the employee returned to work. Why is it important to have a grievance procedure?

The grievance procedure provides a method to handle employee complaints before they become serious issues.

Clearwater Electronics was recently issued a safety violation that was reported to a newspaper, resulting in an unfavorable article about the company. HR has been tasked by management to review and revise safety procedures for the entire production line. After creating an updated set of safety procedures, the chief operating officer (COO) of Clearwater Electronics is pressuring HR to implement the new safety protocols before testing so the company can issue an updated press release. Why should the safety procedures be thoroughly tested before allowing a press release?

The new procedures may be inefficient and create additional harm without thorough testing.

After a reported accident on the production line at Clearwater Electronics, an inspection was conducted in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules. The compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) found a problem with the new automated robotic arms that had been installed at the end of the assembly line. The CSHO issued a notice of unsafe working conditions because the safety procedures and policies of the new machines were not communicated, nor readily available, to employees. Which statement best describes why HR professionals should be familiar with safety violations, even if they do not result in OSHA citations?

Unsafe working conditions can result in great costs to the organization, and HR can work to implement safety procedures to avoid this.