Week 1 Apply Assignment
At Clearwater Electronics, the HR department is revamping the compensation function of the company in order to attract and retain qualified employees who are more likely to contribute to the company's strategic goals and objectives. Why is it important for the company to be concerned about more than just wages and salaries?
Many employees today value different aspects of an organization, such as working in a positive environment, social impact, autonomy, and safety.
Clearwater Electronics has an employee recruitment and retention goal of 90 percent. How does HR planning best help the company meet or exceed its employee recruitment and retention goal?
NOT "HR planning helps synchronize the company's financial obligations with its desire to pay its employees a competitive salary."
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 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."
The HR department at Clearwater Electronics requires 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.
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?
An employee from the parent company will have a strong working knowledge of company policies and procedures, work ethic, and productivity, and can ensure that company guidelines are followed.
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 behave 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.
Clearwater Electronics, which has approximately 1,600 employees, is hiring a compensation and benefits manager. This HR specialist position will work with the highest levels of the company's management team to ensure the costs of compensation and benefits align with the company's strategy and philosophy. Why is this position a crucial one for the HR department?
Because compensation and benefits programs are designed to recruit top talent and retain employees who add value to the organization, the new position is critical to the success of the company's strategy.
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.
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.
Due to an increasing number of company employees, the HR department at Clearwater Electronics wants to implement a new human resource information system (HRIS). The department plans to hire a new employee to assist in this implementation and will be looking for someone with technical skills in HRIS as well as communication skills. Why is it important for HR professionals now to have these skills?
HR professionals are now being asked to manage processes and need to be able to analyze and solve problems based on data, which they should then effectively communicate to others.
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.
Susan Lopez, the CEO of Clearwater Electronics, has recently provided details of a large change initiative that is forecasted to begin next year. As part 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.
Clearwater Electronics plans to open a company subsidiary in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new office will have several engineering positions to fill and has asked for assistance from the HR Director. The HR director has recommended some of these positions be filled by current engineers from Clearwater's Bengaluru, India, office. What is the best reason for the HR director to make this recommendation to have third-country nationals relocate to Dubai?
The HR director knows the technical skills of the Indian engineers as well as the needs of the Dubai office. Relocating current employees will help minimize the need for training and bring the office up to speed more quickly.
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.