MGMN 400 Ch 8

Termination at Will Exceptions

Wrongful discharge is a dismissal that violates the law or that fails to comply with contractual arrangements, either stated or implied

Avoiding Wrongful Discharge Suits

Wrongful discharge occurs when an employee's dismissal does not comply with the law or with the contractual arrangement.

Retention Strategies are

a talent management issue. Identifying the issues is a first step to developing a retention strategy. Open door policies and anonymous hotlines can also contribute

Selection

"...retention starts up front, in the selection and hiring of the right employees." Selection refers not just to the worker but to choosing the right supervisors as well.

Job Withdrawal represents

"actions intended to place physical or psychological distance between employees and their work environments."

Grounds for Dismissal. There are four bases for dismissal.

1.Unsatisfactory Performance occurs when there is persistent failure to perform assigned duties or to meet prescribed job standards. 2.Misconduct is a deliberate and willful violation of the employer's rules. Insubordination is a form of misconduct, referring to rebelliousness or disobedience. 3.Lack of Qualifications for the Job results from an employee's inability to do the work assigned even when he or she is diligent. 4.Changed Requirements (or elimination) of the job results from an employee's inability to do the job after the employer changed the nature of the job.

Rules

A set of clear disciplinary rules and regulations.. The purpose of rules is to inform employees ahead of time what is and is not acceptable behavior.

Rights and Fairness

An increasingly litigious(not legal) workforce is another reason to be fair.

Legal issues

Electronic eavesdropping is legal—up to a point. E-mail service may be intercepted under federal law when it is to protect the property rights of the provider.

Promote work/life balance

In one survey conducted by Robert Half and careerbuilder.com, workers identified "flexible work arrangements" and "telecommuting" as the two top benefits that would convince them to choose one job over another

Meaningful work and ownership

People can't do their jobs if they don't know what to do or what their goals are.

Acknowledge achievements

When employees feel underappreciated, they're more likely to leave. Surveys suggest that frequent recognition of accomplishments is an effective nonmonetary reward.

Termination at Will

Without a contract, either the employee or the employer could terminate the employment relationship at will.

The purpose of discipline is to

encourage employees to behave sensibly at work, which means adhering to the rules and regulations.

Why Engagement is Important

people who are engaged feel an obligation, promise, or agreement to execute the scope of their promise.

Managing Involuntary Turnover — Dismissals and layoffs are inevitable due to

to job restructuring, competitive pressures, and other reasons. Layoffs due to performance issues are sometimes avoidable

Involuntary employee dismissals and layoffs are

two reasons why employees leave their firms.

Actions that Foster Engagement involve

understanding how they and their departments contribute to their company's success and get a sense of accomplishment from the work they do

Including a discussion of ethics in a human resource book helps with the

understanding of what oils the wheels that make a business work; ethics are not theoretical.

Avoiding wrongful discharge suits requires a two-pronged approach.

First, set up employment policies and dispute resolution procedures that make employees feel they are treated fairly. Second, do the preparatory work, paying particular attention to the employee handbook in order to avoid such suits.

Culture and environment

For example, companies that are very tense and "political" may prompt employees to leave, while companies that make them feel comfortable encourage them to stay

Recognition and rewards

- We've seen that in addition to pay and benefits, employees need and appreciate recognition for a job well done

Research suggests the following forces that contribute to ethical behaviors:

1) Ethical behavior starts with moral awareness. 2) Managers can do a lot to influence employee ethics by carefully cultivating the right norms, peer behavior, leadership, reward system, and culture. 3) Problems arise when people undergo "moral disengagement." 4) The most powerful morality comes from within. 5) Unmet goals pursued blindly can contribute to unethical behavior. 6) Offering rewards for ethical behavior can backfire. 7) Don't inadvertently reward someone for bad behavior. 8) Punish unethical behavior and model ethical behavior. 9) Openly discuss ethics. 10) Watch for new employees altering their moral compasses to "adjust" their behaviors to what is acceptable in their new organization.

The Termination Interview — Guidelines include

1) Plan the interview carefully, 2) get to the point, 3) describe the situation, 4) listen, 5) review all elements of the severance package, and 6) identify the next steps to provide some structure to the employee being terminated

The Three Pillars

1. Rules 2. Penalties 3.Appeals Processes

Penalties

A system of progressive penalties is the second pillar of effective discipline. The severity of the penalty is usually a function of the type of offense and the number of times the offense has occurred.

Fairness, Bullying and Victimization

Bullying involves singling out someone to harass and mistreat them physically, emotionally, or psychologically. It involves three things: Imbalance of power Intent to cause harm Repetition In addition, bullying can take the form of: Verbal Social Physical Cyber bullying

Personal Supervisory Liability

Courts sometimes hold managers personally liable for their supervisory actions. Managers should be fully familiar with applicable federal, state, and local statutes and know how to uphold their requirements

Meaning of Ethics

Ethics refers to "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." Ethical decisions also involve morality, which is society's accepted standards of behavior.

Appeals Processes

Even companies without unions may have a very formalized appeals process. Some companies establish independent ombudsmen, neutral counselors from outside the normal chain of command to whom employees can turn for confidential advice.

Layoff Effects

It's not surprising that layoffs tend to result in deleterious psychological and physical health outcomes for employees who lose their jobs as well as for the survivors who face uncertainty and discomfort.

Extent

In one survey, more than half of employers said they were monitoring their employees' incoming and outgoing e-mail.

Professional growth

Inadequate career and professional development prospects prompt many employees to leave. Conversely, a well-conceived training and career development program can provide a strong incentive for staying with the company.

Provide career direction

Periodically discuss with employees their career preferences and prospects at your firm, and help them lay out potential career plans

Electronic Employee Privacy

The four main types of employee privacy violations upheld by courts are intrusion, publication of private matters, disclosure of medical records, and appropriation of an employee's name or likeness for commercial purposes.

Why Treat Employees Fairly?

The golden rule is one obvious reason to treat employees fairly. Workplace unfairness can be horrible. For example, some supervisors are workplace bullies, yelling and ridiculing their subordinates. Not surprisingly, employees of abusive supervisors are more likely to quit their jobs, and to report lower job and life satisfaction and higher stress if they remain in those jobs

Ethics and the Law

The law is not the best guide about what is ethical because something may be legal but not right, and something may be right but not legal. "Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal." We were all raised with essentially the same values.

Dealing with Job Withdrawal

The most effective ways to develop withdrawal-reducing strategies is by reducing a job's negative effects and increasing its positive effects.

Ethics

a set of guiding principles or virtues, whereas morality is the degree of conformity to such a set of principles.

Outplacement Counseling is

a systematic process by which someone you've terminated is trained and counseled in the techniques of conducting a self-appraisal and securing a new job appropriate to his/her needs and talents.

Non-Punitive Discipline

aims to avoid disciplinary problems. It does this by gaining employees' acceptance of the rules and by reducing the punitive nature of the discipline itself.

Effective management of voluntary turnover is

an important aspect of management. Reasons given for leaving include pay, promotions, work-life balance, career development and health care benefits

Engagement refers to

being psychologically involved in, connected to, and committed to getting one's job done. Poor attendance, voluntary turnover, and psychological withdrawal often reflect diminished employee engagement.

Talent Management and Employee Retention requires

focusing augmented efforts on the most important employees.

Insubordination (a form of misconduct in the list above)

includes willful disregard or disobedience of the boss's authority or legitimate orders.

Adjusting to Downsizings and Mergers Firms often use downsizing

reducing, usually dramatically, the number of people the firm employs—to better their financial position. Yet many firms discover operating earnings don't rise after major cuts. Low morale among those remaining may be part of the problem

Voluntary turnover

the rate at which employees voluntarily leave their firms

A Comprehensive Approach to Retaining Employees — Effective retention begins with

with proper selection and hiring. The other elements include: professional growth; providing career direction; meaningful work and ownership; recognition and rewards; culture and environment; promoting life/work balance; and acknowledging achievements

Monitoring Employee Engagement

— An example of what the consulting firm Accenture does to monitor employee engagement includes steps such as assessing employee's pride, looking at who stays with the company, and observing the extent to which employees take an active role in the overall success of the organization.

Exit Interviews

— Many employers conduct exit interviews with employees who are leaving the firm. They aim to elicit information about the job or related matters that might give the employer a better insight into what is right—or wrong—about the company.