Human Resources Questions - Coursework Example

Human Resources Questions 6-11 1After viewing the two videos, choose either Patagonia or SAS and describe the HR policies that allow the company to attract and retain the best employees. What could other companies learn from the company you chose? I chose Patagonia. Patagonia’s human resource policies help it attract and retain employees. The HR policies give the employees the freedom to state what they want and assure them the right to be respected. The policy outlines several benefits and allowances to be given to employees and various ways the employee is to be motivated based on performance.

The organization gives incentives and other rewards to those workers’ who perform well. Other companies can learn on the methods used by the company to motivate their employees. They should practice pay increment, training and promotion at work as stated by Kay (1998). 2. What types of discipline challenges are found in your work environment? How they are generally handled? Are there improvements that you would suggest? Employees work differently. Some employees do not take corrections positively hence creating poor relations between the administration and the workers.

On the other hand, some administrators are too hard on the employees. They dictate things which has created poor relationships among the staff members. I would suggest that rules and regulations related to discipline be learly stated and defined. Employees should adhere to the rules and adhere to them to avoid collision as stated by Kay (1998). 3. Have you had a mentor in your career? Was it a formal or informal relationship? How did it benefit you? Have you ever been a mentor? If not, can you see yourself acting in this role in the future?

What would you hope to share with a mentee? I do have a mentor at my work place with whom I have an informal relationship. We got used to each other with time as I kept watching on what he was doing and I admired to work like him since he is a experienced and dedicated to his work . Being mentored has helped me learn and improve in performance. Once in my previous job I was a mentor to a junior employee who was to replace me after some time. In ase I become a mentor, I wish to share various ideas and experienced with my mentee.

Iwill liketo help him/her know how to do the job that I do well and how to handle various problems related to work. 5 Union membership as a percentage of employment has steadily decreased since the 1950s. What do you think are some of the important factors in this decline? What do you think the trends will be in the next 20 years? Kay (1998) argues that the decline in union membership since the early 50s has been caused by the poor management of the unions. The inefficiency of the unions discouraged membership.

Also, the working conditions of workers has generally improved making many people feel that unionisation is of no significance. The huge amount needed for enrollment is also another factor that has caused a decline in enrolment. In the next 20 years if something serious is not done the enrollment will be much lower than it is today. 6 Union proponents feel that employees in right-to-work states who choose not to join the union are “freeloaders” in that they do not pay dues but get all negotiated benefits under the union contract.

Do you support the union proponent? I agree with the union proponents and I would like to state that all employees benefiting from the union’s activities should pay for the services. If the services are not paid for, the employees tend to misuse them. Each individual has to take the responsibility for his/her own actions. At the same time the members who pay for the services end up carrying other people’s burden. If all the employees pay for the services then this will reduce the cost or the deductions made on the payments.

Those who do not join the union should be charged for the benefits they get individually, not just at a fair share. People would not join unions if they can get the same benefits for free, this will mean lack of money which weakens the union. Unions play important roles such as being advocates for safe workplaces, and pressing better and safer services. If the unions are weak it means that the employer may get a chance to infringe on the rights and freedoms the employees. Unions will help the employees to express their feelings and demands to the authority.

Though the union may have negative implications in the organization, it keeps the employer on toes and in most cases benefits the workers. At times unions pushes for change in the organization by for and it may cause strikes. 7. After watching the video "A Motivational Convention in Chicago," how effective do you think individual incentives like cash or non-cash rewards are in motivating employees and affecting productivity? How important are these things to you? Employees are encouraged by rewards given for hard work.

They will work smart depending on the reward they get. Attitude towards incentives changes from person to person depending on their desire to be rewarded. Motivation is the key to creating a setting where best performance is needed. Some employees are provoked by recognition in the organization while others by money as incentives; employees feel appreciated. Incentive programs encourage productive performance and show the employee that the company cares for them. It promotes work place harmony and employee performance.

Motivation of employees leads to staff retention which in the long run contributes to development of the company. Motivated employees are productive, happy and committed. Incentives reduce employee turnover and promotes results driven employees hence success of the company. Incentives are important to me since they make me feel appreciated by my employer. They make me realize that the effort I put into the work is not wasted. It encourages me to work extra hard so that I get more rewards. Despite the fact that incentives are good they should not be given as a form of corruption.

It should not be based on some sort of favors but it should be given on merit basis. The incentives should be legal and equal among all the employees. Incentives lead to various benefits within the company: increase profits, increase market share, acquire new customers, customer building, safety programs and increase attendance at the work places. 8. Read at least one other article on executive compensation and cite it in your answer to the following question: Do you think executive pay is out-of-hand in the United States?

Defend your position and make recommendations where possible. Executive pay is also known as executive compensation. It is the pay received by upper level administrators as stated by Kay (1998). It is different to the workers’ compensation by form. In the United States Executive compensation has been rising over the past decades. It is a combination of salary, bonuses, shares and other company benefits. This compensation is relatively higher than an average worker’s salary. The executive pay in the US is actually out of hand since it is 344 times the pay of the typical American workers as stated by Kay (1998).

Kay (1998) argues that it is an important part of the firm’s governance and mostly determined by the company’s board of directors. Highly paid executives have irreverent and show tendencies of unethical performance. These huge payments oppress common citizens since they have to pay a lot of taxes for the government to pay for these compensations. The excessive pay has led to various consequences such as: rewarding failure including huge drops in the stock price, lack of transparency, controlled beneficiaries and rewarding executive behaviors that should be discouraged.

The huge payments and the incentives make employees to work extra hard discussed in Kay (1998). I recommend that the government should regulate the pay of the executives ensuring is not too high. 9. How important is pay to you in terms of your overall job satisfaction? Has this level of importance changed for you during your career? Do you expect it to change in the future? Pay is very important to me and contributes to job satisfaction. Good pay helps to attract, retain and motivate employees; the comparative value of the job should dictate the rate of pay.

Pay philosophy in my company is a way of showing its commitment to employees. Pay is not equally important in all situations or to all individuals. It may be more or less important to employees. My company gives out base pay, incentive pay and benefits of non- financial rewards though at low rate. Turn over and performance change in response to changes in pay. Pay increment act as a motivator to many workers; promotes interest in working, and participation in decision making. I have not yet experienced much change in the pay at my career since the company is small hence it is moderating its cash resources.

It focuses on accomplishing three things: pay a competitive base salary. It offers equity to all employees so that to earn profits for the company. It requires aggressiveness in total overall compensation through the use of the incentives. I expect this change to be felt in the near future since the company is expanding fast. Pay should be viewed in the context of education, experience and skills. I believe that my salary should cover basic living expenses, keep up with inflation, leave some money for saving, learning and recreation, and should increase over time.

I recommend that employees who work hard, produce more hence they should be paid well. 10. After viewing the “Childcare Help” video, answer the following questions: Executives at IBM and other companies refer to the payback of work/life benefits. How can this payback occur? Payback is the returns the employee pays the company because of various reasons. Pay back may occur due to several reasons. In case of overpayment due to the system failure; employee may receive payments that he is not entitled to receive.

Whether intentional or unintentional the labor office strives to stop benefits that occur due to overpayments through careful investigation of initial claims and audits of current claims. If the company finds an overpayment on your account, you'll have to repay the money. If it was intentional, you may receive penalties, including penalty weeks, monetary fines and jail time. Payback may occur due to the trickiness of the employee, cheating on the number of present days at work. To what extent do you think a work-life benefit like employer-supported child or elder care, flexible work schedules, and extended leave motivate employees and contribute to performance?

Work life activities within organizations help employees achieve a useful balance in their work and family life. The company in return gets financial and non-monetary benefits. Family friendly policies are associated with less work-family conflict and reduced turnover. It helps workers cope better with the competing demands of work and family. It is understandable that employees who are able to effectively balance the demands of work and their personal/family life are motivated to give their best work.

Quality child care for employees is crucial since it improves productivity by reduces absenteeism. It cuts turnover down, and hence increases the company’s value. Flexible working schedule reduces fatigue and stress at work this improves the quality of the output. It reduces tardiness and increases concentration at work. It helps in the customer retention promoting the customer retention which later increases productivity. Employees’ happiness and contentment lead to customers, satisfaction hence higher returns. 11. Describe the employee benefits at your organization.

What changes, if any, would you like to see made? Employees may go through economic hardships caused by illness, disability, loss of life or unemployment. The company provides retirement income for the employees and their families. The organization offers the benefits because of several reasons. It provides opportunities for promotion as workers resign, retire or move to other positions. It promotes higher levels of morale among employees; align benefits packages with those offered in the market place and retaining talented employees in the company.

The company’s benefits are grouped into two; mandated employee benefits and optional benefits. Mandated employee benefits are those that are required by the law. There is workers’ compensation for employees disabled by occupational illness. Social security protects the aged and the disabled against unemployment insurance when they lose their job. Optional benefits are those that many employers choose to offer their employees hence they are not mandatory. The benefits are many such as retirement plan, savings plan, child care subsidies, telecommuting, long-term care insurance, employee health care benefits and life insurance among others.

I recommend that the organization should start offering flexible workplaces, adoption assistance and fitness centers benefits to its employees. These benefits have not been offered for a long time hence employees are missing them. The company should put in place new payment measures to increase productivity. References Kay T. (1998). CEO pay and shareholder value: helping the U.S. win the global economic war. Boca Raton, Fla: St. Lucie Press.