Last Day of Class

Today was our last day of class. We reviewed for the final and got our presentation results. I was nervous for my presentation and could have done a little better job. Now that class is over I realize I want to take more classes in the HR track. I hope I can get involved a little more next year. It's been a great semester and we had some good discussions. Having a good teacher and a likable group made this class a success for me.

Peer Reviews

We exchanged peer reviews in class and have been editing them and reviewing for the research paper. We had one student present his presentation early. It was nice to see how someone else demonstrated their topic.

Cultural Differences

Today we finished talking about chapter 15. I liked talking about cultural differences because we have already talked about it in another one of my classes and I realized that I knew a lot about it from my other class. I don't think I could be one of those people who traveled to another country for work, but I think I would like working with others from those places. It was interesting to realize that for global economics, we actually need all of these cultural diversities to be successful. I think our differences can be hard to understand, but that they compliment each other.

Chapter 16, Meeting other HR Goals

I think one of the most challenging tasks, not to mention the one which is severely suffering in implementation, is transfer of knowledge. According to the chapter, only 4 percent of companies are recording the knowledge of retiring employees. I think this is a shame, but how do you record what's in someone's brain? Perhaps having a daily journal throughout their career would help, or saving their emails. One way we did it a little at my previous company was to have a database or spreadsheet of notes about each customer we worked with. That way, when someone else went to call them, they were always aware of their situation.
Aren't there a few things about knowledge sharing that can make people feel nervous? For example, if you are a little insecure about your job, or another person at your job seems to shine more than you do, then sharing your information and knowledge is not going to be very tempting to you. Furthermore, are you even going to get credit for it? I think in the workplace, we need to first make people feel secure, which is hard to do these days, and then encourage them to share things with each other. If we show them that they sharing things with each other actually benefits everyone, then maybe they'll be more likely to participate thoroughly.

Chapter 15 Review

We discussed Global HR Relations and talked about our upcoming project. I am going to do mine on the benefits of being part of a Union, vs. not being part of a Union. This will be done from an employees perspective, rather than a manager's. From a manager's perspective having a Union is usually going to be bad in the beginning.

Chapter 15, Managing HR Globally

It seems like opening an office internationally must be quite the undertaking. Every country has culture aspects that need to be learned. It seems like the United States started out as a "melting pot", and now the rest of the world is starting to mix as well, if not genetically in many cases, then culturally. Many other countries are staring to take on "American" qualities. I wonder if this was initially because they wanted to be able to understand our culture at first, or if they simply wanted to be more like us. Brazilians, for example love American music and American products. The world is growing smaller and smaller as technology expands to every country. Do you think someday all of our cultures will mesh together and you won't have to worry about offending someone by wearing white, or showing your lower leg or neck? Hundreds of years will tell...

Chapter 14 Review

We discussed Unions in class today. I was surprised at how negative people's opinions were on Unions. If we had Unions in Utah our wages would be much higher. One student stated that Unions make it so that Employees get raises and don't deserve them. Who is to say that employees in general don't deserve raises? It's on a case by case basis, but when an entire industry isn't getting paid what they deserve, then Labor Unions are necessary. We played a game in class today that represented the way Unions work. I was surprised at how chaotic the negotiation can be. I'm not sure how their negotiations work in real life, but I hope they don't stab each other in the back as much as we did in class.

Chapter 14, Labor Relations

Chapter 13 gave me several ideas for my research paper, in fact this happens to be the topic I have chosen. My biggest concern is about the reasons why Utah has not become a part of the Laborers' International Union of North America? It seems like the economy in Utah would benefit from such an organization. However, the insurance companies in Utah may not like this happening. From a 3rd party perspective, it seems like even the employers would benefit in the long run by the leverage a union can provide.

Chapter 13 Review

We discussed providing employee benefits in class. In our group we discussed health insurance benefits, specifically. We all feel that health insurance without having an employer subsidize the cost of them. It is barely worth paying the premiums for solitary health insurance. We came to the conclusion, in class and as a group that having an employer to help with this cost is hugely important to the employee. Those who don't realize the necessity of this benefit are unfortunately missing out.

Employee Benefits

It is the duty of the Human Resource personnel to find and provide benefits for their employees. Specifically, I would like to talk about Health Insurance, although my reasoning may apply to all aspects of employee benefits. When finding a good insurance plan, the HR representative can have much more leverage if their company is large and has a lot of employees, contrasting a small company that will have to take whatever plan they can get for their employees. The larger company can negotiate, and the smaller one may not be able to. Does this seem fair? I thought the laws of employers offering health insurance were created to provide everyone with a fair opportunity. This doesn't seem to be what is happening. What do you think?

Chapter 12 Review

Yesterday in class we discussed a lot about incentive pay. We discussed how CEO's make an exponential amount compared to those at the bottom of the company. Many people in the class thought this margin was fair because of the extra time and effort managers must make. I don't believe it is entirely fair. CEO's make what they do because it is the norm for our society. A more fair approach would be to have those who working more hours get paid overtime, rather than a exorbitant salary. A lot of lower level workers put in extra hours too. I realize that expertise and responsibility are worth making more money over, but not to the extent that our country has elevated it too. I think there could be a lot more balance in incentives for CEO's vs. lower level employees. They do deserve to make more, but not 500 times more!

Chapter 12, Recognizing Employee Contributions with Pay

In this chapter they discuss the various ways in which companies compensate for good performance. I think this is a necessary strategy, even when you have good hard-working employees, because it give them a way of achieving recompense. Is there one best over-all incentive plan? Maybe, or are they better determined by what the specific job is?
My father, for example, used to work for a blue-collar company who paid him by using a Straight Piecework Plan. He was very happy with this company for many years, until they began to lose business during a recession. In that case, he preferred a Standard Hour Plan. But they would not acquiesce. He ended up getting a better job and to this day the company he previously worked for laments the decisions they made that led to him quitting. When you value an employee is it important to consider changing an incentive plan to keep them satisfied? The answer to this can be better known on a case by case basis.

Thursday's Class

Thursday we discussed salary differences in the workplace. Most people feel pretty strongly about their salary. I told my group about how women make less money, possibly because they are less likely to ask for a raise. This is so simple to the men in our group. They all said, well just ask for one. But I think women are so analytical sometimes. They stew way to much of what people will think and how they should do it. I think this trait is good as far as using tact in other areas of the workplace, but when the timing is right, I think the men are right. We need to learn to ask, or we will just keep getting less, and complaining about our lower compensations at our jobs. It's partly our own fault...

Chapter 11, Pay Structure

In this chapter it talked about Pay Structure. This is a really big deal to just about everyone. However, women don't tend to ask for raises as much as men. Why is this? Perhaps it is because women are more passive as a general personality trait, and more willing to accept what is offered, rather than push. The other reason could be that even though men and women both work, men still tend to be seen and depended on as the "bread-winner". If a woman doesn't make enough money, she can depend on her husband, if she is married. If a man does not make enough, sometimes he is the only one supporting the family. The reverse is not as often the case. What can we do to improve this for women? According to the book we can train them to ask for raises. Personally I have never asked for a raise, unless prompted to.

Chapter 10 Review

In class today, we talked about Employee turnover and reviewed for the Test. With Employee terminations/layoffs, I liked the idea that someone brought up about allowing employees to give feedback when leaving the company, either in verbal form or by doing it online. I think this not only lets the company know about some things they can do better or may want to be aware of, but it also lets employees to get some closure. I would really have loved to have been able to do this at one of my jobs.

Chapter 10, Separating and Retaining Employees

This chapter hits close to home for most of us. We have all either been laid off, fired, or are close to someone who has. It is not a wonderful experience, but it can be done tactfully and appropriately. I liked the descriptions the book has of appropriate things to consider when terminating an employee: Outcome fairness, Procedural justice, and Interactional Justice. When all of these things are considered, the departing employee will have minimal problems, in most cases. On the other end of the spectrum, is there such a thing as wrongful discharge to the person being discharged? I don't think I know a single person who said, yes I deserved to get fired. They always turn it around and blame the employer, or say they deserved another chance. As long as they can find something wrong that the employer did, this eases their conscience about losing their job. However, if the Human Resource personnel can find a way to spare their feelings as much as possible and spell out exactly why they are being terminated, then any repercussions the employer may experience, can more likely be avoided.

Chapter 9, Planning for the Future

This chapter was more interesting than the others because it deals with dreams that everyone has to become successful at their job. It even gave tools and inspirational examples of how to get there. Some managers are not good at managing, but the good news is that they can be. I had always thought that managing was only for certain people, and it's true that some people have a knack for it, but with the proper preparation from the company, and even some mentoring and coaching along the way or during transition, a person who is bad with people but understands the scope, and technical skills, can become good at people skills. My husband is one of those people who is very motivated toward sales jobs. He has experienced management positions but some people feel he was not a good manager because of his demanding type of leadership. Is it possible for him to change and be even more successful at sales through leading his employees? After reading this chapter I think anything is possible.

Employee Training Summary

Most people in the class concurred that employee evaluations aren't very effective for the employee. In our group we discussed how a combination of methods was a great way to give management a feel for how much an employee needs to be rewarded, while also allowing the employee to get some constructive suggestions, and even put in some feedback themselves.

Employee Performance, Chapter 8

This chapter discussed a lot of aspects of Human Resources that we don't think about often. Generally employee evaluations only come up every 6 to 12 month at most companies, if that. I think the companies who take the time to actually do an evaluation and base your salary increase on how well you perform are benefiting their company greatly. So what type of evaluation is the best? All of them; a collective evaluation involving Behaviorally anchored rating scale, behavioral observation scale, and organizational behavior modification all in one combined method could be a way to rate everyone fairly. Speaking of collective feedback, I also feel that the 360 degree performance appraisal is a great way to allow employees and management to evaluate themselves and each other.

Super food and Super training!

In class this time we had a speaker from Tahitian Noni come and explain how important training for jobs is, especially sales jobs. This made a lot of sense to me because my husband is in sales. The more you put into training, the more you're going to get out of it. He shared some of their delicious candy with us, which I have never had before. It really is a good product. I can see why they are successful having such great employees and healthy alternatives for your diet.

Chapter 7, Training

This chapter talked about Training Employees. This generally falls on the Human Resource Department. I noticed a lot of companies will outsource their training. I have been trained for a company this way as well. I now realize that I don't remember a single thing they taught me at my outsourced training. But, years later I still remember the hands-on training that I got when I actually started the job. I remember how to do those things because they were really in front of me and you learn by doing. I don't think outsourced training is as effective as in-house training. If companies are trying to save money then they are doing it the wrong way. The best way to save money on training new employees is by letting them learn it right there on the job. That's where they really learn it anyway. Anything additional that's outside of what they'll really be doing (other than explaining rules and expectations) is just a waste of time and money.

Chapter 6 Discussion

One person in my group made a really good point about employee selection, that you can't submit a picture of yourself on your resume anymore these days. What are the reasons? Because of discrimination and reverse discrimination lawsuits. If an employer can't see what you look like then they can't judge a book by it's proverbial cover. Well, if this is the case, then what's to stop them from looking up a picture of you on the internet? A repeat my reasons for the need for HR laws about "spying" on prospective employees. Just because someone appears to be goofing off on a personal website that they assume only friends and family will look at, that does not mean they will be a bad employee. I know there are extreme cases, but can you really draw the line where there is no line available on the internet...

Chapter 6, Employee Selection

When hiring for a specific job, employers look at skills, education, past employment, background, and many other things, including your personal profile online. Some look on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or Orkit. They may also be able to find your Blog and read it, as if reading your journal. I don’t think this is appropriate for a prospective employer to do. Although it is wise for them to find out as much about the person they might hire, as possible; by looking at these personal pages, they might find out more personal information about a person than they would find out in a year of actually working on the job with them. I think it is more appropriate for a prospective employer to call past employers to find out what kind of WORK character they have. “Is this person reliable, are they trustworthy, do they work hard, how is their skill level?” Those are the kinds of questions that are appropriate. A personal networking page or Blog may contain information about problems with their family or it can indicate their religion. If an employer isn’t allowed to ask these questions during an interview, then shouldn’t it also be illegal to base if off information they found snooping around in someone’s personal life?

Chapter 5 Discussion

Today we discussed a lot about layoffs and how they could be avoided or go more smoothly. I think the forecasting technique is something that every business needs to learn. It can be much easier for large businesses that have been around longer, however. I believe that if it is used properly, the economy can survive having as many ups and downs. Some techniques used for forecasting could be looking into the past, to see if history repeats itself, paying attention to an upcoming downturn in your market, and keeping track of the ages of your employees to see if some of them will be looking at retiring so that you can hire ahead of time for training.
I think offering a gradual retirement is a great opportunity for many elderly workers who may be prepared for some reprieve, but who still need some source of income or even a job to feel needed at. My parents are getting closer to retirement age, and I think they would both love the idea.

Chapter 5, Planning

1. In Planning and Recruiting, the Human Resource department must be able to see into the future. But, how is this possible? One way is by looking into the past. There are many employment trends in this economy that have repeated themselves. We have had repeated recessions and depressions. We can now tell that some of these were predictable. The same is the case for major companies. When one company foresees that they will have a shortage of work because of a pending completion of a project, they may one to stop hiring, or start redistributing so that when the day comes that the project is completed, they don't have to lay off half their workers. They can do things like originally hire temps or part-time employees, or put an early retirement program in place for workers who are getting close to retirement age.
2. The Utah Census is hiring 1200 Employees for the Sandy call center. Instead of setting up a whole program of benefits, they are simply offering each employee and additional $3 per hour to compensate for this lace of benefits. Does this seem fair? Even though these employees are being hired for a 6 month position, do they deserve to get the opportunity for insurance during this period?
3. There are many elderly workers preparing to retire. Many companies may want to keep them around and have a gradual retirement, or if they need to make layoff, to offer an early retirement.
4. Is early or gradual retirement beneficial for the company, even if you have to offer them more money to do so? Is this worth it to the employees?

Chapter 4 Discussion

Today we talked about the hiring process and what creating a new position entails. If we create a list of duties and responsibilities for our prospective employee, that is a start in getting them going on their job. But what happens after that is important. They need a lot of advising at first, which many people say they don't get enough of. Others say after training that they would like to be left to grown in their position, but are unable to. One guy in my group complained that he is not allowed to work outside his "box" of duties. In some companies working at specifically what they need you to is important. But only individuals who are content to stay in their "box" without branching out can stay at such a company. It is important to have the right employees for such a position. Other companies want someone who is pro-active. In hiring we need to make sure we are finding people who can assume these roles.

Chapter 4, Creating Job Positions

1. This Chapter talks about creating jobs and what resources, information, requirements, and money will be needed. There is much more to it than I had originally anticipated. I figured you just realize it when you need more help and hire someone. For a small company, like the one I used to work for, that is probably much harder than for a big company where office supplies and work stations are easier to spread around.
2. I think the book talks a lot about preparation for hiring new employees, but I thought maintaining and altering new positions should take just as much, if not more consideration for the HR person. If you hire a new position and it goes the wrong direction, or isn't efficient, you might as well not have even hired for it.
3. You have to involve your staff, even after they're hired to make sure they're all communicating.
You have to make sure the new person understands what they need to do to create this new position.
You also have to check with other employees around you to make sure that the new person is really doing a good job from all perspectives. It is possible that they could only be trying to look good and help out for management, and not anyone else.
4. What should you do when you know a new employee isn't right for a new position you created. Should you cut your losses right away, or keep trying to train them and make them into the person you thought they would be? If not, is it even possible to be that person, for anyone?

Articles in Class

Today we discussed different articles on Human Resources. I was surprised at how many organizations struggle with these issues. It seems like they are often publicized in a negative way, steering the blame at the business. Although, one student's article was about a man who applied at Hooters, simply looking for a lawsuit. When the Judge sided with Hooters (aware of the man's intentions in applying for the job), they said that Hooters has the right to hire employees with certain characteristics. This is confusing to me because other businesses can't even hire based on color of skin. As far as I'm concerned, every business should be an equal opportunity employer based on skill. Now Hooters can continue their hiring practices, while other places must settle with less than qualified employees. My article was on a Hospital in Tennessee which would not hire tobacco users. Most people in my group agreed with the Hospital. While this decision looks good on paper, my feeling is that it may backfire. It is generally not fair to discriminate against people in any way. It will be interesting to follow this story and to find out if there is a lawsuit by someone who is trying to quit smoking, and is simply using a patch or chewing the gum.

Hosptial Hiring Article

The article is found on Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583291,00.html. It states that Chattanooga Hospital in Tennessee will no longer be hiring tobacco users. While I think this is a great standpoint for the medical professionals working there, who don't smoke, it seems like the process won't last long without a lawsuit. Since I am not a smoker I can understand that it is beneficial for society to discourage smoking. But, from an HR perspective, it doesn't seem fair. For decades our businesses have worked and worked at making businesses "equal opportunity employers". But this decision could be seen as discriminatory. At the same time, I can also see the benefits from an HR perspective: lower health insurance costs, more time on the job and less smoking breaks, more accuracy at work without such distractions. It is certainly a controversial issue and it will be interesting to find out what happens. If hospitals are allowed to embrace this throughout the country (which I doubt they will be), then it could have a very positive impact in the future, perhaps causing a decline in the number of smokers in the next generation.

Chapter 3 Discussion Topic

1. Concept and Brief Description
2. Emotional Hook
3. Key Points to Elicit in Discussion
4. Facilitative Questions

1. Avoiding Human Resource Problems. According to the Chapter, there are a plethora of problems you can run into while hiring, managing, or terminating employment of a person who is at a disadvantage, or not. I would like to discuss ways a manager can attempt to avoid all, or many of these situations.
2. Is it possible to make everyone happy in the work place? No, but you can communicate what is expected before, during and after employment.
3. After reading this chapter I decided that communication is the key to avoiding problems with current employees. They need to be informed of the rules before they ever run into problems. Having meeting, and explaining: If you do "x" thing, you consequence will be "y". I know this isn't a perfect solution, but at least when someone inevitably does have a complaint, they can't claim ignorance. Also, when hiring and/or terminating employment, I think communication is a much more delicate matter. If you explain a termination in any way that they can construe as discrimination, you may have problems later. But, if an employee needs to be laid off or terminated, then make sure there is a documented, legitimate reason for it. The same thing goes for hiring.
4. How can an Human Resource person control everything that is happening in the work place? They can't, but they can be informed, and take action.

Chapter 2 Journal

In class we separated into groups and talked about how employment is changing in our country. We hire a lot of employees overseas and are able to give them cheaper wages. But, we decided that although this looks good on paper, that customer service really suffers because people have a harder time communicating with each other when they are from such differing cultures.
Also, I brought up the fact that women and minorities are much more common in the work force, and have been for decades, but they still don't get paid as much as white men. Although this is not fair, it is important from an HR perspective to compare employees based on their performance and pay them all fairly. It isn't fair to either party when a biased or reverse-discrimination decision is made. If one employee is actually working harder and is more knowledgeable, it is fair to pay them more, in that case.

Chapter 2 Discussion Topic

1. The workforce is changing, there are more Women and Minorities. According to the text book, the Hispanic and Asian workers are increasing rapidly. Many of them have to take blue-collar jobs, even if they are qualified for management. Also, the use of women in the work force has been increasing for a few decades. But, Women still aren't paid the same as men.
2. Should Women and Minorities be hired above white men when they have the same as or less experience, simply to avoid discrimination? Is this fair to either party?
3. Women typically make less money than men.
Minorities have a harder time communicating in some cases.
It is fair to everyone that each candidate must be the hardest working and most qualified to get hired, but that must be determined fairly by HR.
4. Is it possible to really treat everyone fairly? If white males are generally more educated than women and minorities, then how can anyone else get a high-paying job? Is is fair to make women and minorities work harder to achieve success when the opportunities to succeed were not as abundant from the get go?

Introduction

Hello, my name is Melody Evans and I am a return student to Utah Valley University. I received my Associates several years ago, right before getting married. I have returned to school to get my Bachelors now and I am hoping to complete it over the next year and a half. I love going to school more than ever now that I have had a long break. I used to feel burdened by learning because I was so burned out, but not anymore! I am a Project Management major in the Digital Media Department. I am interested in Human Resources as a career, even if my major is not specifically directed toward it. I am hoping this class will give me some more clarification for the direction I would like to take in my career.
I live in Sandy and absolutely love it! I also took a few classes at Salt Lake Community College before returning to Utah Valley University because of the closeness in proximity and lower costs. I am now into only upper division classes and am hoping to keep my grades as high as they were at the Community College. I have children who are still very little and they keep me busy, but my window to do homework is between their bedtime and mine.
I worked for the Home Builders Association prior to my graduation from school, for about five years. I loved every minute of it. The Home Builders Association was a huge network of Builders, Subcontractors, Bankers, Title Companies, and Insurance Companies. I met a lot of people and learned how important networking is. I also helped the company develop a Software Program that was Beta tested by us and then sold Nationally to nearly all the HBA's in the country. I was proud to be a part of many decisions they made when developing the software. I love Business and I love technology. My Associates degree was in Business Communication and Office Technology. I think that is the perfect foundation for what I am continuing to learn in my degree and also for the various career paths I could take with it.
I come from a very large family and I also have my own little family. My parents had 7 children of their own and soon after, my parents adopted my 7 cousins, whose mother had passed away. And so, we were a family of 16, which has now, through marriages and grandchildren turned into a family of over 50! It was a fun experience growing up with so many siblings. I enjoyed going to High School with several of my siblings and also graduating with my brother.
Another thing my husband and I have done is to have family and students come to stay with us. We are currently housing some students from Brazil. Two 15 year old girls, who are learning about our culture, and I am learning a lot about theirs. I now realize that when they are staying with us I can cook a lot of American staples, but also that they like a lot of meats and starches, and not many fruits and vegetables. They don't like spicy food, but they absolutely love fast food and any novelty like candy or ice cream.
I have also lived in a couple of different places outside of Utah. My husband manages a Branch for a Pest-Control office each summer. We lived in Florida for a summer and then in Texas for the next, and will be returning there this summer. I enjoyed getting to know all of the various ethnic groups in these areas. I make friends easily, especially with women. I would say I have made a whole lot of friends in my lifetime, but I usually choose to stay exceptionally close with only a few of them. I wish I could stay close with everyone, but life is busy and keeps on moving. Luckily I have Facebook to check in with everyone occasionally.
Good luck to all of you this Semester; I'm looking forward to this class.