HRMD 610 ALL Discussions except Week 3 And 6 due to assignment weeks

Week 1: What is HR? Discussion

PART A: Discussion should be completed NLT Day 4.

• Before you read anything in the textbook or in the class, think about a time when you have had contact with a human resource department.
• Think about what this department did for the organization and its employees.
• What are your impressions of this department….For example, was it off-site, perhaps at a corporate location; isolated, handling paperwork or visibly present in the company, mingling with employees? In other words, what did this HR department do in or for the organization?
• Share your thoughts about the role and activities of this human resource department in the Week 1 "What is HR" Discussion area.
• Respond to at least two others' posts on two separate days. Be sure to read any responses to or questions about your post.

PARTS B & C of the Assignment will be available on Thursday in Assignments.

This is part of the graded Week 1 Assignment.

Week 2: Recent US Legislation Activity and Court Rulings

This discussion is ungraded. I equate these to class discussions that we would have in a face-to-face environment.

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The following information is contained in the Weekly Activities document, but posted here for your convenience.

There has been much activity on the federal employment law front. Several items have either been passed, considered, vetoed, etc. These include, but are certainly not limited to:

• Paycheck Fairness Act (Be careful about this one…has it been enacted? I recommend you find the government source and check out what SHRM had to say about this law.)
• ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA/AA)
• Visa Efficiency and E-Verify Extension Act (I-9's)
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
• Non-discrimination based on sexual preference (Again, be careful!). (One issue is how the recent Supreme Court's Ruling on DOMA affected HR and organizations.)

Select one of these topics that interests you, conduct research, and find the latest information you can about it. Report your findings to the class. How do you think this will affect organizations?

Find at least one current, quality reference in the on-line library, and the applicable US Federal ".gov" web site (see below).

Researching Laws

Tip #1:

When researching the law, always try to get both sides' opinions on it. This assists us in scanning our external environment, and it gives us a more educated understanding of its history, intent, and impact on organizations.

Tip #2:

When you need information about an HR-related law and its coverage, intent, enforcement, and application, go to the most accurate and current source: The US Federal web site. These would include, but would not be limited to:

• EEOC.gov
• OFCCP.gov (the "EEOC" for government contractors or subcontractors)
• ADA.gov (and make sure you include the ADA Amendments Act, since it amended the original ADA),
• ADEA.gov
• GINA.gov
• FMLA.gov
• FLSA.gov

When you are not sure, go to DOL.gov (U.S. Department of Labor) and search for your topic.

Be Careful: Do not be confused with ".com" sites, (e.g., eeoc.com is not a government site).

Only use OPM.gov if you are researching federal government agencies (which in this discussion, we are not doing this week).

Also note that if BOTH the US Senate and House have not passed a law, it is not enacted, and is not a law! Research thoroughly.

Tip #3:

Do not conduct a Google-type search. Typically, students will obtain laws that are not US laws when they do this. Then, their entire analysis of a situation is incorrect :>(.

Tip #4:

While you can use your textbooks to give you ideas about your topics/laws, use the government web sites, peer-reviewed journal articles, and professional journals (such as HRMagazine, which is SHRM's monthly publication). When in doubt, e-mail and ask!

Reminders:

• Please don't attach files to discussions.
• Unless stated otherwise, always name your post “Your Last Name Post.” No more, no less, please. We can see who wrote it, and it won't be cut off from view.
• When responding to others’ posts, use “reply.” Do not start a new thread.
• If it is a graded item, please place all conference information that you want graded IN the textbox. Format so that it is readable.

Do your best to format in APA style, within the constraints of LEO.

Do not, however, double-space everything or include a cover sheet.

Post by Day 4; return and reply to two others' posts on at least two days. Be sure and respond to questions asked of you or comments made by others about your posts

Week 4 Disc: Internal vs External Hiring

Wk 4: Internal vs External Recruiting

• Some organizations prefer to promote internally, some externally, while others use a combination of both.
• This decision is made by the Top Management Team (TMT), typically after HR presents the advantages and disadvantages of each tactic.
• What are the current trends in this area?
• What does the current scholarly literature report on this topic?
• If you are a SHRM member, what can you find there?

(This is an ungraded discussion.)

Wk 5: Training Deliverables vs Do-Ables

Research the topic of training deliverables versus do-ables

• You will, most likely, have to go back further than 2005 to find some scholarly resources. Find the most recent you can find, but stay within the 1990s and later.
• You may also have to look in other disciplines, such as operations management, quality, or similar.
• Explore the uses and appropriateness of each, as well as any advantages or disadvantages you find
• Report your findings.

To get you started with the concept, I have provided an article, by Dr. Ulrich, in Week 5's document, which briefly addresses Deliverables vs Do-ables.

(This is an ungraded discussion.)

Week 7 Disc: Total Rewards

Is this a Compensation Issue or Not?

The situation:

You are the HR Manager of a large customer service center for a global insurance company specializing in supplemental insurance policies. These types of coverage might include cancer insurance, disability income insurance, unemployment supplemental income, and term life for employee spouses and children. These are the types of insurance policies which are offered to employees, but the employer does not pay anything toward the premium. (An example of this type of company would be Aflac.)

This center handles all incoming customer phone calls. Customer Service Operators (CSO) handle questions about policies, claims for benefits, problems in processing claims or receiving benefits (money), etc. You can imagine that the customers can be in any state of mind, from grief stricken, to angry, to happy about having coverage.

In this U. S. center you have 500 CSOs, covering the phones from 7 am to 11 pm CST, since you have customers all over the United States. There are other call centers that handle the other markets, such as Asia, Europe, and South America.

Each group of CSOs includes about 25 employees, covering an 8-hour shift. The two shifts overlap during the middle of the work shifts: One from 7 am to 3:30 pm, and the other from 3 pm to 10:30 pm.
During the overlap, the shift supervisors meet, discuss what occurred during the first shift, and what needs to be handled on the second.

The CSOs are non-exempt, and are thus paid hourly wages. If they work overtime, which must be requested and/or pre-approved by the Supervisor, they are paid in accordance with FLSA and OFCCP wages: 1.5 times the hourly pay for anything over 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week, whichever is greater. This is non-negotiable, because to violate could bring the DOL down hard.

The Problem:

When the CSOs work overtime, they can make more than their supervisor because the supervisor's job is exempt and does not qualify for overtime pay. The supervisor position qualifies for comp time, but the company is so busy, it is hard to schedule taking the comp time.

You are finding that fewer and fewer CSOs are applying for the Supervisor positions when posted on the internal job opening board. After investigation, you find that CSOs do not want to take a job that might be potentially a cut in pay (no overtime) and take on the headaches of a Supervisor.

How can you, as the HR Manager, remedy this situation?

Hint #1:Conduct a little research and find out what is occurring "out there" in addition to what is addressed in your textbook.

Hint #2:Before you post a suggested solution, ask yourself, If I do this,

1. Will it solve the problem for the long-term?
2. Could it cause other problems in other jobs’ pay, or in the entire organization?

Hint #3: If I told you this is not about compensation (which includes pay, benefits, incentives, and other rewards), what would you do?

Be creative, but legal.

If you wish to apply any laws, you might start with the DOL, and the law FLSA, etc., and go from there.

(PS: Supervisors and above are exempt. Customer Service Resps are non-exempt. These are not negotiable.)

This is a graded discussion.

Week 8 Labor

Week 8 Topic

Should you wish to discuss labor unions, here is your chance. Typical topics include:

• Why is union membership declining in the US?
• What are US unions doing overseas?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of labor unions? (to the employees or the employers)
• Or any other thoughts you have on this topic.

Go where it takes you!

(This is ungraded.)