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INCIDENT 2 DownsizingAs the largest employer in Ouachita County, Arkansas, International Forest Products Company (IFP) is an important part of the local economy. Ouachita County is a mostly rural area in south central Arkansas. It employs almost 10 percent of the local workforce, and few alternative job opportunities are available in the area.Scott Wheeler, the human resource director at IFP, tells of a difficult decision he once had to make. According to Scott, everything was going along pretty well despite the economic recession, but he knew that sooner or later the company would be affected. “I got the word at a private meeting with the president, Janet Deason, that we would have to cut the workforce by 30 percent on a crash basis. I was to get back to her within a week with a suggested plan. I knew that my plan would not be the final one, since the move was so major, but I knew that Ms. Deason was depending on me to provide at least a workable approach.“First, I thought about how the union would react. Certainly, workers would have to be let go in order of seniority. The union would try to protect as many jobs as possible. I also knew that all of management’s actions during this period would be intensely scrutinized. We had to make sure that we had our act together.“Then there was the impact on the surrounding community to consider. The economy of Ouachita County had not been in good shape recently. Aside from the influence on the individual workers who were laid off, I knew that our cutbacks would further depress the area’s economy. I knew that there would be a number of government officials and civic leaders who would want to know how we were trying to minimize the harm done to the public in the area.“We really had no choice but to make the cuts, I believed. First of all, I had no choice because Ms. Deason said we were going to do it. Also, I had recently read a news account that one of our competitors, Johns Manville Corporation in West Monroe, Louisiana, had laid off several hundred workers in a cost-cutting move. To keep our sales from being further depressed, we had to ensure that our costs were just as low as those of our competitors. The wood products market is very competitive and a cost advantage of even 2 or 3 percent would allow competitors to take many of our customers.“Finally, a major reason for the cutbacks was to protect the interests of our shareholders. A few years ago a shareholder group disrupted our annual meeting to insist that IFP make certain antipollution changes. In general, though, the shareholders seem to be more concerned with the return on their investments than with social responsibility. At our meeting, the president reminded me that, just like every other manager in the company, I should place the shareholders’ interests above all else. I really was quite overwhelmed as I began to work up a human resource plan that would balance all of these conflicting interests.”Questions1.How might each HR function be affected by the reduction in force? Remember that all employees at IFP are not members of the union.2.List the elements in the company’s environment that will affect Scott’s suggested plan. How legitimate is the interest of each of these?3.Is it true that Scott should be concerned first and foremost with protecting the interests of shareholders? Discuss.4.Corporate culture is discussed in this chapter as a major internal environmental factor affecting an organization. How might the downsizing of International Forest Products affect the corporate culture of the company?INCIDENT 1 An Ethical FlawAmber Davis had recently graduated from college with a degree in general business. Amber was quite bright, although her grades did not reflect this. She had thoroughly enjoyed school, dating, playing tennis, and swimming, but found few stimulating academic endeavors. When she graduated, she had not found a job. Her dad was extremely upset when he discovered this, and he took it upon himself to see that Amber became employed.Amber’s father, Allen Davis, was executive vice president of a medium-sized manufacturing firm. One of the people he contacted in seeking employment for Amber was Bill Garbo, the president of another firm in the area. Mr. Davis purchased many of his firm’s supplies from Garbo’s company. After telling Bill his problem, Allen was told to send Amber to Bill’s office for an interview. Amber went, as instructed by her father, and before she left Bill’s firm, she was surprised to learn that she had a job in the accounting department. Amber may have been lazy, but she certainly was not stupid. She realized that Bill had hired her because he hoped that his action would lead to future business from her father’s company. Although Amber’s work was not challenging, it paid better than the other jobs in the accounting department.It did not take long for the employees in the department to discover the reason she had been hired; Amber told them. When a difficult job was assigned to Amber, she normally got one of the other employees to do it, implying that Mr. Garbo would be pleased with that person if he or she helped her out. She developed a pattern of coming in late, taking long lunch breaks, and leaving early. When the department manager attempted to reprimand her for these unorthodox activities, Amber would bring up the close relationship that her father had with the president of the firm. The department manager was at the end of his rope.Questions1.From an ethical standpoint, how would you evaluate the merits of Mr. Garbo’s employing Amber? Discuss.2.Now that she is employed, what course would you follow to address her on-the-job behavior?3.It may be that Mr. Garbo viewed the hiring of Amber as strictly a business decision that would ensure receiving continued business from Amber’s father. What might be some negative results of this questionable ethical decision?
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Question # 00011639 Posted By: melissa77 Updated on: 04/06/2014 12:52 PM Due on: 04/06/2014
Subject Business Topic Management Tutorials:
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I really need help with some questions for Human Resource Management NEED TODAY IF POSSIBLE it 8 problems

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