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Discussions were due Thurday  today  ty

Week Five Learning Outcomes
This week students will:

1. Analyze collective bargaining processes and the major factors of contract negotiation.

2. Evaluate hazardous conditions and compliance issues.

Readings
Read the following chapters in: A Framework for Human Resource Management:

1. Chapter 9: Managing Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining

2. Chapter 10: Protecting Safety and Health 

Discussions

To participate in the following Discussion Forums, go to this week’s Discussion link in the left navigation:

1. Contract Negotiations 

Answer the questions to the case, “Negotiating with the Writers Guild of America,” at the end of Chapter 9. Explain your answers in 200 words. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

2. The New Safety Program

Answer the questions to the case, “The New Safety Program,”  at the end of Chapter 10. Explain your answers in 200 words. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

Assignments

To complete this assignment, go to this week’s Assignment link in the left navigation:

Stress and Burnout

Find at least two articles through ProQuest that examines the problems, both to the organization and its employees, associated with stress and burnout. Summarize your findings in a 3-5 page paper. Be sure to properly cite your resources using APA style.

INSTRUCTOR Guidance-

Week 4 in Review

There are inherent risks in allowing emotional influences to facilitate one’s decision, especially when attempting to balance moral and legal aspects of a situation. Ethics and integrity are certainly at the forefront in regard to how Black will approach a viable solution. In the short term, honesty can be quite expensive. Many people do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do. 

The Paycheck Fairness Act is another step in the right direction. As many have noted, the journey has been a long one, but the journey continues. “Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill would provide a much-needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by closing some of the loopholes that have made the law less effective over time. So while the Ledbetter Act gave employees back their day in court to challenge a wage gap, the Paycheck Fairness Act would give employees the legal tools they need to challenge the wage gap itself.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/279603-our-journey-is-not-complete-equal-pay-requires-passage-of-paycheck-fairness-act#ixzz2Rf2EJWoY

It would seem the accounting practices opened the door for the leaders to do the wrong. As Dessler (2011) explained “. . . the lack of accounting transparency enabled the company’s managers to make Enron’s financial performance look better than it actually was” (p. 258).  This lack of good accounting methods is really where the problems began, yet so many people overlook it. Why? It is too easy to blame leadership. It would seem that the leaders at Enron rejected the “key fundamentals of accounting”, which includes it being “guided by principles, standards, concepts and assumptions . . . [as well as positive ethical decisions]” (Ashford University, 2007, p.8). Accounting methods void of such key principles was at the root of Enron’s downfall, and the leaders utilized it to further their unethical and immoral decisions.

Ashford University. (2007). MBA essentials: Accounting, finance, economics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Dessler, G. (2011).  A framework for human resource management. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:     Prentice Hall, Inc.

In a study reported by LiveScience.com and originally published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, “the researchers asked a group of people if they considered themselves moral, and if they would cheat on a test. The people who said they would never cheat described themselves as very moral — no surprise there. But the people who said they would indeed cheat also described themselves as very moral” (McManus, 2008).

http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/blog/a-moral-identity-crisis#fbid=gk4D29atSPj

One must assess what role subcultures had on Enron’s ultimate path. Access the following link (http://www.thesustainableworkforce.org/index.php/research-outputs/articles/item/65-the-role-of-organizational-subcultures-and-employment-modes-in-the-translation-of-hr-strategy-into-hr-practice), an article titled The Role of Organizational Subcultures and Employment Modes in the Translation of HR Strategy into HR Practice.

Sustainable Workforce; Palthe, J. & Kossek, E. 2003. The role of organizational subcultures and employment modes in the translation of HR strategy into HR practice, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 16(2): 287-308.

Week 5 Instructors Guidance
Labor Relations refers to the ongoing interactions between management and employees. “Labor relations includes employees’, employers’ and unions’ legally protected activities, unfair labor and management practices, union organizing activities, union recognition and representation elections, collective bargaining and union contract administration” (

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/laborrelations/Pages/LaborRelIntro.aspx

). Commonly associated with unionization, a multitude if issues result from the practice of labor relations, including:
The organization of unions
Union recognition
Election of union officials
Certification and decertification
Authorization and deauthorization.
The relationships are complex and often adversarial. Where one stands on unionization is often attributable to one’s position in the organization, the industry itself and an exhaustive list of internal and external factors. Unions were undoubtedly the result of years of abusive practices by organizations in a time where manufacturing was the dominant economic force. Labor relations became highly regulated and subject to collective bargaining agreements and dispute resolution. Many laws were enacted (National Labor Relations Act; Labor Management Relations Act; Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act to name a few) to facilitate and control the interactions. Unionization has seen a clear decline nationally, which has led many unions to seek membership in developing countries. This move has created both benefits and problems.
Workplace Safety and Health
Workplace safety is an area of great concern and focus in the field of HR. It seems every day there is another instance of workplace violence or reports of injury resulting from accidental or negligence activities — all of which adds in most cases to further laws in an attempt to create a safe work environment. Read the following for the “Latest News” in regard to safety and security:

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/safetysecurity/Pages/default.aspx

.
Work place safety is at the forefront of HR topics in light of the recent (and ongoing) instances of workplace violence. Monitoring the work environment is a critical aspect of avoidance and detection. Here is a list of important considerations that identifies warning signs and possible appropriate actions:

Warning signs of troubled employees:

Employees usually don’t “snap”; indicators of problems tend to build up over time.  Here are some indicators that often precede critical incidents: 1) increased tension at work, 2) increased use of alcohol or drugs, 3) increased absenteeism, 4) poor appearance or hygiene, 5) depression/withdrawal, 6) violation of company policies, 7) severe mood swings or unstable responses to problems, 8) anger or rage, 9) paranoia, 10) bringing personal problems to work, 11) talking about weapons or violence, 12) suicidal comments, 13) pending discipline or termination.

Some training steps/preventive measures

1)      Every company should have a zero tolerance policy on threats and violence.

2)      If employees sense something, they should be encouraged to say something to supervisors, a tip line, their EAP, or a crisis team.

3)      If an employee is terminated, all other employees should know right away that Joe is no longer with the company.

4)      All employees should be aware of a “code word” alert that can be shared by PA, phone, or other methodologies.

5)      All employees should be trained in “what if” scenarios.