Most high performance teams have some kind of mechanisms in place to weed out the weak links in their group.
Its interesting that even low level employees that are paid minimum wage can create a huge expense for a company when there is 200% turnover. Average cost is still $5k per person.
When companies become too political, the employees tend to hoard information and not share with others. This is the complete opposite of what a learning organization should be.
From the video about Johnson & Johnson: The Credo
The have a big emphasis on decentralization and having Small Business Units (SBU's)
They have "The Credo" that incorporated into their values of how they operate. Its their true corporate culture.
They're smart and show their employees that they care about them from day one and not give them a "trial period" to see if they'll "cut it". It makes their employees feel valued and want to come to work.
The human resources department is the companies biggest "Asset" that a company has.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Response to class 3/30/10
Next class have rough draft ready
No class next week Thursday
Chapter 15 International HRM
"Hofstede's 5 Dimensions of Culture" is the most common form used in business
1. Individualism/ collectivism
The US places high importance on individualism compared to Asian countries his collectivism that is common throughout their culture
2. Power Distance
3. Uncertainty Avoidance
4. Masculinity / Femininity
5. Longevity
review table 15.1 in text Effects of Culture
When sending an employee on an international assignment, pay them very well.
That was interesting that a company would even offer to send someone oversees for two years with only seeing their family every six months. What a bunch of morons for even offering it. Even if he did accept the offer, his wife would either make him come back within two months or he'd be divorced within a year. Maybe it would make sense for a single person but not a married man with children. That reminds me of when I had to do a month long training out in Baltimore, MD away from my wife and kids. That was probably one of the longest months of my life. After one week I was miserable and ready to come back home. To think that someone would be able to do that for six months at a time is just crazy.
No class next week Thursday
Chapter 15 International HRM
"Hofstede's 5 Dimensions of Culture" is the most common form used in business
1. Individualism/ collectivism
The US places high importance on individualism compared to Asian countries his collectivism that is common throughout their culture
2. Power Distance
3. Uncertainty Avoidance
4. Masculinity / Femininity
5. Longevity
review table 15.1 in text Effects of Culture
When sending an employee on an international assignment, pay them very well.
That was interesting that a company would even offer to send someone oversees for two years with only seeing their family every six months. What a bunch of morons for even offering it. Even if he did accept the offer, his wife would either make him come back within two months or he'd be divorced within a year. Maybe it would make sense for a single person but not a married man with children. That reminds me of when I had to do a month long training out in Baltimore, MD away from my wife and kids. That was probably one of the longest months of my life. After one week I was miserable and ready to come back home. To think that someone would be able to do that for six months at a time is just crazy.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Chapter 16 - Creating and Maintaining High-Performance Organizations
Concept and Brief Description
A high-performance work system is the right combination of people, technology, and structure that makes use of the company’s resources and opportunities in achieving it goals. The elements are organizational structure, task design, people, reward systems, and information systems. On the way to achieving these goals, the system meets intermediate goals as high quality, innovation, customer satisfaction, job satisfaction and reduced turnover. Jobs should be designed to foster teamwork and employee empowerment. Recruitment and selection should focus on obtaining employees who have the qualities necessary for teamwork, empowerment, and knowledge sharing. Compensation should be linked to performance, and employees should be included in decisions about compensation. Technology can improve the efficiency of the human resource management functions and support knowledge sharing. e-HRM can let the companies employees help themselves to the HR info they need.
Emotional Hook
High-Performance teams should be compensated the best, if they produce results, and the right kinds of results. It’s very important to align their compensation to what is good for the company in the long run. It seems that when employees are faced with a short term gain by doing something “unethical” you have more cases of employees being unethical. Given the right motivation, compensation will empower the high-performance team to do what is best for everyone involved.
Key Points to Elicit in Discussion
How do you attract the right type of individual for a high-performance team?
Will HRM management tools eliminate allot of the jobs in the HR profession?
Facilitative Question
What is the best kind of high-performance team for different business structures?
A high-performance work system is the right combination of people, technology, and structure that makes use of the company’s resources and opportunities in achieving it goals. The elements are organizational structure, task design, people, reward systems, and information systems. On the way to achieving these goals, the system meets intermediate goals as high quality, innovation, customer satisfaction, job satisfaction and reduced turnover. Jobs should be designed to foster teamwork and employee empowerment. Recruitment and selection should focus on obtaining employees who have the qualities necessary for teamwork, empowerment, and knowledge sharing. Compensation should be linked to performance, and employees should be included in decisions about compensation. Technology can improve the efficiency of the human resource management functions and support knowledge sharing. e-HRM can let the companies employees help themselves to the HR info they need.
Emotional Hook
High-Performance teams should be compensated the best, if they produce results, and the right kinds of results. It’s very important to align their compensation to what is good for the company in the long run. It seems that when employees are faced with a short term gain by doing something “unethical” you have more cases of employees being unethical. Given the right motivation, compensation will empower the high-performance team to do what is best for everyone involved.
Key Points to Elicit in Discussion
How do you attract the right type of individual for a high-performance team?
Will HRM management tools eliminate allot of the jobs in the HR profession?
Facilitative Question
What is the best kind of high-performance team for different business structures?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Response to Class 3/16/10
What you can / can't do as a manager to discourage unions:
Can: Solve employee problems, let them know of the disadvantages, treat your employees fairly
Can't: threaten, promise extra stuff, punish employee, or spy
There are examples of finished papers online.
Outsourcing to foreign countries is becoming more and more common. There are allot of social or cultural differences between countries. Seems that the more integrated our countries become the more relaxed other cultures become.
Can: Solve employee problems, let them know of the disadvantages, treat your employees fairly
Can't: threaten, promise extra stuff, punish employee, or spy
There are examples of finished papers online.
Outsourcing to foreign countries is becoming more and more common. There are allot of social or cultural differences between countries. Seems that the more integrated our countries become the more relaxed other cultures become.
Chapter 15 - Managing Human Resources Globally
Brief Description
Its a growing trend for companies to enter the international market by exporting and operating foreign facilities. They need employees who understand customers and suppliers in other companies. They need to understand local laws and customs and be able to adapt their plans to local situations. The most important influence is the culture of each market. Countries are all different in how their labor markets are educated and trained. Some companies have different laws about how you hire and fire employees. You plan your staffing accordingly. Most companies hire employees from their local market, who have an idea of how the local job market works. Employees who are sent to operate in another country needs to be versed on how the local customs and culture are.
Emotional Hook
Would you move your family out of the country for a job? I know of a few people who took their family overseas to Japan or China to further their career. They had some pretty big advantages. One was that their kids got to experience a different culture. Another is that while they where there, all there expenses where paid, and the $80k /year went straight into a bank account. When he finally left his job, he was able to start his own business here back in the states.
Key points to elicit in discussion
Pay levels should be set accordingly to the local market.
Cultural issues like "women in the workforce" could be an issue with Muslim countries.
Facilitative Question
What organizations would benefit the most from outsourcing to other countries?
How would you staff it?
Its a growing trend for companies to enter the international market by exporting and operating foreign facilities. They need employees who understand customers and suppliers in other companies. They need to understand local laws and customs and be able to adapt their plans to local situations. The most important influence is the culture of each market. Countries are all different in how their labor markets are educated and trained. Some companies have different laws about how you hire and fire employees. You plan your staffing accordingly. Most companies hire employees from their local market, who have an idea of how the local job market works. Employees who are sent to operate in another country needs to be versed on how the local customs and culture are.
Emotional Hook
Would you move your family out of the country for a job? I know of a few people who took their family overseas to Japan or China to further their career. They had some pretty big advantages. One was that their kids got to experience a different culture. Another is that while they where there, all there expenses where paid, and the $80k /year went straight into a bank account. When he finally left his job, he was able to start his own business here back in the states.
Key points to elicit in discussion
Pay levels should be set accordingly to the local market.
Cultural issues like "women in the workforce" could be an issue with Muslim countries.
Facilitative Question
What organizations would benefit the most from outsourcing to other countries?
How would you staff it?
Response to class 3/11/10
Not all benefits are mandatory like: paid leave, group insurance, retirement plans, "family-friendly" benefits, other quality of life benefits.
Most companies are turning to paid-time-off instead of sick leave.
Providing on-site day care for employees is like giving that employee a $400-700 raise.
Align your benefits with the companies strategic goals.
Chapter 14
Union membership has dropped from 30% - 10%. Mostly due to the fact that America has switched from a labor orientated job force to more of a service.
For most companies that don't have a Union, the HR department acts very "unionish" instead.
The rigidity-of-employment index shows how easy or hard it is to do business in a country.
Most companies are turning to paid-time-off instead of sick leave.
Providing on-site day care for employees is like giving that employee a $400-700 raise.
Align your benefits with the companies strategic goals.
Chapter 14
Union membership has dropped from 30% - 10%. Mostly due to the fact that America has switched from a labor orientated job force to more of a service.
For most companies that don't have a Union, the HR department acts very "unionish" instead.
The rigidity-of-employment index shows how easy or hard it is to do business in a country.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Chapter 14 - Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
Brief Description
A union is an organization formed for the purpose of representing its members in resolving conflicts with employers. Unions are associated with higher compensation and productivity but with lower profits. They can reduce a business's flexibility and economic performance. Today's unions are mostly filled with commie bastards who just want to spread their socialistic views. Just seeing if your paying attention. Management and unions have apposing goals of achieving organizations profits and employee compensation. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) supports collective bargaining and sets out the rights of employees to form unions. Later amendments to NLRA came by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 which put some restrictions on what unions can do.
Emotional Hook
I remember working for a grocery store Safeway in Washington state that had a union. If you wanted to work for Safeway you had to join the union in order to get the job. I thought that was the biggest load of crap ever. You had to pay $90 just to join the union, then they took $30 a month out in union fees. For a high school kid getting paid $5 an hour, that's a lot of money. And the union didn't do anything at all since it was a good company to work for. I definitely believe in having the option to choose if you want to join a union or not.
Key points to elicit in discussion
Unions obviously formed out of legitimate need. If companies hadn't have tried to screw their employees so bad back in the past, unions never would have been formed in the first place. But are unions really needed anymore? I talked to allot of people in upper management in their companies, and most companies that don't have unions, have union-like run human resources.
Facilitative Question
If everyone would abide by good ethics, would unions be necessary? Are all unions ethically sound also?
A union is an organization formed for the purpose of representing its members in resolving conflicts with employers. Unions are associated with higher compensation and productivity but with lower profits. They can reduce a business's flexibility and economic performance. Today's unions are mostly filled with commie bastards who just want to spread their socialistic views. Just seeing if your paying attention. Management and unions have apposing goals of achieving organizations profits and employee compensation. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) supports collective bargaining and sets out the rights of employees to form unions. Later amendments to NLRA came by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 which put some restrictions on what unions can do.
Emotional Hook
I remember working for a grocery store Safeway in Washington state that had a union. If you wanted to work for Safeway you had to join the union in order to get the job. I thought that was the biggest load of crap ever. You had to pay $90 just to join the union, then they took $30 a month out in union fees. For a high school kid getting paid $5 an hour, that's a lot of money. And the union didn't do anything at all since it was a good company to work for. I definitely believe in having the option to choose if you want to join a union or not.
Key points to elicit in discussion
Unions obviously formed out of legitimate need. If companies hadn't have tried to screw their employees so bad back in the past, unions never would have been formed in the first place. But are unions really needed anymore? I talked to allot of people in upper management in their companies, and most companies that don't have unions, have union-like run human resources.
Facilitative Question
If everyone would abide by good ethics, would unions be necessary? Are all unions ethically sound also?
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