Chapter 8 Reflexion

Performance Appraisals:
Should you have them yearly or quarterly?
You fall into the problem of not having good feedback if you do it yearly. Also employees slack off til the last minute and then work hard so they can get good feedback or they work so hard they can burn themselves out.
If you do it quarterly there are more changes made throughout the year and people can see what they are doing wrong close to when the problem is happening. In my opinion quarterly ones are more effective.

Chapter 7 reflexion

Guest speaker:
Why do we allocate resources to training?
-Helps us to meet our department mission and focus.
-Adds value through more knowledgeable workforce and an increased ability to serve customers
-Ultimately impacts top (revenues) and bottom (Profitability) lines of the company.
Link skills and passion together then that way you will have proactive employees instead of employees that you have to tell them what to do all the time.

Chapter 15 Reflexion

HRM in a Global Environment:
There are such different needs with all the different cultures. Companies need to make sure they meet the needs where ever the business is. For example a guest speaker came to class a couple weeks ago and he explained that their business in France were so used to having a lunch stamp. The company had to make sure they provided that for all the employees in France. It is very important to keep your employees happy and meet their needs!

Chapter 14 Reflexion

Labor Unions:
You are stronger working as a whole instead of just on your own.
-What to do and what not to do to discourage Unions.
Treat people consistently
But also be flexible if you need to treat them a different way (Bend as appropriate)
Employees want to be protected
Treat employees with respect
When you treat your employees well then unions will not happen.
There are illegal things you can do:
Cannot threaten them
-But you can help them understand and educate
You can't bribe them
-know their concerns and can fix them
Can't spy
Can't Interrogate

Chapter 15 Discussion

Concept & Brief Description: Helping Expatriates Return Home. When the Expatriates assignment ends the human resource management department has to help them transition back to his or her home country. This transition can be hard because of the lifestyle they are given. This may include: maid service, limousines, private schools and clubs.
Emotional Hook: Think if you were given an assignment that took you away from your home and culture for quite some time and then were expected to end that life and go back to your country and previous life and live it like you did before.
Key Points: The two main activities that help with this change are communication and validation. It is important for expatriates to know when they begin that there will be continual change. The more the organization keeps in contact with the expatriate the more effective and satisfied they will be on returning home. Validation is giving the expatriate recognition for their overseas service. It almost seems like a duty and when they duty is over they are pleased with their work and can go right back to their old lifestyle. It is also how the employee will be able to help the organization. like what skills will they bring and what position will they fill? This skill may be learned from a culture.
Facilitative Questions: What do the organizations do if they are given lots of trouble from the expatriate when they are finished with their assignment and are transitioning home? Is there a contract that lets them know what there assignment entails? What if they commit and then if they are asked to do something they refuse to do it because they didn't know they would have to do that ahead of time?

Chapter 13 Reflexion

Benefits- Includes all benefits- government and company.
Discussions- Benefits are really important!

Government Mandated Stuff-

Benefits required by law- could change drastically in a year.

· Social Security- Flat payroll tax on employees and employers.

· Unemployment Insurance- Payroll tax on employers that depend on state requirements on experience rating.

· Workers’ Compensation Insurance- Provide coverage according to state requirements. Premiums depend on experience rating.

· Family and Medical Leave- up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for childbirth, adoption, or serious illness

We talked a lot about benefits and how important they are. It is so expensive to live and it seems like it is a smarter thing to do to get a job that gives good benefits rather then pays well. Pay is great but the older I get the more I see benefits can be better.

Library Day!

Today we went to the Library and learned all about how to use the libraries resources. Christy Donaldson came and taught us about it. I have never understood how to use those things before but now I can use them to write my HRM research paper as well as my English research paper. I learned a lot and was able to use the information to find stuff.