Chapter 11...

- - Concept and Brief description: Establishing a Pay Structure
This chapter is all about how to decide how much each employee should get, based on their skills, experience, and the job itself. It explains how to judge on fairness and the real qualities that should make money. It also describes what and how pay grades, pay ranges, and pay differentials work.
- - Emotional Hook:
My emotional hook with this chapter was the equal pay for equal work. I thought the case study about women making lower pay due to the fact they simply just did not ask for higher pay was interesting. So many times people complain that women make less but maybe it is important that they just ask for higher pay like men do.
- - Key points to elicit in discussion:
1. Equal pay for equal work 2. Pay structure, how they decide how much to pay each employee 3. benchmarking, comparing other companies in the same industry 4. pay policy line, mathematical relationship between job evaluation points and pay rate
- -Facilitative Questions:
Once companies have a standard they have set up do they mostly stick to their pay rates or do they evaluate them often and see if there should be changes?

February 22, 2010

Today in class we met with our groups and discussed chapter 10, and then opened discussion to the whole class. After we talked about progressive discipline. We talked about the process that happens when an employee continues to not work the way they should. We also talked about job with drawl and how there are many ways that this can occur. I thought this was an interesting topic because I experienced it first hand when one of my coworkers was going through a divorce, and I saw the toll it took on all the other workers as well as the company as a whole.

Chapter 10

- - Concept and Brief Description: Separating and Retaining Employees
This chapter covers how to handle situations at work when there are problems with employees and how to let them go. You need to make sure there are real reasons to let them go and make sure everything is gone about legally. The chapter also talked about job satisfaction and how to make sure everyone at work is happy and can work well with one another in order to save the company money.
- - Emotional Hook:
My emotional hook for this chapter was reading about the outplacement counseling. I have never heard of this and I thought it was a really good idea. With the way our economy is now and so many people are switching jobs it is important for companies to have ways to help employees with the transition.
- - Key points to elicit in discussion:
Alternative Dispute Resolutions, open-door policy, peer review, mediation and arbitration. I think these are good tools to use, it is better to try to work things out then suddenly just fire someone. It is also important to make sure that employees are satisfied with their jobs and figure out what needs to be done in order to make them happy before just letting them go.
- - Facilitative Questions:
If you know there is one person on the team creating all the problems how is the best way to go about confronting them about it?

Reflection: February 17, 2010

Today in class we watched a video about how technology has made work much easier but it has also made employees work a lot more. Now even after leaving the office you can be on your blackberry checking e-mails and keeping up with the office all the time. This can cause a lot of stress in peoples lives because it almost feels as though there is no escape. It is important for employees to take a break from work because stress can cause you to be angry and dislike your job and co-workers. We also discussed employee development and all the things it deals with including the assessment tools and job experience and making employees stronger people.

February 10, 2010

Today in class we watched a video about how peoples work ethic has changed. Before when you left work you were done for the day, but now with technology our social lives and work lives kind of mix in with one another. The guy on the video said people need to take responsibility for the way things are. He said "If your life sucks, it's because you suck." We all laughed, but it is kind of true. By having a good attitude can help you find the good in things and make the best out of situations.

Chapter 9:

- - Concept and Brief Description: Developing Employees for Future Success
This chapter explained the many different ways to find which employees would be the most successful in which position through assessments done by onesself, supervisors, peers, etc. It also explained the different ways to help employees grow and develop new talents that can be used in all different areas of business. The chapter explained this is most easily done with experience so we need to try different things as much as possible.
- - Emotional Hook:
My emotional hook to this chapter was the fact that employers want employees with a lot of experience and different skills so it is important we give ourselves all the opportunities possible to grow and expand our knowledge and skills.
- - Key points to elicit for discussion:
Some key points for this chapter include, giving yourself a chance to gain new skills and knowledge. Also, try out different jobs, see which ones you like best and also which ones you are most successful at. Use the mentors and coaches in your life to make yourself as successful as possible.
- - Facilitative Questions:
It is proven when you give someone a goal they will often reach new levels that they never thought was possible. Should companies get in the habit of having their employees do goal setting on a regular basis?

Reflection 2/8/10:

Today in class we discussed which questions can and can not be asked during interviews and on applications. We also found out how many companies do not abide by these laws and a lot of illegal questions are asked. We also talked about how important networking is and how we should get involved early on. "It's not about what you know, it's who you know." This is a common saying we have all hear do many times. As much as we do not like to admit it, it is very true.

Chapter 8:

- - Concept and Brief Description Managing Employees' Performance:
This chapter was about how important is for managers to keep a good eye on how well employees are performing in order for the company to be a success. It showed many different methods for measuring performance and how to make use of the results.
- - Emotional Hook:
My emotional hook was reading about how to choose the right words for feedback. Since I am going into HR it's important for me to realize how to relay information to the employees without offending them but also getting a clear point across so that the necessary changes can be made.
- - Key Points to Elicit:
One of the main points I thought was so important was being able to find the problems as quickly as possible and then being able to fix them in the appropriate manner. It is so hard to tell people they are doing things wrong and so we need to be careful how we go about it.
- - Facilitative Questions:
How do companies find the best way to evaluate employee performance and make sure they are doing all they can to be on track with company goals?

Chapter 6...

- - Concept and Brief Description: Selecting Employees and Placing them in jobs.
Chapter 6 is all about finding the right person for the right job. It explains the selection process and legal standards for the selection. It also talks about resumes and interviews. In the interview section it explains what questions are allowed to be asked and which ones are not. It also explains the different tests companies may provide in order to narrow down the pool of applicants.
- - Emotional Hook:
The emotional connection I had to the chapter was reading about the questions that are not allowed in interviews. I think this stuck out to me because we have been talking about that in my other class and it is amazing how many times those questions get violated.
- - Key points to elicit in discussion:
I think one of the really important main ideas was the interviewing section. This is so important for us right now in our lives as we are finishing up with school and will soon have a lot of interviews. It is important to know how the interview process works and how to be most successful in those situations.
- - Facilitative Questions
What do you do if the interviewer asks you illegal questions? How is the best way to handle the situation without making it confrontational or uncomfortable?

Reflection 2/3/10

Today in class we had a guest speaker, Ryan Browne from Tahitian Noni. He spoke to us about the training done at TNI. It is so intense, I couldn't believe how much time and effort they put into it. He explained that it puts them at an advantage over their competitors though and if it works for your company you might as well do it I guess. He gave us their training process and went through each step. It's amazing how much thought and effort was put into each step. He did a really good job and I enjoyed his presentation.

Chapter 7:

- - Concept and Brief Description: Training Employees
This chapter was all about training employees. It explained how to know when it is right to train employees and the most productive way to do it. It gave a lot of graphs and charts showing different methods, techniques and applications. It also gave many examples of how to provide meaningful training to employees.
- - Emotional Hook:
My emotional hook in this chapter was just realizing how important it is to understand your employees. By understanding your employees and their personalities you will be able to perform more meaningful training, which will really benefit the company.
- - Key points to elicit for discussion:
I think by trying different training techniques and then surveying participants after is a great way to see which technique is most useful for your company. This is a very important concept if you want to save time and money.
- - Facilitative Questions:
How is the best way to get to know your employees and see which training works best for you? How is the best way to get employees excited about training and want to learn more?

Reflection 2/1/10

Today in class we talked about the Hackman and Oldman job characteristics model:
1. Skill Variety 2. Task identity 3. Task significance 4. Autonomy 5. Feedback
By following this model employers are able to better create motivating jobs. When jobs are motivating employees are able to perform at top level and the company thrives as a whole.