Human resource management mondy 13th edition chapter 13

• Describe the disciplinary action process, discuss the various approaches to disciplinary action, and describe the problems in the administration of disciplinary action.. • Explain pr

Human Resource Management

13th EditionChapter 13Internal Employee Relations

Learning Objectives

• Describe the importance of worker retention and

define internal employee relations.

• Explain the concept of employment at will.

• Explain discipline and disciplinary action.

• Describe the disciplinary action process, discuss the various approaches to disciplinary action,

and describe the problems in the administration

of disciplinary action.

• Explain the need for emotional intelligence in

Learning Objectives (Cont.)

• Describe terminations, explain termination of

employees at various levels, and explain demotion

as an alternative to termination.

• Describe downsizing and explain the use of

ombudspersons and alternative dispute resolution.

• Describe transfers, promotions, resignations, and retirements as factors involved in internal

employee relations.

• Explain problems with conducting disciplinary

action in the global environment.

HRM in Action: Worker Retention

• During recession, it is easy to forget that talent retention is critical

• Company must have ongoing strategy to retain valued employees

• Virtually every topic in text can be viewed in

some manner as being part of retention strategy

• Provide means of preventing person from

seeking job with competitor and remaining with firm

Internal Employees Relations Defined

Human resource activities associated

with movement of employees within firm after they become organizational

members

Internal Employee Relations Activities

Employment at Will

• Unwritten contract created when

employee agrees to work for employer

• No agreement as to how long parties expect employment to last

• Approximately 2 of every 3 U.S

workers depend almost entirely on

continued goodwill of employer

Not Included

• Individuals with a contract for a

specified time period

• Those with collective bargaining

agreements

• Those with annual

contracts (i.e., teachers)

• Whistleblowers

Exceptions to Employment-at-Will

Doctrine

• Prohibiting terminations in violation of

public policy

• Permitting employees to bring claims

based on representations made in

employment handbooks

• Permitting claims based on

common-law doctrine of good faith and fair

dealing

How Employers Can Protect

• No hiring without a signed

acknowledgment of at-will disclaimer

How Employers Can Protect

Themselves (Cont.)

• Clearly defining worker’s duties

• Providing good feedback on regular basis

• Conducting realistic performance

appraisals on regular basis

• No law involving ethical

considerations for employment-at-will

Discipline and Disciplinary Action

• Discipline: State of employee self-control

and orderly conduct

• Disciplinary action: Invokes penalty

against employee who fails to meet

established standards

Effective Disciplinary Action

• Addresses employee’s wrongful behavior, not employee as a person

• Should not be applied haphazardly

• Not usually management’s initial response

to a problem

• Normally are more positive ways of

convincing employees to adhere to

company policies

The Disciplinary Action Process

Set Organizational Goals

Establish Rules Communicate Rules to Employees

Take Appropriate Disciplinary Action

Observe Performance Compare Performance with Rules EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

Disciplinary Action

• Word discipline comes from word disciple

– Translated from Latin, it means to teach

• Intent should be to ensure recipient sees disciplinary action as learning process

Approaches to Disciplinary Action

• Hot stove rule

• Progressive disciplinary

action

• Disciplinary action without

punishment

Hot Stove Rule

Progressive Disciplinary Action

• Ensures minimum penalty

appropriate to offense is imposed

• Model developed in response to

National Labor Relations Act of 1935

• Involves answering series of

questions about severity of offense

The Progressive Disciplinary Approach

Suggested Guidelines for Disciplinary Action

Offenses Requiring First, an Oral Warning; Second, a Written

Warning; and Third, Termination

Negligence in the performance of duties

Unauthorized absence from job

Inefficiency in the performance of job

Offenses Requiring a Written Warning; Second, Termination

Sleeping on the job Failure

to report to work one or two days in a row without notification Negligent

Disciplinary Action Without Punishment

• Process of giving worker time off with pay to

think about whether he/she wants to follow rules and continue working for company

1 Employee violates rule, manager issues oral

reminder

2 Repetition brings written reminder

3 Third violation: Worker takes 1-3 days off (with pay)

to think about situation

• Important that all rules are explicitly stated in

writing

Disciplinary Action Advice

• Managers often avoid disciplinary action, even when it is in company’s best interest

• Many supervisors may be too lenient early

in disciplinary action process and too strict later

• Proper time and place to administer

disciplinary action is crucial

Trends & Innovations: Emotional

Intelligence Needed in Disciplinary

Action

• Ability to recognize and manage

emotions

• Capacity for recognizing own feelings

and those of others

• Quality needed in disciplinary action

– Termination of middle- and lower-level

managers and professionals

Termination of Non-Managerial/ Non-Professional Employees

• If firm is unionized, termination

procedure is well defined in labor

agreement.

• Nonunion workers can generally

be terminated more easily

Termination of Middle- and Level Managers and Professionals

Lower-• In past, most vulnerable and

neglected group with regard to

termination

• Not members of union or protected

by labor agreement

• Usually spelled out clearly in the

labor–management agreement

Downsizing

• Also known as restructuring and

rightsizing

• Reverse of company growth

• Suggests one-time change in organization and number of people employed

• Both organizational structure and number

of people in organization shrink for

purpose of improving organizational

performance

System Used in the Event

Negative Aspects of Downsizing

• Natural grieving period; desire to go

back to way things used to be

• Layers removed, making advancement

in organization more difficult

• Workers may seek better opportunities, fearing they may be in line for layoffs

Negative Aspects of Downsizing (Cont.)

• Employee loyalty significantly reduced

• Institutional memory lost

• Remaining workers required to do more

• When demand for products or services returns, firm may realize it has cut too deep

Worker Adjustment and Retraining

Notification Act (WARN)

• Requires covered employers to give 60

days advance notice before ordering plant closing or mass layoff

• Generally include those with at least 100 full-time employees

• Penalties for WARN notice violations

include liability to each affected worker for back pay and benefits for up to 60 days

Severance Pay

• Compensation designed to assist laid-off

employees as they search for new employment

• No federal law requires severance

• Between 70–80% of employers offer severance

• Typically provide 1–2 weeks of severance pay for every year of service, up to some

predetermined maximum

• Impartial, neutral counselor who gives

employees confidential advice

• Typically independent of line management and reports near or at top of organization

Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Procedure where employee and company agree problems will be addressed by

agreed upon means ahead of time

• Includes arbitration, mediation,

mini-trials, and ombudspersons

• Uses range from racial, gender, and age discrimination to unfair firings

Alternative Dispute Resolution (Cont.)

• Presidential EO requires federal agencies to:

1 Promote greater use of mediation,

arbitration, early neutral evaluation, agency ombudspersons, and other alternative

dispute resolution techniques

2 Promote greater use of negotiated

rulemaking

• Circuit City v Adams: Supreme Court ruling

greatly enhanced employer’s ability to enforce compulsory alternative dispute resolution

• Lateral movements of workers within organization

• Should not imply that person is

being either promoted or demoted

Transfers Serve Several Purposes

• Necessary to reorganize

• Make positions available in primary

promotion channels

• Satisfy employees’ personal desires

• Deal with personality clashes

• Provide wide variety of experiences

necessary before achieving promotion

• Movement to higher level in company

• One of the most emotionally charged

words in human resource management

• Certain amount of turnover is

healthy

• Most qualified employees are often

the ones who resign

Analyzing Voluntary Resignations

• Exit interview: Means of revealing real

reasons employees leave jobs;

conducted before employee departs

company

• Post-exit questionnaire: Sent to

former employees several weeks after leaving organization to determine real reason employee left

Attitude Surveys: Means of Retaining Quality Employees

• Seek employee input to determine

feeling about such topics as:

– Work environment

– Opportunities for advancement

– Firm’s compensation system

– Their supervisor

– Training and development opportunities

Advance Notice of Resignation

• Two weeks notice

• Communicate policy to all employees

• May pay employee for notice time and ask him/her to leave immediately

Offboarding

• Involves exit interviews, removing

access to company property, and other services involved in workers leaving the company

• Numerous risks in termination process

• Important to establish fair and uniform process as employees leave company

Many long-term employees leave

organization through retirement

• Pension Protection Act permits limited phased

retirement by allowing in-service pension plan

withdrawals to begin at age 62 rather than 65

A Global Perspective: Administering

Disciplinary Action in the Global

Environment

• Moving into international arena, often

presents different disciplinary action

situations

• Much harder to terminate person in

Europe than in North America

• Difficult for global company to establish standardized policy on disciplinary