Human Resource Management 10 th Edition Chapter 13 INTERNAL EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

HRM in Action: Continuous Background Checking • Not just for pre-employment any more • Few employers are screening their employees on an ongoing basis • People and events are ever-changing • Examples: Financial devastation, marital collapse or a medical crisis can send a person with the cleanest record over the edge © 2008 by Prentice Hall

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 © 2008 by Prentice Hall

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 the common-law doctrine of good faith and fair dealing © 2008 by Prentice Hall

How Employers Can Protect Themselves • No statements suggesting job security or permanent employment • Avoiding statements during job interviews, such as “You can expect to hold this job as long as you want” - Could be considered a contractual agreement • A person should not be employed without a signed acknowledgment of the at-will disclaimer © 2008 by Prentice Hall

How Employers Can Protect Themselves (Cont.) • Clearly defining worker’s duties • Providing good feedback on a regular basis • Conducting realistic performance appraisals on a regular basis • There is no law involving ethical considerations for employment-at-will © 2008 by Prentice Hall

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 © 2008 by Prentice Hall

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, there are more positive ways of convincing employees to adhere to company policies © 2008 by Prentice Hall

The Disciplinary Action Process EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Set Organizational Goals Establish Rules Communicate Rules to Employees Observe Performance Compare Performance with Rules Take Appropriate Disciplinary Action © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Disciplinary Action • Word disciplinecomes from word disciple • Translated from Latin, it means, to teach • Intent of disciplinary action should be to ensure recipient sees disciplinary action as learning process © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Progressive Disciplinary Action • Ensure minimum penalty appropriate to offense is imposed • Model developed in response to National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 • Involves answering series of questions about severity of offense © 2008 by Prentice Hall

The Progressive Disciplinary Approach Improper Behavior Yes Does this violation warrant disciplinary actions? No Disciplinary Action No Yes Does this violation warrant more than an oral warning? No Oral Warning Yes Does this violation warrant more than a written warning? Written Warning No Yes Does this violation warrant more than a suspension? Suspension No Yes Termination © 2008 by Prentice Hall

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; and Then Termination Sleeping on the job Failure to report to work one of two days in a row without notification Negligent use of property Offenses Requiring Immediate Termination Theft Fighting on the job Falsifying time cards Failure to report to work three days in a row without notification © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Disciplinary Action without Punishment • Process of giving worker time off with pay to think about whether he or she wants to follow the rules and continue working for company • Employee violates rule, manager issues oral reminder • Repetition brings written reminder • Third violation: Worker takes 1, 2 or 3 days off (with pay) to think about situation • Important all rules explicitly stated in writing © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Disciplinary Action Advice • Managers often avoid disciplinary action, even when it is in company’s best interest • Some managers believe that even attempting to terminate women and minorities is useless • Proper time and place to administer disciplinary action • Many supervisors may be too lenient early in disciplinary action process and too strict later © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Grievance Handling Under Collective Bargaining Agreement • Grievance - Employee’s dissatisfaction or feeling of personal injustice relating to employment • Grievance procedure - Formal, systematic process that permits employees to express complaints without jeopardizing their jobs © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Grievance Procedure • Assists management in seeking out underlying causes of and solutions to grievances • Virtually all labor agreements include some form of grievance procedure • Normally well defined • Usually restricted to violations of terms and conditions of agreement © 2008 by Prentice Hall

General Principles for Effective Grievance Administration • Grievances should be adjusted promptly. • Procedures and forms used for airing grievances must be easy to utilize and well understood by employees and their supervisors. • Direct and timely avenues of appeal from rulings of line supervision must exist © 2008 by Prentice Hall

A Multiple-Step Grievance Procedure Arbitrator To Impartial Third Party President, Vice President for Labor Relations, etc. International Representative, Local President, etc. Plant Manager, Personnel Manager, etc. Grievance Committee, Business Agent, etc. Grievance in Writing First-Line Supervisor Union Steward Oral Presentation Aggrieved Employee © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Arbitration • Parties submit dispute to impartial third party for binding resolution • Final step in most grievance procedures • Union and company select arbitrator • Courts will generally enforce arbitrator’s decision © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Factors Arbitrator May Use to Evaluate Fairness of Managements Actions • Nature of offense • Due process and procedural correctness • Double jeopardy • Past record of grievant • Length of service with company • Knowledge of rules • Warnings • Lax enforcement of rules • Discriminatory treatment © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Formats of Written Warnings • Statement of facts concerning offense • Identification of rule that was violated • Statement of what resulted or could have resulted because of violation • Identification of any previous similar violations by same individual • Statement of possible future consequences should violation occur again • Signature and date © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Example of a Written Warning Date: August 1, 2007 To: Judy Bandy From: Wayne Sanders Subject: Written Warning We are quite concerned because today you were thirty minutes late to work and offered no justification for this. According to our records, a similar offense occurred on July 25, 2007. At that time, you were informed that failure to report to work on time is unacceptable. I am, therefore, notifying you in writing that you must report to work on time. Please sign this form to indicate that you have read and understand this warning. Signing is not an indication of agreement. Name Date © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Grievance Handling in Union-free Organizations • Most large and medium sized nonunion firms have established formal grievance procedures • Means of resolving complaints varies © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Trends & Innovations: Alternative Dispute Resolution • Procedure where employee and company agree problems will be addressed by agreed upon means ahead of time • Arbitration, mediation, mini-trials, and ombudspersons used • Uses range from racial, gender, and age discrimination to unfair firings © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Trends & Innovations: 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, and (2) promote greater use of negotiated rulemaking • Circuit City v Adams - Greatly enhanced employer’s ability to enforce compulsory alternative dispute resolution agreements © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Ombudspersons • Complaint officer with access to top management hears employee complaints, investigates, and recommends appropriate action • Impartial, neutral counselors give employees confidential advice about problems ranging from abusive managers to allegations of illegal corporate activity • Typically independent of line management and reports near or at top of organization © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Termination Most severe penalty; should be most carefully considered • Termination of nonmanagerial/ nonprofessional employees • Termination of executives • Termination of middle- and lower-level managers and professionals © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Termination of Nonmanagerial/Nonprofessional Employees • If firm unionized, termination procedure well defined in labor agreement • Non-Union workers can generally be terminated more easily © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Termination of Middle- and Lower-Level Managers and Professionals • In past, most vulnerable and neglected group with regard to termination • Not members of union nor protected by labor agreement © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Demotion as Alternative to Termination • Demotions used as alternative to discharge • Demotion is process of moving worker to lower level of duties and responsibilities, usually involving reduction in pay © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Transfers Serve Several Purposes • Necessary to reorganize • Make positions available in primary promotion channels • Satisfy employees’ personal desires • Deal with personality clashes • Becoming necessary to have wide variety of experiences before achieving promotion © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Analyzing Voluntary Resignations • Exit interview - Means of revealing real reasons employees leave jobs which is conducted before employee departs company • Postexit questionnaire - Sent to former employees several weeks after leave organization to determine real reason the employee left. © 2008 by Prentice Hall

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 © 2008 by Prentice Hall

A Global Perspective: Getting Information to Support Disciplinary Action • Multinational companies face significant challenges when they try to encourage whistle-blowing across a wide variety of cultures • Number of cultural factors that discourage international employees from reporting misconduct © 2008 by Prentice Hall

Human Resource Management 10 th Edition Chapter 13 INTERNAL EMPLOYEE RELATIONS