Reflection

Today in class we discussed our research papers and the presentations. We also discussed a few of the slides from the last chapter. In those slides, we talked about utilitarianism, deonotology, virtue ethics and common ethical perspectives in business a little bit more today. Concluded with examples of those methods.

Reflection 3/31/2010

House-keeping items: discussed our research papers, how to submit it online at turnitin.com by Monday. Also, exchanged with Bernard to peer review each others papers. We discussed utilitarianism, deonotology, virtue ethics and common ethical perspectives in business. We also discussed the video about Johnson and Johnson and their credo. We learned how a company can make employees feel valued and also different factors to increase satisfaction.

Reflection on Ch. 15

Today in class we discussed the things affecting HRM in international markets. We talked through slides and covered things like individualism, collectivism, power distance, masculinity and femininity, etc. We got in our groups and discussed our research papers, also, talked about X Patriots and the qualifications for them. We talked about the typical barriers and challenges in international work, and the stages of honeymoon phase, culture shock, learning (which takes the longest), and adjustment. It was interesting that many people don't make it past the culture shock phase.

Ch. 16

This chapter discusses the following concepts and what they are:
A high-performance work system is the right combination of people, technology, and organizational structure that makes full use of the organization’s resources and opportunities in achieving its goals.
A high-performance work system achieves the organization’s goals, typically including growth, productivity, and high profits.
Many conditions contribute to high-performance work systems by giving employees skills, incentives, knowledge, autonomy, and employee satisfaction.
Organizations can improve performance by creating a learning organization, in which people constantly learn and share knowledge so that they continually expand their capacity to achieve the results they desire.
By taking a customer-oriented approach, HRM can improve quality by defining the internal customers who use its services and determining whether it is meeting those customers’ needs.
One way to do this is with an HRM audit.
Another way to measure HRM effectiveness is to analyze specific programs or activities.
This analysis can measure success in terms of whether a program met its objectives and whether it delivered value in an economic sense.
Interesting Thought...
I found it interesting that out of the government employees the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ranked highest.

Ch. 15

Managing Human Resources Globally
I think this is an interesting topic for me because I am interesting in the global market and think that the future of our economic strength will come from utilizing the global economy. I always wonder if the lower labor costs found abroad are ethical and if there is or will be stricter laws about this? Why don't we adopt the stronger systems for business growth that we see globally? Whose job is it to do that research? This chapter talks about the growing global market and the reasons of lower costs and regulations as factors in this movement.

Ch. 14

Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
This chapter defined unions and labor relations. It discusses the labor relations management goals, labor unions and society. Talked about the Union Organizing process, which I found kind of interesting because I have never known how that happens. I was surprised to see that the NEA was the largest union. I wonder why the government hasn't done more to face the issues with education and please those union workers. Especially with the auto industry and the unions you hear about, I was shocked to hear that they weren't high on the list yet. Who pays for the costs associated to start up and maintain unions?

Ch. 13

Concept and Brief Discussion: Providing employee benefits

This chapter focused on benefits. It defines benefits by law, paid leave, retirement plans, insurance plans, and other employee wants. They also talked about the paid leave days in the US, and how to encourage different behaviors through incentives like health care packages, plans, and perks to promote healthier life styles. I think it is interesting to see how many people don't take their days off. I wonder if this is because even though they have this time offered they decline because there are underlying feelings about taking it off, such as their boss will be upset with them etc. I also question the future of benefits and benefit packages, I continually hear that they are being eliminated.