Chapter 4 HRM Incident 1
1. Should there be a minimum education requirement for the meter reader job? Discuss.
There should be a minimum education requirement for the meter reader job but it shouldn’t be a
college degree. There should be some previous work-related skill, experience or knowledge that
could be helpful being a meter reader and could be required. The educational requirement is
usually a high school degree or GED according to O*Net Job Zones website for meter reading.
Meter reading is a job zone two. The minimum education requirement should be high school
degree, GED and/or related work experience. In addition, if a company requires a college degree
without the duties that are relevant to the requirement of a college degree, the positions will be
difficult for the Human Resource department to fulfill. Not to mention the compensation that is
expected with the requirements of a college degree. Usually jobs that require greater knowledge,
skills and abilities should be worth more to the company. If the tasks for meter reading are
simple and the pay at $9 per hour is high for unskilled workers in that area, which is what this
job currently requires. If the company added additional job tasks in which more tasks that require
a higher pay and more education, then the company should consider changing the education
requirement. There will be a difficult task of staffing the growth with such unrealistic
requirements for that pay and position.
2. What is your opinion of Sam’s effort to upgrade the people in the organization?
In my opinion, Sam’s effort to upgrade the people is a good plan but he is going about it the
wrong way. He should have job enrichment programs set up to upgrade the people in the
organization. The workers can have the opportunity to achieve satisfaction and improvement by
increasing job demands to include additional responsibility and difficulty. Increasing the
employee’s accountability will allow more individual control and authority over the work
performed with the manager having the overall responsibility. Providing new learning
experiences will encourage new opportunities for employees through new experiences and
personal growth.
3. What legal ramifications, if any, should Sam have considered?
According to the Civil Rights Act, a company should show a necessity for the standard of a
college degree for the meter reader job. However, as stated in the case study, the tasks are
“relatively simple”. The job entails driving to homes and finds the meter and records it
electronically. There is no significant decision making involved and no calculations to perform.
By placing the requirement of a college degree without having determined the necessity through
job analysis then the electric company has opened itself up to potential discrimination law suits.
References
Foreign Labor Certification Data Center Online Wage Library. O*Net Job Zones.
Retrieved from www.flcdatacenter.com.
Mondy, R. Wayne. Human Resource Management. Twelfth Edition. 2012. Prentice Hall.
Boston. Print.
Chapter 5 HRM Incident 2
1. Do you believe that Bobby has a legitimate complaint? Explain.
I do not believe that Bobby has a legitimate complaint. Although most companies
would benefit from promoting within, Bobby does not have any information as to the
qualifications of the employees that were hired for the two jobs he applied for and
ultimately, did not get. If Crystal did make the decision based on the best qualified
individual then there is not a legitimate complaint. The benefits of the company hiring
from within include motivation and inventive to strive for advancement, the
employees has knowledge of the business and the practices and culture as well as the
company has already invested in the employee. There is also an advantage from
hiring outside that includes bringing in new ideas and enthusiasm to the company.
The employee’s job performance may not be the only criteria for promotion.
2. Explain the benefits of a promotion from within policy. Would such a policy be
appropriate for Crystal?
The benefits of promotion from within policy include workers having an incentive to
strive for advancement and as other employees become promoted, they become more
aware of the opportunities for advancement. Motivation from hiring from within also
provides an improvement in employee morale. The employee already understands the
business culture and it is a way to communicate to the employees that the business
wants them to succeed. The business is already aware of the employee’s capabilities.
The business should also know the job-related and personal qualities of the
employees. The company has already made an investment into the employee and it
can produce a higher return if the employee is promoted. Another benefit is the
employee already has knowledge of the business, the policies and the people that are
employed. This policy could be appropriate for Crystal since the jobs seem to have a
career pattern available to the employees. However, there are instances in which none
of the employees that apply for the job are qualified or there needs to be new
perspective and ideas and in those cases, the business may want to look outside the
company.
References
Mondy, R. Wayne. Human Resource Management. Twelfth Edition. 2012.
Prentice Hall. Boston. Print.
Chapter 6 HRM Incident 1
1. What should Sheila have done to avoid interviews like this one?
Sheila should have rescheduled the interview when her schedule permitted in order to
provide the candidate and herself with private and minimal interruptions during the
interview process. Sheila would need more time and focus to be able to determine the
applicant’s qualifications and ensure that the information that she wanted to get was
answered so she could review the data that she collected during the interview. Sheila
should have discussed the process of interviewing with Pete to ensure this type of
interview does not happen in the future and that each candidate would be given the
attention and an interruption-free time to take notes on the interviewing candidate.
2. Explain why Sheila, not Pete, should make the selection decision?
Sheila should make the selection decision because she is aware of what type of person
she is looking for to fill the supervisor positions as well as she would have the
flexibility to schedule the interviews at a time in which there will be time for a private
and minimal interruptions with each candidate. She should also make the selection
decision because she has the final decision in the person that she hires for these
positions.
References
Mondy, R. Wayne. Human Resource Management. Twelfth Edition. 2012.
Prentice Hall. Boston. Print.
