1. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon
Chapter 9

2. Video Employee Development http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhiF6dZeJeM
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

3. Rights and Employee Development
Before organizations can develop, discipline or terminate individual employees and develop high- performance teams, HR needs to understand employee and management rights to ensure they don’t violate those rights and develop or discipline employees unethically or illegally.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

4. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

5. Rights and Employee Development
Rights and Privileges
Rights are things a person in society is allowed to do without any permission required from an authority.
Privileges are things that individuals are allowed to do, based on asking permission from an authority.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

6. Rights and Employee Development
Employee Rights - Right of Free Consent
Is the employees’ right to know what they’re being asked to do and the consequences of that action.
Employers must ensure that employees voluntarily agree to do a particular job or task.
Employers who force employees to do something against their will, or manipulate them to do something they would not do if they knew all of the circumstances, violate their right to free consent.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

7. Rights and Employee Development
Employee Rights
Right to Due Process
When an employer contemplates disciplinary action, employees have a right to know what they are accused of, the evidence or proof thereof, and to tell their side.
Right to Life and Safety
Is the employee’s right to be protected from harm to the best of the employer’s ability.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

8. Rights and Employee Development
Employee Rights
Right of Freedom of Conscience (Limited)
Employees should not be asked to do something that violates their personal values and beliefs, as long as these beliefs generally reflect commonly accepted societal norms.
Right to Privacy (Limited)
Protects people from unreasonable or unwarranted intrusions into their personal affairs, unless the employer feels they might pose a hazard to others.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

9. Rights and Employee Development
Employee Rights - Right to Free Speech (Limited)
The first amendment only applies to government agencies limiting speech; in the workplace, individual freedom of speech is limited.
But within organizations, individuals should still be free to express concerns or discontent with organizational policies or to blow the whistle without fear of harm.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

10. Rights and Employee Development
Management Rights
Are based on the necessity for the organization to protect itself and its employees from persons that might do them intentional or unintentional harm.
Managers have to weigh the individual’s rights against the potential harm that could be done to the organization by allowing the individual to express those rights.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

11. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

12. Rights and Employee Development
Management Rights
Codes of conduct – Employers have a right to create a code of employee conduct that identifies the firm’s ethics and values and serves as a guide to individual action within the firm.
Workplace monitoring – Employers have a right to monitor the workplace to ensure employees act both legally and ethically in all of the actions they take on the firm’s behalf.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

13. Rights and Employee Development
Management Rights
Employment-at-will – allows the company or employee to break their work relationship at any point in time, with or without any particular reason, as long as in doing so, no law is violated.
If a firm states that employment is “at-will”, the employer does not have to have cause (reasons) to terminate an employment relationship with an employee.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

14. Rights and Employee Development
Management Rights
Employment-at-will – public policy exceptions
Employers cannot terminate employees for:
Filing a legitimate worker’s compensation claim.
Refusing to lobby for a particular political candidate at the boss’s request.
Refusing to violate a professional code of ethics.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

15. Rights and Employee Development
Management Rights
Employment-at-will – other exceptions
If there is an implied contract between the employer and employee.
The employer does something that will benefit the firm significantly but will harm the individual employee (“lack of good faith and fair dealing”).
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

16. Rights and Employee Development
Management Rights
Orientation (probationary) periods – give firms time in which to assess new employees and their capabilities, before fully integrating them into the organization (typically 60 to 90 days).
Drug testing – generally for workplace safety, but testing needs to be done in either a universal or random form.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

17. Rights and Employee Development
Employee Development – Coaching
Is the process of giving motivational feedback to maintain and improve performance.
Determining Corrective Coaching Action
Offer training when ability holds back performance.
Offer motivational coaching when motivation is lacking.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

18. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

19. Rights and Employee Development
Employee Development – Counseling
Coaching fine-tunes performance; counseling and disciplining deal with employees who don’t perform to standards or violate a code of conduct.
Management counseling – giving employees feedback so they realize a problem is affecting their job performance, and referring employees with problems that cannot be managed within the work structure to an employee assistance program.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

20. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

21. Rights and Employee Development
Disciplining
The major objective of coaching, counseling, and discipline is to change behavior.
Secondary objectives – to let employees know action will be taken when standing plans or performance requirements are not met; and to maintain authority when challenged.
Coaching generally should be the first step in dealing with problem employees, but if they are unwilling or unable to change, or a rule has been broken, discipline is necessary.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

22. Rights and Employee Development
Disciplining
Discipline is corrective action to get employees to meet standards and the code of conduct.
Common offenses include theft, sexual or other types of harassment, verbal or substance abuse, and safety violations.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

23. Rights and Employee Development
Disciplining
Just cause – seven tests for fairness and due process in disciplinary actions (that originated in union grievance arbitrations).
Did the employee receive fair warning?
Is the rule reasonably related to the orderly, efficient, and safe operation of the company’s business and expected employee performance?
Did the employer validate the alleged infraction prior to administering discipline?
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

24. Rights and Employee Development
Disciplining – Just cause – Seven tests (continued) 4. Was the investigation conducted fairly and objectively? 5. Was there substantial evidence or proof that the employee was guilty as charged? 6. Has the company applied its rules, orders, and penalties even-handedly, without discrimination? 7. Was the degree of discipline reasonably related to the seriousness of the employee’s proven offense and the record of the employee’s service with the company?
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

25. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

26. Rights and Employee Development
Progressive Discipline
The employer provides employee with opportunities to correct poor behavior before the terminating the individual.
Steps: (1) informal coaching talk, (2) oral warning, (3) written warning, (4) suspension, and (5) termination.
Employee coaching, counseling and discipline may differ in different countries and cultures.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

27. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

28. Rights and Employee Development
Terminating
Is necessary when an employee cannot be made into a productive member of the workforce.
Causes for dismissal immediately following investigation:
Gross negligence – a serious failure to exercise care in the work environment.
Serious misconduct – intentional behavior can potentially cause great harm to another or the firm.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

29. Rights and Employee Development
Termination of Non-managerial Employees when Offenses are not Gross Negligence or Serious Misconduct
E.g., offenses such as failure to perform the job satisfactorily even after being thoroughly trained, or continual disregard of rules or policies.
After making the initial determination, subject the evidence to a review by another manager, legal counsel, or HR representative to ensure the decision was objective.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

30. Rights and Employee Development
Termination of Managerial Employees
Follow just cause procedures, and consider:
If the manager has a contract with the firm, the contract typically identifies the conditions under which the manager may be terminated.
Managers are usually given the option to resign rather than face termination.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

31. Rights and Employee Development
Leadership
Is the process of influencing employees to work toward the achievement of organizational objectives.
Leaders have to take into account contingency factors – factors that interfere with the relationship between the people and the goal.
E.g., the leader’s personality and style; follower ability and willingness; complexity of the situation; macro-environmental external factors; organizational culture and structure.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

32. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

33. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

34. Rights and Employee Development
Building Effective Work Teams
Team building is a widely-used Organizational Development (OD) technique because intra- and inter- team effectiveness affect the entire organization.
Typical team-building goals:
Clarify team objectives and members’ responsibilities.
Identify why the team isn’t accomplishing its objectives.
Develop team problem-solving, decision-making, objective-setting, and planning skills.
Develop open, honest working relationships based on trust and an understanding of group members.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

35. Rights and Employee Development
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.

36. Rights and Employee Development
Overcoming Resistance to Change
Is one of the biggest challenges in change management.
Seven Steps
Develop a positive trust climate for change.
Plan.
State why it’s needed and how it will affect people.
Create a win-win situation.
Involve employees.
Provide support and evaluation.
Create urgency.
Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development by Robert N. Lussier and John R. Hendon © 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.