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Teaching human resource management concepts with experiential exercises

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Teaching human resource management concepts with experiential exercises

Article · January 2007

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 Teaching Human Resource Management Concepts
With Experiential Exercises

Melissa Gruys
Wright State University

Susan Stewart
University of Puget Sound

OVERVIEW

This manuscript provides a series of situation-based homework assignments that we have

developed for our undergraduate level Human Resource Management (HRM) course. These
assignments are constructed in such a way that they mimic some of the job tasks that an HR
Professional might have to complete. On the first day of class, students are congratulated for
being hired as an HR Manager at a fictitious organization1 and are then provided with a packet of
assignments. Throughout the course, students complete the assigned tasks which are presented
as brief HR cases/scenarios and answer several questions related to each. Due to space
limitations, we are providing only three of the ten exercise assignments we require along with
three questions for each exercise. The three assignments have been provided intact for ease of
use by instructors. Following the exercise assignments, we provide teaching notes, teaching
objectives, and sample answers/responses for each of the three exercises. We encourage
interested readers to contact us for the additional information (Appendix A contains a synopsis of
all ten assignments, along with the complete list of required questions for each). The
assignments presented below cover the topics of Equal Employment Opportunity and Legal
Compliance, Selection, and Performance Management. Since students “work” for the same
organization across the term, all of the scenarios weave together and the students seem to greatly
appreciate the continuity. Overall, we believe that these experiential exercises have heightened
student understanding, interest, and ability to apply the material covered in our HR courses. We
think other educators might be interested in using them in their courses as well.

1
We make reference to “Stewart Incorporated” in the homework assignments provided here (this is one of our last
names); however, instructors could customize the name of the fictitious organization to suit their needs.

Journal of Human Resource Education 38 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
EXERCISE ASSIGNMENTS

Congratulations! You were just hired as a Human Resource Manager at Stewart Incorporated!
Stewart Incorporated is a retailing conglomerate that own 20 medium-sized stores located
throughout Oregon and Washington. Stewart’s major customers are primarily middle- to upper-
class families that purchase sportswear, dresswear, and fashion accessories. In business for 85
years, the company has developed a fine reputation in the communities in which its stores are
located.

Stewart’s has a long-standing belief that their success as a retailing firm depends on the
competencies and efforts of each employee. As such, they hire only people with sales experience
and have an excellent training program as well. In addition, this commitment to personnel led
the company to implementing a very expensive computerized human resource information
system (HRIS). Through the use of the HRIS, the company has automated record keeping on
everything from job titles, demographics, and attendance to sales levels for each employee.

Unfortunately, profit and sales are not what the company would like them to be. This situation of
lack of growth is unusual for Stewarts’. Until recently the store has enjoyed a steady growth in
profit and sales, but now money is tight and you have to work within a constrained budget. You
expect that various issues will arise in your position as Human Resource Manager, but since you
received an excellent business education from a prestigious school and have a positive attitude,
you are confident that you have the knowledge and skills to solve problems as they arise.

EXERCISE 1:
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE

One of your first assignments at Stewart Incorporated is to critically review its staffing practices.
Recently, some of the job applicants have complained that the selection procedure for the entry-
level salesperson position is discriminatory. In response, you decided to evaluate the current
staffing practices using the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures issued by the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (see http://www.uniform.uniformguidelines.com).
These guidelines indicate how organizations should evaluate their selection rates using the four-
fifths rule and also specify the standards that organizations should use to validate their selection
procedures.

The Selection Process:

Selection for the entry-level salesperson position involves a two-step multiple-hurdle process.
Applicants are first required to pass a cognitive ability test, a test similar but somewhat easier
than the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The test is made up of twenty-five verbal items and
twenty-five quantitative items. Candidates are required to receive a passing score of 70% (35 of
the 50 items correct) in order to be eligible for the second step of the selection process, the

Journal of Human Resource Education 39 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

interview. During the interview, a three-member panel of supervisors asks each applicant
questions about how they would deal with hypothetical situations which might be encountered on
the job. The interviews typically last one-half an hour. At the end of the interview, the three
interviewers rate the candidate on ten dimensions such as attitude, motivation, communication,
etc. Candidates receiving high scores on most of the dimensions pass the interview. After
passing a reference and security check, candidates are hired and asked to report to training.

Determination of Adverse Impact:

You know that the Uniform Guidelines suggest that employers make adverse impact
determinations at least once a year. Although records have been kept, Stewart Incorporated has
not calculated the selection ratios at all in the past three years. You feel that the first thing that
should be done is to do these calculations. The data to be used for the calculations is provided
below. The general guidelines for applying the four-fifths rule are as follows:

Step 1: For each group, calculate the selection ratio – this is the number of applicants who passed
the selection device divided by number of applicants who took it.

For example, using the data provided on the next page, 134 Caucasian applicants passed the
cognitive ability test out of the 282 who took it for a selection ratio of 134/282 = .4752. Ten
African American applicants passed the cognitive ability test out of the 36 who took it for a
selection ratio of 10/36 = .2778.

Step 2: Take the selection ratio for the minority group and divide it by the selection ratio for the
majority group (the majority group is typically considered the Caucasian group when examining
race discrimination and Men when examining sex discrimination).

Continuing with the example provided above, we would divide .2778/.4752 = .5846. Since this
ratio is less than 4/5s or .80, there is adverse impact in our cognitive ability test on the African
American applicant pool. We are not in compliance as this is an indication of race
discrimination.

Part 1
Data for the Cognitive Ability Test
Group Number Who Number
Who Took the Test Who Passed

Caucasians 282 134

African Americans 36 10
Hispanics 102 44
Asian Americans 0 ---
Native Americans 0 ---
Men 385 170
Women 35 18
TOTAL 420 188

Journal of Human Resource Education 40 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 Part 2
Data for the Interview
Group Number Number
Interviewed Who Passed

Caucasians 112 87
African Americans 8 5
Hispanics 40 22
Asian Americans 0 ---
Native Americans 0 ---
Men 148 109
Women 12 5
TOTAL 160 114

Now it is your responsibility to complete an evaluation of the organization’s selection procedures

by answering the following questions. Please be complete when answering the questions and
always remember to include answers to all parts of the questions.

EXERCISE 1 QUESTIONS

1. For the given data, is there any evidence of adverse impact against any race, sex, or
ethnic group (please provide all of your calculations with your answer). If so, against
which protected group?

2. If the total selection process for a job has no adverse impact, should the individual
components of the selection system be evaluated for adverse impact? Why or why not?

3. If there is evidence of adverse impact in selection, what kind of action should be taken?
Are these actions mandatory?

EXERCISE 2: SELECTION

Since you found issues in some of the human resource practices at Stewart Incorporated, you
wisely decide that you better return to and evaluate the cognitive ability and interview selection
methods (discussed above for the Exercise 1 questions). You think that it is necessary to review
whether or not these selection procedures are valid. Originally when the selection system was
put into place, a concurrent validity study was done for each selection device using incumbents
(current employees). However, over the past few years, the job description for entry-level
salespersons has changed dramatically. As such, you feel it is necessary to re-establish the
validity of both the cognitive ability test and the interview. Furthermore, if the organization’s
selection procedures were shown to have adverse impact, it would be important to demonstrate
the reliability and validity of the procedure as evidence in favor of the organization’s selection
procedures.

Journal of Human Resource Education 41 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

Be complete when answering the following questions. Always remember to include answers to
all parts of the questions.

EXERCISE 2 QUESTIONS

1. Based on what you know about selection and employment testing and measurement
from class and the textbook, do you think the organization is using an adequate
selection procedure for entry-level salespersons? Why or why not?

2. Whether or not you believe that the selection procedure being used is adequate, how
could the system be improved?

3. What role does job analysis play in deciding on what selection devices will be used for a
particular position? What role does job analysis play in validating selection devices?

EXERCISE 3: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

YIKES! You are really busy in your job, but you just got an important request from the
organization’s President to conduct an audit of the company’s current performance appraisal
system. By far the most problematic and volatile issue at Stewart Incorporated has been salary
increases and promotions. Because the company promotes from within, comparisons generally
have to be made across employees in different departments. To combat arguments of subjectivity
and bias in the decision-making on raises and promotions, Stewart’s links these rewards to
objective measures of performance.

More specifically, rather than using the subjective ratings of employees’ performance by their
supervisors, ongoing accounts of sales results are maintained for each employee through the use
of the HRIS. Based on this sales information, each department manager assigns the employees in
their department to one of the following five categories:

1. Superior / top 10 percent

2. Very Good / next 20 percent
3. Good / middle 40 percent
4. Fair / lower 20 percent
5. Poor / lowest 10 percent

Administrative decisions (regarding pay and promotions, etc.) are then made across departments
using these ratings that people receive in this forced distribution. Additionally, to provide
feedback to the employees concerning their relative performance, data on sales are updated daily
on the HRIS and are posted in the break room. It is hoped that the feedback is motivating to
employees. In addition, the posting of the sales data provides that there will be no surprises for
the employee when the semi-annual performance appraisal interviews come around. It is
interesting to note that since the performance appraisal system has been implemented, there has

Journal of Human Resource Education 42 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

been no formal complaints registered regarding the performance appraisal system or salary and
promotion decisions. However, sales managers themselves have mentioned that they do not feel
as comfortable now that they are required to assign employees to the “fair” and “poor”
categories.

Overall, Stewart’s has tried to create a top-rate personnel system in their company. Despite their
efforts, management fears that there are some personnel issues that may be contributing to the loss
of sales for the company. Again, the poor economy is a favorite excuse for the decline in sales,
but there is more to it than that. Human resource policies may also be contributing to it as well.

For example, there have been many recent complaints that employees have not been as patient or
courteous with customers as they should be. This was best summarized by the manager who
said, “My people are beating up the clientele to make a sale – the very opposite of what the
training program trains them to do.” This lack of customer service is frustrating since the
training program has been proven to be effective in the past. Additionally, there seems to be
great deal of competition within departments that is hurting a team effort. Although intergroup
rivalries between departments have always been viewed as healthy and normal, the lack of
cohesiveness within each department is seen as a problem.

Be complete when answering the following questions. Always remember to include answers to
all parts of the questions.

EXERCISE 3 QUESTIONS

1. Identify and describe at least three strengths of the performance management system.
Why are they strengths?

2. Identify and describe at least three weaknesses of the performance management system.
Why are they weaknesses or what are some of the negative consequences that are
caused by these weaknesses?

3. What changes would you recommend for this performance appraisal system (you must
include at least three substantial changes to the system)? How would each of the
changes you suggest improve the system? Be ready to report all suggestions to the
President (and then to managers, employees, etc.)!

Journal of Human Resource Education 43 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 TEACHING NOTES

General Overview and Teaching Plan

The exercise assignments presented in this article have been used in undergraduate introductory
Human Resource Management (HRM) courses as well as in graduate Masters of Business
Administration HRM courses. The exercises allow for students to apply their knowledge of the
topic areas in the given retail business scenario.

These exercises have typically been used as take-home assignments to which students prepare
typed responses. The students then bring a hard copy of their responses to class on the due date
and there is a class discussion of the responses. We have found that an entire 50 minute class
session can be used for engaging in this discussion. Frequently after the discussion, an in-class
self- or peer-grading process has been used with this exercise; the instructor then collects and
reviews the information and assigns a final grade based on whether the student has mastered the
content at hand. Each exercise is worth 10 points (and since there are ten assignments
throughout the course, students may earn up to 100 points).

The exercises could, however, also be used as in-class activities, where students are given time to
read the scenario and assignment and then work individually or in teams to prepare responses to
the exercise questions. It is especially interesting if there is a designated area in the room where
each team must go to a flipchart or board and provide their response to one of the assigned
questions. Then, teams circulate around the room and must build on what the team(s) before
have provided for a response (e.g., note whether they agree and why or why not). This raises the
interest level for students. If an exercise is utilized as an in-class activity, the following timeline
of 50 minutes would be suggested for the following:

 Instructor provides a brief overview of the exercise, students read the more detailed
exercise information, and questions are answered (10 minutes)
 Students work individually, in pairs, or in teams to prepare responses to the exercise
questions (15 minutes)
 If the activity is done in teams, the teams may be asked to report their responses on
flipcharts or boards (10 minutes)
 Responses to the questions are reviewed as a class or by team (15 minutes)

A modified version of using an exercise as an in-class activity could require students to read the
exercise and prepare responses to the questions prior to class, and then discuss the responses in
pairs or teams in class (with or without having the teams all provide their responses on flipcharts
or boards). If the activity is done in teams, one person from each team could be required to
report the consensus of the group for each question.

Journal of Human Resource Education 44 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 EXERCISE 1:
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE

Overview

This exercise is useful for illustrating the legal concept of adverse impact discrimination. It can
be presented in the context of course material on the legal environment for human resource
management and on illegal discrimination in hiring. More specifically, the exercise could be
used when covering material on employee selection, after having covered the legal environment
material. For the exercise, students conduct calculations based on the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Four Fifths Rule to determine whether evidence exists of
adverse impact. This allows students to apply their knowledge of the law and understand how
the courts might view a situation using actual hiring data (as is presented in the exercise). The
exercise requires students to think about issues such as whether an overall or total selection
system should be examined or whether each individual selection device should be examined.
Students will also determine what actions employers would want to take if there is evidence of
adverse impact and whether those actions are mandatory by law.

Teaching Objectives

This exercise can be used to discuss:

1. Adverse impact employment discrimination and how to determine whether there is

evidence of adverse impact discrimination in a hiring process (including making
calculations using the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Four Fifths Rule).

2. Advantages and disadvantages of examining the selection system as a whole when

determining whether evidence of adverse impact discrimination exists, as opposed to
looking at individual employee selection devices.

3. Actions to be taken by a company if there is evidence of adverse impact, whether or not

there is a lawsuit against the company.

Exercise Sample Responses

1. For the given data, is there any evidence of adverse impact against any race, sex, or
ethnic group (please provide all of your calculations with your answer). If so, against
which protected group?

Journal of Human Resource Education 45 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 Part 1 – Test

# Tested # Passed % Pass Applying the Four- Is there

Fifths Rule ~ evidence
% compared with of
majority group adverse
impact?
CALCULATIONS
BY RACE
Caucasians 283 134 134/282 = .47 *majority group for
race (in the U.S.)
African 36 10 10/36 = .28 .28/.47 = .59 YES
Americans
Hispanics 102 44 44/102 = .43 .43/.47 = .91 NO
Asian Americans 0 0 0% No Asian Americans
applied – so no
calculations can be
carried out
Native Americans 0 0 0% No Native Americans
applied – so no
calculations can be
carried out
CALCULATIONS
BY GENDER
Men 385 170 170/385 = .44 *majority group for
gender
Women 35 18 18/35 = .51 .51/.44 = 1.16 NO
TOTAL 420 188

As you can see from the above table, based on the EEOC Guideline, the Four-Fifths rule, there is
evidence that the test has an adverse impact for African Americans. This is evident when the
passing rate for African Americans is compared with the rate for Caucasians (the majority group
for race in the United States) – the result is less than the required 80% (it is 59%). However,
there is no evidence of adverse impact on any other group, and in fact, the passing rate on the test
for women was greater than it was for men.

The fact that there were no Asian Americans or Native Americans who applied for the job
position is noteworthy. Adverse impact calculations, thus, cannot be carried out on these two
demographic groups. The company may want to evaluate their recruiting methods and make sure
they are attempting to attract a diverse applicant pool in order to reduce the risk of unlawful
employment discrimination.

Journal of Human Resource Education 46 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 Part 2 – Interview

# Interviewed # Passed % Pass Applying the Is there

Four-Fifths Rule ~ evidence
% compared with of adverse
majority group impact?
CALCULATIONS
BY RACE
Caucasians 112 87 87/112 = .78 *majority group for
race (in the U.S.)
African 8 5 5/8 = .63 .63/.78 = .80 NO
Americans
Hispanics 40 22 22/40 = .55 .55/.78 = .71 YES
Asian Americans
Native Americans
CALCULATIONS
BY GENDER
Men 148 109 109/148 = *majority group for
.74 gender
Women 12 5 5/12 = .42 .42/.74 = .57 YES
TOTAL 160 114

Evidence suggests that the interview has an adverse impact in the selection of Hispanics (71%)
and Women (57%) because these results are less than the required 80%.

Entire Selection Process

(across two selection devices)

# Applied # Passed % Pass Applying the Is there

both the test Four-Fifths Rule ~ evidence
and the % compared with of
interview majority group adverse
impact?
CALCULATIONS
BY RACE
Caucasians 282 87 .87/282 = .31 *majority group for
race (in the U.S.)
African 36 5 5/36 = .14 .14/.31 = .45 YES
Americans
Hispanics 102 22 22/102 = .22 .22/.31 = .70 YES
Asian Americans 0
Native Americans 0
CALCULATIONS
BY GENDER

Journal of Human Resource Education 47 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

Men 385 109 109/385 = .28 *majority group for
gender
Women 35 5 5/35 = .14 .14/.28 = 50 YES
TOTAL 420 114

Looking at the whole process, there is evidence of adverse impact in the selection of African
Americans (45%), Hispanics (70%), and Women (50%) because these results are less than the
required 80%.

2. If the total selection process for a job has no adverse impact, should the individual
components of the selection system be evaluated for adverse impact? Why or why not?

It is very important to look at all individual selection devices no matter what the calculations
show for the overall selection process. One selection method can have an adverse impact for a
minority group but you may not see it in the data for the whole process. The evidence can
“disappear” if the group members do well in other selection stages. In the current scenario, if
calculations are done for the selection process overall, it is clear that there is adverse impact on
African Americans, Hispanics, and Women, but it would not be known which specific selection
device caused the adverse impact. Given that the Civil Rights Act of 1991 requires that a
plaintiff suing for adverse impact must specify the particular device that caused the adverse
impact, it is in the best interest of the company to conduct adverse impact calculations for each
device. The components should be checked for adverse impact even before it is brought up by an
applicant so as to avoid law suits or situations where someone may feel they have been
discriminated against.

3. If there is evidence of adverse impact in selection, what kind of action should be taken?
Are these actions mandatory?
If a company is able to show that the selection device that has the adverse impact is “job-related,”
and thus can predict job performance for the position for which it is being used, then the adverse
impact being caused would not be illegal. In this type of a case, nothing needs to be done. If the
company cannot show that the selection device that caused the adverse impact is “job-related,”
then it would be illegal discrimination and the company should discontinue using the device and
instead use a device that is job-related. Sometimes, if an adverse impact case is successful in
court, then the court will mandate that certain goals and/or ratios be met in the future in terms of
selection of the group that was shown to have been adverse impacted. Such mandates would
legally need to be carried out by the organization.

Journal of Human Resource Education 48 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 EXERCISE 2: SELECTION

Overview

This exercise is useful for applying knowledge of the employee selection process, particularly the
technical aspects of validity and reliability. It should be used after students have developed a
strong understanding of selection methods and of employee measurement issues. In this
exercise, students are asked to evaluate whether the selection procedure that the company is
currently using (as described in the exercise narrative) is appropriate for the position it is being
used for, which in this case is a sales position. Students must make recommendations as to what
would improve the selection process. They need to have a firm understanding of the advantages
and disadvantages of various selection methods and why a specific selection method would be
chosen (i.e., it assesses the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other characteristics, or KSAOs,
that are required for the position) in order to complete this exercise adequately. Students are also
asked to utilize what they know about job analysis and how it relates to both employee selection
and the validation of employee selection devices.

Teaching Objectives

This exercise can be used to discuss:

1. Advantages and disadvantages of various selection methods and why a specific selection
method would be chosen (i.e., it assesses the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other
characteristics, or KSAOs, that are required for the position).

2. Employee selection systems and how selection processes might be improved.

3. The role of job analysis in employee selection and in the validation of employee selection
devices.

Sample Responses

1. Based on what you know about selection and employment testing and measurement from
class and the textbook, do you think the organization is using an adequate selection
procedure for entry-level salespersons? Why or why not?

Unfortunately, the selection process used for entry-level salespersons has become somewhat
outdated. Although we do not know exactly what kind of testing has been done in the past, we
do know that the description for entry-level positions has changed due to advances in technology.
Therefore, testing procedures should be updated as well to make sure that they are consistent
with the current job description. While the selection devices used seem adequate, additional
devices could be added to make the selection system even better and more relevant to the job.

Journal of Human Resource Education 49 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

2. Whether or not you believe that the selection procedure being used is adequate, how
could the system be improved upon?
One should carefully evaluate the validity and reliability of the selection devices that are being
used. Make sure that the 50 questions on the test deal with actual situations that the employee
would encounter: sales questions, math questions, and how the person would deal with difficult
situations. Also, make certain that the panel of interviewers have sales experience themselves,
and ask them to rate all candidates using standardized rating forms. Furthermore, there are
aspects of a sales position that are not currently being assessed in the employee selection process.
One should consider adding an assessment of customer service skills or team orientation to the
selection process since these are important aspects of the sales job.

3. What role does job analysis play in deciding on what selection devices will be used for a
particular position? What role does job analysis play in validating selection devices?

Job analysis information should be one of the key factors in deciding which selection devices to
use when hiring individuals for a particular position, since the selection devices should assess the
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other characteristics (KSAOs) that are required to perform the
Tasks, Duties, and Responsibilities (TDRs) of the job in question.
Job analysis information will also be used to construct a valid measure of job performance,
which will in turn be used as the criterion measure in a validation study to assess the degree of
validity the selection device has for a particular job.

EXERCISE 3: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Overview

This exercise is useful for critically evaluating a performance management process, namely a
forced distribution rating system. Students are asked to identify the strengths and weaknesses of
the organization’s current performance management system and provide recommendations on
changes that could be made to improve it. Students should have already covered material on
performance management when completing this exercise. It could be viewed as a post-test to the
performance management content to see whether students have learned which policies and
activities would be effective in performance management systems. The student’s level of
knowledge will be reflected when they have to justify why various aspects of the system are
strengths or weaknesses, or why a particular change would improve the system. In the past, our
students have stated that when they attempt to provide recommendations on changes to improve
the system, they also see that their suggestions may have disadvantages and/or that they conflict
with other current practices or parts of the system. This reflects that the students can view the
process as a whole and understand the intricacies of performance management, which is exactly
the type of diagnostic skills that we want them to develop.

Journal of Human Resource Education 50 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

Teaching Objectives

This exercise can be used to discuss:

1. Performance management systems, namely forced distribution rating systems (especially

the knowledge, policies, and activities that would be most effective in performance
management systems).

2. Advantages and disadvantages of various performance appraisal methods.

3. How an existing performance management process might be improved.

Sample Responses

1. Identify and describe at least three strengths of the performance management system.
Why are they strengths?

One strength of the current performance management system is that the appraisal is non-biased in
the fact that it is done through a system and based on volume of sales. This is a strength because
it eliminates the possibility that someone could be promoted on an irrational or unfair basis.
Another strength of the system is that all promotions and pay increases are made based upon the
rating that the system provides, not based on who each manager likes the best. This is again a
strength because it eliminates being promoted on false pretences. Another strength is that it
increases competitiveness among the sales persons by promoting an incentive to sell more, which
will likely have a positive effect on total sales. A final strength of this performance appraisal
system is that the results of the system are strictly based on the results for each employee. This is
an important strength because it takes pressure off the managers to make a decision of who
should get a promotion or salary increase because the decision is made for them on the basis of
the HRIS data.

2. Identify and describe at least three weaknesses of the performance management system.
Why are they weaknesses or what are some of the negative consequences that are
caused by these weaknesses?

A weakness of this performance appraisal system is that the results are posted in the break room.
This is a weakness because it can lead to jealousy, resentment, or embarrassment among the sales
persons. Another weakness of this system is the fact that managers have to classify their
subordinates into categories such as “superior” or “poor”. This can create awkwardness between
a manager and subordinate, and can inspire some hostility toward the managers. Another
weakness is the same as one of its strengths in that the current system creates a competition
among the sales persons. While this may lead to some positive outcomes such as increases in
total sales, it will most likely result in a loss of cohesiveness among employees within the
company or store location. Another weakness, and perhaps the most important one, is the fact
that sales persons are starting to “push” sales and “beat up customers” over a sale. This is an
ineffective approach because as the pressure to sell even more increases, so does the intensity of

Journal of Human Resource Education 51 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

the salesperson (e.g., they may not take as much time with customers as they should). As a
result, some customers may not want to continue business with the organization.

3. What changes would you recommend for this performance appraisal system (you must
include at least three substantial changes to the system)? How would each of the
changes you suggest improve the system? Be ready to report all suggestions to the
President (and then to managers, employees, etc.)!

 Get rid of the current system – If the company eliminates the forced distribution rating
system, supervisors might feel more comfortable about providing adequate feedback when it
comes to evaluating an employee’s performance. This should remove the “dislike” in
providing a true opinion on how the employee is doing.
 Do not publicly display employee names with sales for the day – If the company wants to
display the sales of the day, they should not display the names of the employees on the same
list. Use an employee code so employees can spot their sales volume without the
embarrassment of knowing that others can identify how well or poorly they are performing.
Employees can also see how others are doing for bench-marking purposes, but not know the
sales figures for specific individuals. Just seeing the data may help build motivation, and will
be better to provide information in an anonymous way.
 Have a separate panel decide who gets raises and promotions – A separate panel to review
files and past job performance appraisals should be used to determine who should be awarded
pay raises and promotions. A panel who does not know any of the employees will reduce
bias and be more likely to produce fair results.
 Promote team effort instead of individual competition – Competition between store locations
is normal but competition between individuals within a store may hurt the company. This is
linked to basing a raise or promotion on the entire performance of an employee, not just their
sales (see the next point below).
 Base raises and promotion on more than one aspect of an employee’s job – It is essential to
promote an atmosphere in which employees are encouraged to work together instead of
against each other. It is important to look into behavior, attitudes, attendance, etc. when
conducting a performance appraisal. Employees should be judged not only on volume of
sales but also on the quality of service provided and how many repeat customers a
salesperson has instead of the total number of sales (because often if a small purchase is
fulfilled with good service, the customer will return in the future to possibly make a larger
purchase). If employees are more focused on being a well rounded individual instead of just
“making the sale”, the sales may increase and customers may continue to come back. In
reality no one wants to conduct business with an impatient, pushy salesperson.
 Do not categorize each employee according to the labels superior, poor, fair, etc. – This could
make an employee feel segregated from their peers. Instead perhaps managers could take the
time to set up a monthly or quarterly meeting with each employee and simply tell them what
they are doing well and what they need to improve on.
 Implement a feedback forum system – This is where employees can share with management
anonymously what they feel is good, bad, or could be included or deleted from the
performance appraisal system. This may make employees feel they have a say in how they

Journal of Human Resource Education 52 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 are being evaluated, thereby leading to a greater degree of agreement upon what standards
should be examined when considering a promotion or salary increase.
_______________

Melissa Gruys, Ph.D., SPHR, is an assistant professor of management at Wright State

University. She earned her Ph.D. in human resources and industrial relations from the
University of Minnesota. Dr. Gruys’ research interests include job attitudes, employee
selection, employee creativity, and workplace aggression/counter-productivity. Contact:
Melissa.gruys@wright.edu.

Susan Stewart, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Business and Leadership at
the University of Puget Sound. She earned her Ph.D. in industrial and organizational
psychology from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Stewart’s research interests include
counterproductive work behaviors, employee selection, performance appraisal systems, and
gender issues. Contact: sstewart@ups.edu.

Journal of Human Resource Education 53 Vol. 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

 Appendix A: Synopsis of 10 HRM Homework Assignments

Topic Task Required Questions

Equal Critically 1. What is adverse impact discrimination? Describe it and give an example. Is it ever permissible to have adverse
Employment review staffing impact?
Opportunity practices and 2. How should one establish whether there is evidence of adverse impact within a selection process using the 4/5s
and Legal provide Rule? Please explain the step-by-step procedure one should use to calculate this.
Compliance adverse impact 3. For the given data, is there any evidence of adverse impact against any race or sex (please provide all of your
calculations calculations in a Table). If so, against which protected group in what selection device?
4. If the total selection process for a job has no adverse impact, should the individual components of the selection
system be evaluated for adverse impact? Why or why not?
5. If there is evidence of adverse impact in selection, what kind of action should be taken? Are these actions
mandatory?
Recruitment Review 1. Are all of the questions on the application blank job-related? In other words, are all of the questions needed to
employment judge an applicant’s qualifications and suitability for the job?
application 2. Will answers to any of the questions have an adverse impact on screening out members of protected groups (i.e.,
blank and disqualify a significantly larger percentage of members of one particular group than of others)?
determine 3. Do the questions constitute an invasion of privacy?
whether there 4. Can the applicant’s response to any of the questions be verified?
are 5. How might you make improvements to the application blank?
problematic
questions on it
Selection Determine 1. Based on what you know about selection and employment testing and measurement from class and the
whether textbook, do you think the organization is using an adequate selection procedure for entry-level salespersons?
selection Why or why not?
procedures are 2. Whether or not you believe that the selection procedure being used is adequate, how could the system be
valid and improved?
reliable 3. You want to establish the validity of the selection system. What does “validity” mean? How are you going to
establish validity in this case? Does there need to be validity evidence for the whole selection system or for
each separate selection device?
4. What are the differences between content validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity? Which is
preferred? Why?
5. What role does job analysis play in deciding on what selection devices will be used for a particular position?
What role does job analysis play in validating selection devices?
6. If you were to do a criterion-related validity study, should your criterion be success in training or on-the-job
performance? Why?
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54 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57
Socialization Develop an 1. Why should Stewart Incorporated develop an orientation program for newcomers? What purpose will it serve
and orientation for new employees? For the organization? Tie your responses into the “Outsider-Insider Passage” discussed in
Orientation program for our textbook.
new employees 2. Describe the major issues that new employees should be made aware of in the orientation by organizing these
issues on two levels: at the organizational level and the departmental level. Note specifically what a new
employee might like to know about each issue.
3. Create an outline of a thorough 1-day orientation program for new employees at Stewart Incorporated. Be sure to
note the times for various activities/discussions/tours/etc. and don’t forget to factor in times for breaks and lunch.
4. Draw some parallels between this orientation program (in this business organization) to orientation programs
provided at universities such as ours.
Performance Audit the use 1. Identify and describe at least three strengths of this forced distribution performance appraisal system. Why are
Management of a forced they strengths?
distribution 2. Identify and describe at least three weaknesses of this forced distribution performance appraisal system. Why
performance are they weaknesses or what are some of the negative consequences that are caused by these weaknesses?
appraisal 3. Do you think that this system identifies the best employees? Why or why not?
system 4. Do you think that this system helps develop employees to perform the best they can? Is the daily performance
feedback motivating to employees? Why or why not?
5. Why has no one complained about the appraisal system or the salary and promotion decisions made on the basis
of ratings?
6. What changes would you recommend for this performance appraisal system (you must include at least three
substantial changes to the system)? How would each of the changes you suggest improve the system? Be ready
to report all suggestions to the President (and then to managers, employees, etc.)!
Pay Conduct a job 1. How well did your salary recommendations correspond to the total points you assigned based on your job
Structure evaluation on evaluation ratings? If they corresponded well, why do you think they did? If they did not correspond well,
Decisions six jobs what are the possible reasons for this?
2. What factors did you consider when making your salary recommendations? Were these the same factors that
you considered when making judgments regarding point ratings? In what way(s) were the factors considered
similar or different?
3. Jobs should be compensated differentially. What makes some jobs “worth” more than others? Should only job
content be considered when deciding the worth of jobs? Why or why not? What other factors could be
considered? Why?
4. A major factor affecting wage and salary levels is the labor market. In practice, the wage or salary for a
particular job is a joint function of:
a. the value of the job as determined by job evaluation
b. the supply of and demand for labor in the market in which the organization operates (the occupation the job
falls within, amount of certified/trained individuals in the profession, etc. would also affect this)

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55 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57
 Which of the above factors do you consider to be most important? Why? What factors might cause the
importance of each to vary? What advice do you have for organizations attempting to balance these two factors
in determining equitable pay for employees?
5. The job evaluation exercise completed for this assignment evaluates the content of the job by analyzing features
of the job, such as education required, types of responsibility, etc. Why is this approach better than a system
that uses “global” or “overall” judgments of job worth?
6. What are some alternative methods of job evaluation besides the point method (Note: I want you to address
alternative methods of job evaluation here rather than alternatives to job evaluation)? Why is the point method
preferred over these alternative methods?
Benefits Locate an 1. Briefly summarize the article and organizational materials. What were the main 2-3 “take-aways” for you after
article on reviewing this information?
domestic 2. Which firm did you locate that offers domestic partner benefits? Did you find out how much it costs the firm to
partner administer this type of benefits program? How many employees use it? Do you have any other information to
benefits as share?
well as an 3. Taken into account the research you conducted on this topic, do you think companies should offer benefits to
example of an domestic partners of employees? Provide rationale for your opinion.
organization 4. If Stewart Incorporated decides to offer domestic partner benefits it might inhibit the company’s ability to invest
that provides in the firm’s infrastructure such as new product development and training. Facing these challenges, how would
these benefits you effectively communicate to employees the value of offering domestic partner benefits while satisfying the
benefit demands of many diversified employees?
Employee Take Myers- 1. What is the summary of your results? What is your “Type”? Briefly describe the characteristics of your
Development Briggs Type “Type” using the informational materials you received. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Indicator and 2. Were you surprised by the job recommendations provided by the MBTI or were they what you anticipated? Do
relate results to you have plans to work in any of the recommended fields?
concept of job- 3. Do these jobs match your college major and chosen career path (in a broader sense)? How will the information
person fit provided assist you in planning and placing yourself into a career (from a person-job fit perspective)?
Specifically, what is your action plan to achieve career goals (be precise and provide timetables for action
completion)? Things to think about:
4. Do you have sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities to influence your future career choice?
5. Are there classes that you have taken or should take to better prepare yourself to secure a job in your chosen
career path?
6. Who has taken an active interest and action to advance your career by assisting with your personal and
professional development (think broadly; these may be people from school, work, family, community, etc.)?
Do you consider these people to be a superior, peer, or subordinate relative to you? What is the primary social
arena you know each person from (e.g., school, work, family, community, etc.)? Overall, is your network
diverse enough? What are some ways that you will make connections with other people to broaden your

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56 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57
 developmental network?
7. What is your opinion on the MBTI? Was this a worthwhile experience?
8. Would you purchase the MBTI for Stewart Incorporated? If so, what rationale will you present to the President
to justify making this purchase? If you do not plan to purchase it, why?
Safety and Respond to a 1. What warning signs or symptoms were displayed prior to Steve’s “blow up”?
Health potentially 2. Were proper immediate action(s) taken after this incident? Were time, money, and effort wasted or was a
violent potential crisis averted?
workplace 3. Discuss five ways in which the Crisis Response Committee could have been more effective.
incident 4. Construct a plan (course of action) for dealing with the subject’s potential for violence.
5. What specific action(s) could be taken to create a security-conscious organizational culture at Stewart
Incorporated?
Labor Respond to 1. What are the primary concerns of the retail service group in this situation?
Relations potential 2. What are the primary concerns of management in this situation?
unionization 3. What is a union and why do they exist?
effort 4. If the retail services group decides to unionize, what steps do they need to take to organize?
5. How would utilization of a fact finder, mediator, or arbitrator affect the situation (be sure to define these terms
in your response)?
6. What is your position on unions? Given your career aspirations, might you join a union? Why or why not?

Journal of Human Resources Education

An online refereed journal sponsored by
Sorrell College of Business
Troy, Alabama 36082
E-mail: jhre@troy.edu

Journal of Human Resource Education Vol.

57 1, No. 1, Summer 2007, 38-57

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