Human Resource Final

Chapter 2:

• The legal framework in Canada attempts to balance employee and employer rights using multiple overlapping legislative pieces, including legislation aimed at protecting the general public (the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, human rights legislation), as well as more specific legislation (employment equity legislation, employment standards acts, and privacy legislation).

• The responsibility for employment-related law resides with the provinces and territories; however, employees of the federal civil service, Crown corporations and agencies, and businesses engaged in transportation, banking, and communications are federally regulated. Thus there are 14 jurisdictions for employment law in Canada—ten provinces, three territories, and the federal jurisdiction. Ninety percent of people employed in Canada fall under provincial/territorial employment legislation, and 10 percent are covered by federal employment legislation.

• Harassment includes a wide range of behaviours that a reasonable person ought to know are unwelcome. Employers and managers have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy working environment. If harassment occurs and it is felt that employers were aware or ought to have been aware of it, they can be charged along with the alleged harasser. To reduce liability, employers should establish harassment policies, communicate these to employees, enforce the policies, and play an active role in maintaining a work environment free of harassment.

• All jurisdictions prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sexual orientation, religion/creed, physical and mental disability, sex, age, and marital status. Employers are required to make reasonable accommodation for employees by adjusting employment policies and practices, so that no one is disadvantaged in employment on any of the prohibited grounds, to the point of undue hardship. Employers can only have employment-related conditions related to employment that discriminate if these conditions are bona fide occupational requirements.

• Employment/labour standards legislation establishes minimum terms and conditions for workplaces in each jurisdiction, and violations of these terms are identified in a complaint-based process, whereby the ministry of labour will investigate violations once employees file a complaint.

• Privacy legislation focuses on how to balance employee privacy rights with an employer’s need to monitor the use of technology-related tools in the workplace. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) governs the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information across Canada.

Steps for a subordinate employee:

1. Coaching and counselling

2. Verbal warning

3. Written warning

4. Suspension without pay

5. Fired 

The legal framework for employment in Canada:

• Employer: right to modify employee work terms for legitimate business needs

• Employee: right to be protected from harmful business practices

• Government: balance needs of employer and employee

Tort law: judge-based law, whereby precedent and jurisprudences are set by one judge through his assessment of a case and establishes how similar cases will be interpreted

 Canadian legislation:

• Charter of rights and freedom

  • Basic rights for all Canadians

• Human rights legislation

  • Protection from discrimination

• Employment standards legislation

  • Minimum terms and conditions of employment
    

Types of discrimination:

• Intentional:

  • Direct

  • Unequal treatment 

  • Indirect

Chapter 4:

• Human resources planning (HRP) is the process of reviewing HR requirements to ensure that the organization has the required number of employees with the necessary skills to meet its strategic goals. Forecasting future labour demand and supply is a critical element of the strategic planning process. HRP and strategic planning become effective when a reciprocal and interdependent relationship exists between them.

• Four quantitative techniques for forecasting future HR demand are trend analysis, ratio analysis, scatter plots, and regression analysis. Two qualitative techniques used to forecast demand are the nominal group technique and the Delphi technique.

• Four strategies used to forecast internal HR supply are a skills/management inventory, replacement plan/summaries, succession plans, and Markov analysis. Forecasting external HR supply requires an assessment of general economic conditions, labour market conditions, and occupational labour conditions.

• Strategies to manage a labour surplus include a hiring freeze; downsizing through attrition; early retirement or buyout programs; reduced hours through job sharing, part-time work, work sharing, or reduced workweeks; leaves of absence; and termination of employment.

• Strategies to manage a human resources shortage include internal and external solutions, such as allowing overtime hours, hiring employees, employee transfers and promotions, and retention programs.

Human resource planning (HRP): the process of forecasting future human resources requirements to ensure that the organization will have the required number of employees, at the right time, with the necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities to meet its strategic objectives

Importance of HRP:

• Helps organization:

  • Meet strategic goal and objectives

  • Achieve economies in hiring new workers

  • make major market labour demands successfully

  • anticipate and avoid shortages and surpluses of human resources

  • control or reduce labour costs

Environmental scanning:

• External environmental factors monitored include:

  • Economic conditions

  • Market and competitive trends

  • New or revised laws relating to HR

  • Social concerns (health care, childcare, educational priorities)

  • Technological changes

  • Demographic changes 

Steps in the HRP process:

Step 1: forecasting the availability of candidates (supply)

Step 2: Forecasting Future HR Needs (Demand)

Step 3: Gap Analysis: Summarizing Human Resources

Step 4: Planning and Implementing HR Programs to Balance Supply and Demand

Forecasting the availability of candidates:

Internal: present employees who can be trained, transferred, or promoted to meet needs

External: people in labour market not currently working for an organization

Replacement charts: 

• Depiction of who will replace whom in the event of job opening

• Typically used to depict reporting relationships, relevant jobs, and job incumbents

Replacement summaries: 

• Lists likely replacement for each position

• Indicates relevant strengths and weaknesses

Skills inventories:

• Summary of current employees’ education, experience, interests, and skills

• used to identify eligibility for transfer/promotion

Succession planning: ensuring the supply of successors for key jobs

Markov analysis: a method of  forecasting internal labour supply that involves tracking the pattern of employees' movements through various jobs and developing a transitional probability matrix

Market conditions assessed: 

• General economic conditions

  • Interest rates, wage rates, inflation

• Labour market conditions

  • Demographics

• Occupational market conditions

  • Relevant occupations (as applicable)

Quantitative approaches:

• Trend analysis

  • Predict future needs based on past employment levels

• Ratio analysis

  • Ratio of business activity and the number of employees needed

• Scatter plot

  • Used to determine whether two factors are related

• Regression analysis

  • Examines statistical relationships between businesses and employees

Nominal group technique:

• Involves a groups of experts meeting face to face

• steps include independent idea generation, clarification and open discussion, and private assessment 

Delphi technique:

• Judgement forecasting method involving outside experts as well as organizational employees

Staffing table:

• A pictorial representation of all jobs within the organization, along with the number of incumbents and future employment requirements for each

Labour surplus: the internal supply of employees exceeds the organization's forecasted demand

Labour shortage: the internal supply of human resources cannot meet the organization’s needs

Chapter 9:

• The strategic importance of employee benefits is increasing in the post-job-security era. When benefits are aligned with business strategy, they can help to attract and retain the right people to achieve business objectives.

• Seven major government-mandated benefits are employment insurance, Canada/Quebec Pension Plan, workers’ compensation, paid breaks, vacations and holidays, leaves of absence, and pay on termination of employment.

• Health insurance costs are rising because of expensive new drugs, rising drug use by an aging population, and reductions in coverage under provincial health-care plans. These costs can be reduced by increasing the amount of health-care costs paid by employees, establishing a restricted list of the drugs that will be paid for under the plan, implementing health and wellness promotion plans, using risk assessment programs, and offering health services spending accounts.

• The two categories of pension plans are defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. Defined benefit plans provide a benefit based on a formula related to years of service, and the employer assumes the investment risk associated with the pension fund assets. Defined contribution plans provide for specified contributions to a pension fund by the employer, and the benefit will vary depending on the rate of return on the pension fund assets (employees assume the investment risk).

• Three types of personal employee services offered by many organizations include credit unions, counselling services, and employee assistance plans. Six types of job-related services offered by many employers include subsidized child care, elder care, subsidized employee transportation, food services, educational subsidies, and family-friendly benefits.

• The flexible benefits approach allows the employee to put together his or her own benefit plan, subject to total cost limits and the inclusion of certain compulsory items. The employer first determines the total cost for the benefits package. Then a decision is made as to which benefits will be compulsory (such as Canada/Quebec Pension Plan, workers’ compensation, and employment insurance). Then other benefits are selected for inclusion in the plan, such as life insurance, health and dental coverage, short- and long-term disability insurance, and retirement plans. Sometimes vacations and employee services are included as well. Then employees select the optional benefits they prefer with the money they have available to them under the total plan.

Chapter 10:

• Employers and employees are held jointly responsible for maintaining the health and safety of workers, including participation on joint health and safety committees. Employers are responsible for “due diligence”—taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that workplace policies are well communicated and adhered to by employees, and that employees concerns are dealt with in a safe and systematic manner. Employees are responsible for protecting their own health and safety and that of their co-workers. Employees have the right to know about workplace safety hazards, the right to participate in the occupational health and safety process, and the right to refuse unsafe work.

• The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) is a Canada-wide, legally mandated system designed to protect workers by providing crucial information about hazardous materials and substances in the workplace. WHMIS requires labelling of hazardous material containers, material safety data sheets, and employee training.

• There are three basic causes of accidents—chance occurrences, unsafe conditions, and unsafe acts on the part of employees. In addition, three other work-related factors—the job itself, the work schedule, and the psychological climate—also contribute to accidents.

• One approach to preventing accidents is to improve unsafe conditions by identifying and removing potential hazards. Another approach to improving safety is to reduce the incidence of unsafe acts—for example, through selection and placement, education and training, positive reinforcement, top-management commitment, and monitoring work overload and stress.

• Employee wellness programs aim to improve employees’ health and reduce costs for sickness and disability claims, workers’ compensation, and absenteeism. Wellness initiatives include physical fitness programs, smoking cessation programs, relaxation classes, and heart health monitoring.

• Substance abuse is an important and growing health problem among employees. Techniques to deal with this challenge include disciplining, discharge, in-house counselling, and referrals to an outside agency. Stress, depression, and burnout are other potential health problems at work. Job stress can be reduced by ensuring that employees take breaks each day, providing access to counselling, and giving employees more control over their jobs. Repetitive strain injuries occur as a result of repetitive movements, awkward postures, and forceful exertion. Ergonomics is very effective at reducing RSIs.

• Workplace toxins can be carcinogenic, and some governments are providing workers’ compensation benefits to workers with job-related cancer. Employees who smoke have reduced productivity and greater health costs. Governments across Canada have increasingly banned workplace smoking. Violence against employees is a serious problem at work. Steps that can reduce workplace violence include improved security arrangements, better employee screening, and workplace violence training.

Chapter 11:

• Employee exits can be a huge challenge for organizations and need to be managed in way that minimizes disruption to the organization, given the high cost of turnover. Turnover can generally be organized as voluntary turnover (employee initiated, often quits/resignations or retirement) or involuntary turnover (employer initiated, often dismissal for just cause or layoffs).

• A fair and just disciplinary process is based on three prerequisites: rules and regulations, a system of progressive penalties, and an appeals process. While insubordination and theft continue to be problematic for Canadian employers, an employer’s ability to terminate an employee must abide by a fair and just discipline process.

• Employees who are dismissed without just cause must be provided with reasonable notice. If the employee does not believe that the period of notice is reasonable, he or she may file a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.

• Employee engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption. Organizational factors such as senior leadership, opportunities for learning and development, and company image and reputation are the primary influencers of engagement. Outcomes of employee engagement include improvements in recruiting, retention, turnover, individual productivity, customer service, and customer loyalty, as well as growth in operating margins and increased profit margins and revenue growth rates.

• Techniques for ensuring effective employee communication include suggestion programs, employee opinion surveys, and communication from management.

• The six steps in the termination interview are to plan the interview carefully, get to the point, describe the situation, listen until the person has expressed his or her feelings, discuss the severance package, and identify the next step.

Chapter 12:

• Canada’s labour laws provide a common set of rules for fair negotiations and ensure the protection of public interest by preventing the impact of labour disputes from inconveniencing the public. Labour relations boards across the country administer labour relations laws. These laws try to balance employees’ rights to engage in union activity with employers’ management rights.

• There are five steps in the LR process: (1) employees’ decision to seek collective representation, (2) the union organizing campaign, (3) official recognition of the union, (4) negotiation of a collective agreement, and (5) day-to-day contract administration.

• The union organizing process involves five steps, which typically include (1) the employee/union contact, (2) an initial organizational meeting, (3) the formation of an in-house organizing committee, (4) an organizing campaign, and (5) the outcome—certification, recognition, or rejection.

• There are three basic ways in which a union can obtain recognition as a bargaining unit for a group of workers: voluntary recognition, the regular certification process, and a pre-hearing vote.

• The three steps in the collective bargaining process are preparation for negotiations, face-to-face negotiations, and obtaining approval of union members and senior management for the proposed contract. Two possible additional steps are third-party assistance if talks break down, and a strike/lockout or interest arbitration if the parties arrive at a bargaining impasse.

• Typical steps in a grievance procedure involve presenting a complaint or a written grievance to the worker’s immediate supervisor, then to an HR/LR specialist, then to senior management, and finally to an arbitrator for final and binding rights arbitration.

Chapter 13:

• Globalization affects human resources management in two significant ways. First, workforce mobility forces companies to focus on international recruitment, retention, and relations strategies to take advantage of the skills that workers who are not born in Canada can offer. Second, immigrants into Canada present a significant source of labour force growth, and successful integration of these immigrants can yield significant benefits for the organization.

• Intercountry differences include cultural factors (such as power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and gender egalitarianism), economic systems, labour cost factors, and industrial relations factors. These affect HRM in a variety of ways.

• Global relocation strategies must consider effective selection, training, compensation, labour relations, and performance appraisals for expatriates and global managers. For example, in reference to compensation, the balance sheet approach allows the employer to estimate expenses for income taxes, housing, and goods and services, and to pay supplements to the expatriate in such a way as to maintain the same standard of living that he or she would have had at home.

• Repatriation problems are common but can be minimized. They include the often well-founded fear that the expatriate is “out of sight, out of mind” and difficulties in re-assimilating the expatriate’s family back into home-country culture. Suggestions for avoiding these problems include using repatriation agreements, assigning a home-country sponsor/mentor, offering career counselling, keeping the expatriate plugged in to home-office business, building in return trips, providing financial support to maintain the expatriate’s home-country residence, and offering reorientation programs to the expatriate and his or her family.

• Newcomers to Canada face a variety of challenges associated with securing full employment. Specifically, a lack of Canadian work experience, poor transferability of foreign credentials, and a lack of language skills in English or French are seen as the greatest barriers to employment for newcomers, according to both immigrants and employers.

• These barriers result in significant underemployment of immigrants, or a skills mismatch, which further exasperates the skills shortage that employers experience.

• Newcomers to Canada and employers can benefit from modifying recruitment and selection procedures to offer opportunities to assess the skills of immigrants as part of the selection process, using apprenticeships effectively, partnering with assessment centres to recognize skills, and educating employers, recruiters, and managers about how to recognize and interpret skills from another country.