Business SHSM Unit 2

Definitions:

Social Responsibility: 

• the obligation of an organisation to serve its own interest and those of society 

  • to maximize their positive impact on society a business must be ethical 

  • the dilemma with this is that business must balance their desire for profit against their desire for society 

• Arguments for social responsibility - increases sales, Customer loyalty, Reduced operating costs, access to capital, and stronger labour force. 

• Arguments against social responsibility - Reduced business profit, higher business cost, dilution of business purpose, Too much social power for business, and Lack of public accountability 

• Strategies for pursuing CSR: 

  • Obstructionist: meets economic responsibility

  • Defensive: meets economic and legal responsibilities

  • Accommodative: meets economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities 

  • proactive: meets economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities 

• Benchmarks in enforcing good CSR: 

  • Company is focused on meeting the needs of its employees and other stakeholders 

  • commitment to CSR integrated throughout business operations

  • create a strategy that will be the core element of the company’s commitment to CSR  

  • Maintenance of the CSR program 

  • corporate resources allotted to manage the program 

  • CSR program is evaluated regularly for impact and effectiveness 

Internal/External Stakeholders:

• internal: employees, management, owner 

• external: customers, society etc 

Corporate Governance: 

• The active oversight of management decisions and company actions by boards of directors, by law public business must have a board of directors that are elected by shareholders to represent their interests. 

• 7 principles of corporate governance: 

  • Integrity: perform duties honestly and in accordance with moral principles 

  • Transparency: Make goals and methods of achieving them visible to all affected by the business 

  • Reliance: seek guidance from management, counsel and other trusted advisors

  • legal compliance: follow rules and regulations to remain within the law and demonstrate social responsibility 

  • Equity: Treat all stakeholders fairly and equitably  

  • Independence: Minimize conflict and conflict of interest 

  • Security: keep nonpublic information secure and confidential 

Sustainability: 

• Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 

  • Reasons for sustainability: Cost reduction, resource preservation, Legislative compliance, reputation, right initiative. 

Strategic Management: 

• The management of an organization's resources to achieve its major goals and objectives 

Mission Statement: 

• The mission is the organization’s reason for existence in society. The value we create for our stakeholders. 

  • might ask: what is our dream? What kind of difference do we want to make? 

  • can be tested based on how well it serves the organisations stakeholders 

• mission statement must include: 

  • The customers we intend to serve 

  • the product or service we intend to provide 

  • were we will operate 

  • the underlying philosophy (core values) that will guide us in these operations

Operating Objectives: 

• specific results that organisations try to accomplish. they direct activities toward key and specific performance results. 

• all objectives should have clear means-end linkages to the mission and purpose. 

• this can include: profitability, market share, human talent, financial health, cost efficiency, product quality, innovation, social responsibility 

Strategies: 

• A general plan of attack to meet the objectives set out 

• must be achievable 

• is company specific (ie. makes sense in your environment) 

• provides a plan for allocating and using resources to meet objectives 

Job Analysis: 

Studies exactly what is done in the job and why. This is then used to provide information to write or update job descriptions and job specifications. 

Job Descriptions: 

Details the duties and responsibilities of a job holder 

Job Specifications: 

Lists the qualifications required for the job holder ie. education, prior experience, and skills requirements 

Recruitment (internal vs. external): 

• looking for the right employee 

  • Internal recruitment: hiring from within the company (promotion or transfer) 

  • External Recruitment: hiring from outside the company

Selection (definition and examples of tools used in the selection process):

• means placing the right candidate in a particular position

• Activities in the selection process: 

  • Interviewing & checking qualifications

  • verifying references 

  • administrating skill/experience tests 

  • sometimes criminal background checks or credit checks 

  • sometimes personality tests 

Behavioural Interviews: 

• Ask job applicants about past behaviours

Situational Interviews:

• Ask job applicants how they would react in specific situations

Compensation and Benefits

• The money and other benefits received by employees in exchange for their work.

Training (types of training)

• Developing a skill, competency or knowledge that is required by the job. Learning things like; 

  • Company procedures and standards 

  • Job Specific 

  • Safety Training ie. WHMIS

Orientation 

• Part of training, the time when new employees tour the workplace, meet other co-workers, employees may also receive training on equipment and be introduced to new technology and software

• HR during orientation will go over compensation policies, work hours, benefits, rules of behaviour, dress code, health and safety procedures  

Assessment (4 different types)

Top Down Assessment: 

• Evaluation by the employee’s direct supervisor

360 Degree Evaluation 

• The employee is evaluated by four parties not only by their direct supervisor, evaluation by the direct supervisor, subordinates, co-workers and customers 

Matrix Evaluation

• The type of evaluation, the employee is evaluated by different managers 

Self Assessment 

• Employee rates themself on the same criteria used by the direct supervisor to evaluate him/her and then the two evaluations are compared 

Development

 and Benefits

• A long process of upgrading an employee’s performance over time, focuses on the person rather than the task, it focuses on career building and progression 

Exit Interviews

• During an exit interview the employee may discuss their future goals, provide feedback on the workplace, give constructive criticism, some employers may give a positive reference or a letter of recommendation

Corrective Interviews

• During a corrective interview employers would discuss work problems with employees. Employees then improve or face dismissal, layoffs can occur due to financial cutbacks. Severance packages may be provided, or outplacement counseling offers to help one find a new job. 

Ethics

• The code of moral principles that sets the standards of good or bad, or right or wrong, in one’s conduct 

Ethical Behaviour

• Characterized by honesty, fairness and equity in interpersonal professional and academic relationships, respecting the dignity, diversity, and rights of individuals and groups of people 

Values

• The underlying beliefs and attitudes that help determine individual behaviour, values vary among people, there are different interpretations of what behaviour is ethical or unethical in a given situation 

The Glass Ceiling

• Obstacles to advancement within the workplace due to gender or race/cultural background 

Whistleblower

• Exposes misdeeds of others 

• Companies have imposed laws to protect whistleblowers which helps preserve ethical standards, protect against wasteful, harmful, or illegal acts. 

Code of Ethics

• Official written guidelines on how to behave in situations susceptible to the creation of ethical dilemmas 

• Covered in these codes are things like workforce diversity, bribes and kickbacks, political contributions, honesty of books or records, customer/supplier relationships, confidentiality of corporate information

Ethical Dilemmas

• Occurs when a situation offers two or more choices/decisions that may be right and you are not sure what to do  

Understanding how to analyze and apply the following concepts: 

Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility

Obstructionist

• A strategy for pursuing social responsibility that just meets economic responsibilities 

Defensive

• A strategy for pursuing social responsibility that meets economic and legal responsibilities 

Accommodative

• A strategy for pursuing social responsibility that meets economic legal and ethical responsibilities 

Proactive

• A strategy for pursuing social responsibility that meets economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities 

SMART Goals…what does it stand for and how to apply it.

S- specific: be specific about what you want to achieve 

M- measurable: Make sure that you can measure your success 

A- achievable: Ensure your goal is realistic and achievable (don't set small or huge goals) 

R- relevant: Set yourself a goal that relevant to you 

T- time bound: Assign a start and end to your goal to encourage yourself to reach it with a deadline 

SWOT Analysis…what does it stand for, what is it used for and how to apply it.

S- Strength: identification of the strengths of your team, plan or self that will help you achieve your goal ie. skills and characteristics of workforce) 

W- weakness: identification of the weaknesses of yourself, team, and plan that will inhibit your goal ie. obsolete technology, knowledge, experience etc. 

O- opportunity: what external factors exist that can create opportunity? 

T- Threat: what external factors exist that may threaten our goals? 

PEST Analysis…what does it stand for and what is it used for?

• an analysis of the organization's external environment which can affect it's activities and performance 

P- political: Laws/regulations/political trends 

E- economic: economic growth/ unemployment rate/ disposable income 

S- social cultural: population demographic/ education/ systems/ health and nutrition values 

T- technological factors: IT systems/infrastructure/ Broadband internet access 

Porter’s 5 Forces…what are the 5 forces and what does it tell you?

• New Entrants: is this industry too easy for others to enter 

• Suppliers: Will they have a lot of control over our business 

• Substitutes: Could consumers easily switch to a competing product

• Customers: Do they have a lot of bargaining power 

• Rivalry Amongst Competitors: Is it fierce already 

Forces are high = unattractive industry, forces are Low = attractive industry 

Ideally if you answer no to the questions then you can enter that industry 

Areas where unethical decisions may occur: (discrimination, sexual harassment, conflicts of interest, customer confidence and organizational resources)

Rationalization for unethical behaviour

How can high ethical standards be maintained in an organization (at least 5)

Using the decision-making tool to solve an ethical dilemma/problem

Explain:

1. The dilemma of CSR in business:  Dilemma with this is that business must balance their desire for profit against their desire for society

2. Corporate Social Responsibility Principles

●Donating to charity

●Work Environment

●Fair Labour Laws

●Truthful Advertising

●Environmental Protection

3. What are the 4 Components of Strategic Management Success?

   • Sustainable competitive advantage (the ability to outperform competitors) 

     • through, cost/quality, knowledge,speed, barriers to entry, financial resources, technology. 

   • Earn above average return 

   • crafted from: insightful understanding of the competitive environment and knowledge of organization 

   • Implemented with commitment and resolution 

4. What is the purpose of a mission statement?

Purpose of a Mission Statement: Describe, in a sentence, what makes your organization distinct and different from its competitors, and define your organization's guiding principles and unite employees around a common purpose

5. What is the goal of Human Resource Management?

• Build organizational performance capacity through people

• To ensure that highly capable and enthusiastic people are always in the right positions

• That employees receive the support they need to be successful 

1. What is Strategic Human Resource Planning?

The process of analyzing an organization’s staffing needs based on the organizational mission, objectives and strategies and determining how to best fill them this involves:

• Identifying staffing needs

• Assessing the existing workforce

• Forecasting what is required for the future

6. 4 key elements of a persuasive presentation (different than a regular presentation)

   • statistics 

   • logical appeal 

   • testimonials 

   • emotional appeal 

7. Proper elements of a cover letter

• Employer Contact Information/ also knowns as the inside address 

• First Paragraph the purpose of you writing the letter

• Middle Paragraph what you have to offer the employer that is unique 

• Middle Paragraph explains how you match with the job based on the needs for the job what skills and qualifications you have that are outlined in the job 

• Final Paragraph concludes your cover letter by thanking the employer for considering you for the position. Include information on how you will follow-up. 

• Complimentary Close

• Respectfully yours, 

• Signature Block (leave 3-5 spaces between the complimentary close and the signature block) (your first and last name and usually includes contact information)