Chapter 11: Human Resource Management - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] Explaining America’s Current Unemployment Crisis

May 21, 2020

With tens of millions of Americans currently out of work, the U.S. is experiencing an unemployment crisis on a scale not seen since the height of the Great Depression. This video looks at the devastating effects of rising joblessness while also explaining how several European governments intervened to avoid disastrous unemployment rates.

Questions:

Why is the U.S. unemployment insurance system not equipped to face the current crisis?
Do you think the U.S. should take a more active role in Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Ethics, Regulation, Labor Relations, Health, Unemployment, Coronavirus, Economics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Women Account for 55 Percent of Coronavirus Job Losses

May 12, 2020

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Last month, 20.5 million people lost their jobs, sending the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 14.7 percent. Economists predict that the actual jobless rate could be even worse when factoring in people who are out of work but not collecting unemployment benefits. Experts also expect that things will only get worse in May as job cuts spread to white-collar workers. “It’s devastating,” said Ryan Sweet of Moody’s Analytics. “There’s someone behind each of these numbers. It’s going to take years to Continue reading →

Unemployment, Health, Food & Drink, Coronavirus, Ethics, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

How Office Plans Could Change in a Post-Coronavirus World

May 5, 2020

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Over the last two decades, many businesses have adopted open office plans that remove barriers like cubicle walls in order to create more space for employees to interact. According to recent studies, though, some modern office plans can actually discourage communication since so many employees go out of their way to avoid interacting with other staffers. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has made these distinctions irrelevant as offices across the country remain closed and employees work from home.

But while Continue reading →

Health, Open Offices, Office Culture, Office infrastructure, Coronavirus, Motivation, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

[VIDEO] How One Business Pivoted to Fighting Coronavirus

April 30, 2020

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Although many companies remain closed during the ongoing pandemic, some businesses have been able to alter their operations to produce increasingly vital supplies. This video looks at how Dogfish Head Brewery managed to keep its employees on the payroll while also supplying local hospitals with hand sanitizer.

Questions:

How did Dogfish Head Brewery change its operations to make hand sanitizer?
What is the three-step process that Dogfish Head Brewery used to engage with their community during the coronavirus crisis?

Operations Management, Ethics, Product Development, Entrepreneurship, Health, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Product Distribution, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos

Another 4.4 Million Americans Filed for Unemployment Last Week

April 23, 2020

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This morning, the Labor Department announced that another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. That brings the official number of jobless people to 26.5 million over the past month, effectively erasing almost all of the new jobs created since the 2008 financial crisis. To make matters worse, many state unemployment processing systems have become overwhelmed after receiving record numbers of requests. As a result, experts predict that the actual number of jobless Americans could be much higher Continue reading →

Hiring, Ethics, Coronavirus, Human Resources, Unemployment, Regulation, Health

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Retail Sales Plummet with Worst Monthly Loss on Record

April 16, 2020

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With thousands of stores closed around the country, U.S. retailers saw sales plunge by 8.7 percent in March. That represents the worst monthly decline on record as millions of consumers stopped visiting restaurants, bars, and shopping malls due to stay-at-home orders for coronavirus containment. While sales of cars, furniture, and electronics all experienced double digit drops, spending at clothing stores plummeted by more than 50 percent. Manufacturing capacity and oil production also fell to their lowest rates since the end Continue reading →

Nearly a Third of Renters Have Not Paid This Month’s Rent

April 9, 2020

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

This morning, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that another 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. All told, almost 17 million people have applied for jobless aid in the past three weeks, accounting for 10 percent of the U.S. labor force. The sudden loss of so many jobs is staggering and unprecedented. For comparison, it took two years for 8.6 million people to lose their jobs during the Great Recession. Many analysts predict that the unemployment rate Continue reading →

Real Estate, Coronavirus, Labor Relations, Unemployment, Economics, Ethics, Regulation, Human Resources, Health

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Small Businesses Have Trouble Securing Vital Loans

April 7, 2020

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused countless restaurants and stores across the country to alter their services or close entirely, some for as long as a month so far. This stretch of downtime has been devastating for many small businesses that usually get by on week-to-week sales. At Old Town Pizza & Brewing in Portland, Oregon, owner Adam Milne had to lay off two-thirds of his staff as the brewpub transitioned into carry-out only service. In the process he racked Continue reading →

Startups Hit Hard By Coronavirus Shutdowns

April 3, 2020

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Earlier this year, we looked at how the fitness startup ClassPass grew into a $1 billion company thanks to an innovative business model that allows members to easily find exercise classes in their area. Flash forward just a few months later, however, and ClassPass finds itself in a completely different position due to widespread shutdowns caused by coronavirus containment. As gyms and fitness centers closed across the world in March, ClassPass watched as 95 percent of its revenue disappeared within Continue reading →

[VIDEO] A Breakdown of the $2 Trillion Stimulus Package

April 2, 2020

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After a long debate, last week legislators finally approved and signed into law a $2 trillion stimulus package that provides much needed economic relief during this unprecedented health crisis. The video below looks at how the money will be allocated to companies and the logistics behind expanded unemployment benefits as well as a $1,200 stimulus payment to American adults.

Questions:

What sort of restrictions does the stimulus package place upon companies that accept government relief?
Do you think this Continue reading →

Economics, Regulation, Ethics, Health, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Crisis management, Layoffs, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Videos