Human Resources - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Modern Managers Become Too Busy to Focus on Their Jobs

March 7, 2017

In recent years, many companies have sought to create work environments that place a heavy emphasis on collaboration. With flattened hierarchies and open door policies, these workplaces give employees easy access to managers and other top performers. The system is meant to improve office efficiency by allowing staffers to receive unique advice that makes their jobs easier.

But while regular employees can have their workloads lightened, managers quickly become overwhelmed by overly collaborative workplaces. After all, executives who spend much Continue reading →

Office Hierarchy, Collaboration, Efficiency, Management, Operations Management, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

Jimmy John’s Drops Non-Compete Clauses for Sandwich Makers

January 19, 2017

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For many corporate executives, non-compete agreements are just a part of doing business. Since companies want to hang on to top talent as long as possible, they often insert clauses in contracts that prevent employees from joining competitors for a certain amount of time. While this limits a staffer’s options when looking for a new job, their high-level status usually provides them with plenty of alternative choices.

That’s not quite the case for sandwich makers, however. While non-compete clauses are Continue reading →

Ethics, Jimmy John’s, Franchising, Non-Compete Clauses, Food, Human Resources, Labor Relations

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

The Big Cost of Bad Writing in Business

November 4, 2016

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From short essays to lengthy term papers, college students are no strangers to writing. Matters don’t change much once they graduate to the business world: internal memos, progress reports, and a seemingly endless amount of emails constitute the daily tasks of many office employees. According to a recent study of businesspeople who write at work, an average of 22 percent of their time is spent reading. Unfortunately, the quality of the work that passes their desks is often clumsy or Continue reading →

Hiring, Writing, Skills, Offices, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

Canadian Country Store Attracts New Employees with Free Land

October 21, 2016

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The remote region of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada, is not known for its bustling population. Just 130,000 people live on the 4,000 square-mile island, with 1,000 others leaving each year for the past two decades. As the population steadily drops, many Cape Breton natives have worried about the future of the island’s tight knit communities. Among these concerned citizens was Jim and Ferne Austin, local entrepreneurs who operated the Farmer’s Daughter Country Market in sleepy Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia, Continue reading →

Retail, Canada, Hiring, Motivation, Company Culture, Global, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 13: Marketing

Manufacturers Attempt to Overcome Skills Gap with Apprenticeships

October 20, 2016

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According to a study conducted by the Manufacturing Institute, over the next decade American workers will miss out on two million industrial jobs due to lack of training. For years the Obama administration has tried to close this growing skills gap by promoting German-style apprenticeships that provide on-the-job education for young workers. In Germany roughly half of all high school graduates opt for these intense training programs, not least of all because they are virtually guaranteed employment at the end. Continue reading →

Education, Germany, Apprenticeships, Skills Gap, Training, Illinois, Human Resources, Manufacturing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

The Company That Pays Employees $2K to Go on Vacation

October 4, 2016

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With the fall semester now in full swing, the easygoing feeling of summer vacation is becoming an increasingly distant memory. Then again, that’s only for the lucky Americans who actually get to take a vacation during the warm months of the year. For the rest, either they don’t receive adequate time off or simply refuse to take advantage of it. In fact, as much as 55 percent of American workers don’t use all of their paid vacation days out of Continue reading →

Vacation, Recruitment, Turnover, Company Culture, Marketing, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing

[VIDEO] What Is The ‘Real’ Unemployment Rate?

June 16, 2016

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While the government’s official unemployment rate has been hovering around 5 and 6 percent lately, that number doesn’t tell the whole story about joblessness in the U.S. This video summarizes the concept of the “real” unemployment rate and the different ways that the government defines joblessness in its statistics.

Questions:

Why isn’t the “real” unemployment rate used as the official measure of joblessness?

What does the large amount of underemployment in the U.S. say about the current state of the economy?

Joblessness, Underemployment, Human Resources, Unemployment

Videos

Joe’s Crab Shack Scraps No-Tip Experiment

May 18, 2016

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For more than a century tipping has been the preferred method for American restaurants to pay their servers. The idea is that customers will tip more if they receive good service, thus giving employees incentive to do well. However, the system doesn’t always work out that way. Besides getting outright stiffed by diners, on slow nights servers can earn as little as $2.13 an hour, the legal minimum that tipped employees can be paid. Given these less than ideal outcomes, Continue reading →

Motivation, Minimum Wage, Food, Tipping, Human Resources, Joe's Crab Shack, Compensation, Restaurants

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Companies Increase Their Advocacy of LGBT Issues

April 5, 2016

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Last year millions of Americans celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage. But they certainly weren’t the only ones applauding the landmark ruling: dozens of brands showed their support on social media. Such an outpouring of advocacy from established companies would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. Times have changed, though, and businesses today have started to realize how important LGBT issues are to many consumers, especially young people. As a result, companies that Continue reading →

Branding, Ethics, Hiring, Human Resources, Equality, Benefits, Gay Marriage, Diversity

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

The Problem with Paying Executives Based on Performance

March 29, 2016

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At many large corporations, top executives earn as much as 80 percent of their salaries from performance-based bonuses. The idea is that CEOs will be more likely to do a good job if the company rewards them for success, such as increasing quarterly earnings or raising share prices. According to a new study from the London Business School, however, this widely accepted strategy might not be as effective as many companies think.

First of all, the study argues that contingent Continue reading →

Management, Ethics, Human Resources, Compensation, Executive Compensation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management