Labor Relations - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

NLRB Rules Against Non-Disparagement Clauses

March 31, 2023

Earlier this year, we looked at how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a ban on noncompete clauses in employer contracts, which restrict the jobs that former staffers can take once they leave a company. Another controversial clause that some businesses place into contracts prevents ex-employees from talking bad about their old jobs if they accept a severance agreement. Labor advocates have long criticized nondisparagement clauses for infringing on the rights of workers, a point that the National Labor Review Continue reading →

Hiring, Motivation, FTC, Ethics, Noncompete clauses, Human Resources, Employee turnover, Labor Relations, Severance, Regulation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Companies Cautiously Explore the Potential of AI Chatbots

February 10, 2023

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For the last few weeks, chatbots powered by artificial intelligence have made waves on social media as users talk with these automated conversation partners. The bot ChatGPT, for instance, can provide reasonable answers to questions posed by users regardless of their spelling or grammar. These responses are delivered in natural-sounding sentences that do not require scripting, a significant improvement on clunky chatbots of the past. As a result, many big companies are looking to get in on the ground floor Continue reading →

Chatbots, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Automation, Marketing, Artificial Intelligence, Ethics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 13: Marketing, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Some Companies Charge Ex-Employees for “Training Repayment”

February 1, 2023

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Onboarding employees can be one of the most expensive items on a company’s balance sheet as firms spend big money hiring and training new staffers. Of course, this costly process has no guarantee of success: people hired yesterday can leave tomorrow as quickly as they arrived. To offset the costs of rapid turnover, some companies are inserting controversial clauses into employment contracts that require staffers to repay training fees if they quit. For example, Kate Fredericks signed such an agreement Continue reading →

Regulation, Ethics, FTC, Training, Onboarding, Human Resources, Employee turnover, Labor Relations

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

FTC Proposes Ban on Noncompete Clauses

January 18, 2023

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For years, many major companies have depended on noncompete clauses to hang on to their most talented employees. These binding agreements prohibit individuals from taking jobs at similar firms or from striking out on their own for a specified period of time. Companies claim that they insert noncompete clauses into employee contracts in order to ensure the safety of trade secrets and other confidential data like consumer lists or contact information. According to a recent proposal from the Federal Trade Continue reading →

Regulation, Motivation, Hiring, Ethics, FTC, Human Resources, Noncompete clauses, Labor Relations, Employee turnover

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Southwest’s Meltdown Creates Holiday Travel Nightmare

January 4, 2023

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The end of December is one of the busiest travel times of the year as people rush back and forth from home for the holidays. For travelers who booked trips on Southwest Airlines, though, the season was even more stressful as the carrier canceled more than 13,000 flights in less than a week. The trouble started when a major winter storm swept the country and prevented many pilots and flight attendants from working. Southwest staff usually solve this problem by Continue reading →

Airlines, Ethics, Unions, Branding, Labor Relations, Travel, Holidays, Supply & Demand

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Big Business Gets a Big Boost from Controversial World Cup

December 2, 2022

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The 2022 FIFA World Cup moves into the knockout stages this weekend, a nerve-wracking time when teams can be eliminated with a single loss. While the tournament’s soccer stars will experience a dramatic increase of tension on the field, the host country Qatar has already faced plenty of global pressure since FIFA awarded them the event in 2010. The Middle East nation has long been accused of using corruption to land the World Cup, leading to a 2015 indictment from Continue reading →

Elon Musk’s Chaotic Takeover of Twitter

November 9, 2022

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Tesla owner Elon Musk has never been shy about seeking the spotlight, and for years he could always find an easy audience by talking to his Twitter following of more than 100 million people. Even that level of attention wasn’t enough for the world’s richest man, however, who purchased the social network outright at the end of October for a whopping $44 billion. That gargantuan price tag now ranks as history’s largest leveraged buyout of a tech firm, although it Continue reading →

How Warehouses Are Reshaping the Nation

October 21, 2022

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Earlier this week, we posted a video about a seemingly unremarkable highway corridor in Arizona that turned into a haven for enormous warehouses. Logistics hubs like these are becoming increasingly common around the U.S., from Southern California’s warehouse epicenter in the Inland Empire to multi-million square-foot facilities in Ohio and New York. Satellite images collected over the last 20 years show how warehouses have transformed acres of wide-open space into concentrated networks of huge buildings swarming with workers. In fact, Continue reading →

Unions, Supply chains, Labor Relations, Amazon, Product Distribution, E-commerce, Logistics, Supply & Demand, Warehouses, Ethics

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, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

California Passes Law Regulating Fast Food Industry

September 7, 2022

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Last week, California’s legislature passed a bill that will bring sweeping changes to fast food chains operating in the state. After being signed into law by the governor on Monday, the new legislation effectively sets a minimum wage for the industry while also establishing new safety and anti-discrimination requirements. California will create a 10-person council composed of restaurant workers and employer representatives along with two state officials, who will all review pay and safety standards across the state’s restaurant industry. Continue reading →

Labor Relations, Compensation, Motivation, Operations Management, Ethics, Franchising, Food & Drink, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

“Quiet Quitting” Trend Takes off on TikTok

August 24, 2022

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Like other social networks, TikTok users share almost everything about their lives on the app, from their favorite music and TV shows to their anxieties about work. In fact, talk about the latter has increased significantly in recent weeks as videos about “quiet quitting” generate millions of views among young professionals. The phrase is meant to convey the opposite idea of “hustle culture,” another popular work-related topic on TikTok that encourages people to devote themselves entirely to their careers. Quiet Continue reading →

Motivation, Ethics, Training, Company Culture, Human Resources, TikTok, Social Media, Labor Relations

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media