Labor Relations - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Benefit Corps Help Shareholders and Society

June 13, 2015

While nonprofit organizations do the world an immeasurable amount of good, their restrictive structure can prove frustrating for some entrepreneurs. After all in order to stay afloat, many nonprofits depend on the generosity of donors, a source of capital that could suddenly dry up at anytime. That’s why a few startups are combining the social drive of nonprofits with sustainable business models to form benefit corporations, or “B-corps” for short.

On the surface these companies seem like normal firms: they Continue reading →

Product Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics, Product Distribution, Entrepreneurship, A to Z, Labor Relations

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 13: Marketing

Wisconsin Becomes a Right-to-Work State

March 30, 2015

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Near the end of February, the Wisconsin legislature passed a controversial bill that could change the face of labor in the state. Under the new “right-to-work” law, employees in unionized, private sector workplaces can choose whether or not to pay their union dues. According to Governor Scott Walker and his supporters, the law grants more freedom for individuals to choose where they work. “This legislation will ensure that Wisconsin’s workers have the sole power to determine whether they wish to Continue reading →

Regulation, Right-to-Work, Ethics, Wisconsin, Unions, Labor Relations, Compensation

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Vetting Potential Hires with Personality Tests

March 10, 2015

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For many companies recruiting new employees, a traditional one-on-one interview only tells part of a potential hire’s story. Some small businesses simply don’t have time to hold deep conversations with interviewees: one family-owned car wash in Kentucky said that it receives more than 1,000 applications each year.

In order to streamline its hiring process, Finish Line Car Wash turned to a personality assessment company called PeopleClues. The service’s 30-minute online test gives applicants a series of statements and then asks Continue reading →

Data Mining, Hiring, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Innovation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The New Walmart Wage Plan

March 3, 2015

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For years, Walmart has been criticized for not adequately sharing its success with its employees. After all, the retailer is not only the largest private employer in the U.S. but also the largest retail chain in the world. With so much capital at its disposal, critics have long argued that Walmart has enough resources to spend on its staff. And now at long last it appears the retailer agrees. Last month Walmart announced a plan that will raise the wages Continue reading →

Retail, Walmart, Minimum Wage, Ethics, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Compensation

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

The Bright Future for Cuba’s Skilled Workers

January 29, 2015

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In mid-December 2014 President Obama shocked the world by announcing that the U.S. would reestablish a diplomatic relationship with Cuba. Reversing more than six decades of American foreign policy, the decision is expected to have an enormous impact on Cubans living both on the island and abroad. Diplomats are even discussing lifting the trade embargo that the U.S. imposed in the 1960s in response to Cuba’s hostile Communist regime.

Besides opening up channels for travel and trade, the easing of Continue reading →

Regulation, Education, Cuba, Global, Training, Human Resources, Labor Relations

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

The Myth of the Labor Skills Gap

August 26, 2014

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Economists have long argued that a skills gap is growing among the American workforce. Hundreds of businesses both large and small have echoed this sentiment, claiming that there aren’t enough qualified people to perform certain jobs. However, in most cases this line of thinking simply doesn’t add up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unemployed people exceeds the number of jobs available in every industry. In durable goods manufacturing, for instance, there are approximately 576,000 idle Continue reading →

Ethics, Training, Manufacturing, Labor Relations, Unemployment, Compensation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

The NCAA’s Image Issues

August 11, 2014

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In 2014 a judge granted Northwestern University’s football players collective bargaining rights. Although it was later overturned, this landmark decision heightened the debate about compensation for college athletes to a whole new level, and it didn’t take long for another major legal ruling to follow it. In early August a U.S. district judged found in favor of former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and 19 others regarding the image rights of athletes. According to the ruling, the NCAA violates anti-trust Continue reading →

Sports, Copyright, College, NCAA, Ethics, Labor Relations

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Bored Young Men Cause Big Problems for Foxconn Factories

July 11, 2014

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A few years ago, a rash of employee suicides at Foxconn Technology prompted investigations into the working conditions at the Chinese manufacturing giant. As the maker of such in-demand items as the iPad and Hewlett-Packard servers, Foxconn employs tens of thousands of people who work long shifts and live on-site. The monotonous work and the dorm-like living quarters can make for a grey life on the Foxconn campus, leading to depression and worse.

Foxconn responded to this bleak state Continue reading →

Management, Global, China, Ethics, Foxconn, Manufacturing, Labor Relations

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

French Law Forces Bosses to Respect Free Time

May 29, 2014

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For many working Americans, leaving the office in the early evening doesn’t necessarily mean your workday is done. Answering emails and phone calls can stretch one’s workday far past the standard five o’clock threshold. That is, unless you happen to be a consultant working in France. Under a new agreement between labor unions and corporate representatives, more than 250,000 French employees at consulting, computing and polling firms are required to “disconnect” from work once they clock out.

Under the Continue reading →

France, Ethics, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Benefits, Regulation, Global

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Bringing Business Back to Rural Towns

January 24, 2014

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Over the past few decades farming towns across America have seen populations drop as more young people leave their rural homes behind in favor of big cities. However, urban living today doesn’t present as many opportunities as in the past. Not only do cities demand a higher cost of living, but also chances for career advancement can diminish given the large talent pool.

That’s the situation systems manager Wallace Harwood encountered at his job with an energy company in Lexington, Continue reading →

Labor Relations, Unemployment, Innovation, Recovery, Rural America

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing