While this may seem self-explanatory, the reality is that every single person carries with them a set of stereotypes and prejudices, and, without appropriate training, may not even be aware when they are relying on those stereotypes. During an initial interview, an employer should not discuss any of the protected characteristics, including: race, gender, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age, or disability, unless there is a bona fide occupational qualification related to one of those characteristics. The employer should also refrain from discussing the candidate's marital status. While that should seem easy, the fact is that the interview process may naturally lead to discussions about some of these characteristics. Therefore, employers should have a standardized, structured interview process, which does not vary from candidate-to-candidate. On the contrary, the interviewer should ask the candidate objective, job-related questions and avoid questions about the candidate's personal life. Furthermore, having more than one interviewer reduces the likelihood that individual prejudice will play a role in candidate selection. 8. What three ways can selection interviews be classified? What are the resulting types of interviews?

Selection interviews are conducted by decision makers and can take a variety of different formats; they are generally used to evaluate a candidate's people skills and to see if the person is a good fit with the company. Selection interviews can be classified based on their purpose, content, and structure. The purpose is what the interviewer is hoping to accomplish with the interview. The content covers the subject matter of the interview. The structure of the interview covers both the format of the interview and how structured the interview is. One type of structured interview is the work sample interview, in which the candidate shows off a sample or display of their work product or work ability. A peer group interview provides the candidate with a chance to interact with potential coworkers, and gives those coworkers the opportunity to provide the decision maker with input about the candidate. In a group interview, there are three or more people interviewing the candidate, each asking questions. The lunch interview may be the most familiar of the selection interviews, and involves taking the candidate to a meal to assess how the candidate performs in a traditional social setting. The stress interview is where the interviewers specifically try to make the candidate feel uncomfortable, in order to assess how the candidate responds to stress (iseek, 2008).

9. How has the psychological contract changed over time?

The psychological contract refers to what beliefs the employee has about an employer's obligations to the employee. It also includes how people in the workplace interact, most notably how a worker needs to perform his job in order to be treated well, and how supervisors can and should treat employees. Furthermore, employee satisfaction is strongly linked to the employee's perceptions of whether or not an employer is fulfilling the terms of the parties' psychological contract. Over time, employees have had a growing sense that employers are not fulfilling their obligations under the psychological contract. This growing perception has resulted in problems in the workplace, including reduced trust, greater dissatisfaction, and a higher turnover rate. The employee contract has changed over time to reflect greater expectations by employees. Employees anticipate that they will be treated in a certain manner and are willing to tolerate less workplace abuse. At the same time, employees seem to retain the notion that an employer will offer a life-long career, which is not frequently the case in the modern marketplace. These increased expectations have made it less likely that an employee can meet the terms of the parties' psychological contract, because the burden to do so may be too high. The result is employee dissatisfaction, and, ultimately, a turnover rate that would have seemed remarkable in some industries only a generation ago.

10. Why is it important for managers to appraise subordinates' performance? Provide three reasons for performance appraisals.

There are three reasons for managers to appraise performance: monitoring employee performance, motivating the staff, and improving morale. First, it is important for managers to appraise subordinates' performance so that both management and employees can have some idea how the worker is performing in the position. Appraisals give management a chance to address any performance issues. While an inadequate performance appraisal program merely points out how an employee is failing to meet employer expectations, a good performance appraisal program can help the supervisor direct the employee...

Furthermore, performance appraisals can give supervisors an opportunity to motivate their staff. For those workers who are performing in the middle range, performance appraisals offer supervisors a great opportunity to show them what they are doing right, while still guiding them to take steps for improvement.
A little constructive criticism, especially if accompanied by praise, can be a powerful motivating factor for employees.

Employee motivation can also come from a more negative perspective; employees who are warned that performance has been inadequate and placed on some type of program have extra incentive to improve their performance.

Finally, performance appraisals give management the opportunity to improve company morale, by giving supervisors the opportunity to praise performance. Strong performers often receive little feedback on their performances, because supervisors do not need to address performance issues with them. Therefore, a performance appraisal gives management the opportunity to really praise outstanding employees.

11. Explain the purpose of sick leaves and why sick leave pay causes difficulties for many employers.

The purpose of sick leave it to give ill workers an incentive to stay home rather than come to work, thereby protecting the health of the overall company and helping reduce the impact that a company-wide epidemic can have on production and job efficiency. In addition, offering paid sick leave is an attractive part of a benefits package, which makes it more likely that the employer will be able to attract a high-quality workforce. However, sick leave can cause an employer problems. First, employers have to comply with federal laws and regulations concerning sick leave time, such as the unpaid leave surrounding FMLA. Second, employers who offer paid sick time have to devote time and energy to the administration of their sick leave programs. Employers who offer sick leave benefits may be required to maintain those benefits, even if not required to do so by law. Employers who offer sick leave benefits have a limited right to inquire about the underlying illness, so that employees can take sick leave even when they are not actually sick. This last problem indicates a significant drawback of the sick leave program; it allows workers to take paid leave even at times that they are not actually ill, which decreases productivity and increases costs.

12. What do members receive when incentives are based on a group incentive plan and tied to work standards for the whole team? Name five methods for determining what each team member is paid.

Group incentive plans tie incentives to work standards for an entire team, and are generally used when it is impossible to determine output by looking at the contributions of a single employee. There are several ways to determine what each team member is paid. First, a team compensation plan can pay a bonus to the entire team, when the team exceeds a set standard, based on either production or customer-service requirements.

Team members can either get an equal amount of the compensation, or they can receive payment according to a payout formula. Gainsharing plans are another form of group incentive plans, and they allow covered employees to receive compensation when the organization's efficiency is improved. The Scanlon Plan works through committees composed of hourly and management employees, with bonuses paid from a formula reflecting increased production. The Rucker Plan also uses a committee to administer the plan, but the bonus is "based on the historical relationship of the total earnings of hourly employees to the production value that they create." (Palo Verde, 2009). Improshare means that organizations pay a bonus based on a group's overall productivity, with the bonus being split 50/50 between the employees and the organization. In earnings-at-risk incentive plans, employees lose part of their base wage if they fail to meet performance standards, but earn bonuses if they exceed those standards.

13. Explain the meaning of the Evil Woman Thesis and its implications for managers.

One of the most serious human resource problems facing modern companies is the issue of workplace discrimination, specifically sexual harassment. Conscientious members of management are aware of the potential risks of sexual harassment and sex discrimination and take aims to eliminate all sex-based discrimination in the workplace. However, not all people believe that sex-based discrimination is a major problem in the workplace. Some ascribe to the Evil-Woman Thesis, which posits that women are responsible for their own problems and should thus receive harsher treatment than a man…