Reference no: EM13739012

Please conduct a research within these questions below on "HR Laws and regulations"

Part 1 - Short Answer

1. Tom Payton was employed by Carver Industries, Inc. as a Marketing Manager. He was fired for sexually harassing 3 female administrative assistants. Specifically, Tom cornered the women in the supply room on 3 separate occasions and touched them inappropriately. The last incident that resulted in his termination occurred after he asked Paula Lee to work overtime and called her into the supply room to assist him in finding paper clips. When she entered the room, Tom grabbed her and attempted to fondle her. Ms. Lee pushed Tom away and called a security officer who escorted her out of the building. Ms. Lee reported the incident the following day to the Vice-President of Human Resources. Later that day, the other women came forward and reported the previous incidents. Dave Smith, Tom's immediate supervisor, was contacted by Marketing Miracles, Inc. for a reference for Tom. Dave gave Tom a glowing reference and did not mention the reason for Tom's termination. Tom was hired and 6 months later, sexually assaulted Ann Kelly, a female employee of Marketing Miracles, in the supply room after he requested that she work overtime. Is Carver Industries liable for the harm to Ann Kelly? (Please write no more than 10 sentences).

2. The Pair O' Dice Casino refuses to hire female bouncers, on the grounds that they are insufficiently strong and intimidating enough to effectively perform the job. During their trial for gender discrimination brought by a group of women denied jobs as bouncers at the casino, the general manager defended the policy, and offered as the only evidence of the policy's soundness that he, "and everyone else in the world can tell, by looking, that the physical capability of women is less than that of men." What kind of defense - BFOQ or business necessity - is the general manager asserting and will it be successful? Why or why not?(Please write no more than 10 sentences).

3. The Inter-Pacific Railroad employs Francisco McGregor, a Hispanic man, as a supervisory conductor on its commuter trains. Except for one white woman, all of the other supervisory conductors employed by Inter-Pacific were black men. Francisco's Spanish nickname is "Paco." The other supervisor conductors referred to Francisco as "Taco." They used racial slurs, such as "beanbag," when talking about him to other employees. Francisco complained to the senior trainmaster and threatened to file a claim with EEOC. List 4 things you would suggest the trainmaster do to address Francisco's concerns and prevent him from filing a claim with the EEOC?  (Please write no more than 10 sentences).

4. You have just lost your middle-management job. Outline a 5-step procedure to follow in trying to land a new one. (Respond in bullet points.)

5. Hutchinson is a large, family-owned insurance firm operating out of Seattle. It has a relatively large sales training budget, and its training director, Tom Jordan, has recently discovered a new form of training he is suggesting to the HR manager, Cathy Archer.  Tom thinks it can improve sales and profits and would like Cathy to consider sending some salespeople to the new training course.  Read the below:

CATHY: Come in, Tom.  What's this I hear about a new sales-training course?

TOM: Well, as you know, Cathy, I always try to keep up-to-date on the latest in training techniques so that we can remain competitive.  I got a flyer yesterday in the mail announcing a new approach to sales training.  The course is offered by a guy named Bagwan Shri Lansig.  Apparently, the course involves flying trainees off to a secluded spot in the mountains of Oregon where they undergo a week of intensive training, personal growth exercises, synchronized chanting, and transcendental meditation.  The brochure is brimming with personal testimonials from "million dollar" salespeople who claim to have been helped immeasurably by the training.  I already have 10 people in mind to send to the training session next month, but before I speak with them, I thought I'd run it by you.

CATHY: How much does it cost?

TOM: It's not bad.  Only $6,500 per person. And there's a 10% discount if we send more than 5 people.

CATHY: I don't know, Tom. That sounds a little steep to me.  Besides, John, the company CEO, has been bugging me again about the results of our last training effort.  He wants to know whether all the money we're spending on sales training is really paying off.  As you know, sales and profits are down this quarter, and John is looking for places to cut corners.  I'm afraid that if we can't demonstrate a payoff somehow for our training courses, he is going to pull the rug out from under us. 

TOM: But we evaluate all our training programs!  The last one got rave reviews from all the participants.  Remember how they said that they hardly had time to enjoy Hawaii because they were so busy learning about proper closing techniques?

CATHY: That's true, Tom.  But John wants more proof than just the reactions of the salespeople.  He wants something more tangible.  Now before we buy into any more sales training programs, I want you to develop a plan for evaluation of the training effort. 

a. What is meant by the statement that training is extremely "faddish"? (Limit answer to no more than 5 sentences)

b. What steps should Hutchinson take to understand its training needs and then address them? (This is meant to be a brief, undetailed response of no more than 5 sentences).

c.  Develop a bulleted training evaluation strategy that Tom can present to Cathy which would provide evidence of the effectiveness of a particular training technique. (Bullets/sentences are acceptable; no more than 6 bullets/sentences).

Part 2-Please conduct a research within these questions below on "HR Laws and regulations"

Essay format is required.  Please organize/outline your responses before you start to write.

Charles Smith, a valued and long-term employee, is a regional sales director for a large multi-state corporation. Sales have been slow lately and upper management has decided to hold a retreat for the sales staff to share techniques and to get everybody "fired up" for the next quarter. The meeting will be at a nice site located on a lake in the wilderness. The remote site is desired so everyone can relax, communicate, and be away from the daily pressures in an informal atmosphere. All 40 regional sales managers are required to attend, and they are randomly assigned five to a cabin in eight cabins. In the memo directing the staff to attend, the Vice President of Sales said, "This is an important opportunity for all of us to let our hair down and have a frank and candid discussion about our sales and marketing approach and whether our sales targets reflect the reality of our market. I am looking forward to an informal and enlightening session."

Through the grapevine Smith learns that four of his cabin mates are old friends he has known for years. Through a series of telephone calls, plans are made to ensure that the friends have a good time on the retreat. One person agrees to bring some drinks; another, the chips and dip, while a third agrees to bring several cases of beer. Smith indicates he will come up with "something special."

On the first evening of the retreat, as the card game and drinking begin, Smith extracts from his luggage a life-size, inflatable, naked female doll. The doll is promptly inflated and placed in a chair in the cabin's main room. The name of a particularly disliked female sales representative is attached to the doll. The doll remains in plain view for the entire retreat; and, on several occasions, supervisors visiting the cabin observed the doll, but nothing was said or done.

Following the retreat the Vice President for Sales hears via the company grapevine that a "pretty

good time was being had each evening in the Smith cabin." The Vice President asks the supervisors in attendance if they were aware of any unusual activity. They admit they saw this doll with Sally's name on it but did nothing. When pressed about this lack of action, the two supervisors said they thought the retreat was a special kind of environment and that, while they were uncomfortable with what they observed, they did not want to ruin the informal atmosphere.

Sally, the woman involved, has no knowledge of any of these events.

The Vice President asks you, the HR Director, for advice.(Please write no more than 10 sentences).

1. What, if anything, needs to be done in relation to all of the players in the scenario?  State the rationale for your answers.

2. Is this a sexual harassment case?  Be specific.

3. What is the firm's liability?  Be specific.

4. Does the firm have any defenses?  Be sure to discuss the affirmative defense. If so, discuss and be specific.