Assignment:
Managing the Workforce
Question 1. What are some arguments in favor of affirmative action? Against it? What is your current view of affirmative action? Why? Does your view differ depending on the measures used to achieve affirmative action goals?
Question 2. It is often recommended that managers be evaluated and rewarded in significant part on the basis of their commitment to diversity. Is this a good idea? Can commitment to diversity be measured apart from Numbers of women or people of color hired and promoted.
Question 3. Do courts give sufficient weight to the obstacles that might make employees reluctant to report harassment? Explain your reasoning. Should employers attempt to restrict romantic relationships between employees as a response to concerns about harassment? Between supervisors and subordinates? In each case, why or why not?
Accommodation
Question 4. How has the ADA been changed by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008? Did Congress get it right this time? Will the new law be more effective at protecting employees with disabilities?
Question 5. What challenges might an employee with a disability face in your workplace? What kinds of reasonable accommodations would be appropriate?
Question 6. Should employers with multi-lingual workforces be allowed to adopt English-only rules? Under what circumstances? Explain your reasoning.
Compensation
Question 7. Should private sector employers be allowed to use comp time to meet their overtime pay obligations? What are the potential benefits? Problems?
Question 8. Does the U.S. approach to providing for health insurance and retirement income—with its heavy reliance on employer-provided benefits—still make sense? What are the alternatives?
Question 9. What, if anything, should be done to revitalize the National Labor Relations Act and the institution of collective bargaining? Should the Employee Free Choice Act be enacted?
Safety and Performance
Question 10. Think about a restaurant, store, office or factory where you have worked. What safety and health hazards existed in that workplace? What measures were used to address those hazards? Was safety given sufficient attention?
Question 11. Would you recommend that an employer use a forced distribution approach to performance appraisal? What are the pros and cons?
Question 12. What does privacy mean to you? What do you think is reasonable for employees to expect in terms of privacy in the workplace? Is the current privacy protection for e-mail and internet use sufficient?
Termination
Question 13. Should employers offer employees the choice between resigning or being terminated? Under what circumstances?
Question 14. What do you think about the increasing use of restrictive covenants? Should employers who attempt to enforce these agreements against employees that have been fired have to show that the terminations were for cause?
Question 15. Is downsizing a sensible business strategy? Should employees be entitled to greater legal protection from downsizing? If so, what form should this protection take?