Posts in category: Uncategorized

Disputes in a unionized workplace

Before you start this assignment, be sure that you have read the background readings for this module.

Read the following scenario:

Jocko and Thomas are both hourly employees working as forklift drivers in a large grocery chain’s central California warehouse. Their workplace is unionized. They work in the same warehouse section under Bert, the second shift supervisor.

Jocko has always found the job difficult, because the job was fast-paced, but repetitive; and even though the forklifts and machines do the heavy lifting and moving, there were situations in which a driver had to deal with slightly misplaced pallets or otherwise use ingenuity and “muscle” to keep things moving smoothly through the shift. Jocko was small in stature and obviously not as physically strong as his co-workers. Thomas made a point of never helping Jocko with these adjustments, even though he helped other drivers when such situations arose. Jocko was gay, and he thought Thomas resented having him there – Thomas never seemed to want to talk with Jocko on breaks, for example.

Jocko thought Thomas was being a bad colleague, especially on those days when Jocko could have really used Thomas’s help. Jocko mentioned to Bert, the supervisor, that he wished Thomas would help him once in a while. After all, he would be willing to help Thomas if he asked. Bert replied that he did not think that was going to happen.

It was not only Thomas who would never help Jocko. All of the other forklift drivers seemed to look the other way when Jocko found himself in a situation where there was “muscle” needed to keep things going.

Recently, the company implemented a new stacking protocol. Soon thereafter, Jocko was not meeting his production numbers on some days. He thought it was because he could not get any help from his colleagues when needed and his supervisor, Bert, did not seem to care.

Bert, his supervisor, did carefully record Jocko’s production numbers to highlight the shifts when he had underperformed. After a while, Jocko started skipping breaks and shortening his lunch break on some days so he could spend a little more time on the forklift and try to meet his production for the shift. No one seemed to care or notice.

As Jocko came to realize that he was going to get a bad performance review if the situation continued, he asked Bert if he could order his co-workers to help him when situations arose where he needed help. Bert said he could not give Jocko any special treatment.

Jocko grew more frustrated, especially by the lack of communication and what he considered to be the stubbornness of his co-workers in refusing to help him when he needed it. He reasoned that he had a family to feed, just as they did, and he had to do something about the unfair treatment he was receiving.

Jocko told Bert that he was going to tell the union that he wanted to file a grievance, because he thought the way he was being treated was not right.

Bert told Jocko that he’d never known a grievance to work out for the person who filed it, but Jocko should do what he thought he needed to do.

Jocko felt very upset about what he perceived as Bert’s indifference. He filed a formal grievance with the union about the situation.

Prepare a 2- to 3-page (not counting title and reference pages) paper that addresses the following:

• What do you think will happen next? Why?
• Discuss the important steps in a grievance process that might take place to resolve this issue if Jocko files a grievance.

Discuss a plan of action to resolve an employee conflict in a unionized workplace.

• If you were the HR manager in this warehouse, what would you do to get to the root of the issue? Why?

Use at least two Trident Online Library sources plus any applicable background readings to help strengthen your discussion.

The United States is one of the remaining countries in the developed world that does not have a single-payer health care insurance system in place. With the future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act being uncertain, we hear continuing discussion as to whether the United States could (and/or should) adopt a single-payer system. Could a single-payer system be possible, even though it is forecast to cost trillions of dollars? How would it affect health care costs, coverage networks, types of covered vs. noncovered services, patient waiting times (for appointments, testing, procedures, and surgeries), coinsurances, and (finally) our taxes? Would currently working employees be required to give up their existing coverage for what will be provided under the single-payer system?

Once you have read the assigned background readings, as well as completed some peer-reviewed research of your own, address the following:

1. Describe an example of how a single-payer system (such as ‘Medicare For All’, as just one example) works in the United States.
2. Looking at examples of other countries with a single-payer system, what are the specific benefits of having such a single-payer system? Include at least three specific benefits, citing credible sources for your facts.
3. Looking at examples of other countries with a single-payer system, what are the specific drawbacks of having such a single-payer system? Include at least three specific drawbacks, citing credible sources for your facts.
4. Are you in favor of a single-payer system in the United States? Justify your position for or against this with credible sources.

SLP Assignment Expectations

1. Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to support your analysis.
2. Provide a response of 3-5 pages, not including title page and references.
3. There are multiple required items to be addressed herein; please use subheadings to show where you are responding to each required item and to ensure that none are omitted.
4. Support your paper with peer-reviewed articles, with at least 3 references. Use the following link for additional information on how to recognize peer-reviewed journals:
   Angelo State University Library. (n.d.). Library Guides: How to recognize peer-reviewed (refereed) journals. Retrieved from https://www.angelo.edu/services/library/handouts/peerrev.php
5. You may use the following source to assist in formatting your assignment:
   Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General APA guidelines. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
6. For additional information on reliability of sources, review the following source:
   Georgetown University Library. (n.d.). Evaluating internet resources. Retrieved from https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content

HA3120D – Essentials of Managed Care SU20 B – Section D01

HA3120D – Essentials of Managed Care

LP05 Assignment: Medicaid and HMO Paper

Directions

Review the following video: Medicaid and HMOs Video.

• Assignment: Should Medicaid and HMOs join forces?

• Write a 2 – 3 page paper in what you find out about whether or not the HMO’s representative claims were correct. Does an HMO, enrolling Medicaid patients promise; one, cost efficiency and two improvements in quality of care? One site you can get started is The National Bureau of Economic Research. There are many other sites you can look at to get data about this. So that’s your assignment. Good idea? Bad idea and why? Back it up with some good data. That’s all there is to it. Good Luck!”

Consider:

• Would the state save money by enrolling members in an HMO? How so?

• What would happen to the quality of care? Give possible examples. Cite your references.

 The paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length. The paper is due by Sunday midnight.

Imagine you are the HR manager at a company, and a female employee came to you upset because she felt a male coworker was creating a hostile work environment by repeatedly asking her out on dates even after she said “no.” What would you do?

Write a plan for how would you approach your conversation with each employee, including the most essential topics to cover. As you write your plan, think about what your goals are for this situation and how each conversation will help you achieve those goals.

You will create and submit your assignment by using the ecree link. Just click on the link, and start writing. Your work will be saved automatically. You’ll see some feedback on the right-hand side of the screen, including text and videos to help guide you in the writing process. When you’re ready, you can turn in your assignment by clicking Submit at the bottom of the page.

Click the assignment link to start your assignment in ecree. Please note that ecree works best in Firefox and Chrome.

Write a 5–7 paragraph paper in which you:

• Write a plan for the conversation you would have with the employee, based on the concepts found in your textbook. What are the most important points you would need to cover in this conversation, and why?
• Write a plan for the conversation you would have with the employee’s male co-worker, based on the concepts found in your textbook. What are the most important points you would need to cover in this conversation, and why?
• Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
  • This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
  • Include at least one reference to support your paper.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Create a plan for approaching tough conversations with employees, including a rationale for the most essential topics to cover.

HR Headline: Pay for Performance Remains Controversial

“Pay for Performance” has made inroads in business, but has remained a hard sell in public school systems. There are some successful examples where teacher pay has been linked to student test scores. For example, in Minnesota, some districts have stopped giving automatic raises for seniority and base 60% of all pay increases on performance. In Denver, unions and school districts designed an incentive program where teachers receive bonuses for student achievement and for earning national teaching certificates. However, some plans have not worked. For example, Cincinnati teachers voted against a merit pay proposal and Philadelphia teachers gave their bonus checks to charity rather than cashing them. It appears that having teachers involved in planning the incentive system is one key factor to success. The same can be said for all incentive plans – if employees don’t buy into them, they will not work.

Your paper may be based on a business entity of your choosing from the public or private sector and must answer the following Research Questions:

1. How could an organization measure the effectiveness of its pay-for-performance plan(s)?

2. From an employee’s perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a pay-for-performance plan?

3. From an employer’s perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a pay-for-performance plan?

Whether a crisis or disaster is natural or man-made, effective communication strategies are needed no matter where it occurs. A great deal was learned about communication issues in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After this disaster, thousands of residents in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were without roads, electricity, or cell phone towers. Because of this, creative means of communication, both inside and outside the region, were needed. Agencies with satellite phones had no difficulty, but for most survivors this was not a possibility—it was difficult to make phone calls both outside and inside the region. One means of communicating, however, was successful for many—text messaging. But, of course, this required a digital phone with texting capability, which not all had access to. In order to reach survivors who did not have this capability, four-wheel drive vehicles or trucks were necessary because roads and bridges were destroyed. Transportation became a significant element for communication.

Other less intense crises present communication issues as well. All crises involve an organizational plan that outlines how to communicate decisions and how to respond to the crisis. Media is almost always present, and they require communication that is rapid and accurate. Coombs (Crandall, Parnell, and Spillan, 2010) identifies uses of communication strategies for the various stages and types of disasters.

Note: Hurricane Katrina is referenced many times in this course because so much was learned from mistakes made during and after that crisis. Crisis responders and those in charge of planning for crises learn from each and every incidence. For example, being sure to look out for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, is now a priority because 13,000 died during an extreme heat wave in France in August 2003. Every crisis and/or disaster offers an opportunity to reevaluate what worked and what needs improvement for the next incidence.

To prepare for this assignment:

• Review Chapters 7 and 8 in your course text, Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape, paying particular attention to the different considerations that should be taken during the beginning, middle, and end of a crisis. Also focus on the methods of establishing communications with various populations during a crisis.
• Review Chapter 6 in your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies, and focus on how the telephone and the internet can be utilized as alternative forms of communication during a crisis.
• Review the article, “The Northridge Earthquake: Community-Based Approaches to Unmet Recovery Needs.” Focus on populations whose needs were not met and think about how various communication strategies and community organizations might have resolved those unmet needs.
• Review the article, “Natural Disasters that Reveal Cracks in Our Social Foundation,” and pay particular attention to suggestions and considerations for crisis planning.
• Review the article, “Crisis Management in Real Time: How to Successfully Plan for and Respond to a Crisis,” and think about the role of crisis communication plans and crisis management teams in the management of a crisis.

The assignment: (2–3 pages)

• Briefly describe alternative systems of and strategies for communication that might be used during a crisis when normal lines of communication are unavailable.
• Then evaluate which systems and/or strategies might be most effective and explain why.
• Briefly describe the vulnerable populations that may need to be reached during a crisis. Then explain potential strategies for reaching and communicating with these populations.

Please read and complete work in detail

Select one of the following case studies (located in your textbook):

Case 4-1: Walmart’s Everyday Hiring Strategy: Fueling Future Consumer Demand With Passion and Talent.

Case 4-2: Gauging Employment at Honeywell.

Case 5-1: Here a GM, There a GM, Everywhere a GM (Or so They Thought!).

Case 5-2: Trying to Build When Nobody Wants to Work.

Case 6-1: A Kink in Links of London’s Selection Process.

Case 6-2 Not Getting Face Time at Facebook—And Getting the Last Laugh!

Then complete the following: 

Add your opinion about the choices and decisions being made—if this was your company, would you make this choice?

What would you do differently?

You are strongly encouraged to make your initial post by the middle of each week so that you have plenty of time to respond to your classmates. 

Respond to the posts of at least two other learners. Compare your thoughts on designing a social media policy. Provide constructive feedback to your peers for improving their analyses.

What are the key considerations in designing a social media policy?

Some key considerations that should be taken into account when designing a social media policy are; what time goal of the policy is, what other policies are already in place, and what are the applicable legal regulations.  

What are the primary challenges and risks when formalizing a social media policy?

For my current organization, one of the primary challenges is that we are public employees.  “A public employee may not be fired or disciplined for engaging in “constitutionally protected” speech” (Johnson, 2019).  Another challenge that an organization faces when formalizing a social media policy is making sure the policy is clear and specific but doesn’t limit an employee’s right talk about conditions of employment.  

Who should be involved in the design and review of the final policy?

“Successful policy creation and/ or modification result from a collaborative, team effort. If records and information management personnel are developing the policy, they should elicit input into policy development from other stakeholder groups, including, but not limited to, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, and Marketing” (Keys for developing a social media policy, 2013).  In my organization, I would also add union leadership to the table as well. 

Topic 1: Methods of External Recruiting

Behavioral Care Center (BCC) is a 50-bed inpatient, mental health hospital. Recently, BCC has had shortages of staff that at times have restricted the hospital’s ability to admit patients. The most needed positions are RNs, LPNs, and direct patient care staff known as behavioral assistants (BAs). To have full coverage in the hospital, BCC needs to hire seven RNs, three LPNs, and six BAs.

The HR department posts openings on the hospital’s website and encourages staff to refer friends and family to apply. Representatives from the public relations department have attended several job fairs to encourage applicants to apply. These strategies have normally worked for BCC. However, recently the results have not been forthcoming and the shortages are increasingly more concerning. Consequently, to deal with this crisis a task force composed of department heads has been established. The role of the task force is to evaluate the recruitment situation and make recommendations.

Questions

1. What recruitment strategies should the task force consider?

2. How should BCC strategize to avoid staffing shortages in the future?