You have just been promoted to the Human Resources Department of a Fortune 500 c

Question

You have just been promoted to the Human Resources Department of a Fortune 500 company. Your director asks each of the HR employees to research an employment law issue and draft a memo that discusses that issue. In addition, he wants to ensure that each employee has a clear understanding of the issue present. Therefore, you are to include in your memo either a specific case that supports this employment law or utilize your own experience. This experience can stem from professional or personal situations in the business world as an employee or employer. Lastly, your director wants you to include any ethical issue that your company may be confronting in reference to this employment law.

Be sure that your focus is twofold; first, on an area of employment law and second, on a potential ethical issue within that area of law.

For example, a student could write about his or her experience working long hours as a minor in violation of federal wage and hour laws, and working conditions.

If you have not personally or professionally confronted an issue, consider an issue that could arise within the realm of employment law and describe it. Be sure that your focus is twofold; first, on an area of employment law and second, on a potential ethical issue within that area of law.

Address the following in your memo:

Identify and clearly define the relevant law, either defining a legal doctrine, provisions of a law, or elements of a specific cause of action.

Apply facts from your situation to the applicable law, doctrine, or cause of action studied.

Clearly summarize lessons learned from the week as they apply to your fact pattern and make links to the readings and/or module.

Include new thoughts or ideas based on the module information—this is your reflection/insight, which would logically flow from each information point presented.

Identify any related ethical issues.

Explanation / Answer

Much like domestic companies, the roles for the HR department working for a global company consist of five main functions. Below we will look at each one and explain how they differ when they're being conducted on a global scale.

1. Recruiting and hiring: The goal of recruiting is finding a qualified candidate that can fulfill the duties of the position. It involves understanding the job description and interviewing, after which comes hiring the candidate that is the best match. When completing this function on a global level, there are some important considerations. First, the HR department needs to understand the tasks for the position in that part of the world, and the skills needed to be successful. Education levels and differences are also a consideration, since they may not be the same from country to country.

2. Training: Once the employee has been selected, they need to be trained. Most employees need some training in order to learn the ways a company does things. When the company is global, it is crucial that processes and policies are similar from one global area to the next in order to clearly communicate and to be able to use resources and materials in a variety of different places. Using the same processes and polices avoids miscommunication among offices and staff, and it cuts costs when the resources can be passed around to all of the different locations.

3. Developing and administering: Most companies, global or not, offer opportunities for additional training in order to develop the skill sets of their employees. When this happens on a global level, employees may have an opportunity to visit another country to receive valuable training. This increases the value of the employee because they can now become successful in a variety of locations. As for administration, companies also need to make sure that they oversee their employees in a professional manner. This may mean, training, compensation, or adhering to laws and regulations. On a global level, this is especially important because working hours may vary from location to location. Following the local laws is a priority for global HR departments.

4. Salary and benefits: Whether the company is local or global, they have to compensate their employees. And most offer some sort of benefits package, which include things like insurance, vacation, and sick days. However, companies need to pay close attention to how laws differ in all parts of the world. For example, the minimum wage might be different, and some countries might offer paternity leave for new fathers as a benefit. While the common goal is to pay employees for their work, knowing the standards, laws, and rules for each global area is an important goal for a global HR department.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse Y
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.