Chapter 6: Selection

Selection:

- Is the process of choosing individuals:

o With relevant (needed) qualifications
o For existing or projected job openings
o Begins when recruits apply for employment and ends with the hiring decisions
o Involves matching the employment needs of the applicant and the organization
- It is about prediction
o Predicting who will be most effective at performing a given job in a given organization
o Want to maximize “hits” and avoid “misses”
- Steps in the selection process:
o Step 1: Preliminary Reception of Applicants:
 Initial contact with applicants
 Walk-ins may receive preliminary interview
 Write-ins often receive letter of acknowledgment
 This step has disappeared in many organizations with the increasing use of internet
recruitment
o Step 2: Applicant Screening
 Remove from consideration applicants who don’t meet qualifications
 Weighted application blank (WAB)
 Ensure application is useful and meets legal requirements
 Biographical information blanks (BIB)
o Step 3: Administration of Employment Tests
 Types of tests:
 Personality tests
 Ability tests; knowledge tests
 Performance tests:
o Situational judgement tests
o Assessment centres
 Computer-interactive tests
 Integrity tests
 Reliability
 Validity
 Empirical approaches
o Predictive validity
o Concurrent validity
 Rational approaches
o Content validity
o Construct validity
o Differential validity
o Step 4: Employment Interviews
 Supervisors should have input into the final hiring decision
 Common (and expected) as part of the selection process; covered in more detail
o Step 5: Realistic Job Previews
  Shows the candidate the type of work, equipment & working conditions
 Highlights positive and negative
 Tends to reduce employee turnover
o Step 6: Verification of References
 Employment references:
 Discuss applicant’s work history
 Former supervisors may not be candid, especially with negative information
 Reference letters
 Background checks
o Step 7: Contingent Assessments
 Assessment of health, medical, and driving information
 May be scheduled after the hiring decision
 Drug tests are increasingly used but may be found to violate employee rights
o Step 8: Hiring Decisions
 Marks the end of the selection process
 Update HRIS
 Retain applications for future
 Tradeoffs among predictors
 Subjective approach
 Multiple cut-off approach
 Compensatory approach

Guidelines for avoiding legal problems:

- Treat workers with respect

- Communicate
- Be consistent
- Give regular evaluations
- Make job-related decisions
- Don’t punish the messenger
- Keep good records
- Take action when necessary

Describe why organizations must consider both person-job and person-organization fit:

- they lead to positive outcomes such as job satisfaction, performance & organizational commitment

Person-job fit:

- This is a match between an individual & requirements of a specific job

- Companies often pursue that person-job fit so as to match the applicant’s knowledge and skills to the
requirements of a specific job openings and focus on an applicant’s ability to perform right away without
any training

Person-organization fit:

- Match between an individual & broader organizational attribute

- Focus on how well individuals fit with values of their company & culture. They tend to emphasize on
hiring people with an ability to work & co-operate with other employees in the company
Reliability and validity – what are they and how they affect Selection?

- 2 key characteristics that interviews have to have to be a suitable method for selection
- They measure if the chosen methods provide consistent results and if they adequately measure the
characteristic they are looking at
- Reliable selection: tool will give you consistent results; e.g., different interviewers will agree on their
evaluations; 2 tests measuring the same skill will give you similar results
- Valid: tool predicts who will perform well on the job
o Some tests are valid because they are statistically related to measures of work performance (e.g., #
years of schooling may predict tenure on the job)
o Job-related selection tools are much more likely to be reliable and valid

Type of assessment tools used in the selection process: i.e., application forms

- KSA-Based Assessments: Cognitive ability tests, job knowledge tests, personality tests, biographical data,
integrity tests, structured interviews, physical fitness tests
- Task-Based Assessments: situation judgement test, work sample tests, assessment centers, physical ability
tests

Cognitive ability test Tests of general reasoning ability, measure a variety of

mental abilities, such as verbal and mathematical ability
and reading comprehension

- This tests have been shown to be extremely useful

predictors of job performance and thus are used
frequently in making selection decisions for many
different types of jobs
- Typically consist of m/c items that are administered
via a paper-and-pencil instrument or computer
- Some cognitive ability tests contain test items that
tap the various abilities (e.g., verbal ability,
numerical ability, etc.) but then sum up the correct
answers to all of the items to obtain a single total
score. The total score then represents a measure of
general mental ability. If a separate score is
computed for each of the specific types of abilities,
then the resulting scores represent measures of
specific mental abilities

Job Knowledge Tests - Measure critical knowledge areas that are needed
to perform a job effectively. Usually, the knowledge
areas measured represent technical knowledge
- Used in situations where candidates must already
possess a body of knowledge prior to job entry –
 this test aren’t appropriate to use in situations
where candidates will be trained after selection on
the knowledge areas they need to have
- Consist of m/c given via paper-and-pencil or
computer, although essay items are sometimes
included in job knowledge tests

Personality Tests - Assess traits relevant to job performance have

been shown to be effective predictors of
subsequent job performance
- Personality factors that are assessed most
frequently in work situations include:
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness,
openness to experience and emotional stability
- Conscientiousness is the most useful predictor of
performance across many different jobs, although
some of the other personality factors have been
shown to be useful predictors of performance in
specific types of jobs
- Personality inventories consist of several m/c or t/f
items measuring each personality factor

Biographical Data - Biodata

- Ask job candidates questions covering their
background, personal characteristics or interests,
have been shown to be effective predictors of job
performance
- Biodata questions focus on assessing how
effectively job candidates performed in the past in
areas that are identical or highly related to what
they will be required to do on the job for which they
are being considered
- Consist of m/c items administered via paper-and-
pencil or computer

Integrity Tests - Measure attitudes and experiences that are related

to an individual’s honesty, trustworthiness and
dependability
- m/c format administered via paper-and-pencil or
computer
Structured Interview - most common selection device used in
organizations
- most selection interviews are unstructured –
meaning that the questions to be asked are left up
to the interviewer to decide and there are no
agreed-upon standards for evaluating an
applicant’s performance during the interview
- consist of a specific set of questions that are
designed to assess critical KSA’s that are required
for a job
- most frequently to assess softer skills such as
interpersonal skills, communication skills,
leadership, planning, organizing, and adaptability,
among others
- an important characteristic of an effective structured
interview is that it provides standardized rating
criteria to help interviewers judge the quality and
effectiveness of the responses provided by the
interviewee
- to work well, interviews must be trained in how to
administer the structured interview properly, probe
for additional information and apply the rating
criteria accurately and systematically in evaluating
job candidates

Physical Fitness Tests - used in some selection situations

- require candidates to perform general physical
activities to assess one’s overall fitness, strength,
endurance or other physical capabilities necessary
to perform the job

Situational Judgment Tests - provide job candidates with situations that they
would encounter on the job and viable options for
handling the presented situations
- depending on how the test is designed, candidates
are asked to select the most effective or most and
least effective ways of handling the situation from
the response options provided
- more complicated to develop than many of the
other types of assessments discussed previously
- administered in written or videotaped form, with
responses collected either in a paper-and-pencil
 test booklet or on a computer

Work Sample Tests - consists of tasks or work activities that mirror the
tasks that employees are required to perform on the
job
- can be designed to measure almost any job task
but are typically designed to measure technically
oriented tasks, such as operating equipment,
repairing and troubleshooting equipment,
organizing and planning work, and so forth
- involve having job applicants perform the tasks of
interest while their performance is observed and
scored by trained evaluators
- should only be used in situations where candidates
are expected to know how to perform the test job
tasks prior to job entry

Assessment Centres - type of work sample test that is typically focused on

assessing higher-level managerial and supervisory
competencies
- candidates are asked to complete a series of
exercises that simulate actual situations, problems
and tasks that they would face on the job for which
they are being considered, and they are asked to
handle these as if they were in a real situation –
similar to the work sample tests described
previously
- include role-play exercise, in-basket exercises,
analytical exercises and group discussion exercises

Physical Ability Tests - used regularly to select workers for physically

demanding jobs, such as police officers and
firefighters
- similar to work sample tests in that they typically
require candidates to perform a series of actual job
tasks to determine whether or not they can perform
the physical requirements of a job
- often scored on a pass/fail basis

Substance Abuse Testing

 - in Canada, employers aren’t permitted to screen candidates for substance abuse
- it is considered a disability, which cannot be discriminated against during the selection process
- elsewhere (US for example), pre-employment substance abuse testing may be used to avoid hiring
employees who would pose unnecessary risks or perform below expectations
- must be justifiable if an employer can show that testing provisions are bona fide requirements of the job
o employers should take a proactive approach to workplace drug and alcohol testing
- following the test for bona fide requirements laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada, policies should be:
o adopted for a purpose that is rationally connected to performing the job
o adopted in an honest and good faith belief that it is necessary to fulfilling that legitimate work-
related purpose
o reasonably necessary to accomplish that legitimate work-related purpose. To show this, the
employer must demonstrate that it is impossible to accommodate the person without imposing
undue hardship upon the employer

Describe the major types of selection interview by degree of structure, types of content and manner of
administration

Types of Interviews: may be conducted one-to-one, panel, or group interview

Degree of Structure:

- unstructured: few if any planned questions, lacks the reliability of a structured interview
- structured: pre-determined set of questions, may improve reliability and validity over traditional
unstructured interviews
- mixed/semi-structured

Content: situational: focus on situations likely to arise on the job, applicants asked what they would do

- behavioural description: based on principle that the predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour
- competency – based, motivational, psychological

Administration of the interview: one-on-one or panel, sequentially or all at once, face-to-face or technology enabled

Difference between situational and behavioural interview questions

BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEWS SITUATIONAL INTERVIEWS

- ask to describe stories in your past that exhibit - look at the future
the behaviours the interviewer is discussing - presented with a potential problem, and you
- your answer tells the interviewer how well supply what you would do in that situation
you prepared for the question, your thought - employers are testing your: ability to solve the
process, your past behaviours problems they give you, intelligence and
knowledge, expertise in the field
- more reliable indicators about how you will
handle situations in the future, because
chances are that if you supply an answer that
will adequately solve the problem, you would
also perform that same action if put in that
situation
- only real issues with this is that they do not
give the interviewer insight as to your pas
work history, nor do they show the
 interviewer how you value your answers

How decision to hire could be made – types:

- compile information from all techniques used to evaluate information about each candidate and summarize
o “can-do” factors
o “will-do” factors
o “fit” factors
- Hiring manager usually makes final hiring decision
- Make offer that specifies terms and conditions of employment
- Give candidates time to think about the offer
- Notify all finalists who were not selected

How would you evaluate the Selection effectiveness – metrics (time to fill, yield ratio, cost per hire, quality of
hire, etc.)

- Yield ratios: show what percentage of candidates pass from one stage of the hiring process to another
- Selection ratio: the # of applicants hired to the number of applicants available
- Time lapse data: time from start of recruitment to new employee starting work
- Time to fill
- Cost per hire
o Advertising
o Opportunity costs: including time taken to filter applicants and interview
o Testing
o Administration – including reference checking
Chapter 7: Training, Development and Orientation
Orientation, what is it?

- Is the planned introduction of new employees to their jobs, coworkers, and the organization
- Meant to educate new employees about the goals and responsibilities of the position and company, as well
as to answer any questions they may have about HR, benefits and payroll information

Purpose of Orientation programs: employers have to realize that orientation isn’t just a nice gesture put on by the
organization. It serves as an important element of the recruitment and retention process.

- To reduce start-up costs: proper orientation can help the employee get “up to speed” much more quickly,
thereby reducing the costs associated with learning the job
- To reduce anxiety: any employee, when put into a new, strange situation, will experience anxiety that can
impede his or her ability to learn to do the job. Proper orientation helps to reduce anxiety that results from
entering into an unknown situation, and helps provide guidelines for behaviour and conduct, so the
employee doesn’t have to experience the stress of guessing
- To reduce employee turnover: it increases as employees feel they aren’t valued or are put in positions
where they can’t possibly do their jobs. Orientation shows that the organization values the employee, and
helps provide the tools necessary for succeeding in the job
- To save time for supervisor & co-workers: the better the initial orientation, the less likely supervisors and
co-workers will have to spend time teaching the employee
- To develop realistic job expectations, positive attitudes, and job satisfaction: it is important that employees
learn as soon as possible what is expected of them, and what to expect from others, in addition to learning
about the values and attitudes of the organization. While people can learn from experience, they will make
many mistakes that are unnecessary and potentially damaging

Special Orientation situations:

 - Diverse workforce
- Mergers & acquisitions
- Union VS non-union employees
- Multi-location organizations

Differentiate between Training and Development

Employee training and development is an indispensable part of human resource function and management. Both
activities aim at improving the performance and productivity of the employees.

Training: is a program organized by the organization of develop knowledge and skills in the employees as per the
requirement of the job.

Development: is an organized activity in which the manpower of the organization learn and grow; it’s a self-
assessment act
Steps in the Training Process; needs analysis, instructional design, validation, implementation, evaluation,
and follow-up:

Analysis - Before starting to develop any content or

training strategies, you should analyze the
current situation in terms of training,
knowledge gaps etc.
- Start with a series of questions to understand
the current situation and to also understand
what is the goal of the training itself
- This phase should be a full audit of the
audience, business goals, training
methodologies used, media types used, etc.
once this is done, you can generate a training
plan that addresses: who, what, when, where,
why, how?
- The core of your training plan will be “how
can we improve the situation and achieve
business goals through training?”
- You should come out with: an analysis of
training needs and a training plan

Instructional design - This is where you take all of the learnings of

the previous phase and use it to make practical
decisions
- This includes a strategy, delivery methods,
structure, duration, assessment, and feedback
- Next step is to storyboard your ideas and/or
create a prototype. You are creating a
blueprint for your courses, and by making a
prototype you can quickly communicate with
other stakeholders the value of the training

Development - At this stage, you can begin to create the

courses. Each element of the course should be
developed to match the design phase. The
core of the content has already been decided.
All you need to add is a level of detail and
polish the courses
- This is done by adding graphics, choosing
colors and deciding on fonts
- The careful selection of these elements allows
you to present the course in a manner that will
appeal to the audience
- This process should be iterative
- A key consideration at this stage is navigation

Implementation - Once completed the courses and you are

satisfied that they are fully tested, it’s time to
share them with the learner
- The decisions made in the design phase will
influence how this is actually carried out
 Evaluation - Getting feedback on every aspect of the
courses is really important so that you can
improve and revise the content

Training needs analysis: task analysis and performance analysis

1. Organizational analysis: culture, values, mission, goals, strategy

2. Job/task analysis: KSAO requirements, task analysis and performance analysis determine training needs for
non-management employees
3. Person analysis: gaps between employee KSAOs and job requirements (KSAOs required by the job), e.g.,
performance evaluations, self-or supervisor identification

Instructional objective: what is it, how to create one, what components to include: the desired behaviour, the
conditions which it is to occur, performance criteria

Training Techniques: on the job, coaching, apprenticeship, etc.

- On the job: this type of training involves the movement of the trainee from one job to another. The trainee
receives job knowledge and gains experience from his supervisor or trainer in each of the different job
assignments. Though this method of training is common in training managers for general management
positions, trainees can also be rotated from job to job in workshop jobs.
- Coaching: trainee is placed under a particular supervisor who functions as a coach in training the
individual. The supervisor provides feedback to the trainee on his performance and offers him some
suggestions for improvement. Often the trainee shares some of the duties and responsibilities of the coach
and relieves him of his burden.
- Apprenticeship: this is a formalized method of training curriculum program that combines classroom
education with on-the-job work under close supervision. The training curriculum is planned in advance and
conducted in careful steps from day to day. Most trade apprenticeship programs have a duration of 3 to 4
years before an apprentice is considered completely accomplished in that trade or profession.

Evaluating training: reaction, learning, behaviour, and results

- Trainer will handout a survey at the end of the course to see how the participants reacted to the training.
- Knowledge acquisition can help determine if the content was learned or not. It can flag participants that did
not acquire the learning and further support those who did (potentially making them mentors)
- Behavioural application can demonstrate the degree to which participants apply their new knowledge in the
real world. This can provide clear evidence of who is applying the training and who is not and can lead
management to correct misapplication, and reward close application after training
Chapter 8: Performance Management

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

- Aims to improve organizational performance - an administrative measurement tool that

by linking all objectives compares employee performance to
- A set of integrated management practices that established standards
includes processes used to identify, - concerned with determining how well
encourage, measure, evaluate, improve, and employees are doing their jobs
reward employee’s performance - the evaluation of employee’s job performance
and contributions to the organization

Uses of Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal Process

Why should performance be appraised and problems with it?

- Make your people feel valued

o It is important to make your employees feel that they’re valued and are producing good work. The
formal appraisal is a great opportunity to give your employees sincere feedback, spurring them on
to work smarter and better
- Set new goals
o Most productive employees are those that are constantly driven, and unrelenting in their pursuit of
goals. Setting achievable targets during the appraisal helps to motivate employees and empowers
them to feel more confident when they hit them.
o Appraisal is also a useful occasion with changing market conditions; making targets relevant and
accurate
- Resolve grievances
o Often managers are too engrossed in the day-to-day to get an insight into an employee’s frame of
mind. The appraisal is a great time to address any concerns you or they may have
- Strengthen bonds
 o It’s important for team cohesion and overall productivity that managers have good relationships
with their team. Use this occasion to align priorities and discuss various matters of interest to the
business with your team members; almost like a brainstorming session
- Refocusing your team
o Appraisals can be used to help communicate your vision to team members. This is your chance to
clarify and articulate your vision, ensuring that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet
- Oversight on current projects
o Formal appraisals are a good opportunity to step away from the hustle and bustle of everyday
work and reflect upon the overarching direction your team is heading in
- Assess the training needs of your team
o Different people within your team will have different strengths. Use the appraisal to assess your
employees’ weaknesses, identifying areas which may require additional training and support
o Letting your team know that you’re thinking about their development will help instil in them an
ethos of ambition, in turn driving the business on to be more productive and aspirational
- PA MEASURES:

TRAIT METHODS BEHAVIOUR METHODS RESULTS METHODS

Graphic rating scale Behavioural checklists Management by objective

(MBO)
- Subordinates work with
their supervisor to
establish specific task-
related objectives
- MBO is the most
individualized appraisal
method
- MBO works well with
counselling, provided
the goals focus on
important activities
- MBO is not highly
subjective to rating
errors

Problems:

- Setting unclear goals

- Time consuming
- Subordinates and heads
has to agree on the
subordinates goals
(subordinate: low vs.
head: high)

Ranking Critical incident Work standards/productivity

measures

Forced distributions Behaviourally anchored rating Balanced scorecard

scales (BARS)
- Combines elements of
the traditional quantified
rating scale and
 narrative critical
incident methods.
Performance standards
are concrete
- Each standard consists
of a number of specific,
behavioural anchors on
the rating form itself
- The behavioural anchors
cover the range of
performance – from
excellent to poor
behaviour
- Anchors are worded in
the form of expectations

Forced choice Behavioural observation scale Assessment centres

(BOS)

Written essay (narrative) 360-degree review

Paired comparison

Weighted check-list

Management by objectives:
 - Summary of PA methods:

Who should do the appraisal – 360-degree feedback?

- A multi-rater evaluation that involves input from multiple levels within the firm and external sources as
well – combination of perspectives
o E.g., peer, self, supervisor, customers, any employees reporting to the person being appraised
- Conditions:
o Ensure accountability of participants
o Minimize politics
o Use statistics
o Check for biases

Rater’s errors such as central tendency, halo effect, leniency, etc. – what are they and how to avoid them
Error of Central Tendency: a rating error in which all employees are rated about average

Leniency or strictness error: a rating error in which the appraiser tends to give all employees either unusually high or
unusually low ratings

Halo/horn effect: the tendency to rate an individual uniformly high/low in other PA dimensions if he is extra-
ordinarily high/low in one particular PA dimension

Similar-to-me error: an error in which an appraiser inflates the evaluation of an employee because of a mutual
personal connection

Recency effect: ratings are based largely on employee’s most recent behaviour

Matthew effect: tendency of raters to use previous evaluations as an anchor for subsequent evaluations

- i.e., employees receive the same appraisal results, year in and year out
- like a self-fulfilling prophecy – if they have done well, they will continue to do well; if they have done
poorly, they will continue to do poorly

Contrast effect: when an employee’s evaluation is biased upward or downward because of a comparison with
another employee who was recently evaluated

Rating errors can be reduced, and performance appraisals improved by:

- training raters to understand the evaluation process and recognize errors

o also, to increase the reliability of the measurements. A training program for raters ensures that all
the raters are operating from a common frame of reference
- Frame-of-reference (FOR) training seeks to ensure that raters have the same understanding of the rating
system’s instructions; that they have the same interpretation of the performance dimensions that are to be
evaluated; and that they know how to use the rating system’s measurement scale. FOR training improves
the accuracy of ratings and provides information that assessors use long after the training ends
- ensuring that raters observe ratees on an ongoing basis
- not having the rater evaluate too many ratees
- ensuring the clarity and adequacy of performance dimensions and standards
- avoiding terms that have different meanings for different rates

Appraisal Interviews

- performance appraisals requires feedback sessions in which performance and progress are discussed and
plans are made for development that is required
How to ensure that the performance appraisal process is carried out ethically, and without violating human
rights laws

- a performance appraisal form is a legal document

- raters must use only performance criteria that are relevant to the job
- avoid non-relevant criteria
- a reasonable time must be set for performance improvement
- well-documented performance shortcomings and use of feedback interviews have been viewed favourably
in court and with arbitrators

Chapter 11: Employee Rights and Discipline

5 components of employee relations are:

- human resource planning

- placement
- training and development
- evaluation
- compensation

Describe the foundation of employee – employer relationship in Canada:

- to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists, many factors have to be taken into
consideration, including the terms and conditions of the worker’s employment and common law principles
Common Law Principles:
- a contract of service, or employer-employee relationship, generally exists when a worker agrees to perform
a specific task for a payer in return for payment. The worker is in business in his or her own right and
provides services to other businesses as an independent contractor. The worker isn’t normally required to
perform the services personally
- to determine the legal relationship between the parties, Ontario examines and analyzes the terms and
conditions of the worker’s employment as they relate to the following 4 factors: control, ownership of
tools, chance of profit/risk of loss and integration.
o Ontario also considers the intent of the parties as evidenced in the terms of a written contract and
the mutual understanding of the parties at the time of entering into the contractual relationship.
 Such contracts will only be given weight if they accurately reflect the relationship between the
parties
Control:
- Generally, in an employer-employee relationship, the payer controls, directly or indirectly, the way the
work is to be done and the work methods used. The payer assigns specific tasks that define the real
framework within which the work is to be done. The payer exercises control if he or she has the right to
hire or fire, and decide where, when and how the work will be done. If such is the case, then the payer
clearly exercises control over the worker, who may then be considered to be an employee for EHT
(Employee health tax) purposes.

Statutory Rights and Contractual Rights

The Canadian Human Rights Act:

- Is a law to prohibit discrimination in employment and services within federal jurisdiction. Under the Act,
Canadians are protected from discrimination when they are employed or receive services from: this means
that employers and service providers must ensure that all employees are treated equally
o The federal government
o First nations government; or
o Private companies that are regulated by the federal government, including banks, trucking
companies, and broadcasters and telecommunications companies

Duty to accommodate:

- At times, people need to be treated differently to prevent or reduce discrimination. This may require an
employer to make a change to an employee’s work environment or duties, to make it possible for that
person to do his or job every day – called duty to accommodate and it only applies to needs that are based
on one of the grounds of discrimination.
- This has limits. Some accommodation isn’t possible because it would cause an organization undue
hardship: an action requiring significant difficulty or expense

Contractual Rights:

- A contract gives both you and your employer certain rights and obligations. The most common example is
that you have a right to be paid for the work you do. Your employer has a right to give reasonable
instructions to you and for your work at your job – these rights and obligations are called “contractual
terms”

Differentiate between 3 types of justice (fairness):

Distributive Justice (or economic Procedural Justice Retributive Justice

justice)

- Concerned with giving all - Concerned with making - Appeals to the notion of
members of society a “fair and implementing “just desert” – the idea that
 share” of the benefits and decisions according to fair people deserve to be
resources available. processes that ensure “fair treated in the same way
- Some possible criteria of treatment” they treat others
distribution are equity, - Rules must be impartially - The central idea is that the
equality, and need. (equity followed and consistently offender has gained unfair
means that one’s rewards applied in order to advantages through his or
should be equal to one’s generate an unbiased her behaviour, and that
contributions to a society, decision. Those carrying punishment will set this
while “equality” means out the procedures should imbalance straight. In
that everyone gets the be neutral, and those other words, those who
same amount, regardless directly affected by the don’t play by the rules
of their input. Distribution decisions should have should be brought to
on the basis of need means some voice or justice and deserve to
that people who need more representation in the suffer penalties for their
will get more, while decision-making process. transgressions
people who need less will - If people believe - The main reason for this is
get less.) procedures to be fair, they to show that the
- It is crucial to the stability will be more likely to punishment for
of a society and the well- accept outcomes, even committing a crime is
being of its members ones that they don’t like. large enough that people
because when issues of will not engage in illegal
economic justice are not activities because the risk
properly addressed and the of punishment is too high
item to be distributed is
highly valued, intractable
conflicts frequently results

The Concept of Negligence:

- Negligence in employment is an area of law wherein an employer is held responsible for an employee’s
acts that cause injury to others. This can happen if the employer acted negligently in allowing the worker to
take a certain position or to perform a particular task
- An employer who is found liable for negligence for in employment may face legal consequences, such as
being required to pay the victim a damages award for their injuries or losses.

The importance of trust in healthy employee – employer relationship

- Trust is key element of effective communication and teamwork between co-workers, between managers
and employees, and between employees and managers
- Trust reduces risk and operating costs. It increases employee commitment and productivity. Work
relationships mature, trust becomes differentiated

Types of Termination: voluntary; involuntary: with notice, without notice, layoffs, constructive dismissal

Under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) a person’s employment is terminated if the employer:

- Dismisses or stops employing an employee, including where an employee is no longer employed due to the
bankruptcy or insolvency of the employer
- “constructively” dismisses an employee and employee resigns, in response, within a reasonable time
- Lays an employee off for a period that is longer than a “temporary layoff”

In most cases, when an employer ends the employment of an employee who has been continuously employed for 3
months, the employer must provide the employee with either written notice of termination, termination pay or a
combination (as long as the notice and the # of weeks of termination pay together equal the length of notice the
employee is entitled to receive)

The ESA doesn’t require an employer to give an employee a reason why their employment is being terminated.
There are, however, some situations where an employer cannot terminate an employee’s employment even if the
employer is prepared to give proper written notice or termination pay.

Constructive dismissal:

- May occur when an employer makes a significant change to a fundamental term or condition of an
employee’s employment without the employee’s actual or implied consent
- Ex. An employee may be constructively dismissed if the employer makes changes to the employee’s terms
and conditions of employment that result in a significant reduction in salary or significant negative change
in such things as the employee’s work location, hours of work, authority, or position
- Constructive dismissal may also include situations where an employer harasses or abuses an employee, or
an employer gives an employee an ultimatum to “quit or be fired” and the employee resigns in response
o The employee would have to resign in response to the change within a reasonable period of time
in order for the employer’s actions to be considered a termination of employment for purposes of
the ESA

Temporary layoff:

- Is when an employer cuts back or stops the employee’s work without ending their employment (e.g., laying
someone off at times when there isn’t enough work to do)
- Even if intended to be temporary, may result in constructive dismissal if it’s not allowed by the
employment contract
- Employers aren’t required under the ESA to provide employees with a written notice of a temporary layoff,
nor do they have to provide a reason for the lay-off. (they may however, be required to do these things
under a collective agreement or an employment contract)
- Under ESA, a “temporary layoff” can last:
o Not more than 13 weeks of layoff in any period of 20 consecutive weeks
o More than 13 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks, but less than 35 weeks of layoff in
any period of 52 consecutive weeks, where:
 The employee continues to receive substantial payments from the employer;
 The employer continues to make payments for the benefit of the employee under a
legitimate group or employee insurance plan (such as a medical or drug insurance plan)
or a legitimate retirement or pension plan
 The employee receives supplementary unemployment benefits
 The employee would be entitled to receive supplementary unemployment benefits but
isn’t receiving them because they are employed elsewhere
 The employer recalls the employee to work within the time frame approved by the
Director of Employment Stands
 The employer recalls the employee within the time frame set out in an agreement within
an employee who isn’t represented by a trade union

Involuntary termination:

- Is a form of termination where the employer/management decides to end their relationship with an
employee for various reasons
- Layoffs is considered a form of involuntary employment termination
 o Because organizations tend to lay off employees as a resort to cut down on operations costs and to
also increase the productivity of the organization and save it from collapse
- Dismissal is also considered a form
o Which is initiated solely by the employer for performance or misconduct reasons
- Retrenchment:
o In a way resembles layoffs but with minor disparities. Like layoffs, employees are often
retrenched during an economic recession but in this case, they are noticed beforehand, and in lieu
of notice is given for the entire period
- Forced resignation:
o Usually happens where a senior executive or high-ranking manager is involved.
o The concerned party is forced to resign so as to save their

Wrongful dismissal:

- Occurs when an employee is dismissed, or terminated, by their employer, but not given reasonable notice.
Notice upon termination may be provided as working notice (meaning that you continue to work up until
the date of your termination), severance pay in the form of salary continuance, and severance pay offered in
one lump sum
- Types of wrongful dismissal claims:
o Where an employer terminates employment without cause, but refuses to pay adequate
compensation
o Where an employer inappropriately terminates an employee for cause and fails to pay any
compensation
o Where an employer, by altering fundamental terms and conditions of employment and/or by
making the work environment intolerable, “constructively” dismisses an employee
- Common misconception:
o A wrongful dismissal claim doesn’t occur merely because your former employer terminated you
for a illegitimate or invalid reason. For instance, your employer may have told you that you were
terminated due to the company’s poor financial situation, when in fact the balance sheet is quite
healthy. While a company shouldn’t lie about why they terminated you, there is no legal
requirement for them to be “honest” about the reason given. So long as notice is provided, they
don’t have to be honest about their decision

Termination for just cause:

- Exists when an employee is found to be guilty of serious misconduct, habitual neglect of duty,
incompetence or conduct incompatible with his/her duties.

How to conduct termination meeting/discharge meeting:

1. Avoid mixing the good with the bad

2. Keep the termination meeting business-like and brief, avoid bringing personal feelings into the discussion,
conduct the meeting in a neutral location, such as a conference room
Chapter 9: Compensation

TOTAL REWARDS COMPENSATION

- Consist of everything that total compensation - Financial rewards and tangible benefits &
covers (base pay, bonuses, variable pay, perks services employees receive as part of their
and on-site amenities, status/recognition, and employment
benefits - Direct compensation: financial rewards
- Not all have monetary value employees receive in exchange for their work
- Can lead to: easier recruitment of high quality - Indirect compensation: benefits and services
staff, lower turnover, higher employee employees receive in exchange for their work
performance, enhanced employer reputation - The problem with using total compensation
- Your total rewards program can encompass alone is that it doesn’t communicate the fullest
medical, dental, vision, and other health- possible value of compensation, because it
related benefits, as well as any other employee typically only covers:
perks you may offer o Base pay
- Impacts employer’s ability to attract & retain o Bonuses
employees o equity
- Creates a total value proposition for current
and prospective employees
o Considers the total value they receive
for contributing their time and energy
to the company
- Ensure optimal levels of employee
performance in meeting organization’s
strategic objectives
- Enhances organizational competitiveness

5 components of Total Rewards and examples of each:

Compensation and Benefits:

- compensation refers to the various ways an employee earns money from the company. It consists of a base
salary or hourly wage but can also include profit sharing and bonuses
- benefits refer to both mandatory programs and employer options. Mandatory programs include worker’s
compensation and Social Security, while employer options include paid vacation time and pension
programs

Professional Development and Recognition:

- professional development encompasses a broad spectrum of learning and advancement opportunities, such
as tuition reimbursement, mentoring and defined advancement, tracks.
o Ex. A business might cover the costs for everyone in a department to receive access to a relevant
online course.
- Recognition ranges from an individual acknowledgement of work well done to a formal recognition
program, such as an employee of the month or year program. Formal programs often include incentives,
such as a plaque or prize

Work-Life Balance:

- Refers to providing employees a chance to meet their personal obligations or goals

 o Ex. Some employers allow employees to come in early or leave late, so they can get their kids on
the bus or attend their child’s events. Employers might also establish volunteer programs, offer a
childcare subsidy or provide stress-management resources

The Purpose and Objectives of Compensation:

- It is a systematic approach to providing monetary value to employees in exchange for work performed.
Compensation may achieve several purposes assisting in recruitment, job performance, and job satisfaction
- The purpose of compensation is, thus, to attract and retain the employees. Organizations have to increase
the motivation and commitment of employees to retain their services in the organization. This can be
largely done through the reward systems employed in the organization. This system, thus, aims to align
individual goals of earning money with organizational goals of meeting its commitments
- Objectives:
o Attract qualified personnel: in the competitive business environment, managers pay high
compensation to attract qualified personnel. Unless the supply of HR is more than demand,
professionally qualified people do not join organizations that pay low compensation
o Retain personnel: if competing firms offer higher compensation, employees will leave the
organizations resulting in high labour turnover. This is costly for organizations in terms of
appointing new employees and training them. Compensation shouldn’t only attract employees; it
must also retain them.
o Equity in pay: compensation must be commensurate with the qualification of employees and with
what similar employees are getting in competing jobs
o Cost control: compensation adds to company’s cost. Proper compensation policies help to
maintain control over costs
o Avoid legal regulation: minimum wages are determined by the Government. A sound wage
system should comply with legal regulations for paying wages. It should avoid Government
interference
 o Easy to understand: the wage system shouldn’t be complicated. It should be easily understood by
employers and employees

2 main components of compensation: direct and indirect

Direct:

- Have a multitude of types or methods, from salaries to bonuses

- Salary: this type of wage is customarily a set sum of remuneration over a defined period of time. The most
traditional form is a dollar amount over a period of one year. The frequency of payment is another part of
the compensation and is based on industry standards. Most businesses pay for services twice a month.
o They are the most commonly used tool to pay professional or licensed employees. In general there
is an expectation from the employer of a longer term commitment from the employee for
providing a regular interrupted compensation stream via a salary
- Hourly: this is a $ amount per hour of service to the employer, more commonly used to compensate
unskilled and skilled laborers in the workforce. This form of compensation comes with an implied
understanding that during times of slow or minimal workloads, the employee may not be used to provide
services. In effect, there is no guarantee of a regular cycle of pay
- Commission: when commission is based on volume or some form of performance, this is known as
commission-based remuneration.
- Bonuses: used to increase performance from the employee. This is a variable type of remuneration and is
more commonly found with salaried staff to incentivize them for a particular goal whether time or volume
based. Other reasons used for bonuses are to increase or maintain retention of certain skills or the pool of
skill sets needed in the company. Sometimes bonuses are paid when a company meets certain financial
standards or goals over an extended period of time. Bonuses aren’t commonly used with hourly or
commission-based employees due to the nature of the type of compensation already established. However,
in small businesses it is used as a tool to incentivize these 2 types of remuneration to meet certain goals.
The other form of compensation is indirect in value. This includes benefits and equity-based programs. In
general, these 2 types of indirect compensation provide value to an employee over a longer period of time.

Indirect:

- Primarily the various types of benefits and long-term incentives

- Benefits: traditionally thought in the form of insurances (health, dental, life, disability, and vision) and
retirement. Very few small businesses provide benefits to their employees due to the cost involved. When
small businesses begin providing benefits, they customarily start out with retirement because of simplicity
and low cost. As they grow, they add health insurance (mandated by law for employers with 50 or more
employees) and continue to expand the benefit package as the # of employees increase and the risk of
business performance decreases. Benefits allow for retention and recruitment.

Basic considerations in determining pay rates: legal, union, compensation policies, and equity

- Legal requirements
o All of an organization’s decision about compensation and rewards, need to at least comply with
the applicable laws
o Human rights
o Employment standards
 Vacations and holidays
 Paid breaks
 Pay on termination of employment
  Leaves of absence
o Pay equity
- Union influences
o Wage rates, time off with pay, income security, cost-of-living adjustments, pensions
o Union attitudes toward compensation decisions:
 Union leaders believe no one can judge value of job other than workers themselves
 Mgmt’s methods of evaluating jobs are manipulative towards workers
o How mgmt. gains cooperation with union:
 Get active involvement in process
 Ensure mgmt. doesn’t surrender job evaluation techniques
- Compensation policies
o Provide important guidelines regarding wage and benefits
o Factors taken into account when developing policy: if org wants to be leader or follower regarding
pay, business strategy, cost of different types of compensation
o Written by HR or compensation manager
- Equity and its impact on pay rates
o Equity theory: people are motivated to maintain balance between what they perceive as their
contributions and their rewards
o If person perceives inequity, tension will develop that motivates him to reduce tension &
perceived inequity
o Underpaid or overpaid (feelings of guilt/discomfort)

The steps in establishing pay rates: conduct job evaluation, group similar jobs into pay grades, conduct salary
survey, price pay grade using wage curves, and fine tune pay rates

Stage 1: Preparing for Job Evaluation:

- Job evaluation: systematic comparison to determine relative worth of jobs within a firm
- Compare content of jobs & working conditions
- Focuses on benchmark jobs: which is jobs critical to firm’s operations or that is commonly found in other
organizations; results used as references for other jobs
- Pay grade: comprises jobs of approximately equal value; DETERMINED BY EVALUATION
-

Stage 2: Conduct Wage/Salary Survey:

- Survey aimed at determining prevailing wage rates

- Uses:
o Determine pay rates for benchmark jobs
o Market data – compensation now shaped more market wages and less off of traditional hierarchy
of jobs
o Collects data on other types of rewards (benefits, work-life programs, etc)

Stage 3: Combine Job Evaluation and Salary Survey Information to determine pay for jobs:

- Assigning pay rates to each pay grade accomplished using wage curve
- Wage curve: graphic description of relationship between value of the job (in points) and avg wage paid for
this job – purpose = show relationship job value as determined by job evaluation method vs. current avg
pay for each job/grade
What is job evaluation and how is it used?

- It is a systematic process of establishing the relative worth of jobs within a single organization in order to
determine equitable pay differentials among jobs. It involves analyzing descriptions of all jobs in the
organization and relating each job to all others in some systematic way.
- We use job evaluation to systematically compare the value of all jobs in a company. Based on the results
of job evaluation, we price the jobs for the company.
- 2 points here:
o To evaluate the jobs
o To price the jobs

Explain what the compensable factors are (skills, effort, responsibilities, working conditions):

- Skills:
o Education/experience
o Interpersonal skill
- Effort:
o Physical & mental effort
- Responsibility:
o Supervision of others
o Planning
- Working conditions:
o Physical environment
o Travel

Different methods of job evaluation: ranking method, point method

- Job ranking: is a job evaluation system where jobs in an organization are placed subjectively on a scale in
accordance to their importance in comparison with other jobs
- Point factor system: assesses the relative importance of a job’s key factors to arrive at the relative worth of
that job within the organization
o The key factors are called compensable factors and include skills, effort, responsibilities, and
working conditions

Pay Equity: what is it all about? (equal pay for work of equal value)

- Intended to redress systemic gender discrimination as measured by the wage gap, which indicates that full-
time working women in Canada make about 70 cents for every dollar made by full-time working men
- Wage gap has narrowed since the introduction of pay equity legislation, but there is still no explanation
other than systemic discrimination for much of the 30% gap that still persists
- In the long term: best way to remove portion of the wage gap resulting from systemic discrimination is to
eliminate male- and female-dominated jobs by ensuring that women have equal access to and are equally
represented in all jobs
- Equal pay for equal work: part of Canada Labour Code since 1971
o Employers must pay men and women the same wage or salary when they do the same work
- Equal pay for work of equal value (pay equity): part of the Canadian Human Rights Act since 1978
o Jobs of comparable worth to the organization should be paid equally
Types of the organizational justice: procedural, distributive

Distributive justice: the perception that overall reward outcomes are fair

Procedural justice: the perception that the process for rewards determination is fair

Variable pay – pay for performance

- This system provides employees with a pay basis, but links the attainment of certain goals or achievements
directly to their pay, comparable to a commission, bonus etc.
- Type of VP selected must improve performance (i.e., straight, guaranteed, or differential)
- Top performers must get top pay, thus accurate performance appraisal necessary
- Employee must be able to relate to work to achievement of corporate goals

Chapter 10: Benefits and Services

Purpose of indirect compensation: benefits and services, what can be included?

- Includes non-monetary benefits provided to workers, such as pension funds, mobile phones, company cars,
health and life insurance, overtime pay, and annual leave.
- it can help companies in attracting and retaining
- they are usually extended as a condition of employment rather than directly related to performance
- seek to satisfy several objectives, including: employee, societal, and organizational
Four types of government sponsored benefits: Canada/Quebec Pension Plan, Employment Insurance,
Workers’ Compensation, and Benefits specified in Employment Standards Act

Canada/Quebec Pension Plan:

- they are both contributory plans which means that both the employer and employee pay part of the cost
- it is mandatory, portable, contributory, and applicable to all employees in Canada
- programs that provide basic level of security on retirement
- 3 types of benefits:
o Retirement income
o Survivor or death benefits
o Disability benefits
- Benefits based on individual contributions made

Employment Plan:

- A federal program that provides income benefits if a person is unable to work through no fault of his or her
own
- Supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB)
- Under the ESA and current regulations, self-employed persons aren’t eligible for benefits

Workers’ Compensation:

- The government program designed to alleviate the monetary concerns of Canadian workers during the
transition from one job to another
- “no fault” insurance plan
- Income and medical benefits to victims of work-related accidents or illnesses, regardless of fault
- Funded collectively by employers
- Administered by jurisdictional workers’ compensation boards – the provincial and governments of EACH
province

Benefits specified in ESA:

- Vacation: minimum amount of paid vacation must be provided to employees

- Holidays: varies by jurisdiction, minimum 5 days, maximum 9
- Paid breaks: uninterrupted break within a work day, e.g., 30 min break on a shift over 5 hours

Different types of benefits: Flexible (cafeteria) benefits plans, Core Benefits

Flexible benefits plans – cafeteria benefits:

- Can address differences in employees’ needs and engage employees

- Offers employees a set of alternatives i.e., able to choose types and amounts of benefits
- Advantages: employees become more aware of value and can match their needs to benefit offerings
- Disadvantages: higher administrative costs and employees’ selection of benefits will increase costs

Core Benefits:

- Core package: the traditional package of employer-paid benefits that may allow some flexibility within
individual benefits, but staff cant opt out of or switch between the benefits offered in a package
Retirement benefits: differentiate between defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution pension
plans

Defined benefit plans: pension plan that guarantees a specified level of retirement income

Defined contribution plan: sets up an individual account of each employee and specifies the size of the investment
into the account

Explain what EAP means and outline the kinds of services provided by EAPs

- Employee assistance programs are designed to help people understand or overcome their personal
problems.
- Include assessments, counseling, and referrals for additional services to employees with personal and/or
work-related concerns, such as stress, financial issues, legal issues, family problems, office conflict, ad
alcohol and substance abuse

Wellness programs – how are they different from EAPs?

- This program is designed to keep employees hale and hardy (healthy)

- They provide important things like health screenings, education about health conditions (prevention and
treatment), and actually do help improve employee morale and job performance when used appropriately

Chapter 12: Occupational Health and Safety

The purpose and requirements of occupational health and safety legislation. (WHMIS legislation, joint health
and safety committees, enforcement, control of toxic substances)

- The main purpose of the Act is to protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job. It sets out
duties for all workplace parties and rights for workers. It establishes procedures for dealing with workplace
hazards and provides for enforcement of the law where compliance hasn’t been achieved voluntarily
- Joint health and Safety committees:
o Non-adversarial atmosphere where management and labour can work together to ensure a safe and
healthy workplace
o Usually consists of between 2 and 12 members, at least half of whom represent workers
o In small workplaces, one health and safety representative may be required
- Enforcement of OHS laws:
o Periodic government inspections of work of workplace
o Penalties consist of fines and/or jail terms
o “corporate killing”: a criminal offence, failure to ensure an appropriate level of safety in the
workplace (Bill C-45)

3 categories of rules, the responsibilities and rights of employer/supervisor’s under occupational health and
safety legislation

- Labelling of hazardous material containers

 - Material safety data sheets (MSDS)
- Employee training

Three rights of the employee: to know, to participate, to refuse unsafe work

- Right to know: Employers and supervisors must ensure workers are aware of the hazards presented
by people, equipment, materials, the environment, and processes. They have the right to be
trained on, and to receive information about dangerous and hazardous substances that they are
exposed to or are likely to be exposed.
- To participate: Workers have the right to ask questions about issues concerning their health and
safety or that of a co-worker. Workers have the right to be a part of the process of identifying,
assessing and controlling workplace health and safety hazards. Participation can also be achieved
by reporting unsafe conditions to the supervisor or employer.
- To refuse unsafe work: Workers may refuse work where they believe it is likely to endanger
themselves, or any other worker. The Act includes a detailed process for refusing unsafe work and
explains the employer’s responsibility for responding to work refusals. The Act also provides
workers with protection from reprisal, or retaliation, from the employer should they decided to
refuse unsafe work.

The 3 basic causes of accidents: chance occurrences, unsafe conditions, and unsafe acts

- Chance occurrences: more or less beyond the management’s control

- Unsafe conditions are a main cause of accidents. They include thing like: 
o 1) Improperly guarded equipment
2) Defective equipment
3) Hazardous procedures in, on , or around machines or equipment
4) Unsafe storage – congestion, overloading
5) Improper illumination – glare insufficient light.
6) Improper ventilation – insufficient air change, impure air source. 
o The solution here is to identify and eliminate the unsafe conditions. The main aim of the OSHA
standards is to address these mechanical and physical accident causing conditions. The employer’s
safety department (if any) and its human resource managers and top managers should take
responsibility for identifying unsafe conditions. However, front line supervisors pay a big role too,
as the when you’re on your own feature explains. 

- unsafe acts: Unsafe acts can undo even the best attempts to reduce unsafe conditions. The problem is that
are so easy answers to the question of what causes people to act recklessly. 

o It may seem intuitively obvious that some people are simply accident prone, but the research isn’t
all that just unlucky or may have been more meticulous about reporting their accidents. However,
there is growing evidence that people with specific traits may indeed by accident prone. For
example, people who are impulsive, sensation seeking, extremely extroverted and less
conscientious (in terms of being less fastidious and dependable) are more likely to have accidents. 

o Furthermore the person who is accident prone on one job may not be so on a different job. Driving
is one familiar example. Personality traits that correlate with fling vehicular insurance claims
include entitlement bad drivers think there’s no reason they should not speed or run lights
impatience drivers with high claim frequency were always in a hurry, aggressive always the first
to want to move the red light turn green and distractibility easily and frequently distracted by cell
phones, eating, drinking and so on.
Chapter 13: Labour Relations
What is a union?

- A union is an organization with the legal authority to represents workers, negotiate the terms and conditions
of employment with the employer, and administer the collective agreement

o Unions don’t just happen – caused by management action or inaction that workers perceive as
unfair

What is collective bargaining?

- Contract negotiated between the union and employer outlining terms and conditions of employment

o Addresses a variety of issues (e.g., wages and benefits, hours of work, working conditions,
grievance procedures)

o Places restrictions on management’s rights in managing the workplace

Collective bargaining – issues of collective bargaining: the “bread and butter” – wages and benefits:

- the negotiations that take place between a labour union and an employer to arrive at a mutually-acceptable
collective agreement

o Management and labour are required to negotiate wages, hours, and terms and conditions of
employment in “ good faith”
o Good faith bargaining - both parties make every reasonable effort to arrive at an agreement
o Proposals are matched with counterproposals and that both parties make every reasonable effort to
arrive at an agreement
o The "bread and butter" issues of collective bargaining are wages and benefits

Grievance, what is it?

- a written allegation of contract (collective agreement) violation filed by:

Ω individual union members

Ω union
Ω management

 employee has right to grieve disciplinary action considered:

Ω too harsh
Ω without just cause
Ω burden of proof on employer
 must strike a delicate balance between fairness and consistency
Grievance process - steps that the employer and union have agreed to follow to ascertain if some action violated the
agreement

The steps in a typical grievance procedure:

Stage 1. Employee gives written grievance to supervisor

Stage 2. Discussion by grievor, HR, union steward

Stage 3. Discussion by senior management and top union officials

Stage 4. Arbitration

The human resources department has primary responsibility for the development of disciplinary policies and
procedures. The representative of HR is always present at the last meeting along with the manager.