An Ethical Flaw After studying the materials on Module 1: Lecture Materials & Resources page, answer the following questions: Incident 1 “An Ethical Flaw” question 2-18Incident 1 “An Ethical Flaw”

Incident 1: HR After a Disaster

After Hurricane Rita struck Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana, many businesses wondered if they would ever return to their former selves. Massive destruction was everywhere. Lake Charles, known for its large and beautiful oak and pine trees, now had the job of removing those downed trees from homes, businesses, and lots. You could see for miles through what used to be thick forests. Huge trucks designed for removing massive tree trunks were everywhere. While driving down a street, downed trees could be seen stacked two stories high, waiting to be picked up. The town grew rapidly in size because of the increased number of repair crews working on recovery operations. The noise created by their chain saws could be heard from daylight until dark. The sounds of hammers were everywhere as homeowners scrambled to get their roofs repaired. Often repair crews would just find an empty lot and set up tents for the night because all motels were full. Traffic was unbelievably slow, and it appeared as if everyone was attempting to get on the road at the same time. Just driving from Point A to Point B could often be quite an adventure. As might be expected in conditions such as these, accidents were numerous. Often police did not have the resources to ticket every fender bender, so unless there were injuries, insurance cards were exchanged and the police went on to the next accident.

Months after Hurricane Rita struck, large and small businesses were still frantically trying to find workers so they could start up again. It appeared that every business in the town had a “Help Wanted” sign out front. Individuals who wanted a job could get one and could command a premium salary. Walmart, known for remaining open 24 hours a day, could only stay open on an abbreviated schedule. Employers often had to bus employees from locations not affected by the hurricane each morning and returned them at night because there were not enough workers available in the local area. Restaurants that normally remained open late into the evening closed at 6:00 p.m., if they opened at all. Compensation scales that were in use before the hurricane had to be thrown out and new plans implemented. Minimum-wage jobs were nonexistent. Employees who earned minimum wage before the storm could now command $10 per hour just for being a flagger (a person who directs traffic). Fast-food restaurants that normally paid minimum wage now paid $10 or $11. Burger King was even offering a $1,500 bonus for entry-level workers. Upscale restaurants that normally paid minimum wage plus tips now paid premium rate plus tips. Restaurants that remained open often had a much younger staff, and it was evident that the managers and assistant managers were working overtime to train these new workers. Restaurant patrons had to learn patience because there would be mistakes by these eager, but largely untrained workers.

Questions

1. 1-18. Which environment factor(s) did Hurricane Rita affect? Discuss.

2. 1-19. How were the HR functions affected by Hurricane Rita?

3. 1-20. Do you believe the HR situations described regarding Hurricane Rita would be typical in a disaster? Explain.

Incident 2: Parental Leave at Yahoo

Employer branding is an ongoing effort that requires a company to “puts its money where its mouth is.” In other words, building and maintaining a positive employer brand goes beyond written policy and good media coverage. Successful branding starts with executive leadership setting an example for employees. Take the Internet company Yahoo. Yahoo has a policy that provides generous paid parental leave and permits employees to work from home. The company had a golden opportunity to demonstrate commitment to its family leave policy after then CEO Marissa Mayer gave birth to her baby in 2012. Rather than taking several weeks to work from home, she built a nursery next to her office where she could be close to the baby. Then, in 2013, a leaked internal memo revealed that Yahoo would terminate its telecommuting policy that allowed employees to work from home. In the memo, she stated: “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.”79 In addition, “We need to be one Yahoo, and that starts with physically being together.” Media responses were mixed. On one hand, Mayer showed that she could continue to lead Yahoo as a new mother. On the other hand, media reports criticized her “for failing to set a realistic expectation for America’s working moms.”80 Since then, Yahoo expanded its parental leave policy for the birth or adoption of a child, foster child placement, or surrogacy.

1. 1-21. How do these changes at Yahoo influence the co

1-22. As an HR professional, what would you have done after Mayer chose not to take more time allowed under Yahoo’s parental leave policy?