Ch. 2 - HR & Organizational Policies

Question 1

Human Resources (HR) policies and procedures

Answer 1

Encapsulate a broad field of information, requirements, and restrictions that assist employees in doing their jobs well; assist management in training, managing, and disciplining employees; ensure consistency in how companies interact with employees; and ensure that companies are following the law when it comes to the treatment of their employees.

Question 2

Government Mandate

Answer 2

A law that an employer must follow in order to ensure fair treatment and safety of employees.

Question 3

Why are HR policies and procedures important?

Answer 3

Human Resource policies play an important role in helping an organization remain in compliance with federal and state laws. They provide written guidance for employees and managers on how to deal with employee-related issues in the workplace.

Question 4

What are examples of human resource policies?

Answer 4

There are several human resource policies an organization may have in order to aid in recruiting, disciplining, and training employees. Some HR policies include time off, hiring and recruiting, discrimination, and social media policies.

Question 5

HR guidelines

Answer 5

The policies and procedures instituted by the HR department help the organization to provide protection, ensure government compliance, and provide guidance. There are several other reasons why having clear guidelines in the organization is important:

• They give the employees a clear picture of what is expected of them, the benefits that are available through the organization, and their rights.
• They codify the organization’s commitment to following any applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
• They provide guidance for disciplinary actions to ensure everyone is being treated fairly.

Question 6

Why Do We Need HR Policies?

Answer 6

HR Policies

• help the company stay in compliance with state and federal law and regulations;
• establish and reinforce company and manager expectations of staff;
• ensure consistency in process, so that Employee 1 does not receive different treatment than Employee 2;
• help guide managers to make consistent decisions;
• can lead to stronger employment retention because expectations are clear;
• offer transparency in company decision making;
• can reduce legal risk and expenses.

Question 7

Employee handbook

Answer 7

A book or document provided to employees that contains employment-related policies and procedures. These policies may include topics like compensation, benefits, labor relations, and technology. They may cover dress code, business hours, lunch breaks, paid time off, and maternity leave. The handbook should cover both legal requirements and employment expectations.

Question 8

Human resources management

Answer 8

the management of the planning and staffing of intellectual and physical inputs, or people of different skill levels, needed for an organization to meet its objectives. This means hiring the right people for each job in the organization.

Question 9

Recruitment

Answer 9

The process of attracting the right people to apply for jobs in an organization.

Question 10

External recruitment

Answer 10

involves recruiting candidates who are not part of the organization. This can be done in several ways:

• Posting jobs in a local newspaper or job board
• Company website
• Employee referral
• Local unemployment offices
• College and university recruitment
• Employment agencies
• Temporary employment agencies

Question 11

Internal recruiting

Answer 11

involves promoting existing employees into a new position within the organization. There are many benefits to recruiting from within the organization:

• Employees strive to advance to higher positions
• Employees do not need orientation into the company
• Employees are familiar with policy and procedures

There are a few disadvantages to internal recruiting:

• The promotion creates a gap in staffing
• The company does not benefit from new ideas or new ways of doing things

Question 12

Onboarding

Answer 12

The process of making sure, at the start of an employee’s tenure, that they are supplied with the tools that will allow them to succeed.

Question 13

Promoting employees

Answer 13

Involves moving an existing employee to a new position, generally with more responsibility and higher pay.

Question 14

Turnover

Question 15

Downsizing

Answer 15

Is the planned elimination of jobs in an organization.

Question 16

Job redesign

Answer 16

Is a restructuring of the tasks involved in a job to enhance the job, satisfaction, and/or productivity.

Question 17

Termination

Answer 17

is involuntary separation of employment.

Question 18

HR Forecasting?

Answer 18

is the process of determining or predicting the needs of the company by means of data and models. Forecasting is used to understand the skills and performance level of the current staff to help identify any gaps where hiring or restructuring needs to occur. By looking at past data and company statistics, the HR department can determine future needs.

Question 19

How to predict future needs or forecast human resources needs:

Answer 19

1. Create an overview of the company; need to determine the current level of your company. Understand each job and the tasks that position is required to complete. Determine the current output vs. desired output level.
2. Ask management to complete a survey and create a report based on their combined responses, known as the Delphi technique. By having management express their opinions about future needs of the company, the HR department will be better equipped with the knowledge of the departments that are struggling and the ones that are adequately staffed.
3. Using raw data, conduct calculations to determine the company’s average statistics. This data can help the HR department forecast the future needs.
4. Watch for industry trends. Looking at the data of the overall trends in the industry can help the company narrow down where to start.

Question 20

Trend analysis

Answer 20

This is the technique where a company looks at past trends to predict future trends.

Question 21

Ratio analysis

Answer 21

calculate the number of employees needed based on a particular business variable.

Question 22

Management opinion

Answer 22

This is the technique when the company relies on the requirements of departmental managers

Question 23

Business crime (white-collar crime)

Answer 23

is a type of non-violent, financially motivated criminal activity that typically occurs within the context of business or professional settings. These crimes are often committed by individuals in positions of trust or authority, and they involve illegal actions carried out to gain financial benefits, manipulate markets, defraud individuals or organizations, or otherwise exploit opportunities for personal or corporate gain. Business crimes can have a significant impact on the economy, consumers, investors, and other stakeholders.

This can include crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, bribery and corruption, money laundering, antitrust violations, environmental crimes, tax evasion, cybercrime, and forgery.

Business crimes are often investigated and prosecuted by law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, and other government entities. Penalties for these crimes can vary but often include fines, imprisonment, restitution, and forfeiture of ill-gotten gains. The complexity of business crime cases often requires specialized legal expertise and resources for investigation and prosecution.

Question 24

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act - 1970

Answer 24

is a federal law in the United States designed to combat organized crime and racketeering activities. Enacted in 1970 as part of the Organized Crime Control Act, RICO provides law enforcement with a powerful tool to prosecute individuals and organizations engaged in a pattern of criminal behavior through the use of enterprise-based charges.

RICO was originally created to target organized crime syndicates like the Mafia, but its application has extended to various other types of criminal enterprises as well. The law enables prosecutors to target not only the individuals directly committing criminal acts but also the larger organizations or “enterprises” that they are a part of, even if those organizations are not traditionally thought of as criminal groups.

The key components of RICO include:

Racketeering Activity: RICO allows for prosecution if an individual or organization engages in at least two acts of a wide range of designated criminal offenses, known as “predicate acts.” These can include various types of illegal activities such as bribery, extortion, fraud, money laundering, and other serious crimes.

Pattern of Racketeering Activity: RICO requires that these predicate acts be part of a pattern of criminal behavior. This pattern must involve a continuity of criminal conduct, indicating an ongoing and systematic criminal enterprise.

Enterprise: RICO targets both legitimate and illegitimate enterprises. An enterprise can be any organization, such as a corporation, partnership, association, or even a group of individuals. The law is broadly written to encompass a variety of entities.

Connection between Racketeering Activity and Enterprise: To prosecute under RICO, there must be a connection between the pattern of racketeering activity and the enterprise. This connection can be direct involvement by members of the enterprise or through the enterprise benefiting from the criminal conduct.

Criminal and Civil Penalties: Violation of RICO can result in severe criminal penalties, including lengthy prison sentences, substantial fines, and the forfeiture of ill-gotten gains. In addition to criminal penalties, RICO also allows for civil lawsuits, where private individuals or organizations harmed by RICO violations can sue for damages.

RICO’s wide-ranging scope and powerful enforcement tools have made it a significant tool in combating organized crime and other forms of racketeering. However, its use has also been criticized for potentially allowing for overly broad prosecutions and for being applied to cases that might not fit the traditional idea of organized crime. Nonetheless, RICO remains an influential and impactful law in the realm of criminal and civil litigation in the United States.

Question 25

False Claims Act (FCA) - 1863

Answer 25

Deterred citizens from requesting benefits from the Army. In recent times, it is used to punish people who file false claims with the government for the purpose of receiving a benefit that they did not earn or do not deserve. i.e. doctor billing insurance for services he did not perform on a patient.

To establish a violation of the False Claims Act, a few things need to be established:

The defendant has actual knowledge of the false claim.
The defendant deliberately ignored the truth.
Disregard was reckless.

Question 26

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) - 2002

Answer 26

is a federal law in the United States that was enacted in response to a series of corporate accounting scandals, most notably the Enron and WorldCom scandals. The primary goal of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is to enhance corporate governance, transparency, and financial reporting accuracy, with the aim of restoring public trust in the financial markets and protecting investors.

Key provisions of the SOX include:
- Corporate Responsibility
- Audit Committees
- Internal controls
- Auditor Independence
- Whistleblower Protection
- Financial Disclosures
- CEO and CFO Certifications
- Criminal Penalties
- Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
- Document Retention and Tampering

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has had a significant impact on corporate governance, financial reporting, and auditing practices. It has led to improvements in transparency, accountability, and investor confidence in the wake of corporate scandals that shook public trust in financial markets. While the act has been praised for its role in enhancing corporate accountability, it has also faced criticism for potentially imposing heavy compliance costs on companies, especially smaller ones. Nonetheless, SOX remains a landmark piece of legislation in the realm of corporate governance and financial regulation.

Question 27

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)

Answer 27

The act established the PCAOB, an independent regulatory body responsible for overseeing and regulating the audit of public companies. The PCAOB sets auditing standards and conducts inspections of audit firms.

Question 28

Ethics

Answer 28

System of rules and principles guiding proper conduct in society, influencing decisions and responsibilities.

Question 29

Code of Ethics

Answer 29

is a written statement of an organization’s values and principles that help guide organizational members in their decision making and responsibilities to those inside and outside the organization. Codes of ethics can be compliance-based or integrity-based.

Question 30

Compliance-Based Code of Ethics

Answer 30

Focus: Preventing unwanted behavior, primarily illegal acts.
Emphasis: Strict adherence to laws, regulations, and rules.
Purpose: Avoid legal penalties and violations.
Example: Primarily concerned with following laws and regulations.

Question 31

Integrity-Based Code of Ethics

Answer 31

Focus: Encouraging employees to engage in right actions aligned with company values.
Emphasis: Values-driven decision-making and behavior.
Purpose: Promote ethical conduct beyond mere legal compliance.
Example: Prioritizes ethical behavior aligned with company values.

Question 32

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Answer 32

is the idea that a business has duties and obligations beyond making profits for shareholders and includes responsibilities to other stakeholders, including society at large.

Question 33

Stakeholder

Answer 33

Influenced by or affecting the company. are people and organizations that are affected by, or can affect, an organization.

Question 34

Stakeholder theory

Answer 34

Analyzes company’s relationships for ethical decisions.

Question 35

Workplace privacy

Answer 35

defined as an employee’s right to privacy when in the workplace or engaging in work activities.

Question 36

Vicarious liability

Answer 36

Employers can be held legally liable for some of the wrongful acts of their employees, for example negligent hiring, employee theft, industrial espionage, etc…

Question 37

Pre-adverse action disclosure

Answer 37

A notification to an applicant before taking an adverse employment action (e.g., not hiring) based on information from a consumer report, such as a credit report. Allows the applicant to review the report, verify its accuracy, and dispute inaccuracies before any adverse action is taken.

Question 38

At-Will Employment

Answer 38

Employment relationship where either the employer or the employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason (except illegal discrimination) or no reason, without giving advance notice.

Question 39

Sexual Harassment Policy

Answer 39

A set of rules and procedures established by an organization to address and prevent instances of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Purpose: Create a safe and respectful work environment, define sexual harassment, outline reporting procedures, and detail investigation and resolution processes.

Question 40

Retaliation

Answer 40

Adverse actions taken by an employer against an employee in response to a protected activity, such as reporting harassment or participating in an investigation.
Examples: Termination, demotion, denial of promotion, negative performance reviews. To discourage victims and witnesses from reporting incidents and participating in investigations. Prohibited by anti-discrimination laws (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act) to ensure workplace fairness and encourage reporting.

Question 41

Confidential reporting

Answer 41

A process allowing individuals to report sensitive issues (e.g., harassment) privately and securely. Encourages reporting by protecting privacy and reducing fear of retaliation. Ensures victims’ and reporters’ anonymity, increases reporting rates, and maintains trust in the reporting process.