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Provides an overview of the first-year required course in Human Resource Management. It argues that commitment, coordination, and competence are critical organizational outcomes and that skills in organizational diagnosis, design, and change are central to obtaining these outcomes.

Defines commitment, describes the psychological and organizational factors that underly it, and provides a comprehensive discussion of the policies and practices managers can employ to enhance commitment. Identifies control and commitment as two critical strategies managers must learn to manage and mix.

Western manufacturers have long believed that standardized work in a hierarchical environment alienates employees, poisons labor relations, stifles initiative, and lowers quality. This belief sets up Frederick W. Taylor's time-and-motion studies as the enemy of manufacturing innovation and excellence. NUMMI, the joint-venture auto assembly plant set up by General Motors and Toyota in 1984, shows that hierarchy and standardization motivate workers and increase job satisfaction. NUMMI has a no-layoff policy and its production system is strongly committed to the social context in which work is performed. Workers rather than engineers analyze jobs, design more efficient procedures, and create a consensus for new standards. Reduced variability in task performance increases safety, quality, productivity, and flexibility, and gives continuous improvement a base. Workers interact with the system by refining it.

This composite case explores the managerial, ethical, and logistical issues that arise when a federal employee is diagnosed with breast cancer and has difficulty dealing with her job responsibilities and co-worker reactions. The case ends with the employee on the verge of exhausting her leave options; she and the manager must work out a solution. An appendix discusses the relevance of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. HKS Case Number 1181.0.

Faced with the need to reorganize completely its inefficient advertising art department, the Washington Post's design manager and team introduce new technology while carefully managing critical human resources issues. While downsizing the operation, they integrate typographers and graphic artists into a more effective, higher quality operation that satisfies employees and pleases both customers and management. The case focuses on several decisions the design manager needs to make in the midst of this transition.

Discusses the company's decision.

Discusses what is meant by organizational effectiveness. First, the concept of organizations as social systems is introduced. Second, a model of organization effectiveness is introduced and discussed.

Describes the design and implemenation of a quality improvement program. Sterling Chemical's management hoped the program would improve teamwork and productivity at the plant.

Wegmans is appalled at the educational system in Rochester, New York. In cooperation with store and local authorities they create a mentoring, employment and training program that becomes a model for an industry, community, and nation.

Both executives and academics have recently voiced concerns about how business schools can best add value to the business community. The case of Jim Martin frames the dilemma. Martin is president and CEO of Bay International Industries (BII), a $4 billion consumer electronics company. Although he attended Plymouth Business School, one of the world's most prestigious management institutions, Martin has become an outspoken critic of the research and education provided by such schools. Martin himself has grappled with the issues surrounding management education. First, reports within BII show that MBA hiring has yielded disappointing results. Second, a business school has asked BII to participate in a research study. Third, Martin's daughter, who is planning to pursue an MBA, has turned to her father for advice.

Provides an evaluation of the "Leadership Through Quality" effort at Xerox. The assessment includes both negative and positive factors based on extensive interviews and surveys. Based on this assessment, a plan of action is determined and presented which was endorsed by senior management. Students will be asked to consider whether these mid-course corrections are appropriate. Allows students to see how long major changes take to occur and how much effort is involved to sustain and deepen change.

Reveals the course of action that Xerox took after discovering that its Leadership Through Quality program had not met all expectations. Reinforces the message that change is an ongoing and continuous effort, and that companies never achieve all of their change goals.

Supplements the (A) case.

Media critics charge that CEOs with outrageous salaries are running U.S. corporations into the ground. Politicians claim overpaid CEOs are the root cause of the U.S. competitiveness problem. Add a recessionary business climate to the fact that some CEOs earn 130 times more than their lowest paid employees and you have the makings of a populist rebellion. Most U.S. corporations use stock compensation to link company long-term performance to executive salaries. Rather than cut executive pay, corporations should extend incentive-based compensation plans to all employees, thus narrowing the salary gap and establishing pay-for-performance at every level of the organization.

By the early 1990s, Amgen--a pharmaceutical company started little over a decade ago as Applied Molecular Genetics--was within range of becoming a billion-dollar company. With two extremely successful biotechnology drugs on the market, Amgen stood as the largest and most powerful independent company of its type in the world. Top executives in the company viewed long-range planning as an important ingredient in the firm's success; many others--including some of the firm's scientists--were less sure. With Amgen's sales expected to continue to grow rapidly, the firm's long-range planning process would be put to the test. Shows the different, sometimes paradoxical perspectives held within a single, dynamically changing company toward the issue of long-range planning. Students are challenged to synthesize these views into a coherent picture of a firm's growth amid great uncertainty.

Discusses a manager's responsibilities in reporting and ending sexual harassment. Jerry Tarkwell discovers that one of his employees is being sexually harassed by a colleague. When he tells the harassed employee that he has reported the incident to the company equal employment opportunity officer, she asks him not to pursue the matter because she is afraid her career might be ruined by an investigation. Tarkwell is torn between his duty to keep the workplace safe from sexual harassment by following company policy, and the victim's wish for privacy. Five experts on sexual harassment offer their views.

Although the number of women managers has grown, they are still usually found in junior positions. Many companies hire women only to ensure mere adequacy and avoid litigation. In addition, most companies ignore child care and other family concerns. At the same time women have demonstrated their competence in the best business schools, their ambitions and energies are stifled by businesses. Top managers must support their female employees by: 1) acknowledging the biological fact of maternity; 2) allowing flexibility; 3) providing training that develops women's leadership potential; and 4) eliminating the barriers that exist for women in the workplace.

After launching a new quality program, the CEO of Top Chemical Co. was searching for a team-based compensation program that would reflect his company's new philosophy. A committee was formed to discuss the options. The compensation vice president explained his idea for paying teams based on their performance, making pay an incentive for continued improvement and overall excellence of the team. The plan met with resistance from employees at all levels of the company. What seemed like a simple idea for a pay plan turned into a very complicated matter. Four experts on compensation reveal where Top Chemical went wrong in its plan and how the CEO might bring about change successfully.

Most corporate improvement efforts have negligible results because they focus on activities, not results, and there is no explicit connection between action and outcome. "Results-driven" approaches offer greater potential for improvement because they focus on achieving specific, measurable goals. By committing to incremental change, managers not only can see results faster but also determine more quickly what is working and what isn't.

Describes the innovative use of a cross-level team as a tool for driving change at a troubled AT&T plant. After the team is disbanded, the case raises questions about the group's achievements, and about how well the organization is positioned to tackle the changes that still lie ahead. Teaching Objective: To raise issues relative to teamwork and empowerment and encourage students to examine what it takes for an organization to embrace long-term, continuous change.