Discussion 3 JR

Discussion 3

Select, research, and answer ONE of the following questions for this week’s discussion forum. Do provide complete references in the APA format for all of your sources. DQ responses are due to be posted on the discussion forum before Wednesday evenings; quality answers for each question is expected to have a length of approximately 250 words or more.

1. Would you take part in an adventure learning experience? Why or why not? Have you been to an adventure learning experience? If so, how was it conducted and what was the outcome?

2. What is your experience with orientation programs for new employees? If you were going to design an effective orientation program, what would 8-10 goals of that program be?

3. Drug testing is a topic of interest as a pre-employment procedure, but corporate drug testing in general is somewhat controversial. What do you think? Is it an invasion of privacy? Is it an unreasonable search and seizure? Is it a violation of due process?

4. Look at several links or organizations that provide outdoor experiential learning opportunities to organizations, and let us know which ones appear interesting and effective – explain why you think they are effective and good for training.

5. While explaining the importance of employee selection for today’s organizations, explain what firms are doing now to select the right employees for the job? Mention specific examples and practices.

6. Discuss an example of a good training that you attended and explain what made it a productive learning experience. Discuss the purpose of the specific training, the learning points, and how can we put it into practice in our organizations in the future.

7. Discuss a valuable topic, concept or theory that you reflected upon in the week’s assigned readings that is not mentioned above. Tell us the interesting topic from the assigned reading, what is it all about, what is the valuable element or learning point, and/or how we can make good use of it.

8. What is behavior-modeling training? What specific skills is improved by behavior-modeling training? Explain.

9. If you are looking for an employees with a personality that is sociable, gregarious, assertive, and talkative, would you hire a person that is high on conscientiousness, extroversion; openness to experience, and or agreeableness? Explain your answer.

10. Explain the difference between telecommuting, offshoring, and outsourcing, along with how it applies to today’s workplace.

11. Explain the importance of job design, and which approach to job design has its roots in organizational psychology and management literature?

12. I heard that concurrent validity assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance. Is this true or false? Explain and provide a specific reference for your answer.

13. According to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, once the plaintiff has made a prima facie disparate impact case, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant. Is this true or false? Explain and cite a specific source to support your answer.

14. What is a Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) and why does it focus on planning and information-processing activities?

15. Discuss two elements of performance management that are being practiced in your organization? What are the benefits and best practices?

16. Discuss two commonly observed errors in performance measurement and performance appraisals processes, and provide specific examples of how managers and coaches can avoid them.

17. Tell us about the performance appraisal system where you work. How often is it done? Which of the approaches discussed in academic literature pertains to the system where you work? What errors or biases have you witnessed? How satisfied overall are you with this system? If applicable, how would you make it more effective? If you are not currently working, refer to a past job or interview someone who is working.

18. How can managers become effective coaches in the performance management process? In other words, what are some specific things that managers can do to be seen as a performance development coach, rather than a manager, in the workplace?

19. Explain ONE or more of the following terms or concepts so everyone can have a good understanding of it in case it is on the exam: bona fide occupational qualification, disparate treatment, disparate impact, job analysis, mechanistic approaches to job design, predictive validity, cognitive ability tests, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Garcia v. Hooters case, Polygraph Act of 1988, hostile work environment, offshoring.

20. Discuss a valuable topic, concept, or theory that you reflected upon in the week’s assigned readings that is not mentioned above. Tell us the interesting topic from the assigned reading, what is it all about, what is the valuable element or learning point, and/or how we can make good use of it.

21. Review the following sources or other similar sites and discuss one thing you learned from them regarding what questions to ask, the law, and/or best practices in hiring that we should be aware of: http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/employment-employer/employment-employer-hiring/employment-employer-hiring-interview-legal.htmlLinks to an external site.