44160 WB-ALP pW65-W71 - Wiley Our Pastimes

PROJECT 1

Diversity Lessons—”What Have We Learned?”QUESTION

What are the current “facts” in terms of progress for minorities andwomen in the workplace? What lessions of diversity have beenlearned? What are the “best” employers doing?

Possible Research Directions

• Examine case studies of employers reported as having strong diver-sity programs. What do they have in common? What do they do dif-ferently?

• Find out what we know about how well people of different racial, eth-nic, gender, life-style, and generational groups work together. What arethe common problems, if any? What concerns do managers and work-ers have?

44160_WB-ALP_pW65-W71 1/26/04 4:05 PM Page W-65

Active Learning Projects 1

• Get specific data on how the “glass ceiling” affects the careers ofwomen and minorities in various occupational settings. Analyze thedata and develop the implications.

• Take a critical look at the substance of diversity training programs.What do these programs try to accomplish, and how? Are they work-ing or not, and how do we know?

PROJECT 2

Corporate Social Responsibility—”What’s the Status?”

QUESTION

Where do businesses stand today with respect to the criteria for evalu-ating social responsibility discussed in the textbook?


• Create a scale that could be used to measure the social responsibil-ity performance of an organization. Review the scholarly research inthis area, but also include your own ideas and expectations.

• Use your scale to research and evaluate the “status” of major organi-zations and local ones on social responsibility performance. Howwell are they doing? Would you use them as models of social respon-sibility for others to follow, or not?

• Conduct research to identify current examples of the “best” and the“worst” organizations in terms of performance or social responsibil-ity criteria. Pursue this investigation on an (a) international, (b) na-tional, and/or (c) local scale.

PROJECT 3

Globalization—”What Are the Pros and Cons?”QUESTION

“Globalization” is frequently in the news. You can easily read or listento both advocates and opponents. What is the bottom line? Is global-ization good or bad, and for whom?


• What does the term “globalization” mean? Review various definitionsand find the common ground.


2 Active Learning Projects

• Read and study the scholarly arguments about globalization. Summarize what the scholars say about the forces and con-sequences of globalization in the past, present, and future.

• Examine current events relating to globalization. Summarize the is-sues and arguments. What is the positive side of globalization? Whatare the negatives that some might call its “dark” side?

• Consider globalization from the perspective of your local communityor one of its major employers. Is globalization a threat or an oppor-tunity, and why?

• Take a position on globalization. State what you believe to be thebest course for government and business leaders to take. Justifyyour position.

PROJECT 4

Affirmative Action Directions—”Where Do We Gofrom Here?”

QUESTION

Consultant R. Roosevelt Thomas argues that it is time to “move be-yond affirmative action” and learn how to “manage diversity.” Thereare a lot of issues that may be raised in this context—issues of equalemployment opportunity, hiring quotas, reverse discrimination, andothers. What is the status of affirmative action today?


• Read articles by Thomas and others. Make sure you are clear on theterm “affirmative action” and its legal underpinnings. Research thetopic, identify the relevant laws, and make a history line to chart itsdevelopment over time.

• Examine current debates on affirmative action. What are the issues? How are the “for” and “against” positions being argued?

• Identify legal cases where reverse discrimination has been charged.How have they been resolved and with what apparent human re-source management implications?

• Look at actual organizational policies on affirmative action. Analyzethem and identify the common ground. Prepare a policy developmentguideline for use by human resource managers.

• As you ponder these issues and controversies be sure to engage dif-ferent perspectives. Talk to and read about people of different “ma-jority” and “minority” groups. Find out how they view these things—and why.



PROJECT 5

Fringe Benefits—”How Can They Be Managed”QUESTION

Employers complain that the rising cost of “fringe benefits” is a majorconcern. Is this concern legitimate? If so, how can fringe benefits bebest managed?


• Find out exactly what constitutes “fringe benefits” as part of the typ-ical compensation package. Look in the literature and also talk to local employers. Find out what percentage of a typical salary is rep-resented in fringe benefits.

• Find and interview two or three human resource managers in yourcommunity. Ask them to describe their fringe benefits programs andhow they manage fringe benefits costs. What do they see happeningin the future? What do they recommend? Talk to two or three work-ers from different employers in your community. Find out howthings look to them and what they recommend.

• Pick a specific benefit such as health insurance. What are the facts?How are employers trying to manage the rising cost of health insur-ance? What are the implications for workers?

• Examine the union positions on fringe benefits. How is this issue re-flected in major labor negotiations. What are the results of major recent negotiations?

• Look at fringe benefits from the perspective of temporary, part-time,or contingent workers. What do they get? What do they want? Howare they affected by rising costs?

PROJECT 6

CEO Pay—”Is It Too High?”QUESTION

What is happening in the area of executive compensation? Are CEOspaid too much? Are they paid for “performance,” or are they paid forsomething else?


• Check the latest reports on CEO pay. Get the facts and prepare abriefing report as if you were writing a short informative article for



Fortune magazine. The title of your article should be “Status Report:Where We Stand Today on CEO Pay.”

• Address the pay-for-performance issue. Do corporate CEOs get paidfor performance or for something else? What do the researchers say?What do the business periodicals say? Find some examples to ex-plain and defend your answers to these questions.

• Take a position: Should a limit be set on CEO pay? If no, why not? Ifyes, what type of limit do we set? Who, if anyone, should set theselimits—Congress, company boards of directors, or someone else?

• Examine the same issues in the university setting. Are universitypresidents paid too much?

PROJECT 7

Superstars on the Team—”What Do They Mean?”QUESTION

Do we want a “superstar” on our team?

PROJECT 8

Gender and Leadership—”Is There a Difference?”QUESTION

Do men and women lead differently?


• Review the discussion on gender and leadership in the textbook,Chapter 13. Find and read the articles cited in the endnotes. Then,update this literature by finding and reading the most recent schol-arly findings and reports.

• Interview managers from organizations in your local community. Askthem the question. Ask them to give you specific examples to justifytheir answers. Look for patterns and differences. Do male managersand female managers answer the question similarly?

• Interview workers from organizations in your local community. Askthem the question. Ask them to give you specific examples tojustify their answers. Look for patterns and differences. Do maleworkers and female workers answer the question similarly? Do thesame for students—pressing them to share insights and examplesfrom their experiences in course study groups and studentorganizations.

• Summarize your findings. Describe the implications of your findingsin terms of leadership development for both men and women.




• Everywhere you look—in entertainment, in sports, and in busi-ness—a lot of attention these days goes to the superstars. What isthe record of teams and groups with superstars? Do they really out-perform the rest?

• What is the real impact of a superstar’s presence on a team or in theworkplace? What do they add? What do they cost? Consider the po-tential costs of having a superstar on a team in the equation: Bene-fits � Costs � Value. What is the bottom line of having a superstaron the team?

• Interview the athletic coaches on your campus. Ask them the ques-tion. Compare and contrast their answers. Interview players fromvarious teams. Do the same for them.

• Develop a set of guidelines for creating team effectiveness for a situ-ation where a superstar is present. Be thorough and practical. Canyou give advice good enough to ensure that a superstar always cre-ates super performance for the team or work group or organization?

PROJECT 9

Management in Popular Culture—”Seeing OurselvesThrough Our Pastimes”

QUESTION

What management insights are found in popular culture and reflectedin our everyday living?


• Listen to music. Pick out themes that reflect important managementconcepts and theories. Put them together in a multi-media reportthat presents your music choices and describes their messagesabout management and working today.

• Watch television. Look again for the management themes. In a re-port, describe what popular television programs have to say aboutmanagement and working. Also consider TV advertisements. How dothey use and present workplace themes to help communicate theirmessages?

• Read the comics, also looking for management themes. Compare and con-trast management and working in two or three popular comic strips.

• Read a best-selling novel. Find examples of management and workthemes in the novel. Report on what the author’s characters andtheir experiences say about people at work.

• Watch a film or video. Again, find examples of management andwork themes. In a report describe the message of the movie in re-spect to management and work today.

Note: These ideas are borrowed from the extensive work in this area bymy colleague Dr. Robert (Lenie) Holbrook of Ohio University.



PROJECT 10

Service Learning in Management—”Learning fromVolunteering”

QUESTION

What can you learn about management and leadership by working asa volunteer for a local community organization?


• Explore service learning opportunities on your campus. Talk to yourinstructor about how to add a service learning component to yourmanagement course.

• List the nonprofit organizations in your community that might bene-fit from volunteers. Contact one or more of them and make inquiriesas to how you might help them. Do it, and then report back on whatyou learned as a result of the experience that is relevant to manage-ment and leadership.

• Locate the primary schools in your community or region. Contactthe school principals and ask how you might be able to help teach-ers working with first- through sixth-grade students. Do it, and thenreport back on what you learned with respect to personal manage-ment and leadership development.

• For either the nonprofit organization or the primary school, form agroup of students who share similar interests in service learning.Volunteer as a group to help the organization and prepare a team re-port on what you learned.

• Take the initiative. Create service learning ideas of your own—to bepursued individually or as part of a team. While working as a volun-teer always keep your eyes and ears open for learning opportunities.Continually ask—“What is happening here in respect to: leadership,morale, motivation, teamwork, conflict, interpersonal dynamics, or-ganization culture and structures, and more?”



Documents

44160 WB-ALP pW65-W71 - Wiley Our Pastimes