HRMN300 Assignment 2: Spring 2020 - HR Challenges Explored

This assignment addresses three key areas within Human Resource Management. Firstly, it explores the role of human resource managers and managers in employee career development, emphasizing the importance of opportunities, talent utilization, feedback, and addressing challenges like consistent training and post-promotion uncertainty. Secondly, the assignment outlines the steps involved in preparing for a performance review session, detailing the importance of setting the purpose, outlining the agenda, reviewing the form, discussing action plans, and summarizing the conversation, and also the role of the employee in the performance evaluation meeting. Thirdly, the assignment delves into the issue of sexual harassment, using the case of Walmart as an example. It discusses instances of gender discrimination, including unequal pay and pregnancy-related discrimination, and proposes strategies for employers to overcome such discrimination, including clear action plans, unbiased policies, and training programs. The assignment also explores the role of clear policies and training in reducing sexual harassment cases.

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Answer 1
Human resource manager plays a significant role in the career development. By bringing the
opportunities for promotion, it contributes to the self-confidence in employees. By effectively
utilising the talent of staff, human resource manager further provides the career development
opportunities. At the same time, Manager plays a crucial role in the career development. A
manager expands the capabilities of a person and brings necessary improvement. Manager
also incorporates the coaching skills with the help of its management style that helps the staff
in understanding shifting demand of their skills.
Manager as well as human resource has the primary responsibility for employee’s career. The
major factor involved for their success is the on-going input and feedback. These both are
needed to ensure the employee satisfaction and maximum performance. Informal approach is
also required so that management can sit with the employees that will help them in growing
and developing (Wu, Hu & Zheng, 2019). The major challenge faced during the career
development programme is delivery of the consistent training. Uncertainty after promotion is
also one such significant challenge that can be faced.
Answer 2
Steps to prepare for the performance review session
1. Establishing the major purpose of performance review meeting: in the first stage,
person who is doing the performance appraisal required to know the main purpose of doing
performance appraisal.
2. Outlining agenda for meeting: it is true that performance review meeting is not one-
way conversation. Therefore, agenda is required to be set which includes date, goals of
meeting, as well as employees review criteria.
3. Reviewing the effective parts of the performance review form: in this step, it can use
the meeting for covering the performance review form highlight. In this stage, discussion
regarding on-going challenges and some ways to solve the issues.
4. Discussing idea for action plan and development: in this portion, emphasis is given on
the future by finding out the plans and goals that employee has for their career.
5. Summarising the conversation of performance review: it is warp up step where
recapping of the discussion points, employee thanking and employee support is done.

Role of employee in performance evaluation meeting
Employee is also required to do preparations regarding performance evaluation meeting.
First, it is necessary to gather the foundational information such as goals, development plans
and goals. It is necessary to gather the regular reports such as monthly highlights, weekly
reports as well as project status reports. Employee is also required to prepare the list of
accomplishments. It is also beneficial to prepare the notes of development or training
activities that is completed by the employee.
Answer 3
Sexual harassment is said to be the physical sexual advances or unwanted verbal
harassment at the workplace. The first case of sexual harassment in Walmart is gender
discrimination. It was come to notice when around 100 workers filed the case of gender
discrimination against Walmart. The first example of gender discrimination has been found
when one female worker has expressed its concern to the manager that other departmental
managed are paid higher amount as compare to her. The other case occurred when the
pregnant worker at Walmart faced discrimination from the company. After this, it has also
changed the absence policy in which pregnancy related absence will be given authority in the
organisation. Under the new absence policy, pregnancy related absence will definitely
authorised for the pregnant workers. In addition to this, workers of Walmart have also
pushed to reveal the pay gap between women and men (Pino, 2018). In addition to this,
Walmart has also discriminated around 178 workers by denying their promotion due to
gender. The case came into notice when women filed the complaints against Walmart
practices (Sarah, 2019).
In order to overcome the gender discrimination, employer can adopt the clear and
effective action plan for closing the gender pay gaps with proper milestones and targets.
Employer can communicate the clear action plan in honest and open manner. Employer
should also make the unbiased, clear discrimination policy that helps in ensuring the effective
way to report or comment on inappropriate treatment at workplace. For this, it can start the
session so that every member of the organisation understand and knows the policy (Bernstein,
2018).

Walmart has started the $MeToo social media that tends to highlight the prevalence of
harassment. Employees participating in the training models include the discussion regarding
its policies prohibiting harassment and discrimination (Dunham, 2017). In the training
programme, it discusses that a member who experience or even observe harassment can
report to any of the salaried member of management with the help of its open door process
anonymously or confidentially to its global ethical office through phone or email. By
bringing such policies, employees also think twice before doing such harassment at
workplace. When employees are given the right education regarding discrimination policies,
they tends to follow those and bring down the number of harassment cases that company is
facing (Cahill, 2018).
The cases of sexual harassment can be reduced by taking several effective measures.
The first and foremost strategy is the adoption of clear policy regarding sexual harassment.
The policy should further define the sexual harassment meaning to employees. Clear
procedure for filing complaints regarding sexual harassment can be made clear to the
employees at workplace (Stander, V. A., & Thomsen, 2016). After the training session, it is
also required to talk to employees regarding the working environment (Barzilay, 2019).
Training session should not only take for the employees, it should also be taken for the
supervisors and manager so that they come to know how to deal with the complaint related to
sexual harassment.

References
Barzilay, A. R. (2019). The Technologies of Discrimination: How Platforms Cultivate
Gender Inequality. The Law & Ethics of Human Rights, 13(2), 179-202.
Bernstein, A. (2018). Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. Nursing And
Residential Care, 20(7), 344-346.
Cahill, M. L. (2018). The social construction of sexual harassment law: the role of the
national, organizational and individual context. Routledge.
Dunham, C. R. (2017). Third generation discrimination: The ripple effects of gender bias in
the workplace. Akron L. Rev., 51, 55.
Pino, L. M. (2018). Wal-Mart v. Dukes: The Feminist Case Against Individualized
Adjudication. Yale JL & Feminism, 30, 401.
Sarah, N. (2019). Walmart likely discriminated against female store workers. Retrieved from:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/walmart-likely-discriminated-against-female-store-
workers-eeoc-finds-11568723935
Stander, V. A., & Thomsen, C. J. (2016). Sexual harassment and assault in the US military: A
review of policy and research trends. Military Medicine, 181(suppl_1), 20-27.
Wu, G., Hu, Z., & Zheng, J. (2019). Role Stress, Job Burnout, and Job Performance in
Construction Project Managers: The Moderating Role of Career Calling. International
journal of environmental research and public health, 16(13), 2394.