Discussion Questions Week Two

What is affirmative action? What process could an HRM department follow to apply affirmative action programs?
Affirmative action is defined as the act to “recruit and give preference to minority group members in employment decisions” (DeCenzo &Robbins, 2007, 61). This law was put in motion by Title VII in the 1970’s and is still relevant today. In simple terms affirmative action is a way that a company must prove that they do not discriminate. Steps necessary to ensure this practice start with the HRM department, in order to make sure that they compliant they must first start with data showing the makeup of the area that they are setting up shop in. Once that is completed they need to hire on the basis that their staff represent the area that they are in. I personally feel that affirmative action is like the lesser of two evils at the end of the day the most qualified person is who should be getting the job.

Assume you are the human resources (HR) manager at ABC Publishing. The company has recently received several complaints of sexual harassment. The HR department has decided to create a sexual harassment policy. What should the policy include? How should the policy be implemented and enforced?
In order for a sexual harassment policy to accomplish the goal it must clear, easy to understand and straight to the point. According to an article by Jay Schleifer there are special characteristics that should always be included in the policy. “In order to be complete it must contain these elements”, zero tolerance, examples or illustrations, definitions, retaliation, the procedure to file a complaint, confidentiality, and required training. Before you can enforce a policy you have to make sure that all employees have received the training required and demonstrated an understanding of the policy. As soon as this is