Staffing Organizations essay questions

Staffing Organizations

Harinath Babu BM

Shattering the Glass Ceiling

The Glass Ceiling is a term used to reflect why women and minorities aren 't more widely represented at the top of today 's organizations . The Glass ceiling is not , however , synonymous with classic discrimination . For example , the Oles Envelope Company , which agreed to pay 50 female employees 220 ,000 for keeping them in lower pay jobs , was not necessarily indicative of the glass ceiling issue (Miller Lemons 1998 . Rather , the glass ceiling , according to a Department of Labor Study , is

indicative of subtle attitudes and prejudices that have blocked [these groups] from climbing the corporate ladder (Miller Lemons , 1998 . It appears that while significant gains have been made by minorities and women in gaining entry to organizations , less than 10 percent of senior management positions are held by women and minorities (Miller Lemons , 1998 . To begin to correct this invisible barrier the OFCCP is working to expand its audit compliance reviews . In these reviews , the auditors will be looking to see if Government contractors do indeed have training and development programs operating to provide career growth to the affected groups . Should these be lacking , the OFCCP plans to take legal action to ensure compliance . While the OFCCP 's initiative to study this phenomenon is promising , research into this effort is beginning to identify ways to correct the problem (HR News 1995 . In one study , it was suggested that an organizational practice such as promoting from within and preparing individuals for top level positions may eventually shatter the glass ceiling (Powell Butterfield , 1994 . In organizations like Xerox , Merck , Paine Weber Pitney Bowes , Mattle and Hoechst Celanese , this practice has worked well (Himelstein Forest , 1997 . If society puts more pressure on corporations , in terms of boycotting products they sell or not investing in the companies that are inadequately represented by women in upper management then more cracks in the glass ' are expected (Mall , 1994

Common Discretionary and Contingent Assessment Methods

There are literally hundreds of tests that can be used by organizations as selection tools . One can use tests that measure intellect , spatial ability , perception skills , mechanical comprehension , motor ability personality traits , as well as reading , math and mechanical dexterity skills (Parnel , 1998 . The assessment methods include work sampling assessment centers , and Graphology , Polygraph and Honesty tests . In Great Britain , most psychological tests like graphology , polygraph and honesty tests are rarely used in employment . Accordingly , whenever American corporations prepare to do business abroad , their practices must be adapted to the cultures , and regulations of the country in which they will operate (Segal , 1996

References

Himelstein , Linda Forest , Stephanie Anderson . 1997 . Breaking Through ' Business Week , pp .64-70 HR News . 1995 . Glass Ceiling Commission Issues 12 Recommendations br

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Mall , Elyse . 1994 . Why Getting Ahead is (still ) Tougher for Women Working Women ,

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Miller , Thomas R Lemons , Mary A . 1998 . Breaking the Glass Ceiling Lessons from a Management Pioneer ' SAM Advanced Management Journal br

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Parnel , John A . 1998 . Improving the Fit between...