Python Programming

Revise the ChatBot program below. There needs to be one list and one dictionary for the ChatBot to use. Include a read/write function to the program so that the program can learn at least one thing and store the information in a text document.

ChatBot program for revising:

# Meet the chatbot Eve

print('Hi there! Welcome to the ChatBot station. I am going to ask you a series of questions and all you have to do is answer!')

print(' ')

print('Lets get started')

#begin questions

firstName = input('What is your first name?: ')

lastName = input('What is your last name? ')

print("Hi there, ", firstName + lastName, "nice to meet you")

print(" ")

# questions about users favorite things

currentYear = 2020

birthDay = input('What is the year were you born?: ')

birthDay = int(birthDay)

print('Wow! You are already', currentYear - birthDay)

print(" ")

# questions about favorite hobbies

firstHobby = input('Do you play any sports? ')

if(firstHobby == 'Yes'):

sport = input('What sport do you play? ')

print("Nice! I played Soccer and Tennis back when I was human")

print(" ")

else:

print("Bummer, I always liked sports")

print(" ")

favAnimal = input('What is your favorite animal? ')

print("Oooohhh what a cool animal! My favorite is the red panda, such a unique and cute species!")

print(" ")

favSeason = input('What is your favorite season? ')

if(favSeason == 'Fall'):

print("Wow! That is my favorite season also! The colors of the leaves are amazing")

print(" ")

else:

print("Nice! My favorite season is Fall!")

print(" ")

siblings = input('Do you have any siblings in your family? ')

if(siblings == 'Yes'):

print("Very nice, back when I was born a human I grew up with a sister")

print(" ")

else:

print("An only child I see")

print(" ")

stateBorn = input('What state were you born in? ')

if(stateBorn == 'West Virginia'):

print("My creator is also from there!")

print(" ")

else:

print("What a lovely state")

print(" ")

#end questions

print("Well I thank you for your time but that is all the time we have, thank you for joining me today")

1. Erving Goffman's concept of dramaturgy theorizes that when we interact with others we engage in a process of impression management wherein we actively work to present ourselves to others in particular ways. Which of the following are examples of this concept:

John puts on sweatpants to go out on a blind date

Tina rapidly runs a brush through her hair before running into work

James reads up on early Latin American art so as to appear knowledgeable in his class on the subject for the discussion

None of these are examples of impression management

All of these are examples of impression management

2. Andrew Ryan is looking at research on the level of conservatism of individuals (IV) and time spent on vacation (DV). He notices that there is a relationship between the two variables. Specifically, that the more conservative someone is the more time they will spend on vacations and that the less conservative someone is the less time they will spend on vacations. He therefore concludes that how politically conservative someone is causes them to spend more or less time on vacation. What concept is Andrew Ryan illustrating?

Quantitative Research

Research Bias

Inductive Research

Unethical Research

Correlation Does Not Equal Causation

3. W.E.B. Du Bois was famous for his blending of activism and academic research in order to create social justice for blacks in America. However, he recognized that in order to create a real change in social conditions for blacks, that:
Other minorities would need to band together to overthrow the racist government

Blacks would need to engage in a Civil Rights Movement

Other minorities would need to band together to overthrow the racist government

The Constitution would need to be amended Reparations would need to be made to every minority individual

Whites would need to create laws, economic and social conditions to change the situation of Blacks

4. According to Karl Marx:

I. Human history is a history of class struggle

II. All forms of society will have social classes III.

We are most human when we labor for ourselves

IV. Workers are alienated from themselves and each other under capitalism Which of the following options are true?

II and III only

I, II, and III

III and IV only

I, III, and IV

None of the answers are true

1.

We are all may be here for a different reason - some of us need the general education requirement, some are fulfilling a program requirement, and some may find the material interesting! Either way, I'm sure that we all come into this class with a preconceived view about the field of psychology.

So...what do you think?  Are psychologists just those bearded, white-haired old timers who nod at your every word while judging everything you say!? Do you have a preconceived notion of what this field is all about? Here are a few questions to get you discussing your thoughts about the field.

A. What comes to mind when thinking about the field of psychology?

B. What names come to mind when thinking of the field?

C. What do you think psychologists do? After you state what you think they do, find out what they really do (either cite our text or look online at apa.org). In other words, do your expectations match reality? Also, include an area that surprised you in your reading - what made you say: "wow, I didn't know they did this!"

2.

As our text describes, the history of psychology is full of great discoveries and advances. Our history is also marred with a number of unethical approaches to observing and assessing human behavior. For this discussion post I would like you to choose one study (for example you could choose; Henrietta Lacks or the Tuskegee experiment) that demonstrated an unethical approach to studying the mind and behavior and or human body.   

Be sure to:

(A). What happened in the study - give details of the timeline, the population studied, and what was done.  

(B). Name at least 2 ways in which this study was unethical and what underlining ethical principle(s) were violated.  

(C). In what ways could this study have been completed ethically? In other words, could anything have been changed to study the same objectives in an ethical way?

(D). What's your take on this study? How did you react when reading about it? What do you think lead the researchers to conduct such a study?

You are the chairman of the board of directors at Epson Information Systems, Corporation. The board has decided to encourage employees to take college courses by reimbursing each eligible employee a maximum of $3,500 in tuition during any one calendar year. Anyone who wants to participate in the program must apply before the first class meeting and the application must be signed by the employee’s immediate supervisor. The only courses employees may choose are those either related to the employee’s current position or to a position in the company that the employee might hold in the future. Only tuition is covered, not textbooks.

Employees whose applications are approved will be reimbursed when they have completed the course with a grade "C" or better. An employee cannot be reimbursed until they have submitted a copy of the approved application, an official grade report, and a statement of the tuition paid.

Part-time employees are not eligible. Full-time employees must work at the company a year before they can apply to participate in the program.

Instructions:
Write a thorough letter to William L. Goodingsplatt, the director of human resources, to inform him of this new tuition reimbursement program the company will be implementing. Provide him with all of these details so he can inform all of the employees.

Consider making the letter visually appealing with the use of headers, bullet points, numbers, etc. Anticipate any questions from the audience and write the letter with a you-attitude, positive emphasis, and audience benefits.

The letter should include the following guidelines:

Include a page header with your corporation business name, address, and phone number

The address to your office is 9876 E. Seventh Avenue, Plano, TX 75024

Your phone number is 469-405-7849

Send the letter to William L. Goodingsplatt, Director of Human Resources

The address at his office is 4321 W. Fifth Avenue, Plano, TX 75024

Include the date

Include the inside address (who it is addressed to)

Include a salutation

Include an appropriate subject line

Include a complimentary closing

Include your printed name and title

Use all of the correct spacing between each component

Use a 1-inch margin, 12-point font, Times New Roman

Support Department Cost Allocation Using the Step or Sequential Method

The step or sequential method requires that support departments be ranked and that the highest ranking support department be allocated first to all lower ranking support departments and the producing departments. Then the highest ranking support department is closed and the second-highest ranking support department is allocated to lower ranking support departments and the producing departments. This continues until all support department cost has been allocated to the producing departments. The sequential method takes account of support department reciprocity. Reciprocity occurs when one support department uses the services of another support department. For example, Maintenance uses HR and HR may use the services of Maintenance. The sequential method does not take full account of reciprocity because lower ranking support department costs are allocated to higher ranking support departments.

Let's use Porter Company, as an example. Porter has two producing departments (Fabricating and Assembly) and three support departments (Maintenance, Human Resources (HR) and General Factory (GF)). Porter provided the following information on the five departments:

Porter uses the sequential method of support department cost allocation, and support departments are ranked in order of direct overhead cost (from high to low). Maintenance is allocated based on machine hours, HR on direct labor hours, and GF on the basis of square footage. The Fabricating overhead rate is based on machine hours and the Assembly overhead rate is based on direct labor hours.

Calculate the allocation ratios to five significant digits and fill them into the following table (If an amount box does not require an entry, leave it blank or enter "0".) :

Using the allocation ratios, fill in the following table to allocate support department costs to the producing departments. (Round all allocated amounts to the nearest dollar. Leave cells blank that do not require an entry.)

3.1 Radical Rewrite: Improving a Message About Checking References

Your Task. Analyze the following e-mail to be sent by the vice president of human resources to all managers:

• Step 1: Identify five or more weaknesses describing why each is a weakness. In addition to grammar faults, pay special attention to dangling modifiers, parallelism, and passive voice.
• Step 2: Revise this e-mail so that it reflects writing techniques you learned in this and previous chapters.

To:           All Managers

From:          Mark Sanchez <marksanchez@zycamindustries>

Subject: Improving Reference-Checking Procedures

With our recent increase in hiring, many of you are reviewing candidates’ applications and their references are being checked. Our CEO has asked me to provide all managers with guidance on how to check references to obtain the best information.

Generally, the two ways to check references are by calling or to make an inquiry by writing. Calling is preferred because its easier, can be done more quickly, and calling can reveal more. The main advantage of calling is that people will often provide more valuable information over the phone then they would in writing. However writing does provide stronger documentation. Which can be used to prove that you did your homework. References from former employers are likely to be more valuable than personal references, and can help avoid negligent hiring claims. Educational references should also checked when necessary

When calling to check references, several important steps should be followed to obtain the best information:

• Call once to schedule the reference check, then call back when you said you would.
• Plenty of time for the call should be allotted.
• Ask only about job-related information, do not ask inappropriate questions.
• Good notes should be taken, especially in relation to the candidate’s former employment.
• At the end, you should summarize and thank the reference for the information.

By following these guidelines, meaningful information can be obtained that will help you make the best hiring decisions.

Mark

Vice President, Human Resources | mark.sanchez@zycamindustries | Office: 455-390-5539 | Cell: 455-290-9760

The presence of student-owned information and communication technologies (smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.) in today's college classroom creates learning problems when students distract themselves during lectures by texting and using social media. Research on multitasking presents clear evidence that human information processing is insufficient for attending to multiple stimuli and for performing simultaneous tasks.

To collect data on how multitasking with these technologies interferes with the learning process, a carefully-designed study was conducted at a mostly residential large public university in the Northeast United States. Junco, R. In-class multitasking and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior (2012)

At the beginning of a semester a group of students who were US residents admitted through the regular admissions process and who were taking the same courses were selected based on their high use of social media and the similarities of their college GPA's. The selected students were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups:

group 1 students were told to text and use Facebook during classes in their usual high-frequency manner;

group 2 students were told to refrain from any use of texting and Facebook during classes.

At the conclusion of the semester the semester GPA's of the students were collected. The results are shown in the table below.

IN-CLASS MUTLITASKING STUDY

Frequent Facebook Use and Texting   

x₁ = 2.87

s₁ = 0.67

n₁ = 65

No Facebook Use or Texting

x₂ = 3.16

s₂ = 0.53

n₂ = 65

Do texting and Facebook use during class have a negative affect on GPA? To answer this question perform a hypothesis test with
H₀: μ₁−μ₂ = 0
where μ₁ is the mean semester GPA of all students who text and use Facebook frequently during class and μ₂ is the mean semester GPA of all students who do not text or use Facebook during class.

Question 1. Calculate a 95% confidence interval for μ1−μ2 where μ₁ is the mean semester GPA of all students who text and use Facebook frequently during class and μ₂ is the mean semester GPA of all students who do not text or use Facebook during class.

Adapted from “Waiting lists continue to grow at a rate that far outstrips organ supply, and many people die waiting for a kidney or liver”. All countries, including Australia, have far more people on organ waiting lists than available donors. At the beginning of 2015 in Australia over 3000 people were waiting for organ transplants, and by the end of April, only over 150 people had donated organs, allowing 350 people to receive transplants (one donor usually provides several organs). Waiting lists continue to grow at a rate that far outstrips organ supply, and many people die waiting for a kidney or liver. Commentators, health economists and policy makers around the world have made a variety of proposals about how to solve organ shortages. Some health economists argue the de-regulated market (ie allow the free market) for transplant organs is the best way to improve supply. Currently in Australia and most part of the world, organs are treated as 'gifts'. Organs must be donated without payment (ie Ps = $0 for all donations), and distributed according to clinical need rather than ability to pay. This gift system helps to protect both donors and recipients from coercion, and distributes organs fairly.

(Adapted from “Waiting lists continue to grow at a rate that far outstrips organ supply, and many people die waiting for a kidney or liver”.)

1) Currently, the donors and their relatives receive no compensation for the organ donations (ie Ps = $0 for all donations), if the government changes its policy and allow human organs to be traded, what would happen to the supply of organ.

2) Is the demand for human organs such as liver, kidney, lungs, eye price elastic or inelastic?

3) Hospital A, a private institution which is specializing in organ transplant requires to raise more funds (I e Total Revenue) to upgrade its equipment, should Hospital A :

a) raise its price; or

b) hold it price or

c) Drop its price.

Use a diagram to demonstrate and explain the case.

4) Do you think that if the government allows a free market system for organ transplant is fair?

Three Steps to Cross-Cultural Dialogue

With “a global mindset by which we try to see things through the eyes of others and add their knowledge to our personal repertories” (Chen & Starosta, 2000, p. 1), we can perhaps take three steps to cross-cultural dialogue. The first step is to understand the mental layer of our own culture and its impact on the behavioral and material layers. The second step is to under- stand the mental layer of other cultures and its impact on the behavioral and material layers. The third step is to listen to others’ perspectives on our culture and share our perspectives on other cultures in order to reflect on what it means to be human in both local and global contexts and how humans should relate to one another, nature, and the spirits. In this step, we must engage in intercultural dialogue with Asante’s (2006) spirit of mutual respect and learning: “As creators of our own societies, we have valuable experiences to share, not to impose, which might be examined and adapted in a spirit of sharing and dialogue. This is the real meaning of intercultural interaction” (p. 154). Tu (2008) echoes Asante’s position by saying that “the celebration of cultural diversity, without falling into the trap of pernicious relativism, is profoundly meaningful for global stewardship” (p. 331).

Centricity in the first step of cross-cultural dialogue is the beginning and basis of equality and mutuality in intercultural communication (Miike, 2008a). It prevents our interactions with people from different countries and cultures from becoming a mere imposition– imitation encounter. This point should be well taken, especially by non-Westerners who wish to have sincere and serious conversations about intercultural cooperation and collaboration with Westerners on an equal footing. As Asante (2009) elucidates, centricity urges us, first and foremost, to inquire about our own identities, cultures, and histories as a way of contributing to the grand flow of the entire humanity without being imitators who blindly follow others. Paradoxically, in this soul-searching process, we may discover that the development of our own culture is, in fact, indebted to other cultures, and that the nature of human civilization is truly multicultural and synergic. In any case, imitation is not intercultural (Miike, 2008a).

Describe and discuss the three steps to cross-cultural dialogue.

Read case 1 of the Tanglewood casebook. Review the thirteen Strategic Staffing decisions, and the material you have read about Tanglewood. Then consider each of the decisions and briefly indicate which way you think Tanglewood should position itself along the continuum and why. For example, the first decision is to develop or acquire talent. Indicate whether you think it is best for Tanglewood to focus more on acquiring talent internally or externally, and why? Repeat this process for each of the staffing level and staffing quality dimensions.

EXHIBIT 1.7 Strategic Staffing Decisions Staffing Levels

• Acquire or Develop Talent

• Hire Yourself or Outsource

• External or Internal Hiring

• Core or Flexible Workforce

• Hire or Retain

• National or Global

• Attract or Relocate

• Overstaff or Understaff

• Short- or Long-Term Focus Staffing Quality

• Person/Job or Person/Organization Match

• Specific or General KSAOs

• Exceptional or Acceptable Workforce Quality

• Active or Passive Diversity

Number your paper 1-13. EXAMPLE for decision “1. ACQUIRE or DEVELOP talent: I recommend developing talent because...”

CASE ONE: TANGLEWOOD STORES AND STAFFING STRATEGY

Section Objectives

The goal of this section is to help you learn more about the basic environmental concerns the Tanglewood Department Store chain is facing. This information will help you to understand how competition, strategy, and culture jointly inform the effective development of a selection plan.   Organization Overview and Mission

Tanglewood is a chain of general retail stores featuring items such as clothing, appliances, electronics, and home decor. The company operates in the moderate price niche, targeting middle- and upper-income customers. Tanglewood’s strategic distinction is an “outdoors” theme, with a large camping and outdoor living section in every store. The store also distinguishes itself by its simple, elegant, and uncluttered design concepts for the store and their in-house products. The company’s mission statement is:

Tanglewood will be the best department store for customers seeking quality, durability, and value for all aspects of their active lives. We are committed as a company to providing maximum value to our customers, shareholders, and employees. We will accomplish this goal by adhering to the core values of responsible financial management, clear and honest communication, and always keeping performance and customer service in the forefront

Tanglewood was originally founded in 1975 by best friends Tanner Emerson and Thurston Wood. The initial concept was a single store in Spokane Washington, named TannerWood, which sold a combination of outdoor clothing and equipment that the pair had designed themselves. The employee handbook notes that, “Tanner and Thurston financed their early store plans with credit cards and personal loans from friends and family. They had so little money that they slept in sleeping bags in the back room and put every penny they made back into the stores.” The first store’s unique merchandise offering, and personable sales staff made them successful quite rapidly, allowing Emerson and Wood to move out of the back room and add several more stores during the late 1970’s. The merchandise offerings expanded over time to incorporate more conventional retail items, while still retaining the elegant, yet outdoors look for the stores overall.

Emerson and Wood eventually decided to rename their store chain Tanglewood in 1984. Much more rapid growth began around this time. As Emerson put it, “we worried for a long time that expanding would compromise our vision of a small, personable shopping experience. We had always wanted to run the type of store that we would love to work and shop at. Around 1984, after we had 10 stores, we realized we had developed a successful blueprint for running stores with a strong base of employee participation, customer satisfaction, and profitability. So, we decided to spread out to cover the northwest.”

During the 1990’s the expansion strategy really took root. Most of the expansion occurred by purchasing other existing stores rather than building new stores. Emerson and Wood had been heavily involved in the management of the stores but found that increasingly the corporate administration was a more pressing concern. The company arrived at a regional structure for its operations. Emerson and Wood took on the positions of CEO and President of the company, respectively, while a team of regional managers more directly oversee day to day operations. The company currently has a total of 243 stores open in the states of Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Prior to any further expansion, however, the company needs to consolidate its current management strategy. The process of growth has been very quick in the last 5 years and has involved buyouts of several smaller chains of department stores. While all the stores under the Tanglewood name have the same basic look, the management styles and human resource (HR) practices still reflect the historical differences between stores. Wood noted in a recent interview with Business Monthly, “Tanglewood really needs to slow down and take a hard look at our corporate culture. Right now, we need to consolidate and make sure we’re as close to the company’s original mission as we can be. Our success is due entirely to our strong culture—this is something we need to hold on to.” These concerns have lead Tanglewood to bring in external human resources consultants like you to help centralize the organization’s practices.

The brick-and-mortar stores have been extensively expanded through the use of an online order portal, starting in the early 2000’s. The emerging plan for Tanglewood has been to continue to offer both the online and in-store experience, while maintaining a focus on their physical store locations as a competitive advantage. Because the company has always emphasized customer service, and they have found that in-store sales tend to generate longer-term revenue streams as customers form personal relationships with expert salespeople, online sales are a supplement to, but not a replacement for the in-store experience. Tanglewood does offer extensive in-store pickup options and assistance for any customer who purchases items online. In-store returns with immediate replacement for most items are also allowed, even if the items were purchased online. Because online sales are not considered a core area of competitive advantage for Tanglewood, the day-today administration of the online sales function was outsourced several years ago.

Another major concern for Tanglewood has been the westward expansion of companies like Kohl’s and Target. The possibility of more direct competition has lead Tanglewood to critically examine their HR policies and practices. For staffing, in particular, the organization feels there absolutely must be a workforce of committed, qualified individuals who will help carry the Tanglewood philosophy into the future.

Competition and Industry1

The Tanglewood Department Store chain operates in the nondurable general retail industry, which fits into industry 45211 as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This industry engages in the sale of consumer goods including clothing, small appliances, electronics, and other housewares. The retail industry accounts for over $4 trillion in annual sales. Recent estimates indicate that the retail industry employs approximately 15 million people.

A comparison of several top retail stores and outlets is presented below. Note that although LL Bean has few physical stores and none in the areas where Tanglewood operates, it is a direct competitor in terms of products offered. The operating revenues indicate total sales for these organizations, and the growth rate tracks changes in the sales for each retail chain. The financials show that Tanglewood is a moderately sized organization with solid growth potential.

Competitive Response and Strategy

The company’s specific niche is similar to that occupied by Kohl’s or Target, appealing to middle- and upper-income consumers looking for convenience and reasonable prices. This means that Tanglewood uses a layout and provides the same products offered of general merchandise retailers. Tanglewood also focuses on stocking quality products, providing customer service, and a more designer appearance than discount stores. This strategy is further supplemented by the company’s trademark “look” which involves an outdoors theme, complete with real wood décor and use of natural colors.

Like its competitors, Tanglewood has developed several proprietary brands of merchandise which are designed to complement its look. While the actual products are made by subcontractors, Emerson and Wood have personal responsibility for all products that are produced. Their own brands include Burford Kitchen, which includes woodaccented, rustic, sturdy kitchen utensils, and Wilderness Outfitter clothing and camping goods lines. The stores also have emphasized small home electronics, housewares, and bedding accessories.

Despite the company’s effort to emphasize its western appearance and theme, there is no shortage of high-technology innovations in the way that Tanglewood operates. As noted previously, they have worked hard to ensure that their web portals provide a clear guide to merchandise available in the stores. Through their “County Store” concept they have also made their stores a pick-up location for items ordered online. This allows them to utilize their low-cost shipping arrangements to the benefit of customers. Emerson notes, “We have a lot of consumers in places like rural Idaho, who don’t want to drive an hour to one of our stores and then find out what they wanted isn’t available. The online County Store makes sure that if they want something, we will have it in stock.” In addition, online shoppers who visit bricks-and-mortar locations also often buy other merchandise in the stores.

Organizational Structure

The structure of most retail stores is relatively similar, and Tanglewood has essentially evolved to have a structure that looks something like the familiar organizational hierarchy. This appearance is deceptive, because employees at all levels of the corporation are encouraged to make suggestions regarding operations. More than one major operational change has come from an employee suggestion.

Each store is managed by a single individual who has three assistant store managers working beneath him or her. The Assistant Manager for Softlines is in charge of all areas related to clothing and jewelry. The Assistant Manager for Hardlines is in charge of all non-clothing merchandise, including sporting goods, bath, bedding, and home decor. Another way to think of the distinction is that Softlines consists only of things that are worn, while Hardlines consists of nothing that is worn. The Assistant Manager for Operations and Human Resources is primarily responsible for activities, including security, clerical work, merchandise loading and warehousing, cashiers, and human resources management. Although the Assistant Manager for Operations is technically in charge of the smallest number of employees, this tends to be a more powerful position because it includes more managerial responsibilities, including staffing the store and training new hires. Department managers are in charge of specific product groups such as electronics, women’s clothing, or shoes. For each shift there is also a designated shift leader who completes most of the same tasks as store associates, but also has some administrative responsibility.

Overall, with 1 store manager, 3 assistant managers, 17 department managers, approximately 24 shift leaders, and approximately 170 associates, there are around 215 employees per store. All employees, full or part time, are members of the core work force. Tanglewood does not extensively use a flexible workforce, such as temporary employees. A core workforce is viewed as essential for the organizational values and culture, described below, that Tanglewood seeks to develop and maintain.

Stores are organized into 12 geographical regions, with approximately 20 stores per region. Each region has a regional manager who oversees operations of the stores. The store managers report directly to the regional managers. There is considerable variation between regional managers in how they run their HR practices. The tendency for some regional managers to encourage human resources practices which are counter to the Tanglewood philosophy is a major reason that an external consulting firm was brought in to centralize human resources.

Organizational Culture and Values

Whereas many elements of the Tanglewood operational plan have been based on other firms within the retail industry, the company’s culture and values are distinct from most of its major competitors. From its inception, this company has emphasized employee participation and teams. At orientation, every employee hears the philosophy that Wood and Emerson proclaimed as their vision for employee relations, “If you tell someone exactly what to do, you’re only getting half an employee. If you give someone the space to make their own decisions, you’re getting a whole person.”

Most retail stores have a strict hierarchy with assistant store managers providing directives to their subordinates, and most associates’ primarily follow orders. Tanglewood, on the other hand, has allowed each department manager to formulate distinct methods for running their departments in coordination with the employees they supervise. There is still a well-defined ordering of job responsibilities, but efforts are made to involve employees in the decision process when possible.

One of the most important cultural elements of the organization is an emphasis on “straight talk” in all areas of the business. The company provides employees with information on the company’s share price and overall profitability for each quarter, along with other details about company activities. Profit-sharing for all employees is part of the company’s push to encourage employees to think like managers. In addition, mandatory weekly store meetings (one meeting for each shift) give employees a specific time to voice their suggestions for in-store improvements. Associates who make suggestions that are implemented by management receive financial bonuses. Department managers are also given financial incentives for successfully developing and implementing new policies and procedures, further reinforcing the participatory management style of the company.

Every shift is run based on a team concept. While the most senior associate is designated as a shift leader, the other members of the team are encouraged to provide ongoing suggestions. All employees share all tasks, so there are no designated “customer contact” or “display” employees. It is also expected that associates will make themselves available to help the other members of the team. Quarterly performance evaluations include several items specifically reflecting the associates’ interactions with other team members and initiative to improve the department.

Because of the heavy emphasis on employee suggestions, Tanglewood’s upper managers have ample opportunity to observe the leadership and decision making qualities of their associates. This is one of the main portals through which promotion and advancement are achieved. All new employees without retail experience, even those with college degrees who are targeted as having management potential, spend a period of time working in the store as an associate. This is seen as a way of preserving the company’s unique culture and values over time.

The basic structure for human resources at Tanglewood involves both corporate and store-level components. The corporate Staffing Services function, shown above, is a division of the Human Resources Department. The Staffing Services Director supervises three managers (for the areas of retention, recruiting, and selection), plus an Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator. The corporate Staffing Services function performs data analysis and design of staffing policies and programs. Data regarding recruiting practices, methods for interviewing, testing and selecting employees, and employee turnover are sent from the individual store to the corporate headquarters. At headquarters, the data are collected and statistically analyzed. Based on these analyses, specific recommendations are provided to the stores. For example, after data suggested that newspaper advertising for new recruits was becoming less and less cost effective, all stores were given a strong recommendation to switch to an internet-based strategy. As another example, the employee selection specialists in the corporate staffing function developed a format for interviews that is now used as a part of the hiring process for nearly all stores.

Each store is responsible for implementing recommendations provided by corporate. The store operations and human resources manager is responsible for overseeing each store’s staffing, training, performance management, and equal employment opportunity practices. As pertains to staffing, the manager of operations and human resources is responsible for planning, recruitment, and initial screening. Department managers interview finalists, then hiring decisions are made in conjunction with the assistant store managers. Promotion decisions up to the department manager level are made within the stores. Regional managers conduct the hiring for store managers, and work with each store’s managers to determine promotions to the assistant store manager.

Historically, the corporate staffing function has not been strong. Because of the participatory philosophy of the stores, the role of corporate HR was primarily to act as an advisor to each regional manager. The company’s plans for expansion have led to a change in this philosophy of late. Emerson’s directive to HR for this year is, “help us to develop a plan, a way of using all our human assets in the service of our philosophy, our customers, and our employees.” As the company expands, the need for a central planning body in staffing is seen as an important way to maintain the distinctive “flavor” of the Tanglewood experience. In addition, the sheer number of stores means that local leadership is becoming inefficient. Centralization will also serve to create staffing operations efficiencies.

Your role

Your role within Tanglewood is as an external consultant for staffing services. You will report directly to Daryl Perrone, who is the Staffing Services Director, with final oversight for your work coming from Marilyn Gonzalez, who is the Vice President for Human Resources. Both of these individuals were recently hired personally by Emerson and Wood as part of their plan to centralize and improve the human resources function. Perrone has extensive experience in managing staffing for department stores in New Jersey and New York, while Gonzalez has worked in a variety of corporate positions in the Pacific Northwest.

The reports that you produce will be given to Perrone and Gonzalez, who will disseminate them throughout the organization. As such, although Perrone, Gonzalez, and other members of the human resources team are generally well versed in the terminology of staffing, the other individuals who read you reports will not be so familiar with the specific staffing terminology. This means that your reports should not contain excessive staffing terminology, and that when you do use specific staffing terms you should provide a brief explanation