HR in action learning to lead

The readings this week helped me better understand why labor unions are so integral and how their decline affects workers, and the economy. In “The Cost of a Decline in Unions,” Kristof notes that unions were once a major driver behind the increase in wages, the reduction of inequality and protecting working-class families. He contends that as union membership has declined, income inequality has grown and workers have lost bargaining power. This segues with what we learned from class about how unions increase morale, reduce turnover, and allow workers a voice in workplace decisions.

In my reporting, I discovered unions provide clear advantages for workers: higher wages, improved benefits, job security and protection from unfair treatment. They can also be used to create a safer workplace free from obligation and discrimination. But there are also downsides, like dues and slower decision-making, as well as at times tense relations with management. Kasperkevic’s story about right-to-work laws taught me that unions fear these laws because they reduce their funding and influence, which in turn makes it more difficult for them to protect workers.

I spoke with a family friend who was in a union for decades. He said the union had helped him find good health care and to fight unfair scheduling. But he also said the dues seemed expensive in months when finances were tight. His experience mirrored what I saw in the reading’s unions get protection but also demand commitment.

According to what I’ve found, I would join a union if I worked in an industry with a lot of safety risks, that was particularly unfair to workers or where pay was inconsistent. I used to be pro-unionization also when employees didn’t have a voice and/or if management didn’t listen. In general, unions are still an important force in promoting fairness and protecting certainly it is not excessive to say they are the only way most working Americans have to fight for future prosperity.

Sources
Kristof, N. (2021). The Cost of a Decline in Unions.
Kasperkevic, J. (2017). Why Unions Are So Worried About Right-to-Work Laws.
Lecture: Labor Relations (Swift, 2025).

The Type A Personality survey also gave me greater insight into myself. It revealed that, although I’m typically warm and collaborative, I may become impatient or stressed when feeling overwhelmed. Studies suggest that it’s urgency and frustration not just Type A behavior as a whole that can elevate health risks, which is a nice thing I tell myself when I am mentally checking out at work and need to go home instead.

Organizations today are also working to be more supportive of employees. Many companies now have flexible hours, mental-health resources and wellness programs, along with Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Studies indicate that effective wellness programs can result in reduced spending on physicians and absenteeism, increased productivity and morale (Berry, Mirabito & Baun 2010). They also value flexibility and paid as a form of compensation, which both reduces stress and staff retention (Jones, 2017).

Overall, those assessments were a reminder that stress management is important for long-term health, and it also falls on both employees and employers to make workspaces healthier.

Berry, L. L., Mirabito, A. M., & Baun, W. B. (2010). What’s the hard return on employee wellness programs? Harvard Business Review.

Jones, K. (2017). The Most Desirable Employee Benefits. Harvard Business Review.

Swift, M. (2025). Job Stress. Lecture.

Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Coping & Stress Management Skills Test. Psychology Today.

The most straightforward example of when compensation influenced my behavior occurred when I was in the restaurant business. For months, I’d picked up extra shifts training new hires, filling in for busy stretches and staying late to make things run smoothly. I really liked my team, and I wanted the store to do well, so I was putting in a lot with no immediate benefit.

Then transfer a new employee came and told me he was getting paid more an hour than I was, but for no experience. I asked my manager why, and he told me that the higher rate was designed to attract “better applicants.” To hear that was to be made invisible. For the first time I knew my remuneration did not match what I was contributing.

This reaction directly ties to equity theory, which holds that people compare their inputs and outcomes to others. If they feel like they don’t get paid enough, motivation decreases (Smith, 2015). And that’s exactly what happened to me. I did come to work, but I stopped going the extra mile. I didn’t raise my hand for extra assignments or turn on the jets when something went awry. And I directed elsewhither the effort expended to make me feel that I was worth it.

This situation also relates to Kerr’s theory in “On the Folly of Rewarding a While Hoping for B.” My boss hoped I’d exceed expectations but instead rewarded new employees who were less competitive than those with experience (Kerr, 1975). The reward system fostered what the organization didn’t want. As Buckingham & Coffman assert in “Create Heroes,” recognition and a fair wage communicate value, and when employees fail to feel valued, they withhold effort.

In retrospect, the problem wasn’t just money it was the message that pay sent. Remuneration is about dignity, equity and gratitude Published: Compensation conveys a sense of respect. When pay is equal to performance, motivation of employees goes up. When it doesn’t, behavior shifts rapidly (Greenhouse & Strom, 2014).

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, Break All the Rules (Chapter 6: Create Heroes).
Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal.
Smith, D. (2015). Most people have no idea whether they’re paid fairly. Harvard Business Review.
Greenhouse, S., & Strom, S. (2014). Paying employees to stay, not to go. The New York Times.

One of the best training programs I ever went through was when I was promoted at Chipotle, where we walked through a leadership and safety ritual that reads just like the one detailed in The Making of a UPS Driver (Fortune, 2019). And like UPS’s refashioned method, the training, which was a blend of videos, shadowing and hands-on learning. That kind of framework made learning interesting and applicable. Great managers know that people learn most efficiently when their training can be consistent with their natural talents and they get to put those tunes to work right away (Buckingham & Coffman, 2016, First Break All the Rules). The combination of active learning and actual practice in the program has simplified my efforts to apply what I learned to my daily work.

Another college class I attended, on the other hand, felt far less effective because it was lecture-style and lacked interaction or feedback. It was good info, just not much chance to use it so you would remember it. According to Ellis et al. (2017), effective training and onboarding occur when they are interactive, manager-supported and create a sense of belonging among new team members. That personal connection and feedback were what was lacking in class, so it was less inspiring and therefore less effective.

The Walmart Academy piece also made me remember that the success of training in the long term is only as good as what real chances organizations give afterwards. A strong program will go beyond the skills; it will be linked to growth and career development. From these examples, one thing is clear effective training combines relevance, practice and support. When employees can understand the value and are optimized to learn and grow, both learning and performance increase.

References

Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (2016). ’First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. Gallup Press.

Ellis, A., Nifadkar, S., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. Your New Hires Won’t Succeed if You Don’t Onboard Them Right. Harvard Business Review.

The Making of a UPS Driver. (2019). Fortune.

At Walmart Academy, Training Better Bosses. But with a Better Future? (2017). The New York Times

One of the best training programs I ever went through was when I was promoted at Chipotle, where we walked through a leadership and safety ritual that reads just like the one detailed in The Making of a UPS Driver (Fortune, 2019). And like UPS’s refashioned method, the training, which was a blend of videos, shadowing and hands-on learning. That kind of framework made learning interesting and applicable. Great managers know that people learn most efficiently when their training can be consistent with their natural talents and they get to put those tunes to work right away (Buckingham & Coffman, 2016, First Break All the Rules). The combination of active learning and actual practice in the program has simplified my efforts to apply what I learned to my daily work.

Another college class I attended, on the other hand, felt far less effective because it was lecture-style and lacked interaction or feedback. It was good info, just not much chance to use it so you would remember it. According to Ellis et al. (2017), effective training and onboarding occur when they are interactive, manager-supported and create a sense of belonging among new team members. That personal connection and feedback were what was lacking in class, so it was less inspiring and therefore less effective.

The Walmart Academy piece also made me remember that the success of training in the long term is only as good as what real chances organizations give afterwards. A strong program will go beyond the skills; it will be linked to growth and career development. From these examples, one thing is clear effective training combines relevance, practice and support. When employees can understand the value and are optimized to learn and grow, both learning and performance increase.

References

Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (2016). ’First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. Gallup Press.

Ellis, A., Nifadkar, S., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. Your New Hires Won’t Succeed if You Don’t Onboard Them Right. Harvard Business Review.

The Making of a UPS Driver. (2019). Fortune.

At Walmart Academy, Training Better Bosses. But with a Better Future? (2017). The New York Times

After taking the Project Implicit Test, I specifically selected the Race test to investigate my implicit attitudes. The results revealed that I have a slight automatic preference for European Americans over African Americans. Initially, I was taken aback because I perceive myself as a just and open person. Nonetheless, as the provided readings explain, implicit bias occurs automatically and results from culture, media, and socialization influences. Therefore, a person does not deliberately demonstrate prejudice. Nevertheless, the implicit bias does affect behavior and decision making, even if the individual remains unaware of it. The hiring manager’s reliability diminishes when the selection process is left to the personal decisions of the interviewer without objective methods. Furthermore, validity is downgraded by the adherence of managers to hire employees who “seem right” without considering their skills and aptitudes. An example might be that a candidate looks or talks in a certain way, which instantly convinces a person of outstanding performance. The characteristic has nothing to deal with the candidate’s abilities but only with personal bias. The proper response to this situation is to train the recruiters in structured interviews and the same recruitment processes for all applicants. Additionally, I can be mindful of the automatic reactions, slow down the implicit decisions, and investigate the first impression before decision-making. Implicit bias is not limited to eliminating; however, it is reversible with awareness of the presence of reflections and intention, as Vandiver outlines.

References:
Bohnet, I. (2016). How to Take the Bias Out of Interviews. Harvard Business Review.
Knight, R. (2017). 7 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process. SHRM.
Vandiver, B. J. (2018). Understanding Implicit Bias—and How to Work Through It. Be Better Blog.

From my experience, I realize that interviews differ greatly. Some of them seem professional and straight to the point; others are more of a friendly chat. Due to the information I learned this week, all these differences can be explained by reliability, validity, and utility of the interview.

One issue that keeps occurring to me during my practice interviews is unstructured questions. In many cases, I was asked questions that other interviewees were not, which did not allow one to compare people justly. The results of this type of interview kept depending on the interviewer’s mood and manner, which is called low reliability. In one case, the hiring manager was asking about my hobbies and weekend over a cup of coffee. It was fun and easy-going, but the issue is, the employer never found out if I could do the job-your validity was low.

According to Bohnet (2016), scoring each answer immediately after it’s given helps reduce bias and improve fairness. Since I applied for a job in a restaurant, part of the interview was a short skill test, and I was also asked questions about the time when I faced a stressful situation-at-the given an interview in this case, the validity was higher. Bohnet suggests scoring each answer after it was given but not all answers at the end of the interview help reduce bias and improve fairness. Besides that, Knight (2017) claims that structured interviews, in which the same job‐related questions are asked and scored, increase accuracy and predictability. indicates that experience is not the only indicator of future efficiency but adds learning ability and humility as the ability has reduced validity. Finally, Buckingham and Coffman (2016) state how great managers are hiring for talent and strengths, in the end, making the last job quality useful. To employers, I suggest using evidence-based interviews while focusing on an applicant’s behaviors, skill, and potential.

References
Bohnet, I. (2016). How to Take the Bias Out of Interviews. Harvard Business Review.

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.

Knight, R. (2017). 7 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process. SHRM.

I explored four companies that appeared on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list of 2025: Hilton, Cisco, NVIDIA and PwC. These companies are notable because staffers consistently say they feel appreciated, trusted and supported (Great Place to Work, 2025a).

HR Practices at These Companies It puts people first, focusing on trust inclusion and empowerment of staff. A lot of its employees describe the workplace as one in which they can bring their “whole selves.”

Cisco promises flexible work policies and a strong commitment to learning and career development which should get employees on track to develop new skills (Great Place to Work, 2025b).

NVIDIA funds from a strong culture, innovation and acknowledging its employees. It is also counted among the top HR companies in India (Human Resource Executive, 2025).

PwC has continued to rise on the Best Companies list to #20 in 2025 by concentrating on growth, feedback and creating an environment where all people are able to “flourish” (PwC, 2025).

These companies embody concepts we have read about: designing work to allow employees to contribute (Breitfelder & Dowling, 2008), building capabilities through training and feedback, inspiring employees with trust and recognition (Garvin, 2013).

The Manager I Want to Be I want to be a manager who listens, empowers and helps others grow. I do believe in expectation setting, consistent feedback and opportunities in development. I want make decisions based on data.

References:

Breitfelder, M. D., & Dowling, D. W. (2008). Why did we ever go into HR? Harvard Business Review, 86(7/8), 39–43.

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently (2016 ed.). Gallup Press.

Garvin, D. A. (2013). How Google sold its engineers on management. Harvard Business Review, 91(12), 74–82.

Great Place to Work. (2025a). Hilton – Fortune 100 best companies to work for 2025. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/

Great Place to Work. (2025b). Cisco – Fortune 100 best companies to work for 2025. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/

Human Resource Executive. (2025). Most admired for HR: The top 50 companies this year. https://hrexecutive.com/

PwC. (2025). PwC named to 2025 Fortune 100 best companies to work for list.

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