Essays

“For a Mess of Pottage”··: Incentivizing Creative Employees Toward Improved Competitiveness

May 19, 2013

 I.  Introduction Managing employees’ talent, promoting innovation, and improving productivity are critical challenges for organizations. Creative employees and the innovative products they develop can make a tremendous contribution to an organization’s success and competitive position.[1]  While employed inventors play an extremely important role in the production of an organization’s technological innovations, they are often either [...]

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Labor Rights, Associate Duties, and Transnational Production Chains

May 1, 2013

I. Introduction In this article we propose to contribute to the philosophical debate on global justice by viewing labor relations as a type of association which implies moral commitments among its participants. We argue that such a view of associative duties justifies a cosmopolitan approach to labor standards, calling for the regulation and enforcement of [...]

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Workplace Violence: Why Every State Must Adopt a Comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Law

April 13, 2013

On August 24, 2012, a fired clothing designer gunned down a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building in New York City.[1] The violent act was the culmination of built up tension between two former co-workers.[2] Their anger towards one another had already resulted in at least one physical confrontation at work that led to [...]

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A Comparative Analysis of the Uses of Mediation in the Entertainment Industry

March 2, 2013

Introduction A quick perusal of any of the entertainment industry’s major trade papers such as Daily Variety or The Hollywood Reporter reveals the considerable number of pending court cases, arguments, disputes, and the sheer variety of conflicts that arise in the business.  Some recent issues include:  the cast of the popular television series “Modern Family” [...]

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May the Best (Looking) Man Win: the Unconscious Role of Attractiveness in Employment Decisions

February 14, 2013

In 1972, Karen Dion, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster set out to determine whether people hold “stereotyped notions of the personality traits possessed by individuals of varying attractiveness.”[1] Their study provided participants with photographs of subjects previously classified as attractive, moderately attractive, or unattractive and asked them to record their impressions of each.[2] The results [...]

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Personality Tests in Employment Selection: Use With Caution

January 26, 2013

Many employers utilize personality tests in the employment selection process to identify people who have more than just the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in their jobs.[1] If anecdotes are to be believed—Dilbert must be getting at something or the cartoon strip would not be so popular—the work place is full of people [...]

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The Future of Human Resources: Shifting to a Network Driven Approach

January 4, 2013

Introduction As companies continue to thrive in a global context, the nature of work and organizational relationships will grow increasingly complex.  Initiatives will span across traditional functional and geographical boundaries, heightening the need for greater knowledge sharing and collaboration.  With a higher premium placed on achieving flexibility and agility, organizations that rely on strong internal [...]

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Maternity and Paternity Leave: A Guided Approach for Employers With Employees Utilizing Surrogate Births and Other Reproductive Methods

December 11, 2012

Forty-one-year-old mother Ms. Kara Krill (“Krill”) filed suit[1] in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on August 26, 2011 against her former employer, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Cubist), for refusing to provide Krill with certain fringe employment benefits, including “thirteen weeks of paid maternity leave for the birth and care of a [...]

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