Toyota Plans Lexus SUV Investment for Canadian Plant

Posted by & filed under Decision Making, Global Management, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Management, Organizational Structure & Design, Planning, Social Responsibility, Strategy.

Description: Toyota Motor Corp. plans to begin building two more Lexus SUVs in Canada, according to people familiar with the matter, a major win for the nation’s otherwise-struggling auto sector. Source: Bloomberg.com – video report Date: Apr 26, 2019 Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-26/toyota-is-said-to-plan-lexus-suv-investment-for-canada-plant?srnd=premium-canada Questions for discussion: How well is the Canadian auto industry doing these days, according to… Read more »

The World’s Biggest Electric Vehicle Company Looks Nothing Like Tesla

Posted by & filed under Industrial Relations, Leadership, Management, Planning, Teams, Technology.

Description: BYD, which built the battery in your ’90s cellphone, now produces more EVs than anyone—and it wants to sell them to you, soon. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Apr 16, 2019 Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-16/the-world-s-biggest-electric-vehicle-company-looks-nothing-like-tesla?srnd=businessweek-v2 Questions for discussion: Summarize the growth story and the reasons for the firm’s success. What are the messages to management at competitors like… Read more »

How a Halifax brewery is working to break down craft beer stereotypes

Posted by & filed under Change, Communication, Diversity, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Operations Management, Organizational Structure & Design, Social Responsibility, Strategy, Teams.

Description: At Good Robot Brewing, diversity isn’t just found in the staff, it’s in the clients they try to attract Source: CBC.ca Date: Feb 24, 2019 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/good-robot-brewing-diversity-nova-scotia-microbreweries-1.5026356 Questions for discussion: What does the report say about efforts to increase diversity in the firm and industry? Why can diversity improve operations, according to the report?… Read more »

Terence Corcoran: Jerry Dias’s Oshawa GM battle can’t stop an auto-industry revolution

Posted by & filed under Chapter 4 - The Structure of Canadian Unions, Chapter 8 - The Collective Bargaining Process, Global Management, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Management, Planning, Social Responsibility, Strategy.

Description: It’s hard to see what Unifor’s national president is hoping to achieve Source: FinancialPost.com Date: Jan 16, 2019 Link: https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-jerry-diass-oshawa-gm-battle-cant-stop-an-auto-industry-revolution Questions for discussion: What is the situation facing GM management, the union, and the governments? What would you advise each of them, given the constraints?

Lockout at one of Canada’s largest smelters drags into 2nd year, with no end in sight

Posted by & filed under Chapter 10 - Third-Party Intervention, Chapter 11 - The Grievance Arbitration Process, Chapter 7 - Defining and Commencing Collective Bargaining, Communication, Conflict, Decision Making, Industrial Relations, Management, Negotiation, Social Responsibility.

Description: With pickets outside Alcoa’s aluminium plant in Bécancour, Que., output has been reduced to trickle Source: CBC.ca – video report Date: Jan 11, 2019 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lockout-at-one-of-canada-s-largest-smelters-drags-into-2nd-year-with-no-end-in-sight-1.4973943 Questions for discussion: What does the report have to say about the history of this labour dispute? What would you advise the parties involved in order to settle… Read more »

Google Walkout: Employees Stage Protest Over Handling of Sexual Harassment

Posted by & filed under Communication, Conflict, Diversity, Ethics, Global Management, Human Resource Management, Individual Behavior, Industrial Relations, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Organizational Change, Social Responsibility, Strategy, Teams.

Description: Employees at Google offices around the world held a wave of walkouts on Thursday to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Nov 01, 2018 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/technology/google-walkout-sexual-harassment.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness&action=click&contentCollection=business&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront Questions for discussion: Summarize the issues that precipitated the action by employees. What does this action say about the changing culture in this company?… Read more »

Reduced holiday temp hiring is a sign Amazon is turning to more automation and robots: Citi

Posted by & filed under Communication, Compensation & Benefits, Control, Global Management, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Innovation/Creativity, Leadership, Management, Negotiation, Operations Management, Organizational Change, Organizational Structure & Design, Planning, Social Responsibility, Strategy, Teams, Technology.

Description: Amazon has reduced the number of temporary hires it needs this holiday shopping season as the company turns to more robots, Citi analyst Mark May told CNBC Friday. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Nov 02, 2018 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/02/citi-mark-may-amazon-relies-on-robots-less-temporary-holiday-hires.html Questions for discussion: What does this report suggest is happening to low-paying jobs like sorting and… Read more »

Now Is Not a Good Time to Skimp on Worker Training

Posted by & filed under Communication, Compensation & Benefits, Decision Making, Human Resource Management, Individual Behavior, Industrial Relations, Leadership, Management, Operations Management, Organizational Change, Organizational Structure & Design, Planning, Teams.

Description: With unemployment near a record low, many businesses have no choice but to spend to upgrade employee skills. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Oct 26, 2018 Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-26/now-is-not-a-good-time-to-skimp-on-worker-training?srnd=businessweek-v2 Questions for discussion: What does the article say about training in different countries around the world? How should managers interpret the suggestions in this article?

The real reason why Amazon is raising the minimum wage

Posted by & filed under Change, Communication, Compensation & Benefits, Decision Making, Ethics, Global Management, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Leadership, Management, Operations Management, Social Responsibility, Strategy, Technology.

Description: Amazon, the second largest private employer in the U.S., is raising the minimum wage for its full-time and temporary workers to $15 per hour. Source: Finance.Yahoo.com – video report Date: Sep 26, 2018 Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-reason-amazon-raising-minimum-wage-170807455.html Questions for discussion: What are the possible reasons for Amazon’s pay raise, according to the report? What do you… Read more »

Workers Overdose on the Job, and Employers Struggle to Respond

Posted by & filed under Communication, Compensation & Benefits, Ethics, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Management, Social Responsibility, Teams.

Description: As the opioid epidemic continues to rage across the country, with a record 72,000 drug overdose deaths estimated in 2017, the fallout is increasingly manifesting itself at construction sites, factories, warehouses, offices and other workplaces. A stunning 70 percent of employers reported that their businesses had been affected by prescription drug abuse, including absenteeism, positive drug… Read more »