30 Dec This section of your

HRM599 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 1: BENEFIT PLANS

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Employer-sponsored benefits reflect the culture and business of the organization, and plans should be crafted and selected accordingly. Think about your current (or former) organization’s benefit plan. Did it help to improve the quality of your work, as well as your personal life? Why or why not? Was it a generous benefits program or were there specific benefits you felt should have been included?

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WEEK 1: BENEFIT PLANNING PROCESS

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As part of conducting a benefit plan needs assessment, a human resource professional must consider the organization’s business strategy, as well as its compensation philosophy. What do you think is the next step that should be taken? What are some of the possible outcomes of a benefit plan needs assessment?

HRM599 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 2: ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

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Other than the mandates of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and a few other ineffectual reporting and disclosure requirements, benefit programs were practically unregulated by the federal government before the major shift that came with the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, which was primarily aimed at traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans but applicable to other employer-sponsored retirement and benefit programs. What is the government’s current role in regulating the administration of employee benefits? Do you think there is too little or too much government intervention? Why?

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WEEK 2: GOVERNMENT-MANDATED BENEFITS

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There are certain benefits that are legislatively mandated and cannot be altered or dropped by an organization for any reason other than the organization is closing its doors for good! Social security and Medicare, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation, COBRA, and FMLA are all federal- and state-mandated programs. What do you think determines the types of programs that the government chooses to make mandatory? Do you feel these programs are efficient and effective? Why or why not?

HRM599 Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 3: HEALTHCARE COST MANAGEMENT

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Many Americans benefit from the investments in healthcare; however, the recent cost growth, coupled with the economic downturn and rising national deficit, has placed a great strain on the financial systems used to finance healthcare, including private employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and public insurance programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. What is the responsibility of individuals for the cost of their care? Are health savings accounts and high-deductible insurance policies an approach that should be expanded? What are the concerns for low-income individuals?

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WEEK 3: CONSUMER-DRIVEN HEALTHCARE

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Consumer-driven healthcare has become popular over the past few years as employees seek tax advantages and cost savings on healthcare. What are some of the key features of a consumer-driven healthcare plan? Does your company currently offer any of these plans? If so, are you taking advantage of them? Why or why not?

HRM599 Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 4: LIFE INSURANCE PLANS

88 unread replies.7070 replies.

A major concern for most employees is caring for their families in the event of the employee’s death. Many employers provide life insurance for employees. Does your organization offer a group insurance policy? If so, what is the basic plan design of your organization’s life insurance policy, and for how much are you covered? How do you value this benefit in relation to the entire benefit package and why?

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WEEK 4: DISABILITY PLANS

1010 unread replies.6868 replies.

In addition to replacing household income when an employee either retires or is no longer working, he or she may also carry some type of income-replacement plan in the event they become disabled. Does your current (or former) employer offer disability coverage for employees? What are the specifics of your coverage? Do you feel the need to purchase supplemental disability insurance? Why or why not? How do you value this benefit in relation to the entire benefit package and why?

HRM599 Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 5: RULES AND REGULATIONS

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Discuss some of the legislation that helps to manage retirement plans. What are some examples of laws that have been put into place to protect employees? What are these laws purposed to do?

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WEEK 5: RETIREMENT PLANS

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Why should an organization consider implementing a company-sponsored retirement plan for its employees? What would be some of the available options in choosing the right plan? Do you think employees would favor a specific plan? If so, which plan would they favor?

HRM599 Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 6: PAID TIME OFF

2525 unread replies.6060 replies.

Some employers combine all paid time off, such as vacation, sick leave, holidays, and personal days, into one large bank of time, typically called paid time off (PTO). Discuss your organization’s current paid leave program. Does your organization have a PTO bank or several categories of leave accrual? What do you think would be the pros and cons of a PTO bank versus a traditional leave plan, including sick time and vacation?

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WEEK 6: WORK-LIFE BENEFITS

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What are some of the flexibilities your organization allows to assist employees with achieving a good balance between work and life responsibilities? Do you think more can be done? If so, describe your perspective on what specific work-life benefits you would like to see implemented and how they would be beneficial to employees and the company.

HRM599 Week 7 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 December

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WEEK 7: BENEFITS COMMUNICATION

1212 unread replies.6262 replies.

Does your current (or previous) organization have a strategy in place to communicate its benefits plan to employees? If so, how effective is it, and what can be done to improve it? If not, what are your thoughts on putting a benefits communication plan in place? Would it be beneficial?

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WEEK 7: BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION AND COST CONTROLS

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Insurance providers and employers alike are searching for techniques and strategies to help control their benefits costs. Has your organization been able to find ways to improve your benefits program or add new benefits without adding a heavy cost burden to your department or your employees? Will your organization’s budget for employee benefits be growing, staying the same, or potentially shrinking over the coming year?

HRM599 Week 5 Homework Latest 2017 December

Once you have located and read your article, please complete a review of the article. The article review should consist of the following items.

Write a summary of the article (two to three paragraphs maximum). Why was the article written about the topic at the current time? This should be completed in your own words and should talk about the key points of the article. You should not repeat the article in your summary.
How does this relate to the learning for the week in class? What laws and concepts are covered that would help you in the area of benefits? How could you further elaborate on the concepts in the article?
Based on the article, what recommendations would you provide to the business community (an employer) from reading the article?
The article review must be completed in APA or MLA format and utilize proper grammar. Points will be deducted for papers without a references page (see the rubric for assignment criteria). The paper should be 1,000–1,500 words, not including title or references pages

HRM599 All Course Projects Latest 2017 December

OBJECTIVES
The Course Project is designed to provide you with a real-life practical application of an organization’s human resource benefits program. You will create a written analysis of a real-world organization’s benefit plan design with suggested opportunities for improvement that use the concepts and knowledge introduced in this course.

GUIDELINES
The Course Project must be comprehensive and must adhere to the following analytical stages.

There are eight parts in this Course Project. Different parts are due during Weeks 1, 4, and 7.
Papers should be formatted according to APA or MLA guidelines (12-point font, double-spaced, including a cover page, table of contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and a works cited page).
Even though this is not a scientific-type writing assignment and is mostly creative in nature, references are still very important. Ten or more outside resources or references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These sources should be referenced according to APA or MLA guidelines.
Appropriate citations are required following APA or MLA guidelines.
All DeVry University Policies are in effect, including the plagiarism policy.
Please post any questions about these papers in the Course Q & A Forum.
These papers combined are worth 310 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper information, use of citations, grammar, and sentence structure (see the rubrics below).
Part 1: Select and Profile an Organization for the Benefit Plan (40 Points)

There are a number of ways in which an organization and benefit plan can be selected. You have the option of looking at your current employer’s benefit plan, that of a previous employer, or one from a random organization of your choice whose benefit plan has a perceived need for either a revision of specific benefits, addition of needed benefits, or an overhaul of its benefits program. Provide a clear profile of your chosen organization as well as the organization’s current benefits program. Present key facts that are important in understanding your chosen organization’s benefits program.

Part 2: Statement of the Issue (40 Points)

This section should present an analysis of the major benefits issue or issues. It should include a statement of the specific benefit plan you are addressing. Some questions to ask when formulating the statement of issue include the following.

Have I identified the basic issue or am I dealing with the symptoms?
What is the point of the paper?
If I have identified more than one issue, are the issues separate or related?
There are several sources from which the issues can be determined. They include business documents, such as employee surveys and competitive analysis reports; assessment questionnaires that can be created to probe for areas of benefit needs and employee desires; observations of how employees use or do not use their current benefits; and interviews with key management and selected employees to determine benefit issues.

Part 3: Literature Review (40 Points)

Address what was discovered in the search of relevant literature, related articles, and the employee benefit text, as well as what was discovered in Part 2. This means not only reviewing theories, concepts, and studies discussed in the text or in class, but also reviewing websites and what other writers have to say about benefit plans. Given the limited number of weeks that a term provides and the number of steps involved in the Course Project following the literature review, no more than 2 weeks should be spent reviewing literature.

It is critical that those completing questionnaires, being interviewed, or providing information in any other manner be assured that their responses will be kept in the strictest of confidence and will not be discussed in whole or in part to any member of the organization or outside the boundaries of the classroom. It is recommended that you begin your literature search by accessing Keller’s Online Library. While you may use information obtained from HR-related websites, you must also obtain information from current scholarly journals, business publications, and newspapers. Ten or more outside resources or references are required.

Part 4: Issue Analysis (40 Points)

Here we are bringing Parts 2 and 3 together. This section should provide a detailed analysis of the benefits issue that was identified in Part 2. A major objective is to clearly illustrate how the concepts of the course and gained knowledge of benefits are being used, as well as to show what was learned from the literature review. Show that you are applying course material.

Part 5: Issue Solutions (40 Points)

Create a developmental strategy. Offer several solutions or options that are appropriate for the benefits issue or issues. The solutions should follow logically from the analysis. The expected outcomes, positive and negative, should be addressed.

Part 6: Solution and Its Implementation (40 Points)

This segment should outline your recommended solution to the identified issue. The solution will be one or a combination of the solutions provided in Part 5. This part should be specific, stating what benefit plans are recommended, timing for implementation, and in what sequence. It includes not only what should be done, but also how it should be done. A specific solution should indicate what benefit is most appropriate for the issue and how it will be implemented in the organization. Some questions to keep in mind when writing the solution section include the following.

Has an awareness of the problem of implementation been addressed?
Have you been too general?
Do the solution and implementation address the issues identified earlier?
Does your solution take into account the identified pros and cons?
How will you evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented benefit plan?
What process checks or procedures will you put in place to institutionalize the improvement?
Was the realism of your proposed action plan assessed? For example, are there adequate time, money, and other resources for your solution?

Part 7: Justification (40 Points)

This section of your analysis should, using course knowledge and concepts, tell why your solution and implementation would work. A major objective is to clearly show how you are applying course concepts and content to arrive at a workable solution and implementation for the issue identified. Some questions to ask when writing your justification segment include the following:

Have you applied the appropriate course material?
Do you support your conclusions and recommendations with appropriately referenced facts, quotes, readings, and class activities?
Does your justification recognize the pros and cons identified earlier?