经典案例十：Johnson & Johnson来源：新天地英语 浏览：2979次 Human Resources ManagementFacing Business Challenges at Johnson & JohnsonDoes a healthier work force translate into healthier profits? This was one of the key issues facing Johnson & Johnson CEO Ralph S. Larsen and his predecessor, James E. Burke, as they considered the challenge of managing the companys human resources and keeping employees satisfied and productive. Johnson & Johnson operates throughout the world, employing more than 70,000 people to research, manufacture, and market health-care products in dozens of countries.Employee health was a major concern for several reasons. Company studies showed that over 30 percent of Johnson & Johnsons employees were smokers, and one internal report revealed that smokers had a 45 percent greater rate of absenteeism than nonsmokers. Smokers also contributed disproportionately to the companys medical expenses (30 percent higher than nonsmokers), an ominous statistic at a time when health-care costs were rising at nearly twice the rate of inflation.Another problem confronting J&J was how changing demographics were affecting employees. Employees increasingly fell into one of three groups: They were part of two-career couples with children; they were responsible for an aging parent; or they were single mothers or fathers. A survey of 10,000 J&J employees revealed that they were frustrated by their inability to meet all their obligations, both to their families and to their employer. Many stated that they had difficulty finding day care, especially sick-child care and infant care, and almost 20 percent responded that they could not afford day care even if they could locate a suitable provider.Although these employees felt torn between family pressures and employment roles, they found little help at work. Most stated that their managers were unsympathetic about the dilemma. Balancing their work and family obligations took its toll on employees, who reported higher levels of stress, greater absenteeism, and lower job satisfaction.For guidance on these issues, the CEOs turned to Johnson & Johnsons operating document, the corporate credo written by Robert Wood Johnson, son of a founding Johnson brother and chairman of the company for 25 years. Johnson ranked the companys obligation to its employees ahead of its responsibility to its shareholders and second only to its commitment to its customers. This credo would serve as a blueprint for successful human resources management.So how could J&J top managers promote health in the workplace? How could they help J&J employees balance family and career obligations? What programs could be established to meet the personal and professional needs of their employees more effectively? What effect would such programs have on the companys bottom line?Meeting Business Challenges at Johnson & JohnsonRalph Larsen and James Burke understood that effective human resources management was the key to the satisfied and highly productive work force so necessary to Johnson & Johnsons future success. The first step toward improving productivity was to help employees meet their dual responsibilities to family and job. To start, the company opened child-care centers at its corporate headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and its nearby Somerset office. Child-care costs at these centers are limited to 10 percent of an employees disposable income. Then J&J expanded its child-care program to include home care. The company contracts with child-care providers to offer employees reduced rates on home-based child care. It also gives the providers advanced training and access to the resources in its on-site child-care facilities, such as books and toys.Under its Balancing Work and Family Program, J&J helps employees locate resources and referrals for child care and elder care. It also goes beyond the bare legal minimum, allowing employees to take family-care leave of up to one year after the arrival of a newborn or adopted child and letting employees arrange a flexible work schedule to attend to an ailing family member. Moreover, employees in some locations can set flexible schedules that allow them to better meet their family obligations and still do excellent work.In addition, Johnson & Johnson managers participated in training to sensitize them to work and family issues. To underscore the companys commitment to family care, human resources managers added a new sentence to the company credo: We must be mindful of ways to help our employees with their family responsibilities. This commitment to helping employees better manage family pressures boosted productivity by reducing absenteeism, tardiness, and stress. In addition, the companys commitment to work/family policies helped attract and keep qualified employees in a tightening labor market.Productivity was also enhanced by a wellness program. Live for Life w