Module 4 Case & Study
Module 4 - Case
Workplace Violence
Assignment Overview
Betty Smith was recently hired as the Director of HR at Company XYZ. On her third day at work, the CEO called her in his office. He asked her to review the following terrifying timeline:
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Date
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Event/Location
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September 25, 2014
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A man fired from an Oklahoma food processing plant beheaded a woman with a knife and was attacking another worker when he was shot and wounded by a company official.
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January 29, 2013
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A gunman, 70-year old Arthur Douglas Harmon, allegedly shot and killed 48-year-old Steve Singer, CEO of the Scottsdale-based Fusion Contact Centers LLC, a call center company.
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December 14, 2012
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Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
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December 11, 2012
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Jacob Tyler Roberts, a masked gunman opened fire at Clackamas Town Center, a mall in suburban Portland, Oregon, killing two people, injuring one, and then killing himself.
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July 20, 2012
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James Eagan Holmes, dressed in tactical clothing, set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises.
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April 2, 2012
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Seven people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting rampage by 43-year-old One Goh at an Asian religious vocational school in east Oakland, California; police later detained the suspected gunman.
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January 8, 2011
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Jared Lee Loughner killed six people and injured more than a dozen others, including a congressional lawmaker, outside of a supermarket in Arizona.
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February 12, 2010
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Amy Bishop went on a shooting rampage during a faculty meeting at an Alabama university, killing three colleagues and wounding three others as a result of being denied tenure.
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November 5, 2009
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U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan is alleged to have killed 13 people after he went on a shooting spree at the busy U.S. military base in Texas.
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April 16, 2007
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Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and himself on Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.
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April 20, 1999
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Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves in the school's library.
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June 18, 1990
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James Edward Pough shot people at random in a General Motors Acceptance Corp. office in Jacksonville, Florida, killing 10 and wounding four, before killing himself.
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August 20, 1986
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Pat Sherrill, 44, a postal worker who was about to be fired, shot 14 people at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma.
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July 18, 1984
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James Oliver Huberty, an out-of-work security guard, killed 21 people in a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, California.
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After reviewing the timeline, the CEO asks Betty what their organization can do to prevent such tragedies. After a brief conversation, the CEO mentions that the organization will be laying-off 10 employees in the next two weeks. The CEO asked her to think of some safety measures to be considered at their upcoming meeting with the entire management team.
Later that day, she receives an email from the CEO asking if it would be a good idea to bring his personal gun to work (for protection) and have it locked up in a safe. She is troubled and calls her friend who is a "Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)" to help analyze this situation.
Case Study Questions
1. What questions would her SPHR friend ask Betty Smith?
2. Do you think it is a good idea for the CEO to bring a gun to work? Justify your response. Consider the Second Amendment.
3. Should there be covert "armed" employees at each organization that are carefully selected (after a thorough background check) by HR managers? Explain why or why not.
4. What are some issues with the traditional way of having an unarmed security guard sitting at the front desk?
5. What rules and regulations must be taken into consideration when making the decision? Interesting enough, Indiana is one of 13 states that signed into law a measure that bans employers from telling workers that they can't have guns in their cars. Should all states consider such laws? Justify your response.
Case Assignment
Drawing on the material in the background readings and doing additional research, please prepare a 3- to 5-page paper (not including the cover and reference pages) in which you:
• Address the five questions relating to the case study. It imperative that you use your critical thinking skills when addressing each question.
Assignment Expectations
Your paper will be evaluated on the following points:
• Precision: Does the paper address the question(s) or task(s)?
• Clarity: Is the writing clear and are the concepts articulated properly? Are responses made through paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts? (Or is there excessive use of quotations?) Are headings included in all papers longer than 2 pages?
• Breadth: Is the full breadth of the subject addressed?
• Depth: Does the paper address the topic in sufficient depth?
• Grammar, spelling, and vocabulary: Is the paper well-written? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary suitable to graduate-level work?
• Referencing (citations and references): Does the paper use citations and quotation marks when appropriate?
• Critical thinking: Is the subject thought about critically (i.e., accurately, logically, relevantly, and precisely)?
Module 4 - SLP
Workplace Violence
After reviewing the Module 4 Case Study and your assignment, suppose that Betty Smith went home that evening and created a PowerPoint presentation delineating her proposed solution to this dilemma that is full of stats, research, and examples that she will share with her colleagues at the upcoming meeting. Please create the PowerPoint presentation on her behalf.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Prepare a PowerPoint presentation (15-30 slides) full of stats, research, and examples delineating your position on bringing guns to work for protection and to prevent workplace violence.
Module 4
Required Material
MM LeBlanc, & EK Kelloway. (2002). The prediction, experience, and consequences of workplace violence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 29-49. Accessed from Google Scholar.
Aaron Schat, & E Kelloway. (2003). Reducing the Adverse Consequences of Workplace Aggression and Violence: The Buffering Effects of Organizational Support. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 8, No. 2, 110-122. DOI: 10.1037/1076-8998.8.2.110