netrashetty
Netra Shetty
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb), was founded in 1952 in Berkeley, California. The company was initially engaged in the development and production of specialty chemicals used in biochemical, pharmaceutical, and other life science research applications. Today, Bio-Rad manufactures and supplies life science research, healthcare, analytical chemistry, and other markets with products and systems used to separate complex chemical and biological materials and to identify, analyze, and purify their components[1].
Bio-Rad operates in two industry segments: Life Science Research and Clinical Diagnostics. Both segments operate worldwide. Bio-Rad’s customers include hospitals, universities, major research institutions, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Bio-Rad’s headquarters are in Hercules, California. The company has offices and facilities worldwide and more than 6,500 employees. Bio-Rad had revenues of more than $1.7 billion in 2008. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since October 24, 2008. Before that, Bio-Rad was listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Career Management
Responsibilities of the manager and employer
Career management guidelines:
Along with the employee, the person’s manager and employer both have career management responsibilities.
Guidelines include:
(1) Avoid reality shock
Reality shock refers to the results of a period that may occur at the initial career entry when the new employee’s high job expectations confront the reality of a boring, unchanging job. Perhaps at no other stage in the person’s career is it more important for the employer to be career development-oriented than at the initial entry stage, when the person is recruited, hired, and given a first assignment. For the employee this is a period during which he or she has to develop a sense of confidence, learn to get along with the first boss and with coworkers, learn how to accept responsibility, and most important, gain an insight into his or her talents, needs, and values as they relate to initial career goals. For the new employee, in other words, this is (or should be) a period of reality testing during which his or her initial hopes and goals first confront the reality of organizational life and of the person’s talents and needs
(2) Provide challenging initial Jobs
Most experts agree that one of the most important things you can do is provide new employees with challenging first jobs. In one study of young managers at AT&T, for example, the researchers found that, more challenging a person’s job was in his or her first year with the company the more effective and successful the person was even five or six years later. Based on his own research, Hall contends that challenging initial jobs provide ‘one of the most powerful yet uncomplicated means of aiding the career development of new employees.’ In most organizations, however, providing such jobs seems more the exception than the rule. In one survey of research and development organizations, for example, only 1 of 22 companies had a formal policy of giving challenging first assignments. This imbalance as one expert has pointed out, is an example of ‘glaring mismanagement’ when one considers the effort and money invested in recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. Some firms ‘front-load’ the job challenge by giving new employees considerable responsibility.
(3) Provide realistic job previews in recruiting
Providing recruits with realistic previews of what to expect once they begin working in the organization-ones that describe both the attractions and also possible pitfalls-can be an effective way of minimizing reality shock and improving their long-term performance. Schein points out that one of the biggest problems recruits and employers encounter during the crucial entry stage is getting accurate information in a ‘climate of mutual selling’. The recruiter (anxious to hook good candidates) and the candidate (anxious to present as favorable an impression as possible) often give and receive unrealistic information during the interview. The result is that the interviewer may not form a clear picture of the candidate’s career goals, while at the same time the candidate forms an unrealistically favorable image of the organization. Realistic job previews can boost the survival rate among employees who are hired for relatively complex jobs like management trainee, salesperson, or life insurance agent.
(4) Be demanding
There is often a ‘Pygmalion effect’ in the relationship between a new employee and his or her boss. In other words, the more you expect and the more confident and supportive you are of your new employees, the better they will perform. Therefore, as two experts put it, ‘Don’t assign a new employee to a ‘dead wood’ undemanding, or unsupportive supervisor. Instead choose specially trained, high-performing, supportive supervisors who can set high standards for new employees during their critical first year.
(5) Provide periodic job rotation and job pathing
The best way new employees can test themselves and crystallize their career anchors is to try out a variety of challenging jobs. By rotating to jobs in various specializations-from financial analysis to production to human resource, for example-the employee gets an opportunity to assess his or her aptitudes and preferences. At the same time, the organization gets a manager with a broader multifunctional view of the organization. One extension of this is called job pathing, which means selecting carefully sequenced job assignments.
(6) Do career-oriented performance appraisals
Edgar Schein says that supervisors must understand that valid performance appraisal information is in the long run more important than protecting the short-term interests of one’s immediate subordinates. Therefore, he says, supervisors need concrete information regarding the employee’s potential career path-information, in other words, about the nature of the future work for which he or she is appraising the subordinate, or which the subordinate desires.
(7) Provide career planning workshops and career planning workbooks Employers also should take steps to increase their employees’ involvement and expertise in planning and developing their own careers. One option here is to organize periodic career planning workshops. A career planning workshop has been defined as ‘a planned learning event in which participants are expected to be actively involved, completing career planning exercises and inventories and participating in career skills practice sessions.’ It discusses what is career planning, self assessments, environmental assessments, goal setting for self, and developing career action planning.
A career planning workbook may be distributed to employees either as part of a workshop or as an independent career planning aid. This career planning workbook is ‘a printed guide that directs its users through a series of assessment exercises, models, career directions, discussions, guidelines, actioning planning and other information to support career planning. It is usually self paced, so that the employees can complete the exercise at their own pace.
Wages, incentives and benefits
wants to reward the efforts of qualified employees through bonus schemes, wages, options and shares programmes as well as other forms of benefits.
The incentive systems at are part of the effort to motivate employees to meet 's principal goal of optimising shareholder value. The system has both a short-term and long-term perspective, through introducing annual bonuses as well as share and options programmes. In addition, the incentive systems also contribute by helping to retain and develop the strategic expertise in the Group and attract new expertise. The incentive systems for managers and key personnel at are based on an overall compensation principle, where wages, bonuses, options and other benefits are comprehensively evaluated.
Extra holidays are a benefit of all employees at . Additional to the stipulated five weeks, employees of also have Christmas holidays, Eid holidays and two extra days off. also offers benefits for maternity leave, additional to those stipulated.
Health, Environment and Security
Health, Environment and Security (HES) is here used synonymous with the concept of working environment and comprises all factors affecting the working conditions, be they physical or psychosocial.
The working environment at shall be distinguished by job-satisfaction, low sickness absence and few injuries. A joint policy, containing relevant procedures and guidelines, has been drawn up to achieve this.
Employment at shall promote good health. Employees shall not suffer any form of health damage or injuries resulting from their work.
The agreement for a more inclusive working life was signed in 2003. The agreement supports the basic efforts that were made in recent years in the form of follow-up and rehabilitation of people who have been struck by injury or illness. As far as possible, and provided that employees in question are willing, efforts will be made to bring people back to working life as quickly as possible.
For the purpose of preventing sickness absence and of providing follow-up and rehabilitation of employees, focus has been on ensuring good cooperation between managers and employees. This has led to stable sickness absence figures of approximately 5% in 's Norwegian operations. This stability contrasts with the overall development in Norway, where a considerable increase in the sickness absence has taken place in the last few years.
Our efforts to maintain a good working environment are an ongoing process pervading the whole Group. The work shall be organized, implemented, documented and reported to support the principal goals.
Managers at all levels are responsible for planning and implementing initiatives that contribute to a satisfactory physical and psychosocial working environment.
's employees are also responsible for contributing to the achievement of these goals. Trained HES personnel support managers in systematic efforts in Health, Environment and Safety in their own units.
Health, Environment and Safety systems (HES systems) are quality systems implemented to ensure that abides by prevailing laws, regulations and internal directives regulating the working environment.
's HES system is based on the following principles:
Implementation and documentation of systematic HES efforts in own areas
Ensuring sufficient expertise within the HES systems
Ensure implementation of risk analyses, handle aberrations and introduce corrective measures
Reviewing HES status in individual areas of responsibility and planning of activities, including HES revisions
Organizing efforts to reduce the health risks relating to the workplace
Follow-up of, and cooperation with, employees during sickness absence, including preparation for continued working life during temporary or permanent disability
Efforts to prevent injuries, reporting and analysis of occupational injury and near-injuries, as well as introduction of corrective measures
Reporting of results and activities relating to the working environment
Discipline Procedure
Warning may be addressed to the employees verbally and in written through their immediate supervisor. The warning shall refer to the contraventions committed by the employee and will serve to remind the employees the he/she abide by the company rules and regulations in performing his/her work, and that this contravention should not be repeated in future.
A written letter may be addressed to the employee describing the contravention committed. The employee will also be notified that a higher penalty may be inflicted on him in the contravention is repeated in future. The warning letter may be registered in the employees personal file .issuance of written warning can be recommended by the respective supervisor. It will be issued by the HR department after approval of head of department.
Deduction from the salary will be an amount of employee salary depending on the type offence and decision taken accordingly.
The employee may be suspended from performing his or her duties for a period of time as conveyed in written.
Unauthorized absence of more then two times in Six month can result in termination of employment.
An employee who is absent from the job with out satisfactory explanation is considered to be an unauthorized unpaid absence.
Discrimination, intimidation and harassment based on sex, race, religion, age, color, disability, sexual orientation and cultural background is prohibited at the workplace.
Harassment refers to:
Embarrassing remarks and jokes (Written/verbal)
Insults
Comments about appearance, facial or other physical impression
Unwanted physical contacts
Display of suggestive photographs
Racial segregation
Behavior that ridicules some one based on gender, religion, culture etc.
The Head of Department should maintain direct control of all disciplinary records. A copy of all records must be placed on the employee's personal file in the Human Resources Department. All warnings will remain upon the employee's personal file indefinitely, but will normally be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after the following periods:
Stage 1 - Verbal warning: 03 months
Stage 2 - Written warning: 06 months
Stage 3 - Final written warning: 12months
Stage 4 - Dismissal
These time periods may however be extended in appropriate circumstances taking into account the nature of the offence.
The time period will commence from the date of the letter/memorandum confirming the warning, even though any specified time for improvement has expired.
Bio-Rad operates in two industry segments: Life Science Research and Clinical Diagnostics. Both segments operate worldwide. Bio-Rad’s customers include hospitals, universities, major research institutions, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Bio-Rad’s headquarters are in Hercules, California. The company has offices and facilities worldwide and more than 6,500 employees. Bio-Rad had revenues of more than $1.7 billion in 2008. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since October 24, 2008. Before that, Bio-Rad was listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Career Management
Responsibilities of the manager and employer
Career management guidelines:
Along with the employee, the person’s manager and employer both have career management responsibilities.
Guidelines include:
(1) Avoid reality shock
Reality shock refers to the results of a period that may occur at the initial career entry when the new employee’s high job expectations confront the reality of a boring, unchanging job. Perhaps at no other stage in the person’s career is it more important for the employer to be career development-oriented than at the initial entry stage, when the person is recruited, hired, and given a first assignment. For the employee this is a period during which he or she has to develop a sense of confidence, learn to get along with the first boss and with coworkers, learn how to accept responsibility, and most important, gain an insight into his or her talents, needs, and values as they relate to initial career goals. For the new employee, in other words, this is (or should be) a period of reality testing during which his or her initial hopes and goals first confront the reality of organizational life and of the person’s talents and needs
(2) Provide challenging initial Jobs
Most experts agree that one of the most important things you can do is provide new employees with challenging first jobs. In one study of young managers at AT&T, for example, the researchers found that, more challenging a person’s job was in his or her first year with the company the more effective and successful the person was even five or six years later. Based on his own research, Hall contends that challenging initial jobs provide ‘one of the most powerful yet uncomplicated means of aiding the career development of new employees.’ In most organizations, however, providing such jobs seems more the exception than the rule. In one survey of research and development organizations, for example, only 1 of 22 companies had a formal policy of giving challenging first assignments. This imbalance as one expert has pointed out, is an example of ‘glaring mismanagement’ when one considers the effort and money invested in recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. Some firms ‘front-load’ the job challenge by giving new employees considerable responsibility.
(3) Provide realistic job previews in recruiting
Providing recruits with realistic previews of what to expect once they begin working in the organization-ones that describe both the attractions and also possible pitfalls-can be an effective way of minimizing reality shock and improving their long-term performance. Schein points out that one of the biggest problems recruits and employers encounter during the crucial entry stage is getting accurate information in a ‘climate of mutual selling’. The recruiter (anxious to hook good candidates) and the candidate (anxious to present as favorable an impression as possible) often give and receive unrealistic information during the interview. The result is that the interviewer may not form a clear picture of the candidate’s career goals, while at the same time the candidate forms an unrealistically favorable image of the organization. Realistic job previews can boost the survival rate among employees who are hired for relatively complex jobs like management trainee, salesperson, or life insurance agent.
(4) Be demanding
There is often a ‘Pygmalion effect’ in the relationship between a new employee and his or her boss. In other words, the more you expect and the more confident and supportive you are of your new employees, the better they will perform. Therefore, as two experts put it, ‘Don’t assign a new employee to a ‘dead wood’ undemanding, or unsupportive supervisor. Instead choose specially trained, high-performing, supportive supervisors who can set high standards for new employees during their critical first year.
(5) Provide periodic job rotation and job pathing
The best way new employees can test themselves and crystallize their career anchors is to try out a variety of challenging jobs. By rotating to jobs in various specializations-from financial analysis to production to human resource, for example-the employee gets an opportunity to assess his or her aptitudes and preferences. At the same time, the organization gets a manager with a broader multifunctional view of the organization. One extension of this is called job pathing, which means selecting carefully sequenced job assignments.
(6) Do career-oriented performance appraisals
Edgar Schein says that supervisors must understand that valid performance appraisal information is in the long run more important than protecting the short-term interests of one’s immediate subordinates. Therefore, he says, supervisors need concrete information regarding the employee’s potential career path-information, in other words, about the nature of the future work for which he or she is appraising the subordinate, or which the subordinate desires.
(7) Provide career planning workshops and career planning workbooks Employers also should take steps to increase their employees’ involvement and expertise in planning and developing their own careers. One option here is to organize periodic career planning workshops. A career planning workshop has been defined as ‘a planned learning event in which participants are expected to be actively involved, completing career planning exercises and inventories and participating in career skills practice sessions.’ It discusses what is career planning, self assessments, environmental assessments, goal setting for self, and developing career action planning.
A career planning workbook may be distributed to employees either as part of a workshop or as an independent career planning aid. This career planning workbook is ‘a printed guide that directs its users through a series of assessment exercises, models, career directions, discussions, guidelines, actioning planning and other information to support career planning. It is usually self paced, so that the employees can complete the exercise at their own pace.
Wages, incentives and benefits
wants to reward the efforts of qualified employees through bonus schemes, wages, options and shares programmes as well as other forms of benefits.
The incentive systems at are part of the effort to motivate employees to meet 's principal goal of optimising shareholder value. The system has both a short-term and long-term perspective, through introducing annual bonuses as well as share and options programmes. In addition, the incentive systems also contribute by helping to retain and develop the strategic expertise in the Group and attract new expertise. The incentive systems for managers and key personnel at are based on an overall compensation principle, where wages, bonuses, options and other benefits are comprehensively evaluated.
Extra holidays are a benefit of all employees at . Additional to the stipulated five weeks, employees of also have Christmas holidays, Eid holidays and two extra days off. also offers benefits for maternity leave, additional to those stipulated.
Health, Environment and Security
Health, Environment and Security (HES) is here used synonymous with the concept of working environment and comprises all factors affecting the working conditions, be they physical or psychosocial.
The working environment at shall be distinguished by job-satisfaction, low sickness absence and few injuries. A joint policy, containing relevant procedures and guidelines, has been drawn up to achieve this.
Employment at shall promote good health. Employees shall not suffer any form of health damage or injuries resulting from their work.
The agreement for a more inclusive working life was signed in 2003. The agreement supports the basic efforts that were made in recent years in the form of follow-up and rehabilitation of people who have been struck by injury or illness. As far as possible, and provided that employees in question are willing, efforts will be made to bring people back to working life as quickly as possible.
For the purpose of preventing sickness absence and of providing follow-up and rehabilitation of employees, focus has been on ensuring good cooperation between managers and employees. This has led to stable sickness absence figures of approximately 5% in 's Norwegian operations. This stability contrasts with the overall development in Norway, where a considerable increase in the sickness absence has taken place in the last few years.
Our efforts to maintain a good working environment are an ongoing process pervading the whole Group. The work shall be organized, implemented, documented and reported to support the principal goals.
Managers at all levels are responsible for planning and implementing initiatives that contribute to a satisfactory physical and psychosocial working environment.
's employees are also responsible for contributing to the achievement of these goals. Trained HES personnel support managers in systematic efforts in Health, Environment and Safety in their own units.
Health, Environment and Safety systems (HES systems) are quality systems implemented to ensure that abides by prevailing laws, regulations and internal directives regulating the working environment.
's HES system is based on the following principles:
Implementation and documentation of systematic HES efforts in own areas
Ensuring sufficient expertise within the HES systems
Ensure implementation of risk analyses, handle aberrations and introduce corrective measures
Reviewing HES status in individual areas of responsibility and planning of activities, including HES revisions
Organizing efforts to reduce the health risks relating to the workplace
Follow-up of, and cooperation with, employees during sickness absence, including preparation for continued working life during temporary or permanent disability
Efforts to prevent injuries, reporting and analysis of occupational injury and near-injuries, as well as introduction of corrective measures
Reporting of results and activities relating to the working environment
Discipline Procedure
Warning may be addressed to the employees verbally and in written through their immediate supervisor. The warning shall refer to the contraventions committed by the employee and will serve to remind the employees the he/she abide by the company rules and regulations in performing his/her work, and that this contravention should not be repeated in future.
A written letter may be addressed to the employee describing the contravention committed. The employee will also be notified that a higher penalty may be inflicted on him in the contravention is repeated in future. The warning letter may be registered in the employees personal file .issuance of written warning can be recommended by the respective supervisor. It will be issued by the HR department after approval of head of department.
Deduction from the salary will be an amount of employee salary depending on the type offence and decision taken accordingly.
The employee may be suspended from performing his or her duties for a period of time as conveyed in written.
Unauthorized absence of more then two times in Six month can result in termination of employment.
An employee who is absent from the job with out satisfactory explanation is considered to be an unauthorized unpaid absence.
Discrimination, intimidation and harassment based on sex, race, religion, age, color, disability, sexual orientation and cultural background is prohibited at the workplace.
Harassment refers to:
Embarrassing remarks and jokes (Written/verbal)
Insults
Comments about appearance, facial or other physical impression
Unwanted physical contacts
Display of suggestive photographs
Racial segregation
Behavior that ridicules some one based on gender, religion, culture etc.
The Head of Department should maintain direct control of all disciplinary records. A copy of all records must be placed on the employee's personal file in the Human Resources Department. All warnings will remain upon the employee's personal file indefinitely, but will normally be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after the following periods:
Stage 1 - Verbal warning: 03 months
Stage 2 - Written warning: 06 months
Stage 3 - Final written warning: 12months
Stage 4 - Dismissal
These time periods may however be extended in appropriate circumstances taking into account the nature of the offence.
The time period will commence from the date of the letter/memorandum confirming the warning, even though any specified time for improvement has expired.
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