| Course | MHRM 6701 Strategic Positioning and Social Change |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 6 |
| Paper type | Peer reply |
| Length | About 510 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion reply, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | MS in Human Resource Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MHRM 6701 Week 6
Week 6 Discussion: Responses to Nadia and Curtis
Re: Two Well-Argued Positions and the Bills They Leave Out: Who Absorbs a Grocer's Self-Checkout Conversion, and Who Absorbs a Software Firm's Move to Fully Remote Work
Reply to Nadia
Nadia, your case for the regional grocer converting eight of its ten checkout lanes to self-checkout was tight on the business side: labor is the largest controllable cost in a grocery store, and you showed the conversion pays back in under three years. I want to add the part of the bill your post did not show.
The first group to absorb it is the part-time cashiers. At most grocers, cashier hours are the entry point for students, parents working around school schedules and older workers wanting a few shifts a week. Cutting eight lanes cuts most of those hours, and the remaining jobs shift toward monitoring kiosks, which takes fewer people. Autor (2015) notes that automation tends to remove routine tasks while complementing others, and that the net effect on workers depends on whether new tasks appear for them. In a store, the new tasks, such as online order picking, may not suit someone who wanted a predictable evening shift.
The second group is shoppers who find kiosks hard to use, often older customers and anyone buying produce that must be weighed and coded. They will wait for the two staffed lanes or for help at a kiosk. If the grocer's position in its market rests on a loyal older customer base, that cost could reach revenue. Would you keep one staffed lane open longer hours, and have you looked at whether the grocer could move some cashiers into order picking rather than reducing hours?
Reply to Curtis
Curtis, your argument that the software firm should go fully remote was persuasive on talent: it widens the hiring pool beyond one metro area and the firm's own surveys show most engineers prefer it. I think two groups absorb costs your post did not price.
Junior staff are the first. Bloom et al. (2015) randomly assigned call center staff at a Chinese travel agency to work from home or the office and found that employees working from home performed better, but that their promotion rates, given their performance, fell. For new graduates, much of what they learn comes from overhearing and being seen by senior colleagues, and remote work makes both harder. Acemoglu and Restrepo (2019) are not about remote work, but their point that the distribution of new tasks determines who gains from a technological shift applies here too: senior engineers gain flexibility, while junior engineers may lose the informal training that came with the office.
The second group is outside the firm: the downtown lunch counters, coffee shops and parking operators near the office. Althoff et al. (2022) found that the move to remote work shifted spending away from city centers where high-income workers had commuted, hurting local service businesses that depended on them. Would your plan include a structured mentoring program for junior staff, perhaps with paid in-person weeks, and would the firm acknowledge its effect on the downtown it is leaving?
References
Acemoglu, D., & Restrepo, P. (2019). Automation and new tasks: How technology displaces and reinstates labor. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(2), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.2.3
Althoff, L., Eckert, F., Ganapati, S., & Walsh, C. (2022). The geography of remote work. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 93, Article 103770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2022.103770
Autor, D. H. (2015). Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.29.3.3
Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., & Ying, Z. J. (2015). Does working from home work? Evidence from a Chinese experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(1), 165-218. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju032
Reading the MHRM 6701 Week 6 instructions
Week 6 asks you to reply to classmates by identifying who bears the cost of the strategy they defended. Credit each classmate's business argument specifically before adding anything. Then identify groups inside and outside the organization who absorb costs the post did not mention. Support each with research, and be precise about what the research found. Avoid turning the reply into a rejection of the strategy. Close each reply with a question about how the cost might be reduced, so the classmate can strengthen the position rather than defend it. Each reply can run three or four short paragraphs, and the two together should stay well under a thousand words.
How this MHRM 6701 Week 6 example is built
The reply to Nadia credits the three-year payback, then follows the conversion to part-time cashiers, citing Autor on routine tasks and new tasks, and to shoppers who struggle with kiosks. It asks about a staffed lane and moving cashiers to order picking. The reply to Curtis credits the hiring-pool argument, then cites Bloom and colleagues on promotion rates for remote employees and Acemoglu and Restrepo on how new tasks are distributed. It cites Althoff and colleagues on downtown spending and asks about structured mentoring and acknowledgment of the firm's effect on the downtown it leaves. Both replies follow the same order, credit, cost, research and question, which makes them easy to read side by side.
MHRM 6701 Week 6 rubric: what earns full marks
Peer replies are graded on substance and generosity. Specific credit for the classmate's argument earns credit. Identifying costs to particular groups, inside and outside the organization, is what each reply adds, and graders weigh it most. Research should be described accurately, including its setting, and applied carefully to the classmate's case. A tone that strengthens rather than defeats the classmate's position is valued. Practical closing questions invite a useful response. Replies that only agree, or that reject the strategy outright without considering how costs could be reduced, receive less credit. Graders also look for accurate description of each study's setting, such as a Chinese travel company in the remote work experiment, before it is applied.
MHRM 6701 Week 6 help: mistakes that cost marks
Read your classmate's post and note the strongest business point. Then ask who pays for the decision: employees whose jobs change, customers who lose something, or neighbors outside the organization. Pick the two groups the post most overlooked. For each, find a study that shows what happens to people in that position, and check that its setting is close enough to apply. Write one or two paragraphs per group, then ask a question about how the cost might be reduced. Many replies point out a cost without suggesting any response. If you want help finding research on a particular group, tell us who they are. Keep each reply focused on two groups at most.
Get a MHRM 6701 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Drop in both classmates' posts and the peer reply rubric, noting any word cap per reply. Each reply grants the position it answers, then names the inside and outside groups carrying its cost; both return in 24 to 48 hours, and a first pair is free. The grocer, the software firm and both classmates who defended them are invented.
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MHRM 6701 Week 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MHRM 6701 Week 6 sample paper?
The two hidden-cost replies are reproduced on this page, free.
What two decisions do the MHRM 6701 Week 6 replies address?
A grocer's conversion to self-checkout and a software firm's move to fully remote work.
Who absorbs the self-checkout cost?
Part-time cashiers who lose hours and shoppers who find kiosks hard to use.
What did Bloom and colleagues find about remote workers?
They performed better, but their promotion rates, given their performance, fell.
Who outside the software firm bears a cost?
Downtown lunch counters, coffee shops and parking operators near the old office.