Unit 2 - Human Resource Management Vocabulary

Ageing population

a demographic trend where the proportion of older people (typically aged 60 or 65 and above) increases relative to younger age groups in a society.

Demography

the scientific and statistical study of human populations, focusing on their size, density, distribution, structure, and vital statistics

Dismissal

A dismissal is the act of removing someone from a position

External Factors

influences, conditions, or forces originating outside an organization, project, or individual that impact performance, strategy, and results, but lie beyond direct control

Flexitime

a work scheduling system that lets employees choose their own start and end times each day, as long as they complete their total required hours

Geographical mobility

the measure or ability of individuals, populations, and economic resources to move from one physical location or administrative boundary to another.

Gig economy

a free-market labor system centered around short-term, flexible, task-based jobs

Gig workers

a person who earns income by completing temporary, project-based, or on-demand tasks for clients, businesses, or through digital platforms, rather than working in a traditional, long-term, direct-hire employment relationship.

Human resource management

the strategic approach to recruiting, developing, managing, and retaining an organization's employees so they can help the company reach its goals

Human resource planning

the continuous, strategic process of forecasting an organization's future workforce needs and developing strategies to ensure the right number of people with the right skills are in the right jobs at the right time

Internal factors

elements, conditions, and resources originating from within an organization, individual, or system that directly influence its performance, decisions, and success.

Labour mobility

the ease and willingness with which workers can move between different jobs, industries, or geographic locations.

Migrant workers

a person who moves—either within their own country or across international borders—temporarily or seasonally to find employment.

Net migration

the net total of migrants entering and leaving a specific area (such as a country, state, or city) during a given time period.

Occupational mobility

the ability of workers to switch between different career fields, jobs, or socioeconomic tiers.

Portfolio workers

is an individual who works for several different companies, clients, or organizations at the same time rather than relying on a single full-time employer.

Redundancy

the state of being extra, unnecessary, or repeated beyond what is needed, or the inclusion of duplicate components in systems for safety

Teleworking

a work arrangement where an employee performs job duties from an approved alternative worksite—such as a home office, coworking space, or branch location—away from the central or traditional employer's office, using telecommunications and computer technology.

Training

the act, process, or method of teaching, instructing, or exercising an individual (or system) to acquire the specific skills, knowledge, capabilities, or physical fitness needed for a particular job, sport, or activity.

Workforce

the total group of people who are currently employed by a company, organization, or industry, or the entire pool of people available for work within a region or country.

Workforce planning

the strategic process of analyzing, forecasting, and balancing an organization's talent supply and demand to ensure it has the right people, with the right skills, in the right roles, at the right time and cost.

Accountability

the obligation, willingness, or state of being responsible for your actions, decisions, and commitments, and being ready to explain or justify them to someone else.

Authority Bureaucracy

an organizational and administrative system where power, decision-making, and policy execution are managed by a hierarchy of nonelected officials and specialists adhering to fixed rules and procedures.

Centralization

the concentration of power, decision-making authority, or operational resources into a single central place, leader, or high-level group rather than distributing them across lower levels or local offices.

Chain of command

the formal, hierarchical structure of authority and reporting within an organization that establishes who gives orders, who reports to whom, and how decisions and information move from top leadership down to front-line staff.

Communication

the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, behavior, or digital media to exchange information, ideas, thoughts, and feelings between individuals or groups to foster understanding.

Decentralization

the process of distributing or delegating planning, power, and decision-making authority away from a central, top-level authority to smaller, more localized units, branches, or teams.

Delayering

the business and human resources process of removing one or more hierarchical levels (typically middle management) to create a flatter, leaner organizational structure

Delegation

the act of assigning authority or tasks to someone else

Flat organization

a business structure with very few or no levels of middle management between ground-level employees and top executives

Flat structure

a management design that features very few or no layers of middle management between staff-level employees and top executives

Hierarchical

something arranged in a ranked, multi-level order of importance, status, power, or authority

Levels of hierarchy

a system that arranges items, people, or concepts into ranked levels of importance, authority, status, or power from highest to lowest

Line manager

an employee who is directly responsible for overseeing the work, daily operations, and performance of a specific team or group of front-line workers

Managers

a professional who oversees, directs, plans, and organizes the work of a team, department, or business to help an organization reach its goals

Matrix structure

a workplace design where employees have dual or multiple reporting relationships

Organization by function

a traditional business design that groups employees into specialized departments based on their specific skills, job roles, or areas of expertise

Organization by product

a business framework where a company organizes its teams, resources, and operations around specific products or product lines rather than traditional corporate functions like marketing, sales, or engineering

Organization by region

a management framework where a company divides its operations, teams, and responsibilities into autonomous units based on specific geographic areas, territories, or countries

Organization chart

a system where a company groups its operations, teams, and management by specific geographic areas, countries, or clusters

Organizational structure

a system that outlines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, coordinated, and supervised to achieve an organization's goals

Responsibility

the state, fact, or quality of being answerable, accountable, or legally/morally bound for something within one's power, control, or management

Span of control

the number of direct reports or subordinates that a single manager or supervisor directly oversees

Tall structure

a hierarchical management framework in business

Tall organization

a company or business structure that features multiple levels of management, a steep pyramid shape, a narrow span of control (meaning each manager oversees only a few direct reports), and a long chain of command

Autocratic management

a style where a single leader holds total decision-making power and authority, dictating policies, methods, and goals with little to no input from team members

Democratic management

a management style where leaders actively involve employees in problem-solving and decision-making, though the manager or leader typically retains final authority

Functions of management

the core, interrelated activities that managers perform to coordinate human, financial, and physical resources to achieve organizational goals

Intuition - the ability to understand, know, or sense something immediately without conscious reasoning, step-by-step logic, or explicit explanation

Laissez-faire leadership

a hands-off management style where leaders provide minimal guidance, give employees full autonomy, and let team members make their own decisions

Leadership

a social process and capability that enables individuals to work together to align people, build trust, and achieve shared goals that they could not accomplish alone

Leadership style

the way of leadership a person adopts

Logical reasoning

a line of thinking that follow a set of rules

Management

the administration a hierarchy of a company

Manager

a higher employee responsible for many workers below them

Objective decision-making

decision-making the relies on pure logic and evidence instead of emotional bias

Paternalistic management

leaders make decisions for the employees in the best interest of the employees

Situational leadership

when leaders change their style based on the needs of the company at the time

Commission

workers are paid a percentage of items sold by them

Piece wages

workers are paid based on number of products completed

Time wages

when workers are paid based on working hours

Empowerment

giving workers more authority over all

Job enrichment

giving workers more authority in their position

Job expansion

adding more responsibilities to a job to reduce monotony of the job

Employee share scheme

a financial incentive where the company gives their employees stocks or shares in the company