Intro to HR Management Exam 1

HRM

The activities that enable an organization to attract, develop, motivate, and retain its talent

Line Manager

Individuals who are responsible for supervising and directing the efforts of a group of employees to perform tasks that are directly related to the creation and delivery of a company’s products or services

Four broad types of organizational culture

Entrepreneurial, Bureaucratic, consensual, directorial

Workforce Planning

Maintaining the necessary number of employees

Competitive Advantage

A company’s ability to create more economic value than its competitors

Managing Employee Competencies

Ensure employees have the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other talents to effectively perform their tasks and responsibilities

Performance Management

Evaluating attitudes and behaviors managers expect of their employees

Alignment

The extent to which the three primary HR activities are designed to achieve the goals of the organization

Internal Alignment

An alignment in which the specific practices used within each HR activity are consistent with one another as well as aligned across the primary HR activities

External Alignment

An alignment in which three primary HR activities work in support of the HR challenges that companies face

Organizational Demands

Strategy, Company Characteristics, Organizational Culture, Employee Concerns

Company Characteristics

The size of the organization, life stage, and the effect of an individual

Smaller Organizations

Less resources, less formalized with more broad tasks

Larger Organizations

More resources, more formalized with narrower tasks

Offshoring

Sending work once performed domestically to other countries for lower costs

Cost Leadership Strategy

Focuses on outperforming competing firms within an industry by maintaining the ability to offer the lower costs for products or services

• Repetitive simple tasks, productivity

Differentiation Strategy

Emphasizes achieving competitive advantage over competing firms by providing something unique for which customers are willing to pay

Organizational Culture

Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchy, Market

Clan Culture

Priority: a sense of family, with the leaders being almost fatherly. Emphasizes HR, and morale

Adhocracy

Priority: Creative, adaptability, leaders are entrepreneur and risk takers, emphasizes innovation

Hierarchy

Priority: Rules, efficiency, coordinated. Stable.

Market

Priority: Competitiveness, achievement oriented. Focused on superiority.

Psychological Contract

The perceived obligations that employees believe they owe their company and that their company owes them.

Distributive Justice

Perceptions of the fairness of what individuals receive from companies in return for their effort

Procedural Justice

Perceptions of whether the processes that are used to make decisions involving employees are fair

Interactional Justice

How employees feel they are treated by their managers and supervisors in everyday interactions

Regional Trade Zones

NAFTA [US, Canada, Mexico], EU

Domestic Strategy

Focuses primarily on serving the market within a particular country

International Strategy

Focuses on expanding the markets in which firms compete to include multiple countries

Multinational Strategy

Strives to maximize local responsiveness through establishing autonomous units in each country

Transnational Strategy

Strives to achieve the benefits of both global and multinational strategies

What is it called when companies show concern for the common good and the value of human dignity?

Corporate Social Responsibility

Global Strategy

Strives to achieve global efficiency and standardization

Who passes federal laws?

The congress

Who passes executive orders?

The president

Equal Employment Opportunity

Ensuring that applicants and employees are not illegally discriminated against

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

A regulatory agency responsible for developing guidelines and overseeing compliance with most of the anti discrimination laws

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

A regulatory agency responsible for developing guidelines and overseeing compliance with executive orders

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

A process that exists when a protected classification can legally be used to make employment decisions (so basically when you can legally discriminate)

Disparate Treatment

Treating individuals differently in employment situations BECAUSE of membership in a protected class

What should employees use if they believe they were a victim of intentional discrimination?

McDonnel Douglas Test

Mixed Motive

When legitimate reason for employment decision exists but decision was motivated illegitimately

Disparate Impact (Adverse Impact)

Employment practice results in members of protected class being treated less favorably even though discrimination was not intentional

Four-Fifths Rule

A guideline generally accepted by the courts and the EEOC for making a Prima Facie case of desperate impact ( is the percentage of minorities equal to at least 80% of non minorities selected)

Equal Pay Act (EPA)

Prohibits discrimination in pay on the basis of gender for individuals performing the same jobs

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Prohibits discrimination based on nationality

Executive Order 11246

Basically the civil rights act

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Prohibits discrimination for ages 40 or older

EEO laws and multinational employees

Must still follow EEO laws unless literally illegal.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Process for resolving disputes among employees and employers using mediator or arbitrator

Affirmative Action

Conducts utilization and availability analysis, identifying goals and timetables, and developing and implementing an action plan

Reverse Discrimination

Members of protected group receive preferential treatment

Immigration Reform and Control Act

Attempt to control unauthorized immigration

Family and Medical Leave Act

Employers with 50 or more employees in a 75 mile radius must grant up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for illness, child, or caring for the sick (with exceptions)

Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act

Employment protection for veterans who serve active duty during war or recognized military campaign

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA)

To ensure civilians called for active duty can keep jobs when return from military assignment

Efficiency Approach

Maximize Efficiency; emphasizes standardization and mass production | Boring, not satisfying

Motivational Approach

Maximizes employee’s drive to work as hard as possible

Skill Variety

The degree to which a job includes different tasks and activities that challenge an employee’s skills and abilities

Task Identity

The degree to which the job involves completing a whole identifiable piece of work

Task Significance

The degree to which the job has a substantial and perceivable effect on the lives of others

First Psychological State

Experienced Meaningfulness of the Work

Second Psychological State: Experienced Responsibility for Outcomes of the WOrk

Autonomy

Third Psychological State

Knowledge of the actual results of the work activities

Job Enrichment

Increase the level of responsibility and control regarding tasks performed in a job

Parallel Teams

Multi-functional team to address a particular problem or issue such as quality circles and problem solving team

Project Teams

Exit for a limited time to accomplish a project under the supervision of a project leader

Task Statements

Identify in specific behavioral terms the regular duties and responsibilities of a position

Task Dimension

A grouping of similar types of tasks

How to write task statements

Verb > To whom > Output > Using What

Job Specifications (KSAO)

Knowledge, skills, abilities, others

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

An 187 item questionnaire that measures a number of different employee work related behaviors necessary to perform a variety of tasks in different jobs

Critical Incident Technique

Determines specific behaviors that distinguish exceptionally good performance in a particular job from exceptionally poor performance in the same job

Employee Concerns

Role overload, underload, ambiguity, conflict, work arrangement

Labor Force

Skill availability to perform tasks

Telecommuting

Provides more flexibility in the hours and location of work and better work/life balance, could cause disintegration of work culture

Job Analysis

How jobs should be structured, ensures that job related tasks and activities are performed in the most potential to add value to the organization and its customers.

Transition Matrix

A method for tracking the internal movements of employees throughout an organization over a certain period of time [Staffing level - outflows + inflows = projected staffing ability]

Outsourcing

Sending work to other companies including payroll, cafeteria, maintenance

Contingent Labor

Employees hired on a temporary or contractual basis as opposed to a permanent one

Numeric Flexibility

The ease of adjusting numbers of individuals working for a company

Functional Flexibility

Adjusting the types of skills a workforce possesses.

Attrition

Decision to not fill vacant positions as a result of turnovers

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)

Helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closing and mass layoffs.

Behavioral Control

The extent to which there is a right by the company to direct or control how individuals perform at work

Financial Control

The extent to which the individual has control over the business side of the work and the degree of investment the person makes in the work