Chapter 8: Managing Human Resources Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering human resources management concepts, HR planning, staffing, equal employment laws, training and development, performance appraisals, reward systems, and labor relations.

Human Resources Management (HRM)

System of organizational activities to attract, develop, and motivate an effective and qualified workforce.

HR Planning Process

The process comprising Planning (HRM environmental scanning and HR planning), Programming (HR activities), and Evaluating (results) to align human resources with organizational goals.

Demand Forecasts

Determining how many and what type of people are needed in an organization.

Supply of Labor

Forecasting how many and what types of employees the organization actually will have.

Job Analysis

A tool for determining what is done on a given job and what should be done on that job.

Talent Management

The process of identifying and developing key individuals in a business that possess important knowledge, skills, and abilities to retain essential capabilities and maintain business competitiveness.

Succession Planning

Identifying and preparing talented employees to step into key positions and leadership roles, ensuring that they have the skills, experience, and knowledge to meet changing work requirements.

Recruitment

The development of a pool of applicants for jobs in an organization, which can be internal or external.

Selection

Choosing from among qualified applicants to hire into an organization.

Structured Interview

Selection technique that involves asking all applicants the same questions and comparing their responses to a standardized set of answers.

Situational Interview

Selection technique that focuses on hypothetical situations.

Behavioral Description Interview

Selection technique that explores what candidates have actually done in the past.

Reliability

The consistency of test scores over time and across alternative measurements.

Validity

The degree to which a selection test predicts or correlates with job performance.

Criterion-Related Validity

Refers to the degree to which a test actually predicts or correlates with job performance.

Content Validity

Concerns the degree to which selection tests measure a representative sample of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the job.

Employment-at-Will

The legal concept that an employee may be terminated for any reason.

Outplacement

The process of helping people who have been dismissed from the company regain employment elsewhere.

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

Creates exempt (salaried) and nonexempt (hourly) employee categories, governing overtime and other rules; sets minimum wage and child labor laws; enforced by the Department of Labor.

Equal Pay Act (1963)

Prohibits gender-based pay discrimination between two jobs substantially similar in skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions; enforced by the EEOC.

Title VII of Civil Rights Act (1964)

Prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin in employment decisions including hiring, pay, working conditions, promotion, discipline, or discharge; enforced by the EEOC.

Executive Orders 11246 and 11375 (1965)

Requires equal opportunity clauses in federal contracts and prohibits employment discrimination by federal contractors based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; enforced by the OFCCP.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)

Prohibits employment discrimination based on age for persons over 40 years and restricts mandatory retirement; enforced by the EEOC.

Vocational Rehabilitation Act (1973)

Requires affirmative action by all federal contractors for persons with disabilities, defined as physical or mental impairments that substantially limit life activities.

Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

Extends affirmative action provisions of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act to private employers, requires workplace modifications to facilitate disabled employees, and prohibits discrimination against disabled persons; enforced by the EEOC.

Civil Rights Act (1991)

Clarifies Title VII requirements regarding disparate treatment/impact, business necessity, and job relatedness; shifts burden of proof to employer; permits punitive damages and jury trials.

Family and Medical Leave Act (1991)

Requires 12 weeks' unpaid leave for medical or family needs, such as paternity, maternity, or family member illness.

Needs Assessment

An analysis identifying the jobs, people, and departments for which training is necessary.

Training

Teaching lower-level employees how to perform their present jobs.

Development

Helping managers and professional employees learn the broad skills needed for their present and future jobs.

Orientation Training

Training designed to introduce new employees to the company and familiarize them with policies, procedures, culture, and the like.

Team Training

Training that provides employees with the skills and perspectives they need to collaborate with others.

Diversity Training

Programs that focus on identifying and reducing hidden biases against people with differences and developing the skills needed to manage a diversified workforce.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

A results appraisal technique where a subordinate and a supervisor agree in advance on specific performance goals (objectives).

Absolute Ranking Appraisals

Performance rating based on a standard that is applied equally to everyone, where scores are based solely on individual performance.

Relative Ranking Appraisals

Performance rating based on rank within all ratings, where the final score is dependent on individual performance measured against another individual's performance.

360-Degree Appraisal

Process of using multiple sources of appraisal (managers, peers, direct reports, internal/external customers, self) to gain a comprehensive perspective on one's performance.

Pay Structure

Framework establishing pay policy curves and wage rates across job grades based on internal and external factors and job evaluation points.

Cafeteria or Flexible Benefit Programs

Benefit programs where employees are given credits to choose from a menu of options to create a benefit package tailored to their unique needs.

Labor Relations

The system of relations between workers and management.

Union Shop

An organization with a union and a union security clause specifying that workers must join the union after a set period of time.

Right-to-Work

Legislation that allows employees to work without having to join a union.

Arbitration

Having a third party dictate a resolution regarding a contractual dispute where the decision is legally binding.