Human Resources and Organizational Behavior Lecture Notes

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering human resource management, organizational structures, leadership styles, motivation theories, and industrial relations based on the provided lecture notes.

Human Resource Management (HRM)

The function of the business that recruit, train, compensate, and develop employees.

Recruitment

Hiring the right person for the right job at the right time to fill job vacancies.

Induction

The process of training new employees and introducing them to the organization's standards and culture.

Performance management (appraisal)

Assessing the performance and effectiveness of employees and holding them accountable.

Workforce planning

Estimating future needs to ensure there are not too many or too few employees, involving both short-term and long-term planning.

Descriptive statistics

Data that describes or summarizes the characteristics of a set, including central tendency, dispersion, median, and variability.

Geographical mobility

The willingness of employees to relocate to a different location for work.

Occupational mobility

The ability and willingness of employees to change to another job or career path.

Gig economy

An economy characterized by temporary contracts and flexibility rather than long-term commitments.

Self-interest

A reason for change resistance where employees place their own benefits above the interests of the organization.

Chain of command

The route through which a decision and order travels within an organization.

Span of control

The number of subordinates one person has to control in a hierarchy.

Delegation

Passing and entrusting certain tasks to others, though the ultimate responsibility remains with the person who passed the task.

Centralization

An organizational structure where all decisions are made by a group of managers, typically associated with many levels of hierarchy.

Bureaucracy

An organizational structure involving hierarchy and specific rules to be followed, often creating high chains of command.

Delayering

The process of reducing the levels of hierarchy within an established business to reduce bureaucracy.

Matrix structure

A structure where members report to multiple managers, often used for specific project-based teams.

Shamrock organizations

A model suggested by Charles Handy consisting of a multiskilled core, contractual fringe, and flexible workforce.

Force field analysis

A decision-making tool that weighs driving forces for change against retraining forces using scientific and intuitive thinking.

Autocratic leadership

A style where leaders keep as much power as possible and do not consult employees, expecting orders to be obeyed.

Paternalistic leadership

A style where the leader has authority but acts like a father figure, showing concern for employee safety and loyalty.

Laissez-Faire

A leadership style where employees are given significant freedom to set their own goals and make their own decisions.

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions

A country comparison tool used to compare cultures based on sociocultural measures like power distance and individualism.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation that is obtained directly from performing a task itself.

Extrinsic motivation

Motivation that comes from external factors rather than the task being performed.

Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theory

The assumption that workers respond best to money and that productivity increases through specialization and standardized work methods.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A classification of needs ranging from basic physiological needs to self-actualization at the top.

Herzberg’s hygiene factors

Factors like salary and work conditions that cause dissatisfaction when not fulfilled but do not lead to motivation when fulfilled.

McClelland’s acquired needs theory

Argues that employees are motivated by three needs: Achievement, Affiliation, and Power.

Equity theory

A theory by John Adams stating that employees are motivated when they perceive their input-to-output ratio is fair and equal to others.

Expectancy theory

A theory by Victor Vroom consisting of three parts: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.

Labor turnover formula

$$\text{labor turnover} = \frac{\text{number of staff leaving}}{\text{total number of staff}} \times 100$$

360-degree feedback

An appraisal method where feedback is gathered from managers, customers, subordinates, and peers.

Aptitude test

A test performed during the recruitment process to assess the intelligence or skills of an applicant.

Direct financial rewards

Payments such as salary, wages, commissions, performance-related pay, and profit-related pay.

Fringe payment

Benefits provided to an employee in addition to their salary, such as medical insurance or gym memberships.

Job enrichment

Giving employees more meaningful and challenging tasks to provide a sense of ownership and responsibility.

Job rotation

A training strategy where an employee is rotated through different divisions in the business.

Job enlargement

Giving employees more tasks than their original job without changing the nature of those tasks.

Empowerment

Developing worker potential by granting them authority over their own tasks and decisions.

Apollo (role culture)

A corporate culture with highly controlled structures and clearly defined roles, often found in tall bureaucratic organizations.

Culture clash

When two organizations merge or an organization changes leadership, leading to misunderstandings and resistance to change.

Jargon

Technical language that can act as a barrier to communication when misunderstood by others.

Collective bargaining

Discussions between employer and employee representatives to reach a consensus on work conditions or disputes.

Work-to-rule

An industrial action where employees strictly follow company rules to reduce productivity and pressure the employer.

Lock-outs

An employer approach to industrial conflict where workers are shut out of the workplace and denied pay.

Arbitration

A conflict resolution method where an outside third party makes the final decision to settle a disagreement.