HR 3021 Exam 1- Matt Luke

Human Resource Management (HRM)

The policies, practices, and systems that influences employees’ behavior attitude and performance.

Human Capital- The 6 types

An organization’s employees, described in terms of training, experience, judgement, intelligence, relationships, and insight.

High performance system- How can HR support this system?

An organization in which technology, organizational structure, people, and processes work together seamlessly to give an organization an advantage in the competitive environment.

Worker Knowledge- Reskilling and Upskilling workers. Transparency with workers. Invitation of ideas.

Employee Empowerment- HR programs assist this by designing jobs that promote autonomy, training employees, providing feedback, and the distribution of bay and rewards based of an employee’s ability to fulfill the broad responsibility given to them.

Teamwork- Structuring operations to support the activities and strategies that teams are assisting.

Human Resource Planning

Identifying the numbers and types of employees the organization will require in order to meet its objectives.

Talent Management

A systematic, planned effort to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.

Evidence-based HR

Collecting and using data to show that human resource practices have a positive influence on the company’s bottom line or key stakeholders.

Sustainability (HR specific context)

An organization’s ability to profit without depleting its resources, including employees, natural resources, and the support of the surrounding community.

Kant’s basic human rights

Right of free consent- People should be treated only as they knowingly and willingly expect to be treated.

Right of Privacy- People have the right to do as they wish in their private lives, and they have the right to control what they reveal about their private activities.

Right of Freedom of Conscience- People have the right to do things that go against their moral beliefs, as long as these beliefs are consistent with commonly accepted norms.

Right of Freedom of Speech- People have the right to criticize an organization's ethics if they do so in good conscience and do not violate rights of other individuals while doing so.

Right to Due Process- If people believe their rights have been violated, they have the right to a fair and impartial hearing. 

What are major changes occurring within organizations and the external environment and identify the challenges they pose for human capital management?

More people are working remotely- Impaired relationships with coworkers, lack of connection to their work, Decreased collaboration

Outsourcing/Gig Work- Insecure income, No benefits, Fewer strong work connections

Diversifying workforce- Didn’t explicitly state challenges but it can be assumed that some practices in HR would need to change as more diverse talent comes knocking at the door

Aging workforce- HR department needs to spend more time on retirement planning for employees

Globalization- offshoring: hiring workers from abroad

AI- new jobs, replacement of jobs

Human Relations Movement

a management philosophy that emerged in the 1930s, focusing on studying the behavioral aspects of employees in a workplace to understand what motivates them and how to improve their productivity by creating a positive working environment through effective communication, teamwork, and considering their social needs, rather than just focusing on purely production-based goals.

Hawthorne Studies

A series of experiments conducted at the Hawthorne Works factory in the 1920s, which aimed to examine the impact of workplace conditions on worker productivity, ultimately revealing the "Hawthorne Effect": the tendency for people to change their behavior when they are aware of being observed, often leading to increased productivity, regardless of the actual changes made to their working environment. 

Functions of HR departments

HR responsibilities of supervisors

“HR Meets Science at Google” video- What was it about? Why did have to watch it?

Analytics to solve people related problems doesn’t work well in HR. People's problems should be solved by people. To help with people's problems, they should be given the resources to help them figure these problems out instead of relying on computers. Google used analytics and research to help people become better at their jobs. 

Knowledge Workers

Employees whose main contribution to the organization is specialized knowledge, such as knowledge of customers, a process, or a profession.

Up-skilling vs Re-skilling

U-Process of training employees to improve or expand their current skillsets.

R-Process of training employees to acquire new knowledge or skills.

Reengineering

A complete review of the organization’s critical work processes to make them more efficient and able to deliver higher quality.

Off shoring

Moving operations from the country where a company is headquartered to a country where pay rates are lower but the necessary skills are available.

Expatriates

Employees assigned to work in another country.

Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

A computer system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute information related to an organization’s human resources.

Commitment vs Control

Broadly defined tasks • High employee participation • Highly skilled workers • Extensive training • High wages • High benefits

vs.

Narrowly defined jobs • Low participation • Low skill requirements • Intense supervision • Limited training • Low wages • Low benefits

Three basic paths to competitive advantage

Operational Excellence: – Low cost provider via operational systems that continually reduce cost/price, while offering a quality product that consistently adds greater value than its competitors.

Product Leadership: – Requires innovation in product and/or services to create its competitive advantage.

Customer Intimacy: – Firms following a customer strategy offer unique solutions that enable their products or services to be readily customized at the lowest level of customer interface.

Knowledge Workers

Employees whose main contribution to the organization is specialized knowledge, such as knowledge of customers, a process, or a profession.

Employee Empowerment

Giving employees responsibility and authority to make decisions regarding all aspects of product development or customer service.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

A companywide effort to continuously improve the ways people, machines, and systems accomplish work.

Expatriates

Employees assigned to work in another country.

Self Service

System in which employees have online access to information about HR issues and go online to enroll themselves in programs and provide feedback through surveys.

Identify ways HR professionals can support organizational strategies for growth, quality, and efficiency.

High quality standards- Ensuring TQM, oversees guidelines for all of an organization’s activities. Leveraging data to ensure HR department is meeting desired metrics.

Cost Controls- Helping the organization use HR more efficiently and by making HRM processes as efficient as possible. This often includes downsizing, that is laying off workers that are not performing, and boosting moral after layoffs. Reengineering- Help design and implement change so that employees can adjust to changes. Outsourcing- Helps with transitions working with new people.

Mergers and Acquisitions- Sort out differences and resolve conflicts between companies merging.

Offshoring- Ensure abroad workers can assimilate into an organization without compromising the value of the company.

How are technological developments affecting human resource management?

More reliance on data and use of HRIS.

Manipulation of information to support HR function is being automated. AI has an important role in this.

Use of self service that relies on data being accessible for employees and mangers to make better decision with their jobs.

Psychological Contract- How has this changed over time?

A description of what an employee expects to contribute in an employment relationship and what the employer will provide the employee in exchange for those contributions.

Employees used to be able to expect job security and promotion opportunities in exchange for their labor. Security can not be ensured anymore, thus employees are now seeking jobs that are flexible, have more control over their work, and experience that ensure employability.

Alternative Work Arrangements- How does this affect HR?

Methods of staffing other than the traditional hiring of full-time employees (for example, use of independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract workers).

HR department organizes a workforce that can be manipulated to the forces of the economy to the benefit of the company (layoffs of gig-workers to reduce costs) without reducing employee morale.

Describe trends in the labor force composition and how they affect human resource management.

Aging workforce- Growing share of the workforce retiring means HR will need to spend more time on retirement planning, retaining older workers, and encouraging older employees to keep learning to make them more valuable to the company. Accommodating to part time/temporary work assignments.

Diversifying workforce- Ensuring workers from abroad are qualified, can legally work. Reduction of bias in the HRM system. DEI strategies.

Skill Deficiencies- Assisting a range of abilities required in today’s jobs by training employees, being open to changing application requirements (no degree but still is knowledgeable), and helping schools set up courses that cater towards desired skills.

Explain how the three branches of government regulate human resource management.

Legislative Branch- Makes laws: Changing societal dynamics influences new laws that change how HR functions. An example being the Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with disabilities act.

Executive Branch- Enforces laws, creates executive orders: Establishes agencies that create regulations and enforce laws.

Judicial Branch- Evaluates laws: Determines if laws are constitutional.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Equal work in terms of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions =Equal Pay

Exemptions:

a seniority system;

a merit system

a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production

a differential based on any other factor other than sex (shift work)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibits employment discrimination and harassment based on these five protected classes: 1. Race 2. Color 3. Religion 4. Sex 5. National origin

When does Title VII apply?

Ads (EEO Employer)

Recruitment and Selection

Pay and Benefits

Promotion

Training

Terminations

When does it NOT apply?

In certain religious institutions: For example, a Catholic priest could not successfully sue under Title VII for not being hired to lead a Jewish synagogue.

Bostock V. Clayton County, Georgia

Man was fired for simply being homosexual. Direct violation of Title VII (Civil Rights act of 1994).

Disparate Treatment vs Disparate Impact

Summarize court cases that defined each

Disparate Treatment- Intentional

Case: Green v McDonnell Corp

What Happened?

Percy Green, an African American factory worker was fired. Believing this was racially motivated, he protests. Is not hired back because of his link to the protest.

Significance

Set the legal test used today to determine what is and isn’t disparate treatment.

Disparate Impact- Unintentional- Refers to policies, practices, rules, or other systems that appear to be neutral, but result in a disproportionate impact on protected groups. (4/5th rule)

Case: Griggs v Duke Power

What Happened?

Duke Power Co. set discriminating hiring requirements (high school diploma, 2 standardized tests)

Willie Griggs, an African American employee, sued for discrimination.

Significance?

The case created the disparate impact doctrine. Placed new expectations on employers.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Agency of the Department of Justice charged with enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other anti-discrimination laws.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

Valid defense against Disparate Treatment claim

Qualifications employers are allowed to consider. Should relate to an essential job duty and is considered necessary for operation of the particular business.

Allowed for: Sex, national origin and religion (age when related to safety). Never race.

Legal Examples:

1. Gender. Hiring only women to work in women’s locker room. 2. Age. Mandatory retirement age 65+ for pilots. 3. National origin. Documentary about Hispanics, can use Hispanic actors. 4. Religion. Priest denied employment in Synagogue.

Business Necessity

Valid defense against disparate impact claim

Practices are essential to the necessary operations of the business. If the practice cannot be shown to be related to job performance, it must cease.

Legal Examples:

1. Firefighters must passlifting tests, fewer women are hired. 2. Educational requirement that is necessary. 3. Employment tests that are linked to job performance. 4. Bilingual policy if necessary.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

Not part of Title VII, but EEOC oversees

40 and older

Does not apply if age is a BFOQ

Cannot mandate early retirement

Downsizing should be based on something other than age

Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990

Protect those with a disability (A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. – There is a record of having an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment.) in the workplace.

Essential Functions: specific duties within a job that are considered fundamental

Reasonable Accommodation: any change or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that allows an individual with a disability to perform essential job functions.

Undue Hardship- refers to a significant difficulty or expense that an accommodation would impose on the employer.

Family Medical Leave Act

Eligible employees of covered employers may receive unpaid, job-protected leave

Twelve work weeks of leave in a 12-month period for:

– The birth or adoption of a child

– To care for an immediate family member’s medical condition.

– To care for the employee’s medical condition

– Medical caregiver provisions for service members

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994

Protects military employees’ jobs when they are deployed

• Leaves of absence

• Return to employment rights

• Prompt re-employment on return

• Protection from discharge/retaliation

• Health insurance continuation

• Continued seniority rights

Lily Ledbetter Pay Act

Supreme Court decision that defined the time frame when employees may file a complaint.

Made after Lily Ledbetter’s equal pay complaint did that hold up in court because an extended period of time had past.

Affirmative Action

A program that strived to ensure equal employment opportunity. A central premise is that, absent discrimination, a contractor's workforce will generally reflect the gender, racial, and ethnic profile of the labor pools from which the contractor recruits and selects.

Key Components- Availability analysis, utilization analysis, goals and timetables, and action steps (e.g. sourcing candidates from a diverse labor pool; providing all employees with access to development)

Employment at will

Unless there is a union or other contract that says otherwise, people can usually be fired at any time for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all - - as long as the reason is not considered illegal discrimination

Employment at-will Exceptions to the At-Will Doctrine

– Covenant-of-faith-and-fair dealing (e.g. firing before retirement)

– Implied contract (e.g. “You’ve got a job for life”)

– Public policy (e.g. jury duty or reporting illegal behavior)

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

The agency responsible for enforcing the executive orders that cover companies doing business with the federal government.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

A federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination.

4/5ths rule

Find the % selected out of a particular group (race, sex, age etc.)

Compare to % selected of another group by dividing smaller % by bigger %. If this turns out to be less than 80% (4/5ths) than discrimination is in question.

What are the different types of sexual harassment, its sources, and what should employers do?

Quid Pro Quo- Harassment in which employment outcomes are linked to the harassed individual granting sexual favors to the harasser 

Hostile Environment- Intimidating or offensive working conditions that unreasonably affect an individual’s work performance or psychological well-being

• Employers must take reasonable care

• Sexual harassment policy

•  Communicate policy 

• Train employees 

• Investigate and take action

Occupational Safety and Health Act

U.S. law authorizing the federal government to establish and enforce occupational safety and health standards for all places of employment engaging in interstate commerce.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Labor Department agency responsible for inspecting employers, applying safety and health standards, and levying fines for violation.

Workflow Design

The process of analyzing the tasks necessary for the production of a product or service.

Job vs Position Distinction

A Job is a set of related duties

A position is a set of duties performed by one person

Summarize the elements of workflow analysis

Outputs- What product, information, or service is provided? How is the output measured?

*Gives HRM professionals a clear view of how to increase each work units effectiveness.

Work-processes (Activity)- What tasks are required in the production of the output?

*Clarifies necessary tasks, guides staffing changes

Inputs- 3 categories

Raw Components- What materials, data, and information is needed?

Equipment- What special equipment, facilities, and systems are needed?

Human Resources- What knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed by those performing the tasks?

Job Analysis

It’s use in employee selection

Definition

The process of getting detailed information about jobs.

Use in employee selection

Develops criteria or standards of performance that employees must meet to be considered successful on a job.

Select or develop predictors that can be administered to job applicants and used to forecast who are likely to be successful employees on the job

Job Description

A list of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities (TDRs) that a particular job entails.

Job Specifications- KSAOs?

A list of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) that an individual must have to perform a particular job.

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

A standardized job analysis questionnaire containing 195 questions about work behaviors, work conditions, and job characteristics that apply to a wide variety of jobs.

Competency

The 3 areas they are modeled for organizations

An area of personal capability that enables employees to perform their work successfully. Structured around the personal capabilities of employees and organizations rather than the objective skills highlighted in other job analysis methods. 

1) occupational groups

2) levels of an organization 

3) the organization as a whole

Job Design

The process of defining how work will be performed and what tasks will be required in a given job.

Industrial Engineering (HR context)

The study of jobs to find the simplest way to structure work in order to maximize efficiency.

Job Enlargement

Broadening the types of tasks performed in a job. Makes jobs less repetitive and more interesting.

Job Extension

Enlarging jobs by combining several relatively simple jobs to form a job with a wider range of tasks.

Job Rotation

Enlarging jobs by moving employees among several different jobs.

Job Enrichment

Empowering workers by adding more decision-making authority to jobs.

Flextime

A scheduling policy in which full-time employees may choose starting and ending times within guidelines specified by the organization.

Job Sharing

A work option in which two part-time employees carry out the tasks associated with a single job

Ergonomics

How is it important to Job Design?

The study of the interface between individuals’ physiology and the characteristics of the physical work environment.

Goal is to minimize physical strain on the worker by structuring physical work environment around the way the human body works.

Redesigning work to make it more worker- friendly can lead to increased efficiencies.

Functional vs. Divisional

Functional- Cultivates specialists, Lower accountability, Less authority, Maximizes effectiveness of jobs

Divisional- Teamwork Broad responsibility More ownership Resource duplication Few specialists

Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody Case. What? Why was it mentioned?

What

Albemarle Paper Co.was ruled against in a 1975 supreme court ruling for mandating discriminatory standardized tests.

Why did we learn about this?

The case highlights the importance of properly validated employee tests; tests that actually measure the skills and abilities of people on the job. To do this, Job Analysis is legally required.

Where would Job Analysts get information about Jobs?

Incumbents- Interviews, PAQ (194 Questionnaire)

Observation

Customers

External Job Analysts

O*Net (onetonline.org)

Why is Job Analysis important from a legal perspective?

Equal employment opportunity is supported when decision makers for jobs are focused on objective job specifications and the tasks and abilities a candidate has rather than their subjective interpretation of said candidate.

Demonstrates systematic, fair, and objective decision making processes that would not be discriminatory.

Ensures hiring practices are aligned with EEO guidelines

How are Jobs designed for efficiency?

Industrial engineering or scientific management

“The one best way”

Identify the most efficient sequence of motions • Often assembly line-type work

Must attempt to avoid RSI (repetitive stress injuries)

But… can make the job seem…

Repetitive

Boring

Job may seem meaningless

Explain the logic of Hackham/Oldham Motivation Model