#2 Human Resource Management Concepts and Trends

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering human resource management trends, artificial intelligence, labor market dynamics, employment legislation, and workplace discrimination concepts.

External Labor Market Advantage and Disadvantage

External hires can bring new perspectives, but a potential drawback is that they do not have a clear track record within the specific company culture and are not vetted inside the organization.

Workforce Demographic Trends

Current workforce changes characterized by increasing demographic diversity and a growing proportion of older individuals remaining in the workforce.

Technical Skills

Specialized hard skills needed to perform specific job duties, such as operating specialized HR software or conducting a job analysis.

Upskilling

The practice of training existing employees in new methods and skills to enable them to work directly with emerging technology such as artificial intelligence.

Knowledge Worker

An employee possessing specialized expertise and extensive formal training—such as healthcare professionals or advanced software engineers—who holds strong bargaining power and career opportunities regardless of economic conditions.

Disney-Pixar Merger Culture Integration

A merger approach where Disney's top-down structure and standardized administrative functions were combined with Pixar's leadership structure and informal style to preserve innovation while maintaining operational efficiency.

Psychological Contract

Unwritten mutual expectations between an employee and employer, such as an employee expecting a safe environment and timely pay, and an employer expecting professionalism.

Unions

Organizations representing workers that advocate on behalf of employees to secure higher pay, improved working conditions, and formal job security.

Outsourcing

The business practice of hiring an external company to perform specific organizational functions, such as payroll, in order to save money.

Early Retirement Programs

Incentive plans offered to encourage older workers to voluntarily retire, serving as a more humane alternative to layoffs for workforce reduction.

Gig Economy

An employment model based on flexible, short-term, or independent contract work, often facilitated by service platforms like Uber or Postmates.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

The foundational principle and legal framework aimed at ensuring all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment regardless of personal characteristics.

Civil Rights Act

Federal legislation protecting individuals from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, and sex.

Equal Pay Act

Law protecting against gender-based pay discrimination by mandating equal pay for equal work.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Legislation designed to protect individuals with qualifying physical or mental disabilities from employment discrimination and mandate reasonable workplace accommodations.

Disability (under ADA)

A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities, a official record of such impairment, or being regarded by others as having such an impairment.

Reasonable Accommodation

A modification or adjustment to a job or work environment that enables a qualified individual with a disability to perform essential job functions.

Undue Hardship Exception

A legal allowance relieving an employer from providing a reasonable accommodation if the accommodation requires excessive financial cost or operational difficulty relative to the organization's resources.

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

A form of sexual harassment where employment outcomes, such as hiring, promotion, or job retention, are directly conditioned on agreeing to sexual demands.

Disparate Impact

An employment policy or selection practice that is neutral on its face but results in the disproportionate, unintended exclusion of a protected class.

Disparate Treatment

Direct, intentional discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of a legally protected characteristic.

Seniority and Merit Systems

Legally acceptable organizational systems that reward employees or grant promotions based on length of tenure and performance, even if demographic differences exist across senior positions.