Operations Management, Motivation, and Labor Relations Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, and laws across Operations Management, Motivation, Human Resource Management, and Labor Relations.

Operations Management

The field of management that focuses on producing goods and providing services efficiently while maintaining quality and controlling costs.

Benchmarking

Comparing an organization's performance, processes, or practices with those of leading competitors or industry standards to identify weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.

Outsourcing

Hiring an outside company to perform a task or provide a service that the organization could otherwise handle itself.

Formal Organization

The official structure of jobs, authority, responsibilities, and reporting relationships established by an organization.

Informal Organization

The unofficial relationships and social networks that develop naturally among employees.

Facility Layout

The physical arrangement of equipment, workstations, departments, and other resources within a workplace.

Process Layout

A workplace arrangement in which similar activities or machines are grouped together.

Product Layout

A workplace arrangement where equipment is arranged in the sequence needed to make a product, such as an automobile assembly line.

Fixed-Position Layout

A layout where the product stays in one place while workers and equipment come to it, such as in bridge construction.

Modular Layout

A layout where workstations or teams are organized into units that can be rearranged or adapted for different products or tasks.

Statistical Process Control (SPC)

Using statistical methods to monitor a production process and determine whether it is operating consistently.

Common-Cause Variation

Normal, predictable variation that is inherently built into a production process.

Special-Cause Variation

Unusual variation in a process caused by a specific, identifiable circumstance, such as a broken machine.

Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

Computer software used to create or modify product designs.

Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM)

Computer systems used to control or assist manufacturing equipment during production.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

An integrated information system that connects major business functions—such as inventory, purchasing, accounting, and HR—through shared data.

Lean Manufacturing

A production approach that seeks to maximize customer value while minimizing waste and eliminating non-value-adding activities.

Just-in-Time (JIT)

An inventory and production approach of producing or receiving materials close to the time they are needed, rather than keeping large amounts of inventory.

Kanban

A visual signaling system used to communicate when materials or products should be replenished or work should begin.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

A project-planning method used to estimate activity times, organize tasks, and identify the critical path.

Expected Activity Time ($T_E$)

The weighted average duration of a task in PERT analysis, calculated as $T_E=\frac{O+4M+P}{6}$, where $O$ is optimistic time, $M$ is most likely time, and $P$ is pessimistic time.

Critical Path

The longest-duration sequence of dependent activities through a project network, which determines the earliest possible project completion date.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

An organization-wide approach to continually improving quality, processes, and customer satisfaction, famously framed by W. Edwards Deming's 14 points.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation driven by internal satisfaction, where an individual does something because the activity itself is enjoyable, meaningful, or satisfying.

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation driven by external factors, where an individual does something to obtain an outside reward (such as a bonus) or avoid a negative consequence.

Scientific Management

Frederick Taylor's management approach that uses systematic observation and measurement to discover the single most efficient way to perform a job.

Hawthorne Studies

Research associated with Elton Mayo showing that employees' social relationships, attitudes, and the awareness of being observed significantly influence workplace productivity.

Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow's theory proposing that human motivation involves five levels of needs: physiological, safety, social / belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

McClelland's Three Needs Theory

A motivation model stating that individuals are driven by varying balances of three acquired needs: affiliation (AFFL), achievement (ACHV), and power (POWER).

Theory X

Douglas McGregor's assumption that employees inherently dislike work, avoid responsibility, and require close supervision and external pressure.

Theory Y

Douglas McGregor's assumption that employees can enjoy work, seek responsibility, and exercise self-direction when organizational conditions support their goals.

Theory Z

William Ouchi's management approach emphasizing trust, employee involvement, collective cooperation, and long-term employment relationships.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Peter Drucker's management system in which managers and employees collaboratively set clear, measurable goals and evaluate performance against them.

Expectancy Theory

Victor Vroom's theory stating that motivation is a multiplicative product of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence: $\text{Motivation} = E \times I \times V$.

Equity Theory

J. Stacy Adams's theory that employees evaluate their motivation based on the perceived fairness of their inputs and outcomes compared with those of others.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The U.S. federal agency responsible for enforcing major federal statutes that prohibit employment discrimination based on protected characteristics.

Affirmative Action (AA)

Policies or programs designed to proactively overcome barriers and address historical underrepresentation in employment or education.

Job Analysis

The systematic process of collecting and examining information about a job's duties, responsibilities, working conditions, and required qualifications.

Job Description

A written summary detailing the specific duties, tasks, responsibilities, and working conditions of a given position.

Job Specification

A written statement specifying the minimum qualifications, skills, education, experience, and credentials an individual must possess to perform a job.

Contingent Workers

Non-permanent workers hired for flexible, project-based, temporary, or on-call employment arrangements rather than standard full-time roles.

On-the-Job Training (OJT)

Training provided at the workplace while employees perform actual job duties, typically under the guidance of a supervisor or experienced coworker.

Job Sharing

An employment arrangement in which two workers split the responsibilities, hours, and tasks of a single full-time position.

Golden Handshake

A negotiated financial severance or incentive package offered to an employee, typically a senior executive, to encourage departure or retirement.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

A company-sponsored program that gives employees an indirect ownership stake in the firm through company stock, often serving as a retirement benefit.

Collective Bargaining

The formal negotiation process between an employer and union representatives to determine terms and conditions of employment, resulting in a collective bargaining agreement.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

A federal agency that administers and enforces the National Labor Relations Act, conducts union elections, and investigates unfair labor practices in the private sector.

Closed Shop

An arrangement under which an employer could hire only existing union members; generally prohibited under federal labor law in covered private-sector workplaces.

Open Shop

A workplace where workers are not required to join a labor union or pay union fees as a condition of obtaining or keeping employment.

Agency Shop

A workplace arrangement under which non-union employees may be required to pay representation fees to the union to cover the costs of collective bargaining.

Right-to-Work Laws

State statutes that prohibit making union membership or payment of union dues/fees a mandatory condition of employment.

Yellow-Dog Contracts

Historical, now-unlawful employment agreements that required workers to pledge never to join or support a labor union as a condition of employment.

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

A form of sexual harassment in which submitting to or rejecting unwelcome sexual advances is used explicitly or implicitly as the basis for employment decisions.

Hostile Work Environment

A form of sexual harassment where unwelcome conduct based on sex is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter working conditions and create an abusive working environment.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

A federal law prohibiting discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities and requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so causes undue hardship.

Productivity Formula

The mathematical calculation of economic or operational efficiency defined by $\text{Productivity}=\frac{\text{Output}}{\text{Input}}$.