Human Resource Management Exam 1

Human Resource Management / Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science / Exam Date: 6/14/24 *listed to be on exam

*Aspects of HR Management

Find right people

Train, motivate, appraise

Helps employees/employers understand rights and responsibilities

*Human capital

Intangible knowledge, skills, and capabilities of individuals that have economic value to an organization

*Downsizing

Planned elimination of jobs

*Outsourcing

Hiring outside the company to perform processes previously done within the firm

*Productivity

Output gained from a fixed amount of inputs

*Ways HRM can contribute to productivity

Enhance ability of employees—invest in training

Improve Work environment

Motivate—TEAM

*Challenges to managing changing labor force

Five generations

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Enhancing benefit programs

Embrace technology

Consider “new” ways of scheduling workers

• Flex time

*Lack of progress

People resist change as it involves modifying or abandoning familiar ways of working

*What might be a suggestion for soaring health costs?

Provide employees a set amount to purchase health insurance on their own

*What ethnic group is going to double over the next 25 years?

Hispanic

*Labor participation rate

Number people employed or actively looking for work

HRM strategic challenges to business

Manage changing labor force

Lack of progress

Soaring costs (esp. healthcare)

Demographics

Labor participation rate

Cultural and societal changes

*Visionary leadership style

“Come with me”

*Coaching leadership style

“Try this”

*Democratic leadership style

“What do you think”

*Commanding leadership style

“Do what I tell you”

*Affiliative leadership style

“People come first”

*Employee engagement

Extent to which employees are enthused about their work and committed to it

Work/life balance

*Knowledge workers

Workers who responsibilities extend beyond the physical execution of work to include planning, decision-making, and problem-solving

*Sustainability

Ability to produce a good or service without damaging the environment or depleting a resource

• Companies are making strides to reduce their carbon footprints

*Changes must be managaged and to do so you must:

Envision the future

Communicate vision

Set expectations for performance

Reorganize people/relocate assets

Invest

*Strategic planning

Procedures for making decisions about the organization’s long-term goals and strategies

*Human resources planning (HRP)

Process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organization

*Mission

Basic purpose of the organization and its scope of operations

*Strategic vision

Clarifies the long-term direction of the company and it's strategic intent

*Core values 

Strong and enduring beliefs and principles that the company uses as a foundation for it's decisions

*Corporate culture

The shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes that shape the work environment and the guide the actions of individuals within an organization

Value-based hiring

Outlining behaviors that exemplify a firm’s corporate culture and hiring people who are a fit for them

*Swot analysis

Comparison of

• Strength (Internal)

  • What was done well?

• Weaknesses (Internal)

  • Where can we improve?

• Opportunities (External)

  • Do competitors have any weaknesses we can benefit from?

• Threats (External)

  • New competitors or expansion in existing competitors

for strategy formulation purposes

*Business (external analysis of environment)

Factors that a firm cannot directly control but can affect it's strategy

*Competitive (external analysis of environment)

Consists of a firm’s specific industry

*Remote (external analysis of environment)

Economy and ecological, technological, social, demographic, and legal/regulatory changes

*Porter's five forces 

The definitive way to analyze/study your competition in the environment

*Core capabilities

Integrated knowledge sets within an organization

• Distinguish the organization from its competitors and deliver value to customers

Value creation

*Value creation

What the firm adds to a product or service by virtue of making it

Value= Benefits-costs

*Cultural audits

Assesses the quality of work life in an organization by asking employees about nature of work and seeks input on how it should be done

*Strategic considerations in a labor shortage

Develop and invest in current employees

Recall employees 

Overtime

Outsource via contractors

*Consideration during labor surplus

Need to downsize

Hiring freeze

Reducing work hours

Consider layoffs

“Forced” retirements

*Human capital readiness

Evaluating the availability of critical talent in a company and comparing it to the firm’s supply

• Difference between the quantity and quality of employees required and available represent the gap that needs to be remedied

Corporate strategic options

Growth and diversification

• Only cemetery---> cemetery, crematory, composting, lawn service, vault services

Mergers and acquisitions

Alliances vs joint ventures

Divest

Mergers

Two businesses of similar size and scale of operations combine into one new company

More of a partnership

Acquisitions

One business buys another, often smaller, business

Strategic alliances

Arrangements between two or more parties while each retains its independence

Example

• Starbucks and Target

Joint ventures

Arrangement between two or more parties while they share the risks associated with the objective’s development 

Example

• Ford and Toyota, made hybrid trucks together

Divest

Sell off, getting rid of

Example

• Hillebrand sells off Batesville

*Low-cost strategy

Focuses on efficiency, cost containment, and minimizing waste in systems and processes

HR goals

• Productivity

• Supply chain and logistics

*Differentiation strategy

Based on delivering high-quality products, innovative features, speed to market, and/or superior service

HR goals

• Exceed expectations with service and quality

*Benchmarking

Looking at an organization’s practices and performances in an area and comparing them with those of other companies

*Balance scorecard (BSC)

Measures a firm strategic alignment

Helping to translate strategic goals into operational objectives in consideration of stakeholders

*Equal employment opportunity (EEO)

Treatment of individuals in all aspects of employment hiring, promotion, and training in a fair and nonbiased manner

*Environmental scanning

The process of gathering information about events and their relationships within an organization's internal and external environments

*Cultural and societal changes influence reactions to

Work assignments

Leadership styles

Reward systems

*Levels of good corporate citizenship: highest→lowest

Philanthropic initiatives

Environmentally friendly initiatives

Community projects

Fair trade investments

*Formal communications to employees

Employee handbooks

*Informal communication to employees

Corporate culture

*Features of corporate culture

Core values and beliefs

Clear communication

Leadership style

Adaptability and flexibility

*Factors that provide competitive advantage for businesses in having/using resources

Valuable

Rare

Difficult to imitate

Organized