Business Chapter 9

Front 1

Explain the importance of human resource management, the responsibilities of human resource management and the role of human resource planning in an organization's competative strategy.

Back 1

Organizations devote considerable attention to attracting, training, and retaining employees to help maintain their competitiveness. Human resource managers are responsible for recruiting, selecting, training, compensatinv, terminating, and motivating employees. They accomplish these tasks by developing specific programs and creating a work environment that generates employee satisfaction and efficiency. A human resource plan is designed to implement a firm's competitive strategies by providing the right number of employees, training them to meet job requirements, and motivating them to be productive and satisfied workers.

Front 2

Why do human resource managers need to develop staffing plans?

Back 2

Staffing plans help managers determine how many employees their firms will need and the kinds of skills those employees will need.

Front 3

How do human resource managers attract and keep good employees?

Back 3

Using the right combination of pay, benefits, and working conditions helps managers attract and keep good employees.

Front 4

Describe how recruitment and selection contribute to placing the right person in a job.

Back 4

Firms use internal and external methods to recruit qualified employees. For needs that the company cannot meet with existing employees, it may find candidates by encouragine employee referrals, advertisint, accepting resumes at its Web site, and using job search Web sites. IN selecting qualified candidates, human resource managers must follow legal requirements designed to promote equal employment opportunities. Employment tests, such as cognitive ability tests, are often used to assess job candidates' capabilities and help companies hire more qualified workers.

Front 5

What are some of the costs associated with recruitment and selection?

Back 5

Firms incur costs for advertising job openings, interviewing applicants, and conducting background checks, employment tests, and medical exams. Hiring mistakes increase training costs, can result in lawsuits and unemployment compensation claims, and reduce productivity and employee moral.

Front 6

What key federal and state laws apply to recruitment and selection?

Back 6

Recruitment and selection practices must adhere to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and other regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Front 7

Explain how training programs and performance appraisal help companies grow and develop their employees.

Back 7

Human resource managers use a variety of training techniques, including on-the-job training, computerized training prograns, and classroom methods. IN addition, management development programs help managers make decisions and improve interpersonal skills. Companies conduct performance appraisals to assess employees' work, as well as their strehghts and weaknesses.

Front 8

Describe some aids in on-the-job training.

Back 8

In on the job training, you learn how to perform tasks under the guidance of experienced employees. A variation of on the job training is apprenticeship training, in which an employee learns a job by serving for a longer time as an assistant to a trained worker.

Front 9

What is a management development program?

Back 9

A management development program provides training designed to improve the skills and broaden the knowledge of current and potential executives.

Front 10

What is the main way an organization provides employees with feedback about their performance?

Back 10

The main method is a performance appraisal, in which an employee's job performance is compared with desired outcomes. Peer reviews and 369-degree performance reviews are also used to provide feedback.

Front 11

Outline the methods employers use to compensate employees through pay systems and benefit programs.

Back 11

Firms compensate employees with wages, salaries, and incentive pay systems, such as profit sharing, gain sharing, lump-sum bonuses, stock options, and pay for knowledge programs. Benefit programs vary among firms, but most companies offer healthcare programs, insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and sick leave. A growing number of companies are offering flexible benefit plans and flexible work plans, such as flextime, compressed workweeks, job sharing and home based work.

Front 12

Explain the difference between wage and salary.

Back 12

Wages represent compensation based on an hourly pay rate or the amount of output produced. Salaries represent compensation calculated periodically, such as weekly or monthly.

Front 13

What is another name for a cafeteria plan?

Back 13

Cafeteria plans are also called flexible benefit plans.

Front 14

What types of organizations typically use a compressed workweek?

Back 14

Hospitals, fire departments, airlines, and manufacturing organizations often use compressed workweeks. However, many other kinds of companies are now finding success with compressed workweeks.

Front 15

Discuss employee separation and the impact of downsizing and outsourcing.

Back 15

Either employers or employees can decide to terminate employment (called involuntary turnover and voluntary turnover, respectively). Downsizing reduces a company's workforce to reduce labor costs in an effort to improve the firm's competitive position. The company may transfer some responsibilities to contractors, a practice called outsourcing. The goals of outsourcing are to reduce costs by giving work to more efficient specialisits and to allow the company to focus on the activities it does best.

Front 16

What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary turnover?

Back 16

Voluntary turnover occurs when employees leave firms to start their own businesses, take jobs with other firms, move to another city, or retire. Involuntary turnover occurss when employers terminate employees because of poor job performance, negative attitudes toward work and co-workers, or misconduct.

Front 17

What is downsizing? How is it different from outsourcing?

Back 17

Downsizing is the process of reducing the number of employees within a firm by eliminating jobs. Downsizing is done to cut overhead costs and streamline organizational structure. With outsourcing, companies contract with other firms to perform noncore jobs or business functions, such as housekeeping, maintenance, or relocation services. This allows companies to focus on what they do best, and can result in a downsized workforce.

Front 18

Explain how Maslow's heiarchy-of-needs theory, goal setting, job design, and managers' attitudes relate to employee motivation.

Back 18

Employee motivation starts with good employee moral. Maslow's heirarchy of needs theory states that all people have basic needs (psychological and safety) that they must satisfy before they can consider higher order needs (social, esteem, and self-actualization). Goal setting theory, job enlargement, and job enrichment are three ways in which managers can motivate employeesand satisfy various levels of needs. Theory X managers keep their subordinates under close and constant observation. Theory Y managers emphasize workers' self-control and self-direction. Theory Z managers believe that worker involvement is the key to increased productivity for the company and improved quality of work life for employees.

Front 19

In an organization, what conditions are likely to produce high morale?

Back 19

High employee morale occurs when employees feelvalued and heard and can contribute what they do best. High morale also results from an organization's understanding of human needs and its success at satisfying those needs in ways that reinforce organizational goals.

Front 20

Explain how goal setting works.

Back 20

People will be motivated to the extent to which they accept specific, challenging goals and receive feedback that indicates their progress toward goal achievement.

Front 21

Identify two ways that employers structure jobs for motivation.

Back 21

Two ways that employers apply motivational theories to restructure jobs are job enlargemtn and job enrichment. Job enlargement is a job design that exdpands an employee's responsibilities by increasing the nuber and variety of tasks they entail. Job enrichment is a change in job duties to increase employees' authority in planning their work, deciding how it should be done, and learning new skills that hel them grow.

Front 22

Compare and contrast Theory X, Theory Y, and Theory Z.

Back 22

Theory X assumes that employees dislike work and try to avoid it whenever possible. Theory Y assumes that the typical person like work and learns, under proper conditions, to accept and seek responsibilities to fulfill social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. Theory Z views worker involvement as the key to increased productivity for the company and improved quality of work life for employees.

Front 23

Summarize the role of labor unions and the tactics of labor-management conflicts.

Back 23

A labor union is a group of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in the key areas of wages, working hours, and working conditions. Labor unions exist at local, national, and international levels. government attitudes toward unions have varied considerably during the past century and are reflected in the major pieces of labor legislation enaceted during this period. Labor unions work to achieve their goals of increased job security and improvements in wages, hours, and working conditions through processes known as collective bargaining. Most labor-management organizations result in a signed argeement without a work stoppage. Even after an agreement is signed, disputes can arise. A grievance is a complaint that management is violating some provision of the union contract. Mediation is the process of settling labor-management disputes through recommendations of an impartial third party. Arbitration is a process in which an impartial third party renders a legally binding decision. Some tactics available to labor unions during disputes include strikes (walkouts), picketing, and boycotts. Tactics available to management include lockouts and hiring replacement workers.

Front 24

How many US workers are represented by labor unions?

Back 24

Almose 16 million US workers, close to 13 percent of the nations full time workforce, belong to labor unions. Although only about 8 percent of workers in the private sector are unionized, more than 1 in 3 government workers belong to unions.

Front 25

Identify the major issues covered in the collective bargaining process.

Back 25

The major issues covered in collective bargaining include wages, work hours, benefits, union activities and responsibilities, grievance handling and arbitration, layoffs, and employee rights and seniority.

Front 26

Explain picketting, boycotts, and lockouts.

Back 26

Picketting is when workers march at the enterance of the employer's nusiness to protest against some management practice. A boycott is an organized attempt to keep the public from purchasing the products of a firm. A lockout is a management strike, in which company management pressures labor union members by locking them out of the company and closing the firm.

Front 27

Human resource management

Back 27

function of attracting, developing, and retraining enough qualified employees to perform the activities necessary to accomplish organizational objectives.

Front 28

Performance appraisal

Back 28

evaluation of an employee's job performance that compares actual results with desired outcomes.

Front 29

Wage

Back 29

compensation based on an hourly pay rate or the amount of output produced

Front 30

Salary

Back 30

compensation calculated on a periodic basis, such as weekly or monthly.

Front 31

Employee Benefits

Back 31

rewards such as retirement plans, health insurance, vacation, and tuition reimbursement provided for employees either entirely or in part at the company's expense.

Front 32

Downsizing

Back 32

process of reducing the number of employees within a firm by eliminating jobs.

Front 33

Outsourcing

Back 33

contracting with another business to perform tasks or functions previously handled by internal staff members.

Front 34

Maslow's heiarchy of needs

Back 34

theory of motivation proposed by Abraham Maslow. According to the theory, people have five levels of need that they seek to satisfy: psysiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization.

Front 35

goal

Back 35

target, objective, or result that someone tries to accomplish.

Front 36

goal-setting theory

Back 36

the theory that people will be motivated to the extent to which they accept specific, challenging goals and receive feedback that indicates their progress toward goal achievement.

Front 37

job enlargement

Back 37

job design that expands an employees responsibility by increasing the number and variety of tasks assigned to the worker

Front 38

Job enrichment

Back 38

change in job duties to increase employees authority in planning their work, deciding how it should be done, and learning new skills.

Front 39

labor union

Back 39

group of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in the area of wages, hours, and working conditions.

Front 40

collective bargaining

Back 40

process of negotiation between management and union representatives for the purpose of arriving at mutually acceptable wages and working conditions for employees.

Front 41

management

Back 41

the use of people and other resources to accomplish original objectives

Front 42

cognitive ability test

Back 42

measure job candidates abilities in perceptual speed, verbal comnprehension, numerical aptitude, general reasoning, and spatial aptitued. These tests indicate how quickly and how well people understand words, numbers, and logic. They accurately predict job performance in almost all kinds of jobs.

Front 43

On-the-job training

Back 43

perpares employees for job duties by allowing them to perofmr tasks under the guidance of experienced employees.

Front 44

management development program

Back 44

provides training designed to improve the skills and broaden the knowledge of current and potential executives.

Front 45

360 degree performance reviwe

Back 45

a process that gathers feedback from a review panel of 8-12 people, including co-workers, supervisors, team members, subordinates, and sometimes customers.

Front 46

401(k) plans

Back 46

retirement savings plans to which employees can make pretax contributions to retirement accounts

Front 47

flexible benefit plans

Back 47

offer employees a range of options from which they can choose different types of medical insurance, dental and vision plans, and ife and disability insurance. Typically employee receives a allowance to pay for purchases off the menu

Front 48

Paid Time off PTO

Back 48

A bank of days givn to employees without them having to explain why they are taking days off.

Front 49

flexible work plans

Back 49

benefits that allow employees to adjust their working hours and places of work to accommodate their personal needs.

Front 50

flextime

Back 50

a scheduling system that allows employees to set their own work hours within constraints of a specified time.

Front 51

compressed workweek

Back 51

a scheduling option that allows employees to work the regular number of weekly hours in fewer than the typical five days.

Front 52

job sharing program

Back 52

allows 2 or more employees to divide the tasks of one job. Requires a high degree of cooperation and communication btwn partners

Front 53

telecommuters

Back 53

home based workers who work via telephones, e-mail, computers, and fax machines

Front 54

morale

Back 54

mental attitude of employees toward their employer and jobs. It involves a sense of common purpose among the members of work groups and throughout the organization as a whole.

Front 55

Theory X

Back 55

assumes employees dislike work and try to avoid it whenever possible so managers must coerce or control them or threaten punishment to achieve the organization's goals.

Front 56

theory Y

Back 56

assumes the typical person likes work and learns under proper conditions to accept and seek responsibilities to fulfill social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. emphasize self-control and self-direction

Front 57

Theory Z

Back 57

attempt to blend the best of American and Japaneze management practices.

Front 58

grievance

Back 58

a complaint by a single employee or an entire union that management is violating some provision of the union contract.

Front 59

mediation

Back 59

the process of settling labormanagement disputes through recommendations of an impartial third party

Front 60

arbitration

Back 60

bringing in an impartial third party who renders legally binding decisions. Acts as a judge.

Front 61

strike

Back 61

stoppage of employees of work until a dispute has been settled or a contract signed. Relatively rare.

Front 62

picketing

Back 62

workers marching at the enterances of the employer's business as a public protest against some management practice

Front 63

boycott

Back 63

organized attempt to keep the public from purchasing the products of a firm

Front 64

lockout

Back 64

managemenr strick to put pressure on union membership by closing the firm.