(Complete) Chapter 2: Trends in Human Resource Management

Which of the following describes the current characteristics of the U.S. labor force?

It is growing more diverse

Employees who take assignments in other countries are called

expatriates

What is an acquisition?

one company buys another

What is an HR dashboard?

A display of how the company is performing on specific HR metrics.

Why might a company experience negative stock returns and lower profitability after laying off some of its highest-paid salespeople?

The average sales per employee will decrease.

What is an advantage of using a human resource information system?

It enables a HR professional to store, manipulate, and analyze data

Nici knows that her employer expects her to take a bigger role in the company now that she has been promoted to assistant manager. He hasn't said anything to her directly, but her advancement tells her that's what she must do. This demonstrates the idea of a _____ contract.

psychological

A description of what an employee expects to contribute in an employment relationship and what the employer will provide in exchange for those contributions is called a(n) _____.

psychological contract

Reviewing an organization's critical work processes to make them more efficient is called _____.

reengineering

What two-word term describes when employees have online access to information about HR issues _____-_____?

self service

Anya can access her available vacation days and the amount of money she has paid in taxes this year through the employee portal on her computer. She doesn't have to ask an HR employee for this information. This demonstrates how employee records have become ______ through the use of technology.

self-service

The growth in e-commerce and the information economy has led to an increase in the demand for employees in

service occupations.

Traditionally, human resource management was seen as an administrative function, while today more companies are looking at HRM to support a company's ______.

strategy

As the human resource manager, Garrett has been asked to find three new marketing employees who can help the company define its social media presence. Which function is Garrett involved in?

supporting company strategy

The assignment of work to groups of employees with various skills who interact to assemble a product or provide a service is called _____.

teamwork

Foreign-born workers in the United States who have arrived in this country without meeting the legal requirements for immigration or asylum are called ______.

undocumented immigrants

What is a key advantage of human resource information systems?

They help HR professionals think strategically.

Companies today are finding that to survive, they must compete in international markets and fend off foreign competitors' attempts to gain ground in the United States. What would help businesses in the United States meet these challenges?

They must prepare employees for global assignments.

A companywide effort to continually improve the way people and systems accomplish work is called _____.

Total quality management (TQM)

What is a merger?

Two companies join to become one entity.

What has contributed to a shift in the type of skills needed for employees in the U.S. economy?

Use of computers to do routine tasks.

What is expected to be the fastest-growing age group in the labor force in the next decade?

Workers 55 and older

Employees realize that many companies are no longer able to provide long-term employment security. Instead, the employees now want

employability.

Susan is a project manager. She encourages her team members to conduct brainstorming sessions before initiating projects to determine the best method for delivering positive results. She provides them with complete authority to execute all production tasks independently. This scenario indicates that Susan promotes

employee empowerment.

Knowledge workers are defined as ______.

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

Employee _____ occurs when employees are provided with the ability to take on responsibilities and make decisions regarding all aspects of product development or customer service.

empowerment

The technical component of a high-performance work system is centered around ______.

equipment and work processes

All of the following have an alternative work arrangement except ______.

full-time employees

Natalia is a freelance writer. She takes short-term assignments from various publishers in which they pay her to write articles for their publications. She does not work as an employee of any one publisher, but rather as independent contractor. Natalia is part of the ______ economy.

gig

The ______ represents situations in which companies rely primarily on alternative work arrangements to meet service and product demands.

gig economy

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the year 2028 the labor force in the United States is expected to ______.

grow somewhat

Over the past few years, employee benefit costs have become particularly relevant to HR managers in the area of _____.

health insurance

What name is given to a computer system that is used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute information related to an organization's human resources?

human resource information system (HRIS)

Given the increasing use of computers to do routine tasks, which employee skill is most likely to be actively sought by U.S. employers today?

interpersonal skills

Clarice's U.S.-based company built a manufacturing facility in India and hired only employees from India to work there. This demonstrates the idea of _____.

offshoring

The practice of a U.S. company hiring local employees to work at a facility in a foreign country rather than sending U.S. employees is called _____

offshoring

Inside Auto, an automobile parts manufacturer, is headquartered in South Carolina. The firm is shifting its operations from South Carolina to India due to lower labor costs and the availability of required skills in India. This scenario indicates that Inside Auto is engaging in the practice of

offshoring.

HR management can support strategic efforts to control costs through downsizing, reengineering, and _____.

outsourcing

Matt uses a vendor to provide all of the buttons for his clothing production facility rather than trying to produce buttons himself. Using this vendor is an example of _____.

outsourcing

The practice of having another company provide services is called _____.

outsourcing

What technique uses computers to analyze large quantities of data and help human resource managers make decisions?

people analytics

Which statements regarding the human resource implications of undocumented immigrant workers are true? (Select all that apply)

-Many U.S. industries rely on immigrants to perform demanding work that may be low paid. -Employers who have difficulty finding enough qualified U.S. workers to fill technical jobs want to be able to hire foreign-born workers.

Select three core values of total quality management (TQM).

-Cooperation among vendors, suppliers, and customers is promoted. -All employees receive training in quality assessment. -Quality is designed into products so that errors are prevented.

When a business downsizes its workforce, what should be done for the company's employees? (Select all that apply)

-Inform all employees about the circumstances of the downsizing. -Provide downsized employees with outplacement services. -Boost the morale of the remaining employees.

The use of independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract company workers, collectively constitutes

Alternative work arrangements.

Which best describes a high-performance work system?

Best fit between social and technical systems.

A person who is employed directly by a company for a certain amount of time, specified in a formal agreement between the company and the workers, is referred to as a(n)

Contract company worker.

Which alternative work employee is employed directly by one company for a specific period of time as stated in a written contract?

Contract worker

What is one of the main reasons why the traditional 40-hour workweek has become obsolete in many cases and has been replaced by alternative arrangements such as temporary work and flexible schedules?

E-commerce

Giving employees responsibility and authority to make decisions regarding all aspects of product development or customer service is the premise behind ______.

Employee Empowerment

True or false: Dylan, who is 21 years old and a college graduate, belongs to the fastest-growing group of workers in the workforce.

False

As technology has caused a shift away from the traditional 40-hour workweek, what is one of the most common ways businesses have compensated employees for the increased stress and intrusion on their free time?

Flexible work schedules

Which statement is true about downsizing?

HRM can provide downsized employees with outplacement services to help them find new jobs.

In the coming decade, the fastest-growing ethnic group within the U.S. workforce is expected to be _____, reaching 21% of the workforce by 2028.

Hispanics

Which statement is true of employee empowerment?

Jobs must be designed to give employees the necessary latitude for making a variety of decisions.

Some manufacturing companies have difficulty filling jobs because _____.

applicants lack skills to run computer-controlled machinery

What technology that simulates human thinking (learning from data, adapting to change, and making decisions automatically) can human resource managers use in the application of people analytics?

artificial intelligence (AI)

Kaleb works at Growing Green, an environmentally conscious clothing company. He works as a social media analyst, primarily focusing on understanding the tastes and needs of the customers. He achieves this by regularly interacting with customers through various promotional activities and events through social media sites, and then building databases that help the company better develop eco-friendly articles of clothing that appeal to their client base. This implies that Kaleb

is a knowledge worker.

Which term refers to the intentional practice of changing jobs frequently?

job hopping

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

knowledge workers

The term used to refer to all the people willing and able to work is ____ force

labor

What is the term for all of the people who are willing to work and are able to?

labor force

The government forecasts a 5.5% increase in the labor force between 2018 and 2028, which is _____ the increase experienced at the end of the 1990s.

less than

What is the most common reason why U.S. organizations hire employees in foreign countries?

low cost of labor in foreign countries

Work teams often assume many activities traditionally reserved for _____.

managers

An organization involved in reengineering will conduct a complete review of its ______ in order to improve organizational efficiency.

work processes