Course 4, Module 3

What are the six groups of activities and stages of implementing employee-responsive policies?

Setting of policies and values for the program Identification of options or models Articulation of program objectives Planning for implementation Specification of outcomes and benefits Measurement and evaluation

In large government agencies, the responsibility (for recruitment) has been divided among what three entities?

The centralized human resource office Full-time human resource experts in agencies and departments Local managers and supervisors

To enforce his or her First Amendment rights, an employee must file an ____ in court

action

In addition to technical operations, human resource management includes which of the following?

adjusting positions to meet needs

Formal discipline of an employee is referred to as ____. This term encompasses suspensions, salary reductions, and terminations.

adverse action

which of the following is NOT a factor identified by the AFL-CIO that reduces the chances for union organizing?

agency records of good employee performance

Today it is important to recognize that human resource management skills are critical generalist competencies for _____

all managers

____ (as opposed to applicant energy level or past performance and experience) ends up being a poor predictor of long-term job success

applicant enthusiasm

A manager's ability to complete their tasks successfully depends, in large measure, on their ability to

attract, develop, motivate, and retain top-quality employees - the essential function of human resource management

The most recent human resource era actually started in the 1990s and continues today with an emphasis on broad employee ____, more procedural ____, more rigorous employee ____, and technical ____.

categories, flexibility, accountability, simplification

Rating errors primary cause:

cognitive limitations, intentional manipulation, organizational influences, human nature

____ is the process whereby labor and management representatives meet to set terms and conditions of employment for personnel in a bargaining unit.

collective bargaining

Human resources should be doubly concerned with employee engagement, which is a key to performance - engaged workers are more ____, ____. and ____ with achieving outcomes, and they have _________ too.

committed, conscientious, concerned, less turnover

Despite its benefits, internally based hiring reduces full ____ and the introduction of outside ____ and ____

competition, skills, insights

the promotion of ____ in the workplace is both ethical and a management necessity

diversity

What 7 developments will impact human resource management for the foreseeable future?

1. Changing workforce 2. Declining confidence in government 3. Declining budgets, leading to increased use of alternative work arrangements 4. Rightsizing and downsizing despite population growth 5. Demands for productivity gains 6. Emerging virtual workplaces and virtual government 7. Decentralization and increased managerial flexibility

Pro-employee policies are ____ (stylish and responsive to trends), ____ (adaptable to the unique needs of a diverse workforce), and ____ (unstable and subject to the fluctuating fortunes of the economy).

fashionable, flexible, fickle

____ is evaluative information given to employees about their performance or behavior, the ____ of which is to influence future performance or behavior

feedback; purpose

Skill-based pay systems analyze the job knowledge a competent employee needs to possess and awards higher salary increments as new skills are ____, ____, and ____ by results

learned, used, demonstrated

____ are organizations that have recognizable processes in place for the ongoing assessment of what they are doing and how they are doing it, and whether and how they might do better.

learning organizations

Ultimate purpose of human resources is to find ways to make

life better for employees and to enhance performance of public institutions as a whole

____ is the immunity most officials have from liability for discretionary acts in the scope of their duties if they act in good faith (without malice) and reasonably

qualified immunity

To date, only the goal of ____ has been compelling enough for the Supreme Court to approve a plan. Furthermore, the government adopting the plan must provide convincing proof of its own past discrimination

remedying past discrimination

____ is based on the theory that because the employer controls the employee's behavior, the employer must assume some responsibility for the employee's actions

respondeat superior

Rather than looking at ethics training as a panacea or silver bullet, managers should view it as one of several tools that they use--along with ____, ____, and ____ to instill or change ethical conduct

role modeling, appraisals, feedback

True or False. Employee discipline and discharge can be excruciating because administrators do not want to spend any more valuable time dealing with poor performers than they already do.

true

True or False. Public service motivation is defined as the service ethic of civil servants that explains their intrinsic motivation to serve

true

True or False. The most at risk employees are those in regular contact with the public and strangers coming into the workplace, those working with unstable or volatile persons, and those in mobile workplaces.

true

True or False. Two of the best predictors of workplace flexibility initiatives, according to this Families and Work Institute study, are the presence of a large proportion of women in the workforce and the presence of large proportions of women and racial/ethnic minorities in executive leadership positions or reporting directly to persons in those positions.

true

Which of the following approaches is NOT used to determine individual equity in compensation?

"Peter Pan pay" where one employee receives a pay decrease to compensate another person's increase

What 10 efforts and conditions will likely provide employees with adequate motivation and opportunity for engagement?

1. Competitive salaries and relevant benefits 2. meaningful rewards and recognition 3. friendly and cooperative workplace relations 4. assignments that allow workers to make meaningful contributions to society 5. feedback that provides recognition 6. opportunities for challenge and development 7. meaningful control over the work environment 8. minimizing the demotivating effect of rules and regulations 9. reducing negative supervisory relationships 10. selecting the right people for the job

6 listed recommendations that apply to all public sector organizations in terms of position announcements

1. Greatly reduce the length of vacancy announcements 2. Reduce the use of negative, threatening, and legalistic language 3. Design a message to sell the job and the agency and, to the extent possible, to present the agency as the employer of choice 4. Clearly and realistically describe the job and its requirements 5. Require the least amount of information needed to make basic qualification determinations and then request more information as needed later in the process 6. Give straightforward instructions on how to apply

The strategic focus of training and development should include what six components?

1. Helping existing staff to adapt to new tasks as a result of promotion, restructuring, or other reassignments (performance) 2. Assisting new employees to get up-to-date on the unique procedures, equipment, or standards of the organization (performance and risk management) 3. Confirming that employees are kept abreast of new laws, procedures, or knowledge pertinent to the organization, the environment, or their jobs (risk management) 4. Ensuring that personnel in jobs critical to the organization's performance - and that have high costs of failure - perform in satisfactory ways (risk management) 5. Using T&D as a tool to ensure that desirable employees and managers stay current and develop themselves for future roles and hence stay committed to the organization (retention of human capital, talent management) 6. Ensuring that all employees have KSAs that are consistent with what the need to help the organization move forward (planning)

What are 7 approaches to ethics management listed in the text?

1. Modeling exemplary moral leadership to top officials 2. Adopting an organization 3. Developing and enforcing a code of ethics 4. Conducting an ethics audit 5. Using ethics as a criterion in hiring and promotion 6. Including ethics in employee and management training programs 7. Factoring ethics into performance appraisal

Compensation in any jurisdiction is a product of what four elements?

1. Pay philosophy, as informed by law and policy 2. Labor market forces (external competitiveness), as reflected by manipulation of supply and demand 3. Internal consistency based on job evaluation, as tracked by different systems of pay progression 4. Individual considerations as manifested in various types of pay

Why can "employee-friendly" policies be difficult in public organizations?

1. Public organizations cannot pass the costs through to the marketplace 2. Managers are usually not in a position to authorize these programs, governing bodies must approve them

What are the 4 government reform efforts identified by Paul Light?

1. Scientific management 2. War on waste 3. Watchful eye 4. Liberation management

What are the 3 main strategies for improving employee engagement

1. Selecting the right people 2. Developing employees' strengths 3. Enhancing employees' wellbeing

What are the five criteria that could define an ideal compensation system?

1. Stakeholder involvement in system design or reevaluation 2. simplicity in base pay and diversity in benefits 3. salary progression tied to continuous improvement 4. job security 5. market match pay philosophy

What are 9 shortcomings offered by critics of human resource management reform efforts?

1. The role of public servants is undermined 2. Results fail to meet expectations 3. Too few people with the necessary skills are attracted to public service 4. Performance rewards and underfunded 5. Oversight of the public service is reduced, inviting corruption 6. In-service training for continuous learning and planning is frequently inadequate 7. Pursuit of quick successes via downsizing too often takes precedence over improving performance 8. Ideas borrowed from the private sector and accepted blindly often create more problems than solutions 9. Empowerment initiatives frequently have uneven results

7 types of information that are relatively standard in a full job announcement

1. Title and agency/organization affiliation 2. Salary range 3. Description of job duties and responsibilities 4. Minimum qualifications 5. Special conditions 6. Application procedures 7. Equal opportunity employment

What five types of programs address work/family conflicts?

1. child care 2. elder care 3. parental and military leave 4. adoption assistance 5. domestic partnership coverage

7 possible criteria that can be used to provide the basis for a selection decision?

1. electoral popularity 2. social class 3. patronage 4. merit 5. seniority 6. representativeness 7. character and job fit

What are seven alternative work arrangements that can help reduce work/family conflict?

1. flex options 2. telecommuting 3. part-time work 4. voluntary reduced work time 5. temporary work 6. leave sharing and pooling 7. job sharing

Even if conditions exist that contribute to successful merit pay systems, what eight shortcomings could still exist when using merit pay systems?

1. focus on the short term at the expense of the long term 2. encourage mediocrity by setting limits on expectations 3. reduce creativity and risk taking 4. promote self-interest above other interests 5. destroy teamwork by increasing dependence on individual accomplishment 6. generate counterproductive win-lose competition among employees for merit monies 7. encourage sycophancy 8. generally politicize the compensation system

What are the seven "Douglas factors" incorporated into discipline regulation?

1. the nature of the offense 2. the employee's job, past work record, and previous disciplinary actions 3. the effect of the offense on the employee's ability to perform at a satisfactory level 4. the consistency of the penalty with those imposed on other employees for similar offenses 5. the clarity with which the employee was on notice 6. the individual's potential for rehabilitation 7. the adequacy of alternative sanctions

Multirater systems, or ____ —those that gather information from superiors, subordinates, peers, and citizens—by definition provide more data than other approaches.

360 degree evaluation systems

What is the difference between a market and equity adjustment?

A market adjustment is when a single job or classification is changed based on differences between it and a job or classification in the outside market An equity adjustment is when a change is made based on the fact than an incumbent is in a job that is out of alignment with other similar jobs

What are the principles emphasized by adult learning theory?

Adult learning theory emphasizes the 1) extensive experience of adults, 2) a preference for active participation, 3) an interest in self-improvement and problem solving, and 4) the exercise of some control in learning styles and methods.

What is one criticism of "at-will" employment

At-will employment could permit an employer to engage in opportunistic firings.

What are the key dimensions of the service ethic associated with public service motivation?

Attraction to policy making, commitment to furthering the public interest, commitment to social justice, commitment to civic duty, compassion about the welfare of others, and commitment to self-sacrifice for public causes.

What should a supervisor do before an appraisal interview and during the session?

Before an interview, the supervisor should communicate frequently with the subordinate, get training in appraisal interviewing, and use a problem-solving approach. During the session, the superior should share judgments of specific performance (not personality), be an active listener, avoid destructive criticism, and work with the employee to set mutually agreeable future objectives.

Which of the following is NOT one of the methods of privatization that are most important to position management?

Discontinuing the good or service that was provided by the public sector

After reading about intentional and unintentional discrimination in chapter 2, it is obvious that trying to connect workplace discrimination is laborious. Under the ____, a government affirmative action program based on race or ethnicity is reviewed using the exacting strict scrutiny standard. It is constitutional only if it is narrowly tailored to further a compelling government interest.

Equal Protection Clause

What are the goals that employment laws seek to further?

Equality, fairness, dignity, economic well-being, strong familial relationships, and healthfulness

True or False. For merit pay systems to be successful, certain conditions must be present: trust in management, clear performance factors, meaningful and consistent funding, and frequent pay increases.

False

True or False. The six criteria for the selection of selection methods are: reliability, validity, legality, legibility, acceptability, and determination

False

Employment law attempts to balance employer interests, employee rights, and social objectives in what areas?

Furnishing due process, taking adverse personnel action, safeguarding free speech and political activity, providing compensation and work schedules, protecting health and safety, and holding employees individually liable.

Why is recruitment a pivotal human resource function?

If recruitment is done poorly, then all subsequent human resource functions will be negatively affected.

Managers walk a tightrope as they seek to balance what?

Managers walk a tightrope as they seek to balance the jurisdiction's basic values, the needs of workers, and the organization's financial resources.

Which is NOT an approach to training and development discussed in the text?

Meet and greet with colleagues

Which of the following is NOT one of the four phases of screening applicants?

Phase 2 when interview questions are scrutinized for job applicability

Which of the following is NOT one of the 3 competing interests of employment law?

The need of local governments to protect citizens from "big brother"

What are the leadership capabilities that enhance a public agency's ability to adopt to the changes in the world?

Thinking ahead, thinking again, thinking across My municipality thinks ahead really well. In Carrollton, we are a city where we don't have a lot of space for new development, so thinking ahead to see how different areas of the city can be used in different ways is something we are really strong at.

What are the "big three" federal antidiscrimination statutes?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

How is learning different from training and development?

Training and development are efforts to improve future performance by providing skills to be used in assignments. Learning is when someone takes in the information and actually applies their KSAs to the subject matter. Just because someone goes through training, does not mean they are actually learning the information. There are some organizations that do ongoing assessments to ensure learning is taking place.

The three groups of approaches to evaluation methods are:

Trait-based, behavior-based, results-based systems

To determine whether an employer may take adverse action, a court asks 1) whether the speech was a matter of public concern and 2) whether the disruptive nature of the speech justifies the adverse personnel action

True

Forfeiture laws in some states allow public employers to withhold pensions from employees for misbehavior

True (Texas does not have forfeiture laws)

Which of the following are principles that human resource managers must adhere to?

Understand the values inherent in the career public service; understand and integrate non-civil service systems as appropriate; understand that the public has rights beyond merit principles; provide leadership for the workforce

What are some ways of reducing stress, linked to human resource management functions?

Using effective screening devices in recruitment to ensure a good person-environment fit Avoiding individual-organization "misfits" in selection by matching the right person with the right job Orienting employees in ways that reduce the gap between job expectations and reality Providing assessment, observation, feedback, counseling, and coaching in career planning and development Offering worker support systems that foster attachments among employees Furnishing crisis intervention counseling (including emotional support and problem-solving strategies) to employees who experience difficult moments Tracking organizational indicators of stress to identify problem areas Training employees in behavioral self-control skills to increase relaxation on the job Equipping staff with cognitive problem-solving skills to reduce stress in problem solving Offering workshops and short courses on time management to reduce stress

Human resource management (HRM), _____ a broader focus and has relevance for HR specialist, line managers and executives. It ____ all decisions affecting the relationship between the individual and the organization, with an eye to ____ from the view of both.

embraces, encompasses, optimizing effectiveness

An [x] is one who is motivated and committed to achieving results that advance organizational goals and work group objectives in meaningful ways.

engaged employee

What 3 things in combination are needed for government to be effective?

good people, good systems, and good intentions

An important purpose of this human resource management function is to retain ____

good workers

Training and learning are enhanced by feedback that is ____, ____, and ____ (or constructive) in nature

immediate, direct, positive

In Chapter 10 the appraisal process should comprise a minimum of four elements:

initial goal setting , monitoring data availability, continuous feedback, annual assessment

___________ is said to boost internal morale, increase loyalty, reduce training time, and provide recruiting incentives for strong candidates

internally based hiring

[x] encompasses a systematic process of collecting data for determining the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to perform a job successfully

job analysis

____ is the specification of job features, primarily the duties, the quantity of work expected, and the level of responsibility

job design

David Denholm posits that public interest in public employment (and collective bargaining) includes what four ideas?

maintaining a peaceful, stable employer-employee relationship safeguarding the rights of all public employees protecting the right of the citizenry to control government policy and costs through their elected representatives providing services in the most efficient and orderly manner possible

____ it is generally argued, is improved by inside (internal) recruitment, whereas ____ and _____ are improved by outside (external) recruitment

morale; depth; diversity

A key principle of [x] is that people are motivated to pursue their goals and satisfy their needs.

motivation

____ is the drive or energy that compels people to act with energy and persistence toward goals.

motivation

3 stages of the recruitment process

planning and approval of the position; preparation of the position announcement; and selection and use of specific strategies

As stated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management ____ related to ____ should meet these principles: " transparency, equal pay for equal work, no political influence, and the ability to recruit and retain a well-qualified workforce."

policy changes; compensation

[x] systems can provide the foundation for job design and support, as well as the basis for management, tracking, and control of employment numbers, costs, and position levels.

position classification

Which of the following is NOT a major element influencing the effectiveness of recruitment?

the effectiveness of the answers asked during a job interview

Recruitment is often weakest because, when done properly, it is a ____, ____ process that busy administrators may try to circumvent

time-consuming, expesive

____ is the effort to increase the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of employees and managers so that they can better do their jobs.

training

____ appraisals require assessments concerning the degree to which someone possesses certain desired personal characteristics deemed important for the job.

trait-based