Human Resource Management exam 2

seven steps that should be included in a discipline meeting

1. Goal is improvement 2. Be specific and focus on facts 3. Put the behavior in context 4. Specify changes (your expectations) 5.explain consequences if expectations are not met 6.provide support 7. Be consistent

essay question #2 if given a basic graphic rating scale: a. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the scale b. improve the scale to minimize disadvantages

A drawback of this approach is that it leaves to the particular manager the decisions about what is "excellent knowledge" or "commendable judgment" or "poor interpersonal skills." The result is low reliability because managers are likely to arrive at different judgments.

hot stove principle of discipline

According to this principle, discipline should be like a hot stove: The glowing or burning stove gives warning not to touch. Anyone who ignores the warning will be burned. The stove has no feelings to influence which people it burns, and it delivers the same burn to any touch. Finally, the burn is immediate. Like the hot stove, an organization's discipline should give warning and have consequences that are consistent, objective, and immediate.

essay question #3 Distinguish between behavioral observations scales (BOS) and Behaviorally Anchored raring scales (BARS). Describe how each meets the five criteria for effective performance management

BOS-A behavioral observation scale (BOS) is a variation of a BARS. Like a BARS, a BOS is developed from critical incidents.8 However, while a BARS discards many examples in creating the rating scale, a BOS uses many of them to define all behaviors necessary for effective performance (or behaviors that signal ineffective performance). As a result, a BOS may use 15 behaviors to define levels of performance. Also, a BOS asks the manager to rate the frequency with which the employee has exhibited the behavior during the rating period. BARS- A behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) builds on the critical-incidents approach. The BARS method is intended to define performance dimensions specifically using statements of behavior that describe different levels of performance.6 (The statements are "anchors" of the performance levels.) Fit with strategy—A performance management system should aim at achieving employee behavior and attitudes that support the organization's strategy, goals, and culture. Validity—validity is the extent to which a measurement tool actually measures what it is intended to measure. Reliability—With regard to a performance measure, reliability describes the consistency of the results that the performance measure will deliver. Interrater reliability is consistency of results when more than one person measures performance. Acceptability—Whether or not a measure is valid and reliable, it must meet the practical standard of being acceptable to the people who use it. For example, the people who use a performance measure must believe that it is not too time consuming. Likewise, if employees believe the measure is unfair, they will not use the feedback as a basis for improving their performance. Specific feedback—A performance measure should specifically tell employees what is expected of them and how they can meet those expectations.

Employers can buy general-purpose application forms from an office supply store, or they can create their own forms to meet unique needs. Either way, employment applications include areas for applicants to provide several types of information:

Contact information—The applicant's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. Work experience—Companies the applicant worked for, job titles, and dates of employment. Educational background—High school, college, and universities attended and degree(s) awarded. Applicant's signature—Signature following a statement that the applicant has provided true and complete information. The application form may include other areas for the applicant to provide additional information, such as specific work experiences, technical skills, or memberships in professional or trade groups. -also, including the date on an application is useful for keeping up-to-date records of job applicants. -The application form should not request information that could violate equal employment opportunity standards. For example, questions about an applicant's race, marital status, or number of children would be inappropriate.

multiple-hurdle model

Each stage of the process is a hurdle, and candidates who overcome a hurdle continue to the next stage of the process. - For example, the organization reviews applications and/or résumés of all candidates, conducts some tests on those who meet minimum requirements, conducts initial interviews with those who had the highest test scores, follows up with additional interviews or testing, and then selects a candidate from the few who survived this process

Employees' own job satisfaction also interacts with the job satisfaction of co-workers.

In a study of more than 5,000 employees in 150 businesses, employees with declining job satisfaction were more likely to stay on the job if co-workers' satisfaction was rising. For employees experienced rising satisfaction, the employees were more likely to quit if their co-workers were growing less satisfied. In effect, when employees were out of step with their co-workers, their likelihood of quitting was influenced by the co-workers' job satisfaction.

Job Complexity

Not only can job design add to enriching complexity, but employees themselves sometimes take measures to make their work more interesting. Some employees bring personal music players with headsets to work so they can listen to music or radio shows while they are working. Many supervisors disapprove, worrying that the headsets will interfere with the employees' ability to provide good customer service. However, in simple jobs with minimal customer contact (like processing paperwork or entering data into computers), research suggests that personal headsets can improve performance.

clear and appropriate roles

Organizations can do much to avoid role-related sources of dissatisfaction. They can define roles, clearly spelling out work methods, schedules, and performance measures. They can be realistic about the number of hours required to complete job requirements. When jobs require overtime hours, the employer must be prepared to comply with laws requiring overtime pay, as well as to help employees manage the conflict between work and family roles. To help employees manage role conflict, employers have turned to a number of family-friendly policies. These policies may include provisions for child care, elder care, flexible work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting, and extended parental leaves. Although these programs create some headaches for managers in terms of scheduling work and reporting requirements, they increase employees' satisfaction and commitment to the organization. Organizations with family-friendly policies also have enjoyed improvements in performance, especially at companies that employ a large percentage of women.

Pay and Benefits

Two other aspects of pay satisfaction influence job satisfaction. One is satisfaction with pay structure—the way the organization assigns different pay levels to different levels and job categories. A manager of a sales force, for example, might be satisfied with her pay level until she discovers that some of the sales representatives she supervises are earning more than she is. The other important aspect of pay satisfaction is pay raises. People generally expect that their pay will increase over time. They will be satisfied if their expectations are met or dissatisfied if raises fall short of expectations.

Supervisors and Co-workers

The two primary sets of people in an organization who affect job satisfaction are co-workers and supervisors. A person may be satisfied with these people for one of three reasons: 1. The people share the same values, attitudes, and philosophies. Most individuals find this very important, and many organizations try to foster a culture of shared values. Even when this does not occur across the whole organization, values shared between workers and their supervisor can increase satisfaction. 2. The co-workers and supervisor may provide social support, meaning they are sympathetic and caring. Social support greatly increases job satisfaction, whether the support comes from supervisors or co-workers. Turnover is also lower among employees who experience support from other members of the organization 3.The co-workers or supervisor may help the person attain some valued outcome. For example, they can help a new employee figure out what goals to pursue and how to achieve them.

forced-distribution method.

This type of performance measurement assigns a certain percentage of employees to each category in a set of categories. For example, the organization might establish the following percentages and categories: Exceptional—5% Exceeds standards—25% Meets standards—55% Room for improvement—10% Not acceptable—5% The manager completing the performance appraisal would rate 5% of his or her employees as exceptional, 25% as exceeding standards, and so on

Meaningful work

When it comes to generating satisfaction, the most important aspect of work is the degree to which it is meaningfully related to workers' core values. People sign on to help charitable causes for little or no pay simply because of the value they place on making a difference in the world.

The many approaches to employee development fall into four broad categories:

formal education, assessment, job experiences, interpersonal relationships.

the exit interview

a meeting of the departing employee with the employee's supervisor and/or a human resource specialist to discuss the employee's reasons for leaving. A well-conducted exit interview can uncover reasons why employees leave and perhaps set the stage for some of them to return. HR professionals can help make exit interviews more successful by arranging for the employee to talk to someone from the HR department (rather than the departing employee's supervisor) in a neutral location or over the phone

job satisfaction

a pleasant feeling resulting from the perception that one's job fulfills or allows for the fulfillment of one's important job values.48 This definition has three components: Job satisfaction is related to a person's values, defined as "what a person consciously or unconsciously desires to obtain." Different employees have different views of which values are important, so the same circumstances can produce different levels of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is based on perception, not always on an objective and complete measurement of the situation. Each person compares the job situation to his or her values, and people are likely to differ in what they perceive. In sum, people will be satisfied with their jobs as long as they perceive that their jobs meet their important values.

role analysis technique

a process of formally identifying expectations associated with a role. - The role occupant (the person who fills a role) and each member of the person's role set (people who directly interact with this employee) each write down their expectations for the role. -They meet to discuss their expectations and develop a preliminary list of the role's duties and behaviors, trying to resolve any conflicts among expectations. -Next, the role occupant lists what he or she expects of others in the set, and the group meets again to reach a consensus on these expectations. -Finally, the group modifies its preliminary list and reaches a consensus on the occupant's role. This process may uncover instances of overload and underload, and the group tries to trade off requirements to develop more balanced roles.

Essay Question #5 Describe the steps in the instructional design process?

a process of systematically developing training to meet specified needs. -. It begins with an assessment of the needs for training—what the organization requires that its people learn. -Next, the organization ensures that employees are ready for training in terms of their attitudes, motivation, basic skills, and work environment. -The third step is to plan the training program, including the program's objectives, instructors, and methods. -The organization then implements the program. -Finally, evaluating the results of the training provides feedback for planning future training programs

Essay question #4 What should managers do to support training?

bump

essay question #1 If given a job description identify key job specifications and write behavioral and situational interview questions

bump

employment at will

can be fired for any reason at any time

. Training

consists of an organization's planned efforts to help employees acquire job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors, with the goal of applying these on the job. A training program may range from formal classes to one-on-one mentoring, and it may take place on the job or at remote locations. No matter what its form, training can benefit the organization when it is linked to organizational needs and when it motivates employees.

a basic career management system involves four steps

data gathering, feedback, goal setting, action planning and follow-up.

implied contract

if the employer had promised the employee job security or if the action is inconsistent with company policies. An example might be that an organization has stated that an employee with an unexcused absence will receive a warning for the first violation, but an angry supervisor fires an employee for being absent on the day of an important meeting. - saying they would get a set amount for a year of work

transfer of training

if the training actually transfers over into the employees work

organizational commitment

is the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization and is willing to put forth effort on its behalf. Employees with high organizational commitment will stretch themselves to help the organization through difficult times. Employees with low organizational commitment are likely to leave at the first opportunity for a better job. They have a strong intention to leave, so like employees with low job involvement, they are hard to motivate.

job involvement

is the degree to which people identify themselves with their jobs. People with a high level of job involvement consider their work an important part of their life. Doing well at work contributes to their sense of who they are (their self-concept). For a dissatisfied employee with low job involvement, performing well or poorly does not affect the person's self-concept.

Psychological withdrawal can take several forms

low job involvement and low organizational commitment

two other personal qualities associated with job satisfaction are negative affectivity and negative self-evaluations.

negative affectivity negative self-evaluations.

is it legal to use a lie detector test for interviews?

no

Today's employees are more likely to have a protean career

one that frequently changes based on changes in the person's interests, abilities, and values and in the work environment. -For example, an engineer might decide to take a sabbatical from her job to become a manager with Engineers without Borders, so she can develop managerial skills and decide whether she likes managing. As in this example, employees in protean careers take responsibility for managing their careers. Employees look for organizations to provide not job security and a career ladder to climb, but instead development opportunities and flexible work arrangements.

reliability

of a type of measurement indicates how free that measurement is from random error. - A reliable measurement therefore generates consistent results. ex. Assuming that a person's intelligence is fairly stable over time, a reliable test of intelligence should generate consistent results if the same person takes the test several times.

explain the WARN act

organizations with 100 or more employees, must give 60 days notice, if closure or layoff affects 50 or more people. -must notify in writing

administrative purpose of performance management

refers to the ways in which organizations use the system to provide information for day-to-day decisions about salary, benefits, and recognition programs. Performance management can also support decision making related to employee retention, termination for poor behavior, and hiring or layoffs.

6 steps of the performance management process

step 1- define performance outcomes for company division and department step 2-develop employee goals, behaviors, and actions to achieve outcomes step 3- provide support and ongoing performance discussions step 4-evaluate performance step 5-identify improvements needed step 6-provide consequences for performance results

Process for Developing a Succession Plan

1. identify positions to plan for 2.identify employees to include 3. Define job requirements 4.Measure employee potential 5.Review and plan to meet development needs 6.Link succession planning with other HR systems 7.provide feedback to employees 8.measure the plan's effectiveness

formal discipline process continued

Along with rules and a progression of consequences for violating the rules, a progressive discipline system should have requirements for documenting the rules, offenses, and responses.

interpersonal relationships

Employees can also develop skills and increase their knowledge about the organization and its customers by interacting with a more experienced organization member. More formally, two types of relationships used for employee development are mentoring and coaching.

negative affectivity

Negative affectivity- means pervasive low levels of satisfaction with all aspects of life, compared with other people's feelings. -People with negative affectivity experience feelings such as anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness more than other people do, at work and away. They tend to focus on the negative aspects of themselves and others. -Not surprisingly, people with negative affectivity tend to be dissatisfied with their jobs, even after changing employers or occupations.

Several role-related sources of dissatisfaction are the following:

Role ambiguity Role conflict Role overload

Effective training objectives have several characteristics:

They include a statement of what the employee is expected to do, the quality or level of performance that is acceptable, and the conditions under which the employee is to apply what he or she learned (for instance, physical conditions, mental stresses, or equipment failure). They include performance standards that are measurable. They identify the resources needed to carry out the desired performance or outcome. Successful training requires employees to learn but also employers to provide the necessary resources.

construct validity

This involves establishing that tests really do measure intelligence, leadership ability, or other such "constructs," as well as showing that mastery of this construct is associated with successful performance of the job. For example, if you could show that a test measures something called "mechanical ability," and that people with superior mechanical ability perform well as assemblers, then the test has construct validity for the assembler job. Tests that measure a construct usually measure a combination of behaviors thought to be associated with the construct.

voluntary turnover

When the employees initiate the turnover (often when the organization would prefer to keep them), Employees may leave to retire or to take a job with a different organization. Typically, the employees who leave voluntarily are either the organization's worst performers, who quit before they are fired, or its best performers, who can most easily find attractive new opportunities

involuntary turnover

When the organization initiates the turnover (often with employees who would prefer to stay), Examples include terminating an employee for drug use or laying off employees during a downturn. Most organizations use the word termination to refer only to a discharge related to a discipline problem, but some organizations call any involuntary turnover a termination.

instructional design

a process of systematically developing training to meet specified needs. -. It begins with an assessment of the needs for training—what the organization requires that its people learn. -Next, the organization ensures that employees are ready for training in terms of their attitudes, motivation, basic skills, and work environment. -The third step is to plan the training program, including the program's objectives, instructors, and methods. -The organization then implements the program. -Finally, evaluating the results of the training provides feedback for planning future training programs

criterion-related validity,

is a measure of validity based on showing a substantial correlation between test scores and job performance scores.

performance management

is the process through which managers ensure that employees' activities and outputs contribute to the organization's goals. This process requires knowing what activities and outputs are desired, observing whether they occur, and providing feedback to help employees meet expectations. In the course of providing feedback, managers and employees may identify performance problems and establish ways to resolve those problems.

developmental purpose

meaning that it serves as a basis for developing employees' knowledge and skills. Even employees who are meeting expectations can become more valuable when they hear and discuss performance feedback. Effective performance feedback makes employees aware of their strengths and of the areas in which they can improve. For performance feedback to serve a developmental purpose, managers should adjust their approach to the level of performance. For a high-performing employee, the manager should open up a conversation about the employee's ambitions and the organization's developmental opportunities, so the employee sees an inviting career path. Employees who are falling short in some areas will require an effort to uncover the source of poor performance. Even among employees meeting standards, managers should identify areas for future growth

job withdrawal

or a set of behaviors with which employees try to avoid the work situation physically, mentally, or emotionally. Job withdrawal results when circumstances such as the nature of the job, supervisors and co-workers, pay levels, or the employee's own disposition cause the employee to become dissatisfied with the job. this job dissatisfaction produces job withdrawal. Job withdrawal may take the form of behavior change, physical job withdrawal, or psychological withdrawal. Some researchers believe employees engage in the three forms of withdrawal behavior in that order, while others think they select from these behaviors to address the particular sources of job dissatisfaction they experience. Although the specifics of these models vary, the consensus is that withdrawal behaviors are related to one another and are at least partially caused by job dissatisfaction

Cognitive ability tests

sometimes called "intelligence tests"—are designed to measure such mental abilities as verbal skills (skill in using written and spoken language), quantitative skills (skill in working with numbers), and reasoning ability (skill in thinking through the answer to a problem). Many jobs require all of these cognitive skills, so employers often get valid information from general tests.

references

-Application forms often ask that applicants provide the names of several references. Applicants provide the names and phone numbers of former employers or others who can vouch for their abilities and past job performance. In some situations, the applicant may provide letters of reference written by those people. It is then up to the organization to have someone contact the references to gather information or verify the accuracy of the information provided by the applicant. -As you might expect, references are not an unbiased source of information. Most applicants are careful to choose references who will say something positive. - In addition, former employers and others may be afraid that if they express negative opinions, they will be sued. Equally problematic from the standpoint of getting useful information is that some candidates fail to list people who can speak about their work history. -Usually the organization checks references after it has determined that the applicant is a finalist for the job.

resumes

-As with employment applications, an HR staff member reviews the résumés to identify candidates meeting such basic requirements as educational background, related work performed, and types of equipment the person has used. -Because résumés are created by the job applicants (or the applicants have at least approved résumés created by someone they hire), they also may provide some insight into how candidates communicate and present themselves. -Employers tend to decide against applicants whose résumés are unclear, sloppy, or full of mistakes.

Disadvantages of interviewing

-Despite these benefits, interviewing is not necessarily the most accurate basis for making a selection decision. -Research has shown that interviews can be unreliable, low in validity, and biased against a number of different groups. - Interviews are also costly. They require that at least one person devote time to interviewing each candidate, and the applicants typically have to be brought to one geographic location. -Interviews are also subjective, so they place the organization at greater risk of discrimination complaints by applicants who were not hired, especially if those individuals were asked questions not entirely related to the job.

criminal background checks

-Some positions are so sensitive that the law may even limit hiring a person with certain kinds of convictions: for example, a person convicted of domestic violence may not hold positions that involve shipping firearms. -The use of criminal background checks is a sensitive issue in the United States, however, especially since crackdowns on crime have resulted in many arrests. -An additional concern is the disparate impact of considering criminal history. Men are far more likely to have a criminal record than women, and arrests and convictions are far more common among African Americans than whites. -The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published guidelines that employers who check criminal histories do so consistently; that is, they should conduct the same type of background check for all candidates and apply the same standards for acting on the information.

organizations must be concerned about candidates' privacy rights.

-The information gathered during the selection process may include information that employees consider confidential. -Confidentiality is a particular concern when job applicants provide information online. Employers should collect data only at secure websites, and they may have to be understanding if online applicants are reluctant to provide data such as Social Security numbers, which hackers could use for identity theft.

Rating Attributes graphic rating scale.

-This method lists traits and provides a rating scale for each trait. The employer uses the scale to indicate the extent to which the employee being rated displays the traits. The rating scale may provide points to circle (as on a scale going from 1 for poor to 5 for excellent), or it may provide a line representing a range of scores, with the manager marking a place along the line. - A drawback of this approach is that it leaves to the particular manager the decisions about what is "excellent knowledge" or "commendable judgment" or "poor interpersonal skills." The result is low reliability because managers are likely to arrive at different judgments.

compensatory mode

-another, more expensive alternative is to take most applicants through all steps of the process and then to review all the scores to find the most desirable candidates. -With this alternative, decision makers may use a compensatory model, in which a very high score on one type of assessment can make up for a low score on another.

assessment

-collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their behavior, communication style, or skills. - Information for assessment may come from the employees, their peers, managers, and customers. -The most frequent uses of assessment are to identify employees with managerial potential to measure current managers' strengths and weaknesses. -Organizations that assign work to teams may use assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual team members and the effects of the team members' decision-making and communication styles on the team's productivity.

To remain marketable,

-employees must continually develop new skills. Fewer of today's careers involve repetitive tasks, and more rely on an expanding base of knowledge. - Jobs are less likely to last a lifetime, so employees have to prepare for newly created positions. Beyond knowing job requirements, employees need to understand the business in which they are working and be able to cultivate valuable relationships with co-workers, managers, suppliers, and customers. -They also need to follow trends in their field and industry, so they can apply technology and knowledge that will match emerging priorities and needs. Learning such skills requires useful job experiences as well as effective training programs.

apprenticeship

-is a work-study training method that teaches job skills through a combination of structured on-the-job training and classroom training. -Requirements may be based on a minimum amount of time (often at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning), mastery of specified skills following classroom or online instruction plus on-the-job learning, or some combination of the two measures

panel interview

-several members of the organization meet to interview each candidate. A panel interview gives the candidate a chance to meet more people and see how people interact in that organization. -It provides the organization with the judgments of more than one person, to reduce the effect of personal biases in selection decisions. - Panel interviews can be especially appropriate in organizations that use teamwork.

Job experiences

-the combination of relationships, problems, demands, tasks, and other features of an employee's jobs. -Using job experiences for employee development assumes that development is most likely to occur when the employee's skills and experiences do not entirely match the skills required for the employee's current job. To succeed, employees must stretch their skills. In other words, they must learn new skills, apply their skills and knowledge in new ways, and master new experiences.

advantages of interviewing

-the top qualities that employers seek in new hires include communication skills and interpersonal skills. Talking face to face can provide evidence of these skills. -Interviews can give insights into candidates' personalities and interpersonal styles. They are more valid, however, when they focus on job knowledge and skill. -Interviews also provide a means to check the accuracy of information on the applicant's résumé or job application. Asking applicants to elaborate about their experiences and offer details reduces the likelihood of a candidate being able to invent a work history.

Several criteria determine the effectiveness of performance measures:

1. Fit with strategy—A performance management system should aim at achieving employee behavior and attitudes that support the organization's strategy, goals, and culture 2. validity 3. reliability 4.Acceptability—Whether or not a measure is valid and reliable, it must meet the practical standard of being acceptable to the people who use it. For example, the people who use a performance measure must believe that it is not too time consuming. 5.Specific feedback- A performance measure should specifically tell employees what is expected of them and how they can meet those expectations. Being specific helps performance management meet the goals of supporting strategy and developing employees. If a measure does not specify what an employee must do to help the organization achieve its goals, it does not support the strategy.

Employers considering the use of drug tests should ensure that their drug-testing programs conform to some general rules

Administer the tests systematically to all applicants for the same job. Use drug testing for jobs that involve safety hazards. Have a report of the results sent to the applicant, along with information about how to appeal the results and be retested if appropriate. Respect applicants' privacy by conducting tests in an environment that is not intrusive and keeping results confidential.

employee assistance program (EAP)

An EAP is a referral service that employees can use to seek professional treatment for emotional problems or substance abuse. EAPs began in the 1950s with a focus on treating alcoholism, and in the 1980s they expanded into drug treatment. Today, many are now fully integrated into employers' overall health benefits plans, where they refer employees to covered mental health services. EAPs vary widely, but most share some basic elements. First, the programs are usually identified in official documents published by the employer, such as employee handbooks. Supervisors (and union representatives when workers belong to a union) are trained to use the referral service for employees whom they suspect of having health-related problems. The organization also trains employees to use the system to refer themselves when necessary. The organization regularly evaluates the costs and benefits of the program, usually once a year.

goal setting

Based on the information from the self-assessment and reality check, the employee sets short- and long-term career objectives. These goals usually involve one or more of the following categories: Desired positions, such as becoming sales manager within three years. Level of skill to apply—for example, to use one's budgeting skills to improve the unit's cash flow problems. Work setting—for example, to move to corporate marketing within two years. Skill acquisition, such as learning how to use the company's human resource information system.

Often, the next step in the selection process is to gather objective data through one or more employment tests. These tests fall into two broad categories:

Aptitude tests assess how well a person can learn or acquire skills and abilities. In the realm of employment testing, the best-known aptitude test is the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), used by the U.S. Employment Service. Achievement tests measure a person's existing knowledge and skills. For example, government agencies conduct civil service examinations to see whether applicants are qualified to perform certain jobs.

negative self-evaluations.

Core self-evaluations- are bottom-line opinions individuals have of themselves and may be positive or negative. -People with a positive core self-evaluation have high self-esteem, believe in their ability to accomplish their goals, and are emotionally stable. They also tend to experience job satisfaction. - Part of the reason for their satisfaction is that they tend to seek out and obtain jobs with desirable characteristics, and when they are in a situation they dislike, they are more likely to seek change in socially acceptable ways. - In contrast, people with negative core self-evaluations tend to blame other people for their problems, including their dissatisfying jobs. They are less likely to work toward change; they either do nothing or act aggressively toward the people they blame.

action planning and follow up

During the final step, employees prepare an action plan for how they will achieve their short- and long-term career goals. The employee is responsible for identifying the steps and timetable to reach the goals. The employer should identify resources needed, including courses, work experiences, and relationships. The employee and the manager should meet in the future to discuss progress toward career goals. Action plans may involve any one or a combination of the development methods discussed earlier in the chapter—training, assessment, job experiences, or the help of a mentor or coach. The approach used depends on the particular developmental needs and career objectives.

Readiness for training

Effective training requires not only a program that addresses real needs, but also a condition of employee readiness. Readiness for training is a combination of employee characteristics and positive work environment that permit training. It exists when employees are able and eager to learn and when their organizations encourage learning. Employee Readiness Characteristics To be ready to learn, employees need basic learning skills, especially cognitive ability, which includes being able to use written and spoken language, solve math problems, and use logic to solve problems. Ideally, the selection process identified job candidates with enough cognitive ability to handle not only the requirements for doing a job, but also the training associated with that job. However, recent forecasts of the skill levels of the U.S. workforce indicate that many companies will have to work with employees who lack basic skills.8 For example, they may have to provide literacy training or access to classes teaching math skills before some employees can participate in job-related training. Employees learn more from training programs when they are highly motivated to learn—that is, when they really want to learn the content of the training program.9 Employees tend to feel this way if they believe they are able to learn, see potential benefits from the training program, are aware of their need to learn, see a fit between the training and their career goals, and have the basic skills needed for participating in the program. Managers can influence a ready attitude in a variety of ways—for example, by providing feedback that encourages employees, establishing rewards for learning, and communicating with employees about the organization's career paths and future needs.

wrongful discharge

First, this means the discharge may not violate an implied agreement. Terminating an employee may violate an implied agreement if the employer had promised the employee job security or if the action is inconsistent with company policies. An example might be that an organization has stated that an employee with an unexcused absence will receive a warning for the first violation, but an angry supervisor fires an employee for being absent on the day of an important meeting. Another reason a discharge may be considered wrongful is that it violates public policy. Violations of public policy include terminating the employee for refusing to do something illegal, unethical, or unsafe. Suppose an employee refuses to dump chemicals into the sewer system; firing that employee could be a violation of public policy. It is also a violation of public policy to terminate an employee for doing what the law requires—for example, cooperating with a government investigation, reporting illegal behavior by the employer, or reporting for jury duty.

interviewing techniques

In a nondirective interview, the interviewer has great discretion in choosing questions. The candidate's reply to one question may suggest other questions to ask. Nondirective interviews typically include open-ended questions about the candidate's strengths, weaknesses, career goals, and work experience. Because these interviews give the interviewer wide latitude, their reliability is not great, and some interviewers ask questions that are not valid or even legal. A structured interview establishes a set of questions for the interviewer to ask. Ideally, the questions are related to job requirements and cover relevant knowledge, skills, and experiences. The interviewer is supposed to avoid asking questions that are not on the list. Although interviewers may object to being restricted, the results may be more valid and reliable than with a nondirective interview. A situational interview is a structured interview in which the interviewer describes a situation likely to arise on the job and asks the candidate what he or she would do in that situation. This type of interview may have high validity in predicting job performance.39 A behavior description interview (BDI) is a structured interview in which the interviewer asks the candidate to describe how he or she handled a type of situation in the past. Questions about candidates' actual experiences tend to have the highest validity.

experiential programs

In experiential programs, participants learn concepts and then apply them by simulating the behaviors involved and analyzing the activity, connecting it with real-life situations. Experiential training programs should follow several guidelines. A program should be related to a specific business problem. Participants should feel challenged and move outside their comfort zones but within limits that keep their motivation strong and help them understand the purpose of the program. -A training company called Pendaran offers its clients a three-day simulation of a golf cart factory at its offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The program's goal is to train workers and supervisors to think calmly and creatively under pressure. But as staffers bombard the participants with one challenge after another, the trainees come to appreciate the need to plan how they will meet job requirements, rather than simply react to one preventable crisis after another.

Another form of group building is action learning.

In this type of training, teams or work groups get an actual problem, work on solving it and commit to an action plan, and are accountable for carrying out the plan. Ideally, the project is one for which the efforts and results will be visible not only to participants but also to others in the organization. The visibility and impact of the task are intended to make participation exciting, relevant, and engaging. At Automatic Data Processing, action learning assigns teams of 10 managers to study a real business problem or opportunity facing the company and present recommendations to senior executives.34 To heighten learning, organizations can get their best leaders involved as mentors and coaches to the participants. The effectiveness of action learning has not been formally evaluated. This type of training seems to result in a great deal of learning, however, and employees are able to apply what they learn because action learning involves actual problems the organization is facing. The group approach also helps teams identify behaviors that interfere with problem solving.

he most effective way to improve performance varies according to the employee's ability and motivation. In general, when employees have high levels of ability and motivation, they perform at or above standards. But when they lack ability, motivation, or both, corrective action is needed. The type of action called for depends on what the employee lacks:

Lack of ability—When a motivated employee lacks knowledge, skills, or abilities in some area, the manager may offer coaching, training, and more detailed feedback. Sometimes it is appropriate to restructure the job so the employee can handle it. Lack of motivation—Managers with an unmotivated employee can explore ways to demonstrate that the employee is being treated fairly and rewarded adequately. The solution may be as simple as more positive feedback (praise). Employees may need a referral for counseling or help with stress management. Lack of both—Performance may improve if the manager directs the employee's attention to the significance of the problem by withholding rewards or providing specific feedback. If the employee does not respond, the manager may have to demote or terminate the employee. As a rule, employees who combine high ability with high motivation are solid performers. However, managers should by no means ignore these employees on the grounds of leaving well enough alone. Rather, such employees are likely to appreciate opportunities for further development. Rewards and direct feedback help to maintain these employees' high motivation levels.

As a predictor of job dissatisfaction, nothing surpasses the nature of the task itself

Many aspects of a task have been linked to dissatisfaction. Of particular significance are the complexity of the task, the degree of physical strain and exertion required, and the value the employee places on the task. In general, employees (especially women) are bored and dissatisfied with simple, repetitive jobs. People also are more dissatisfied with jobs requiring a great deal of physical strain and exertion.

mentoring continued

Mentors and protégés can both benefit from a mentoring relationship. -Protégés receive career support, including coaching, protection, sponsorship, challenging assignments, and visibility among the organization's managers. -mentees also receive benefits of a positive relationship—a friend and role model who accepts them, has a positive opinion toward them, and gives them a chance to talk about their worries. -Employees with mentors are also more likely to be promoted, earn higher salaries, and have more influence within their organization. -Acting as a mentor gives managers a chance to develop their interpersonal skills and increase their feelings that they are contributing something important to the organization. Working with a technically trained protégé on matters such as new research in the field may also increase the mentor's technical knowledge.

role conflict

is an employee's recognition that demands of the job are incompatible or contradictory; a person cannot meet all the demands. -Also, many employees may feel conflict between work roles and family roles.

alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Open-door policy—Based on the expectation that two people in conflict should first try to arrive at a settlement together, the organization has a policy of making managers available to hear complaints. Typically, the first "open door" is that of the employee's immediate supervisor, and if the employee does not get a resolution from that person, the employee may appeal to managers at higher levels. This policy works only to the degree that employees trust management and managers who hear complaints listen and are able to act. Peer review—The people in conflict take their conflict to a panel composed of representatives from the organization at the same levels as the people in the dispute. The panel hears the case and tries to help the parties arrive at a settlement. To set up a panel to hear disputes as they arise, the organization may assign managers to positions on the panel and have employees elect nonmanagement panel members. Mediation—A neutral party from outside the organization hears the case and tries to help the people in conflict arrive at a settlement. The process is not binding, meaning the mediator cannot force a solution. Arbitration—A professional arbitrator from outside the organization hears the case and resolves it by making a decision. Most arbitrators are experienced employment lawyers or retired judges. The employee and employer both have to accept this person's decision.

formal education

Organizations may support employee development through a variety of formal educational programs, either at the workplace or off-site. These may include workshops designed specifically for the organization's employees, short courses offered by consultants or universities, university programs offered to employees who live on campus during the program, and executive MBA programs (which enroll managers to meet on weekends or evenings to earn a master's degree in business administration). These programs may involve lectures by business experts, business games and simulations, experiential programs, and meetings with customers.

Several kinds of errors and biases commonly influence performance measurements:

People often tend to give a higher evaluation to people they consider similar to themselves. Most of us think of ourselves as effective, so if others are like us, they must be effective, too. Research has demonstrated that this effect is strong. Unfortunately, it is sometimes wrong, and when similarity is based on characteristics such as race or sex, the decisions may be discriminatory.29 If the rater compares an individual, not against an objective standard, but against other employees, contrast errors occur. A competent performer who works with exceptional people may be rated lower than competent simply because of the contrast. Raters make distributional errors when they tend to use only one part of a rating scale. The error is called leniency when the reviewer rates everyone near the top, strictness when the rater favors lower rankings, and central tendency when the rater puts everyone near the middle of the scale. Distributional errors make it difficult to compare employees rated by the same person. Also, if different raters make different kinds of distributional errors, scores by these raters cannot be compared. Raters often let their opinion of one quality color their opinion of others. For example, someone who speaks well might be seen as helpful or talented in other areas simply because of the overall good impression created by this one quality. Or someone who is occasionally tardy might be seen as lacking in motivation. When the bias is in a favorable direction, this is called the halo error. When it involves negative ratings, it is called the horns error. Halo error can mistakenly tell employees they don't need to improve in any area, while horns error can cause employees to feel frustrated and defensive.

Two kinds of research are possible for arriving at criterion-related validity:

Predictive validation—This research uses the test scores of all applicants and looks for a relationship between the scores and future performance. The researcher administers the tests, waits a set period of time, and then measures the performance of the applicants who were hired. Concurrent validation—This type of research administers a test to people who currently hold a job, then compares their scores to existing measures of job performance. If the people who score highest on the test also do better on the job, the test is assumed to be valid.

Training designed to change employee attitudes about diversity and/or develop skills needed to work with a diverse workforce is called diversity training. These programs generally emphasize either attitude awareness and change or behavior change.

Programs that focus on attitudes have objectives to increase participants' awareness of cultural and ethnic differences, as well as differences in personal characteristics and physical characteristics (such as disabilities). These programs are based on the assumption that people who become aware of differences and their stereotypes about those differences will be able to avoid letting stereotypes influence their interactions with people. Many of these programs use video and experiential exercises to increase employees' awareness of the negative emotional and performance effects of stereotypes and resulting behaviors on members of minority groups. A risk of these programs—especially when they define diversity mainly in terms of race, ethnicity, and sex—is that they may alienate white male employees, who conclude that if the company values diversity more, it values them less. Diversity training is more likely to get everyone onboard if it emphasizes respecting and valuing all the organization's employees in order to bring out the best work from everyone to open up the best opportunities for everyone.

Creating a formal discipline process is a primary responsibility of the human resource department. The HR professional should consult with supervisors and managers to identify unacceptable behaviors and establish rules and consequences for violating the rules. The rules should cover disciplinary problems such as the following behaviors encountered in many organizations:

Tardiness Absenteeism Unsafe work practices Poor quantity or quality of work Sexual harassment of co-workers Coming to work impaired by alcohol or drugs Theft of company property Cyberslacking (conducting personal business online during work hours)

Research shows that an effective program for developing high-potential employees has three stages

Selection of high-potential employees—Organizations may select outstanding performers and employees who have completed elite academic programs, such as earning a master's degree in business administration from a prestigious university. They may also use the results of psychological tests such as assessment centers. Developmental experiences—As employees participate in developmental experiences, the organization identifies those who succeed in the experiences. The organization looks for employees who continue to show qualities associated with success in top jobs, such as communication skills, leadership talent, and willingness to make sacrifices for the organization. In today's high-performance business environment, these assessments should measure whether participants in the program are demonstrating an ability to lead and delivering results that contribute to the company's success. Employees who display these qualities continue to be considered high-potential employees. Active involvement with the CEO—High-potential employees seen by top management as fitting into the organization's culture and having personality characteristics necessary for representing the company become actively involved with the chief executive officer. The CEO exposes these employees to the organization's key people and gives them a greater understanding of the organization's culture. The development of high-potential employees is a slow process. Reaching stage 3 may take 15 to 20 years.

utility

Selection procedures such as testing and interviewing cost money. They should cost significantly less than the benefits of hiring the new employees. Methods that provide economic value greater than the cost of using them are said to have utility.

Data Gathering

Self-assessment refers to the use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies. The employee's responsibility is to identify opportunities and personal areas needing improvement. The organization's responsibility is to provide assessment information for identifying strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. Self-assessment tools often include psychological tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (described earlier in the chapter), the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, and the Self-Directed Search. The Strong-Campbell inventory helps employees identify their occupational and job interests. The Self-Directed Search identifies employees' preferences for working in different kinds of environments—sales, counseling

Readiness for training also depends on two broad characteristics of the work environment: situational constraints and social support.

Situational constraints -are the limits on training's effectiveness that arise from the situation or the conditions within the organization. Constraints can include a lack of money for training, lack of time for training or practicing, and failure to provide proper tools and materials for learning or applying the lessons of training. Social support -refers to the ways the organization's people encourage training, including giving trainees praise and encouraging words, sharing information about participating in training programs, and expressing positive attitudes toward the organization's training programs

Notification of Layoffs

Sometimes terminations are necessary not because of individuals' misdeeds, but because the organization determines that for economic reasons it must close a facility. An organization that plans such broad-scale layoffs may be subject to the Workers' Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act. This federal law requires that organizations with more than 100 employees give 60 days' notice before any closing or layoff that will affect at least 50 full-time employees. If employers covered by this law do not give notice to the employees (and their union, if applicable), they may have to provide back pay and fringe benefits and pay penalties as well. Several states and cities have similar laws, and the federal law contains a number of exemptions. Therefore, it is important to seek legal advice before implementing a plant closing.

Using customer evaluations of employee performance is appropriate in two situations.

The first is when an employee's job requires direct service to the customer or linking the customer to other services within the organization. Second, customer evaluations are appropriate when the organization is interested in gathering information to determine what products and services the customer wants. That is, customer evaluations contribute to the organization's goals by enabling HRM to support the organization's marketing activities. In this regard, customer evaluations are useful both for evaluating an employee's performance and for helping to determine whether the organization can improve customer service by making changes in HRM activities such as training or compensation. The weakness of customer surveys for performance measurement is their expense. The expenses of a traditional survey can add up to hundreds of dollars to evaluate one individual. Many organizations therefore limit the information gathering to short periods once a year.

To be effective, OJT programs should include several characteristics:

The organization should issue a policy statement describing the purpose of OJT and emphasizing the organization's support for it. The organization should specify who is accountable for conducting OJT. This accountability should be included in the relevant job descriptions. The organization should review OJT practices at companies in similar industries. Managers and peers should be trained in OJT principles. Employees who conduct OJT should have access to lesson plans, checklists, procedure manuals, training manuals, learning contracts, and progress report forms. Before conducting OJT with an employee, the organization should assess the employee's level of basic skills.

dysfunctional managers

These dysfunctional behaviors include insensitivity to others, inability to be a team player, arrogance, poor conflict-management skills, inability to meet business objectives, and inability to adapt to change. For example, a manager who has strong technical knowledge but is abrasive and discourages employees from contributing their ideas is likely to have difficulty motivating employees and may alienate people inside and outside the organization.

Usually, the needs assessment begins with the organization analysis.

This is a process for determining the appropriateness of training by evaluating the characteristics of the organization. The organization analysis looks at training needs in light of the organization's strategy, resources available for training, and management's support for training activities. Training needs will vary depending on whether the organization's strategy is based on growing or shrinking its personnel, whether it is seeking to serve a broad customer base or focusing on the specific needs of a narrow market segment, and various other strategic scenarios. An organization that concentrates on serving a niche market may need to continually update its workforce on a specialized skills set. A company that is cutting costs with a downsizing strategy may need to train employees who will be laid off in job search skills. The employees who remain following the downsizing may need cross-training so that they can handle a wider variety of responsibilities.

behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)

builds on the critical-incidents approach. The BARS method is intended to define performance dimensions specifically using statements of behavior that describe different levels of performance. (The statements are "anchors" of the performance levels.) -For example, consider the various levels of behavior associated with a patrol officer preparing for duty. The highest rating on the 7-point scale could include the following behaviors: early to work; gathers all necessary equipment needed for work; and previews previous shift's activities and any news/updates before roll call. The lowest statement on the scale (rating 1) describes behavior associated with poor performance (e.g. late for roll call; does not check equipment; and not prepared for shift activities). These statements are based on data about past performance. The organization gathers many critical incidents representing effective and ineffective performance, then classifies them from most to least effective

validity

describes the extent to which performance on the measure (such as a test score) is related to what the measure is designed to assess (such as job performance).

feedback

employees receive information about their skills and knowledge and where these assets fit into the organization's plans. The employee's responsibility is to identify what skills she or he could realistically develop in light of the opportunities available. The organization's responsibility is to communicate the performance evaluation and the opportunities available to the employee, given the organization's long-range plans. Opportunities might include promotions and transfers.

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

employers must verify and maintain records on the legal rights of applicants to work in the United States. They do this by having applicants fill out the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Form I-9 and present documents showing their identity and eligibility to work. Employers must complete their portion of each Form I-9, check the applicant's documents, and retain the Form I-9 for at least three years.

Costs associated with both types of turnovers

involuntary turnover- recruiting, selecting, and training requirements lost productivity lawsuits workplace violence Voluntary Turnover- recruiting, selecting, and training requirements lost productivity loss of talented employees

interactional justice

is a judgment that the organization carried out its actions in a way that took the employee's feelings into account. It is a judgment about the ways that managers interact with their employees. A disciplinary action meets the standards of interactional justice if the manager explains to the employee how the action is procedurally just. The manager should listen to the employee. The manager should also treat the employee with dignity and respect and should empathize with the employee's feelings. Even when a manager discharges an employee for doing something wrong, the manager can speak politely and state the reasons for the action. These efforts to achieve interactional justice are especially important when managing an employee who has a high level of hostility and is at greater risk of responding with violence

coaching

is a peer or manager who works with an employee to motivate the employee, help him or her develop skills, and provide reinforcement and feedback. Coaches may play one or more of three roles41: Working one-on-one with an employee, as when giving feedback. Helping employees learn for themselves—for example, helping them find experts and teaching them to obtain feedback from others Providing resources such as mentors, courses, or job experiences

organizational behavior modification (OBM)

is a plan for managing the behavior of employees through a formal system of feedback and reinforcement. Specific OBM techniques vary, but most have four components10: 1. Define a set of key behaviors necessary for job performance. 2. Use a measurement system to assess whether the employee exhibits the key behaviors. 3. Inform employees of the key behaviors, perhaps in terms of goals for how often to exhibit the behaviors. 4. Provide feedback and reinforcement based on employees' behavior.

Following the organizational assessment, needs assessment turns to the remaining areas of analysis: person and task. The person analysis

is a process for determining individuals' needs and readiness for training. It involves answering several questions: Do performance deficiencies result from a lack of knowledge, skill, or ability? (If so, training is appropriate; if not, other solutions are more relevant.) Who needs training? Are these employees ready for training? The answers to these questions help the manager identify whether training is appropriate and which employees need training. In certain situations, such as the introduction of a new technology or service, all employees may need training. However, when needs assessment is conducted in response to a performance problem, training is not always the best solution. The person analysis is therefore critical when training is considered in response to a performance problem.

Management by objectives (MBO)

is a system in which people at each level of the organization set goals in a process that flows from top to bottom, so employees at all levels are contributing to the organization's overall goals. These goals become the standards for evaluating each employee's performance. An MBO system has three components15: Goals are specific, difficult, and objective. Managers and their employees work together to set the goals. The manager gives objective feedback through the rating period to monitor progress toward the goals.

behavioral observation scale (BOS)

is a variation of a BARS. Like a BARS, a BOS is developed from critical incidents. However, while a BARS discards many examples in creating the rating scale, a BOS uses many of them to define all behaviors necessary for effective performance (or behaviors that signal ineffective performance). As a result, a BOS may use 15 behaviors to define levels of performance. Also, a BOS asks the manager to rate the frequency with which the employee has exhibited the behavior during the rating period. These ratings are averaged to compute an overall performance rating. -A major drawback of this method is the amount of information required. A BOS can have 80 or more behaviors, and the manager must remember how often the employee exhibited each behavior in a 6- to 12-month rating period. This is taxing enough for one employee, but managers often must rate 10 or more employees. Even so, compared to BARS and graphic rating scales, managers and employees have said they prefer BOS for ease of use, providing feedback, maintaining objectivity, and suggesting training need

mentor

is an experienced, productive senior employee who helps develop a less-experienced employee, called the protégé. Most mentoring relationships develop informally as a result of interests or values shared by the mentor and protégé. -According to research, the employees most likely to seek and attract a mentor have certain personality characteristics: emotional stability, ability to adapt their behavior to the situation, and high needs for power and achievement. -Mentoring relationships also can develop as part of the organization's planned effort to bring together successful senior employees with less-experienced employees.

internship

is on-the-job learning sponsored by an educational institution as a component of an academic program. The sponsoring school works with local employers to place students in positions where they can gain experience related to their area of study.

procedural justice

is their judgment that fair methods were used to determine the consequences an employee receives. shows six principles that determine whether people perceive procedures as fair. The procedures should be consistent from one person to another, and the manager using them should suppress any personal biases. The procedures should be based on accurate information, not rumors or falsehoods. The procedures should also be correctable, meaning the system includes safeguards, such as channels for appealing a decision or correcting errors. The procedures should take into account the concerns of all the groups affected—for example, by gathering information from employees, customers, and managers. Finally, the procedures should be consistent with prevailing ethical standards, such as concerns for privacy and honesty.

role ambiguity

is uncertainty about what the organization and others expect from the employee in terms of what to do or how to do it. Employees suffer when they are unclear about work methods, scheduling, and performance criteria, perhaps because others hold different ideas about these. Employees particularly want to know how the organization will evaluate their performance. When they aren't sure, they become dissatisfied.

Simple ranking

makes managers to rank employees in their group from the highest performer to the poorest performer. In a variation of this approach, alternation ranking, the manager works from a list of employees. First, the manager decides which employee is best and crosses that person's name off the list. From the remaining names, the manager selects the worst employee and crosses off that name. The process continues with the manager selecting the second best, second worst, third best, and so on, until all the employees have been ranked. The major downside of ranking involves validity.

Strategic purpose

means effective performance management helps the organization achieve its business objectives. It does this by helping to link employees' behavior with the organization's goals. Performance management starts with defining what the organization expects from each employee. It measures each employee's performance to identify where those expectations are and are not being met. This enables the organization to take corrective action, such as training, incentives, or discipline. Performance management can achieve its strategic purpose only when measurements are truly linked to the organization's goals and when the goals and feedback about performance are communicated to employees

needs assessment

the process of evaluating the organization, individual employees, and employees' tasks to determine what kinds of training, if any, are necessary. As this definition indicates, the needs assessment answers questions in three broad areas Organization—What is the context in which training will occur? Person—Who needs training? Task—What subjects should the training cover?

personnel selection

organizations make decisions about who will or will not be allowed to join the organization. Selection begins with the candidates identified through recruitment and with attempts to reduce their number to the individuals best qualified to perform the available jobs. At the end of the process, the selected individuals are placed in jobs with the organization. - First, a human resource professional reviews the applications received to see which meet the basic requirements of the job. - For candidates who meet the basic requirements, the organization administers tests and reviews work samples to rate the candidates' abilities. Those with the best abilities are invited to the organization for one or more interviews. -Often, supervisors and team members are involved in this stage of the process. By this point, the decision makers are beginning to form opinions about which candidates are most desirable. -For the top few candidates, the organization should check references and conduct background checks to verify that the organization's information is correct. -Then supervisors, teams, and other decision makers select a person to receive a job offer.

role overload

results when too many expectations or demands are placed on a person. (The opposite situation is role underload.) After an organization downsizes, it may expect so much of the remaining employees that they experience role overload.

Progressive Discipline

spoken and then written warnings, temporary suspension, and finally, termination. This process fulfills the purpose of discipline by teaching employees what is expected of them and creating a situation in which employees must try to do what is expected. It seeks to prevent misbehavior (by publishing rules) and to correct, rather than merely punish, misbehavior. Such procedures may seem exasperatingly slow, especially when the employee's misdeeds hurt the team's performance. In the end, however, if an employee must be discharged, careful use of the procedure increases other employees' belief that the organization is fair and reduces the likelihood that the problem employee will sue (or at least that the employee will win in court). For situations in which misbehavior is dangerous, the organization may establish a stricter policy, even terminating an employee for the first offense. In that case, it is especially important to communicate the procedure—not only to ensure fairness but also to prevent the dangerous misbehavior.

team training cross-training,

team members understand and practice each other's skills so that they are prepared to step in and take another member's place. In a factory, for example, production workers could be cross-trained to handle all phases of assembly. This enables the company to move them to the positions where they are most needed to complete an order on time.

content validity

that is, consistency between the test items or problems and the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job. A test that is "content valid" exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job. It tests whether the applicant has the knowledge, skills, or ability to handle such situations.

Succession Planning

the process of identifying and tracking high-potential employees who will be able to fill top management positions when they become vacant. Succession planning offers several benefits. It forces senior management to regularly and thoughtfully review the company's leadership talent. It ensures that top-level management talent is available. It provides a set of development experiences that managers must complete to be considered for top management positions, so the organization does not promote managers before they are ready. Succession planning systems also help attract and retain ambitious managerial employees by providing development opportunities. Succession planning focuses on high-potential employees, that is, employees the organization believes can succeed in higher-level business positions such as general manager of a business unit, director of a function (such as marketing or finance), or chief executive officer

The third area of needs assessment is task analysis,

the process of identifying the tasks, knowledge, skills, and behaviors that training should emphasize. Usually, task analysis is conducted along with person analysis. Understanding shortcomings in performance usually requires knowledge about the tasks and work environment as well as the employee. To carry out the task analysis, the HR professional looks at the conditions in which tasks are performed. These conditions include the equipment and environment of the job, time constraints (for example, deadlines), safety considerations, and performance standards. These observations form the basis for a description of work activities, or the tasks required by the person's job. For a selected job, the analyst interviews employees and their supervisors to prepare a list of tasks performed in that job. Then the analyst validates the list by showing it to employees, supervisors, and other subject-matter experts and asking them to complete a questionnaire about the importance, frequency, and difficulty of the tasks. For each task listed, the subject-matter expert uses a sliding scale (for example, 0 = task never performed to 5 = task often performed) to rate the task's importance, frequency, and difficulty.7 The information from these questionnaires is the basis for determining which tasks will be the focus of the training. The person or committee conducting the needs assessment must decide what levels of importance, frequency, and difficulty signal a need for training. Logically, training is most needed for tasks that are important, frequent, and at least moderately difficult.

team training Coordination training

trains the team in how to share information and decisions to obtain the best team performance. This type of training is especially important for commercial aviation and surgical teams. Both of these kinds of teams must monitor different aspects of equipment and the environment, at the same time sharing information to make the most effective decisions regarding patient care or aircraft safety and performance. One way to focus on teamwork behaviors is to have team members participate in an unfamiliar type of project. For example, a group of managers from Thermo Fisher Scientific divided into five teams, each assigned to make one course for the night's dinner. Each team was given the ingredients for a particular dish but not a recipe, and the group members had to figure out how they would solve the problem together. A similar type of learning occurs in a team training program called Dig This, which assigns teams to complete a mission using heavy construction equipment

One form of experiential program, called adventure learning

uses challenging, structured outdoor activities, which may include difficult sports such as dogsledding or mountain climbing. Other activities may be structured tasks like climbing walls, completing rope courses, climbing ladders, or making "trust falls" (in which each trainee stands on a table and falls backward into the arms of other group members). - One key to the success of such programs may be that the organization needs to insist that entire work groups participate together. This encourages people to see, discuss, and correct the kinds of behavior that keep the group from performing well.

outplacement counseling,

which tries to help dismissed employees manage the transition from one job to another. Organizations also may address ongoing poor performance with discussion about whether the employee is a good fit for the current job. Rather than simply firing the poor performer, the supervisor may encourage this person to think about leaving. In this situation, the availability of outplacement counseling may help the employee decide to look for another job. This approach may protect the dignity of the employee who leaves and promote a sense of fairness. Some organizations have their own staff for conducting outplacement counseling. Other organizations have contracts with outside providers to help with individual cases. Either way, the goals for outplacement programs are to help the former employee address the psychological issues associated with losing a job—grief, depression, and fear—while at the same time helping the person find a new job.

mixed-standard scales,

which use several statements describing each trait to produce a final score for that trait. The manager scores the employee in terms of how the employee compares to each statement. To create this scale, the organization determined that the relevant traits are initiative, intelligence, and relations with others. For each trait, sentences were written to describe a person having a high level of that trait, a medium level, and a low level. The sentences for the traits were rearranged so that the nine statements about the three traits are mixed together. The manager who uses this scale reads each sentence, then indicates whether the employee performs above (+), at (0), or below (-) the level described.