HM 466 Exam 2 Chapters 7-9
The most difficult training needs to identify are:
The remedial training needs of current employees.
Although the skill-based approach is becoming more prevalent, it can present several problems:
-Adds to labor costs because employees are paid more under such systems. -May lead to inequity perceptions if two people are doing the same job, yet one is receiving greater pay for acquiring an additional skill. -Is not cost-effective if the organization cannot make use of skilled employees in a way that adds significant value to its products or services. This would occur, for instance, if the system provided no incentive or opportunity for employees to use their newly acquired skills. -Creates a problem of determining when one employee has more skills than another. If such a determination is made on a subjective basis, it may lead to equity problems or even to claims of employment discrimination. -The need to develop additional training programs and certification exams can become an administrative burden.
An appeals system provides a means for employees to obtain a fair hearing if they are dissatisfied with their appraisals. Such a system is beneficial because it:
-Allows employees to voice their concerns -Fosters more accurate ratings-- the fear of a possible challenge may discourage raters from assigning arbitrary or biased ratings -Often prevents the involvement of outside third parties (unions, courts)
Although in some instances individuals who are discharged because they lack requisite job skills should be terminated, training can prevent unnecessary terminations by:
-Building employee job skills, thereby improving job performance. -Improving supervisors' capabilities for managing "underperforming" workers. -Reeducating people whose skills have become obsolete, allowing the organization to assign them to new job responsibilities. -Effective training programs can reduce turnover by strengthening employee loyalty.
To be effective, an individual's goals must be:
-Consistent with goals set at higher organizational levels -Specific and challenging -Realistic and achievable -Measurable
Orientation training provided by HR professionals focuses on organizational, rather than departmental, concerns. Topics typically covered during this HRM phase of orientation training include:
-Corporate history -Corporate products and services -The role and importance of each employee to the corporation -Corporate policy and procedures, such as those related to pay, benefits, work schedules, overtime, career advancement, and EEO.
When underpaid, employees most often attempt to reduce tension in one of the following ways:
-Decrease their inputs by reducing their effort or performance. -Escape the situation. This response may be manifested by a variety of behaviors, such as absenteeism, tardiness, excessive work breaks, or quitting.
A manager can help ensure that material learned in training is applied to the job by these means:
-Discuss with employees what the program covered and how it can be applied to the job -Assign employees tasks that require them to apply the knowledge learned in training. -Give employees coaching and feedback regarding their performance of assigned tasks.
A person's referent other could be any one of several people. People may compare themselves to others:
-Doing the same job within the same organization. -In the same organization, but performing different jobs. -Doing the same job in other organizations.
Flexible benefit plans present a number of advantages:
-Enable employees to choose options that best fit their own needs. -Deciding among the various options makes employees more aware of the cost of the benefits, giving them a real sense of the value of the benefits their employers provide. -Can lower compensation costs because employers no longer have to pay for unwanted benefits. -Employers and employees can save on taxes. Many of the premiums may be paid with pretax dollars, thus lowering the amount of taxes to be paid by both the employee and the employer.
Rater training usually focuses on:
-Establishing work expectations -Observing and documenting behavior -Conducting day-to-day performance feedback and coaching -Appraising performance and avoiding rating errors -Providing written justifications for ratings -Conducting formal performance appraisal feedback conferences -Identifying training needs and formulating a development plan for employees.
To successfully combat mental stress claims for workers' compensation, employers should:
-Formulate a preventative strategy based on an analysis of the workplace to determine stress risks. -Develop programs for stress reduction. -Reduce levels of workplace stress. -Teach workers how to handle stress.
The goals of orientation include:
-Fostering pride in belonging to a quality company -Creating an awareness of the scope of the company's business -Decreasing new employee concerns associated with their new jobs
Benefit costs have been spiraling upward during the past several years. This trend has been caused by a number of factors:
-General increase in health costs -Drastic escalation of prescription drug costs -The continued development of expensive life-saving technology, such as magnetic resonance imaging. -The aging workforce; older people require more health care, and the health care they receive is typically more expensive than that needed by younger workers. -Increase in the usage of mental health professionals following the 9/11 terror attacks
When trying to choose between a behaviorally based method, such as BARS or BOS, and a result-oriented method, such as MBO, a firm should use the following criteria:
-If the appraiser is aware of the behavior required for the job and has the opportunity to observe that behavior, use a behaviorally based method. -If valid output measures are available, use a results-oriented method. -If both circumstances exist, use either or both approaches. -If neither circumstances exist, use a GRS.
The use of 360-degree ratings for evaluative purposes could lead to the following consequences:
-Managers try to sabotage the program by striking a deal with employees to give high ratings in exchange for high ratings -Anonymous ratings cannot be used to legally document adverse personnel actions. However, if anonymity is discarded, raters may be hesitant to give unfavorable ratings. -The 360-degree ratings may encourage the wrong type of behavior. Might give customers discounts for favorable ratings.
Studies have shown that much of the pay gap is due to the fact that men are more likely than women to work in occupations and industries that traditionally pay higher salaries. The pay gap has also been attributed to any or all of the following factors:
-Many more women than men work part-time -Women tend to stay in the workforce for shorter periods of time and thus have less seniority than men do. -Women are less likely to effectively negotiate starting salaries. These factors account for about 80% of the pay gap. The remaining 20% is due largely to the arbitrary undervaluing of jobs traditionally held by women; if women were paid based on their jobs "true" worth, the pay gap would disappear. This "equal pay for equal worth" standard is called comparable worth
When workers suffer job-related injuries or illnesses, the insurance system provides compensation for:
-Medical expenses -Lost wages from the time of injury until their return to the job; employees are given a percentage of their income, the size of which varies from state to state. -Death (paid to family members), dismemberment, or permanent disability resulting from job-related injuries.
Line managers play key roles in orienting new employees:
-Provide the employee with a tour of company facilities and introduce them to key organizational members working in other departments. -Introduce the new worker to coworkers within the department -Discuss the employee's job responsibilities and the manager's performance expectations. -Explain the nitty-gritty aspects of the job of immediate concern to the employee, such as meals, breaks, parking, job procedures, etc.
Human resource development departments serve these roles:
-Providing employee orientation training -Contributing to management development programs -Providing training and development -Evaluating training
Most organizations spend a great deal of time and money on training and development because these practices can have such an important bearing on competitive advantage. Consider the following facts:
-The average employee receives 15 hours of training per year; the total amount of hours spent in training in the US is 15 billion per year. -The average large company spends $527,000 per year on training and development; the average small company spends $218,000. -Nationwide, $51 billion is spent annually on formal training programs. -On average, 20 million employees receive employer-sponsored education per year.
You must be aware of the fact that an employee is to be entitled to receive overtime pay for work conducted under the following circumstances:
-The employee voluntarily works past quitting time in order to finish a task -The employee arrives at work early and begins working before the official start of the workday. -The employee takes work home -The employee takes a rest break of 20 minutes or less or takes a meal break of less than 30 minutes. -The employee performs some work during a break (must be compensated for entire break period) -The employer requires worker to be in a designated place at a specific time to be ready for work (even if the employee does no work during that time)
You should hold periodic meetings with your employees to discuss their performance. These meetings should be brief, informal, and employee-centered. Their objective is to identify problems the employee is facing and to discuss solutions to these problems. Without such sessions:
-You may fail to gain an accurate picture of the subordinate's progress toward meeting performance expectations. -You may be unaware of any performance problems subordinates are having -Your employees may be unaware of what is expected of them or how well they are doing. They might then approach annual review sessions with great anxiety.
Strategies for Containing Workers' Compensation Costs
1. Accident Prevention -Workplace inspections -Safety training -Safety committees -Safety incentives 2. Claims Management -Managed care -Case management -Early intervention 3. Audit Procedures -Double-dipping with group medical -Fraudulent workers' compensation claims -Adherence to medical fee schedule 4. Medical Treatment -Prearranged medical care -Workplace physician house calls
To lessen the chance of having to pay for unauthorized overtime, you should take the following steps:
1. Communicate the company's overtime policy to all nonexempt employees. 2. Do not pressure or even encourage employees to report for work early, stay late, or take work home. 3. Do not penalize employees simply because they work only scheduled hours and do not come in early or stay late without being told to do so. 4. Be aware of common employee practices. 5. Do not permit or require employees to put in extra, off-the-clock time.
Perquisites and services that may be offered to employees as benefits include:
1. Employee Perquisites -Pay for time not worked (vacation, holidays, sick days, personal leave) -Reimbursement for educational expenses -Discount on company products or services -Automobile and homeowner insurance -Employee savings plans -Tax-sheltered annuities 2. Employee Services -Employer-sponsored child care and care for sick children. -Wellness programs -Employee assistance programs 3. Executive Perquisites -Club memberships -Stock options -Company cars -Liberal expense accounts -Reserved parking -Personal finance assistance -Relocation expenses -Golden parachutes (general severance pay if job is lost because of merger or takeover)
When conducting a performance analysis, you should follow these steps:
1. Examine the job requirements to determine what is expected or desired of the individual. 2. Assess the individual's performance in relation to expectations. 3. Analyze any discrepancy between the two and determine whether it is caused by knowledge deficiency or execution deficiency 4. Implement changes for improving performance.
Designing an appraisal system
1. Gaining support for the system 2. Choosing the appropriate rating instrument -Practicality -Cost -Nature of the job 3. Choosing the raters -Supervisory ratings -Peer ratings -Self ratings -360-degree feedback 4. Determining the appropriate timing of appraisals 5. Ensuring appraisal fairness -Upper-level management reviews -Appeals system
To maximize learning, the program should be presented in a way that:
1. Gains and maintains the trainees' attention. 2. Provides the trainees with an opportunity to practice the skills being taught. 3. Provides the trainees with feedback on their performance.
Companies often offer employees three types of insurance programs as benefits.
1. Health insurance 2. Long-term disability insurance 3. Life insurance
A skill-based pay program is usually implemented as follows:
1. Identify tasks that need to be performed 2. Determine what skills are needed to perform the tasks. 3. Develop tests or measures to determine whether an individual has learned the skills. 4. Price each skill based on its value to the organization. 5. Communicate to employees the skills they can learn and how much they will be paid for learning them.
Conferences should be conducted in the following sequence:
1. Inform employees 2. Arrange a time and place 3. Review information 4. Starting the interview 5. Discuss the worker's performance 6. Discuss implications 7. Set goals for improvement
The objectives of annual conferences should be to:
1. Inform employees of their ratings and how the information will be used (pay raises, promotions) 2. Keep effective workers on target. 3. Improve ineffective workers' performance
Employees will believe their pay is equitable when they perceive these circumstances:
1. It is fair relative to the pay coworkers in the same organization receive (called internal consistency) 2. It is fair relative to the pay received by workers in other organizations who hold similar positions (called external competitiveness) 3. It fairly reflects their input to the organization (called employee contributions).
A successful OJT program should be designed as follows:
1. List all the information/skills the trainees need to learn. 2. Set learning objectives 3. Devise an OJT experience that ensures the trainee has an opportunity to observe a competent worker perform each important task of the job. 4. When demonstrating a task, the worker should explain the "hows" and "whys" to the trainee. 5. Give the trainee an opportunity to perform each of the important tasks of the job. He or she should be provided with sufficient opportunity to practice the task, accompanied with necessary feedback.
The law imposes constraints on organizational pay practices in two major areas:
1. Minimum wage and overtime 2. Pay discrimination
To make employees aware of the value of their benefits, companies should inform them of the provisions of the benefits package and attempt to generate enthusiasm for it. The information should be conveyed in several ways:
1. Prepare an easy-to-understand handbook to describe the cost and coverage of each benefit option. 2. Draft periodic supplements to the handbooks to keep it up to date. 3. Appoint an HR professional to be available for answering questions. 4. Conduct regularly scheduled training classes. Go over only one or two benefit areas per session to avoid information overload. 5. Use the company newsletter to get the word out on new benefits or for updates on existing programs.
A behavior modeling program typically consists of the following steps:
1. Present an overview of the material 2. Describe the procedural steps 3. Model or demonstrate the procedural steps 4. Allow guided practice
The best evaluation designs typically include the following features:
1. Pretest: To show the trainees' base or pretraining level of knowledge, skill. or performance. 2. Posttest: To show the trainees' post-training level of knowledge, skill, or performance. 3. Control Group: Identical in makeup to the group trained, except that these people have not received the training.
Line managers specific roles in the training and development process include:
1. Providing employee orientation training 2. Assessing training needs and planning developmental strategies 3. Providing on-the-job training 4. Ensuring transfer of training
Unemployment compensation laws in most states disqualify workers from receiving benefits under the following conditions:
1. Quitting one's job without good cause 2. Being discharged for misconduct connected with work 3. Refusing suitable work while unemployed
The development of a point-factor rating scale consists of the following steps:
1. Select and carefully define the compensable factors that will be used to determine job worth. 2. Determine the number of levels or degrees for each factor. The only rule for establishing the number of degrees is that some jobs should fall at each level. 3. Carefully define each degree level. Each adjacent level must be clearly distinguishable. 4. Weigh each compensable factor in terms of its relative importance for determining job worth. 5. Assign point values to the degrees associated with each compensable factor. Factors assigned greater weights in step 4 would be allotted a greater number of possible points for each degree level.
To meet the needs of new workers, HRM departments typically offer three types of training:
1. Technical 2. Orientation 3. Literacy: In addition to improving job performance, this often provides individuals with abilities they will need to benefit from more advanced training, such as learning how to operate a new piece of technical equipment.
Other advantages associated with skill-based pay systems are as follows:
1. The additional skills learned by the workers allow them to perform all portions of the production process. They can thus work together to end bottlenecks. 2. Employees with broadened skills will no longer be limited to a perspective that comes from doing just one step in the process. Consequently, they: -Can communicate more effectively with employees doing other parts of the production or service because they now understand what these people are doing. -Can solve problems more effectively because they have a broader understanding of the organization. -Would be more committed to see that the organization operates effectively because they have an overview of the entire operation.
Description of job categories exempted from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA: OUTSIDE SALES EMPLOYEES
1. The employee's primary duty must be making sales or obtaining contracts for services or for the use of facilities for which consideration will be paid by the client or customer. 2. The employee must be customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer's place or places of business. *There is no minimum salary requirement for this category.
Description of job categories exempted from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA: EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEES
1. The employee's primary duty must be managing the enterprise or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise. 2. The employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent. 3. The employee must have the authority to hire and fire other employees, or the employee's suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion, or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight. 4. Salary must be at least $455 per week
Description of job categories exempted from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA: ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES
1. The employee's primary duty must be the performance of office or nonmanual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer's customers. 2. The employee's primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. 3. Salary must be at least $455 per week.
Description of job categories exempted from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA: LEARNED PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES
1. The employees primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work that is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring consistent exercise of discretion and judgment. 2. The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning. 3. The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction. 4. Salary must be at least $455 per week.
Description of job categories exempted from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA: COMPUTER EMPLOYEES
1. The primary duty of an application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine software, hardware, or system functional applications; or (b) design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications; or (c) design, documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or (d) a combination of duties described in (a), (b), and (c), the performance of which requires the same level of skills. 2. The employee must be employed as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other skilled worker in the computer field. 3. The employee must earn a salary of at least $455 per week or, on a fee basis, 26.63 an hour.
Some measuring instruments that may be used for evaluation purposes include:
1. Trainee reactions 2. Testing 3. Performance appraisal 4. Records of organizational performance
Elements of an effective succession planning program:
1. Tying management development to HR planning: What are the projected staffing needs for the next several years? 2. Defining managerial requirements: These qualifications should be based on information derived from a job analysis. 3. Assessing management potential: At this point, the organization must assess the abilities and career interests of its employees. 4. Identifying career paths 5. Developing replacement charts
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
A 1938 federal statute that regulates minimum wage and overtime pay. -Covers all employers engaged in interstate commerce. -Some small organizations, such as retail establishments, motion picture theaters, and taxicab companies, are exempt. -The act also exempts certain types of employees from its minimum wage and overtime requirements.
Job Evaluation Committee
A committee of individuals convened for the purpose of making job evaluations. Those serving on the committee represent the various functional areas and thus, collectively, are familiar with all the jobs being evaluated. -Such individuals typically include department managers, VPs, plant managers, and HR professionals. -The committee chair is usually the HR professional or an outside consultant.
Pay Policy
A company policy stipulating how well it will pay its employees relative to the market. -When setting its pay policy, a company must consider its strategic plan.
Skill-Based Pay
A compensation approach that grants employees pay increases for acquiring new, job-related skills. -Based on the assumption that workers who acquire additional skills can make a greater contribution to the organization and, thus, should be paid more.
Point-Factor Method
A job evaluation method in which each job is assigned points for compensable factors.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
A law requiring employers to follow certain rules to ensure that employees will receive the pension benefits due them, even if the company goes bankrupt or merges with another firm. -Employers must pay annual insurance premiums to a government agency in order to provide funds from which guaranteed pensions can be paid. -ERISA requires that employers inform workers what their pension-related benefits include.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
A law that provides a continuation of health insurance coverage for up to 3 years for employees who leave a company through no fault of their own. -Such employees are required to pay the premiums themselves, but at the company's group rate.
Social Security Act
A law that provides eligible workers with retirement and disability incomes and Medicare coverage. -Provides monthly benefits to retired workers who are at least 62 years old, disabled workers, and their eligible spouses and dependents. -It is financed by contributions made by the employee and matched by the employer, computed as a percentage of the employee's earnings. -Monthly benefits are based on the contributions made by the worker during the last 3 years of employment.
Career Resource Centers
A location in which companies make learning opportunities available to interested managerial candidates.
Task Force
A management development activity in which a team of trainees tries to resolve an actual organizational problem.
Action Learning
A management development activity in which management gives candidates real problems to solve.
Job Rotation
A method of management development in which companies rotate trainees through a number of departments to serve managers.
Performance Analysis
A method of training needs analysis in which managers identify their employees' performance deficiencies and determine which of these deficiencies can be effectively remedied through training.
Equity Theory
A pay fairness theory that states that people form equity beliefs by comparing their outcome/input ratio to that of a referent other. -Formulated by J. Stacy Adams.
Action Plan
A plan developed by trainees at the end of a session that indicates the steps they will take on the job to apply the new skills. The likelihood that trainees will apply newly learned skill increases when trainees develop an action plan at the conclusion of the training program.
Training Need
A problem, such as poor job performance or inadequate skill level, that can be rectified through training. -Exists when employees' job behavior is somehow inappropriate, or their level of knowledge or skill is less than that required by the job, and such problems can be corrected through training.
Implicit Personality Theory
A rater's personal theory of how different types of people behave in certain situations. This causes the organization to be unable to identify employees' strengths and weaknesses.
Management by Objectives (MBO)
A rating instrument comprised of objectives and performance standards for meeting them. It is a management system designed to achieve organizational effectiveness by steering each employee's behavior toward the organization's mission. -The MBO process includes goal setting, planning, and evaluation. Strengths: Ensures that each person, team, and business unit focuses its efforts on the task of meeting performance goals. Development of objectives does not require as much effort as does BARS or BOS. Can typically be constructed in less than two weeks. Weaknesses: Does not specify the behaviors required to reach goals. Successful achievement may be partly a function of factors outside the worker's control. Performance standards vary from employee to employee and thus provides no common basis for comparison. Places performance pressure on employees and creates stress.
Graphic Rating Scale (GRS)
A rating instrument comprised of traits anchored by adjectives descriptive of job performance levels. A five- or seven-point rating scale accompanies each trait. Strengths: Practical and cost little to develop. HR professionals can quickly develop such forms, and a single form is applicable to all or most jobs within an organization. Weaknesses: Do not direct behavior because employees do not know what to do to achieve a favorable rating. Fail to provide a good mechanism for providing specific, nonthreatening feedback. Accurate ratings are not likely to be achieved because the points on the rating scale are not clearly defined. Courts frown upon these, saying they are no more than a subjective judgment call and have bias.
Behavior Observation Scale (BOS)
A rating instrument comprised of traits anchored by behaviors. Raters evaluate worker performance on each behavior. It contains a list of desired behaviors required for the successful performance of specific jobs. When using BOS, an appraiser rates job performance by indicating the frequency with which the employee engages in each behavior. -A 5-point scale is used ranging from "almost never" to "almost always". Companies calculate an overall rating for each dimension by adding employees' score on each behavioral item. -BOSs are developed like BARS-- critical incidents are collected and categorized into dimensions. -The key difference between the two methods is that with BOS, each behavior is rated by the appraiser. Strengths: The available evidence is favorable. Both managers and subordinates preferred appraisals based on this over BARS and GRSs. EEO attorneys believed this is more legally defensible than the other two. Effective in directing and monitoring behaviors. Weaknesses: Not always practical because a BOS instrument takes a great deal of time to develop. Developing a BOS for a particular job would not be cost-efficient unless the job had many incumbents.
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
A rating instrument comprised of traits anchored by job behaviors. Raters select the behavior that best describes the worker's performance level. The typical BARS includes 7 or 8 traits, referred to as "dimensions", each anchored by a seven- or nine-point scale. A BARS anchors each trait with examples of specific job behaviors that reflect varying levels of performance. Strengths: Its ability to direct and monitor behavior. The behavioral anchors let employees know what types of behaviors are expected of them and gives appraisers the opportunity to provide behaviorally based feedback. Weaknesses: Its failure may lie in the difficulty raters experience when trying to select the one behavior on the scale that is most indicative of the employee's performance level.
Pay Policy Line
A regression line that shows the statistical relationship between job evaluation points and prevailing market rates. -The appropriate pay rates for non-benchmarking jobs are set based on this line.
Comparable Worth
A standard for judging pay discrimination that calls for equal pay for equal worth.
Workers' Compensation
A state-run, no-fault insurance system that provides income protection for workers experiencing job-related injuries or illnesses.
Salary Survey
A survey that seeks information on pay rates offered by a firm's competitors. -Usually for certain benchmarking jobs
Unemployment Compensation
A system designed to provide income to individuals who have lost a job through no fault of their own. Eligible workers receive weekly stipends for 26 weeks. -The specific amount of the stipend, which varies from state to state, is determined by the wages the claimant was paid during the previous year.
Job Evaluation
A systematic process for determining the worth of a job. -A job's worth is typically evaluated based on "informed judgments" regarding such things as the amount of skill and effort required to perform the job, the difficulty of the job, and the amount of responsibility assumed by the jobholder.
Succession Planning
A systematic process of defining future management requirements and identifying candidates who best meet these requirements.
Interactive Video Training (IVT)
A training method in which a TV screen and a videodisc (or videotape) player are hooked to a microcomputer, and trainees interact with the screen through a keyboard or voice command system. Pros: IVT allows trainees to repeat sections until they respond to training questions correctly. Learners can replay situations that end badly until they are able to succeed. Learners can be at remote locations, and large numbers of workers can be trained at once. Cons: IVT can be somewhat expensive and requires setup in training locations.
Lecture
A training method in which the trainer teaches a topic by verbally communicating the information. Lectures are most appropriate for situations where simple acquisition of knowledge is the goal. Pros: Lectures are ideal for giving simple knowledge-- the history of a company, for example, or a company's new vacation policy. Cons: The downside to lectures is that the communication flows in just one way, and listeners may become bored or impatient, resulting in not paying attention and not acquiring the knowledge presented.
Case Method
A training method in which trainees analyze realistic job situations. Pros: Cases allow trainees to learn through guided discovery and teach them to think critically about problems. Cons: Because trainers who use the case method to train shy away from insisting on right and wrong answers, trainees may not always receive the best guidance. In addition, case study does not provide direct practice.
Behavior Modeling
A training method in which trainees are shown how a task should be performed and then practice the task with feedback until they are competent. Pros: Captures the attention of the learner; provides clear, correct instruction; and monitors progress toward competence. Cons: Critics of behavior modeling cite the amount of time it takes to train workers using this method.
On-the-Job Training (OJT)
A training method in which trainees are taught how to perform their jobs in the actual job setting. Pros: OJT allows trainees to watch more experienced workers and ask them questions as they perform the job. Cons: OJT is often conducted haphazardly, and new employees may feel unprepared to go out on their own. Trainees are shown tasks but do not actually do them, impeding learning.
Role-Playing
A training method in which trainees spontaneously act out some problems involving human interaction. Pros: Role-playing is a good method for teaching better communication and interaction skills. Cons: Role-players may make mistakes without being able to correct them, causing embarrassment and loss of self-confidence. Shy or quiet trainees may feel uncomfortable acting in a group situation.
Job Instruction Training (JIT)
A training method in which trainers demonstrate each step of a task, discuss its key points, and then provide the trainees with guided practice. JIT is very effective for teaching trainees how to perform relatively simple tasks, and then allows the trainee to perform it, one step at a time. Pros: JIT is a good method for teaching tasks that can be broken down into step-by-step procedures. Learners practice under the watchful eye of more experienced workers and gain confidence. Cons: JIT is not the best method for intuitive tasks or those in which case-by-case decisions and alterations need to be made.
Computer-Based Instruction (CBI)
A training method that uses a computer to instruct students through drills/tutorials, games, and simulations. -Drills are question-and-answer exercises where basic facts/procedures are practiced. -Games consist of a description of a situation similar to that faced on the job. -Simulations train students how to operate or maintain a particular piece of equipment. Pros: The high level of interactivity in CBI results in higher levels of trainees' acquisition and retention of the materials taught, offers self-paced learning, and can be cost-saving, especially in terms of simulations. Cons: CBI can be very expensive, and some workers may be frustrated by working with a computer instead of a live person.
Massed Practice
A training procedure in which trainees practice a skill in one session.
Distributed Practice
A training procedure in which trainees practice a skill over several sessions.
Multiphase Training Program
A training program administered in several sessions in which trainees are given "homework" that requires them to apply that lesson back on the job and to discuss this experience during the next training session.
Defined Benefit Plan
A type of pension plan that specifies the amount of pension a worker will receive upon retirement. -If chosen, an employer is committing itself to an unknown cost that can be affected by rates of return on investments, changes in regulations, and future pay levels.
Defined Contribution Plan
A type of pension plan that specifies the rate of employer and employee monthly contributions. -Most employers in recent years have adopted this.
Web-Based Training
A type of training for which students can download courses with a Web browser or run the courses interactively while connected to the Internet using computer software. Pros: Companies cite convenience and lower cost as their primary reasons for implementing web-based programs. Cons: Certain subject matter, such as contract negotiations, customer service, sales, and interpersonal skills training, does not lend itself to web-based methods. Moreover, web-based training makes some participants feel isolated and out of touch.
In most instances, employees become eligible to participate in company pension plans when they reach 21 years of age and have completed one year of service.
After they have satisfied certain age and time requirements, employees become vested, meaning that the pension benefits they have earned are theirs and cannot be revoked.
LTD programs provide replacement income for an employee who cannot return to work for an extended period of time due to illness or injury.
An LTD program may be temporary or permanent. The benefits paid to employees are customarily set between 50-67% of that person's income.
Equal Pay Act (EPA)
An amendment to the FLSA that prohibits sex discrimination in pay. Specifically, it bars employers from paying lower wages to one sex where the work of the two sexes is substantially equal. This requirement is called the "equal pay for equal work" standard. -Unequal pay for equal work is allowable, however, if the pay disparity between the sexes is based on differences in seniority, productivity, merit, or any factor other than sex.
360-Degree Feedback
An appraisal system for managers, who are rated by subordinates, peers, superiors, customers, and themselves. The raters limit their evaluations to job behaviors that they have directly observed.
Training Evaluation
An assessment of the effectiveness of a company's training program.
Recency Error
An error that occurs when ratings are heavily influenced by recent events. This is the usual consequence of memory decay.
Forced Distribution
Appraisal instruments that require raters to assign a certain percentage of employees to each category of excellence.
Paired Comparison
Appraisal instruments that require raters to compare each possible pair of employees in terms of their job performance.
Employee Comparison Systems
Appraisal instruments that require raters to evaluate employees in relation to other employees. In other words, they use rankings, rather than ratings. Strengths: Low cost and practical; the ratings take very little time and effort. Effectively eliminates some of the rating errors . Leniency is eliminated because the rater cannot give every employee an outstanding rating. Weaknesses: Forcing raters to rank-order creates an environment where employees are encouraged to compete with their colleagues. The worst performers become alienated and resentful. They rarely specify ranking criteria. They do not specify what a worker must do to receive a good rating and thus fail to adequately direct behavior. Cannot compare the performance of people from different departments fairly.
Simple Rankings
Appraisal instruments that require raters to rank-order their employees from best to worst, according to their job performance.
Performance Appraisals
Assessments of employees' job performance levels. An effective performance appraisal system can create competitive advantage by improving employee job performance in two ways: 1. By directing employee behavior toward organizational goals. 2. By monitoring that behavior to ensure that goals are met.
Flexible Benefit (cafeteria) Plans
Benefit programs that allow employees to choose among various benefits and levels of coverage. -Employees may choose to receive cash or purchase benefits from among the options provided under the plan.
Labor costs generally affect competitive advantage because they represent a large portion of a company's operating budget.
By effectively cutting these costs, a firm can achieve cost leadership.
A company's training and development practices can help alleviate the problem of employees choosing to leave an organization because they are unhappy with the way the company manages its employees by:
Changing poor management practices through instructional programs designed to modify the behavior of those who practice ineffective managerial styles.
Replacement Charts
Charts indicating the availability of candidates and their readiness to step into the various management positions.
Skill-based pay systems have both strengths and weaknesses.
Concerning strengths, such systems provide workers with a financial incentive to increase their skill levels. When workers acquire additional skills, the company also benefits.
Compensable Factors
Criteria representing the most important determinants of a job's worth. -Skill/Know-how: Education, experience, knowledge. -Effort: Physical effort and mental effort -Responsibility: Judgment/decision making, internal business contracts, consequence of error, degree of influence, supervisory responsibilities, responsibility for independent action, responsibility for machinery/equipment, fiscal responsibility, and responsibility for confidential information. -Working Conditions: Risks, comforts, physical demands, and personal demands.
Performance Aids
Devices given to trainees to help them remember training material when they return to their jobs. These include checklists, decision tables, charts, and diagrams that trainees use for guidance on the job.
As a general rule, executive, managerial, and professional employees are usually rated based on results.
Employees occupying lower-level jobs are most often rated on behavioral or trait-oriented criteria.
Exempt Employees
Employees who pay and overtime are not regulated by the FLSA.
Nonexempt Employees
Employees whose pay and overtime are regulated by the FLSA.
A firm's training and development practices can contribute to competitive advantage by:
Enhancing recruitment, building worker competence, and reducing the likelihood of unwanted turnover.
Mentors
Experienced supervisors who are assigned to new managers to teach, guide, advise, counsel, and serve as role models.
Equity
Fairness
The success rate of training and development practices in many US organizations has been quite dismal.
For instance, about half the cost of training in the typical company is wasted, and only 10% of the material learned in training is actually applied to the job.
The HRM department takes the lead in selecting and administering the organization's benefit options.
HR also communicates benefits-related information to employees.
The HRM department is ultimately responsible for establishing rates of pay (e.g., overseeing the job evaluation process, conducting salary surveys, etc.).
HR professionals also establish procedures for administering pay plans and for ensuring that they comply with antidiscrimination laws.
Although the use of ability inventories can yield valuable information, the results are sometimes flawed because some employees are unwilling to admit to having training needs, and others are unaware of their needs.
HR professionals should thus collect additional information to supplement that obtained from ability inventories. This information can be collected by examining company records for problems that can be remedied by training. It can also be collected by interviewing a cross-section of managers, conducting customer satisfaction surveys, or simply observing employees as they perform their jobs.
The ideal setting for skill-based pay programs would probably be a company that:
Has few hierarchical levels, engages in decentralized decision making, uses self-managed work teams, and emphasizes workforce flexibility and employee development.
Basic health care plans cover:
Hospitalization, physician care, and surgery. Most employers require employees to pay at least part of the premiums.
Unfortunately, many companies take a very informal approach to succession planning.
Identification of high-potential candidates is largely subjective, based on the opinions of the nominating managers, who choose "fast-track" or "superstar" employees with little consideration of the actual requirements of future positions.
If effective, a firm's compensation system can:
Improve cost efficiency, ensure legal compliance, enhance recruitment efforts, and reduce morale and turnover problems.
Feedback
Information given to trainees that lets them know whether their behavior is correct.
Behavior modeling works because it successfully incorporates each of the learning principles describes earlier:
It captures and maintains the attention of the trainees and provides ample opportunity for practice and feedback.
Difference between the job evaluation process and performance appraisals:
Job evaluation ratings focus on the requirements of the job rather than on the performance of the individual jobholder.
Pay Grades
Job groupings in which all jobs assigned to the same group are subject to the same range of pay. -Based on the total number of points received from point-factor job evaluations.
Overlearning
Learning training material so well that it will be long remembered, even without frequent practice. This is especially appropriate when trainees are learning skills that will not be used very often on the job, such as how to handle an emergency situation.
The fastest growing category of workers' compensation claims is:
Mental stress caused by things like job pressures, on-the-job harassment, time pressure, poor management, and job insecurity.
Internal Consistency
Occurs when each employee's pay is fair relative to the pay coworkers in the same organization receive. -To achieve this, a firm's employees must believe that all workers are being paid what they are "worth".
External Competitiveness
Occurs when each employees' pay is fair relative to the pay received by workers in other organizations who hold similar positions.
Employee Contributions Equity
Occurs when employees' pay fairly reflects their input to the organization. -To achieve this aim, an organization must first establish a pay range for each pay grade; it must then place each employee within that range based on his or her contribution to the organization.
Trainers must address two practice-related issues when designing an instructional program.
One is whether the practice sessions should be distributed or massed The second practice-related issue concerns the relative effectiveness of practicing the whole task or practicing one part at a time. -When the material to be learned is simple, the "whole method" is generally preferable; as the material becomes more complex, it is better to divide the material into parts.
HR professionals, using any of several methods, collect the information regarding organization-wide training needs.
One method consists of distributing ability inventories to employees that ask them to indicate the abilities for which they need training. Abilities identified by the greatest number of employees would go to the top of the priority list.
No other business expense during the next 3 years will affect the employer's bottom line as dramatically as the predicted 15-20% growth in health insurance premiums.
Organizations must contain these spiraling costs if they are to get a proper return on their human resource investments and thus gain competitive advantage.
Utilization Review Programs
Programs designed to minimize health care costs through the use of preauthorization and auditing procedures. -Many companies implement these in order to cut costs by ensuring that each medical treatment is necessary before authorizing payment and ensuring that the medical services have been rendered appropriately at a reasonable cost. -These programs require hospital pre-admission certification, continued stay review, hospital discharge planning, and comprehensive medical case management for catastrophic injuries/illnesses.
Central Tendency Error
Rating employees in the middle of the rating scale when more extreme ratings are warranted. This is likely to occur as the result of administrative procedures. That is, it frequently occurs when an organization requires appraisers to provide extensive documentation to support extreme ratings.
Halo Effect
Ratings on each scale are influenced by the appraiser's overall impression of an employee. -Occurs when an appraiser's overall impression of an employee is based on a particular characteristic. -Occurs most often when the rating standards are vague and the rater fails to conscientiously complete the rating form.
Leniency Error
Ratings that are unduly favorable.
Severity Error
Ratings that are unduly unfavorable.
The FLSA states that all nonexempt employees must be paid at a higher rate for any overtime worked.
Specifically, the overtime pay rate must be no less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate.
Training Objectives
Statements describing what the trainees should be able to do as the result of training. Training program designers must specify these once a firm has identified training needs. -Objectives provide input for the design of the training program; without clearly established criteria, trainers would be hard-pressed to achieve them. -Objectives also help identify the measures of success that will be used to judge the effectiveness of the training program.
Life insurance plans cover 94% of all full-time employees.
The premiums are usually paid by the employer. Employee contributions, if required, are typically a set amount per $1,000 coverage based on age. -Employees are often given the opportunity to expand their coverage by purchasing additional insurance.
Steps and barriers in the instructional process: Step 1: Deciding What to Teach. The program should contain material that instills knowledge, abilities, and/or skills necessary for effective job performance. Barriers include: -Failure to perform an adequate needs analysis -Failure to set instructional objectives -Failure to seek input of line managers -Over-reliance on "packaged programs" Step 2: Deciding How to Maximize Participant Learning. The material should be presented in a way that maximizes learning. Barriers include: -Inadequate training of instructors. -Failure to incorporate principles of learning.
Step 3: Choosing the Appropriate Training Method. Training methods must be appropriate for achieving the instructional objectives of the program. Barriers include: -Inappropriate methods used (e.g., over-reliance on lecture) Step 4: Ensuring That Training is Used on the Job. Trainees must correctly apply the learned material on the job. Barriers include: -Lack of on-the-job reinforcement of new skills. -Training materials not relevant to the job. -Failure to remember material learned in training upon returning to the job. -Lack of willingness to make the extra effort to integrate learned behaviors into existing behavior repertoires. Step 5: Determining Whether Training Programs Are Effective. The training program must be evaluated to determine whether the instructional objectives have been met in a cost-efficient manner. Barriers include: -Failure to apply the appropriate measures of training success (e.g., over-reliance on trainees' self-reports) -Failure to apply the appropriate methodology to gauge the impact of training on any changes in employee behavior.
Could comparable worth be used as the basis for determining whether discrimination has occurred?
The Court refused to rule on this because it concluded that the county intentionally discriminated against them, and intentional discrimination is clearly a violation of Title VII.
Could pay discrimination lawsuits be brought under Title VII?
The Court ruled that Title VII did, indeed, apply to pay discrimination claims.
Minimum wages are also specified in the wage and hour laws of most individual states.
The FLSA specifies that when state minimum wage levels differ from that imposed by the FLSA, the employer must pay employees the higher of the two rates.
Relevance
The degree to which the rating form includes necessary information. To be effective, the form must be relevant, and the rating standards must be clear. To be relevant, the form must: 1. Include all the pertinent criteria for evaluating performance. 2. Exclude criteria that are irrelevant to job performance.
Criterion Contamination
The inclusion of irrelevant performance criteria on a rating form.
Performance Standards
The level of performance that an employee is expected to achieve. Such standards should be clearly defined so that employees know exactly what the company expects of them.
Pay Range
The minimum and maximum pay rates for all jobs within a pay grade. -New employees are usually paid at the bottom of the pay range unless their qualifications exceed the minimum. -Existing employee's contributions are usually recognized in the form of pay raises, typically granted on the basis of seniority and/or performance.
Criterion Deficiency
The omission of pertinent performance criteria on a rating form.
Inputs
The perceptions that people have concerning what they contribute to the job. -e.g., Skills and effort
Outputs
The perceptions that people have regarding the returns they get for the work they perform. -e.g., Pay
When assessing the remedial needs of individual employees through management or self-assessment, firms miss out on seeing the "big picture", that is, the training needs of all organizational employees. The big picture tells firms where the greatest training needs are.
This information enables them to determine priorities. Training needs are usually prioritized based on these criteria: -The number of employees experiencing a deficiency in a particular skill and the severity of the deficiency. -The importance of the skill for meeting organizational goals. -The extent to which skill improvement can be achieved through training.
Video
This training uses video to demonstrate tasks or to present material. Pros: With video training, users can skip over material they already know or watch a procedure several times in order to better grasp it. Cons: Some users will find the lack of personal contact in a video training session boring, leading to a lack of paying attention and thus a lack of knowledge acquisition.
To win a comparable worth case, plaintiffs must prove disparate impact caused by intentional discrimination.
Thus, when arguing a comparable worth case under Title VII, employees must demonstrate that significant salaries exist between workers in male- and female-dominated jobs of comparable worth. -If they prove this, the employer can still win the case if it convinces the court that the existing pay differences are not the result of intentional discrimination.
The major problem with job evaluation ratings is subjectivity, which can cause inaccurate and unreliable ratings.
To minimize subjectivity, the rating scales used to evaluate jobs must be clearly defined, and evaluators should be thoroughly trained on how to use them. -Moreover, the evaluators should be provided with complete, accurate, and up-to-date job descriptions.
Remedial Training
Training designed to correct deficiencies in employee skill or knowledge levels or to improve employee attitudes.
Orientation Training
Training designed to inform new employees about their jobs, the company, and its policies and procedures. -All new employees, even those with appropriate technical skills, need some sort of this training.
Change-Related Training
Training that enables employees to keep up-to-date with various types of changes dealing with technological advances, new laws or procedures, or a change in the organization's strategic plan. -Companies also need instructional programs for developmental purposes.
When perceptions of inequity are based on external comparisons, people are more likely to quit their jobs.
When based on internal comparisons, people are more likely to remain at work, but reduce their inputs.