Human Resource Management

Managing Employee Abilities (A) (AMO)

Identifying, acquiring, and developing employee talent Related to staffing

Agreeableness

Includes compassion, trust, and straightforwardness. Some evidence indicates that this trait is positively related to interpersonal facilitation, or behaviors that include cooperative and helpful acts that assist others with their performance.

Job Enrichment

Increases an individual's level of responsibility; also known as vertical loading of jobs

Emotional Stability

Indicates the extent to which one is calm and steady under pressure and less likely to experience feelings of anxiety or hostility. Overall, relationships between emotional stability and performance are positive, but minor. Some anxiety may be beneficial to employees because it helps one to focus on what is important.

Conscientiousness

Involves striving for achievement, self-discipline, and orderliness. This trait has the strongest positive relationship with job performance across most job types, second only to the most highly related predictor of performance, cognitive ability.

Incentive pay

Is the rewards given for reaching specific productivity targets. Several types of incentive pay plans exist.

Types of Individual Differences

Locus of control Extent to which individuals believe they have control over events in their lives. 1. People with internal locus of control believe they are in charge of their fate through their own effort. 2. Those with an external locus of control believe outside forces, such as luck, control their fate. Self-Efficacy 1. Belief that one is capable of performing a task effectively. This belief drives motivation and perseverance in the face of challenges and determines whether one thinks in self-enhancing or self-debilitating ways. Emotional Intelligence (EI) 1. Ability of an individual to reason about emotions, manage emotions, and use emotions and emotional knowledge to enhance thought. According to scholar Daniel Goldman, EI includes four domains: 1. Self-awareness 2. Self-management 3. Social awareness 4. Relationship management

Coaching

Longer-term, one-on-one development with an individual to help improve job performance through providing feedback, creating connects to key stakeholders, and providing resources such as courses or job experiences to develop

Workplace Flexibility

Many companies are increasing the flexibility of when and where their employees work.

The AMO Framework

Many researchers and practitioners use an ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) framework for understanding how human resources (HR) operates. This framework suggests that an organization's performance is a function of its people, and each employee's performance is a function of that individual's abilities, motivation, and opportunities.

Job Rotation

Moves people to different jobs over the course of a day, weeks, or months, increasing the variety of work tasks and the skills required

Assessments

Using assessments to providing information to employees such as personality type, communication style, skills to identify strengths to be developed and weaknesses to be improved

Job experiences

Using stretch job assignments to challenge employees to develop new skills through actual experiences

Total Rewards

are a blend of monetary and nonmonetary rewards offered to employees to use their talents to achieve the organization's objectives. These components include benefits and pay.

HR systems

are groupings of practices implemented simultaneously to maximize a particular performance criterion, such as employee performance, to achieve the firm's goals.

Discrimination

involves treating people differently based on their characteristics rather than their abilities. It can take several forms.

Progressive Discipline

is the process in which employees with disciplinary problems go through several steps until the problem is corrected.

Human Resource Selection

is the process of deciding who to hire for a vacant position within an organization.

Performance Management

is the process of evaluating employees on how well they do their jobs.

Non-monetary compensation

may also be part of a total rewards package for employees. Examples Recognition systems may be designed to reward employees for top performance, such as employee of the month, or for reaching a milestone, such as ten years of service. Health and wellness programs promote employee well-being and may include incentives for employees to engage in healthy practices, such as exercising or quitting smoking.

Alignment

or fit, among practices within the HR system results in synergies where the overall effect on performance is greater than the additive effects of each practice alone. This alignment ensures that the right HR practices are in place. There are two types of alignment

When we think about selection,

we are really trying to predict future success. The goal is to use selection techniques that identify who is most likely to fulfill job duties in an effective way.

Job Design

Is the practice of structuring work tasks so they are motivational.

Three main types of employment tests.

1. Ability Tests Measure basic abilities of individuals Examples a. General cognitive ability test b. Physical ability test 2. Achievement Test Measure the knowledge or skill level an applicant has achieved that is relevant for a job requirement Examples a. Bar exam for lawyers b. CPA exam for accountants c. Work samples, such as a teacher candidate teaching a class 3. Personality Test Measure the extent to which individuals possess different personality dimensions Examples a. Testing Big Five traits b. Testing for locus of control, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence

On-the-Job Training Programs

1. Apprenticeship Used in the skilled trades and require extended periods of hands-on learning before mastering the required skills for a specific job 2. Internship Involves students working at an organization for a specified period of time to learn what the job—and a possible career in the industry—would be like

There are two common forms of on-the-job training:

1. Apprenticeship Used in the skilled trades and require extended periods of hands-on learning before mastering the required skills for a specific job 2. Internship Involves students working at an organization for a specified period of time to learn what the job—and a possible career in the industry—would be like

Two Rewards

1. Benefits Required by Law 1. Social Security and Medicare (employees match employer contribution through payroll deductions) 2. Unemployment insurance 3. Worker's compensation insurance Voluntary a. Competitive health care insurance b. Flexible work hours c. Paid time off d. Bonuses e. Profit-sharing plan f. 401k programs 2. Pay Base Pay 1. Guaranteed rate of pay earned while working for a firm 2. Can be hourly pay or salary pay Merit Pay 1. Allocation of greater rewards to employees who perform at higher levels 2. Often a percentage raise based on an employee's performance evaluation

Off-the-Job Training Delivery

1. Classroom Training Lecture-style training—one instructor speaking to a group of trainees in a single classroom 2. E-Learning Using the internet, computers, and other electronic tools to deliver training programs 3. Simulations Replicating in a safe environment the work one would perform on the job. These are highly effective but expensive to create 4. University Programs Taking courses at colleges or universities to learn the knowledge needed to do a job 5. Coaching Improving job performance through short-term, one-on-one training with an individual 6. Mentoring Pairing senior employees with junior employees to teach the junior employee how the organization works and help them navigate their career in the organization. Mentoring is time intensive and can be used with a limited number of employees

Managing Employee Opportunities (O) (AMO)

Designing jobs and the workplace to provide opportunities for employees to contribute to company goals Fosters flexibility

The following are common off-the-job training programs.

1. Classroom Training Lecture-style training—one instructor speaking to a group of trainees in a single classroom 2. E-Learning Using the internet, computers, and other electronic tools to deliver training programs 3. Simulations Replicating in a safe environment the work one would perform on the job. These are highly effective but expensive to create 4. University Programs Taking courses at colleges or universities to learn the knowledge needed to do a job 5. Coaching Improving job performance through short-term, one-on-one training with an individual 6. Mentoring Pairing senior employees with junior employees to teach the junior employee how the organization works and help them navigate their career in the organization. Mentoring is time intensive and can be used with a limited number of employees

There are four main types of Biases:

1. Contrast Effect The evaluation of one candidate is inflated, or deflated, when compared to another candidate. 2. Halo Effect (or Halo Error) A positive characteristic of a candidate inflates the evaluation of the candidate's other attributes. 3. Horn Effect (or Devil's Horn Error) A negative characteristic of a candidate deflates the evaluation of the candidate's other attributes. 4. Impression Management The job applicant engages in actions to present himself in a more positive light to the evaluator than is warranted.

Two Main Components of Performance Management

1. Evaluating employees 2. Providing feedback and action planning

Motivational Approach

1. Focuses on work design to influence employees' drive to work hard 2. Skill variety: stresses knowledge and different skills individuals use in doing a job 3. Task identity: focuses on having clear and visible outcomes that result from an employee's work 4. Task significance: emphasizes the importance of a person's work 5. Autonomy: gives individuals the freedom to make decisions about the ways they do their work 6. Feedback: provides information to individuals about their performance

Key Aspects of HRM

1. HRM is a well-established profession with many exciting career options. 2. HRM skills, such as understanding how to attract and select the best talent and creating performance management systems, are used daily by managers and supervisors. 3. HRM helps to design jobs that facilitate the right types of interactions among workers, which is crucial for getting the work done in a timely manner.

Researchers have developed several theories of motivation that identify job conditions that can enhance employee motivation. The two most prominent theories are:

1. Herzberg's two-factor theory 2. Job characteristics model

Key Factors for Onboarding Effectiveness

1. Include both company-level information and department-level information 2. Foster the building of connections to the employee's team and key stakeholders who are important for talent development and organizational success

Incentive Pay Plans

1. Individual-Based Incentive Pay Plan Operates by setting targets for employees to reach to receive additional compensation. Often called variable pay or pay-for-performance. 2. Sales Incentive Plan Gives employees a percentage of all their sales. The more they sell, the more they earn. 3. Piece-Rate Incentive Plan Rewards employees for each unit of production they complete. 4. Team-Based Incentive Plan Provides rewards for project teams that hit a deadline or generate new products. 5. Profit-Sharing Plan Gives employees a financial reward when the firm achieves a profit greater than some targeted amount. 6. Stock Option Plan Allows employees to purchase company stock at an established price during a set period of time.

Two Types of Recruitment

1. Internal recruitment is an approach that encourages current employees to consider other opportunities within their current organization. 2. External recruitment involves encouraging people working somewhere else to apply to work for your organization.

Select all of the statements that accurately describe mentoring as an off-the-job training approach. (Select all that apply.)

1. It is time intensive. 2. It limits the number of people who can receive it. 3. It allows for one-on-one discussion

Selection Techniques

1. Job applications 2. Resumes 3. Employment tests 4. Interviews 5. Work samples

Steps in the Employee Training Process

1. Needs Assessment Identifies gaps in what current employees are doing and what they should be doing. Requires a knowledge of the firm's goals and an analysis of the discrepancy between the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) employees possess and the KSAs needed to achieve the firm's goals. 2. Instructional Design Involves the actual design of the training program. Training needs to support the goals of the firm and to be clear on the instructional objectives. 3. Training Delivery Training can be delivered on-the-job (OJT) or off-the-job. OJT training programs happen when employees are actively working for a firm and learning as they perform the tasks associated with their jobs. 4. Training Evaluation Determining the program's level of success according to four levels of training compliance: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

There are three main approaches to evaluating employees:

1. Ranking Approaches Places all employees in order by how they score on some dimension of performance. A variation of this approach is a forced distribution, which lumps people with similar scores together. Example A professor might tell her students that the top 10% of the class will receive an A, the next 20% will receive a B, the middle 40% will receive a C, the next 20% will receive a D, and the lowest 10% will receive an F. 2.Absolute Approaches Compares each person to some standard. As a result, everyone could conceivably receive a high evaluation, or everyone could receive a low evaluation. A graphic rating scale gives managers a tool to evaluate their employees based on personal traits. Examples The behavioral observation scale (BOS) is used to evaluate how often employees engage in certain behaviors on the job. The behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) is used to evaluate specific examples of behaviors. 3.Results-Based Approaches Measures performance on the basis of a clear outcome, such as sales, but can be used for other positions as well. Management by objectives is a results-based approach that uses targeted goals to improve each employee's performance. Measures performance on the basis of a clear outcome, such as sales, but can be used for other positions as well. Management by objectives is a results-based approach that uses targeted goals to improve each employee's performance. Examples A quantifiable goal might be to increase sales by 3% or to increase return on assets by 5%. The manager is evaluated on how well he or she progresses toward that jointly agreed-upon goal.

Kirkpatrick's Primary Levels of Training Evaluation

1. Reactions How do participants feel about the program? Do they believe they learned? Are they satisfied with the training program? 2. Learning Do the trainees know more after the training than before? 3. Behavior Do the trainees display different skills and abilities? Do they perform better as a response to the training? 4. Results Does the training lead to improvements in business activities and processes? Are the training outcomes worth the investment?

Key Characteristics of Workplace Flexibility

1. Telecommuting refers to allowing employees to perform part, or all, of their job tasks at home or another place outside the regular office. 2. Virtual teams allow workers to connect remotely across work setting locations or from any combination of locations—work and/or home. Also, some companies have modified workspaces to provide environments that foster interaction, collaboration, and innovation.

Informal Feedback

1. These happen frequently. 2. They provide feedback in real time. 3. Ninety percent of employees prefer that managers address mistakes in real time.

Formal Feedback

1. These range from quarterly to semi-annually to annually. 2. The annual review is the most common type. 3. Managers avoid frequent formal appraisals because they take a lot of time and energy.

There are four main types of interviews:

1. Unstructured Interviews Does not follow a predetermined list of questions 2. Structured Interviews Uses a set list of questions for each candidate who interviewed for a job opening 3. Situational Interviews Asks job candidates how they would handle hypothetical situations that would be common in the job they are applying to fill 4. Behavioral Interviews Asks candidates to respond to questions about their previous experiences in the workplace

Efficiency Approach

1. Views employees as machines that can be optimized 2. Scientific management: (developed by Frederick W. Taylor) standardizes how people do specific tasks 3. Job specialization: breaks down jobs into their most basic elements 4. Job repetition: focuses on doing a few tasks very often, which increases efficiency 5. Job simplification: removes decision-making authority from a worker and places it with a supervisor

Many questions might put a firm at legal risk for discriminatory practices. Here are some common ones.

1. What arrangements are you able to make for childcare while you work? 2. How old are your children? 3. When did you graduate from high school? 4. Are you a U.S. citizen? 5. What does your wife do for a living? 6. Where did you live while you were growing up? 7. Will you need personal time for particular religious holidays? 8. Are you comfortable working for a female boss? 9. Is the large disparity in age between yourself and the position's coworkers a problem for you? 10. How long do you plan to work until you retire? 11. Have you experienced any serious illnesses in the past year?

Organizing a Workforce

1. Workforce Planning Process of making sure the right people, with the right abilities, are where they need to be at the right time(s) to contribute to organizational success 2. Job Analysis Process of determining the basic elements of a job 3. Turnover Voluntary or involuntary act of leaving an organization 4. Contingent Workers Workers on a temporary or contract basis who perform job tasks onsite at an organization

Federal Regulation Related to HRM

A company's HR system operates within a legal context, which includes a large number of laws that affect HR activities.

Disparate Impact

Actions that have unintended consequences, which adversely affect a particular protected class of people

Disparate Treatment

Actions that intentionally discriminate against someone based on the protected class status

Job Enlargement

Adds job duties similar to existing ones in terms of difficulty and responsibility; also known as horizontal loading of jobs

Areas for External Recruitment

Advertisements Online job sites Educational institutions Public employment agencies Private employment agencies Search firms Employee referrals

Human Resource Management and Practices

All organizations depend on people to perform tasks. The challenge for organizations is to make sure that the right people are doing the right tasks at the right time. Accomplishing this depends on two related concepts:

2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Allows employees to challenge unequal pay within a certain time frame

Legal and Illegal Recruitment and Selection Practices

As an interviewer, you need to make sure your questions are legal. As a general rule, questions should be based on aspects of the job and not be discriminatory in nature.

Empowerment

Builds on the principle of job enrichment by delegating authority and decision making to lower-level employees in an organization

Performance Feedback

Can be formal, informal, or some combination of the two.

Human Resource Practices:

Different tools that organizations use to manage the workforce effectively

Extraversion

Displaying positive emotions and being talkative, active, excitement-seeking, and assertive. This trait has the most positive relationships with job performance for people in sales positions and managers—jobs where sociability is important.

Managing Employee Motivation (M) (AMO)

Encouraging employees to perform in appropriate ways to achieve company goals May involve things like reviews and rewards

1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)

Establishes mandatory safety and health standards in organizations

Which of the following HR practices would be likely to influence employees' opportunity to participate?

Flexibility Job design

Openness to Experience

Having an active imagination, intellectual curiosity, and a preference for variety over routine. This trait has been positively related to training proficiency.

Internal Alignment

How consistent and coherent the HR practices used to manage workers are Example Google uses extensive recruitment and selection practices to hire talented people. When they start their jobs at Google, employees work in an environment that fosters creativity. They also receive compensation that motivates them to work hard.

External Alignment

How well HR practices fit with organizational and environmental considerations Example To help their employees demonstrate excellent customer service, Trader Joe's hires people with outgoing personalities and evaluates them on traits such as friendliness and helpfulness.

HRM and Your Career

Understanding the principles of human resource management is important for your management career in several ways.

360-Degree Appraisal

One important consideration when evaluating performance is to consider who provides the information. In most companies, the supervisor is responsible for evaluating his or her employees. However, there are other options as well.

Human Resource Management:

Organizational function responsible for the management of people within an organization to help achieve organizational goals

Orientation/Onboarding

Orientation, which many companies now call onboarding, is the process of providing new hires (both external and internal candidates) with the skills, resources, and connections to do their job effectively.

Mentoring

Pairing senior employees with junior employees to teach the junior employees how the firm works and helping them navigate their career within the firm

Formal education programs

Participation in courses in-house or at colleges and universities to provide employees with general skills such as leadership development

1991 Civil Rights Act

Prohibits discrimination (as does Title VIII) and allows the awarding of punitive and compensatory damages, in addition to back pay, in cases of intentional discrimination

1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act

Prohibits discrimination against workers over the age of 40 and restricts mandatory retirement

1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of natural origin or citizenship, except for illegal immigrants, by employers having four or more employees

1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

Prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requires that employers make reasonable accommodations for such workers to enable them to perform their jobs

1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Prohibits employment discrimination against women on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions

1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, or national origin; covers a wide range of employment decisions including hiring, firing, pay, promotion, and working conditions

1985 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

Requires continued health care coverage (paid by employee) following termination

1993 Family and Medical Leave Act

Requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical and family reasons, including paternity and illness of a family member

1963 Equal Pay Act

Requires men and women to be paid equally if they are performing equal work

1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

Requires rehiring of employees who are absent for military service, with training and accommodations as needed

Big Five Personality Traits

Researchers have found that there are five key dimensions of personality that are most relevant in the workplace. These are known as the Big Five personality traits. 1. Conscientiousness 2.Extraversion 3. Agreeableness 4. Emotional Stability 5. Openness to Experience

Employment Tests

Some organizations use employment tests, instruments to evaluate the level of some personal attribute that a job candidate possesses.

Harassment

Subjecting individuals to unwanted and unwelcome treatment due to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability

Workforce Planning Tactics

Talent Shortages 1. Hire a new person from outside the organization. 2. Ask employees to cover the work demands by working overtime. 3. Use contingent labor or outsourcing, which might involve hiring another company to complete a job. Talent Surpluses 1. Move workers from an area of surplus to an area in the firm with a shortage. 2. Use a hiring freeze, which involves not hiring employees for a set period. 3. Use furloughs, which require workers to take unpaid leave. 4. Use layoffs, which involves reducing workers by terminating their employment.

A 360-degree appraisal is an evaluation process

That uses multiple data sources to provide employees with a comprehensive review of their performance. Sources often include: 1. Colleagues 2. Customers 3. The supervisor 4. The employees themselves

Recruitment

The activities managers engage in to encourage qualified people to pursue job opportunities in their organization are known collectively as recruitment.

Managerial Practices to Motivate Employees

The job characteristics model provides the basis for several managerial practices that are intended to enhance employee motivation, and in turn, job performance.

Kirkpatrick's Levels of Training Evaluation

The success of a training program should be evaluated in order to understand the program's potential benefits. In the 1950s, Dr. Daniel Kirkpatrick developed four primary levels of training evaluation

Efficiency Approach vs. Motivational Approach

The two main methods of job design are the efficiency approach and the motivational approach.

Select all of the statements that accurately describe simulations as off-the-job training approaches. (Select all that apply.)

They are highly effective. They are expensive to create. They replicate real work in a safe environment.

Development

Training programs focus on providing employees with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for their current job. In contrast, development programs take a longer perspective and focus on building the abilities employees will need later in their organizational career. There are several approaches to employee development.

The efficiency approach

became popular during the Industrial Revolution and uses science to design jobs

The motivational approach

claims that the five core job dimensions can be manipulated to influence critical psychological states of employees.

Managers make daily use of human resource principles such as ______.

creating performance management and motivational systems to help employees focus on meeting company goals understanding how to attract and select the best talent

Biases

happens when a person's evaluation of a candidate is influenced by personal processes rather than the results of some selection method. The following are some of the more common forms of bias: