HRM Chapter 1- Book

Globalization

A process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, driven by international trade and investment and accelerated by information technology. Global Economies are becoming more interdependent

Ethics

A set of rules or principles that define right and wrong conduct. commonly refers to a set of rules or principles that define right and wrong conduct. Most of us recognize that something illegal is also unethical, but many actions may be unethical but may not violate any existing laws. Examples include Wells Fargo's admission of their practice of creating fake accounts, United Airlines dragging unwillingly bumped passengers off a plane, or Mylan's decision to raise the price of the lifesaving EpiPen by 400 percent indicate that organizations often do a bad job teaching employees how to act ethically. Corporate scandals have created a lack of trust in management, causing customers and investors to ask questions such as how such unethical actions could have gone unnoticed if proper controls were in place in the organization and whether unethical cultures are pervasive in business.

Labor Union

Acts on behalf of its members to secure wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. In the United States, unions and their role in representing employees are changing. Membership growth is in the public and service sectors, not in manufacturing. At the same time, some states have taken steps to limit the power of public employee unions in an effort to reduce the cost of labor for city, county, and state governments. Because of the complexities involved in operating with unionization and the special laws that pertain to it, we will defer that discussion until Chapter 14, when we will explore the unique world of labor relations and collective bargaining.

More demographic shifts

Although the increase in the number of women and working mothers entering the workforce in the United States has slowed in recent years, it's growing in other areas. In Latin America, Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, eastern and central Europe, and Africa, a significant number of women are expected to enter the workforce in the next 10-20 years.17 They are most likely looking for skilled and professional jobs since the number of women going to some type of postsecondary education is higher than the number of men. Hispanics and Asians have been the fastest‐growing ethnic groups in the population and in the workforce over the last three decades, and the U.S. DOL predicts the trend to continue for the next decade.18 Some estimates predict the trend to continue much longer, estimating that by 2050, the majority of the U.S. workforce will be Hispanic.19 Of course, the problem of illegal immigration complicates the issue of worker diversity. HR professionals need to be diligent in understanding and enforcing immigration laws and worker documentation.

Downsizing

An activity in an organization aimed at creating greater efficiency by eliminating certain jobs. is to cut costs in the face of financial pressures or a downturn in the economy. It may also be a strategic move when restructuring requires an organization to close a division or facility. Sometimes, organizations attempt to increase their flexibility to better respond to change. Quality‐emphasis programs may create a flatter structure and redesign work to increase efficiency, resulting in the need for fewer employees. Companies such as GE have managed to create agility by dividing their organization into smaller, more flexible units.

Core employees

An organization's full‐time employee population.

Glass Ceiling still a barrier for women globally

As women and minority groups struggle to break through the glass ceiling into the executive ranks of U.S. businesses, it's interesting to compare how women in other countries are progressing. A recent survey found that women in Russia are world leaders, holding 47 percent of senior management positions. US is very low on this list

Workforce Age

Baby Boomers are taking their time leaving the workforce in the United States for a variety of reasons, including a need for greater income to sustain current living standards or a desire to remain active. Eighty percent of the Baby Boom generation indicates that they expect to work past age 65.16 Other countries including the Japan, United Kingdom, Italy, and Denmark are facing a rapidly aging and shrinking workforce. This workforce shortage will create challenges for economic growth and due to lower productivity, rising wages, and stress on social welfare programs. In response, some have raised the age that workers are eligible to receive pensions, prompting most older workers to remain in the workforce. HR professionals may see more intergenerational conflict in the workplace as up to four generations have different needs, work ethics, ambitions, learning styles, and expectations.

Contract workers

Contract workers, freelancers, subcontractors, and consultants are contracted by organizations to work on specific projects. These workers are often highly skilled. Their fee is set in the contract and is usually paid when the organization receives the competed project. Contract workers are used because their labor cost is fixed, and they incur few of the costs associated with a full‐time employee population. The rapidly changing environment we've been discussing often creates a need to quickly adjust workforce size. Having too many permanent, full‐time employees limits management's ability to react. For example, an organization that faces significantly decreased revenues from seasonal fluctuations in sales, or the loss of a large client, may need to cut staff. Deciding whom to layoff and how layoffs will affect productivity and the organization is extremely complex in organizations with a large permanent workforce. On the other hand, organizations that rely heavily on contingent workers have greater flexibility because workers can be easily added or taken off projects as needed. In addition, staffing shortages, opportunities to capitalize on new markets, or obtaining someone who possesses a unique skill for a specialized project all point to a need for flexible staffing.

Multinational Corporation (MNC)

Corporations with significant operations in more than one country. (Parent firm and then subsidiaries around the world)

Information Technology (IT)

Creating and maintaining the technology infrastructure of an organization. is expected to be among the fastest growing job sectors through 2024, along with online publishing and wireless telecommunications.

Employee involvement

Employee involvement increases employee participation and input regarding work and work processes. The goal is to improve employee engagement and productivity. A few common employee involvement strategies include delegation, participative management, work teams, goal setting, and empowering of employees. On a very basic level, employee involvement requires management to empower employees to make decisions that directly affect their work. To effectively participate in decisions involving the workplace, employees need all the information relevant to the decision and a thorough understanding of the job. Managers also need to delegate the authority to make the decisions and hold employees accountable for the results.

Diversity suggestions

Establish diversity goals and communicate them to all levels in the organization. Identify goals, barriers, obstacles, and solutions and develop a plan to overcome them and achieve goals. Develop awareness through training, books, videos, and articles. Use outside speakers and consultants, as well as internal resources, to determine how to motivate and maximize the skills of a diverse workforce. Establish internally sanctioned employee support systems, networks, or groups. Challenge each employee to question his or her beliefs, assumptions, and traditions, and assess how they impact their relationships and decisions. Modify existing policies or create diversity policies and communicate them to all current and future hires. Hold managers accountable and reward them for developing, mentoring, or providing awareness training. Build in accountability through surveys and audits to measure progress as diligently as you would increase production quotas or maintain zero loss‐time accidents. Then communicate the results and repeat the process. Continuous improvement applies to diversity as well as to production.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Established procedures for public companies regarding how they handle and report their finances. In the wake of ethical scandals that created an extremely negative economic impact on employees and investors alike, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was signed into law in July 2002. Sarbanes-Oxley established procedures for public companies regarding how they handle and report their financial picture. The legislation also established penalties for noncompliance. For example, SOX requires the following:45 Top management (the chief executive officer [CEO] and chief financial officer [CFO]) must personally certify the organization's financial reports. The organization must have procedures and guidelines for audit committees in place. CEOs and CFOs must reimburse the organization for bonuses and stock options when required by restatement of corporate profits. Personal loans or lines of credit for executives are now prohibited.

Ethics and Employee Rights

Every organization needs a clear policy that thoroughly explains appropriate and inappropriate use of company Internet, e‐mail, and social media. Employees need to understand that there is no guarantee of privacy when they use e‐mail, blogs, and social media, and that personal comments and photos are often grounds for discipline if they can be interpreted as discriminatory, harassing, or defamatory. We will take an extensive look at the privacy rights of employees in Chapter 5, and we will study the ethics of HRM throughout this book. Internet access at work can create distractions, reduce productivity, and cause security breaches; yet, it's nearly indispensable. Electronic surveillance of employees by employers is an issue that pits an organization's desire for control against an employee's right to privacy. Monitoring software only adds to the ethical dilemma of how far an organization should go in monitoring the behavior of employees

Technology

Friedman explained that countries, companies, and individuals are now able to compete on an almost level playing field, aided by cheap instantaneous communication via fiber optics and the Internet. Fast inexpensive transportation of people and goods has also accelerated the process of globalization. Individuals are now empowered to compete globally, regardless of their country of origin. Friedman projects that world economies will be dominated by empowered individuals, creating a business environment that is more diverse and less dominated by organizations in Western countries.

Training and Development

HRIS software helps HRM orient, train, and develop employees and help them manage their careers. Web or cloud‐based services provide training and development to employees on demand, whenever the employee has the time to concentrate on the material. Online training and teleconferencing also allow HR departments to deliver cost‐effective training that helps stretch the HR budget.

Pay and benefits conflicts

HRM must be prepared to deal with potential conflicts between core and contingent workers. The core employees may question the fairness in pay rates and flexibility in scheduling that the contingent workers receive. The core employees' salaries include benefits, but they may forget to factor in benefits when comparing their pay to that of contingent workers. For example, paying a training consultant $4,000 for presenting a 2‐day skills‐training program might cause some conflict with core HRM trainers, although the HRM trainer may not have the time or resources to develop such a program. If the consultant offers 20 of these 2‐day programs over the year, earning $80,000 in consulting fees, a $50,000‐a‐year company trainer might take offense. These potential conflicts will need to be explained by HRM before they become detrimental to the organization—or, worse, provide an incentive for core employees to leave.

Knowledge Workers

Individuals whose jobs are designed around the acquisition and application of information. It's increasingly difficult to find careers that do not use any type of technology, requiring HR professionals to be aware of not only technology necessary for HR but also the technology skills necessary for everyone in the organization, including professionals such as registered nurses, accountants, teachers, lawyers, and engineers.

Ethical Issues in HRM

Invasion of Privacy? Technological advances have presented employers with sophisticated employee monitoring and some real ethical gray areas. Although most of this monitoring is designed to enhance worker productivity, it creates concern over worker privacy. What do managers have the right to know about employees and how far can they go to observe employee behavior on the job? Consider the following: Employers may use computer monitoring software to see what's on employee computer screens, track web‐surfing, e‐mail, and even keystrokes. Employers may retrieve deleted employee messages, e‐mails, and files. Employer‐provided mobile phones and possibly even personal mobile phones used for work may contain apps that allow employers to not only monitor use but also to completely wipe the device if lost or if the employee leaves the company.13

Compensation

It's becoming increasingly difficult for organizations to find and retain technical and professional employees. Many companies have implemented an extensive list of attractive incentives and benefits rarely seen by nonmanagerial employees in typical organizations, for instance, signing bonuses, stock options, cars, free health club memberships, full‐time onsite concierges, and subsidies for mobile phones. Technology is also making compensation more transparent. Online sources such as Glassdoor are making it easier for applicants to compare salaries at prospective employers and current employees to compare salaries within an organization.

Mergers

Joining ownership of two organizations. Mergers are a common way for businesses to enter new or global markets, acquire new technology, or gain a financial advantage by achieving economies of scale. Many mergers, possibly as many as three out of four, fail to achieve their objectives for financial or strategic gain. Many of the reasons for those failures can be traced to the lack of attention to the human resource function in the merger process. For example, years after the merger of Continental and United Airlines problems persist for a variety of reasons, including a poor merger of company cultures, failure to reach union agreements, and inadequate training.42 As a result, customer complaints are among the highest in the industry, due to poor interactions with passengers publicized on social media, high number of late arrivals and misplaced bags, problems that can be traced to morale and productivity. HR professionals can assist employees in the merger process by providing a well‐planned communication strategy. Employees want honest, current information that includes the goals of the merger, anticipated benefits, and a preliminary timeline for the planned changes. Multiple methods of communication are necessary, including face to face meetings and online updates.

Labor Costs

Labor costs are a significant expense for many organizations. Economic factors occasionally force them to reduce the size of their workforce significantly using a variety of methods such as reduced hours, pay reduction, downsizing, outsourcing, offshoring, and using contingent labor. When economic factors improve, many organizations are reluctant to regain their previous employment levels and continue using contingent labor to manage labor costs. Throughout this book, we'll examine additional ways to control labor costs by reducing costs of employee benefits, managing worker's compensation and disability claims, and many others. For now, we'll focus on the challenges of downsizing, contingent workers, and offshoring.

Rightsizing

Linking employee needs to organizational strategy. When downsizing is used as a way of balancing staff to meet changing needs, it may involve cutting staff in some areas as they increase staff in other areas. This change in staffing is often called rightsizing. Rightsizing promotes greater use of outside firms for providing necessary products and services

sustainability

Living, doing business, and employing individuals in a responsible and ethical way. Finding ways of living, doing business, and employing individuals in a responsible and ethical way is at the core of sustainability. It requires ethical behavior and includes recognizing the impact of business decisions on the community, economy, and natural environment. Research shows that organizations that pursue sustainability as a strategic goal benefit from improved employee loyalty and morale, more efficient business processes, improved public image, and improved brand recognition. HRM has responsibility for many activities involved in putting a sustainability agenda to work. That agenda may include developing volunteer opportunities and recognizing participation, educating employees and executives about sustainable practices such as energy conservation, recycling efforts, community outreach and education, using sustainable production resources, and maintaining ethical business practices.

Legal Compliance

Making sure that all legal requirements involved in employment are met. Records must be kept, posters must be posted, data must be reported, safety must be monitored, and a thousand other legal requirements need to be monitored to protect the rights of employees and protect the employer from legal liability.

Staffing

Most employers recruit online because it's the most effective way to find qualified applicants. Many of these sites also offer advanced search services to employers such as assistance with defining and promoting their "employment brand"; analyzing the success of recruiting efforts; hosting the "Careers" section of the company website; and developing recruiting strategies for positions that are difficult to fill such as engineers, skilled trades, IT, and sales. Once applicants have been identified, HRM must carefully screen final candidates to ensure they fit well into the organization's culture. HRIS tools help track the hiring process and make sure there is a good match between a candidate's skills and the job description. Online assessments help to determine which candidates are team players, handle ambiguity and stress well, and will be a good fit with company culture. Companies such as Southwest Airlines and Four Seasons Resorts recruit employees who convey a positive attitude, which to them is a better indicator of job success and fit with company culture than experience.

Telecommuters

Much of the challenge regarding decentralized work sites revolves around training managers to establish and ensure appropriate work quality and on‐time completion. Decentralized work sites remove traditional "face time," requiring managers develop new ways to motivate workers they may rarely, if ever, see. Managers must recognize that offsite employees (or telecommuters) will work at their own pace at irregular intervals requiring changes in the way they are supervised. Accountability may need to be measured by results, not how they are accomplished. Offsite workers may also require HRM to rethink compensation. Should workers be paid by the hour, on a salary basis, or by the job performed? Their status as employees or contractors may also need to be examined.

Transnational Corporation

Organization with extensive international operations and subsidiaries in many countries, no longer identifying with a single "home" country. General Electric is a good example of one of the largest transnational companies with more than 70 percent of its over $500 billion in assets held outside the United States and over half of their approximately 300,000 employees based abroad.3

continuous management

Organizational commitment to constantly improving quality of products or services.

quality management

Organizational commitment to continuous process of improvement that expands the definition of customer to include everyone involved in the organization. Hiring, training, and maintaining workers able to support an emphasis on quality management and continuous improvement is a strategic HRM responsibility in many organizations. An early advocate of quality production was W. Edwards Deming, an American statistician who taught statistical methods to control quality in manufacturing. Deming went to Japan in 1950 and began advising many top Japanese managers on ways to improve their production effectiveness.35 A well‐managed organization, according to Deming, was one in which statistical control reduced variability and resulted in uniform quality and predictable quantity of output.36 Deming's original program has been expanded into a philosophy of management driven by customer needs and expectations.37 Quality management expands the term customer to include everyone involved with the organization including employees and suppliers as well as consumers of the organization's products or services. The objective is to create an organization committed to continuous improvement

Part-time employees

Part‐time employees are those who work fewer than 40 hours a week. Part‐timers allow organizations flexibility to supplement their staff during peak times and usually receive few benefits. Many retailers maintain a few full‐time employees and increase staff for the busier evening and weekend hours with part‐time employees. Part‐time employees may also split one full‐time job with another part‐time employee, often called job sharing.

work process engineering

Radical, quantum change in an organization. Work process engineering goes beyond incremental change and requires an organization to face the possibility that what the organization may really need is radical change. Work process engineering is more radical than continuous improvement and may be a response to game‐changing developments in technology, competition, or the economy. It usually entails rethinking or redesigning processes used to accomplish organizational goals with the objective of dramatic improvements in efficiency and competitiveness. These actions will ultimately require many changes that will involve human resource professionals.

Outsourcing

Sending work "outside" the organization to be done by individuals not employed full time with the organization. in an effort to remain flexible and responsive to the ever‐changing work environment.

Is there a shortage of skilled labor?

Skilled trades are tough positions to fill and the shortage is worldwide. Worldwide job‐staffing company Manpower reported that their Talent Shortage Survey found that employers in six of the world's ten largest economies ranked skilled trades as their toughest hiring challenge.20 This includes electricians, carpenters, cabinetmakers, and welders. Some businesses have been unable to expand because they can't fill openings for skilled trades. "The need for skilled workers with math and science skills is increasing, and shortage of qualified workers exist" In times of labor shortage, good wages and benefits aren't always enough to hire and retain skilled employees. Human resource managers need sophisticated recruitment and retention strategies and need to understand human behavior. Many organizations have chosen to become more appealing to applicants by developing cultures that are positive as well as productive.

Software as a service (SaaS)

Software delivered on the Internet on a subscription basis. provides the HR services on a subscription basis and is accessed through a web browser, allowing access anywhere the Internet is available. Software as a service is also called a cloud‐based service because it's accessed through the Internet. Companies providing SaaS often provide extensive employee access to self‐service of HR information through either computers or mobile apps.

Code of ethics

States an organization's primary values and the ethical rules it expects members to follow. is a formal document that states an organization's primary values and the ethical rules it expects managers and employees to follow. Ideally, these codes should be specific enough to guide organizational personnel in what they are supposed to do, yet loose enough to allow for freedom of judgment. Ethics training for all employees is an important way HRM can make sure the culture reinforces ethical behavior. Companies that have strong ethical cultures with ethical education programs see a 75 percent decrease in all unethical behavior In isolation, ethics codes are unlikely to be much more than window dressing. For example, Wells Fargo had a code of ethics before employees were pressured to meet challenging quotas, leading them to fraudulently open accounts without customer's knowledge.50 The effectiveness of ethics codes depends heavily on whether management supports them and ingrains them into the corporate culture, and on how individuals who break the codes are treated. If all managers, including those in HRM, consider ethics codes to be important, regularly reaffirm their content, follow the rules themselves, and publicly reprimand rule breakers, then such codes can supply a strong foundation for an effective corporate ethics program.

Diversity and work-life balance

Supporting and retaining a diverse global workforce may require employers to create flexibility in the workplace that allows employees to balance career, family, and other responsibilities. For example, research shows that over half of working mothers prefer part‐time work as a way to fulfill their family responsibilities as well as career goals. Many Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) and Gen Yers, also called Millennials (born 1982-early 2000s), while passionate about their careers, won't sacrifice family and leisure for their career. This becomes a difficult balance for employers to maintain as the lines between employee work and personal lives blur in the face of a demanding competitive environment. As Millennials eventually become a majority of the workforce, employers will need to accommodate their preference for a flexible working environment in new ways. For example, although 74 percent want flexible work schedules, 88 percent also want work-life integration, recognizing that work and life are almost seamlessly integrated due to technology. They just want a reasonable way to balance the demands.30 The generational cohort that follows the millennials is just beginning to enter the workforce full time. Their characteristics are still being formed and several different names are being applied. Of course, their workplace preferences and behavior will be studied thoroughly.

Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS)

Systems used to gather, store, and analyze information regarding an organization's human resources. The Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) that make this possible also gather, store, and analyze HR information allowing HRM professionals to better facilitate payroll, benefits administration, applicant tracking, training, performance management, and many other important HR functions.

Communication

Technology breaks down historical organizational communication pattern flows. It also redefines how meetings, negotiations, supervision, and employee relationships take place. Slack, Skype, GoToMeeting, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other work collaboration software allow employees to keep in close contact regardless of position or location. It's just as simple for employees in Baltimore and Singapore to share company gossip as employees who work two cubicles apart.

competitiveness

Technology tends to level the competitive playing field.12 It provides organizations, no matter their size or market power, with the ability to innovate, bring products to market rapidly, and respond to customer requests. Remember that technology allows individuals as well as large organizations to compete worldwide in purchasing or providing services. Many companies have found that services in technology, programming, radiology, and financial analysis can be provided by skilled employees in countries such as India as easily as an employee in the United States.

Temporary employees

Temporary employees may be employed during peak production periods to meet increased demand for production or services. Temporary workers also act as fill‐ins when some employees are off work for an extended time. For example, an administrative assistant position may be filled using a "temp" while the employee is off work during his 12‐week unpaid leave of absence for the birth of his daughter.

kaizen

The Japanese term for an organization's commitment to continuous improvement.

Economy

The global economy is ever changing with cycles of growth and contraction. No period of prosperity or recession lasts forever. The recovery following the "Great Recession" was slow and uneven, leaving some regions and industries behind. Areas that have recovered more quickly have found that the workplace and the skills required for success in the workplace have changed. Managers and employees often find that as business picks up, employers are slow to replace laid‐off employees, requiring everyone to do more with fewer resources. HR must do additional training for retained and retraining workers who have assumed increased responsibilities.

Contingent workforce

The part‐time, temporary, and contract workers used by organizations to fill peak staffing needs or perform work not done by core employees. Temporary workers can be found in nearly every job category including administrative, nursing, accounting, manufacturing, legal, dentistry, IT, engineering, marketing, education, publishing, and even senior management positions.

Culture

The patterns or thought and behavior that distinguish one group of people from another. The variety of values, ethics, religious practices, customs, economic environments, and political and legal systems in the world puts enormous pressure on HR professionals and managers to understand the circumstances of each country in its own context. The perception of societal issues, such as status, might affect operations in another country.

reshoring

The process of bringing jobs back to the home country. or bringing jobs back to the home country. Reasons cited include better educated and skilled workers and more dependable infrastructure such as water, power, and roads. Most economists and business leaders agree that although some companies have started the process of reshoring, the trend of moving jobs to places where the work can be performed by lower paid workers will continue.

offshoring

The process of moving jobs out of one country and into another country. the process of moving jobs to another country for economic reasons, has been blamed for the decrease in employment in many industries, particularly in manufacturing. It's partly true, but economists estimate that offshoring may explain no more than 13 percent of manufacturing job losses. Most manufacturing jobs are lost to automated work processes.34 Offshoring isn't always a permanent solution to controlling costs. General Electric has brought production of some appliances back to the United States and a few manufacturers of large, expensive products such as jet engines and power plant turbines also brought production back to the United States.

acquisition

The transfer of ownership and control of one organization to another.

Workforce diversity

The varied personal characteristics that make the workforce heterogeneous. Employees who are able to be open about all aspects of their spirituality, politics, sexual orientation, disabilities, socioeconomic status, family, cultural influences, and many other beliefs and characteristics, in addition to traditionally recognized and legally protected personal attributes, are happier, more engaged, and more productive.

Valuing a diverse workplace

The workforce is changing, and in response, many organizations share the attitude expressed by Nike that diversity and inclusion are necessary to maintain a competitive advantage in a global marketplace. To fully maximize the contributions of minorities, management must commit to creating a culture that fosters mutual respect and understanding. This can be done by valuing our differences, which enrich our workplace, not only because it's the law, or because it's morally and ethically the right thing to do, or because it makes good business sense, but also because when we open our minds and hearts, we feel better about ourselves. And decency is hard to put a price tag on.

Information Systems (IS)

Using information technology to improve organizational performance. is concerned with the way the organization uses IT. IS professionals help determine how IT can enhance decision making, improve organizational performance, and help create competitive advantage. They consider organizational processes such as distribution or finance and determine ways to use technology to operate more efficiently and respond to external circumstances quickly and effectively. IS professionals are likely to be trained in a business school rather than a computer science school.10

Inclusion

Valuing the contribution of everyone. An inclusive culture allows everyone, regardless of personal characteristics, to feel that they are valued, respected, and have equal access to all organizational opportunities. Most organizations have workforce diversity programs established to hire, promote, and retain minorities; encourage vendor diversity; and provide diversity training for employees. Many, such as Coca‐Cola, Nike, and FedEx, conduct cultural audits to ensure that diversity is pervasive in the organization

How HRM can support improvement programs

Whenever an organization embarks on any improvement effort, it introduces change into the organization. Familiar routines are gone, replaced by new technology, processes, coworkers, and supervisors. Is it any wonder that employees react with fear and resistance, possibly even creating barriers to change? HRM must be ready to help affected employees overcome their resistance. Responsibility falls on HRM to prepare the organization and the affected individuals for the coming changes with clear and extensive communication of why the changes will occur, what is expected, and the effects on employees. When changes in work processes are necessary, HRM must be prepared to train employees in these new processes and help them attain new skill levels that may be associated with improved operations. These skills may include new processes, upgraded technology, teamwork skills, or additional decision‐making authority. Although employees may be involved in planning and implementing the necessary changes, uncertainty about what changes mean personally is stressful. As change is implemented, some may lose jobs, survivors may need retraining, and stress levels may be magnified. HRM must be ready to give employees appropriate answers and direction for what to expect, as well as assistance in dealing with conflicts that may result within the organization. Additionally, as many components of the organization are redefined, HRM activities that affect employees may need to change. For example, if redesigned performance standards change employee compensation packages (e.g., bonus/incentive pay), HRM needs to thoroughly explain the performance standards and how they will be evaluated.