Intro to Business CH.11

How do manger evaluate performance?

1. establish performance standards 2. communicate those standards; 3. compare performance to standards; 4. discuss results; 5. take corrective action when needed, 6. use the results for decisions about promotions, compensation, additional training, or firing

What are the six steps in the selection process?

1. obtaining complete application forms 2. conducting initial and follow-up interview 3. giving employment tests 4. conducting background investigations 5. obtaining results from physical exams, 6. establishing a trial period of employment

What are the three steps in human resource planning?

1. preparing a human resource inventory of the organizations employee 2. preparing a job analysis; 3. assessing future demand 4. assessing future supply 5.establishing a plan for recruiting, hiring, educating, appraising, compensating, and scheduling employees

Job description

A summary of the objectives of a job, the responsibilities and duties, the working conditions, and the relationship of the job to other functions.

Job Sharing

An arrangement whereby two part-time employees share one full-time job

A human resource inventory should include which of the following types of information about employees?

Demographics such as age and education level, specialized skills, languages spoken

Reverse Discrimination

Discrimination against member of a dominant or majority group (e.g, whites or males) usually as a result of policies designed to correct previous discrimination against minority or disadvantaged groups

Which of the following types of information can legally be obtained from a job application form?

Educational qualifications and work experience

How can employees move within a company?

Employees can be moved up (promotion), over (reassignment), or out (termination nor retirement) of company. They can also choose to leave a company to pursue opportunities elsewhere.

Bonus Plans

Extra pay for accomplishing or surpassing certain objectives. There are two types of bonuses: monetary and cashless. Money is always a welcome bonus. Cashless rewards include written than you notes, appreciation notes sent to the employees family, movie tickets, flowers, time off, gift certificates, shopping sprees, and other types of recognition

Salary

Fixed compensation computed on weekly, biweekly, or monthly pay periods (e.g., $1600 per month or $400 per week). Salaried employees do not receive additional pay for any extra hours worked.

Cafeteria-style fringe benefits

Fringe beenfits plan that allows employees to choose the benefits they want up to a certain dollar amount

Which pay system uses a tiered system of pay ranges based on know-how, problem solving, and accountability?

Hay

Core Time

In a flextime plan, the period when all employees are expected to be at their job stations

Why has recruitment become more difficult?

Legal restrictions complicate hiring and firing practices. Finding suitable employees can be more difficult if companies are considered unattractive workplaces.

What methods help develop managerial skills?

Management development method include on the job coaching, under study positions, job rotation, and off the job courses and training

How does networking fit in this process?

Networking is the process of establishing contacts with key mangers within and outside the organization to get additional development assistance

What methods do human resource managers use to recruit new employees?

Recruiting sources are classified as either internal or external. Internal sources include those hired from within (transfers, promotions, reassignments) and employees who recommend other to hire. External recruitment sources include advertisements, public and private employment agencies, college placement bureaus, management consultants, professional organizations, referrals, walk-in applications, and the internet

Stock options

Right to purchase stock in the company at a specific price over a specific period. Often this gives employees the right to buy stock cheaply despite huge increases i the price of the stock.

What scheduling plans can adjust work to employees need for flexibility?

Such plans include job sharing, flextime, compressed workweeks, and home-based work

What type of compensation are appropriate for teams?

The most common are gain-sharing and skill based compensation programs. Managers also reward outstanding individual performance within teams

What are common types of compensation systems?

They include salary systems, hourly wages, piecework, commission plans, bonus plans, profit-sharing plans, and stock options

Preparing a human resource inventory of the organizations employees

This inventory should include ages, names, education, capabilities, training, specialized skills, and other relevant information (such as languages spoken). It reveals whether the labor force is technically up-to-dateand thoroughly trained.

Hourly wage or daywork

Wage based on number of hours or days worked, used for most blue-collar and clerical workers. Often employees must punch a time clock when they arrive at work and when they leave. Hourly wages vary greatly. The federal minimum wage is $7.25, and top wages go as high as $40 per hour or more for skilled craftspeople. This does not include benefits such as retirement systems, which may add 30 percent or more to the total package.

Flextime Plan

Work schedule that gives employees some freedom to choose when to work, as long as they work the required number of hours or complete their assigned tasks

Job analysis

a study of what employees do who hold various job titles. this is necessary in order to recruit and train employees with the necessary skills to do the job. The results of job analysis are two written statements: job descriptions and job specifications.

Increasing numbers of contingent workers are:

educated professionals such as accountants, attorneys, and engineers

Contingent workers

employees that include part-time workers, temporary workers, seasonal workers, independent contractions, interns, and co-op students

Affirmative action

employment activities designed to "right past wrongs" by increasing opportunities for minorities and women

A carefully managed compensation program provides employees with some sense of financial security through:

fringe benefits

Discussing an employee's successes and areas that need improvement can provide managers an opportunity to:

guide the employee to better performance and hear the employee's view on how to improve the job

Off-the-job training

internal or external training programs away from the workplace that develop any of a variety of skills or foster personal development

A study of what employees do who hold various job titles is a(n) ____ _______?

job analysis

Another employee who introduces lower-level employees to there right people and acts as a sponsor within the organization is a(n):

mentor

The ability to provide a large number of employees with consistent content tailored to specific training needs at convenient times is the key advantage to:

online training

Employees working 1 to 34 hours are considered ____ - _____ or contingent workers.

part time

Commission Plans

pay based on some percentage of sales. Often used to compensate salespeople, commission plans resemble piecework systems

The American with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits employers from discriminating against _____ individuals with disabilities.

qualified

The process for obtaining qualified people is:

recruitment

Orientation programs include:

required reading of handbooks informal talks scheduled visits to departments

Fixed compensation computed on weekly, biweekly, or monthly pay periods is:

salary

Orientation

the activity that introduces new employees to the organization; to fellow employees; to their immediate supervisors; and to the policies, practices, and objectives of the firm

Increased flexibility in scheduling has become an important benefit for employers to offer because of:

the increase in two-income families and the increase in single parent homes

Human Resource Management (HRM)

the process of determining human resource needs and then recruiting, selecting, developing motivating, evaluating, compensation, and scheduling employees to achieve organizational goals.

Networking

the process of establishing and maintaining contacts with key managers in and outside the organization and using those contacts to weave strong relationships that serve as informal development systems

Selection

the process of gathering information and deciding who should be hired, under legal guidelines, to serve the best interests of the individual and the organization

management development

the process of training and educating employees to become good managers, and then monitoring the progress of their managerial skills over time

What are some training activities?

training activities include employee orientation, on- and off-the-job training, apprentice programs, online training, vestibule training, and job simulation

Profit-sharing plans

Annual bonus paid to employees based on the company's profits. The amount paid to each employee is based on a predetermined percentage. Profits sharing is one of the most common forms of performance-based pay

Gain-Sharing plans

Annual bonuses paid to employees based on achieving specific goals such as quality measures, customer satisfaction measures, and production targets

What are current challenges and opportunities in the human resource area?

Any current challenges and opportunities arise from changing demographics: more women, minorities, immigrants, and older workers in the workforce. Others include a shortage of trained workers and an abundance of unskilled workers, skilled workers in declining industries requiring retraining, changing employee work attitudes, and complex laws and regulations

Job specifications

a written summary of the minimum qualifications required of workers to do a particular job

Training and development

all attempts to improve productivity by increasing an employees ability to perform. Training focuses on short-term skills, whereas development focuses on long-term abilities.

Performance appraisal

an evaluation that measures employee performance against established standards in order to make decision about promotions, compensation, training, or termination

Mentor

an experienced employee who supervises, coaches, and guides lower-level employees by introducing them to the right people and generally being their organizational sponsor

The result of a job ____ are two written statements: job descriptions and job specifications.

analysis

In _____ programs, a trainee works alongside an experienced worker to master the skills and procedures of a craft, such as carpentry.

apprentice

Fringe Benefits

benefits such as sick-leave pay, vacation pay, pension plans, and health plans that represent additional compensation beyond base wages.

Fringe beenfits such as health care, paid vacation, and sick days provide additional ____ to employees.

compensation

Which decisions are affected by performance appraisals?

compensation training and promotion

Fringe benefits, including sick-leave pay, vacation pay, pension plans, and health plans have had an effort on the:

cost of compensation to the employees costs of compensation to the employer and retention of employees

The tools that lists ages, names, education, capabilities, training, specialized skills, and other relevant information about an organizations employees is called a:

human resource inventory

Recruitment

the set of activities used to obtain a sufficient number of the right employees at the right time

job simulation

the use of equipment that duplicated job condition and tasks so trainees can learn skills before attempting them on the job

On-the-job training

training at the workplace that lets the employee learn by doing or by watching other for a while and then imitating them

Vestibule training

training done in schools where employees are taught on equipment similar to that used on the job

Apprentice programs

training programs during which a learner works alongside an experienced employee to master the skills and procedures of a craft

Online training

training programs in which employees complete classes via the internet

____ training is done in classrooms on equipment similar to that used on the job to teach employees proper methods and safety procedures before assuming a specific job.

vestibule

Piecework system

wage based on the number of items produced rather than by the hour or day. this type of system creates powerful incentives to work efficiently and proactively

On-the-job training lets the employee learn by ___ an experienced employee and then imitating them.

watching

Compressed Workweek

work schedule that allows an employee to work a full number of hours per week but in fewer days.