Management Chapter 12

The strategic approach to HRM recognizes three key elements

1. all managers are involved in human resource management. 2. employees are viewed as assets. Employees, not buildings and machinery, give a company its competitive edge. 3. human resource management is a matching process, integrating the organization's strategy and goals with the correct approach to managing human capital

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

1967 (amended 1978, 1986) Prohibits age discrimination and restricts mandatory retirement.

Americans with Disabilities Act

1990, Prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals by employers on the basis of disability and demands that "reasonable accommodations" be provided for the disabled to allow performance of duties.

Civil Rights Act

1991 Provides for possible compensatory and punitive damages plus traditional back pay for cases of intentional discrimination brought under title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Shifts the burden of proof to the employer. Sexual Harrasment is a violation of title 7 of this act.

behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)

Developed from critical incidents pertaining to job performance. Each job performance scale is anchored with specific behavioral statements that describe varying degrees of performance. By relating employee performance to specific incidents, raters can more accurately evaluate an employee's performance

Human Resource Management (HRM)

How a company manages talent may be the single most important factor in sustained competitive success. Today's best human resources departments not only support strategic objectives but also actively pursue an ongoing, integrated plan for furthering the organization's performance

360-degree feedback

a process that uses multiple raters, including self-rating, as a way to increase awareness of strengths and weaknesses and guide employee development. Members of the appraisal group may include supervisors, coworkers, and customers, as well as the individual, thus providing appraisal of the employee from a variety of perspectives

Contingent workers

are people who work for an organization, but not on a permanent or full-time basis. These include temporary placements, contracted professionals, leased employees, or part-time workers

Performance appraisal

comprises the steps of observing and assessing employee performance, recording the assessment, and providing feedback to the employee. During performance appraisal, skillful managers give feedback and praise concerning the acceptable elements of the employee's performance. They also describe performance areas that need improvement. Employees can use this information to change their job performance. Unfortunately, only three in ten employees in a recent survey believe their companies' performance review system actually helps to improve performance, indicating a need for improved methods of appraisal and feedback

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 initiates investigations in response to complaints concerning discrimination

realistic job preview (RJP)

gives applicants all pertinent and realistic information—positive and negative—about the job and the organization. RJPs contribute to greater employee satisfaction and lower turnover because they facilitate matching individuals, jobs, and organizations. Individuals have a better basis on which to determine their suitability to the organization and "self-select" into or out of positions based on full information

job description

is a clear and concise summary of the specific tasks, duties, and responsibilities

halo effect

is a form of stereotyping, in which a manager gives an employee the same rating on all dimensions even if his or her performance is good on some dimensions and poor on others

Coaching

is a method of directing, instructing, and training a person with the goal to develop specific management skills. Coaching usually applies to higher-level managers who want to develop their personal competencies. For instance, a coach might observe a senior executive in action and provide feedback about how the executive can improve her interaction skills

Job analysis

is a systematic process of gathering and interpreting information about the essential duties, tasks, and responsibilities of a job, as well as about the context within which the job is performed

internal recruiting

is also know as promote-from-within. Has two major advantages: It is less costly than an external search, and it generates higher employee commitment, development, and satisfaction because it offers opportunities for career advancement to employees rather than outsiders

corporate university

is an in-house training and education facility that offers broad-based learning opportunities for employees—and frequently for customers, suppliers, and strategic partners as well—throughout their careers

exit interview

is an interview conducted with departing employees to determine why they are leaving. Sixty-eight percent of companies surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management say they either routinely or occasionally conduct formal exit interviews

Recruiting

is defined as "activities or practices that define the characteristics of applicants to whom selection procedures are ultimately applied." Today, recruiting is sometimes referred to as talent acquisition to reflect the importance of the human factor in the organization's success

external recruiting

is recruiting newcomers from outside the organization. Applicants are provided by a variety of outside sources including advertising, state employment services, online recruiting services, private employment agencies (headhunters),job fairs, and employee referrals

Human resource planning

is the forecasting of human resource needs and the projected matching of individuals with expected vacancies

application form

is used to collect information about the applicant's education, previous job experience, and other background characteristics. Research in the life insurance industry shows that biographical information inventories can validly predict future job success

mentoring

is when an experienced employee guides and supports a newcomer or less experienced employee. Mentors typically offer counsel regarding how to network and advance in the company in addition to guiding the employee in developing his or her skills and abilities

on-the-job training (OJT)

is when an experienced employee is asked to take a new employee "under his or her wing" and show the newcomer how to perform job duties. OJT has many advantages, such as few out-of-pocket costs for training facilities, materials, or instructor fees and easy transfer of learning back to the job

Employment tests

may include intelligence tests, aptitude and ability tests, and personality inventories. Many companies today are particularly interested in personality inventories that measure such characteristics as openness to learning, initiative, responsibility, creativity, and emotional stability

stereotyping

occurs when a rater places an employee into a class or category based on one or a few traits or characteristics—for example, stereotyping an older worker as slower and more difficult to train

Discrimination

occurs when some applicants are hired or promoted based on criteria that are not job relevant; for example, refusing to hire a black applicant for a job he is qualified to fill or paying a woman a lower wage than a man for the same work are discriminatory acts

Assessment centers

present a series of managerial situations to groups of applicants over a two- or threeday period, for example. One technique is the in-basket simulation,which requires the applicant to play the role of a manager who must decide how to respond to ten memos in his or her in-basket within a two-hour period

compensation

referrs to: (1) all monetary payments and (2) all goods or commodities used in lieu of money to reward employees. An organization's compensation structure includes wages and/or salaries and benefits such as health insurance, paid vacations, or employee fitness centers. Developing an effective compensation system is an important part of human resource management because it helps to attract and retain talented workers. In addition, a company's compensation system has an impact on strategic performance

Rightsizing

refers to intentionally reducing the company's workforce to the point where the number of employees is deemed to be right for the company's current situation. Also called downsizing, planned reductions in the size of the workforce are a reality for many of today's companies. As the term rightsizing implies, the goal is to make the company stronger and more competitive by aligning the size of the workforce with the company's current needs

Human capital

refers to the economic value of the combined knowledge, experience, skills, and capabilities of employees

Affirmative action

requires that an employer take positive steps to guarantee equal employment opportunities for people within protected groups. An affirmative action plan is a formal document that can be reviewed by employees and enforcement agencies

International human resource management (IHRM)

specifically addresses the added complexity that results from coordinating and managing diverse people on a global scale

matching model

the organization and the individual attempt to match the needs, interests, and values that they offer each other