MGMT 330 Part 1
In the context of today's organizations, which statement is true of employees?
Employees are not easily replaced parts of a system; they are the source of a company's success or failure. (Human capital means the organization's employees are described in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight—the employee characteristics that can add economic value to the organization. In other words, for an organization to succeed at what it does, it needs employees with certain qualities, such as particular kinds of training and experience. This view means employees in today's organizations are not interchangeable, easily replaced parts of a system but the source of the company's success or failure.)
Amita, an employee at Neon Corp., develops and distributes newsletters that announce upcoming events in the company. Which human resource management practice is being performed by Amita?
employee relations (In this scenario, Amita's role in the organization is to maintain employee relations. Organizations often depend on human resource professionals to help them maintain positive relations with employees. This function includes preparing and distributing employee handbooks that detail company policies and, in large organizations, company publications such as a monthly newsletter or a website on the organization's intranet.)
An automobile manufacturing company had the largest number of its employees in the manufacturing sector last year. Instead of hiring more employees, the company decided to invest heavily in training its employees on automotive maintenance and design. Which belief has most likely led the company to make this decision?
The employees are the source of the company's success or failure. (Human capital means the organization's employees are described in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight—the employee characteristics that can add economic value to the organization. In other words, for an organization to succeed at what it does, it needs employees with certain qualities, such as particular kinds of training and experience. This view means employees in today's organizations are not interchangeable, easily replaced parts of a system but the source of the company's success or failure. In this case, Motorama decided to invest heavily in training its employees on automotive maintenance and design instead of hiring more employees because employees are the source of the company's success or failure.)
When GRN Manufacturing experienced a slowdown in sales, it laid off the two employees with the poorest attendance. One of the employees sued the company, saying it should have laid off the most recently hired workers. What defense would GRN Manufacturing most likely offer?
The layoffs were instances of employment at will. (Because economic or competitive conditions can force companies to close facilities and lay off employees, cases dealing with the illegal discharge of employees have increased. The issue of "employment at will"—that is, the principle that an employer may terminate employment at any time without notice—will be debated.)
Kai, one of the senior managers at Brazen Inc., insists that the company supervisors handle employee relations as part of their jobs. Which statement strengthens Kai's argument?
The supervisors represent the company on a day-to-day basis. (In this case, Kai insists that the supervisors of Brazen Inc. handle employee relations because supervisors play a key role in employee relations. They are most often the voice of management for their employees, and represent a company on a day-to-day basis.)
What term describes the employees of an organization in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight?
human capital (As a type of resource, human capital means the organization's employees are described in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight—the employee characteristics that can add economic value to the organization.)
Sakura is a benefits specialist at a manufacturing company. She negotiates contracts for insurance, retirement plans, and other employee benefits in order to get the best possible deal while meeting all legal requirements. She understands the details of each benefit and is able to help employees understand the value of their benefits. This scenario illustrates Sakura's competency in the area of
human resource expertise. (This scenario illustrates Sakura's human resource expertise. This competency essentially involves understanding and carrying out the functions of human resource management. These behaviors involve using HR technology, applying policies and procedures, and keeping up-to-date on HR laws.)
Shelby works at Trader Inc. Her primary role in the company is to create self-rating, job-related questionnaires for the employees. Which human resource management practice is being performed by Shelby?
performance management (In this scenario, Shelby is involved in performance management. The process of ensuring that employees' activities and outputs match an organization's goals is called performance management. The activities of performance management include specifying the tasks and outcomes of a job that contribute to the organization's success. The human resource department may be responsible for developing or obtaining questionnaires and other devices for measuring performance.)
One way to define the responsibilities of HR departments is to think of HR as a business within the company with three product lines: administrative services and transactions, business partner services, and strategic partner. Being a strategic partner involves contributing to the company's strategy through an understanding of its existing and needed human resources and ways HR practices can give the company a competitive advantage. For strategic ideas to be effective, HR people must understand the business, its industry, and its competitors.
planning and administering pay and benefits (The pay and benefits that employees earn play an important role in motivating them. A company that wants to provide an exceptional level of service or be exceptionally innovative might pay significantly more than competitors in order to attract and keep the best employees.)
What is the primary professional organization for HRM that provides education and information services, and is also the world's largest human resource management association?
the Society for Human Resource Management
Which statement is true of ethics in human resource management? Evidence shows that HRM practices are invariably ethical. The general public has a positive perception of the ethical conduct of U.S. businesses. HR managers must view employees as having basic rights. Most managers have a positive perception of the ethical conduct of U.S. businesses. Most people believe that individuals apply values they hold in their personal lives to their professional activities.
HR managers must view employees as having basic rights. (Ethics refers to fundamental principles of right and wrong. Ethical behavior is behavior that is consistent with those principles. In the context of ethical human resource management, HR managers must view employees as having basic rights. Business decisions, including HRM decisions, should be ethical, but the evidence suggests that is not always what happens. As a result, recent surveys indicate that the general public and managers do not have positive perceptions of the ethical conduct of U.S. businesses.)
Tetsu is a member of the human resource department at a fabric wholesale company. Setting a goal to enhance the firm's strategy, Tetsu works to attain it by understanding the current human resources. Through a series of surveys, interviews, and observations, she learns what talents the various departments of the company currently need, and attracts new human resources according to those requirements. What kind of HRM responsibility does this example illustrate?
HRM's responsibility to serve as a strategic partner (One way to define the responsibilities of HR departments is to think of HR as a business within the company with three product lines: administrative services and transactions, business partner services, and strategic partner. Being a strategic partner involves contributing to the company's strategy through an understanding of its existing and needed human resources and ways HR practices can give the company a competitive advantage. For strategic ideas to be effective, HR people must understand the business, its industry, and its competitors.)
What is the advantage of establishing and administering policies in organizations?
It allows companies to handle situations more fairly and objectively. (With a policy in place, a company can handle situations more fairly and objectively than if it addressed such incidents on a case-by-case basis.)
Darius, a manager, is rigid with his employees and does not allow them to voice their opinions or criticisms about their superiors. On the other hand, Faraja, another manager at the same firm, encourages her subordinates to communicate with her openly. Which statement uses basic rights to argue in favor of Faraja's practice over that of Darius's?
It engages the employees in expressing constructive criticisms and opinions. (The right of freedom of speech states that people have the right to criticize an organization's ethics if they do so in good conscience and their criticism does not violate the rights of individuals in the organization. Many organizations address this right by offering hotlines or policies and procedures designed to handle complaints from employees.)
When Paradise Incorporated, a travel insurance company, decided to introduce new goals for its internal management, there was a rift regarding what should be implemented. Group A emphasized short-term goals that would benefit the company, while Group B believed in introducing policies that would create more mutually beneficial relationships with client businesses, such as major airlines. Which result would prove Group B's decision to be ideal?
an increase of airline customers purchasing Paradise Incorporated's insurance (Ethical, successful companies act according to four principles. First, in their relationships with customers, vendors, and clients, ethical and successful companies emphasize mutual benefits. Second, employees assume responsibility for the actions of the company. Third, such companies have a sense of purpose or vision that employees value and use in their day-to-day work. Finally, they emphasize fairness; that is, another person's interests count as much as their own.)
Maverick is the human resource manager at Gold Corp. He clearly understands the company's strategy. He has a solid understanding of business principles, and he applies these to help the HR department contribute to Gold's success. This scenario indicates that Maverick has competency in the area of
business acumen. (In this scenario, Maverick exhibits strength in the area of business acumen. Business acumen involves understanding how information can be used to support the organization's strategy. Behaviors include gaining and applying knowledge of business principles and how HR functions relate to business success)
How can an HR department that is considered its company's strategic partner help the company gain a competitive advantage?
by understanding the existing human resources and providing new ones (Contributing to a company's strategy through an understanding of its existing and needed human resources are ways HR practices can give the company a competitive advantage. For strategic ideas to be effective, HR people must understand the business, its industry, and its competitors.)
Parul, the human resource manager at Triant Inc., has a clear understanding of the firm's business. This enables her to understand the various needs of the business and help the company meet its goals for attracting, keeping, and developing employees with the required skills. This scenario indicates Parul's responsibility of
providing business partner services. (In this case, Parul executes her responsibility of providing business partner services. This involves developing effective HR systems that help the organization meet its goals for attracting, keeping, and developing people with the skills it needs. For the systems to be effective, HR people must understand the business so it can understand what the business needs.)
Parker works at Delta Corporation. He is responsible for identifying individuals with skills required for the various roles in the organization. Which human resource management practice is being performed by Parker?
selection (In this scenario, Parker is involved in selecting potential employees for his organization. Selection refers to the process by which an organization attempts to identify applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help the organization achieve its goals. An organization makes selection decisions in order to add employees to its workforce, as well as to transfer existing employees to new positions.)
Dorey's company was undergoing a major change from brick and mortar stores to an online ordering system. As HR manager, she was assigned the task of managing this transition. Which HR responsibility is Dorey performing??
support for strategy (Dorey is supporting the company strategy by managing change.)
