Week 7 - Human Resource Management

Some of the new twenty-first century challenges that Human Resources managers deal with include:

aging workforce, increased diversity, working from home, and advances in technology.

Diversity in the workforce is associated with the following benefits:

A broader cultural and geographic understanding.

Employee compensation is the cost of acquiring human resources and may take the following forms:

Annualized salary, wage or incentive payment structures and a range of benefits.

Which of the following is an effective approach to professional development?

Begin a formal program of study to achieve a certificate or degree.

The hiring process includes:

Development of a job description, including essential skills, behaviors or attitudes.

A restaurant chain hires two new restaurant managers. One manager is a woman, and one is a man. Both candidates are equally qualified for their positions. The restaurant chain owner wanted to save money and so he offered the job to the woman at a salary $10,000 lower than what he offered the man. This is a violation of The Equal Pay Act of 1963. Which entity, if notified, could enforce the Equal Pay Act of 1963 on behalf of these employees?

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Our operating environment—the world—is dynamic and emerging trends represent both a challenge and opportunity for HR managers. Which of the following is an accurate assessment of the situation?

HR management is charged with managing the human resource-impacts of globalization, offshoring and outsourcing.

HR management has both hard and soft options for employee termination and the option chosen depends on the situation. If an organization seeks to downsize their staff but also avoid negative PR and a general decrease in motivation and productivity, an HR manager would:

Implement an incentive plan for early retirement or voluntary resignation.

HR contributes to business success by:

Implementing policies, practices and procedures that comply with the law and increase employee productivity.

One of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is "localization." What does localization mean?

In a global marketplace, a company that employs a diverse workforce is better able to understand the demographics of the various consumer marketplaces it serves.

What challenge does "big data" bring to HR?

Increased pressure for HR to use metrics and in-depth analysis for decision making and to justify return on investment for key expenditures.

Human resource-related litigation:

Is generally attributed to manager mistakes.

In order to be effective in retaining talent, HR managers need to understand what prompts employees to change jobs. Which of the following accurately reflects the situation?

New challenges and opportunities and work-life balance are more important than salary and benefits.

Ahmed is a doctor who works both at a hospital and in private practice. He recently heard about a new technology that would allow him to improve medical record-keeping and prescription tracking for his patients. Ahmed is keen to evaluate this technology. What should Ahmed do to learn more?

Participate in a professional development opportunity—he did hear about a conference coming up about technologies in the medical field.

Given HR's fundamental human capital management responsibility, retaining talent or minimizing employee turnover is a critical objective. Which of the following is an effective way to achieve that objective?

Provide a stimulating workplace environment that promotes personal and professional growth.

________ is the process of identifying suitable candidates and encouraging them to apply for job openings in the organization.

Recruiting

Job turnover is a continual challenge for human resources since it costs money and time to bring new employees into an organization. According to employee job turnover research, which of the following was discovered to be a main reason people leave a company?

The external marketplace had better job opportunities.

National Labor Relations Act of 1935 legitimized and regulated labor unions. How is this act applied?

The law enforces collective bargaining in labor-management relations.

Which of the following is a possible reason for a mutual-agreement termination?

The termination date was agreed upon in an employment contract before the employment starts.

Recruitment strategies generally:

Use a combination of in-person, word of mouth and online strategies to develop a diverse candidate pool.

Performance appraisal is a process of assessing an individual employee's job performance relative to pre-established criteria and organizational objectives. Which of the following is an effective approach to professional development:

Using a 2+2 (complement plus constructive feedback) method

Termination is, in brief, the end of the employer-employee relationships and may be voluntary or involuntary. Which of the following statements accurately reflects the distinction between the two types of termination?

Voluntary termination is considered a "no fault" termination; an employee who is involuntary terminated is generally considered to be at fault.

Mila was so excited to finally have a full time job again after a period of sporadic part time work. She was most excited about her new medical insurance, 401(k) retirement plan and the fact that the company will pay for a portion of her child care expenses. These are examples of:

benefits.

In the evaluation portion of the hiring process:

companies assess the effectiveness of their selective hiring process.

Employees are more likely to continue working for and working hard at companies that:

create a positive work environment and recognize employee contributions.

Employees are most likely to change jobs because of:

downsizing or the restructuring of an organization.

In the United States, the________ is the right of an employer to fire an employee or an employee to leave an organization at any time, without any specific cause. This principle gives both the employee and employer freedom to terminate the relationship at any time.

employment-at-will principle

Some strategies for reducing employee turnover include all EXCEPT:

enforcing a mandatory company exercise program.

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 requires employers to verify the identity and employment authorization of all new hires, whether they are citizens or noncitizens. Employers must:

ensure each employee in the US completes Form I-9.

Federal anti-discrimination legislation requires employers to:

evaluate candidates and employees on factors related to performance and not protected categories such as color, disability or sex.

Thomas has worked for ABC foods for 8 years as a cashier. He is always punctual, wonderful with customers, helpful to colleagues and often finds creative and effective solutions to problems that arise. When an area manager in the store retired, the company decided that Thomas would be an excellent person to fill that management role. The store director spoke to Thomas and encouraged him to apply for the management position. Thomas applied, went through the interview process and was selected for the management position. This is an example of:

hiring an internal candidate.

Human resource professionals help Walt Disney World make sure it has enough qualified "cast members" to provide visitors with a "magical" experience. This is an example of:

how human resource management contributes to business success.

Today is Jerry's first day at his new job as a cashier at the local grocery store. When he arrives in the morning one of his new colleagues explains that Jerry will spend some time watching his colleague use the cash register while the colleague explains what he is doing. Then, after break time, it will be Jerry's turn to start acting as cashier, with his colleague right next to him to show him how to use the machine properly and conduct transactions with customers. Once he feels confident and learns this new skill, Jerry will be able to operate the cash register on his own. This is an example of:

on-the-job training.

A systematic and periodic process that assesses employee's job performance and productivity in a specific organization, in relation to certain pre-established criteria and organizational objectives is known as:

performance appraisal.

It's your first day on the job and the Human Resource manager is walking you through the new employee paperwork and explaining company benefits and incentives. She mentions that one of the upsides of strong performance is a $3,000 annual training bonus that can be used to take business courses at the local community college or attend relevant conferences or seminars. This bonus will enable you to engage in:

professional development.

When an organization's employees participate in formal vocational education or technical training leading to a qualification or credential that is required to obtain or retain employment this is known as:

professional development.

An architectural firm fired an architect after she was injured in a fall and filed a workers' compensation claim. This is an example of a ________ and is illegal.

retaliatory discharge

The core functions of human resource management are:

safety and health, employee and labor relations and compensation, staffing and training and development.

Sabrina works as a shoe salesperson. She is paid a regular hourly rate of $9 per hour plus a shared commission of any sales that transpire while she is working her shift. This is an example of:

salary plus commission.

The function of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is to:

stop and remedy unlawful employment discrimination.

Over the next ten years, 40% of the workforce will retire. For an HR manager, implications are that:

the demographics of the labor pool is changing and there are not enough qualified people to fill those jobs that are left vacant.

Gloria was just promoted to a new job in the assembly department at a small manufacturing company. Gloria's manager wants her to gain the relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies she will need in order to become a productive member of the assembly team. Gloria's manager will need to arrange or provide:

training for Gloria

Area(s) that present a major challenge for human resource management include:

turnover

Labor and safety legislation assumes that:

workers have a right to a safe workplace