Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
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1. Human resource management is the process of deciding the number and types of people
your business needs, and then, recruiting, selecting, developing, motivating, evaluating,
compensating, and scheduling employees to achieve organizational goals.
2. Human resource management is receiving increased attention because the shift from
traditional manufacturing industries to service and high-tech manufacturing industries
requires workers to have more technical job skills.
3. Recruiting is relatively easy today because qualified labor is so plentiful.
4.
Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
Today, human resource management is viewed as a clerical function of keeping personnel
records and processing payroll.
5. The human resource function has become so critical that it is now a concern of all
managers.
6. The human resource manager’s job is easier today than it was in the past because a
growing percentage of the work force is highly educated and well-prepared for jobs in the
contemporary business environment.
7. The reason industries such as robotics and biotechnology have grown rapidly in recent
years is that the United States has a surplus of highly educated and experienced workers
available for employment in these fields.
8. One of the challenges facing today’s human resource managers is a shift in the age
distribution of the labor force, including aging baby boomers, many of whom are
deferring retirement.
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9. Today’s workers have an increased demand for benefits tailored to their individual needs.
10. Today’s workers place a lower priority on leisure time than they did in the past.
11. One challenge faced by today’s human resource managers is the fact that workers
overseas often work for lower wages and are subject to fewer laws and regulations.
12.
Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
Today’s workers tend to be very loyal, as evidenced by declining turnover rates in most
industries.
13. Underemployed workers present a challenge for human resources managers. These are
people who are working beyond their capabilities.
14. The appropriate term for employees whose skills and knowledge go beyond their current
work environment and work responsibilities are underemployed workers.
15. Very few experienced employees have skill and knowledge that is considered a higher
level than what they use at their jobs.
Feedback: Managers are challenged to utilize workers whose skill and knowledge are
superior to what they actually use at work. The term that we use to describe this group of
employees is underemployed workers.
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22. Last year Adam lost his job as a skilled welder at an automobile assembly plant. After
looking for work for several months, he finally accepted a job as an unskilled laborer at a
local nursery. Although he is pleased to have work, Adam feels that his new job doesn’t
use his skills to their full potential. Adam is an example of an underemployed worker.
Feedback: Underemployed workers have higher-level skills than their current job requires.
23. In one year’s time, James developed gall bladder problems and needed surgery; he
became a single parent; he willingly moved his older mom in to live with him in order to
avoid placing her in a nursing home; and, he unexpectedly tore his rotator cuff playing
softball during the summer. Overall, these are not considered circumstances that impact
job performance because they fall outside of the workplace. HR managers need only be
concerned with how James performs when he is at work.
Feedback: Health issues and social issues affect job performance. HR managers must create
strategies for addressing these challenges. HR managers cannot compartmentalize these as
issues that fall outside of the work environment, because they directly impact workers’
abilities to perform well at work.
24. The federal government has to minimized its role in human resource management.
25.
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, or
compensation, based on race, religion, creed, sex, or national origin.
26. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not do enough to discourage discriminatory practices in
the workplace.
27. Congress has given the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission broad powers to
issue guidelines for acceptable employer behavior concerning employment opportunities.
28. The effectiveness of the EEOC has been limited because Congress never gave it any
authority to enforce its mandates.
29.
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Affirmative action programs are the least controversial method of correcting job
inequities created by past discrimination.
30. Reverse discrimination is the term the EEOC uses to refer to activities designed to “right
past wrongs” that resulted from discrimination against women and minorities.
31. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 gave victims of discrimination the right to seek punitive
damages from the firms that discriminated against them.
32. Although the purpose of affirmative action was to “right past wrongs” against minorities,
subsequent laws were passed to reverse earlier decisions that required some industries to
maintain employment quotas when it came to the hiring of minorities.
33.
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Recent federal law clearly and strongly supports the notion that companies must use strict
employment quotas to correct for past discriminatory actions.
34. The concept of “reasonable accommodations” means that all workers should be treated in
the same manner.
35. Most firms have trouble implementing the structural changes required by the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
36. In their efforts to accommodate disabled workers, most firms experience difficulties with
cultural changes, more so than with structural changes.
37.
Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act only prevents discrimination against
employees who are over the age of 65.
38. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act permits age limits in professions where it
can be established that ability to perform the job declines significantly with age.
39. One way human resource managers can keep current on human resource legislation and
rulings is to read current business literature such as The Wall Street Journal and Business
Week.
40. When it comes to human resource management issues, the federal government generally
has taken a “hands off” approach since the early 1960s.
Feedback: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 brought the federal government directly
into the operations of human resource management. Additional legislation such as the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the
Civil Rights Act of 1991 extended the government’s influence into human resource
management even further.
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44. Sonny Skies is in his late fifties and loves his work as a pilot for a major airline. He wants
to continue working for many more years. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
provides Sonny with the right to keep his job as long as his company is financially sound
and he does not commit a felony.
Feedback: Although the Age Discrimination in Employment Act makes it unlawful to
discriminate against a person because of age with respect to hiring, firing, promotion, layoff,
compensation, and job assignments, it makes certain exceptions. In particular, it allows age
limits to be set for certain professions where it has been shown that the ability to perform the
job declines significantly with age. One profession where age limits are allowed is airline
pilot.
45. Sean works for a large discount retailer. His wife works for a large bank with several
branches. After recently adopting a child, the couple agreed that each would take six-
weeks of leave from work in order to care for the newborn. According to the Family and
Medical Leave Act, one, but not both are eligible for leave.
Feedback: According to the Family and Medical Leave Act, each employee is eligible to take
12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for their newly adopted child.
46.
Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
Zorn Enterprises hired several qualified soldiers returning from the war with hearing
impairment to rehab its recently acquired apartment complexes. As a growing business, it
is abiding by the law as currently stated. It is not required to adapt the work site to help
these soldiers hear and communicate better with each other.
Feedback: According to the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, businesses must provide
equal consideration to qualified persons with disabilities in the hiring process. Businesses
should not discriminate against hiring persons with physical or mental disabilities who are
qualified to do the job, and the businesses must also adapt the work environment to
accommodate employees with disabilities.
47. Mario and Marla are web development professionals for a popular high tech company.
Due to injuries Mario sustained while serving in the Army Reserves, upon his return the
company provided him and other returning soldiers with ergonomic desks and chairs that
accommodates wheel chairs and bad backs. Although Marla is hearing impaired, the
company does not need to consider providing her with a headset that magnifies sound
because she is the only employee out of 200 requiring this accommodation.
Feedback: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (1992 implementation) prohibits
employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in hiring,
advancement, or compensation and requires employers to adapt the work environment to
accommodate a variety of employee needs.
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52. The result of a job analysis is a written document called a human resource inventory.
53. When you collect information about a particular job title, including how the job is
performed and what it takes to perform the job, you are conducting a job analysis.
54. A job analysis consists of creating two documents called a job inventory and a
performance appraisal.
55. A job specification is a statement of the job itself, while a job description is a statement
about the person who does the job.
56.
Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
A job specification identifies the minimum qualifications a person must have to fill a
particular job.
57. A job description identifies and describes the type of person who should perform the job,
including important qualifications such as deduction, skills, and experience.
58. Human resource planning involves the assessment of both the future demand and the
future supply of the various types of labor needed by the organization.
59. The first four steps in human resource planning all lead to the final step, which is the
development of a strategic human resource plan.
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60. The second step in human resource planning consists of conducting job analyses.
Through observation and research, the manager will collect information on the kinds of
things that each job title performs and how they are performed, as well as the skill and
knowledge requirements for doing the job.
Feedback: A job analysis is a study of the types of things that each job title does and how they
do them, as well as what it takes to perform the job. Through this information, the manager
can proceed with writing the job description and the job specifications.
61. Job analysis helps a manager answer the question: “How many workers in my
organization have this particular skill”?
Feedback: Job analysis is a study of what is done by workers who fill a particular job title. A
human resource inventory would be more likely to answer a question about how many
workers in the organization have a particular skill.
62.
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Essentially, the steps of the human resource plan require the HR professional to (1) take
inventory of the type of workers (including the skills of the workers) that the business
already has, in order to determine if it has the most up to date workforce for its needs;
he/she then proceeds with (2) analyzing each job; (3) forecasting the firm’s requirements
for various job titles; and (4) making a determination of the future supply of skilled labor
available to meet the demands of the business. Lastly, the HR professional (5) develops a
human resource strategic plan.
Feedback: The five steps of the human resource plan includes: (1) Preparing a human
resource inventory; (2) Performing job analyses, including writing job descriptions and job
specifications; (3) Forecasting the demand for these jobs within the company; (4) Assessing
the future supply of labor; (5) Preparing a human resource strategic plan.
63. Chris Schubert is a human resource manager with the Night Owl Publishing Company.
He just finished creating a document that describes what editors do at their jobs. The study
Chris has completed is known as a human resource inventory.
Feedback: A document that describes what editors do at their jobs would be a job description.
64.
Chapter 11 – Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees
Lani wants to know how many workers in her company have certain specialized skills
and have received training to update their qualifications within the past year. She could
use a human resource inventory to help her find this type of information.
Feedback: A human resource inventory includes the names, ages, education, training,
specialized skills and other capabilities and relevant characteristics of a firm’s employees.
65. As an HR manager, Erin is assigned to updating all job descriptions and job
specifications for her company. Erin will begin by collecting information about each job
title, as well as learning about the kinds of activities and responsibilities that go with each
job. After she thoroughly analyzes a job, she will write the job description and job
specifications for that job.
Feedback: The results of job analysis are two written statements: job descriptions and job
specifications.
66. Toni Matthews is interested in a position that has opened up at her firm, but she wants to
find out more about the type of work and responsibilities involved in the job. A document
that would have the information she wants is the job specification.
Feedback: A job specification is concerned with the person who fills the job rather than the
nature of the job itself. The information Toni wants is more likely to be in a job description
than in a job specification.