Term

Definition

4/5ths rule:

Rule stating that discrimination generally is considered to occur if the selection rate for a
protected group is less than 80% (4/5ths) of the selection rate for the majority group or less
than 80% of the groups representation in the relevant labor market

401(k) plan:

An agreement in which a percentage of an employees pay is withheld and invested in a tax

deferred account

Absolute standards

Measuring an employees performance against some established standards

Accept errors

Accepting candidates who would later prove to be poor performers

Action learning

A training technique by which management trainees are allowed to work full time analyzing
and solving problems in other departments

Active practice:

The performance of job-related tasks and duties by trainees during training

Adjective rating
scales

A performance appraisal method that lists a number of traits and a range of performance for
each

Adverse impact

The overall impact of employer practices that result in significantly higher percentages of
members of minorities and other protected groups being rejected for employment placement,
or promotion

Adverse selection

A situation in flexible benefits administration where those in greatest need of a particular

benefit choose that benefit more often than the average employee

Adverse selection:

Situation in which only higher-risk employees select and use certain benefits

Affirmative action

Steps that are taken for the purpose of eliminating the present effects of past discrimination

Affirmative action
plan (AAP):

Formal document that an employer compiles annually for submission to enforcement

agencies

Affirmative action:

Process in which employers identify problem areas, set goals, and take positive steps to
enhance opportunities for protected-class members

Agency shop

A form of union security in which employees who do not belong to the union must still pay
union dues on the assumption that union efforts benefit all workers

Albemarle Paper
Company v. Moody

Supreme Court case in which it was ruled that the validity of job tests must be documented
and that employee performance standards must be unambiguous

Alternation ranking
method

Ranking employees from best to worst on a particular trait

Apathy

Significant dysfunction tension resulting in no effort being made

Applicant pool:

All persons who are actually evaluated for selection

Applicant
population:

A subset of the labor force population that is available for selection using a particular
recruiting approach

Application form

The from that provides information on education, prior work record, and skills

Appraisal interview

An interview in which the supervisor and subordinate review the appraisal and make plans to
remedy deficiencies and reinforce strengths

Apprenticeship

A time typically two to five years when an individual is considering to be training to learn a
skill

Arbitration:

Process that uses a neutral third party to make a decision

Arbitration:

Process that uses a neutral third party to make a decision

Assessment center:

A collection of instruments and exercises designed to diagnose individuals development

needs

Attitude survey:

One that focuses on employees feelings and beliefs about their jobs and the organization

Attribution theory

A theory of performance evaluation based on the perception of who is in control of an

employees performance

Attrition

A process whereby the jobs of incumbents who leave for any reason will not be filled

Authority

The right to make decisions, direct others work, and give orders

Autonomy

The freedom and independence involved in doing ones job

Autonomy:

The extent of individual freedom and discretion in the work and its scheduling

Availability
analysis:

An analysis that identifies the number of protected-class members available to work in the
appropriated labor markets in given jobs

Baby boomers

Those individuals born between 1946 and 1964

Baby busters

Those individuals born in 1965 and years after. Often referred to as generation Xers

Background
investigation

The process of verifying information job candidates provide

Bargaining unit:

Employees eligible to select a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them

Base pay:

The basic compensation an employee receives, usually as a wage or salary

Behavior modeling

A training technique in which trainees are first shown good management techniques in a film,
are then asked to play roles in a simulated situation, and are then given feedback and praise
by their supervisor

Behavior modeling:

Copying someone elses behavior

Behavioral
interview:

Interview in which applicants give specific examples of how they have performed a certain
task or handled a problem in the past

Behavioral rating
approach:

Assesses an employees behaviors instead of other characteristics

Behavioral
symptoms

Symptoms of stress characterized by decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and

turnover, and increased smoking and alcohol/substance consumption

Behaviorally
Anchored Rating
Scales (BARS)

A performance appraisal technique that generates critical incidents and develops behavioral
dimensions of performance. The evaluator appraises behaviors rather than traits

Benchmark job:

Job found in many organizations and performed by several individuals who have similar duties
that are relatively stable and require similar KSAs

Benchmarking:

Comparing specific measures of performance against data on those measures in other best
practice organizations

Benefit:

An indirect reward given to an employee or group of employees as a part of organizational

membership

Benefit:

Indirect compensation given to an employee or group of employees as a part of

organizational membership

Benefits needs
analysis:

A comprehensive look at all aspects of benefits

Blind-box ad

An advertisement in which there is no identification of the advertising organization

Blue Cross

A health insurer concerned with the hospital side of health insurance

Blue Shield

A health insurer concerned with the provider side of health insurance

Bona fide
occupational
qualification
(BFOQ):

Characteristic providing a legitimate reason why an employer can exclude persons on

otherwise illegal basis of consideration

Bonus:

A one-time payment that does not become part of the employees base pay

Boycott

The combined refusal by employees and other interested parties to by or se the employers
products

Broadbanding:

Practice of using fewer pay grades having broader ranger than in traditional compensation
systems

Bulletin board

A means a company uses to post information of interest to its employees

Burnout

The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an
unrealistic work-related goal

Business agent:

A fulltime union official who operates the union office and assists union members

Business necessity:

A practice necessary for safe and efficient organizational operations

Career stages

An individuals career moves through five stages: exploration, establishment, mid-career,

late-career, and decline

Career:

The series of work-related positions a person occupies throughout life

Case study method

A development method in which the manager is presented with a written description of an

organizational problem to diagnose and solve

Central tendency

A tendency to rate all employees the same way, such as rating them all average

Central tendency

The tendency of a rater to give average ratings

Central tendency
error:

Rating all employees in a narrow range in the middle of the rating scale

Change agent

Individuals responsible for fostering the change effort, and assisting employees in adapting to
the changes

Checklist:

Performance appraisal tool that uses a list of statements or words that are checked by raters

Citation

Summons informing employers and employees of the regulations and standards that have
been violated in the workplace

Civil Service Reform

Act

Replace Executive Order 11491 as the basic law governing labor relations for federal
employees

Classification
method

Method of job evaluation that focuses on creating common job grades based on skills,
knowledge, and abilities

Clayton Act

Labor legislation that attempted to limit the use of injunctions against union activities

Closed shop:

A firm that requires individuals to join a union before they can be hired

Coaching

A development activity in which a manager takes an active role in guiding another manager

Coaching:

Training and feedback given to employees by immediate supervisors

Cognitive ability
tests:

Test that measure an individuals thinking, memory, reasoning, and verbal and mathematical
abilities

Collective
bargaining:

Process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours,
and other terms and conditions of employment

College placements

An external search process focusing recruiting efforts on a college campus

Commission:

Compensation computed as a percentage of sales in units or dollars

Communications
programs

HRM programs designed to provide information to employees

Comparable worth

The concept by which women who are usually paid less than men can claim that men in
comparable rather than strictly equal jobs are paid more

Compa-ratio:

Pay level divided by the midpoint of the pay range

Compensable
factor:

Identifies a job value commonly present throughout a group of jobs

Compensation
committee:

A subgroup of the board of directors composed of directors who are not officers of the firm

Compensatory time
off:

Hours given in lieu of payment for extra time worked

Competencies:

Basic characteristics that can be linked to enhanced performance by individuals or teams

Competitive
advantage

The basis for superiority over competitors and thus for hoping to claim certain customers

Complaint
procedure

A formalized procedure in an organization through which an employee seeks resolution of a

work problem

Complaint:

Indication of employee dissatisfaction

Compressed
workweek:

One in which a full weeks work is accomplished in fewer than five days

Conciliation:

Process by which a third party attempts to keep union and management negotiators talking
so that they can reach a voluntary settlement

Concurrent validity:

Measured when an employer tests current employees and correlates the scores with their
performance ratings

Constraints on
recruiting efforts

Factors that can affect maximizing outcome is recruiting

Construct validity:

Validity showing a relationship between an abstract characteristic and job performance

Constructive
discharge:

Occurs when an employer deliberately makes conditions intolerable in an attempt to get an

employee to quit

Content validity:

Validity measured by use of a logical, nonstatistical method to identify the KSAs and other
characteristics necessary to perform a job

Continuous process
improvement

A total quality management concept whereby workers continue toward 100 percent
effectiveness on the job

Contract
administration

Implementing, interpreting, and monitoring the negotiated agreement between labor and
management

Contractual rights:

Rights based on a specific contractual agreement between employer and employee

Contrast error:

Tendency to rate people relative to others rather than against performance

Contributory plan:

Pension plan in which the money for pension benefits is paid in by both employees and

employers
Controlled
experimentation

Formal method for testing the effectiveness of a training program, preferable with before-andafter tests and a control group

Controlling

A management function concerned with monitoring activities

Co-payment:

Employees payment of a portion of the cost of both insurance premiums and medical care

Core competency:

A unique capability that creates high value and that differentiates the organization from its
competition

Core-plus plans

A flexible benefits program whereby employees are provided core benefit coverage and then
are permitted to buy additional benefits from a menu

Correlation
coefficient:

Index number giving the relationship between a predictor and a criterion variable

Correlation
coefficients

A statistical procedure showing the strength of the relationship between ones test score and
job performance

Cost-benefit
analysis:

Comparison of costs and benefits associated with training

Craft union:

One whose members do one type of work, often using specialized skills and training

Criterion-related
validity:

Validity measured by a procedure that uses a test as the predictor of how well an individual
will perform on the job

Critical incident
appraisal

A performance appraisal method that focuses on the key behaviors that make the difference
between doing a job effectively or ineffectively

Critical incident
method

Keeping a record of uncommonly food or undesirable examples of an employees work-related

behavior and reviewing it with the employee at predetermined times

Cultural
environments

The attitudes and perspectives shared by individuals from specific countries that shape their
behavior and how they view the world

Cumulative trauma
disorders (CTDs):

Muscle and skeletal injuries that occur when workers respectively use the same muscles to
perform tasks

Cut score

A point at which applicants scoring below that point are rejected

Davis-Bacon Act

A law passed in 1931 that sets wage rates for laborers employed by contractors working for

the federal government

Decentralized work
sites

Work sites that exist away from an organizations facilities

Decertification:

Process whereby a union is removed as the representative of a group of employees

Decline phase

The final stage in ones career, usually marked by retirement

Defined-benefit
plan:

One in which an employee is promised a pension amount based on age and service

Definedcontribution plan:

One in which the employer makes an annual payment to an employees pension account

Delegation

A management activity in which activities are assigned to individuals at lower levels in the
organization

Deprivation

A state of having an unfulfilled need

Development:

Efforts to improve employees ability to handle a variety of assignments

Diary method

A job analysis method requiring job incumbents to record their daily activities

Dictionary of
Occupational Titles

A government publication that lists more than 30,000 jobs

Differential piecerate system:

A system in which employees are paid one piece-rate wage for units produced up to a
standard output and a higher piece-rate wage for units produced over the standard

Differential validity

A special type of validation whereby a cut score is lower due to bias in the test

Disabled person:

Someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits life activities, who
has record of such an impairment, or who is regarded as having such an impairment

Discipline:

Form of training that enforces organizational rules

Disparate impact:

Occurs when substantial under representation of protected-class members results from

employment decisions that work to their disadvantage

Disparate
treatment:

Situation that exists when protected-class members are treated differently from others

Distributive
bargaining

A competitive, confrontational bargaining strategy

Distributive justice:

The perceived fairness in the distribution of outcomes

Distributive justice:

Perceived fairness in the distribution of outcomes

Diversity:

The differences among people

Diversity:

The differences among people

Documentation

Used as a record of the performance appraisal process outcomes

Downsizing

An activity in an organization aimed at creating greater efficiency by eliminating certain jobs

Draw:

An amount advanced from and repaid to future commissions earned b the employee

Drug-free
Workplace Act

Requires specific government-related groups to ensure that their workplace is drug free

Due process:

Means used for individuals to explain and defend their actions against charges or discipline

Duty:

A larger work segment composed of several tasks that are performed by an individual

Dysfunctional
tension

Tension that leads to negative stress

Early retirement

A downsizing effort whereby employees close to retirement are given some incentive to leave
the company earlier than expected

Economic strike

An impasse that results from labor and managements ability to agree on the wages, hours,
terms, and conditions of a new contract

Economic value
added (EVA):

A firms net operating profit after the cost of capital is deducted

Effort-performance
relationship

The likelihood that putting forth the effort will lead to successful performance on the job

E-learning:

The use of the Internet or an organizational intranet to conduct training on-line

Employee
assistance

One that provides counseling and other help to employees having emotional, physical, or

program:

other personal problems

Employee benefits

Membership-based, nonfinancial rewards offered to attract and keep employees

Employee
counseling

A process whereby employees are guided in overcoming performance problems

Employee
development

Future-oriented training, focusing on the personal growth of the employee

Employee
handbook

A booklet describing the important aspects of employment an employee needs to know

Employee leasing

Hiring temporary employees for long periods of time

Employee
monitoring

An activity whereby the company is able to keep informed of its employees activities

Employee referrals

A recommendation from a current employee regarding a job applicant

Employee
Retirement Income
Security Act

Law passed in 1974 designed to protect employee retirement benefits

Employee rights

A collective term dealing with varied employee protection practices in an organization

Employee stock
ownership plan
(ESOP):

A plan whereby employees gain stock ownership in the organization for which they work

Employee training

Present-oriented training, focusing on individuals current jobs

Employment test:

Any employment procedure used as the basis for making an employment-related decision

Employment
contract:

Agreement that formally outlines the details of employment

Employment
legislation

Laws that directly affect the hiring, firing, and promotion of individuals

Employment-at-will
(EAW):

A common law doctrine stating that employers have the right to hire, fire, demote, of promote
whomever they choose, unless there is a law or contract to the contrary

Encapsulated

Situation in which an individual learns new methods and ideas in a development course and

development:

returns to a work unit that is still bound by old attitudes and methods

Encounter stage

The socialization stage where individuals confront the possible dichotomy between their
organizational expectations and reality

Environmental
influences

Those factors outside the organization tat directly affect HRM operations

Environmental
scanning:

Process of studying the environment of the organization to pinpoint opportunities and threats

Equal employment
opportunity (EEO):

Individuals should have equal treatment in all employment-related actions

Equal Pay Act

Passed in 1963, this act requires equal pay for equal work

Equity:

The perceived fairness of what the person does compared with what the person receives

Equity:

The perceived fairness between what a person does and what the person receives

Ergonomics:

The study and design of the work environment to address physiological and physical
demands on individuals

Essay appraisal

A performance appraisal method whereby an appraiser writes a narrative about the employee

Essential job
functions:

Fundamental duties of a job

Essential job
functions:

Fundamental duties of a job

Establishment
phase

A career stage in which one begins to search for work. It includes getting ones first job

Executive Order
10988

Affirmed the right of federal employees to join unions and granted restricted bargaining rights
to these employees

Executive Order
11491

Designed to make federal labor relations more like those in the private sector. Also
established the Federal Labor Relations Council

Exempt employees:

Employees to whom employers are not required to pay overtime under the Fair Labor
Standards Act

Exit interview:

An interview in which individuals are asked to identify reasons for leaving the organization

Expatriates

Individuals who work in a country in which they are not citizens of that country

Exploration phase

A career stage that usually ends in ones mid-twenties as one makes the transition form
school to work

External dimension

Te objective progression of steps through a given occupation

Extinction

The elimination of any reinforcement that maintains behavior

Extranet:

An Internet-linked network that allows employees access to information provided by external

entities

Fact-finder

A neutral third-party individual who conducts a hearing to gather evidence and testimony
from the parties regarding the differences between them

Factor comparison
method

A method of job analysis in which job factors are compared to determine the worth of the job

Fair Credit
Reporting Act

Requires an employer to notify job candidates of its intent to check into their credit

Fair Labor
Standards Act

Passed in 1938, this act established laws outlining minimum wage, overtime pay, and
maximum hour requirements for most U.S. workers

Family and Medical

Leave Act

Federal legislation that provides employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave each year to
care for family members, or for their own medical reasons

Family-friendly
benefits

Flexible benefits that are supportive of caring for ones family

Family-friendly
organization

Organizations that provide benefits that support employees caring for their families

Federal agency
guidelines

Guidelines issued by federal agencies charged with ensuring compliance with equal
employment federal legislation explaining recommended employer procedures in detail

Federal Mediation
and Conciliation
Service

A government agency that assists labor and management in settling their disputes

Federation:

Group of autonomous national and international unions

Feedback:

The amount of information received about how well or how poorly one has performed

Flexible benefits
plan:

One that allows employees to select the benefits the prefer from groups of benefits
established by the employer

Flexible spending
account:

Account that allows employees to contribute pretax dollars to by additional benefits

Flexible spending
accounts

Special benefits accounts that allow the employee to set aside money on a pretax basis to
pay for certain benefits

Flexible staffing:

Use of recruiting sources and workers who are not traditional employees

Flextime:

Scheduling arrangement in which employees work a set number of hours per day by vary
starting and ending times

Forced distribution
method

Similar to grading on a curve; predetermined percentages of ratees are place in various

performance categories

Forced distribution:

Performance appraisal method in which ratings of employees performance are distributed

along a bell-shaped curve

Forced-choice
appraisal

A type of performance appraisal method in which the rater must choose between two specific
statements about an employees work behavior

Forecasting:

Use of information from the past and present to identify expected future conditions

Functional tension

Positive tension that creates the energy for an individual to act

Gainsharing:

The sharing with employees of greater-then-expected gains in profits and/or productivity

Garnishment:

A court action in which a portion of an employees wages is set aside to pay a debt owed a
creditor

Glass ceiling:

Discriminatory practices that have prevented women and other protected-class members
from advancing to executive-level jobs

Global village

The production and marketing of goods and services worldwide

Golden parachute:

A severance benefit that provides protection and security to executives in the event that they
lose their jobs or their firms are acquired by other firms

Good faith
bargaining

A term that means both parties are communicating and negotiating and that proposals are
being matched with counterproposals with both parties making every reasonable effort to

arrive at agreements. It does not mean that either party is compelled to agree to a proposal
Good faith effort
strategy

Employment strategy aimed at changing practices that have contributed in the past to
excluding or underutilizing protected groups

Graphic rating scale

A scale that lists a number of traits and a range of performance for each. The employee is
then rated by identifying the score that best describes his or her level of performance for
each trait

Graphic rating
scale:

A scale that allows the rater to mark an employees performance on a continuum

Graphology

Handwriting analysis

Green-circled
employee:

An incumbent who is paid below the range set for the job

Grievance
arbitration:

Means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor
contract

Grievance
procedures:

Formal channels of communications used to resolve grievances

Grievance:

Complaint formally stated in writing

Griggs v. The Duke

Power Company
Case

Heard by the Supreme Court in which the plaintiff argued that his employers requirement
that coal handlers be high school graduates was unfairly discriminatory. In finding for the
plaintiff, the court ruled that discrimination need not be overt to be illegal, that employment
practices must be related to job performance, and that the burden of proof is on the employer
to show that hiring standards are job related

Group interview
method

Meeting with a number of employees to collectively determine what their jobs entail

Group order
ranking

A relative standard of performance characterized as placing employees into a particular

classification, such as the top one-fifth

Guaranteed fair
treatment

Employer programs that are aimed at ensuring that all employees are treated fairly, generally
by providing formalized well-documented, and highly publicized vehicles through which
employees can appeal any eligible issues

Halo effect:

Rating a person high on all items because of performance in one area

Hawthorne studies

A series of studies that provided new insights into group behavior

Hazard
communication
standard

Requires organizations to communicate to its employees hazardous chemicals they may

encounter on the job and how to deal with them safely

Health Maintenance
Act

Established the requirement that companies offering traditional health insurance to its
employees must also offer alternative health-care options

Health
maintenance
organization (HMO):

Managed care plan that provides services for a fixed period on a prepaid basis

Health promotion:

A supportive approach to facilitate and encourage employees to enhance healthy actions and
lifestyles

Health:

A general state of physical, mental, and emotional well-being

Holland vocational
preferences

An individual occupational personality as it relates to vocational themes

Honesty tests

A specialized paper and pencil test designed to assess ones honesty

Host-country
national

Hiring a citizen for the host country to perform certain jobs in the global village

Hostile
environment:

Sexual harassment where an individuals work performance or psychological well-being is

unreasonably affected by intimidating or offensive working conditions

Hot-stove rule

Discipline should be immediate, provide ample warning, be consistent, and impersonal

HR audit:

A formal research effort that evaluates the current state of HR management in an

organization

HR generalist:

A person with responsibility for performing a variety of HR activities

HR research:

The analysis of data from HR records to determine the effectiveness of past and present HR
practices

HR specialist:

A person with in-depth knowledge and expertise in a limited area of HR

HR strategies:

Means used to anticipate and manage the supply of and demand for human resources

Human resource
information system
(HRIS):

An integrated system designed providing information used in HR decision making

Human resource
planning:

Process of analyzing and identifying the need for and availability of human resources so that
the organization can meet its objectives

Human resources
inventory

Describes the skills that are available within the organization

Human Resources
management:

The design of formal systems in an organization to ensure effective and efficient use of
human talent to accomplish organizational goals

Illegal issues:

Collective bargaining issues that would require either party to take illegal action

Immediate
confirmation:

The concept that people learn best if reinforcement and feedback is given after training

Imminent danger

A condition where an accident is about to occur

Impasse

A situation where labor and management cannot reach a satisfactory agreement

Implied
employment
contract

Any organizational guarantee or promise about job security

Impression
management

Influencing performance evaluations by portraying an image that is desired by the appraiser

IMPROSHARE

A special type of incentive plan using a specific mathematical formula for determining
employee bonuses

Incentive plan

A plan in which a production standard is set for a specific work group, and its members are
paid incentives if the group exceeds the production standard

Incident rate

Number of injuries, illnesses, or lost workdays as it relates to a common base of 100 fulltime
employees

Independent
contractors:

Workers who perform specific services on a contract basis

Individual
performanceorganizational goal
relationship

The likelihood that successful performance on the job will lead to the attainment of
organizational goals

Individual
retirement account
(IRA):

A special account in which an employee can set aside funds that will not be taxed until the
employee retires

Individual-centered
career planning:

Career planning that focuses on individuals careers rather than on organizational needs

Industrial union:

One that includes many persons working in the same industry or company, regardless of jobs
held

Informal training:

Training that occurs through interactions and feedback among employees

In-house
development
centers

A company-based method for exposing prospective manager to realistic exercises to develop

improved management skills

Insubordination

Willful disregard or disobedience of the bosss authority or legitimate order; criticizing the
boss in public

Integrated disability
management
program:

A benefit that combines disability insurance programs and efforts to reduce workers
compensation claims

Integrative
bargaining

A cooperative strategy in which a common goal is the focus of negotiations

Interest arbitration

An impasse resolution technique used to settle contract negotiation disputes

Intranet:

An organizational network that operates over the Internet

Job analysis:

Systematic way to gather and analyze information about the content, context, and the human
requirements of jobs

Job criteria:

Important elements in a given job

Job description

Identification of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job

Job design:

Organizing tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a productive unit of work

Job enlargement:

Broadening the scope of a job by expanding the number of different tasks to be performed

Job enrichment

Increasing the depth of a job by adding the responsibility for planning, organizing, controlling,
and evaluating

Job evaluation:

The systematic determination of the relative worth of jobs within an organization

Job instruction
training

A systematic approach to OJT consisting of four basic steps

Job posting:

A system in which the employer provides notices of job openings and employees respond to
apply

Job rotation:

The process of shifting a person from job to job

Job rotation:

The process of shifting an employee from job to job

Job satisfaction:

A positive emotional state resulting from evaluating ones job experience

Job specifications:

The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and individual needs to perform a job satisfactorily

Job:

Grouping of tasks, duties, and responsibilities that constitutes the total work assignment for
employees

Jungian personality
typology

Four dimensions of personality matched to work environments

Just cause:

Reasonable justification for taking employment-related action

Karoshi

A Japanese term meaning death fro overworking

Keogh plan:

A type of individualized pension plan for self-employed individuals

Labor force
population:

All individuals who are available for selection if all possible recruitment strategies are used

Labor markets:

The external supply pool from which organizations attract employees

Landrum-Griffin Act

The law aimed at protecting union members from possible wrongdoing on the part of their
unions

Late-career phase

A career stage in which individuals are no longer learning about their jobs, nor is it expected
that they should be trying to outdo levels of performance from previous years

Leading

A management function concerned with directing the work of others

Learning curve

Depicts the rate of learning

Learning
organization

An organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge and at modifying

its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights

Legislating love

Company guidelines on how personal relationships may exist at work

Leniency error

A means by which performance appraisal can be distorted by evaluating employees against

ones own value system

Line manager

A manager who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and responsible for
accomplishing the organizations goals

Lock out/tag out

regulations:

Requirements that locks and tags be used to make equipment inoperative for repair or
adjustment

Lockout

A refusal by the employer to provide opportunities to work

Lockout

A situation in labor-management negotiations whereby management prevents union

members from returning to work

Lockout:

Shutdown of company operations undertaken by management to prevent union members

from working

Lump-sum increase
(LSI):

A one-time payment of all or part of a yearly pay increase

Managed care:

Approaches that monitor and reduce medical costs using restrictions and market system
alternatives

Management
assessment centers

A situation in which management candidates are asked to make decisions in hypothetical

situations and are scored on their performance. It usually also involves testing and the use
of management games

Management by
objectives (MBO):

Specifies the performance goals that an individual and her or his manager agree to try to
attain within an appropriate length of time

Management
development

Any attempt to improve current or future management performance by imparting knowledge,

changing attitudes, or increasing skills

Management rights

Items that are not part of contract negotiations, such as how to run the company, or how
much to charge for products

Management rights:

Those rights reserved to the employer to manage, direct, and control its business

Management
thought

Early theories of management that promoted todays HRM operations

Mandated benefits:

Ones that employers in the US must provide to employees by law

Mandatory issues:

Collective bargaining issues identified specifically by labor laws or court decisions as a subject
to bargaining

Marginal functions:

Duties that are part of a job but are incidental or ancillary to the purpose and nature of a job

Market line:

The line on a graph showing the relationship between job value, as determined by job
evaluation points and pay survey rates

Marshall v. Barlow,
Inc

Supreme Court case that stated an employer could refuse an OSHA inspection unless OSHA
had a search warrant to enter the premises

Massed practice:

The performance of all of the practice at once

Mature workers

Those workers born before 1946

Maturity curve:

Curve that depicts the relationship between experience and pay rates

McDonnell-Douglas
Corp v. Green

A four-part test used to determine if discrimination has occurred

Mediation:

Process by which a third party assists negotiators in reaching a settlement

Mediation:

Process by which a third party assists negotiators in reaching a settlement

Membership-based
rewards

Rewards that o to all employees regardless of performance

Mentoring:

A relationship in which experienced managers aid individuals in the earlier stages of their
careers

Merit pay

An increase in ones pay, usually give on an annual basis

Merit Pay (merit

raise)

Any salary increase awarded to an employee based on his or her individual performance

Metamorphosis
stage

The socialization stage whereby the new employee must work out inconsistencies discovered
during the encounter stage

Mid-career phase

A career stage marked by a continuous improvement in performance, leveling off in

performance or the beginning of deterioration of performance

Mission statement

The reason an organization is in business

Modular plans

A flexible benefit system whereby employees choose a pre-designed package of benefits

Motivating potential
score

A predictive index suggesting the motivation potential of a job

Motivation:

The desire within a person causing that person to act

National emergency
strike:

A strike that would impact the notional economy significantly

National emergency
strikes

Strikes that might imperil the national health and safety

National Institute
for Occupational
Safety and Health
(NIOSH)

The government agency that researches and sets OSHA standards

National Labor
Relations Board
(NLRB)

The agency created by the Wagner Act to investigate unfair labor practice charges ad to
provide for secret-ballot elections and majority rule in determining whether or not a firms
employees want a union

Negative
reinforcement

An unpleasant reward

Nepotism:

Practice of allowing relatives to work for the same employer

NLRB v. Bildisco &

Bildisco

Upheld the premise that a company could file for bankruptcy to have a labor contract nullified

Non-compete
agreement:

Agreement that prohibits an individual who leave the organization from competing with the
employer in the same line of business for a specified period of time

Non-contributory
plan:

Pension plan in which all the funds for pension benefits are provided by the employer

Nondirective
interview:

Interview that uses questions that are developed from the answers to previous questions

Non-exempt

Employees who must be paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act

employees:
Norms

Tells group members what they ought or ought not do in certain circumstances

Norris-LaGuardia
Act

This law marked the beginning of the era of strong encouragement of unions and guaranteed
to each employee the right to bargain collectively free from interference, restraint, of
coercion

Norris-LaGuardia
Act

Labor law act that set the stage for permitting individuals full freedom to designate a
representative of their choosing to negotiate terms and conditions of employment

Observation
method

A job analysis technique in which data are gathered by watching employees work

Occupational Safety
and Health Act

The law passed by Congress in 1970 to assure so far as possible every working man and
woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human
resources

Occupational Safety
and Health Act

Set standards to ensure safe and healthful working conditions and provided stiff penalties for
violators

Ombudsman:

Person outside the normal chain of command who acts as a problem solver for both
management and employees

Open shop:

Workers are not required to join or pay dues

Operant
conditioning

A type of conditioning in which behavior lead to a reward or prevents punishment

Opinion surveys

Communication devices that use questionnaires to regularly ask employees their opinions
about the company, management, and work life

Organizational
commitment:

The degree to which employees believe in and accept organizational goals and desire to
remain with the organization

Organizational
culture:

The shared values and beliefs of a workforce

Organizational
culture:

The shared values and beliefs of a workforce

Organizational
development (OD)

A method aimed at changing the attitudes, values, and beliefs of employees so that
employees can improve the organization

Organization-

Career planning that focuses on jobs and on identifying career paths that provide for the

centered career
planning:

logical progression of people between jobs in an organization

Orientation:

The planned introduction of new employees to their jobs, co-workers, and the organization

Outdoor training

Specialized training that occurs outdoors that focuses on building self-confidence and
teamwork

Outplacement

A process whereby an organization assists employees, especially those being severed from
the organization, in obtaining employment

Outplacement
counseling

A systematic process by which a terminated person is trained and counseled in the

techniques of self-appraisal and securing a new position

Paid time-off (PTO)

plan:

Plan that combines all sick leave, vacation time, and holidays into a total number of hours or
days that employees can take off with pay

Paired comparison

Ranking individuals performance by counting the number of times any one individual is the
preferred member when compared with all other employees

Paired comparison
method

Ranking employees by making a chart of all possible pairs of the employees for each trait and
indicating which is the better employee of the pair

Panel interview:

Interview in which several interviewers interview the candidate at the same time

Participative
management

A management concept giving employees more control over the day-to-day activities on their
job

Pay compression

: Situation in which pay differences among individuals with different levels of experience and
performance in the organization becomes small

Pay equity:

Similarity in pay for jobs requiring comparable levels of knowledge, skill, and ability, even if
actual job duties differ significantly

Pay equity:

Similarity in pay for all jobs requiring comparable levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities,
even if actual duties and market rates differ significantly

Pay grade:

A grouping of individual jobs having approximately the same job worth

Pay survey:

A collection of data on compensation rates for workers performing similar jobs in other
organizations

Pay-forperformance

Rewarding employees based on their performance

Peer evaluation

A performance evaluation situation in which coworkers provide input into the employees
performance

Peer orientation

Coworker assistance in orienting new employees

Peer review panel:

A panel of employees hear appeals from disciplined employees and make recommendations
or decisions

Pension Benefit
Guaranty
Corporation

The organization that lays claim to corporate assets to pay or fund inadequate pension
programs

Pension plans:

Retirement benefits established and funded by employers and employees

Performance
analysis

Verifying that there is a performance deficiency and determining whether that deficiency
should be rectified through training or through some other means (such as transferring the
employee)

Performance
appraisal:

The process of evaluating how well employees perform their jobs when compared to a set of
standards, and then communicating that information to employees

Performance
consulting:

A process in which a trainer and the organizational client work together to boost workplace
performance in support of business goals

Performance
management
systems:

Processes used to identify, encourage, measure, evaluate, improve, and reward employee
performance

Performance
simulation test

Work sampling and assessment centers focusing on actual job activities

Performance
standards:

Indicators of what the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the
job description

Performance
standards:

Expected levels of performance

Performance:

What an employee does or does not do

Permissive issues:

Collective bargaining issues that are not mandatory but relate to certain jobs

Perquisites (perks):

Special benefits usually noncash items for executives

Person-job fit:

Matching the KSAs of people with the characteristics of jobs

Personnel
replacement charts

Company records showing present performance and promotability of inside candidates for the
most important positions

Person-organization
fit:

The congruence between individuals and organizational factors

Phased retirement:

Approach in which employees reduce their workloads and pay

Physical ability
tests:

Tests that measure individual abilities such as strength, endurance, and muscular movement

Physiological
symptoms

Characteristics of stress that manifest themselves as increased heart and breathing rates,
higher blood pressure, and headaches

Placement:

Fitting a person to the right job

Plant Closing Bill

Also known as WARN, requires employers to give sixty days advanced notice of pending plant
closings or major layoff

Plant closing law

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires notifying employees in
the event an employer decides to close its facility

Plant-wide
incentives

An incentive system that reward all members of the plant based on how well the entire group
performed

Plateauing

A condition of stagnating in ones current job

Point method

Breaking down jobs based on identifiable criteria and the degree to which these criteria exist
on the job

Policies:

General guidelines that focus organizational actions

Portability:

A pension plan feature that allows employees to move their pension benefits from one
employer to another

Position Analysis
Questionnaire

A job analysis technique that rates jobs on 194 elements I six activity categories

Positive
Reinforcement

Providing a pleasant response to an individuals actions

Post-training
performance
method

Evaluating training programs based on how ell employees can perform their jobs after they
have received the training

Prearrival stage

The socialization process stage that recognizes individuals arrive in an organization with a set
of organizational values, attitudes, and expectations

Predictive validity:

Measured when test results of applicants are compared with subsequent job performance

Preferred provider
organization (PPO):

A healthcare provider that contracts with an employer group to provide healthcare services to
employees at a competitive rate

Pregnancy
Discrimination Act
(PDA)

An amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that prohibits sex discrimination based on
pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions

Pre-post training
performance
method

Evaluating training programs based the difference in performance before and after one
receives training

Pre-post training
performance with
control group

Evaluating training by comparing pre- and post training results with individuals who did not
receive the training

Preretirement
counseling

Employer-sponsored counseling aimed at providing information to ease the passage of

employees into retirement

Primacy effect:

Information received first gets the most weight

Primary research:

Research method in which data are gathered firsthand for the specific project being
conducted

Privacy Act

Requires federal government agencies to make available information in an individuals

personnel file

Procedural justice:

The perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to make decisions about
employees

Procedural justice:

Perceived fairness of the process used to make decisions about employees

Procedures:

Customary methods of handling activities

Production cells:

Groupings of workers who produce entire products or components

Productivity:

A measure of the quantity and quality of work done, considering the cost of the resources
used

Profit sharing:

A system to distribute a portion of the profits of the organization to employees

Programmed
instruction

Material is learned in highly organized, logical sequence, that requires the individual to
respond

Protected class:

Individuals within a group identified for protection under equal employment laws and
regulation

Psychological
contract:

The unwritten expectations employees and employers have about the nature of their work
relationships

Psychological
symptoms

Characteristics of stress that manifest themselves as tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom,

and procrastination

Psychomotor tests:

Test that measure dexterity hand-eye coordination, arm-hand steadiness, and other factors

Public policy
violation

Prohibiting the termination of an employee for refusing to obey an order the employee
considered illegal

Qualifications
inventories

Manual or computerized systematic records listing employees education, career and

development interests, languages, special skills, and so on to be used in forecasting inside
candidates for promotion

Quality circle:

Small group of employees who monitor productivity and quality and suggest solutions to
problems

Quid pro quo:

Sexual harassment in which employment outcomes are linked to the individual granting
sexual favors

Quota strategy

Employment strategy aimed at mandating the same results as the food faith effort strategy
through specific hiring and promotion restrictions

Railway Labor Act

Provided the initial impetus to widespread collective bargaining

Ranking method

The simplest method of job evaluation that involves ranking each job relative to all other jobs,
usually based on overall difficulty

Ranking method

Rating employees from highest to lowest

Ranking:

Listing of all employees from highest to lowest in performance

Rater bias:

Error that occurs when a raters values or prejudices distort the rating

Ratification:

Process by which union member vote to accept the terms of a negotiated labor agreement

Realistic job

A selection device that allows job candidate to learn negative as well as positive information

preview

about the job and organization

Realistic job
preview (RJP):

The process through which a job applicant receives an accurate picture of a job

Reasonable
accommodation:

A modification or adjustment to a job or work environment for a qualified individual with a

disability

Recruiting:

The process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for organizational jobs

Red-circled
employee:

An incumbent who is paid above the range set for the job

Reduced work
hours

A downsizing concept whereby employees work fewer than forty hours and are paid
accordingly

Reengineering

Radical, quantum change in an organization

Regency effect:

Error in which the rater gives greater weight to recent events when appraising an individuals
performance

Reinforcement:

People tend to repeat responses that give them some type of positive reward and avoid
actions associated with negative consequences

Reject errors

Rejecting candidates who would later perform successfully

Relative standards

Evaluating an employees performance by comparing the employee with other employees

Reliability:

Consistency with which a test measures an item

Replacement charts

HRM organizational charts indicating positions that may become vacant in the near future and
the individuals who may fill the vacancy

Representation
certification

The election process whereby union members vote in an union as their representative

Representation
decertification

The election process whereby union members vote in a union as their representative

Responsibilities:

Obligations to perform certain tasks and duties

Responsibilities:

Obligations to be accountable for actions

Restricted policy

An HRM policy that results in the exclusion of a class of individuals

Retaliation:

Punitive actions taken by employers against individuals who exercise their legal rights

Return on
investment (ROI):

Calculation showing the value of expenditures for HR activities

Reverse
discrimination:

When a person is denied an opportunity because of preferences given to protected-class

individuals who may be less qualified

Right to privacy:

Defined for individuals as the freedom from unauthorized and unreasonable intrusion into
personal affairs

Rights:

That which belongs to a person by law, nature, or tradition

Rightsizing

Linking employee needs to organizational strategy

Right-to-sue letter:

A letter issued by the EEOC that notifies a complainant that he or she has 90 days in which to
file a personal suit in federal court

Right-to-work laws:

State laws that prohibit requiring employees to join unions as a condition of obtaining or
continuing employment

Roles

Behaviors that job incumbents are expected to display

Rules:

Specific guidelines that regulate and restrict the behavior of individuals

Sabbatical leave:

Paid time off the job to develop and rejuvenate oneself

Safety:

Condition in which the physical well-being of people is protected

Salaries:

Consistent payments made each period regardless of number of hours worked

Salary survey

A survey aimed at determining prevailing wage rates. A good salary survey provides specific
wage rates for specific jobs. Formal written questionnaire surveys are the most
comprehensive, but telephone surveys and newspaper ads are also sources of information

Salting:

Practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies

Scanlon plan

An incentive plan developed in 1937 by Joseph Scanlon and designed to encourage

cooperation, involvement and sharing of benefits

Scanlon plan

An organization-wide incentive program focusing on cooperation between management and

employees through sharing problems, goals and ideas

Scientific
management

A set of principles designed to enhance worker productivity

Secondary
research:

Research method using data already gathered by others and reported in books, articles in
professional journals, or other sources

Security audit:

A comprehensive review of organizational security

Security:

Protection of employees and organizational facilities

Selection criteria:

Characteristic that a person must have to do a job successfully

Selection rate:

The percentage hire from a given group of candidates

Selection:

Process of choosing individuals who have needed qualifications to fill jobs in an organization

Self-directed work
team:

One composed of individuals assigned a cluster of tasks, duties, and responsibilities to be

accomplished

Self-efficacy:

A persons belief that he/she can successfully learn the training program content

Seniority:

Time spent in the organization or on a particular job

Sensitivity training

A method for increasing employees insights into their own behavior by candid discussions in
groups led y special trainer

Separation
agreement:

Agreement in which a terminated employee agrees not to sue the employer in exchange for
specified benefits

Serious health
condition:

A heath condition requiring inpatient, hospital, hospice, or residential medical care or

continuing physician care

Severance pay:

A security benefit voluntarily offered by employers to employees who lose their jobs

Sexual harassment:

Action that are sexually directed, are unwanted, and subject the worker to adverse
employment conditions or crate a hostile work environment

Shamrock team:

One composed of a core of members, resource experts who join the team as appropriate, and
part-time/temporary members as needed

Shared services

Sharing HRM activities among geographically dispersed divisions

Sick building

An unhealthy work environment

Similarity error

Evaluating employees based on the way an evaluator perceives himself or herself

Simulated training

Training employees on special off-the-job equipment, and in airplane pilot training, whereby
training costs and hazards can be reduced

Simulation:

A development technique that requires participants to analyze a situation and decide the best
course of action based on the data given

Simulations

Any artificial environment that attempts to closely mirror and actual condition

Situational
interview

Structured interview were questions related directly to actual work activities

Situational
interview:

A structured interview composed of questions about how applicants might handle specific job
situations

Skill deficiencies

The lacking of basic abilities to perform many of todays jobs

Skill variety

A situation in which jobs require a number of skills

Skill variety:

The extent to which the work requires several different activities for successful completion

Social learning
theory

Theory of learning that views learning occurring through observation and direct experience

Socialization

A process of adaptation that takes place as individuals attempt to learn the values and norms
of work roles

Spa of control

The number of employees a supervisor con effectively and efficiently direct

Spaced practice:

Several practice sessions spaced over a period of hours or days

Speak up!
programs

Communications programs that allow employees to register questions, concerns, ad

complaints about work-related matters

Special-purpose
team:

Organizational team formed to address specific problems, improve work processes, and
enhance product and service quality

Staff manager

A manager who assists and advises line mangers

Statutory rights:

Rights based on laws

Stock option:

A plan that gives an individual the right to buy stock in a company, usually at a fixed price for
a period of time

Straight piece-rate
system:

A pay system in which wages are determined by multiplying the number of units produced by
the piece rate for one unit

Strategic goals

Organization-wide goals setting direction for the next five to twenty years

Strategic human
resource
management:

Organizational use of employees to gain or keep a competitive advantage against

competitors

Stress

A dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or

demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both
uncertain and important

Stress interview

An interview designed to see how the applicants handle themselves under pressure

Stress interview:

Interview designed to create anxiety and put pressure on an applicant to see how the person
responds

Stressors

Something that causes stress in an individual

Strike:

Work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on an
employer

Structured
interview:

Interview tat uses a set of standardized questions asked of all job applicants

Structured
interviews

An interview in which there are fixed questions that are presented to every applicant

Structured
questionnaire
method

A specifically designed questionnaire on which employees rate tasks they perform on their
jobs

Substance abuse:

The use of illicit substances or the misuse of controlled substances, alcohol, or other drugs

Succession
planning:

Process of identifying a longer-term plan for the orderly replacement of key employees

Suggestion system:

A formal method of obtaining employee input and upward communication

Summary plan
description

An ERISA requirement of explaining to employees their pension program and rights

Sunshine Laws

Laws tat exist in some states that mandate that labor-management negotiations be open to
the public

Survey feedback

A method that involves surveying employees attitudes and providing feedback to

department managers so that problems can be solved by the managers and employees

Sympathy strike

A strike that takes place when one union strikes in support of the strike of another

Taft-Hartley Act

Also known as the Labor Management Relations Act, this law prohibited union unfair labor
practices and enumerated the rights of employees as union members. It also enumerated
the rights of employers

Task identity

A situation in which a worker completes all phases of a job

Task identity:

The extent to which the job includes a whole identifiable unit of work that is carried out
from start to finish and that results in a visible outcome

Task significance

A situation in which the employee has substantial impact on the lives of other employees

Task significance:

The impact the job has on other people

Task:

A distinct, identifiable work activity composed of motions

Team building

Improving the effectiveness of teams such as corporate officers and division directors trough
use of consultants, interviews, and teambuilding meetings

Team interview:

Interview in which applicants are interviewed by the team members with whom they will work

Technical
conference method

A job analysis technique that involves extensive input form the employees supervisor

Telecommuting:

Process of going to work via electronic computing and telecommunications equipment

Top-down programs

Communications activities including in-house television centers, frequent roundtable

discussions, and in-house newsletters that provide continuing opportunities for the firm to let
all employees by updated on important matters regarding the firm

Total quality
management

A continuous process improvement

Training:

A process whereby people acquire capabilities to aid in the achievement of organizational

goals

Transition stay
bonus:

Extra payment for employees whose jobs are being eliminated, thereby motivating them to
remain with the organization for a period of time

Trend analysis

Study of a firms past employment needs over a period of years to predict future needs

Turnover:

Process in which employees leave the organization and have to be replaced

Undue hardship:

Significant difficulty or expense imposed on an employer when making an accommodation for

individuals with disabilities

Union authorization
card:

Card signed by an employee to designate a union as his of her collective bargaining agent

Union avoidance

A company tactic of providing to employees those things unions would provide without
employees having to join the union

Union busting

A company tactic designed to eliminate the union that represents the companys employees

Union security
arrangements

Labor contract provisions designed to attract and retain dues-paying union members

Union security
provisions:

Contract clauses to aid the union is obtaining and retaining members

Union steward:

An employee elected to serve as the first-line representative of unionized workers

Union:

A formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective
action

Unit labor cost:

Computed by dividing the average cost of workers by their average levels of output

Unsafe acts

Behavior tendencies and undesirable attitudes that cause accidents

Unsafe conditions

The mechanical and physical conditions that cause accidents

Upward appraisals

An employee appraisal process whereby employees evaluate their supervisors

Utility analysis:

Analysis in which economic or other statistical models are built to identify the costs and
benefits associated with specific HR activities

Utilization analysis:

An analysis that identifies the number of protected-class members employed and the types of
jobs they hold in an organization

Utilization review:

An audit and review of the services and costs billed by health-care providers

Validity:

Extent to which a test actually measures what it says it measures

Variable pay:

Type of compensation linked to individual, team, or organizational performance

Variable pay:

Compensation linked to individual, team, and organizational performance

Vesting:

The right of employees to receive benefits from their pension plans

Virtual reality

A process whereby the work environment is simulated by sending messages to the brain

Wage curve

Shows the relationship between the value of the job and the average wage paid for this job

Wage curve

The result of the plotting of points of established pay grades against wage base rates to
identify the general pattern of wages and find individuals whose wages are out of line

Wages:

Payments directly calculated on the amount of time worked

Wagner Act

This law banned certain types of unfair labor practices and provided for secret-ballot elections
and majority rule for determining whether or not a firms employees want to unionize

Walk-ins

Unsolicited applicants

Walsh-Healey Public
Contract Act

A law enacted in 1936 that requires minimum-wage and working conditions for employees
working on any government contract amounting to more than $10,000

Ward Cove v. Atonio

US Supreme Court decision that makes it difficult to prove a case of unlawful discrimination
against an employer

Weighted
application form

A special type of application form where relevant applicant information is used to determine
the likelihood of job success

Wellness programs:

Programs designed to maintain or improve employee health before problems arise

Well-pay:

Extra pay for not taking sick leave

Whistle-blowers:

Individuals who report real or perceived wrongs committed by their employers

Whistle-blowing

A situation in which an employee notifies authorities of wrongdoing in an organization

Wildcat strike

An unauthorized strike occurring during the term of a contract

Wildcat strike

An unauthorized and illegal strike that occurs during the terms of an existing contract

Work sample tests:

Tests that require an applicant to perform a simulated job task

Work sampling

A selection device requiring the job applicant to actually perform a small segment of the job

Work:

Effort directed toward producing or accomplishing results

Worker Adjustment
and Retraining
Notification Act

Federal law requiring employers to five sixty days notice of pending plant closing or major
layoff

Worker involvement
programs

Programs that aim to boost organizational effectiveness by getting employees to participate

in planning, organizing and managing their jobs

Workers
compensation:

Benefits provided to persons injured on the job

Workflow analysis:

A study of the way work (inputs, activities, and outputs) moves through an organization

Wrongful discharge:

Occurs when an employer terminates an individuals employment for reasons that are
improper or illegal

Yellow-dog
contract

An agreement whereby employees state that they are not now, nor will they be in the future,
union member

Yield ratios:

A comparison of the number of applicants at one stage of the recruiting process to the
number at the next stage