Chapter 4 Flashcards
What are the 2 main HRM practices/areas?
- job analysis and design
2. human resources planning
What is work flow design?
analyzing tasks necessary for production before allocating/assigning tasks to a particular job category or person
What is organizational structure?
stable/formal network of vertical and horizontal interconnections among jobs that constitute the organization
What are work outputs?
product of a work unit, can be an identifiable thing or service
What are work processes?
activities in which members of a work unit engage to produce output
What are work inputs?
raw inputs, equipment, HR
What are the two dimensions of organizational structure?
centralization: degree that decision making lies at the top of the org
decentralization: degree that work is grouped based on functional similarity or similarity of work flow
What are the 2 structural configurations?
functional structure: high centralization
divisional structure: low centralization + departmentalization (self sufficient orgs)
Describe a functional structure.
- functional departmentalization
- high centralization
- inflexible, high efficiency
- stable, predictive environment
- narrow jobs, highly specialized
- little decision making authority
Describe divisional structure.
- work flow departmentalization
- low centralization
- flexible and innovative
- sensitive to differences among products or clients
- not efficient
- divisions may be seen as competitors
- managers need to have high cognitive abilities
- better in unstable, unpredictable organizations
What is job analysis?
process of getting detailed info about jobs
What is a job description?
lists of tasks, duties, and responsibilities that a job entails
What are job specifications?
KSAOS that a person must have to preform job
Who are the 3 subject matter experts?
ISE
- job incumbents
- supervisors
- external job analysts
What are the 4 methods of job analysis?
- job analysis interview
- observations and self reports
- national occupational classifications (NOCS)
- position analysis questionnaire
What is the position analysis questionnaire (PAQ)?
quantitative questionnaire with 6 sections…
info input, mental processes, work output, relationships with other persons, job context, other characteristics
What is dejobbing?
viewing organizations as a field of work needed to be done rather than a set of discrete jobs held by individuals
What is job design?
process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks required in a given job
What is job redesign?
changing the tasks or the way work is performed in an existing job
What are the 2 requirements to effectively design a job?
- understand the job as it exists (job analysis)
2. understand the place in units workflow process (work flow analysis)
What are the 4 basic approaches used in job design?
- mechanistic
- specialization
- skill variety
- work method autonomy (one right way) - motivational
- decision making autonomy
- task significance/meaning
- interdependance
- attitudinal variables are most important outcomes - ergonomic/biological
- physical demands
- ergonomics, sciences of biomechanics
- work conditions - perceptual motor (mind demands)
- job complexity, fit to individual
- info processing (reduce requirements)
- equipment use
- decrease cognitive demands, don’t exceed mental capacity
What is the job characteristics model?
- skill variety
- task identity
- task significance
- autonomy
- feedback
- increase complexity by enlargement, enrichment, socio-technical systems
What are ergonomics?
proper fit from people and work
- prevent fatigue, pain, health complaints
What is scientific management?
finding one best way to preform through time and motion studies
- leads to a mechanistic approach
What are the motivators of the motivational approach?
- knowledge and skill
- growth, needs, strengths
- contextual satisfaction
Describe the motivational approach.
Core job characteristics -> critical psychological states ->personal/work outcomes
psych states
- experiences meaningfulness
- experienced responsibility of outcomes
- knowledge of work’s actual results
personal/work outcomes
- work motivation
- work performance quality
- high satisfaction
- low absenteeism/turnonver
What is skill variety?
extent job requires variety of skills
What is task identity?
degree to which job requires finishing task from start to end
What is task significance?
extent to which the job has important impacts of lives
What is autonomy?
extent to which decisions are made on how work is to be carried out
What is feedback?
extent person received clear info about performance effectiveness from work
What are the 3 steps in HR planing process?
- forecast of labour surplus or shortage
- goal setting and strategic planning
- program implementation/evaluation
What are demand forecasts?
forecasts developed around specific job categories or skills areas relevant to the org’s current and future states
What is a leading indicator?
objective measure that accurately predicts future labour demand
What is a transitional matrix?
matrix showing proportion of numbers of employees in different job categories at different times
What are the ripple effects of surpluses and shortages?
- more staffing
- more training
- pay benefits
What is goal setting?
focusing attentions on problem and providing a benchmark for determining relative success of any programs aimed at redressing shortages and surpluses
- should comes from analysis and include figure for what should happen when achieved
What are 3 consequences of downsizing?
- long term negative affects
- loss of irreplaceable talent
- negative publicity
What are the advantages and disadvantages of hiring temporary workers
advantages
- frees firm form admin and financial burdens
- gets employees already tested by agency
- brings an objective perspective because of little experience
disadvantages
- low level of commitment
- tensions between temp and org employees
What is the workforce utilization review?
comparison of workers in protected subgroups, each subgroup represents the relevant labour market
What are the 3 broad functions technology is used for in HRM?
- transaction processing
- decision support systems
- expert systems
What are the results of e-enabled delivery of HRM and what are they affected by?
- transformational (25-35%)
- traditional (25-35%)
- transactional (15-25%)
affected by
- traditional face to face delivery VS electronic delivery
- outsourcing VS process redesign and info tech
