Exam 4

Question 1

What are the 3 primary goals of human resource management (HRM)?

Answer 1

1) To attract an effective workforce to the organization
2) To train and develop the workforce to reach its potential
3) To maintain the effectiveness of the workforce over the long run

Question 2

Briefly Describe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. (5)

Answer 2

1) Physiological
2) Safety & Security
3) Belongingness & Love
4) Esteem
5) Self-actualization
- According to Maslow, lower-order needs take priority; they must be at least partially satisfied before higher needs are even recognized or experienced.
- An unsatisfied need is a motivating need.

Question 3

Compare the 5 groups of needs in Maslow’s theory with the 3 groups in Alderfer’s ERG theory.

Answer 3

• Physiological, safety & security needs of Maslow’s correspond to the existence need in Alderfer’s.
• Belongingness, love, & esteem needs from Maslow’s correspond to the relatedness need in Alderfer’s
• The need for self-esteem and self-actualization correspond to Alderfer’s growth need

Question 4

Describe how to maintain an effective workforce (4)

Answer 4

1) Compensation which helps attract and retain talented workers
2) Wage and salary systems stimulate employee performance
3) Benefits required by law and those not required are considered part of compensation
4) Termination maintains an effective workforce through dismissing low-performing workers and gathering information about pockets of dissatisfaction through exit interviews

Question 5

List the 4 steps in attracting an effective workforce

Answer 5

1) Human resource planning
2) Choose recruiting sources
3) Select the candidate
4) Welcome the new employee

Question 6

What are some innovative approaches that managers can use to recruit the right people? (3)

Answer 6

• Use of social media
• Referrals from current employees
• Searching among the membership of trade groups and associations

Question 7

List the 3 most common types of employment tests that organizations may use to select employees

Answer 7

1) Cognitive ability tests
2) Physical ability tests
3) Personality tests

Question 8

In David McClelland’s acquired needs theory, what are the 3 acquired needs most commonly discussed and which is (are) not dependent on relationships with other people?

Answer 8

1) Need for achievement
2) Need for power
3) Need for affiliation
- Relationships with other people are implicit in the needs for affiliation and power, but relationships with other people are not central to the need for achievement

Question 9

Explain employee growth-need strength and its relationship to the job characteristics model.

Answer 9

• GNS means that people have different needs for growth and development.
• GNS would influence the effectiveness of the job characteristics model in terms of personal and work outcomes.
• If a person has low-level needs, such as needs for security and belongingness, the impact of the job characteristics model would be minimized.
• On the other hand, people with high need to grow and expand their abilities should respond very favorably to the model and there should be significant improvement in the outcomes of interest.

Question 10

Differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

Answer 10

• Intrinsic reward is the satisfaction received in the process of performing an action.
• Extrinsic rewards are rewards given by another person

Question 11

Briefly describe the communication process

Answer 11

• The communication process begins with the development of a message.
• The message is encoded into symbols that are then sent through a selected channel
• The symbols are then received and decoded into a received message and then the response is sent as feedback and the communication process in completed

Question 12

Describe the concept of channel richness, specify the richest channel, and explain why it is so rich.

Answer 12

• Channel richness is the amount of info that can be transmitted during a communicative episode.
• Face-to-face communication is the richest channel because it permits direct experience, multiple information cues, immediate feedback, and personal focus

Question 13

Define nonverbal communication and briefly discuss its importance to communicating in organizations

Answer 13

• Nonverbal communication refers to messages sent through human actions and behaviors rather than words.
• Nonverbal sources (facial expressions, voice, mannerisms, posture, dress, and office arrangements) can be more important than the actual words than are spoken
• When verbal and nonverbal messages are contradictory, a receiver will usually give more weight to the nonverbals

Question 14

What is downward communication and what are 5 topics generally included with downward communication?

Answer 14

• Downward communication is those messages sent from top management down to subordinates
  1) Implementation of goals, strategies, and objectives
  2) job instructions and rationale
  3) procedures and practices
  4) Performance feedback
  5) Indoctrination

Question 15

Describe the 3 categories of horizontal communication

Answer 15

1) Intradepartmental problem solving-messages that take place among members of the same department and concern task accomplishment
2) Interdepartmental coordination-messages that facilitate the accomplishment of joint projects or tasks
3) Change initiatives & improvements-messages designed to share info among teams and departments that can help the organization change, grow, and improve