SHRM Competencies Book Flashcards
Define the nine behavioral competencies.
Describes the behaviors and attributes necessary for HR professionals to perform effectively in the workplace and operate with a strategic mindset, grouped into three clusters.
What are the three behavioral competencies clusters?
- Leadership
- Interpersonal
- Business
What are the three behavioral competencies in the Leadership cluster?
- Leadership & Navigation
- Ethical Practice
- Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion
Define Leadership & Navigation
As the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to create a compelling vision and mission for HR that aligns with the strategic direction and culture of the organization, accomplish HR and organizational goals, lead and promote organizational change, navigate the organization, and manage implementation and executive HR initiatives.
What are the six approaches to Leadership?
Coercive
Authoritative
Affiliative
Democratic
Pacesetting
Coaching
Define Coercive Leadership approach.
The leader imposes a vision or solution on the team and demands the team follow that direction.
Define Authoritative Leadership approach.
The leader proposes a bold vision or solution and invites the team to join this challenge.
Define Affiliative Leadership approach.
The leader creates strong relationships with and inside the team, encouraging feedback. The team members feel motivated by loyalty.
Define Democratic Leadership approach.
The leader invites followers to collaborate and commits to acting by consensus.
Define Pacesetting Leadership approach.
The leader sets a model for high performance standards and challenges followers to meet these expectations.
Define Coaching Leadership approach.
The leader focuses on developing team members’ skills, believing that success comes from aligning the organization’s goals with employees’ personal and professional goals.
What is the Trait Theory?
- Leader posses certain innate characteristics that followers do not posses (and probably cannot acquire), such as physical characteristics (strength, stamina) and personality traits (decisiveness, integrity) Sometimes referred to as the “Great Man” theory.
- It equates these characteristics and leadership but without evidence.
- It may discourage leader development by implying that the ability to lead cannot be acquired with study and practice.
What is the Blake-Mouton Theory? (behavioral theory)
Leadership involves managing:
-Tasks (work that must be done to attain goals)
- Employees (relationships based on social and emotional needs)
What are the five types of managers in the Blake-Mouton Theory?
-Country Club Managers (low tasks, high relationships) create a secure atmosphere and trust individuals to accomplish goals, avoiding punitive actions so as not to jeopardize relationships.
-Improvised managers (low tasks, low relationships) use a “delegate-and-disappear” management style. They detach themselves, often creating power struggles.
-Authoritative managers (high tasks, low relationships) expect people tp do what they are told without question and tend not to foster collaboration.
-Middle-of-the-road managers (midpoint on both tasks and relationships) get the work done but are not considered leaders.
-Team leaders (high tasks, high relationships) lead by positive example, foster a team environment, and encourage individual and team development.
What is the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory?
- Leaders adapt their behaviors to meet the evolving needs of the team members. Like the Blake-Mouton theory, the behaviors involve tasks and relationships.
- As team members grow in skill and experience, leaders supply the appropriate behavior.
1. Telling- when the employee is not yet motivated or competent.
2. Selling- when the increasingly competent employee still needs focus and motivation.
3. Participating- when competent workers can be included in problem solving and coached on higher skills.
4. Delegating- when vary competent team members can benefit from greater levels of autonomy and self-direction.
What is the Fiedler’s Contingency Theory?
- Leaders change the situation to make it more “favorable,” more likely to produce god outcomes.
- Situational favorableness occurs when:
+ Leader-member relationships are strong.
+ The leader can exert the necessary power to reach the group’s goal
What is the Path-Goal Theory?
Emphasizes the leader’s role in coaching and developing followers’ competencies. The leader performs the behavior needed to help employees stay on track toward their goals. This involved addressing different types of employee needs:
1. Directive- Help the employee understand the task and its goal.
2. Supportive- Try to fulfill employee’s relationship needs.
3. Achievement- Motivate by setting challenging goals.
4. Participative- Provide more control over work and leverage group expertise through participative decision making.
What is the Transactional Leadership Theory?
Emphasizes a leader’s preference for order and structure. It focuses on control and short-term planning.
- Employees and subordinates are expected to follow orders from above.
- Employees and subordinates are motivated by rewards and consequences.
- Employees and subordinates are closely monitored to ensure that work is done properly and on time.
- Creativity and inventiveness are not typically encouraged or nurtured.
What is the Transformational Leadership Theory?
Emphasizes a leader’s ability to inspire employees to embrace change. Transformational leaders are able to encourage and motivate their employees to innovate in their work, to seek out changes that can add value and growth to the organization.
Transformational leaders do not micromanage. They give their employees greater autonomy to make decisios and come up with a creative solution.
What is the Leader-Member Exchange Theory?
Focuses on a two-way relationship between leaders and chosen employees. The leader mentors a selected team member (or members) and gives them access to more information and resources in order to strengthen levels of trust and support. This mentorship is intended to maintain the leader’s position through the development of different two-way relationships.
What is the Servant Leadership Theory?
The leader’s goal is to serve the needs of their employees. The theory emphasizes the sharing of power. Leaders should work to help their employees develop and perform to the highest possible level, and this will generate benefits within and without the organization. It is a way of inverting the organizational/leadership norm of bottom-up service.
Servant leaders tend to be more empathetic and more trusted by employees. This can lead to greater innovation, collaboration, performance, and participation. This approach to leadership can be resource intensive and can take longer to produce results.
What are the five types of power used to influence others?
- Legitimate- power is created formally- through a title or position in the hierarchy that is associated with the rights of leadership.
- Reward- power is create when the leader can offer followers something they value in exchange for their commitment
- Expert- power is created when a leader is recognized as possessing great intelligence, insight, or experience.
- Referent- power is created by the force of the leader’s personality- the ability to attract admiration, affection, and/or loyalty.
- Coercive- power is created when the leader has the power to punish those who do not follow.
What is the Theory X/Theory Y Motivation Theory?
Motivation is seen as absolutely irrelevant (Theory X) or absolutely critical (Theory Y) in the workplace.
- Theory X leaders micromanage and coerce team members because they believe people do not like to work and must be strictly controlled and forced to work.
- Theory Y leaders believe that employees dislike rigid controls and inherently want to accomplish something. Therefore, leaders apply a more participative style that empowers employees.
- Theory Y is considered more appropriate in today’s knowledge-driven workplace.
What is the Needs Motivation Theory?
Individuals are motivated by a desire to satisfy certain needs. Understanding these needs allows leaders to offer the right incentives and create the most motivational external environments. Common factors are achievement, a desire for social connection, and some degree of control.
What is Maslow’s Motivation Theory?
Five basic categories of needs must be met in an ascending order:
- Physiological (basic needs related to survive)
- Safety and security
- Belonging and love ( the need to belong, to be accepted)
- Esteem (both self-esteem and admiration of others)
- Self-actualization (the need to fill one’s potential)
What is Herzberg’s Motivation Theory?
Behavior is driven by intrinsic factors (innate desires) and extrinsic factors (workplace hygiene).
- Intrinsic factors: challenging work, meaningful impact of work, recognition.
- extrinsic factors: job security, pay, conditions.
What is McClelland’s Motivation Theory?
Individuals are motivated by three basic desires:
- Achievement (accomplishment)
- Affiliation (feeling part of a group)
- Power (influence or control over others)
What is the Self-Determination Motivation Theory?
Psychological framework that examines human motivation and personality, particularly in the context of how individuals pursue and achieve their goals.
- Autonomy: The need to feel in control of one’s own behavior and goals.
- Competence: The need to feel effective and capable on one’s activities.
- Relatedness: The need to feel connected to others, to love and be loved, and to care and be cared for.
What is the Expectancy Motivation Theory?
Effort increases in relation to one’s confidence that the behavior will result in a positive outcome and reward.
What is the Vroom Motivation Theory?
Explains how individuals decide to engage in certain behaviors based on their expectations of the outcome.
- Expectancy (with reasonable effort, the employee can succeed)
- Instrumentality (success will result in a reward)
- Valence (the reward is meaningful to the employee)
What is the Attribution Motivation Theory?
The way an person interprets the causes for past successes or failure is related to the present level of motivation. A leader can help employees attribute results to the correct causes and create opportunities for success.
What is the Goal-Setting Motivation Theory?
-Motivation can be increased by providing employees with goals against which they can assess their achievements.
What is the Heider, Weiner Motivation Theory?
Success or failure can be attributed to internal factors or external factors. Internal factors may be under the employee’s control but external factors are probably beyond the employee’s control.
What is the Equity Motivation Theory?
Motivation is based on an employee’s sense of fairness. An individual compares their perceived value with that of others in similar roles and makes a calculation based on their inputs and outputs.
Define Vision
Defines and supports a coherent vision and long-term goals for HR that supports the strategic direction of the organization.
Define Managing HR Initiatives
Implements and supports HR projects that align with HR and organizational objectives.
Define Influence
Inspires colleagues to understand and pursue the strategic vision and goals of HR and the organization.
Define Ethical Practice
as the KSAOs needed to maintain high levels of personal and professional integrity, and to act as an ethical agent who promotes core values, integrity and accountability throughout the organization.
What are the three subcategories in Ethical Practice?
Personal Integrity
Professional Integrity
Ethical Agent
Define Personal Influence
Adherence to moral and ethical principles by HR professionals in their duties and interactions.
-Honesty and transparency
-Fairness and Impartiality
-Confidentiality
-Respect for individuals
-Compliance with laws
-Accountability
-Commitment to professional development
Define Professional Influence
Ability of HR professionals to shape and guide the behaviors, attitudes, and decisions of employees and management within the organization.
Define Ethical Agent
An individual who actively promotes and enforces ethical standards and practices within the organization.
