CHAPTER 8 – HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
ANSWERS
LEARNING THE LANGUAGE
1. Selection 18. Core time 35. Sexual harassment
2. Performance appraisal 19. Congress of Industrial 36. Boycott
Organizations (CIO)
3. Strike 20. Mediation 37. Title VII
4. Affirmative action 21. Telecommuting 38. Arbitration
5. Knights of Labor 22. Variable pay 39. Quid pro quo
6. Online training 23. Contingent workers 40. Injunction
7. Human resource management 24. Job specifications 41. Negotiated labor-
management agreement
8. Apprentice programs 25. Management development 42. Performance improvement
plan (PIP)
9. Union 26. Lockout 43. Comparable worth
10. Compressed workweek 27. Labor intensive 44. External candidates
11. Industrial unions 28. Reasonable accommodation 45. Internal candidates
12. Golden parachute 29. Job sharing 46. Training and development
13. Hostile work environment 30. American Federation of Labor 47. Job simulation
(AFL)
14. Job analysis 31. Off-the-job training 48. Job description
15. Employee orientation 32. Flextime plan 49. Recruitment
16. Vestibule training 33. On-the-job training
17. Compensation 34. Family Medical Leave Act
ASSESSMENT CHECK
Learning Goal 1
The Human Resource Process
1. The functions of human resource management include:
a. Determining human resource needs e. Compensating
b. Recruiting f. Evaluating
c. Selecting g. Scheduling
d. Training and developing
Determining Human Resources Needs
2. a. Prepare a human resource inventory of the organization’s employees.
b. Prepare job analyses, job descriptions, and job specifications.
c. Assess future demand.
d. Assess future supply.
e. Establish a strategic plan.
3. A human resources inventory includes ages, names, education, capabilities, training,
specialized skills and other information pertinent to the organization, such as languages spoken.
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This information reveals whether or not the labor force is technically up to date and thoroughly
trained.
4. In brief, the job description is about the job, and job specifications are about the person who
does the job.
5. In terms of assessing future human resource demand, training programs must be started
long before the need is apparent, because of rapid changes in technology.
6. There are likely to be increased shortages of computer and robotic repair workers, and an
oversupply of other types of skills, such as assembly line workers.
7. A human resources strategic plan must address:
a. recruiting, d. appraising,
b. selecting, e. compensating,
c. training and developing, f. scheduling the labor force.
Recruiting Employees From a Diverse Population
8. Recruiting has become difficult because:
a. Some organizations have policies that demand promotions from within, or other policies
that make recruiting and keeping employees difficult or subject to restrictions or outside
influence.
b. The emphasis on culture, teamwork, and participative management makes it important to
hire the right kind of people who fit the organization.
c. Sometimes people with the necessary skills are not available, and so workers must be hired
and trained internally.
d. The geographic location of a business can make recruiting more difficult.
e. Globalization results in different cultures and customs.
9. The benefits of recruiting from internal sources include:
a. It is less expensive.
b. It helps maintain employee morale.
10. Sources of external candidates include:
a. Online or print advertisements.
b. Public or private employment agencies.
c. College placement bureaus.
d. Management consultants.
e. Professional organizations.
f. Referrals.
g. Walk-in applications.
11. Recruiting qualified employees may be difficult for small businesses because they don’t
always have enough staff members to serve as internal sources, and they may not be able to
offer competitive compensation.
Selecting Employees
12. a. Obtaining a complete application form d. Background investigations
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b. Initial and follow-up interviews e. Physical exams
c. Employment tests f. Establishing trial periods
13. Application forms help an employer discover an applicant’s educational background, past
work experience, career objectives and other qualifications directly related to the job.
14. “Smart Assessment” is an artificial intelligence program used to make the application
process more effective and efficient. An applicant sits down at a computer and spends a half
hour answering questions about job experience, time available and personality related
statements. A report e-mailed to the hiring manager indicates whether or not to interview the
applicant.
Smart Assessment can reduce the amount of time needed for the hiring process, and reduce
employee turnover.
15. Managers must prepare for interviews to avoid making mistakes like not asking the right
questions or attempting to fill a position too quickly. Other mistakes could create legal problems
if a manager asks illegal questions. Sometimes a human resources manager will sit in on an
interview to ensure nothing illegal is asked.
16. Organizations sometimes use employment tests to measure basic competencies in specific
job skills, and to evaluate applicants’ personalities and interests. It is important that the
employment test be related to the job.
17. Background checks help to identify which candidates are most likely to succeed in a given
position.
18. In some states, physical exams can be given only after an offer of employment has been
accepted. Other states allow pre-employment physical exams, but they must be given to
everyone applying for the same position.
19. During a trial period, a person can prove his or her worth to the firm. After the trial period,
a firm has the right to discharge an employee based upon performance evaluations, so it is
easier to fire inefficient or problem employees.
20. Firms hire contingent workers when full time employees are on leave, there is a peak
demand for labor, or quick service to customers is a priority.
Learning Goal 2
Training and Development
21. Three steps in the process of creating training and development programs are:
a. Assessing the needs of the organization and the skills of the employees
b. Designing the training activities to meet the needs.
c. Evaluating the effectiveness of the training.
22. During an employee orientation program, new employees will be introduced to fellow
employees and to their immediate supervisors, and learn about the policies, practices and
objectives of the firm. Orientation programs included everything from informal talks to formal
activities that last a day or more and include visits to various departments and required reading
of handbooks.
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23. On- the-job training is the easiest kind of training to implement when the job is relatively
simple, such as clerking in a store, or repetitive, such as cleaning carpets.
Intranets are leading to cost-effective forms of on-the-job training programs that are available
24 hours a day, all year long. These online training programs can monitor output and give
instructions.
24. As an apprentice, you would train for a craft, such as a bricklaying or plumbing. Workers
who successfully complete an apprenticeship earn the classification of journeyman.
25. Off-the-job training is expanding to include further formal education, and personal
development in areas such as time management, stress management, health and wellness and
other areas.
26. Job simulation is the use of equipment that duplicates job conditions and tasks so trainees
can learn skills before attempting them on the job. It differs from vestibule training in that
simulation attempts to duplicate the exact conditions that occur on the job. Job simulation is
used in training astronauts, airline pilots, and others who must learn difficult procedures off the
job.
27. Managers get special training in communications skills, time management, planning, and
human relations skills
Learning Goal 7
Compensating Employees: Attracting and Keeping the Best
28. One of the main purposes of compensation is to attract qualified employees.
29. A well managed compensation and benefit program can meet objectives such as:
a. Attracting the kind of people the organization needs.
b. Providing employees with incentives.
c. Keeping valued employees from leaving.
d. Maintaining a competitive position in the marketplace.
e. Assuring employees a sense of financial security through insurance and retirement benefits.
30. a. Salary systems – fixed compensation computed on weekly, biweekly, or monthly pay
periods.
b. Hourly wage or day work –based on the number of hours or days worked.
c. Piecework - based on the number of items produced; creates incentives to work
productively.
d. Commission plans – pay based on some percentage of sales; also known as variable pay.
e. Bonus plans – extra pay for accomplishing or surpassing certain objectives. Two forms of
bonuses are monetary and cashless.
f. Profit sharing plans – share of the company’s profits based on a predetermined percentage.
g. Stock Options– the right to purchase stock in the company at a specific price over a specific
period of time.
h. Fringe benefits – include sick-leave, vacation, pensions and health plans as well as many
others.
i. Health benefits - cover all or some of the cost of health insurance.
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j. 401K plans – investment funds for retirement. Some companies will also contribute.
Appraising Employee Performance to get Optimum Results
31. a Establish performance standards.
b. Communicate the standards.
c. Evaluate performance.
d. Discuss results with employees.
e. Take corrective action.
f. Use the results to make decisions.
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32. Performance standards must be:
a. understandable.
b. subject to measurement.
c. reasonable.
33. A PIP, or performance improvement plan, is used during the “take corrective action” step in
the performance appraisal process. It is used to help an employee understand what he or she
needs to change and detailed steps on how to change it.
34. The 360-degree review calls for feedback from superiors, subordinates and peers. The goal is
to get an accurate and comprehensive idea of the worker’s abilities.
Alternatives to Traditional Scheduling
35. Flextime plans are designed to allow employees to adjust to demands on their time, and to
have freedom to adjust when they work, as long as they work the required number of hours.
36. Flextime doesn’t work in assembly-line processes where everyone must work at the same
time, or for shift work. Disadvantages are that managers often have to work longer days to be
able to assist and supervise employees. Flextime can make communication more difficult, as
certain employees may not be at work when you need to talk to them. Further, some employees
could abuse the system, and that could cause resentment.
37. A disadvantage to a compressed workweek is that some employees get tired working such
long hours, and productivity could decline.
38. Benefits for workers who telecommute include:
a. choose their own hours.
b. interrupt work for childcare and other tasks.
c. take time out for personal reasons.
Benefits of telecommuting for employers include that it:
a. can be a cost saver for employers.
b. can increase productivity.
c. can broaden the available talent pool.
39. Benefits to job sharing include:
a. employment opportunities to those who cannot or prefer not to work full-time.
b. a high level of enthusiasm and productivity.
c. reduced absenteeism and tardiness.
d. ability to schedule people into peak demand periods.
e. retention of experienced employees who might have left otherwise.
40. The disadvantages to job sharing include having to hire, train, motivate and supervise twice
as many people and to prorate some fringe benefits.
Learning Goal 4
Laws Affecting Human Resource Management
41. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing,
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compensation, apprenticeships, training, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based
on race, religion, creed, sex, national origin or age.
42. The EEOC, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is a regulatory agency created
by the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and strengthened by the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972. It has
the power to issue guidelines for acceptable employer conduct in administering equal
employment opportunity, enforce mandatory record-keeping procedures and insure that
mandates are carried out.
43. Charges of reverse discrimination primarily resulted from the interpretation of affirmative
action laws. Reverse discrimination charges have occurred when companies have been
perceived as unfairly giving preference to women or minority groups in hiring and promoting,
when following affirmative action guidelines.
44. a. An employer may not terminate FMLA for employees currently on leave.
b. An employee is required to provide 30 days notice of a need for FMLA.
c. An employer can ask an employee to provide medical certification from a health
care provider.
d. The employee can ask for FMLA to care for a family member, their own health care or for
the birth or adoption of a child.
e. An employer is allowed to ask employees on leave for a status report and intentions to
return to work.
f. Ordinary illnesses do not qualify for FMLA.
g. Every employer covered by FMLA must post a notice outlining the act’s provisions.
45. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 extended the same protection against job
discrimination on the basis of gender or race, to people with disabilities.
46. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that disabled applicants be given the same
consideration for employment as people without disabilities. Companies must make "reasonable
accommodations" to people with disabilities.
47. Reasonable accommodation means an adjustment to the work environment that does not
have high costs such as widening doorways or modifying equipment. Accommodations include
putting up barriers to isolate people readily distracted by noise, reassigning workers to new
tasks, and making changes in supervisors’ management styles.
48. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects individuals who are 40 years of age or
older from employment discrimination based on age. Additionally, the law outlawed
mandatory retirement in most organizations, unless evidence shows the ability to perform a
particular job diminishes with age or poses a danger to society.
Learning Goal 5
Challenges in Human Resources
49. Workers originally formed unions to protect themselves from intolerable work conditions
and unfair treatment. They also wanted to secure some say in the operations of their jobs.
50. The Industrial Revolution changed the economic structure of the United States. Productivity
increases from mass production and job specialization made the U.S. a world economic power.
This growth brought problems for workers in terms of productivity expectations, hours of work,
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wages and unemployment. Workers who failed to produce lost their jobs. People had to go
work when they were ill or had family problems. Hours of work were expanded, and an 80-
hour work week was not uncommon. Wages were low, and the use of child labor was
widespread. These conditions created a situation that favored the emergence of a national labor
union.
51. The first national labor union was the Knights of Labor. Its intention was to gain significant
political power and eventually restructure the entire U.S. economy.
52. The American Federation of Labor, AFL, was an organization of craft unions that
championed fundamental labor issues. The AFL limited membership to skilled workers
assuming they would have better bargaining power in getting concessions from employers.
53. The Congress of Industrial Organizations broke away from the AFL, and was formed to
organize both craftspeople and unskilled and semi-skilled workers in such industries as
automobile manufacturing and mining..
54. The AFL and the CIO merged in 1955 after each organization struggled for leadership for
several years.
55. Recently the AFL-CIO has begun to weaken as several unions, including the largest union,
the Service Employees International Union, left to form a coalition called Change to Win.
56. The reasons for the decline in union strength/membership are:
a. global competition.
b. shifts from manufacturing to service and high-tech industries.
c. growth in part-time work.
d. changes in management philosophies.
d. labor’s success in seeing the issues it has promoted become law.
57. The negotiated labor-management agreement is also known as the labor contract.
58. The general topics covered in labor-management agreements are:
a. management rights. g. hours of work and time-off policies.
b. union recognition. h. job rights and seniority principles.
c. union security clause. i. discharge and discipline.
d. strikes and lockouts. j. grievance procedures.
e. union activities and responsibilities. k. employee benefits, health and welfare.
f. wages.
59 Tactics used by labor in labor-management disputes are:
a. strikes.
b. boycotts.
60. A strike attracts public attention to a labor dispute and at times causes operations in a
company to slow down or totally shut down.
61 Two methods used to resolve labor-management disputes are:
a. mediation.
b. arbitration.
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62. The mediator is a specialist who uses mediation procedures to encourage both sides in the
dispute to come to an agreement.
63. a. In binding arbitration an impartial third party hears the complaints of both sides and
makes a decision that can’t be appealed.
b. In nonbinding arbitration parties present their case and the arbitrator offers an opinion
but the parties are not required to agree with or follow the opinion.
64. Tactics available to management in labor-management disputes include:
a. lockouts. c. use of strikebreakers.
b. injunctions.
65. Lockouts aren’t generally used because they often make the situation worse, with potential
negative impact on revenues.
66. Management seeks injunctions to order striking workers back to work, to limit the number
of pickets that can be used during a strike, or deal with actions that could be detrimental to the
public welfare.
67. Scabs are strikebreakers who are hired to do the jobs of striking employees until a labor
dispute is resolved.
68. In the past, executive compensation and bonuses were generally determined by the firm’s
profitability or an increase in its stock price. The assumption in using these incentives was that
the CEO will improve the performance of the company and raise the price of the firm’s stock.
69. Today, most executives receive stock options as part of their compensation. Also included in
total compensation packages are company cars and the use of company jets.
70. H.R. managers must understand differences in religion, language, communication, and
other cultural dimensions in the global marketplace.
71. Work-life balance is one of the recent issues in human resources management. Higher
expectations means longer hours which interrupt personal lives, create more stress, and lower
the quality of work. Human resource professionals are trying to find ways to help employees
balance their lives in terms of work requirements, home responsibilities and quality time with
families while still performing to expectations at work.
72. Comparable worth centers on comparing the value of different jobs, for instance bank tellers
or librarians, traditionally women’s jobs, compared with truck drivers or plumbers, traditionally
men’s jobs. The comparison shows that “women’s” jobs tend to pay less.
73. In the past the primary explanation for the pay disparity between men and women was that
women only worked a portion of their available years once they left school, whereas men
worked all of those years. This explanation no longer applies. Now the explanation is that many
working women devote more time to their families and so opt for lower paying jobs.
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74. Conduct can be considered sexually harassing if:
a. an employee's submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term of
employment or is the basis for employment decisions.
b. the conduct interferes with a worker's job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or
offensive work environment.
75. “Quid pro quo” harassment could be a threat such as “go out with me or you are fired,” for
example. This explicitly creates a term or condition of employment.
A “hostile environment” is created when an individual’s conduct interferes with a worker’s
job performance or creates an intimidating or offensive work environment.
76. Human resource departments work with managers and supervisors to implement new
motivation plans in order to retain employees, and make sure that benefits are affordable.
CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISES
Learning Goal 1
1. Your answer will depend upon what kind of job you have chosen. There are many different
jobs which will be a part of Sun-2-Shade: Sales, production, marketing, accounting, and clerical,
to name a few.
For a sales job, a job description may be:
“Sales for a small manufacturing company, calling on automotive manufacturers and/or
automotive after-market dealers. Sales territory will be primarily based on geographic
location. Duties will include sales calls; follow up reports, working directly with
production manager, direct input into marketing program development. Compensation
will be salary plus commission.
Skills required include familiarity with electronic communication equipment, teamwork
skills, good oral and written communications skills, presentation skills, and a Bachelor's
degree, preferably in marketing or a related area.”
You may make use of any of the recruiting tools listed in the text. Good sources may include
current employees, local colleges, a local professional marketing organization, or using an
Internet recruiting tool. The selection process should include several interviews, in particular
with the people with whom the sales person will work, such as the production manager, other
marketing people, and other members of the team he/she will work with.
Learning Goal 2
2. a. Vestibule training. e. Management development.
b. Apprenticeship. f. Employee orientation.
c. On-the-job training. g. Online training.
d. Job simulation.
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Learning Goal 3
3. These are some suggested answers:
a. Salary or salary plus commission, gain sharing.
b. Hourly wages plus profit sharing.
c. Salary plus bonus for meeting objectives, gain sharing.
d. Salary plus profit sharing, or bonus for meeting profit objective.
e. Piecework, plus profit sharing.
g. Salary, plus gain sharing or stock options.
4. The first thing you need to do in developing this appraisal system is decide exactly what
elements of the salespersons’ jobs will be included in the system. For example, you will probably
include: sales volume, number of sales calls, number of sales compared to number of sales calls
(called the closing ratio), dollar amount per sale, number of units per sale, sales expenses,
average dollar volume per customer, and so on. You will also have to determine what time
frame will be used for evaluations, for example, six months or a year. After that, you will want
to decide what is an acceptable and reasonable standard for each of those areas - i.e. how many
sales calls per month is enough? What’s an acceptable dollar amount per sale? What is an
acceptable sales volume in the given period? Lastly, these standards must be communicated to
each salesperson, and explained clearly and precisely. Each individual must know exactly what
is expected of him or her.
5. a. Flextime f. Flextime
b. Compressed work week g. Job sharing
c. Job sharing h. Flextime
d. In home work i. Job sharing
e. Job sharing j. Flextime
6. a. ADEA
b. FMLA
c. Civil Rights Act of 1964
d. ADA
e. Vocational Rehabilitation Act
f. Equal Employment Opportunity Act
7. a. Boycott d. Strikebreakers
b. Lockout e. Picketing
c. Strike f. Injunction
8. a. Executive compensation – companies often believe they have to pay the “going rate”
for a CEO position in order to attract the best person. These salaries can be excessively high.
The problems with executive compensation occur when highly compensated CEOs are not
doing a good job running the company. Some executives are provided with lucrative
packages when they leave the company.
b. Globalization – when companies expand into new markets, human resources managers
must continue to perform the same functions they do in local offices. Cultural differences
can create a challenge when dealing at the global level.
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c. Work-life balance – many employees feel they have to work long hours to meet high
expectations from employers. These hours interrupt personal lives, create more stress, and
lower the quality of work. H.R. professionals are trying to find ways to help employees
balance their lives in both areas.
d. Comparable worth – goes beyond the concept of equal pay for equal work. The issue
centers on comparing the value of jobs traditionally held by women with the value of jobs
traditionally held by men. The comparison shows that women typically are paid less than
men for jobs requiring comparable skills.
e. Sexual harassment – this issue has come to light with the increasing number of women in
the workforce. There are basically two types of harassment. Quid pro quo means that the
employee’s submission to sexually harassing conduct is a condition or term of employment.
A hostile work environment is created when conduct unreasonably interferes with a
worker’s job performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work
environment.
PRACTICE TEST
MULTIPLE CHOICE TRUE-FALSE
1. a 1. T
2. c 2. F
3. c 3. T
4. b 4. T
5. d 5. F
6. b 6. T
7. a 7. T
8. b 8. F
9. b 9. T
10. c 10. F
11. c 11. T
12. d 12. T
13. b 13. F
14. d 14. F
15. T
16. F
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