Human Resource Management (HRM) Definitions

Human Resource Management 

Human Resource Management (HRM) definitions at a glance:

Term	Definition
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 employee’s 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 employee’s 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 employee’s 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 employer’s 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 one’s 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 individual’s 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