Learn Human Resource Management (HRM) Definitions

Human Resource Management 

Human Resource Management (HRM) definitions or guide at a glance:

Term	Definition
Union avoidance	A company tactic of providing to employees those things unions would provide without employees having to join the union
Union busting	A company tactic designed to eliminate the union that represents the company’s employees
Union security arrangements	Labor contract provisions designed to attract and retain dues-paying union members
Union security provisions:	Contract clauses to aid the union is obtaining and retaining members
Union steward:	An employee elected to serve as the first-line representative of unionized workers
Union:	A formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members through collective action
Unit labor cost:	Computed by dividing the average cost of workers by their average levels of output
Unsafe acts	Behavior tendencies and undesirable attitudes that cause accidents
Unsafe conditions	The mechanical and physical conditions that cause accidents
Upward appraisals	An employee appraisal process whereby employees evaluate their supervisors
Utility analysis:	Analysis in which economic or other statistical models are built to identify the costs and benefits associated with specific HR activities
Utilization analysis:	An analysis that identifies the number of protected-class members employed and the types of jobs they hold in an organization
Utilization review:	An audit and review of the services and costs billed by health-care providers
Validity:	Extent to which a test actually measures what it says it measures
Variable pay:	Type of compensation linked to individual, team, or organizational performance
Variable pay:	Compensation linked to individual, team, and organizational performance
Vesting:	The right of employees to receive benefits from their pension plans
Virtual reality	A process whereby the work environment is simulated by sending messages to the brain
Wage curve	Shows the relationship between the value of the job and the average wage paid for this job
Wage curve	The result of the plotting of points of established pay grades against wage base rates to identify the general pattern of wages and find individuals whose wages are out of line
Wages:	Payments directly calculated on the amount of time worked
Wagner Act	This law banned certain types of unfair labor practices and provided for secret-ballot elections and majority rule for determining whether or not a firm’s employees want to unionize
Walk-ins	Unsolicited applicants
Walsh-Healey Public Contract Act	A law enacted in 1936 that requires minimum-wage and working conditions for employees working on any government contract amounting to more than $10,000
Ward Cove v. Atonio	US Supreme Court decision that makes it difficult to prove a case of unlawful discrimination against an employer
Weighted application form	A special type of application form where relevant applicant information is used to determine the likelihood of job success
Wellness programs:	Programs designed to maintain or improve employee health before problems arise
Well-pay:	Extra pay for not taking sick leave
Whistle-blowers:	Individuals who report real or perceived wrongs committed by their employers
Whistle-blowing	A situation in which an employee notifies authorities of wrongdoing in an organization
Wildcat strike	An unauthorized strike occurring during the term of a contract
Wildcat strike	An unauthorized and illegal strike that occurs during the terms of an existing contract
Work sample tests:	Tests that require an applicant to perform a simulated job task
Work sampling	A selection device requiring the job applicant to actually perform a small segment of the job
Work:	Effort directed toward producing or accomplishing results
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act	Federal law requiring employers to five sixty days’ notice of pending plant closing or major layoff
Worker involvement programs	Programs that aim to boost organizational effectiveness by getting employees to participate in planning, organizing and managing their jobs
Workers’ compensation:	Benefits provided to persons injured on the job
Workflow analysis:	A study of the way work (inputs, activities, and outputs) moves through an organization
Wrongful discharge:	Occurs when an employer terminates an individual’s employment for reasons that are improper or illegal
Yellow-dog contract	An agreement whereby employees state that they are not now, nor will they be in the future, union member
Yield ratios:	A comparison of the number of applicants at one stage of the recruiting process to the number at the next stage

Human Resource Management (HRM) Quick Definitions

Human Resource Management 

Human Resource Management (HRM) definitions or guide at a glance:

Term	Definition
Safety:	Condition in which the physical well-being of people is protected
Salaries:	Consistent payments made each period regardless of number of hours worked
Salary survey	A survey aimed at determining prevailing wage rates.  A good salary survey provides specific wage rates for specific jobs.  Formal written questionnaire surveys are the most comprehensive, but telephone surveys and newspaper ads are also sources of information
Salting:	Practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies
Scanlon plan	An incentive plan developed in 1937 by Joseph Scanlon and designed to encourage cooperation, involvement and sharing of benefits
Scanlon plan	An organization-wide incentive program focusing on cooperation between management and employees through sharing problems, goals and ideas
Scientific management	A set of principles designed to enhance worker productivity
Secondary research:	Research method using data already gathered by others and reported in books, articles in professional journals, or other sources
Security audit:	A comprehensive review of organizational security
Security:	Protection of employees and organizational facilities
Selection criteria:	Characteristic that a person must have to do a job successfully
Selection rate:	The percentage hire from a given group of candidates
Selection:	Process of choosing individuals who have needed qualifications to fill jobs in an organization
Self-directed work team:	One composed of individuals assigned a cluster of tasks, duties, and responsibilities to be accomplished
Self-efficacy:	A person’s belief that he/she can successfully learn the training program content
Seniority:	Time spent in the organization or on a particular job
Sensitivity training	A method for increasing employees’ insights into their own behavior by candid discussions in groups led y special trainer
Separation agreement:	Agreement in which a terminated employee agrees not to sue the employer in exchange for specified benefits
Serious health condition:	A heath condition requiring inpatient, hospital, hospice, or residential medical care or continuing physician care
Severance pay:	A security benefit voluntarily offered by employers to employees who lose their jobs
Sexual harassment:	Action that are sexually directed, are unwanted, and subject the worker to adverse employment conditions or crate a hostile work environment
Shamrock team:	One composed of a core of members, resource experts who join the team as appropriate, and part-time/temporary members as needed
Shared services	Sharing HRM activities among geographically dispersed divisions
Sick building	An unhealthy work environment
Similarity error	Evaluating employees based on the way an evaluator perceives himself or herself
Simulated training	Training employees on special off-the-job equipment, and in airplane pilot training, whereby training costs and hazards can be reduced
Simulation:	A development technique that requires participants to analyze a situation and decide the best course of action based on the data given
Simulations	Any artificial environment that attempts to closely mirror and actual condition
Situational interview	Structured interview were questions related directly to actual work activities
Situational interview:	A structured interview composed of questions about how applicants might handle specific job situations
Skill deficiencies	The lacking of basic abilities to perform many of today’s jobs
Skill variety	A situation in which jobs require a number of skills
Skill variety:	The extent to which the work requires several different activities for successful completion
Social learning theory	Theory of learning that views learning occurring through observation and direct experience
Socialization	A process of adaptation that takes place as individuals attempt to learn the values and norms of work roles
Spa of control	The number of employees a supervisor con effectively and efficiently direct
Spaced practice:	Several practice sessions spaced over a period of hours or days
Speak up! programs	Communications programs that allow employees to register questions, concerns, ad complaints about work-related matters
Special-purpose team:	Organizational team formed to address specific problems, improve work processes, and enhance product and service quality
Staff manager	A manager who assists and advises line mangers
Statutory rights:	Rights based on laws
Stock option:	A plan that gives an individual the right to buy stock in a company, usually at a fixed price for a period of time
Straight piece-rate system:	A pay system in which wages are determined by multiplying the number of units produced by the piece rate for one unit
Strategic goals	Organization-wide goals setting direction for the next five to twenty years
Strategic human resource management:	Organizational use of employees to gain or keep a competitive advantage against competitors
Stress	A dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important
Stress interview	An interview designed to see how the applicants handle themselves under pressure
Stress interview:	Interview designed to create anxiety and put pressure on an applicant to see how the person responds
Stressors	Something that causes stress in an individual
Strike:	Work stoppage in which union members refuse to work in order to put pressure on an employer
Structured interview:	Interview tat uses a set of standardized questions asked of all job applicants
Structured interviews	An interview in which there are fixed questions that are presented to every applicant
Structured questionnaire method	A specifically designed questionnaire on which employees rate tasks they perform on their jobs
Substance abuse:	The use of illicit substances or the misuse of controlled substances, alcohol, or other drugs
Succession planning:	Process of identifying a longer-term plan for the orderly replacement of key employees
Suggestion system:	A formal method of obtaining employee input and upward communication
Summary plan description	An ERISA requirement of explaining to employees their pension program and rights
Sunshine Laws	Laws tat exist in some states that mandate that labor-management negotiations be open to the public
Survey feedback	A method that involves surveying employees’ attitudes and providing feedback to department managers so that problems can be solved by the managers and employees
Sympathy strike	A strike that takes place when one union strikes in support of the strike of another
Taft-Hartley Act	Also known as the Labor Management Relations Act, this law prohibited union unfair labor practices and enumerated the rights of employees as union members.  It also enumerated the rights of employers
Task identity	A situation in which a worker completes all phases of a job
Task identity:	The extent to which the job includes a “whole” identifiable unit of work that is carried out from start to finish and that results in a visible outcome
Task significance	A situation in which the employee has substantial impact on the lives of other employees
Task significance:	The impact the job has on other people
Task:	A distinct, identifiable work activity composed of motions
Team building	Improving the effectiveness of teams such as corporate officers and division directors trough use of consultants, interviews, and teambuilding meetings
Team interview:	Interview in which applicants are interviewed by the team members with whom they will work
Technical conference method	A job analysis technique that involves extensive input form the employee’s supervisor
Telecommuting:	Process of going to work via electronic computing and telecommunications equipment
Top-down programs	Communications activities including in-house television centers, frequent roundtable discussions, and in-house newsletters that provide continuing opportunities for the firm to let all employees by updated on important matters regarding the firm
Total quality management (TQM)	A continuous process improvement
Training:	A process whereby people acquire capabilities to aid in the achievement of organizational goals
Transition stay bonus:	Extra payment for employees whose jobs are being eliminated, thereby motivating them to remain with the organization for a period of time
Trend analysis	Study of a firm’s past employment needs over a period of years to predict future needs
Turnover:	Process in which employees leave the organization and have to be replaced
Undue hardship:	Significant difficulty or expense imposed on an employer when making an accommodation for individuals with disabilities
Union authorization card:	Card signed by an employee to designate a union as his of her collective bargaining agent