Hr Dictionary

Dictionary of Human Resources

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Dictionary of Human Resources

Chapter 1: The Strategic Role of Human Resource Management Key Terms

Management Process The five basic functions of management are: organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. Human Resource Management

planning,

The staffing functions of the management process. Or, the policies and practices needed to carry out the "people" or human resource aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening, training, rewarding, and appraising. The right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders. Authorized to direct the work of subordinates-they're always someone's boss. In addition, line managers are in charge of accomplishing the organization's basic goals. Assist and advise line managers in accomplishing the basic goals. HR managers are generally staff managers. The authority to direct the activities of the people in his or her own department. The authority exerted by virtue of others' knowledge that he or she has access to top management. The authority exerted by a personnel manager as a coordinator of personnel activities.

Authority Line Manager

Staff Manager Line Authority Implied Authority Functional Control

Employee Advocacy HR must take responsibility for clearly defining how management should be treating employees, make sure employees have the mechanisms required to contest unfair practices, and represent the interests of employees within the framework of its primary obligation to senior management. Globalization The tendency of firms to extend their sales or manufacturing to new markets abroad.

Competitive Advantage Factors that allow an organization to differentiate its product or service from competitors to increase market share. Cost Leadership Differentiation The enterprise aims to become the low-cost leader in an industry. A firm seeks to be unique in its industry along dimensions that are widely valued by buyers.

Page 2 of 23

Contributed by: Salman Hafeez

Dictionary of Human Resources

Chapter 3: Job Analysis Key Terms

Job Analysis

The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it. A list of a job's duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities--one product of a job analysis. A list of a job's "human requirements," that is, the requisite education, skills, personality, and so on--another product of a job analysis. Daily listings made by workers of every activity in which they engage along with the time each activity takes.

Job Description

Job Specification

Diary/Log Position Analysis

A questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data concerning the Questionnaire (PAQ) duties and responsibilities of various jobs. Department of Labor Standardized method for rating, classifying, and comparing Job Analysis virtually every kind of job based on data, people, and things. Functional Job Analysis A method for classifying jobs similar to the Department of Labor job analysis but additionally taking into account the extent to which instructions, reasoning, judgment, and verbal facility are necessary for performing the job tasks. (page 97)

Page 3 of 23

Contributed by: Salman Hafeez

Dictionary of Human Resources

Chapter 4: Personnel Planning and Recruiting Key Terms

Trend Analysis Ratio Analysis

Study of a firm's past employment needs over a period of years to predict future needs. A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratios between sales volume and number of employees needed. A graphical method used to help identify the relationship between two variables.

Scatter Plot

Computerized Forecast The determination of future staff needs by projecting a firm's sales, volume of production, and personnel required to maintain this volume of output, using computers and software packages. Qualifications Inventories Manual or computerized systematic records, listing employees' education, career and development interests, languages, special skills, and so on, to be used in forecasting inside candidates for promotion. Personnel Replacement Company records showing present performance and promotability of inside candidates for the most important positions. Charts Position Replacement A card prepared for each position in a company to show possible replacement candidates and their qualifications. Cards Job Posting Occupational Market Conditions Application Form The form that provides information on education, prior work record, and skills. Posting notices of job openings on company bulletin boards is an effective recruiting method. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor publishes projections of labor supply and demand for various occupations, as do other agencies.

Page 4 of 23

Contributed by: Salman Hafeez

Dictionary of Human Resources

Chapter 5: Employee Testing and Selection Key Terms

Test Validity Criterion Validity Content Validity Reliability Expectancy Chart Work Samples

The accuracy with which a test, interview, and so on measures what it purports to measure or fulfills the function it was designed to fill. A type of validity based on showing that scores on the test (predictors) are related to job performance. A test that is content--valid is one in which the test contains a fair sample of the tasks and skills actually needed for the job in question. The characteristic which refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the identical or equivalent tests.