Exam 13: Managing Human Resources

Performance Appraisal Methods (Scenario) Carly has just returned from a conference on performance appraisal methods. It was an interesting conference and it generally confirmed what Carly had suspected about her company's performance management system—it required some drastic revision! The company's current method is to have the immediate supervisor write out an evaluation of each individual employee. This method is time-consuming for the supervisors, and is as much a test of their writing skills as it is an evaluation of actual employee performance. Carly considered three alternative methods to replace the current system. The first method was one of the oldest and most popular performance appraisals. It involved listing a set of performance factors such as quantity of work, quality of work, level of cooperation, etc., and then rating each factor on an incremental scale. The second alternative method involved a system that focused on specific and measurable job behaviours. It required appraisers to rate employees according to numbered items which each represented actual job behaviours, rather than general descriptions or traits. The third alternative method was very results-oriented and was often used to evaluate managers and professional employees based on their accomplishment of specific goals that had been jointly established with their superiors. -What is the second alternative method that Carly is considering?

Human Resource Planning (Scenario) Steven is hired to manage the human resources department of a local manufacturing company. Unfortunately, the company has a reputation among workers of being the firm "where you work until you find your next job." Employee turnover is high and morale is low. Steven is determined to change the situation by turning the organization's human resources into a competitive advantage and a source of pride for the firm. -As part of restructuring the organization's human resources,Steven decides that a new job ________ must be written for each position that states the minimum job qualifications that a person must possess to successfully perform the job.

A labour union is an organization that represents workers and seeks to protect their interests through collective bargaining.

Human Resources Selection (Scenario) Denise has been asked by her boss, Stephen, the vice-president of human resources, to review the selection methods their firm has been using and to recommend improvements for future recruiting. It seems that recent hires have not been working out, and this has caused friction between the human resources department and the front-line managers who have to utilize the talent sent to them. In addition, there was currently a need to hire some top executives in the company, and due to the responsibility these positions carry, Stephen wanted to ensure they selected the best possible candidates. -Which of the following selection devices would be the most valid predictor for the executive positions?

The process by which managers ensure that they have the right number and kinds of capable people in the right places and at the right times is known as ________.

One of the final activities of the human resource management process ensures ________.

Which of the following is most likely to be included in family-friendly benefits provided by organizations?

Which of the following is a type of general training provided by organizations?

According to our textbook,intelligence tests are reasonably good predictors for ________ positions.

The Internal Hire (Scenario) Wade McKenzie is a new sales manager for The Medi-Mac Group, a medical supply company based in Ontario. Wade was hired from within the firm and he is now supervising many of the people he formerly worked with, including two friends with whom he competed for his new job. As a result, Wade is concerned about potential problems stemming from the performance evaluation process, and is conducting research on the advantages and disadvantages of various methods. -Six months into Wade's tenure as regional sales manager,he hosts his first regional sales meeting.During the course of the meeting,Wade meets individually with each of his employees and shows them a chart of their sales numbers for each month compared to their budgeted quota for the year to date.Additionally,Wade and each employee set mutually agreed upon,off-budget goals for the remaining six months of the fiscal year.This is most representative of which performance appraisal method?

The Internal Hire (Scenario) Wade McKenzie is a new sales manager for The Medi-Mac Group, a medical supply company based in Ontario. Wade was hired from within the firm and he is now supervising many of the people he formerly worked with, including two friends with whom he competed for his new job. As a result, Wade is concerned about potential problems stemming from the performance evaluation process, and is conducting research on the advantages and disadvantages of various methods. -Prior to the start of the national sales meeting at the end of January,Wade has scheduled a videoconference with each of his employees in order to conduct their formal performance appraisal.Wade has considered a variety of performance appraisal methods.Since there are wide differences in the size and nature of territories within his region,Wade knows that objective measures of sales performance may not be a fair method of appraisal.He is more interested in maximizing the potential of each employee and each territory than letting employees know where they rank in comparison to their peers.Therefore,he has decided to make up a list of performance factors such as quantity and quality of work,job knowledge,cooperation,and initiative,and has ranked each employee on each factor using a five-point incremental scale.This approach is most consistent with what technique?

High-performance work practices involve a commitment by management to improve the knowledge,skills,and abilities of the organization's employees,increasing employee motivation and enhancing the retention of quality employees.

Which of the following selection devices is the least valid predictor for routine work?

Performance-simulation tests are inexpensive to create and administer.

In a short essay,explain what is important about recruitment.Include a short discussion on the most important sources of recruitment.

Managers are not responsible for orientation and integration of new employees into the organization.It is the job of the HR department.

Human Resource Planning (Scenario) Steven is hired to manage the human resources department of a local manufacturing company. Unfortunately, the company has a reputation among workers of being the firm "where you work until you find your next job." Employee turnover is high and morale is low. Steven is determined to change the situation by turning the organization's human resources into a competitive advantage and a source of pride for the firm. -Steven believes that part of the reason for the high turnover is that individual jobs are very poorly defined.Employees are not sure of what is expected of them,and performance standards are unequal between regions and functions.Steven conducts a job ________ for each position,defining all the activities and behaviours necessary to perform them.

The Internal Hire (Scenario) Wade McKenzie is a new sales manager for The Medi-Mac Group, a medical supply company based in Ontario. Wade was hired from within the firm and he is now supervising many of the people he formerly worked with, including two friends with whom he competed for his new job. As a result, Wade is concerned about potential problems stemming from the performance evaluation process, and is conducting research on the advantages and disadvantages of various methods. -After the New Year Wade schedules a day to travel with each of his sales reps.He presents them with their bonus cheques from the preceding year.He confidentially shares with each of them a report that he recently received from top management.This report provides a comparison of regional performance,based upon percentage of quota met for each quarter and the entire year.Additionally,individual salespeople are compared on a bar graph with their peers within the region and corporate-wide,for each quarter and the year.Finally,each employee is ranked on a percentile scale,indicating their relative performance for the year.Wade must provide management with a report offering reasons for poor performance and suggesting corrective actions.This is most representative of which performance appraisal technique?