WGU C202 Study Guide
What is human resource management (HRM)? - answer-the organizational
function responsible for attracting, hiring, developing, rewarding, and
retaining talent
List the 6 HRM functional areas, and what each area is about in only 1
sentence. - answer-staffing, performance management, training and
development, rewards and benefits, health and safety, and employee-
management relations
What is Staffing? - answer-the process of planning, acquiring, deploying, and
retaining employees that enables the organization to meet its talent needs
Why is Staffing important? - answer-It helps the organization execute its
business strategy
Training and development - answer-focused on developing employee
capabilities through formal and informal activities, career planning,
organizational development, and legal compliance.
What is the purpose of Performance Management? - answer-To align
individual employees' goals and behaviors with organizational goals and
strategies
What does Performance Management involve? - answer-Appraising and
evaluating past and current behaviors and performance, and providing
suggestions for improvement
Rewards and benefits - answer-are both adequate and equitable that reward
employees for their contributions to organizational goal attainment are
important to employee motivation, performance, and retention
Health and safety - answer-range from wellness, fire and food safety,
ergonomics, injury management, disaster preparedness, industrial hygiene,
and even bullying and workplace violence
Employee management - answer-relations determines the employment
rights of both employers and employees
,In addition to managing risk, what are several other ways effective HRM
systems influence performance of an entire organization? - answer-· interest
rate a company must pay to borrow money
· increase a company's value by as much as 30 percent
Explain HRM's role in executing an organization's business strategy. -
answer-· Strategic human resource management aligns a company's values
and goals with the behaviors, values, and goals of employees and influences
the strategies of each of the firm's human resource functions, including
staffing, performance management, training and development, and
compensation
· human resource management system supporting the execution of the
business strategy, guided by the talent philosophy of the organization.
Strategic risk - answer-the overall talent strategy, company culture, ethics,
investments in people, and the implementation of change initiatives.
Operational risk - answer-the speed and the effectiveness of talent
acquisition, development of employees' skills and the identification and
retention of top performers.
Financial risk - answer-compensation, benefits, turnover, overtime, and time-
to-hire and indirectly through errors, accidents, delays, and lost production.
Compliance risk - answer-legal ramifications, particularly in the areas of
diversity, health and safety, union relations, whistleblowers, and harassment.
Because the acquisition, retention, and performance of talent have the
potential to affect company earnings, organizations must identify and
manage these risks through effective HRM.
What are 3 specific ways HR can support the organization should it choose to
shift its culture? - answer-· HRM contributes to this by posting job ads that
give a true sense of what the company values and by ensuring that it hires
employees with a good person-organization fit.
· HRM can also reward behaviors that the company values and punish those
that are inconsistent with the culture.
· HRM can train employees on the values of the organization.
Explain 2 situations/reasons that managers across various departments
might seek out HR's guidance? - answer-· HRM supports managers through
goals and processes that promote employee participation, commitment, and
identification with the organization.
· HRM can assist managers with hiring the right talent at the right time and
considering whom to let go of during layoffs.
, How can HR support and reinforce ethical behavior in the workplace? -
answer-HRM can support corporate ethics through the effective hiring of
ethical people and the training of employees to recognize and handle both
ethical and unethical situations
Virtue - answer-company valuing honesty that quickly recalls products that
might be defective or dangerous.
Fairness - answer-Appropriateness of CEO salaries and bonuses that are
hundreds of times larger than the pay of the average employee
What are a few of the most common change initiatives that HR manages? -
answer-· Developing practices that support knowledge transfer and rapid
learning
· Developing strategies to retain top talent and release poor performers
· Monitoring the new culture to identify ways to strengthen it
· Planning for continuous adjustment and learning throughout the process
In addition to a lack of planning, what other factors can hinder the success of
a merger or acquisition? - answer-· Culture mismatch is often blamed as a
cause of the failure. During the due diligence phase, the cultures of both
organizations need to be evaluated to determine their compatibility
Explain the connection between performance metrics, employee behavior,
and the organization's goals. - answer-· Resistance to change is a real
problem during change efforts. Therefore, adopting positive behaviors along
with aligning employee goals to the new organizational goals is critical.
Why do we have employment laws? - answer-· because organizations
typically have more power than do employees in the employment
relationship
What is inclusion, and why should an organization practice it? - answer-·
means that everyone feels respected and listened to, and everyone
contributes to their fullest potential
What law has been violated if an employer refuses to pay minimum wage or
overtime? - answer-· Does not discriminate wage on the basis of sex.
What is the key employment law that prohibits discrimination in the
workplace? - answer-Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
What are the 5 protected classes under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964? - answer-race, color, national origin, religion, or sex
