Glossary terms

Question 1

Weighted mean

Answer 1

Average of data that adds factors to reflect the importance of different values.

Question 2

Weingarten rights

Answer 2

Union employees’ right in U.S. to have a union representative or coworker present during an investigatory interview.

Question 3

Wildcat strike

Answer 3

Work stoppages at union contract operations that have not been sanctioned by the union

Question 4

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

Answer 4

U.S. act that requires some employers to give a minimum of 60 days’ notice if a plant is to close or if mass layoffs will occur.

Question 5

Workforce analysis

Answer 5

Systematic approach to anticipate human capital needs and data HR professionals can use to ensure that appropriate knowledge, skills, or abilities will be available when needed to accomplish organizational goals and objectives.

Question 6

Workforce profile

Answer 6

Part of workforce analysis that identifies the current make-up of employees in terms of their demographics, skills, competencies, performance levels, expected retirement dates, pay grades, and other factors that help explain the workforce’s composition.

Question 7

Work-to-rule

Answer 7

Situation in which workers slow processes by performing tasks exactly to specifications or according to job or task descriptions

Question 8

Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)

Answer 8

U.S. act that prohibits discrimination against specified categories of veterans; applies to federal government contractors and subcontractors.

Question 9

Vicarious liability

Answer 9

Legal doctrine under which a party can be held liable for the wrongful actions of another party.

Question 10

Variance analysis

Answer 10

Statistical method for identifying the degree of difference between planned and actual performance or outcomes.

Question 11

Value drivers

Answer 11

Actions, processes, or results that are needed to deliver a desired value

Question 12

Value chain

Answer 12

The process by which an organization creates the product or service it offers to the customer.

Question 13

Unweighted mean

Answer 13

Raw average of data that gives equal weight to all values, with no regard for other factors.

Question 14

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures

Answer 14

Procedural document designed to assist employers in complying with federal regulations prohibiting discrimination.

Question 15

Triple bottom line

Answer 15

Economic, social, and environmental impact metrics used to determine an organization’s success.

Question 16

Trend analysis

Answer 16

Statistical method that examines data from different points in time to determine if a variance is an isolated event or if it is part of a longer trend.

Question 17

Transformational leadership

Answer 17

Leadership theory that emphasizes a leader’s ability to inspire employees to embrace change; leaders encourage and motivate employees to innovate and seek out changes that can add value and growth to the organization.

Question 18

Trait theory

Answer 18

Leadership theory that states that leaders possess certain innate characteristics that followers do not possess (and probably cannot acquire), such as physical characteristics and personality traits.

Question 19

Time-based step-rate pay

Answer 19

System in which pay is based on longevity in the job and pay increases occur on a pre-determined schedule.

Question 20

Theory X/Theory Y

Answer 20

Motivation theories dealing with the amount of control in the workplace; motivation is seen as either absolutely irrelevant or absolutely critical.

Question 21

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

Answer 21

U.S. act that requires that all publicly held companies establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting to reduce the possibility of corporate fraud.

Question 22

Scenario/what-if analysis

Answer 22

Statistical method used to test the possible effects of altering the details of a strategy to see if the likely outcome can be improved.

Question 23

Secondary action

Answer 23

Attempt by a union to influence an employer by putting pressure on another employer, for example, a supplier.

Question 24

Shared services HR model

Answer 24

HR structural alternative in which centers with specific areas of expertise develop HR policies in those areas; each unit can then select what it needs from a menu of these services.

Question 25

Single loss expectancy (SLE)

Answer 25

Expected monetary loss every time a risk occurs; calculated by multiplying asset value by exposure factor

Question 26

Sit-down strike

Answer 26

Refusal by workers to work; also refusal by workers to leave their workstations, making it impossible for the employer to use replacement workers.

Question 27

Situational theories

Answer 27

Category of leadership theories that states that leaders can flex their behaviors to meet the needs of unique situations, employing both task or directive behaviors and relationship or supportive behaviors; includes Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership, Fiedler’s contingency theory, and path-goal theory.

Question 28

SOAR analysis

Answer 28

Type of analysis in which a group identifies strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results; a framework that combines fact finding with an organization’s goals and desires, presenting an analysis of the organization’s actual state and how it will measure achievement.

Question 29

Span of control

Answer 29

Refers to the number of individuals who report to a supervisor

Question 30

Staffing

Answer 30

HR function that acts on the organizational human capital needs identified through workforce planning and attempts to provide an adequate supply of qualified individuals to complete the body of work necessary for the organization’s financial succes

Question 31

Situation judgment tests (SJTs)

Answer 31

Assessment tools that present prospective leaders with sample situations and problems they might encounter in a work environment.

Question 32

Ratio analysis

Answer 32

Comparing the sizes of two variables to produce an index or percentage; commonly used to analyze financial statements.

Question 33

Realistic job preview (RJP)

Answer 33

Tool used to provide a job applicant with honest, complete information about a job and the work environment.

Question 34

Red-circle rates

Answer 34

Situations in which employees’ pay is above the range maximum.

Question 35

Regression analysis

Answer 35

Statistical method used to determine whether a relationship exists between variables and the strength of the relationship.

Question 36

Remuneration surveys

Answer 36

Instruments that collect information on prevailing market compensation and benefits practices (including starting wage rates, base pay, pay ranges, statutory and market cash payments, variable compensation, and paid time off)

Question 37

Residual risk

Answer 37

Amount of uncertainty that remains after all risk management efforts have been exhausted.

Question 38

Risk scorecard

Answer 38

Tool used to gather individual assessments of various characteristics of risk (for example, frequency of occurrence; degree of impact, loss, or gain for the organization; degree of efficacy of current controls).

Question 39

Root-cause analysis

Answer 39

Type of analysis that starts with a result and then works backward to identify fundamental cause

Question 40

Qualitative data

Answer 40

Subjective evaluation of actions, feelings, or behaviors.

Question 41

Quantitative data

Answer 41

Objective measurements that can be verified and used in statistical analysis.

Question 42

Pacesetting leadership approach

Answer 42

Leadership approach in which the leader sets a model for high performance standards and challenges followers to meet these expectations.

Question 43

Paired-comparison method

Answer 43

Job evaluation method in which each job is compared with every other job being evaluated; the job with the largest number of “greater than” rankings is the highest-ranked job, etc.

Question 44

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

Answer 44

2010 U.S. law that requires virtually all citizens and legal residents to have minimum health coverage and requires employers with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health coverage that meets minimum benefit specifications or pay a penalty.

Question 45

Pay compression

Answer 45

Occurs when there is only a small difference in pay between employees regardless of their experience, skills, level, or seniority; also known as salary compression.

Question 46

Pay for performance (P4P, PfP)

Answer 46

Situation where an individual’s performance on the job is the basis for the amount and timing of pay increases; also called merit pay or performance-based pay.

Question 47

Person-based pay

Answer 47

Pay systems in which employee characteristics, rather than the job, determine pay

Question 48

Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corporation

Answer 48

1971 U.S. case that stated that an employer may not, in the absence of business necessity, refuse to hire women with preschool-aged children while hiring men with such children

Question 49

Point-factor system

Answer 49

Job evaluation method that looks at compensable factors (such as skills and working conditions) that reflect how much a job adds value to the organization; points are assigned to each factor and then added to come up with an overall point value for the job

Question 50

Portal-to-Portal Act

Answer 50

U.S. act that defines what is included as hours worked and is therefore compensable and a factor in calculating overtime

Question 51

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Answer 51

U.S. act that prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions

Question 52

Principal-agent problem

Answer 52

Situation in which an agent (for example, an employee) makes decisions for a principal (for example, an employer) potentially on the basis of personal incentives that may not be aligned with the principal’s incentives.

Question 53

Principled negotiation

Answer 53

Process in which negotiators aim for mutual gain, emphasizing the need to focus on the problem instead of personal differences and on mutually beneficial outcomes.

Question 54

Project labor agreement (PLA)

Answer 54

Agreement that requires specific contractors to accept certain conditions in project contracts, such as paying a fair wage and contributing to health insurance, pension, and training funds

Question 55

Prudent person rule

Answer 55

States that a fiduciary of a plan covered by the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act has legal and financial obligations not to take more risks when investing employee benefit program funds than a reasonably knowledgeable, prudent investor would under similar circumstances.