Correct Answers 2026 Updated.
Terms for Review for the BU354 Final Exam - Answer
You should know definitions of the following terms, and how they relate to the practice and
study of human resource management. - Answer
Chapter 1 - Answer Strategic Human Resource Management
Automation - Answer The shift towards converting work that was traditionally done by hand
to being completed by mechanical or electronic.
Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) - Answer Human resource practitioner,
formally accredited to practice, who reflects a threshold professional level of practices.
Cost Leadership Strategy - Answer Strategy to gain competitive advantage through lower
costs of operations and lower prices for products.
Cultural Forces - Answer Challenges facing a firm's decision makers because of cultural
differences among employees or changes in core cultural or social values occurring at the larger
societal level.
Cultural Mosaic - Answer The Canadian ideal of encouraging each ethnic, racial, and social
group to maintain its own cultural heritage, forming a national mosaic of different cultures.
Demographic Changes - Answer Changes in the demographics of the labour force (e.g.,
education levels, age levels, participation rates) that occur slowly and are usually known in
advance.
Differentiation Strategy - Answer Strategy to gain competitive advantage by creating a
distinct product or offering a unique service.
Economic Forces - Answer Economic factors facing Canadian business today, including global
trade forces and the force to increase one's own competitiveness and productivity levels.
Educational Attainment - Answer The highest educational level attained by an individual
worker, employee group, or population.
,Focus Strategy - Answer Strategy to gain a competitive advantage by focusing on the needs of
a specific segment of the total market.
Functional Authority - Answer Authority that allows staff experts to make decisions and take
actions normally reserved for line managers.
Gamification - Answer The use of rules, competition, and teamwork to encourage
engagement by mimicking games.
Human Resource Audit - Answer An examination of the human resource policies, practices,
and systems of a firm (or division) to eliminate deficiencies and improve ways to achieve goals.
Human Resource Management - Answer The leadership and management of people within
an organization using systems, methods, processes, and procedures that enable employees to
optimize their performance and in turn their contribution to the organization and its goals.
Knowledge Workers - Answer Members of occupations generating, processing, analyzing, or
synthesizing ideas and information (such as scientists and management consultants).
Line Authority - Answer Authority to make decisions about production, performance, and
people.
Mission Statement - Answer A statement outlining the purpose and long-term objectives of
the organization.
Organization Structure - Answer The product of all of an organization's features and how they
are arranged - people, objectives, technology, size, age, and policies.
Organizational Culture - Answer The core beliefs and assumptions that are widely shared by
all organizational members.
Organizational Goals - Answer An organization's short- and long-term outcomes that human
resource management aims to support and enable.
Productivity - Answer The ratio of a firm's outputs (goods and services) divided by its inputs
(people, capital, materials, energy).
Staff Authority - Answer Authority to advise, but not to direct, others.
,Strategic Human Resource Management - Answer Integrating the strategic needs of an
organization into the organization's choice of human resource management systems and
practices to support the organization's overall mission strategies, and performance.
Chapter 2 - Answer Job Analysis and Design
Autonomy - Answer In a job context, independence - having control over one's work and
one's response to the work environment.
Competency - Answer A knowledge, skill, ability, or behaviour associated with successful job
performance.
Competency Matrix - Answer A list of the level of each competency required for each of a
number of job.
Competency Model (Competency Framework) - Answer A list of competencies required in a
particular job.
Efficiency - Answer Achieving maximal output with minimal input.
Employee Log - Answer An approach to collecting job- and performance-related information
by asking the jobholder to summarize tasks, activities, and challenges in a diary format.
Environmental Considerations - Answer The influence of the external environment on job
design; includes employee ability, availability, and social expectations.
Ergonomics - Answer The study of relationships between physical attributes of workers and
their work environment to reduce physical and mental strain and increase productivity and
quality of work life.
Feedback - Answer Information that helps evaluate the success or failure of an action or
system.
Focus Group - Answer A face-to-face meeting with five to seven knowledgeable experts on a
job and a facilitator to collect job- and performance-relation information.
Interview - Answer An approach to collecting job- and performance-related information by a
face-to-face meeting with a jobholder, typically using a standardized checklist of questions.
, Job - Answer A group of related activities and duties.
Job Analysis - Answer Systematic study of a job to discover its specifications, skill
requirements, and so on, for wage-setting, recruitment, training, or job-design purposes.
Job Analysis Questionnaires - Answer Checklists used to collect information about jobs,
working conditions, and other performance-related information in a uniform manner.
Job Code - Answer A code that uses numbers, letters, or both to provide a quick summary of
the job and its content.
Job Description - Answer A recognized list of functions, tasks, accountabilities, working
conditions, and competencies for a particular occupation or job.
Job Design - Answer Identification of job duties, characteristics, competencies, and
sequences, taking into consideration technology, workforce, organization character, and
environment.
Job Enlargement - Answer Adding more tasks to a job to increase the job cycle and draw on a
wider range of employee skills.
Job Enrichment - Answer Adding more responsibilities and autonomy to a job, giving the
worker greater powers to plan, do, and evaluate job performance.
Job Families - Answer Groups of different jobs that are closely related by similar duties,
responsibilities, skills, or job elements
Job Identity - Answer The key part of a job description, including job title, location, and
status.
Job Performance Standards - Answer The work performance expected from an employee on
a particular job.
Job Rotation - Answer Moving employees from one job to another to allow them more
variety and to learn new skills.
Job Specification - Answer A written statement that explains what a job demands of
jobholders and the human skills and factors required.