WGU C202 Study Guide
What is human resource management (HRM)? - 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. - staffing, performance
management, training and development, rewards and benefits, health and safety, and employee-
management relations
What is Staffing? - the process of planning, acquiring, deploying, and retaining employees that enables
the organization to meet its talent needs
Why is Staffing important? - It helps the organization execute its business strategy
Training and development - focused on developing employee capabilities through formal and informal
activities, career planning, organizational development, and legal compliance.
What is the purpose of Performance Management? - To align individual employees' goals and behaviors
with organizational goals and strategies
What does Performance Management involve? - Appraising and evaluating past and current behaviors
and performance, and providing suggestions for improvement
Rewards and benefits - 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 - range from wellness, fire and food safety, ergonomics, injury management, disaster
preparedness, industrial hygiene, and even bullying and workplace violence
Employee management - 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? - · 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. - · 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 - the overall talent strategy, company culture, ethics, investments in people, and the
implementation of change initiatives.
Operational risk - the speed and the effectiveness of talent acquisition, development of employees' skills
and the identification and retention of top performers.
Financial risk - compensation, benefits, turnover, overtime, and time-to-hire and indirectly through
errors, accidents, delays, and lost production.
Compliance risk - 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? - · 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? - ·
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? - 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 - company valuing honesty that quickly recalls products that might be defective or dangerous.
Fairness - 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? - · 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? - ·
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. -
· 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? - · because organizations typically have more power than do
employees in the employment relationship
What is human resource management (HRM)? - 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. - staffing, performance
management, training and development, rewards and benefits, health and safety, and employee-
management relations
What is Staffing? - the process of planning, acquiring, deploying, and retaining employees that enables
the organization to meet its talent needs
Why is Staffing important? - It helps the organization execute its business strategy
Training and development - focused on developing employee capabilities through formal and informal
activities, career planning, organizational development, and legal compliance.
What is the purpose of Performance Management? - To align individual employees' goals and behaviors
with organizational goals and strategies
What does Performance Management involve? - Appraising and evaluating past and current behaviors
and performance, and providing suggestions for improvement
Rewards and benefits - 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 - range from wellness, fire and food safety, ergonomics, injury management, disaster
preparedness, industrial hygiene, and even bullying and workplace violence
Employee management - 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? - · 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. - · 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 - the overall talent strategy, company culture, ethics, investments in people, and the
implementation of change initiatives.
Operational risk - the speed and the effectiveness of talent acquisition, development of employees' skills
and the identification and retention of top performers.
Financial risk - compensation, benefits, turnover, overtime, and time-to-hire and indirectly through
errors, accidents, delays, and lost production.
Compliance risk - 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? - · 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? - ·
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? - 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 - company valuing honesty that quickly recalls products that might be defective or dangerous.
Fairness - 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? - · 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? - ·
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. -
· 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? - · because organizations typically have more power than do
employees in the employment relationship
