WGU D351 FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT - SECTION 2 – FORECASTING
Describe the process of workflow analysis, and identify why it is important to HRM. -
Answers -Start with identifying the end result Then, determine the required steps or
activities to create the end result Analyze the tasks that need to be performed to create
the output Identify the necessary inputs for carrying out the steps and performing tasks.
The four M's: machines (tools, equipment, and machines), material (physical resources
used in production), manpower (the people needed in a particular production process),
and money (the capital that must be spent to perform our processes).
Identify the five major options available and expected outcomes of the process of job
analysis. - Answers -(1) Questionaries - ask questions that help identify the functions
that are a part of a particular job. (2) job analysis interview - questions are asked
verbally, usually of the incumbent, and the answers are compiled into a job profile. (3)
diaries - where workers maintain a work log of the tasks they accomplish as they do
their jobs. (4) observation of the worker at work - an observer shadows the worker and
logs tasks performed over time. (5) subject matter expert (SME) panels - chosen for
their knowledge of a set of jobs, help identify the major tasks within those jobs. || The
expected outcomes of the process are the job description and the job specifications
Identify and describe the four major tools for motivational job design. - Answers -(1)
Job simplification - the process of eliminating or combining tasks and/or changing the
work sequence to improve performance (makes jobs more specialized). (2) Job
expansion - jobs can be expanded through rotation, enlargement, and enrichment
(makes jobs less specialized). (3) Team-based job design - gives the team an entire
piece of work. It is a form of job enrichment that can increase the workers' autonomy,
task identity, and task significance. (4) flexible job design - includes flextime, job
sharing, telecommuting, and compressed workweeks, allows us to target individuals
who have time constraints in their lives outside of work so that we can get better recruits
and, ultimately, employees than we would otherwise be table to target.
Discuss the two types of HR forecasting and the three most common quantitative
forecasting methods. - Answers -1) Quantitative forecasting uses mathematics to
forecast future employment needs based on historical data.
2) qualitative forecasting uses individual or collective industry and work expertise to
forecast employment needs in the future.
The three most common quantitative methods include the following:
Trend analysis allows the company to look at historical trends—for instance, whether
employment went up or down in a given year and how the number of employees related
to revenue or productivity—and make judgments from those trends.
, Ratio analysis calculates specific values by comparing a business factor with the
number of employees needed.
Regression analysis is a statistical technique using a regression diagram made from
historical data points to predict future needs presented with a y- and x-axis.
Identify the major options when the organization is faced with a labor surplus or
shortage. - Answers -Options when faced with a surplus of employees include the
following: (1) layoff - terminating employees to improve organizational efficiency and
effectiveness. (2) pay reduction - lowers the rate of pay for groups of employees within
the organization. (3) Work sharing occurs when we cut the hours available to each
worker per week or monthly because fewer work hours are available for the company.
(4) natural attrition - lowering employee numbers by not refilling jobs when turnover
occurs. (5) hiring freeze - allow natural attrition, but do NOT create any jobs, even if
they are needed (stops all hiring). (6) retraining and transferring workers from one job to
another may allow us to lower the number of workers in a particular part of our
business. Still, it will only work if we have too many employees in one type of job and
too few in another. (7) Early retirement can be a valuable option; employees are given
the choice of leaving the company before they normally retire.
Methods for mitigating employment shortages include these options: (1) overtime - the
quickest and easiest way to fix a shortage. (2) Hiring temporary workers - another quick
method of overcoming a worker shortage. (3) retrain workers - if we have a surplus of
employees in another part of the company. (4) outsourcing (5) reduce turnover (6) hiring
new employees (7) technological innovation - help alleviate a shortage if we can create
machinery that can do the job of a human being.
Identify the impact current trends are having on workforce management. - Answers -
The gig economy is a continuing trend. However, these opportunities are more
organized and easier to find through the use of apps. The apps allow businesses to
more easily match job needs with particular skill sets. An increase in technological
innovations is allowing greater insight into common employment issues. AI technology
is being used to predict employee turnover, lack of engagement, and employees at risk
for leaving employment for other opportunities.
Discuss the primary goal of the recruiting process and the major external forces acting
on recruiting. - Answers -The goal is to create a "reasonable pool" of candidates,
typically about 15 to 25 candidates who are qualified and want to work for the
organization. The main external forces are the effective labor market and the social and
legal forces that act on us and our potential recruits.
These forces include (1) supply and demand, (2) the unemployment rate in the
recruiting area, and (3) competitors and whether competition for available workers is
strong or weak. (4) the social and legal environment
MANAGEMENT - SECTION 2 – FORECASTING
Describe the process of workflow analysis, and identify why it is important to HRM. -
Answers -Start with identifying the end result Then, determine the required steps or
activities to create the end result Analyze the tasks that need to be performed to create
the output Identify the necessary inputs for carrying out the steps and performing tasks.
The four M's: machines (tools, equipment, and machines), material (physical resources
used in production), manpower (the people needed in a particular production process),
and money (the capital that must be spent to perform our processes).
Identify the five major options available and expected outcomes of the process of job
analysis. - Answers -(1) Questionaries - ask questions that help identify the functions
that are a part of a particular job. (2) job analysis interview - questions are asked
verbally, usually of the incumbent, and the answers are compiled into a job profile. (3)
diaries - where workers maintain a work log of the tasks they accomplish as they do
their jobs. (4) observation of the worker at work - an observer shadows the worker and
logs tasks performed over time. (5) subject matter expert (SME) panels - chosen for
their knowledge of a set of jobs, help identify the major tasks within those jobs. || The
expected outcomes of the process are the job description and the job specifications
Identify and describe the four major tools for motivational job design. - Answers -(1)
Job simplification - the process of eliminating or combining tasks and/or changing the
work sequence to improve performance (makes jobs more specialized). (2) Job
expansion - jobs can be expanded through rotation, enlargement, and enrichment
(makes jobs less specialized). (3) Team-based job design - gives the team an entire
piece of work. It is a form of job enrichment that can increase the workers' autonomy,
task identity, and task significance. (4) flexible job design - includes flextime, job
sharing, telecommuting, and compressed workweeks, allows us to target individuals
who have time constraints in their lives outside of work so that we can get better recruits
and, ultimately, employees than we would otherwise be table to target.
Discuss the two types of HR forecasting and the three most common quantitative
forecasting methods. - Answers -1) Quantitative forecasting uses mathematics to
forecast future employment needs based on historical data.
2) qualitative forecasting uses individual or collective industry and work expertise to
forecast employment needs in the future.
The three most common quantitative methods include the following:
Trend analysis allows the company to look at historical trends—for instance, whether
employment went up or down in a given year and how the number of employees related
to revenue or productivity—and make judgments from those trends.
, Ratio analysis calculates specific values by comparing a business factor with the
number of employees needed.
Regression analysis is a statistical technique using a regression diagram made from
historical data points to predict future needs presented with a y- and x-axis.
Identify the major options when the organization is faced with a labor surplus or
shortage. - Answers -Options when faced with a surplus of employees include the
following: (1) layoff - terminating employees to improve organizational efficiency and
effectiveness. (2) pay reduction - lowers the rate of pay for groups of employees within
the organization. (3) Work sharing occurs when we cut the hours available to each
worker per week or monthly because fewer work hours are available for the company.
(4) natural attrition - lowering employee numbers by not refilling jobs when turnover
occurs. (5) hiring freeze - allow natural attrition, but do NOT create any jobs, even if
they are needed (stops all hiring). (6) retraining and transferring workers from one job to
another may allow us to lower the number of workers in a particular part of our
business. Still, it will only work if we have too many employees in one type of job and
too few in another. (7) Early retirement can be a valuable option; employees are given
the choice of leaving the company before they normally retire.
Methods for mitigating employment shortages include these options: (1) overtime - the
quickest and easiest way to fix a shortage. (2) Hiring temporary workers - another quick
method of overcoming a worker shortage. (3) retrain workers - if we have a surplus of
employees in another part of the company. (4) outsourcing (5) reduce turnover (6) hiring
new employees (7) technological innovation - help alleviate a shortage if we can create
machinery that can do the job of a human being.
Identify the impact current trends are having on workforce management. - Answers -
The gig economy is a continuing trend. However, these opportunities are more
organized and easier to find through the use of apps. The apps allow businesses to
more easily match job needs with particular skill sets. An increase in technological
innovations is allowing greater insight into common employment issues. AI technology
is being used to predict employee turnover, lack of engagement, and employees at risk
for leaving employment for other opportunities.
Discuss the primary goal of the recruiting process and the major external forces acting
on recruiting. - Answers -The goal is to create a "reasonable pool" of candidates,
typically about 15 to 25 candidates who are qualified and want to work for the
organization. The main external forces are the effective labor market and the social and
legal forces that act on us and our potential recruits.
These forces include (1) supply and demand, (2) the unemployment rate in the
recruiting area, and (3) competitors and whether competition for available workers is
strong or weak. (4) the social and legal environment
