HR Fundamentals Quiz

Effective Management of People in a Company

• Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic approach to managing people in an organization to help the business gain a competitive advantage.

• HR departments oversee employee-benefits design, employee recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and reward management.

• HR is designed to maximize employee performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives.

• The purpose of HR is to ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people.

• HR professionals manage the human capital of an organization and focus on implementing policies and processes.

• The history of HR can be traced back to the industrial revolution in Europe, and the discipline became formalized as "industrial and labor relations" in the early 20th century.

• HR has four basic functions: staffing, training and development, motivation, and maintenance.

• HR departments have the role of making sure that diverse teams can function and that people can communicate across cultures and borders.

• HR is generally viewed as a support function to the business, helping to minimize costs and reduce risk.

• Generalists and specialists are the two categories of HR positions within companies.

• HR consulting is a related career path where individuals may work as advisers to companies and complete tasks outsourced from companies.

• HR consulting represents a US$18.4 billion market, and the top five revenue-generating firms are Mercer, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Watson Wyatt, and PwC consulting.The Impact of Technology on HR Practices

• Technology has made HR practices more accessible within organizations and cut costs.

• E-recruiting tools have made it easier for HR professionals to post jobs and track applicants for thousands of jobs in various locations all in one place.

• The use of human resources information systems (HRIS) has made it possible for companies to store and retrieve files in an electronic format for people within the organization to access when needed.

• HRIS allows for information to be accessed in a timelier manner and in a centralized location, enabling professionals to analyze data quickly and across multiple locations.

• Technology allows HR professionals to train new staff members in a more efficient manner, with virtual classrooms making it possible to train a large number of employees quickly and assess their progress through computerized testing programs.

• HR consulting firms offer services on recruitment and talent acquisition, talent management, compensation and benefits, employee relations, training and development, performance management, and legal compliance.

• Some universities offer programs of study for human resources and related fields.

• Professional associations such as the Society for Human Resource Management and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development offer training and certification.

• The Institute of Recruiters and WorldatWork focus on "total rewards" and offer certifications and training programs dealing with remuneration and work–life balance.

• The Academy of Management is an academic organization concerned with finding ways to improve the effectiveness of HR and publishes several journals devoted in part to HR research.

• Academic and practitioner publications dealing exclusively with HR include the Journal of Human Resources, Human Resource Management Review, and Human Resource Management Journal.

• Related publications include the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology and the International Journal of Human Resource Management.