Human Resource Management Essay Sample: Questions and Answers

Compare and contrast the pay and employment practice common in Japan and those common in Germany

Japan and Germany are similar in various ways. They are both dependent on the exportation of high-tech machines to the global market. That has forced the two nations to exhibit almost the same practices concerning employment and pay. Employees in the two nations are paid based on their performance and experiences. This is provoked by the fact that both Germany and Japan face significant competition from the external manufacturers of autos. There is, however, some significant difference between the two nations concerning employment. Germany presently exhibits an increasing rate of atypically employed personnel as opposed to Japan as reiterated by Anderson, Ones, and Sinangil (2012).

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Factors affecting external competitiveness in pay levels

Labor market forces, economic conditions, product market factor, and the variation in the nature of work in an entity form some of the most crucial external factors that impact pay level competitiveness. Labor market forces refer to the balance between the demand and supply of human capital in a market. Companies generally incur low wage expenses when human capital supply exceeds the demand. That is because workers are ready to work for whatever wage for survival. Companies thus tend to reduce their wages as much as possible to cut their production cost. This causes no much impact on the entity's ability to acquire employees. It may, however, impact the capability of getting highly skilled professionals. Economic factors further connote to the variation between boom and recession periods. Companies are forced to pay more during the boom to attract fine talents that crucial for the production of both the right quality and quantity of items. Recession periods, however, force organization to pay generally low wages as businesses are low. The variation in demand for the specific items that an employer sales with time also affects pay level ability and competitiveness (Bratton & Gold, 2014).

Ways to judge job analysis and ensure it is an effective organizational tool

Job analysis determines the roles and responsibilities of each employee. The process also determines the wages of each worker based on the tasks he or she is mandated to perform. Performance appraisals, job titles, as well as career planning, are all based on job analysis. There are, however, specific ways through which a job analysis must be conducted to ensure its effectiveness. The analysis must, for instance, meet employees' interests and expectations for it to be effective. Such is ensured by engaging the whole team of workers in the job analysis process. Cole (2013) cheers the use of job analysis forms as an excellent way of getting employees' interests for their incorporation in the analysis process. It is also crucial for a job analysis to provide results that match those of the job family or grade in a market. This saves the entity from external pressures that may end up ruining the organization.

Present value of a stream of earnings and its use in wage discussions

The present value of earnings stream refers to immediate cash flow in an organization. This is often used by employers during the hiring process to encourage new workers, especially fresh graduates, to take jobs at lower wages. The candidates are shown how it is possible for them to grow by beginning at a lower salary or wage. The employer does this mainly because he or she intends to use the employee to generate the money to cater for his or her salary. The more the employee works, the more the earnings and then the higher his or her salary will grow.

What are differentials and what are the major factors that go into determining them

Differentials are the variations in the amount of money received by different workers. The fact that almost every contemporary times' job requires one to have gone to school and attained some level of education forces many to think that all workers should be receiving almost the same wage. Factors such as government actions, human capital, working conditions, and discrimination, however, lead to the differentials experienced in the job market as argued by Cole (2003).

The four major cost-containment strategies for benefits

The 'Consumer-Directed Health Plans', and the self-funding strategy are critical cost-containment plans. Others include the defined contribution approach and the expanded wellness program. All of these are used by employers to cut their expenses on employees' health care cost (Staff, Field & Shapiro, 2013).

Four policy issues that make up the left side of the pay model

External competitiveness, internal alignment, the pay system, and employee contributions are all found on the left side of pay models. These determine the amount of salary and wages that companies are going to reward their employees. The external competitiveness and internal alignment, however, form the most important factors that impact pay models used by various companies (Milkovich & Newman, 2006).

Which type of performance appraisal is most effective for employee development?

The 'check-in performance' approach is arguably the most effective performance appraisal technique that an employer should use. The model beats others such as the 'reflection model' in that it keeps the employees in the heart. The 'check-in performance' techniques is also proactive as opposed to being reactive. It allows for the immediate management of both the managers and employees' issues without piling them up for review after the year ends. The additional fact that this approach is individual-based and not organization-based also makes it superior (Fletcher & Williams, 2013).

What happens to the performance-based pay when using the reinforcement theory as the basis?

The performance-based reward almost becomes unmanageable when a firm uses the reinforcement theory. That is because these two lead to almost the same end. They all advocate for the rewarding of positive targeted behavior. The two also disregard the use of punitive approaches to correct poor behaviors. Combining the two models will thus hike the remuneration expenses to a high level (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam, 2014).

Characteristics of an executive based on fair labor standard act exemptions

The FLSA determines the treatment of different classes of employees concerning wages. The directive demands that all executive staff be exempted from minimum wage brackets. The law also prohibits the extension of overtime payments to all executive staff. The same prohibition is further extended to individuals serving professional, administrative, and outside sales positions in an entity (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam, 2014).

Three objectives to using a balance sheet approach to determine wage level for expatriates

The balance sheet remuneration is highly favored for expatriates. The approach has three main objectives. The first one is to give the expert the same purchasing power that he or she had at his or her home country. The other goal is to ensure that the expert's level of earning matches that of the experts back in his or her home. Lastly, the approach also seeks to adjust the expert's salary with the host nation's cost of living (Milkovich & Newman, 2006).

The main difference between a health management organization (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO)

Both HMO and PPO are types of health insurance plans. The HMO plan allows an individual to have a particular primary care physician. It is this one who refers the covered person to other doctors or facilities within the covered network. Any visitation of another facility without first going via one's primary physician is never covered under the HMO system. The PPO plan gives some more flexibility. This allows an individual to visit whatever clinic or hospital. An individual is also not given a primary care physician, and neither is he or her compelled to visit the physician for referrals. PPO also covers its people regardless of whether they visit facilities without their network. It thus involves lesser out of pocket payments compared to the HMO plan (Staff, Field & Shapiro, 2013).

How is an impro-share developed and executed?

Improshare refers to a plan where employers agree with the employee to share whatever financial benefit acquired through cost-cutting practices. The employer thus initiates the plan by engaging the employees on the intended plan to reduce the production cost. The parties then agree on the ways to be utilized to attain this, as well as, the roles of each party. The rate at which the saved money will be shared between the parties is also agreed (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam, 2014).

Ranking; its advantages and disadvantages as a job evaluation method

Ranking is arguably the most utilized method to profile employees. It has its advantages and disadvantages. The ease to use the model and its effectiveness in managing employees in entities with relatively few jobs are some of the techniques' advantages. The approach is, however, not effective in handling workers in organizations with a high number of jobs. The method is also subjective in nature and thus compromises teamwork. Re-ranking is also a must when a new job is created in an entity that the ranking approach. These make the approach less effective (Bratton & Gold, 2014).

References

Anderson, N., Ones, D. S., & Sinangil, H. K. (2012). Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology: Volume 1. London: SAGE.

Bamberger, P.A., Biron, M., & Meshoulam, I. (2014). Human Resource Strategy: Formulation, Implementation, and Impact. Routledge.

Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2014). Human resource management: Theory and practice. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan.

Cole, G. A. (2003). Management theory and practice. Thomson Learning.

Fletcher, C. & Williams, R. (2013). Appraisal, Feedback and Development: Making Performance. Routledge.

Milkovich, G.T. & Newman, J.M. (2006). Compensation. Thomson Learning.

Staff, I. M., Field, M. J., & Shapiro, H. T. (2013). Employment and Health Benefits: A Connection at Risk. Washington: National Academies Press.