Talent Management Quarter

Worker Productivity Quarter (hereinafter, the Quarter) is the last of four lectures of Individuals Quadrivium (hereinafter, the Quadrivium):

• The Quarter is designed to introduce its learners to enterprise discovery, or, in other words, to concepts related to obtaining data needed to administer the enterprise effort; and
• The Quadrivium examines concepts of administering various types of enterprises known as enterprise administration as a whole.

The Quadrivium is the first of seven modules of Septem Artes Administrativi, which is a course designed to introduce its learners to general concepts in business administration, management, and organizational behavior.

Outline

The predecessor lecture is Individual Decisions Quarter.

Concepts

1. Employee productivity. A performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness.
   • Group order ranking. An evaluation method that places employees into a particular classification, such as quartiles.
   • Individual ranking. An evaluation method that rank-orders employees from best to worst.
   • Shaping behavior. The process of guiding learning in graduated steps using reinforcement or lack of reinforcement.
2. Job satisfaction. (1) A positive feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics; (2) An employee's general attitude toward her or his job resulting from the difference between positive and negative feelings.
   • Job dissatisfaction. A negative feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.
   • Motivating potential score. A predictive index that suggests the motivating potential in a job.
3. Counterproductive workplace behavior. Any intentional employee behavior that is potentially damaging to the organization or to individuals within organization.
   • Counterproductive work behavior. Actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, or being late or absent.
   • Counterproductivity. Actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, of being late or absent.
   • Deviant workplace behavior (also known as antisocial behavior or workplace incivility). Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members.
   • Employee theft. Any unauthorized taking of company property by employees for their personal use.
   • Absenteeism. The failure to show up for work.
   • Withdrawal behavior. The set of actions employees take to separate themselves from the organization.
   • Turnover. The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization.
4. Dissatisfaction behavior. Worker's behavior resulted from his or her job dissatisfaction.
   • Exit behavior. Dissatisfaction behavior directed toward leaving the organization. In other words, exit behavior is dissatisfaction expressed through behavior to exit the organization.
   • Neglect behavior. Dissatisfaction behavior directed toward withdrawal from carrying for the organization. In other words, neglect behavior is dissatisfaction expressed through allowing conditions to worsen.
   • Loyalty behavior. Dissatisfaction behavior directed toward standing by the organization quietly. In other words, loyalty behavior is dissatisfaction expressed by passively waiting for conditions to improve.
   • Voice behavior. Dissatisfaction behavior directed toward improving the organization. In other words, voice behavior is dissatisfaction expressed through active and constructive attempts to improve conditions.
5. Professional ability. An individual's capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.
   • Skill variety. The degree to which a job requires a variety of activities so that an employee can use a number of different skills and talents.
   • Reading skills. Skills that entail an understanding of written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
   • Writing skills. Skills that entail communicating effectively in text as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
   • Interpersonal skill. The ability to work well with other people individually and in a group.
   • Technical skill. Job-specific knowledge and technique needed to proficiently perform work tasks.
   • Speaking skill. Skills that refer to the ability to communicate information and ideas in talking so others will understand.
   • Persuasion skill. Skills that enable a person to influence others to change their minds or behavior.
   • Political skill. The ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance one's objectives.
   • Emotional labor. A situation in which an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work.
   • Resilience. An individual's ability to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities.
   • Work readiness. The extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.
6. Positive organizational scholarship. An area of organizational behavior research that concerns how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
   • Employee recognition program. A plan to encourage specific employee behaviors by formally appreciating specific employee contributions. In other words, an employee recognition program is personal attention and expressing interest, approval, and appreciation for a job well done.
   • Political behavior. Activities that are not required as part of a person's formal role in the organization but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.
   • Psychological contract. An unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa.
7. Employee compensation. The total amount an employee can expect to receive when working for an employer.
   • Skill-based pay. A pay system that rewards employees for the job skills they can demonstrate.
   • Variable pay. A pay system in which an individual's compensation is contingent on performance.
   • Variable-pay program. A pay plan that bases a portion of an employee's pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance.
   • Merit-based pay plan. A pay plan based on performance appraisal ratings.
   • Pay-for-performance program. Variable compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of some performance measure.
   • Piece-rate pay plan. A pay plan in which workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of production completed.
   • Bonus. A pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than historical performance.
8. Employee benefit (or fringe benefit, perquisite, or perk). Various types of non-wage compensation provided to an employee in addition to his or her wages or salaries.
   • Vesting. When an employee of a company gains rights to stock options and contributions provided by the employer. The rights typically gain value (vest) over time until they reach their full value after a pre-determined amount of time. For example, if an employee was offered 200 stock unites over 10 years, 20 units would vest each year. This gives employees an incentive to perform well and stay with the company for a longer period of time.
   • Employee stock ownership plan. A company-established benefits plan in which employees acquire stock, often at below-market prices, as part of their benefits.
   • Profit-sharing plan. An organization-wide program that distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around a company's profitability.
   • Flexible benefits. A benefits plan that allows each employee to put together a benefits package individually tailored to his or her own needs and situation.
   • Wellness program. An organizationally supported program that focuses on the employee's total physical and mental condition.
9. Work arrangement. An agreement to arrange work schedule, method, or load.
   • Compressed workweek. A workweek where employees work longer hours per day but fewer days per week.
   • Flextime (or flexible work hours). A scheduling system in which employees are required to work a specific number of hours a week but are free to vary those hours within certain limits.
   • Telecommuting. Working remotely at least 2 days a week on a computer that is linked to the employer office.
   • Job sharing. (1) An arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a full-time job; (2) The practice of having 1).
10. Referent. A person, system, or self against which individuals compare themselves to assess equity.
11. Impression management. The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them.

Roles

1. Employee. An individual employed by an employer for wages or salary.
2. Employer. A legal entity that employs one or more employees.

Methods

1. Attitude survey. A survey that elicits responses from employees through questions about how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, or the organization.
2. Forced comparison. Method of performance evaluation where an employee's performance is made in explicit comparison to others (e.g., an employee may rank third out of 10 employees in his or her work unit).

Instruments

1. Least preferred coworker questionnaire. An instrument that purports to measure whether a person is task or relationship oriented.

Practices

The successor lecture is Communication Quarter.