Chapter 17 Human Resources
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Key Points
The eight major functions of HR are as
follows: recruitment, compensation and
benefits, policies and procedures, regulatory
compliance, employee performance, record
keeping, labor relations, and employee
retention.
Recruitment is one of the major
responsibilities of HR.
Compensation and benefits are provided to
a person for his or her work.
Companies must have policies and
procedures that ensure the safe and efficient
running of the company.
Laws and regulations that affect HR can
be organized into three groups: equal
opportunity, workers’ rights, and
safety laws.
HR develops a job description for each job
in the company.
Record keeping is an important task for HR.
Companies work very hard to reduce
employee turnover.
There are issues that affect the HR
department.
Review
1. List and describe the eight major functions
of HR.
2. Summarize the four tasks that are involved
in recruitment.
3. What are the differences between
compensation, wages, and salaries?
4. Describe what is contained in an employee
handbook.
5. Give two examples of equal opportunity
laws and two examples of workers’
rights laws.
6. List and explain the headings in a job
description.
7. List the types of information kept in an
employee personnel file.
8. What is the purpose of a labor union?
9. Why is employee retention important to
a company?
10. List and describe some of today’s HR issues.
Think and Apply
1. Imagine that you are the general manager of
a hospitality business. Your business has just
expanded from 60 employees to 200. You
decide to add an HR department. How
many people would you hire for your new
department? Give each one a title and write
a job description.
2. Choose one of the laws that affect HR.
Describe a situation in which that law
would apply.
3. Why is a job description useful?
4. With the assistance of a classmate, brain-
storm inexpensive ways to make reasonable
accommodations for employees with a
disability.