Line of authority within an organization.
Chain of command
Termination of employment of individual employees or groups of employees for reasons other than performance, for example, economic necessity or restructuring; also known as reduction in force (RIF).
Downsizing
Process of enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization and the well-being of its members through planned interventions.
Organizational development (OD)
Termination of employment of individual employees or groups of employees for reasons other than performance, for example, economic necessity or restructuring; also known as downsizing.
Reduction in force (RIF)
“Snapshot” assessment of the availability of qualified backup for key positions.
Replacement planning
Refers to the extent to which rules, policies, and procedures govern the behavior of employees in an organization.
Formalization
Organizational structure in which departments are defined by the services they contribute to the organization's overall mission, such as marketing and sales, operations, and HR.
Functional structure
Organizational structure in which geographic regions define the organizational chart.
Geographic structure
Systematic and comprehensive evaluation of an organization's HR policies, practices, procedures, and strategies.
HR audit
Development and integration of HR processes that retain the knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees that will meet current and future organizational needs.
Talent Management
Organizational structure in which functional departments are grouped under major product divisions.
Product Structure
Organizational structure that combines departmentalization by division and function to gain the benefits of both; results in some employees reporting to two managers rather than one, with neither manager assuming a superior role.
Matrix structure
Work groups that conduct the major business of an organization.
Line units
Process of creating, acquiring, sharing, and managing knowledge to augment individual and organizational performance.
Knowledge management (KM)
Use of information from past and present to predict future conditions.
Judgmental forecasts
Way an organization groups jobs to coordinate work
Departmentalization
HR structural alternative in which headquarters HR specialists craft policies and HR generalists located within divisions or other locales implement the policies, adapt them as needed, and interact with employees.
Functional HR
HR structural alternative in which centers with specific areas of expertise develop HR policies in those areas; each unit can then select what it needs from a menu of these services.
Shared services HR model
Systematic approach to anticipate human capital needs and data HR professionals can use to ensure that appropriate knowledge, skills, or abilities will be available when needed to accomplish organizational goals and objectives.
Workforce analysis
Activities needed to ensure that workforce size and competencies meet current and future organizational and individual needs.
Workforce planning
Annualized formula that tracks number of separations and total number of workforce employees per month.
Turnover rate
Situation in which an organization shares responsibility and liability for their alternative workers with an alternative staffing supplier; also known as joint employment.
Co-employment
Arrangement in which an enterprise and a vendor share different tasks within a larger complex, often strategic responsibility.
Cosourcing
HR structural alternative that allows organizations with different strategies in multiple units to apply HR expertise to each unit's specific strategic needs.
Dedicated HR
All activities needed to ensure that workforce size and competencies meet the organization's strategic needs.
Workforce management