Chapter 4 Definitions

Question	Answer
Job analysis	the study of an employee’s job in order to determine the duties performed, the time involved with each of those duties, the responsibilities involved and the equipment required.
Job description	the duties, tasks and responsibilities associated with a job.
Job specification	the qualifications, skills, and experience that an employee needs to have to carry out the job.
Award	a legally binding agreement that sets out minimum wages and conditions for a group of employees in a given industry.
Training	refers to the process of teaching staff how to do their job more efficiently and effectively by boosting their knowledge and skills.
Development	refers to activities that prepare staff to take on greater responsibility in the future.
Learning organisation	monitors and interprets its environment, seeking to improve its understanding of the interrelationship between its actions and its environment.
Succession planning	preparing employees with potential to take on key management positions within the business in the future, should the need arise.
Performance management	focuses on improving both business and individual performance through relating business performance objectives to individual employee performance objectives.
Performance appraisal	the formal assessment of how efficiently and effectively an employee is performing their role in the business.
Performance feedback	the information provided to an employee after a performance appraisal.
Termination	the ending of the employment of an employee.
Retirement	occurs when an employee decides to give up full-time or part-time work and no longer be part of the labour force.
Resignation	the voluntary ending of employment by the employee ‘quitting’ their job.
Redundancy	occurs when a person’s job no longer exists, usually due to technological changes, a business restructure or a merger or acquisition.
Retrenchment	occurs when a business dismisses an employee because there is not enough work to justify paying them.
Dismissal	occurs when the behaviour of an employee is unacceptable and a business terminates their employment.
Unfair dismissal	when an employee is dismissed because the employer has discriminated against them in some way, such as firing someone because she is pregnant.
Trade unions	organisations formed by employees in an industry, trade or occupation to represent them in efforts to improve wages and the working conditions of their members.
Employer associations	organisations that represent and assist employer groups.
Log of claims	a list of demands made by workers (often through their union) against their employers. These demands cover specific wages and conditions. Employers may also serve a counter-log of claims on the union.
Collective bargaining	involves determining the terms and conditions of employment through direct negotiation between unions and employers.
Enterprise agreement	an agreement that has been directly negotiated between the employer and employees at the enterprise level.
Penalty rates	additional wages paid to employees who work outside of normal working hours.
Collective/enterprise agreement	a negotiated agreement between an employer and a union or a group of employees.
Common law individual (employment) contract	covers those employees who are not under any award or collective/enterprise agreements.
Conflict	refers to disputes, disagreements or dissatisfaction between individuals and/or groups.
Strike	occurs when employees withdraw their labour for a period of time in pursuit of improvements in their employment conditions.
Lockout	occurs when employers close the workplace for a period of time as a means of applying pressure to employees during a period of industrial conflict.
Green Bans	bans imposed by trade unions on any development that is considered harmful to the environment or an area of historical significance.
Protected industrial action	refers to action taken by either party to a dispute that has been approved by the Fair Work Commission.
Unprotected industrial action	refers to action that has not been approved by the Fair Work Commission.
Negotiation	a method of resolving disputes whereby discussions between the parties result in a compromise and a formal or informal agreement about a dispute.
Mediation	the confidential discussion of issues in a non-threatening environment, in the presence of a neutral, objective third party. Many organisations now specify mediation as a first step in their dispute resolution or grievance procedures.
Grievance procedure	provides an orderly system whereby the employee and employer can resolve matters relating to complaints about wages, hours, working conditions or disciplinary action.
Conciliation	a process that occurs when a third party participates in the resolution of a dispute and attempts to help resolve the differences through discussion.
Arbitration	a process that occurs when a ‘judge’ (such as a commissioner of the Fair Work Commission) hears both arguments in a dispute in a more formal court-like setting and determines the outcome.

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