HR ch:2 – Flashcards
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1. Strategic planning involves a set of procedures for making decisions about an organization's long-term goals and strategies. a. True b. False
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a. True
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2. Human resource planning (HRP) refers to the process of recruitment and selection that caters to the welfare of an organization's existing employees. a. True b. False
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a. True
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3. Strategic human resources management (SHRM) is a combination of strategic planning and HR planning. a. True b. False
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a. True
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4. The first step in strategic planning of a firm involves establishing a mission, vision, and values for the firm. a. True b. False
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a. True
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5. The strategic vision of an organization never moves beyond its mission statement to provide a perspective on where the company is headed and what the organization can become in the future. a. True b. False
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b. False
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6. Organizational core values form the foundation of a firm's decisions. a. True b. False
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a. True
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7. Changes in labor supply can place limits on the strategies available to firms. a. True b. False
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a. True
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8. An internal analysis enables strategic decision makers to assess an organization's workforce—its skills, cultural beliefs, and values. a. True b. False
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a. True
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9. Internal analysis focuses on culture and conflicts within an organization. a. True b. False
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b. False
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10. A cultural audit can be used to examine the attitudes and expectations of employees. a. True b. False
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a. True
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11. Strategic planning is the process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organization. a. True b. False
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b. False
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12. Trend analysis relies on a single factor to predict employment needs. a. True b. False
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a. True
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13. An organization's core values are the strong enduring beliefs and principles that the company uses as a foundation for its decisions. a. True b. False
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a. True
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14. Organizations tend to make long-term commitments to strategic knowledge employees, investing in their continuous training and development, and perhaps giving them an equity stake in the organization. a. True b. False
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a. True
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15. Forecasting is frequently more of an art than a science, providing inexact approximations rather than absolute results. a. True b. False
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a. True
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16. Qualitative HR forecasting techniques generally employ sophisticated analytical models. a. True b. False
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b. False
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17. Trend analysis is a qualitative approach to labor demand forecasting. a. True b. False
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b. False
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18. Trend analysis refers to the use of statistical techniques to plot a historical trend of a business factor. a. True b. False
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a. True
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19. A vision statement clarifies the long-term direction of a company and its strategic intent. a. True b. False
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True
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20. Staffing tables provide data on external labor supply sources. a. True b. False
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b. False
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21. A Markov analysis can be used to track the pattern of employee movements through various jobs. a. True b. False
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a. True
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22. Core values are the essence of corporate cultures and an expression of their personality. a. True b. False
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a. True
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23. Succession planning is the process of identifying, developing, and tracking talented individuals so that they may eventually assume top-level positions. a. True b. False
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True
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24. A SWOT analysis helps executives summarize the major facts and forecasts derived from external and internal analyses. a. True b. False
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a. True
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25. Corporate strategy focuses on domain selection. a. True b. False
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True
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26. In international joint ventures, the issue of culture is paramount. a. True b. False
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a. True
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27. Dell has been very successful competing based on a low-cost strategy. a. True b. False
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True
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28. FedEx has been very successful in utilizing a differentiation strategy. a. True b. False
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a. True
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29. In the long run, firms must approach outsourcing decisions based on cost alone to strengthen their core capabilities. a. True b. False
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b. False
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30. Critical success factors for a low-cost strategy include efficiency, productivity, and minimizing waste. a. True b. False
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a. True
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31. While unemployment rates vary by sector, the lack of talent in low-skill jobs continues to create a real challenge for firms. a. True b. False
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b. False
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32. Organizational structure is the framework in which the activities of organization members are coordinated. a. True b. False
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a. True
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33. Shared values act as a guiding parameter for strategic planning. a. True b. False
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a. True
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34. In unionized firms, layoffs are only based on performance. a. True b. False
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b. False
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35. Unionized organizations recognize seniority. a. True b. False
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a. True
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36. A disadvantage of overemphasizing seniority is that less competent employees receive the same rewards and security as more competent employees. a. True b. False
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a. True
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37. A Markov analysis can show the percentage of employees who remain in each of a firm's jobs from one year to the next. a. True b. False
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a. True
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38. Benchmarking is a process that companies use to look at their practices and performance in a given area and then compare them with other companies. a. True b. False
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a. True
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39. The target company for benchmarking does not need to be a competitor. a. True b. False
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a. True
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40. The Balanced Scorecard is a tool for mapping a firm's strategy in order to ensure strategic alignment. a. True b. False
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a. True
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41. The quality-of-fill metric attempts to measure how well new hires of an organization are performing so that the organization will have enough top performers to propel it towards its strategic objectives. a. True b. False
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a. True
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42. The process of setting procedures for making decisions about an organization's long-term goals is called: a. strategic planning. b. HR planning. c. job analysis. d. environmental scanning.
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a. strategic planning
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43. Human resource planning is: a. the technique that identifies the critical aspects of a job. b. the process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organization. c. the process of setting major organizational objectives and developing comprehensive plans to achieve these objectives. d. the process of determining the primary direction of a firm.
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b. the process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organization.
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44. Customers, suppliers, and substitutes are part of a _____ environment. a. political b. technological c. demographic d. competitive
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d. competitive
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45. The group of employees which has skills that are quite valuable to a company in creating customer value but not particularly unique or difficult to replace is referred to as: a. core employees. b. strategic knowledge workers. c. supporting workers. d. partners.
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a. core employees.
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The mission of a company: a. is used for the systematic monitoring of its external opportunities. b. is the basic purpose of the company. c. is the strong enduring belief used by the company to make decisions. d. provides a perspective on where the company is headed.
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b. is the basic purpose of the company.
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47. The strategic vision of a company: a. is used for the systematic monitoring of its external opportunities. b. is the basic purpose of the company. c. is the strong enduring belief used by the company to make decisions. d. provides a perspective on where the company is headed.
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d. provides a perspective on where the company is headed.
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48. The core value of a company: a. is the systematic monitoring of its external opportunities. b. is the basic purpose of the company. c. is the strong enduring belief used by the company to make decisions. d. is determined by conducting a trend analysis on its employees.
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c. is the strong enduring belief used by the company to make decisions.
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49. The systematic, regular monitoring of major external forces influencing an organization is called: a. demand forecasting. b. environmental scanning. c. exception reporting. d. influence analysis.
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b. environmental scanning.
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50. A competitive environment includes all the following EXCEPT: a. new entrants. b. suppliers. c. rivals. d. subordinates.
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d. subordinates.
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51. At the fundamental level, a firm's strategy should focus on creating value for: a. resellers. b. suppliers. c. customers. d. subordinates.
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c. customers.
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52. The examination of the attitudes and activities of a company's workforce is done using: a. environmental scanning. b. trend analysis. c. cultural audit. d. behavioral modeling.
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c. cultural audit.
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53. Integrated knowledge sets within an organization that distinguish it from its competitors and deliver value to customers are known as: a. individual competencies. b. core capabilities. c. human capital. d. organizational competencies.
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b. core capabilities.
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54. When a firm's resources improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the company, the resources are always considered to be: a. difficult to imitate. b. valuable. c. organized. d. rare.
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b. valuable.
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55. When the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a firm's human resources are not equally available to its competitors, these resources are considered to be: a. impossible to imitate. b. devalued. c. common. d. rare.
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d. rare.
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56. Strategic knowledge workers have: a. unique skills not directly related to company strategy. b. unique skills directly related to company strategy. c. skills that are valuable but not unique. d. skills that are generally available in the labor market.
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b. unique skills directly related to company strategy.
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57. Which of the following is NOT a component of SWOT analysis? a. Weakness b. Threat c. Strategy d. Opportunity
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c. Strategy
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58. In order to do an effective job at strategic planning managers do all of the following EXCEPT: a. making forecasts of labor demand. b. neglecting supply considerations. c. performing supply analyses. d. balancing supply and demand considerations.
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b. neglecting supply considerations.
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59. Which of the following is NOT an element of organizational growth? a. Increased employee productivity b. Large number of employees c. Employees developing or acquiring new skills d. High employee turnover rate
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d. High employee turnover rate
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60. A qualitative approach to demand forecasting can include any of the following EXCEPT: a. trend analysis b. the Delphi technique c. soliciting expert opinion d. management forecast
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a. trend analysis
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61. Trend analysis includes all of the following steps EXCEPT: a. selecting a business factor. b. soliciting expert opinions. c. predicting employment needs. d. plotting historical trends.
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b. soliciting expert opinions.
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62. The Delphi technique: a. is an attempt to decrease subjectivity of forecasts. b. is a quantitative method. c. is used to plot historical trends. d. is the quickest method for increasing employee turnover rates.
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a. is an attempt to decrease subjectivity of forecasts.
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63. A graphical representation of all organizational jobs along with the numbers of employees currently occupying those jobs and future employment requirements is called: a. a staffing table. b. an organization chart. c. a skills inventory. d. career planning.
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a. a staffing table.
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64. A _____ is used to depict the number and percentage of employees of an organization in each job from year to year, with proportions of those who are promoted, demoted, transferred, or who exit the organization. a. staffing table b. Markov analysis c. skills inventory d. trend analysis
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b. Markov analysis
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65. Talent inventories can be used to develop _____, which list current jobholders. a. core values b. replacement charts c. trend models d. staffing tables
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b. replacement charts
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66. The process of identifying, developing, and tracking talented individuals so that they may eventually assume top-level positions is: a. target forecasting. b. predicted change. c. succession planning. d. replacement selection.
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c. succession planning.
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67. A _____ analysis is intended to help executives summarize the major facts and forecasts derived from external and internal analyses. a. gap b. Markov c. SWOT d. trend
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c. SWOT
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68. Cooperative strategies pursued by firms include: a. joint ventures. b. trend analysis. c. mergers. d. acquisitions.
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a. joint ventures.
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69. An organizational structure: a. lays out the route that the organization will take in the future to increase absenteeism. b. is the framework in which activities of employees are coordinated. c. is the formal procedure that governs every day activity. d. is used to increase employee turnover rate.
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b. is the framework in which activities of employees are coordinated.
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70. In the 7-S framework analysis, the "Hard S" category includes systems and processes which: a. lay out the route that the organization will take in the future to increase absenteeism. b. only includes the framework in which activities of employees are coordinated. c. include formal and informal procedures that govern the every day activities of a firm. d. act as guiding parameters for strategic planning in order to increase employee turnover rate.
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c. include formal and informal procedures that govern the every day activities of a firm.
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71. Shared values: a. are essential for an organization that aims to increase its employee turnover rate. b. act as the framework in which activities of employees are coordinated to reduce absenteeism. c. are formal and informal procedures that govern every day activity of the managers of an organization. d. act as guiding parameters for strategic planning.
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d. act as guiding parameters for strategic planning.
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72. Layoff decisions are usually based on: a. union membership. b. department ranking. c. seniority. d. favoritism.
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c. seniority.
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73. According to 7-S framework analysis, which of following is NOT in the "Hard S" category? a. Strategy b. Shared values c. Structure d. Systems and processes
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b. Shared values
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74. Measures of turnover costs do NOT include: a. separation costs. b. employee turnover costs. c. replacement costs. d. training program costs.
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b. employee turnover costs.
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75. A _____ is a measurement framework that helps managers translate strategic goals into operational objectives. a. benchmark b. trend analysis c. Balanced Scorecard d. cultural audit
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c. Balanced Scorecard
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76. The capacity of an organization to continuously act and change in pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage is known as: a. coordination flexibility. b. predicted capability. c. organizational capability. d. turnover flexibility.
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c. organizational capability.
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77. _____ is the ability of an organization to rapidly reallocate resources to new or changing needs. a. Coordination flexibility b. Predicted flexibility c. Organizational capability d. Turnover capability
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a. Coordination flexibility
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78. Cross-training and job rotations are intended to improve the _____ of an organization. a. coordination flexibility b. turnover capability c. organizational capability d. resource flexibility
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d. resource flexibility
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79. Which of the following is NOT a cell of the Balanced Scorecard model? a. Financial b. Turnover c. Customer d. Process
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b. Turnover
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80. The first step in strategic planning involves: a. analyzing the competition. b. interviewing potential employees. c. reviewing failed plans from the past in order to improve employee turnover rate. d. establishing a mission, vision, and values for an organization.
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d. establishing a mission, vision, and values for an organization.
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81. Analysis of external opportunities and threats is _____ step of the strategic management process. a. the second b. the last c. an optional d. the penultimate
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a. the second
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82. In the telephone industry, mobile phones and VOIP (Voice-over-the Internet Protocol) are examples of _____ for traditional firms. a. companions b. rivals c. substitutes d. supplements
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c. substitutes
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83. As companies diversify into new businesses, managers are inevitably faced with a make or _____ decision. a. buy b. lease c. forego d. substitute
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a. buy
