Chapter 2 - Final Exam - MIE 330

Strategic management

A pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals. managing the pattern or plan that integrates an organization's major, goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole

CompX Inc. is an online retailer of electronic products including laptops and tablets. The company is known for its unique approach to customer support, which is known for going above and beyond in satisfying customer complaints and issues. What kind of a strategy is CompX using?

Differentiation The "differentiation" strategy attempts to create the impression that a company's product or service is different from that of others in the industry. The perceived differentiation can come from creating a brand image, from technology, from offering unique features, or from unique customer service.

Which of the following primarily examines an organization's operating environment to identify its strategic opportunities and threats?

External analysis External analysis consists of examining an organization's operating environment to identify its strategic opportunities and threats. An example of an opportunity is a customer market that is not being served. An example of a threat is potential labor shortage.

SWOT analysis

External analysis and internal analysis combined constitute what has come to be called the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Internal analysis The process of examining an organization's strengths and weaknesses. External analysis Examining the organization's operating environment to identify strategic opportunities and threats. Threats include potential labor shortages, new competitors entering the market, pending legislation that might adversely affect the company, and competitors' technological innovations.

Which type of strategy attempts to expand a company's resources or to strengthen its market position through acquiring or creating new businesses?

External growth strategy Companies attempting to integrate vertically or horizontally or to diversify are exhibiting an "external growth" strategy, usually through mergers or acquisitions. This strategy attempts to expand a company's resources or to strengthen its market position through acquiring or creating new businesses.

Mission

It usually specifies the customers served, the needs satisfied and/or the values received by the customers, and the technology used. The mission statement is often accompanied by a statement of a company's vision and/or values

Which of the following addresses what tasks should be grouped into a particular job?

Job design Companies produce a given product or service (or set of products or services), and the manufacture of these products requires that a number of tasks be performed. These tasks are grouped together to form jobs. Job design addresses what tasks should be grouped into a particular job.

Which of the following activities entails specifying those activities and outcomes that will result in the organization successfully implementing the strategy?

Performance management Performance management is used to ensure that employees' activities and outcomes are congruent with an organization's objectives. It entails specifying those activities and outcomes that will result in the organization successfully implementing the strategy.

_____ is a process that primarily addresses the competitive challenges an organization faces.

Strategic management Strategic management is a process, an approach to addressing the competitive challenges an organization faces. It can be thought of as managing the "pattern or plan that integrates an organization's major goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole."

SHRM process model

Strategy formulation Strategy implementation Strategy evaluation Emergent Strategies mission goalds external/internal analysis strategic choice human resource needs HR practices Firm performance

Strategy formulation

The process of deciding on a strategic direction by defining a company's mission and goals, its external opportunities and threats, and its internal strengths and weaknesses. mission goals external/internal analysis strategic choice

_____ refers to a planned effort to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior by employees.

Training A number of skills are instilled in employees through training and development. Training refers to a planned effort to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior by employees.

Goals

What an organization hopes to achieve in the medium- to long-term future.

Strategy implementation

after an organization has chosen its strategy it has to execute that strategy and make it come to life in its day-to-day working What an organization hopes to achieve in the medium- to long-term future.

Differentiation strategy

attempts to create the impression that the company's product or service is different from that of others in the industry. The perceived differentiation can come from creating a brand image, from technology, from offering unique features, or from unique customer service. If a company succeeds in differentiating its product, it will achieve above-average returns, and the differentiation may protect it from price sensitivity.

A(n) _____ typically charts how a firm will create value for customers and how it will do so profitably.

business model A business model charts how a firm will create value for customers and, more important, how it will do so profitably.

Strategies emphasizing market share or operating costs are considered _____ strategies.

concentration Strategies emphasizing market share or operating costs are considered "concentration" strategies. With this type of strategy, a company attempts to focus on what it does best within its established markets and can be thought of as "sticking to its knitting."

During the strategic implementation stage of the strategic management process, an organization:

ensures that it has skilled employees in place. During strategy implementation, an organization follows through on a strategy chosen in the strategy formulation stage. This consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring that the firm has skilled employees in place, and developing reward systems that align employee behavior with the organization's strategic goals.

A company where employees are in a constant state of assimilating knowledge through monitoring the environment, making decisions, and flexibly restructuring the company to compete in that environment is known as a(n) _____ organization.

learning Learning organizations require the company to be in a constant state of learning through monitoring the environment, assimilating information, making decisions, and flexibly restructuring to compete in that environment. Companies that develop such learning capability have a competitive advantage.

The process by which a firm attempts to identify job applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help the firm achieve its goals is known as _____.

selection Selection refers to the process by which a firm attempts to identify job applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help it achieve its goals. The strategy a firm is pursuing will have a direct impact on the types of employees that it seeks to recruit and select.

Overall cost leadership

strategy focuses on becoming the lowest cost producer in an industry. This strategy is achieved by constructing efficient large-scale facilities, by reducing costs through capitalizing on the experience curve, and by controlling overhead costs and costs in such areas as research and development, service, sales force, and advertising. This strategy provides above-average returns within an industry, and it tends to bar other firms' entry into the industry because the firm can lower its prices below competitors' costs.

During _____, the strategic planning groups decide on a strategic direction by defining the company's mission and goals, its external opportunities and threats, and its internal strengths and weaknesses.

strategy formulation During strategy formulation, the strategic planning groups decide on a strategic direction by defining the company's mission and goals, its external opportunities and threats, and its internal strengths and weaknesses. They then generate various strategic alternatives and compare those alternatives' ability to achieve the company's mission and goals.

Role of HRM in strategy formulation

with what will we compete questions present ideal avenues for HRM to influence the strategic management process this might be thought either limiting strategic options or forcing thoughtfulness among the executive team regarding how and at what cost the firm might gain or develop the human resources necessary for such a strategy to be successful