HR Mgt- Dr. G

BeeHex is building 3-D food printers that can decorate cookies and cakes. This is an example of a

"cobot" that works in collaboration with the pastry chef. Robots (known as "cobots") can also work collaboratively with humans. In this case, pastry chefs can devote their time and energy to developing new flavors of cookies rather than spending their time icing dozens of cookies the same way.

Which of the following is true of emerging trends in the international market?

Although companies may be attracted to offshoring because of potentially lower labor costs, reshoring is becoming more common. As a part of emerging trends in the international market, companies are increasingly using reshoring despite the low labor cost attractions of offshoring. There are several reasons for this, including concerns about the level of service customers receive from overseas operations, demoralizing effects on U.S. employees, potentially negative effects of offshoring on the company's public image, the need for employees to be located close to business partners, and rising wages overseas.

Which dimension of HRM practices measures employees' performance?

Assessing and developing human resources (addresses the issue of measuring employees' performance.)

Which of the following is a type of business-level strategy firms pursue?

Cost leadership Focused differentiation Focused cost leadership Integrated (cost leadership and differentiation) Differentiation

Which of the following statements about HRM practices is true?

HRM practices directly affect an employee's ability to satisfy customer needs. Compensation, staffing, training and development, performance management, and other HRM practices are investments that directly affect employees' motivation and ability to provide products and services that are valued by customers.

During the strategy ________ phase of the strategic management process, the company follows through on the chosen strategy.

Implementation During the strategy implementation phase of the strategic management process, the organization follows through on the chosen strategy. 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.

________ assets include human capital, customer capital, social capital, and intellectual capital

Intangible assets Intangible assets are equally as or even more valuable than financial and physical assets but they are difficult to duplicate or imitate.

Which of the following is true about the use of social networking tools within an organization?

It may result in employees wasting time. Issues that can be addressed by social networking include the loss of expert knowledge due to retirement, the promotion of innovation and creativity, the reinforcement of learning, and the need to identify and connect with promising job candidates. Despite its potential advantages, many companies are uncertain as to whether they should embrace social networking. They fear that social networking will result in employees wasting time or offending or harassing their co-workers.

Which of the following statements is true about the role of HRM in strategy formulation?

The HRM function needs to be involved in each component of a firm's strategic management process. A firm's strategic management decision-making process usually takes place at its top levels, with a strategic planning group consisting of the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the president, and various vice presidents. However, each component of the process involves people-related business issues. Therefore, the HRM function needs to be involved in each of those components.

Which of the following is true of two-way linkages?

The strategic planning function and the human resource management function are interdependent. Two-way linkage allows for consideration of human resource issues during the strategy formulation process. The strategic planning function and the HRM function are interdependent in two-way linkage.

Booksellers, Inc., an online book retailer, has been the market leader for the last three years. However, a new firm, Texties.com, recently set up its own online store and is eating into Booksellers' market share. In the context of strategic factors, Texties.com represents a(n)

Threat Threats include potential labor shortages, new competitors entering the market, pending legislation that might adversely affect the company, and competitors' technological innovations.

GreenWorks, a company that produces eco-friendly cleaning solvents, recently introduced a new line of floor cleaners. The company wants all of its employees to be familiar with the features of the new product line as well as its restrictions. Which of the following HRM practices will help GreenWorks' employees acquire the knowledge and skills needed to make their eco-friendly cleaning products a success?

Training and development Training refers to a planned effort to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior by employees. Development involves acquiring knowledge, skills, and behavior that improve employees' ability to meet the challenges of a variety of existing jobs or jobs that do not yet exist.

Which of the following HRM practices supporting high-performance work systems is associated with decentralized decision making, reduced status distinctions, and information sharing?

Work design

Job descriptions are part of the ________ function of an HR department.

analysis and design of work Job analysis, work analysis, and creating job descriptions are some of the responsibilities of the analysis and design of work function of the HR department.

A ________ is a story of how the firm will create value for customers and, more important, how it will do so profitably.

business model That story is the start of strategy formulation.

Intended strategies are the result of the rational decision-making process used by top managers. Emergent strategies

evolve from the grassroots of the organization. Emergent strategies, by contrast, consist of the strategies that evolve from the grassroots of the organization and can be thought of as what organizations actually do, as opposed to what they intend to do.

Companies engaged in a cost strategy require employees to

have a high concern for quantity Companies engaged in a cost strategy require employees to have a high concern for quantity and a short-term focus, to be comfortable with stability, and to be risk averse. These employees are expected to exhibit role behaviors that are relatively repetitive and performed independently, or autonomously.

An HR dashboard of a company

helps conduct workforce analytics. An HR dashboard is a series of indicators or metrics that managers and employees have access to on the company intranet or human resource information system. The HR dashboard provides access to important HR metrics for conducting workforce analytics.

A company whose employees have low engagement is likely to have ________ compared to a company with high employee engagement.

higher turnover Employee engagement is the degree to which employees are fully involved in their work and the strength of their commitment to their job and the company. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to the company they work for give the company competitive advantage through higher productivity, better customer service, and lower turnover.

Concerns about the level of service customers receive from overseas operations are likely to

increase reshoring of jobs back to the United States. Reshoring is moving jobs from overseas to the United States. The reasons that reshoring has become more common include concerns about the level of service customers receive from overseas operations, demoralizing effects on U.S. employees, potentially negative effects of offshoring on the company's public image, and rising wages overseas.

When considering a balanced scorecard that depicts a company from a(n) ________ perspective, the examples of critical business indicators include improving operating efficiency, launching new products, continuous improvement, and empowering the workforce.

innovation and learning

In which of the following integration levels is a company's HRM functions built right into the strategy formulation and implementation processes?

integrative linkage Integrative linkage is dynamic and multifaceted, based on continuing rather than sequential interaction. In most cases, the HRM executive is an integral member of the senior management team. Companies with integrative linkage have their HRM functions built right into the strategy formulation and implementation processes.

The four levels of integration between the HRM function and the strategic management function include one-way linkage, two-way linkage, administrative linkage and

integrative linkage.

The new focus on strategic HRM has tended to be primarily on ________ strategies that are the result of the rational decision-making processes used by top managers.

intended The new focus on strategic HRM has tended to be primarily on intended strategies. Thus, HRM's role has been seen as identifying for top management the people-related business issues relevant to strategy formulation and then developing HRM systems that aid in the implementation of the strategic plan.

KRJ Corporation competes within the publishing industry by focusing on market development, product development, innovation and joint ventures. This is an example of a(n) ________ strategy.

internal growth Concentration strategies are strategies that focus on increasing market share, reducing costs, or creating and maintaining a market niche for products and services. They require that the company maintain the current skills that exist in the organization.

Ensuring that HRM practices comply with federal, state, and local laws is part of

managing the human resource environment.

Which of the following categories for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examination focuses on design, management, and improvement of work systems?

operations focus Operations focus is one of the categories for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examination. A firm is evaluated based on design, management, and improvement of work systems and work processes to deliver customer value and achieve company success and sustainability.

If we consider HR as a business, it will have three product lines—administrative services and transactions, business partner services and

strategic partner role There are three HR product lines. The first product line, administrative services and transactions, is the traditional product that HR has historically provided. The newer HR products—business partner services and the strategic partner role—are the HR functions that top managers want HR to deliver.

During which of the following phases of the strategic management process does a strategic planning group use the company's mission and goals, external threats and opportunities, and internal strengths and weaknesses to generate strategic alternatives?

strategy formulation During the strategy formulation phase of the strategic management process, 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.

Costs that change directly with the number of units produced are known as ________ costs.

variable Variable costs are the costs that vary with the number of units produced. For instance, a firm producing widgets in a factory finds that all of the materials that go into the widget might cost a total of $10. So, 500 widgets require $5,000 worth of materials, while 800 widgets require $8,000 worth of materials., This will impact both strategy formulation and strategy implementation.

________ alignment means that HR practices and processes are aimed at addressing the strategic needs of a business.

vertical The link between strategy and HR practices is primarily through people.