SHRM-CP

Global Assignment Process

1) Assessment & Selection - choose the right criteria 2) Mgmt & Assignee Decision - cost/benefit analysis of assignment - preparation of assignment plan - candidate acceptance/rejection of offer 3) Pre-Departure Preparation - work permits - security briefings - cross cultural counseling 4) On Assignment - Support through stages 5) Completing the Assignment - Repatriation - Redelopyment

A supervisor shares with an HR professional reports of another employee's marital problems. Which approach should the HR professional take?

Advise the supervisor not to engage in gossip and end the conversation.

Which is a primary reason that causes organizations to not excel at performance management?

Alignment of systems, strategies, and philosophies has not happened. This is the foundation of effective performance management, and this process affects all others.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system

An ERP system is an integrated information system that serves all departments in an organization. Such a system typically includes software for functions such as customer relationship management, manufacturing resource planning, finance, supply chain, and human resources.

Organizational and Employee Development (OED)

An OED intervention should help to identify the internal and external factors that affect the corporation. While individual training and development needs may be identified or job tasks may change as a result, the emphasis is on the organization as a whole.

PESTLE analysis

Analysis of the external political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors affecting a business Organizations that use PESTLE analysis data are much more likely to be successful because the information facilitates adapting to environmental realities that may impact employee engagement.

A company has been giving its employees automatic pay increases annually. Recently production has decreased, resulting in less profit. The president tasks HR with implementing a new goal-oriented pay plan to incentivize employees to increase production. HR designs a pay-for-performance plan and trains supervisors. HR also sends an e-mail to all employees explaining the change, referring employees with questions to their supervisor. As part of the new program, goal development is handled by supervisors. However, some supervisors feel that the change in pay philosophy is unnecessary and tell employees that the new pay plan will not work. Twelve months pass and upon review of performance evaluations, HR finds that some appraisals lack goals and do not objectively measure employees' work performance. The results are recommended pay increases that are subjective and unsubstantiated by metrics. Rumors that pay increases will be provided to employees who are favorites begin to impact morale and work production continues to decline. Leadership is disappointed with the results of using a pay-for-performance system. HR is instructed to temporarily revert to the original pay plan and complete a further analysis of its continued viability. Employees are satisfied; however, the reputation of the company and HR has suffered due to this rollout. Production has not increased and profits are still low. HR still believes that the cause of decreased production is the absence of incentive pay. Which recommendation should the HR Manager include in a business case for an incentive pay program that would convince leaders while rebuilding HR's credibility?

Analyze data related to the organization's mission, strategy, goals, size, industry, location, and talent availability.

How does using a job evaluation to determine the relative worth of each job assist in an organization being successful?

By serving as the basis for developing equitable salary structures, effective employee selection, and ongoing development Job evaluation determines the relative worth of each job by establishing a hierarchy of jobs within an organization. It is intertwined with a concern for internal pay equity.

Dual career ladders

Career development programs that identify meaningful career paths for professional and technical people outside traditional management roles.

The CEO of a manufacturing organization has multiple domestic locations and wants to expand operations to a new country, although the organization has no experience with manufacturing internationally or dealing with expatriate issues. The CEO decides to acquire a small manufacturing company in the new country. The acquired company has grown significantly in recent years and is struggling to deal with its growing pains. Also, many of the managers only have a few years of management experience. Cost savings are anticipated from acquisition, as it would allow for restructuring and resizing the workforce. Employees fear that these changes will cost many of them their jobs, including transitioning domestic jobs to the location in the new country. The VP of HR believes that a fully integrated workforce strategy, including leadership training design is needed. The HR manager in the new location has just resigned, and the VP of HR wants the position filled from the corporate office so that control and consistency is retained between the home country and the new location. Which action should HR take first that would allow for retention of the greatest number of employees?

Collaborate with leaders to develop a customized approach to retention for each key employee

A young learning and development specialist, having recently completed graduate studies in adult education and training, is hired into an HR department that has a strong history of management and employee training programs. For now, the specialist's assignment is to undertake scheduled revisions of specific elements in the learning and development system. The programs have been well-attended and well-received by the organization, so there has been little need to change the learning approach. The specialist soon realizes that, while the course content is well-designed, built on sound practices, and engaging for participants, it offers little support or direction for transferring learning to the job environment. It is missing a major opportunity for improving job performance. She also notes a lack of competency-based learning that can be used by participants and their managers as performance standards to make it easier to implement and assess learning and performance levels. The specialist would like to propose changes, but she is new to the company and the HR function. Her colleagues are older than she is and much more experienced. They have created or directed the curriculum that she wants to change. She notices that they smile condescendingly when she speaks at department meetings about her ideas. They seldom talk to her and have been rather harsh in their reviews of her initial projects. It is difficult for her to argue for change using actual data because the evaluation tools the department uses focus primarily on Kirkpatrick's Levels 1 and 2. How should the specialist deal with the scarcity of company-specific data to support her belief that the learning and development system should be improved?

Compare the results of alternative and current evaluation methods for an upcoming program.

Which task is vital when assessing strategic objectives?

Comparing the outcome of strategic initiatives to outlined metrics During the evaluation phase of strategic planning, strategic objectives are assessed to determine if the results are in line with the metrics that were defined at the start of strategic planning. Control of drift is one of the critical success factors that organizations successful at strategy have mastered. Soliciting stakeholder feedback is a necessary task when communicating strategy. Depending upon the initiative, it may not be a requirement for evaluating strategy. During the implementation stage, translating intent to specific plans and communicating the value or purpose of initiatives are critical. Assessing or evaluating strategic objectives is the next phase of the process, in which outcomes are compared to defined metrics.

ADDIE: Implementation

Content is delivered. Use evaluation to gauge the degree the learner meet objectives. Review the materials. Make modifications.

ADDIE: Analysis

Data gathering phase. Consider if training will help. Target population. Types of training. Training platform. Resources. Constraints

The determination that 20 new employees are needed to achieve the organizational strategy for growth in global markets is included in which phase of the workforce analysis process?

Demand analysis

Demand analysis

Demand analysis forecasts an organization's future workforce composition and considers the number of employees and the skills required to meet organizational goals.

Which is the best first step in preparing for an HR audit?

Determine the type of audit.

Which activity is part of the assessment and selection step of the global assignment process?

Development of data-gathering instruments Development of data-gathering instruments is critical because it will be used in to assess candidates according to the criteria the organization has chosen. The tools must be valid and reliable and produce consistent information for each candidate. Analysis of the costs versus the benefits occurs during the management and assignee selection step. Cross-cultural counseling is not necessary until the pre-departure preparation step.

Which is an essential aspect of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)?

Does not preclude litigation. ADR does not prevent disputes from winding up in court or in formal arbitration, but it can result in fewer cases going to trial. It is generally used in union-free organizations. While some ADR systems do include peer review, it is not a requirement. Similarly, some systems may bring in neutral third parties from outside the organization, but that is also not an ADR requirement.

ADDIE: Development

During which materials are created, purchased, or modified to meet the stated objectives. Learning activities are developed.

Which best describes the relationship between strategic planning process and environmental scanning?

Environmental scanning is done as part of the strategic planning process An organization will conduct a SWOT analysis as part of its strategic planning process. In order to accurately assess the company's threats and opportunities, the company must have an understanding of factors outside of the organization. The environmental scan focuses on external factors and, when done in conjunction with strategic planning, provides useful information upon which the company can base its decisions.

Which method is initially used to resolve disputes regarding interpretation of a clause in a current union contract?

Grievance procedures A collective bargaining agreement almost always includes a formal grievance procedure. This process provides an orderly way to resolve the inevitable differences of opinion in regard to the union contract.

Which court case established the criteria for disparate impact?

Griggs v. Duke Power

A company has been giving its employees automatic pay increases annually. Recently production has decreased, resulting in less profit. The president tasks HR with implementing a new goal-oriented pay plan to incentivize employees to increase production. HR designs a pay-for-performance plan and trains supervisors. HR also sends an e-mail to all employees explaining the change, referring employees with questions to their supervisor. As part of the new program, goal development is handled by supervisors. However, some supervisors feel that the change in pay philosophy is unnecessary and tell employees that the new pay plan will not work. Twelve months pass and upon review of performance evaluations, HR finds that some appraisals lack goals and do not objectively measure employees' work performance. The results are recommended pay increases that are subjective and unsubstantiated by metrics. Rumors that pay increases will be provided to employees who are favorites begin to impact morale and work production continues to decline. Leadership is disappointed with the results of using a pay-for-performance system. HR is instructed to temporarily revert to the original pay plan and complete a further analysis of its continued viability. Employees are satisfied; however, the reputation of the company and HR has suffered due to this rollout. Production has not increased and profits are still low. Which approach should HR take first to encourage better alignment between the organization and the employees in order for them to accept and sustain the new pay system?

Identify organizational and departmental goals, specific employee performance and behaviors, and meaningful metrics.

The HR director and the CEO of a mid-sized company each receive a letter from an employee that accuses a company executive of bullying, misrepresenting funds, and openly criticizing other executives during conversations with lower-level employees. The letter states that the employee has chosen to remain anonymous because the employee mistrusts the HR department and fears retaliation. Which action should the HR director take to best ensure that executives understand and comply with the company's expectations of leaders?

Implement regular training that emphasizes behavioral expectations for all employees, including executives.

Ethnocentric global management approach

In an ethnocentric approach, headquarters maintains tight control over international operations. Subsidiaries have little autonomy and key positions are held by headquarters personnel. A strong headquarters bias often blinds management to the subtleties of cross-cultural differences.

ADDIE model

Instructional systems design framework consisting of five steps that guide the design and development of learning programs: Analysis Design Development Implementation Evaluation

Which is an accurate statement about employment at-will?

It is uncommon in most parts of the world. Most countries reject the notion of at-will employment, so contracts generally are required, often within a set time frame from the point of hire. Verbal contracts may be accepted in some countries, but many require a written contract or written details of employment. Terms of employment vary greatly from country to country.

The company president comes to the HR director and expresses considerable concern about customer complaints of poor service. Although the customer service manager has been with the company for five years, she is new to supervising and leading staff. The president has heard rumors that the department is in total chaos and asks the HR director to visit the manager and find out what is happening in the department. The HR director visits the customer service department and speaks with the manager. The manager confesses to being overwhelmed with the employee relations issues in the department and admits to being intimidated by the nepotism that exists within the company. Employees answer an average of two calls per hour, but the industry standard is six per hour. The manager welcomes any assistance the HR director can provide. The department is not fully staffed. There is a vacant position, and the job has been posted for two weeks. Other company employees do not want to apply because of the employee relations issues in the department. How should the HR director respond regarding the low number of calls per employee?

Listen to calls to determine the nature of the calls and estimate the time needed to resolve the issue during each call.

risk control

Measure taken to reduce the probability or severity of a threat

Which is the best way to demonstrate the impact of an employee training and development initiative?

Measuring change over the course of the initiative. Effectiveness is demonstrated by conducting accurate analysis at the beginning of the initiative and measuring change over its course.

The performance of the head of the IT department has been eroding in the past few years. The employee is no longer capable of meeting the minimum expectations of this role as result of not keeping current in his professional development. Management is struggling to hold the employee accountable while also keeping employee morale positive. There is also a concern that, if placed on a performance improvement plan or a documented coaching program, the employee would respond negatively and retaliate by wreaking havoc on the organization's IT infrastructure. The length of employment has allowed the employee to be protected from accountability in the past. Management has decided that the current situation is no longer tenable, but they also realize the precarious place they have put the organization in by failing to have sufficient safeguards in place to protect company assets. Management approaches the new HR generalist and asks what steps they can take to either create an environment where the IT manager can succeed or effectively manage the IT manager out of the organization. Prior to this discussion, the HR generalist was not aware of either the previous protections afforded to the employee or of the failure of management to hold the employee accountable. The HR generalist is concerned that management has tolerated this behavior for so long and wonders if there are other employees in the organization who have been similarly protected from being held accountable or being disciplined. The HR generalist realizes that two issues need to be addressed. The HR generalist realizes that there is the potential for other employees to have been shielded from accountability. Which action should the HR generalist take first to ensure that all employees are being treated equally?

Meet with managers of the most tenured employees to ensure that shielding of tenured employees from accountability is not a prevalant practice.

To encourage a move away from identity groups to a more conceptual perspective of diversity, Gardenswartz and Rowe discuss what four dimensions of diversity?

Organizational, external, internal, and personality To fully benefit from diversity and inclusion, organizations increasingly seek diversity on multiple dimensions of an individual. While recognizing the specific needs of identity groups, Gardenswartz and Rowe describe four layers of diversity: organizational, external, internal, and personality. This model highlights that all employees are multidimensional and individuals are more complex than their visible identities might suggest.

Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory

Over time individuals require a different type of direction and leadership. Addresses follower characteristics in relation to effective leader behavior. Consider follower readiness as a factor in determining leadership style using task behavior and relationship behavior. An additional aspect of this model is the idea that the leader not only changes the leadership style according to followers' needs but also develops followers over time to increase their level of maturity.

The performance of the head of the IT department has been eroding in the past few years. The employee is no longer capable of meeting the minimum expectations of this role as result of not keeping current in his professional development. Management is struggling to hold the employee accountable while also keeping employee morale positive. There is also a concern that, if placed on a performance improvement plan or a documented coaching program, the employee would respond negatively and retaliate by wreaking havoc on the organization's IT infrastructure. The length of employment has allowed the employee to be protected from accountability in the past. Management has decided that the current situation is no longer tenable, but they also realize the precarious place they have put the organization in by failing to have sufficient safeguards in place to protect company assets. Management approaches the new HR generalist and asks what steps they can take to either create an environment where the IT manager can succeed or effectively manage the IT manager out of the organization. Prior to this discussion, the HR generalist was not aware of either the previous protections afforded to the employee or of the failure of management to hold the employee accountable. The HR generalist is concerned that management has tolerated this behavior for so long and wonders if there are other employees in the organization who have been similarly protected from being held accountable or being disciplined. The HR generalist realizes that two issues need to be addressed. The HR generalist wants to ensure that employees are held accountable but also that they are set up for success. How can the HR generalist help make certain this happens?

Partner with management to make certain that employees are aware of additional training resources available.

A security-conscious organization requires all new hires to complete training on security policies and conducts annual armed intruder drills for all employees. What risk management strategies is this company using?

Prevention and mitigation The organization is trying to prevent some risks from occurring through training new hires and mitigating the impact of any risk events that do occur by practicing certain procedures.

How does replacement planning differ from succession planning?

Replacement planning ensures the continuity of business operations; succession planning provides deep bench strength throughout the organization.

The IT Director of a research organization has created an innovative software application that has been a great success; it has won several awards and has received recognition from industry leaders. Over time, the IT Director has bragged about the success of the program, stating that no one else could have come up with this idea. Even though the organization's mission is to be a learning organization with a strong commitment to knowledge sharing, the IT Director has refused to share knowledge of the application with anyone else in the organization for fear of losing power and control. The organization's leadership won't confront the IT Director about this because there is no contingency plan if he were to get upset and quit. While the IT team reports to the IT director, he has no direct supervisor. Recently, the HR Manager received a verbal complaint that the IT director openly yelled at the IT team during a meeting, intimidating staff and making them feel worthless. Upon examining the issue, the HR Manager learns that the IT Director constantly overworks employees and treats them in an intimidating manner. The HR Manager discovers that the IT Director has created a culture of being uncollaborative by explicitly telling the rest of the IT team not to share any of the department's secrets. Furthermore, the IT team has been told to lie about the status of certain projects by stating that work is being done when in fact it is not. Which solution should the HR Manager suggest to reinforce the organization's commitment to being a learning organization?

Request that the leadership hold a company-wide meeting to reiterate the mission of being a learning organization, and build performance metrics and incentives around the mission.

An HR manager is the liaison for the sales department at an organization with 600 employees. Recently the organization had a slight downturn in revenue and profit. To save money, the sales department's senior management has laid off several administrative assistants and assigned their work tasks, such as photocopying and processing sales orders, to the sales staff. Additionally, the department has modified its compensation system by reducing base pay but increasing sales commissions. The HR manager believes the additional work and new compensation system have put substantial stress on employees. It's been observed that employees seem dissatisfied with their jobs and are leaving the organization or thinking of leaving. One recently departed employee told the HR manager he looked for a new job because the increased workload caused him to make fewer sales, thereby reducing his salary. The HR manager brings their concerns to the vice president (VP) of sales. The manager tells the VP the effects of these changes including high turnover and the loss of institutional knowledge. The VP believes turnover is good because poorly performing employees are leaving. The VP believes the recent changes save the company money and motivate sales employees to work harder Which is the best way for the HR manager to evaluate the effectiveness of the new compensation system?

Review existing research and literature on best practices to see if similar changes in other organizations have been effective.

Which is a good practice for implementing a code of conduct?

Talk with members of the organization to better understand ethical challenges and compliance requirements. Because a code of conduct must address the risks and compliance requirements specific to an organization, it is a good practice to include discussions with a broad representation of the organization's members before drafting a code. While the organization's values are considered in drafting the code, they are not the basis of the code. While the code must be reviewed regularly, constantly revising it can lead to employees' not knowing the ethical mandates.

The Global Reporting Initiative Standards (or GRI Standards)

The Global Reporting Initiative Standards (or GRI Standards) establish uniform ways to report the outcomes of an organization's sustainability initiatives. This allows the performance of organizations to be compared. The GRI Standards focus on a breadth of issues, from social to environmental. They are specific in calculating outcomes. They are not a pathway to creating a CSR program but provide metrics and instructions to use in evaluating and reporting CSR performance.

global mindset

The ability to take an international, multidimensional perspective that is inclusive of other cultures, perspectives, and views

ADDIE: Design

The design phase identifies the behaviors participants will practice at the end of the program. The goals state the purpose and intent of the program, while the objectives are the behavioral results expected from the program.

The diaspora

The diaspora refers to a mass migration of voluntary emigrants from their homelands to multiple destinations. The demographic dichotomy describes the trend of a younger workforce in emerging economies while developed countries are experiencing an aging workforce. International assignees and globalists are types of global assignments.

HR has been approached by a manager in a host country stating that activities being conducted by an employee are different than those in the home country and must be unethical. What should HR advise as the first step for this manager?

The manager should be reminded that just because the activities are being conducted differently does not mean that they are unethical. Conducting an investigation would be the next step. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the employee may be told to stop the activity and or be fired.

What is the impact that a service level agreement has when an organization moves from licensing software to software as a service (SaaS)?

The organization will not need to implement or customize software. The migration from the licensing of a product to subscribing for a service is often handled through a service level agreement (SLA). SLAs formally define service expectations and terms. Real-time monitoring service levels are addressed as well as customer versus client concerns. The client does not need to install or customize software; both are done by the vendor.

What is meant by the sustainability sweet spot?

The overlapping area of the triple bottom line perspectives The sustainability sweet spot includes actions that satisfy all three of the needs in the triple bottom line: benefits to the environment (or planet); employees, customers, or neighbors (people); and the organization's financial health (profit).

Which option is an example of noise in the communication model?

The speaker uses technical abbreviations that the listener does not know Noise is any condition that can prevent a message from being correctly understood by a receiver. Technical jargon and other unfamiliar terms can be a barrier (noise) to the listener's understanding. Disagreement is not noise, nor are factors that actually enhance understanding, such as shared context or respect.

Lewin's Change Management Model

Three stages for planning change: (1) Unfreezing - current values and beliefs are challenged and people understand need for change (2) Change - action phase, people develop new values and beliefs (3) Refreezing - change is stabilized, patterns are solidified

What item would be considered an input in the input-process-output (IPO) model?

Turnover data showing a steady increase in voluntary resignations in the last year Inputs in the IPO model include data about conditions (past, current, and projected). Turnover data that reflects an increasing loss of talent is an internal constraint that may impact an organization's ability to meet its targets. This is an input factor that would be analyzed in the IPO model. Processes are tools and skills that can be applied to gain meaning from the inputs. Exit and stay interviews that search for causes and cross-functional brainstorming teams that come up with possible solutions would be considered processes in the model. Outputs are what the organization does with the wisdom it has gained. This could include new policies or processes, such as flexible scheduling.

Which should organizations ensure when considering the use of international translation services?

Understanding and capability beyond just the translation of words It is crucial to both translate and localize words from one language to the next. If just the words are translated, significant misunderstandings may occur due to different cultural interpretations.

Which of the four branches of emotional intelligence is described as the ability to capitalize on feelings to promote and inform decision making, problem solving, and other cognitive activities?

Using emotion to facilitate thought There are four branches of emotional intelligence: perceiving, using, understanding, and regulating emotion. When individuals use emotion, they are able to recognize emotional states, estimate the emotions' probable effect on activities, and use that knowledge to make better decisions. For example, a leader might use his or her own sense of discouragement to check in on a team's state of mind and perhaps schedule a motivational event.

An HR Specialist is analyzing salary survey data for the same position across multiple, similarly sized locations to produce an average salary. Which measure will be most useful?

Weighted mean A weighted mean is more informative because it can take into account different costs of living in each location. A weighted mean in this case would divide the sum of salaries at each location multiplied by the cost-of-living factor for that location by the number of sites. An unweighted mean would sum the wages in all locations and divide by the number of employees. The average salary for the two methods could look very different, depending on the variation in the cost of living. A median salary would be a salary equidistant from the highest and lowest salaries; this would not reflect differences in the cost of living. A mode would be the salary that appears most often in the range; in addition to the cost-of-living issue, the mode could be affected by differences in tenure-for example, a tenured workforce with many employees at the top of the salary range for that position.

Aging Data

When data on a compensation survey is adjusted to account for movement in market salary rates since the time the survey was completed.

Under which circumstances would it be important for an HR manager to age data?

When trying to understand the organization's current pay competitiveness and where it needs to be In order to make data sources consistent with one another, aging of data is needed. Aging data from surveys and comparing it to where the organization is allows an understanding of how close you are to your compensation philosophy (lag, match, or lead) for the organization's salary structure.

Perquisites

compensation provided on an individual basis in the form of goods or services. Included in this category are company automobiles, club memberships, and the like.

ADDIE: Evaluation

consists of comparing the program results to the established objectives to determine whether the original needs were met. Includes reactions, application to new procedures, changes of behavior on the job and changes of organizational performance.

Triple Bottom Line

recognition of the need for organizations to improve the state of people, the planet, and profit simultaneously if they are to achieve sustainable, long-term growth

Replacement planning

the process of creating back-up candidates for specific senior management positions

Succesion Planning

the process of identifying and tracking high-potential employees who will be able to fill top management positions when they become vacant