SHRM CP - SCP - Organization - Organizational Development/Improving Org Performance/Improving Team Performance

Clarify goals, expectations, and ground rules for team behavior.

An HR manager is training managers on team leadership. Which one of these tips will reduce unnecessary conflict within the managers' teams? -Consult a superior as soon as a team member underperforms. -Clarify goals, expectations, and ground rules for team behavior. -Encourage discussion, but make it clear that your word is the final authority. -Place employees on performance improvement plans for not meeting goals.

Proactive intervention aimed at assessing organizational strength in various positions

An organization decides not to replace employees who leave. This organizational strategy initially proves effective. However, the strategy fails to reap long-term benefits. What type of organizational effectiveness initiative might have prevented this? -Proactive intervention aimed at assessing organizational strength in various positions -Remedial intervention aimed at correcting inefficient work processes -Proactive intervention to provide more attractive rewards and incentives -Remedial intervention aiming at improving HR staff's expertise in conducting workforce reduction

Proactive

An organization fears that it has become too bureaucratic and slow in responding to threats and opportunities. HR is charged with examining structures and processes to make the organization more agile. What type of intervention is this? -Organizational -Competitive -Proactive -Remedial

Organizational

Based on an analysis of future skills needed, an organization implements two new training courses. What type of intervention is this? -Organizational -Functional -Task -Individual

Take no further action.

A division implemented a new structure a year ago. In general, things seem to be going well. Productivity has already reached pre-change levels. Employee satisfaction metrics have met expectations. HR has been asked if further action is needed. What would you advise? -Implement regular team meetings to discuss issues. -Repeat the employee satisfaction survey in six months. -Take no further action. -Schedule an organization-wide meeting to share business results.

Geographic

A food products company has chosen a growth strategy that entails buying existing brands in different countries. The markets in each country and the products are different and will benefit from a local approach. Which structure should the HR director recommend the organization take to group its jobs and align its efforts? -Matrix -Functional -Product -Geographic

Meeting with each employee to determine the obstacles to production

A manager has come to HR because an employee cannot meet production standards. After further investigation, it is discovered that several other employees cannot meet production standards. Records show that all employees have been properly trained and certified. Which action should HR recommend to resolve the issue? -Documenting underperforming employees with a verbal warning that is a precursor to termination -Meeting with each employee to determine the obstacles to production -Developing a new training program that is mandatory for all employees -Providing remedial training with a different, more-experienced subject matter expert

Assess the team member's behavior and follow up with him through discussion and coaching.

A manager has organized a team to assist with planning an event. At a meeting, one of the team members complained, dominated the discussion, and resisted each new suggestion. Which strategy should the manager use to control this behavior? -Implement a progressive discipline plan to correct the behavior. -Praise the team member for his contributions and encourage him to stay engaged. -Model the desired behavior during future team meetings. -Assess the team member's behavior and follow up with him through discussion and coaching.

Give the team time to develop its roles and relationships.

A team leader comes to HR for advice. The team is meeting its first milestone goals, but the team leader is worried about the effect on future productivity of one team member. This person spends more time socializing at meetings than talking about the task at hand. What should the HR professional recommend? -Manage the risk now and replace the team member quickly. -Coach the individual privately on more professional conduct. -Give the team time to develop its roles and relationships. -At the next meeting, make a point of correcting the socializing behavior.

organizational effectiveness and development

OED

Forming

Three months ago, a firm reorganized its customer service agents into a team structure and introduced a new team-based compensation plan. Since then, employee morale has declined. Which stage of team formation does the customer service group represent? -Performing -Norming -Storming -Forming

RACI matrix ()

Used to better define roles and responsibilities: R: Responsible A: Accountable C: Consult I: Inform

Retention rate for high-value employees

What is a measure of the business impact of an organizational effectiveness and development (OED) initiative? -Cost of delivery of a mentoring program -Time invested by an OED team in identifying causes and solutions -Mentoring time expended to build pipeline -Retention rate for high-value employees

Groupthink

What is the primary obstacle that must be avoided during the norming phase of team formation? -Groupthink -Interpersonal conflicts -Lack of trust -Limited communication

Departmentalization

What term describes how work groups are related in an organization? -Process implementation -Hierarchy -Departmentalization -Organizational process

Fewer product returns due to quality issues

What would indicate a cultural shift as a result of an OED change initiative? -Summarized focus group data for management -Consensus on key cultural issues -Number of cultural assessments collected -Fewer product returns due to quality issues

Enhancing communication skills and processes

Which approach should HR recommend in order to assist a dysfunctional team with productivity issues? -Enhancing communication skills and processes -Determining which knowledge and skills employees will need in the future -Focusing on skills employees need to advance in their careers -Restructuring the way decisions are made in the organization

Complexity of tasks

Which best describes the situation most likely to use a narrow span of control? -Complexity of tasks -Skilled manager shortage -Significantly experienced subordinates -No requirement of team effort

Departmentalization

While completing a job analysis of management positions, HR finds evidence of confusion among the roles regarding responsibilities. Which intervention should HR identify as a way to optimize the strategic performance of the organization? -Team formation -Departmentalization -Stakeholder involvement -Cultural transformation

RACI chart (responsibility assignment matrix)

defines the roles and responsibilities of each person. These roles include the responsible role, the accountable role, the consulting role, and the informed role

Departmentalization

describes the way an organization groups its tasks and then aligns those groups for better effectiveness and efficiency.

product structure

have separate divisions for different products, and each division has its own functional departments.

organizational intervention

intended to change the organization's design, structure, and/or culture to improve performance across the organization

chain of command

refers to a line of authority within an organization. Authority relates to the scope of responsibilities that define the area in which a manager is empowered to make decisions.

Celebrate accomplishments and evaluate and foster improvement.

A team has been organized to look at an organizational restructure, under the leadership of the HR director. Following some early struggles, the team is now showing high levels of productivity. Many members demonstrate self-direction and initiative. What should the HR director do to encourage continued high performance? -Provide vision and describe expectations. -Celebrate accomplishments and evaluate and foster improvement. -Increase levels of engagement and provide coaching. -Facilitate communication and group decision making.

Discord

A CEO forms an executive team by hiring four senior VPs who, with their respective subject matter expertise, share responsibility and accountability for the organization's success. Which dynamic is most likely to emerge among the team in its first few months? -Discord -Cohesion -Trust -Productivity

RACI matrix

A HR professional has been assigned to help a new product development team that has had difficulty achieving smooth collaboration. The members keep accusing each other of not doing what they're supposed to be doing and instead interfering in each other's work. What tool could help the HR professional and the product team in this situation?

Product

A company has separate divisions for distinct types of products. Each division has its own marketing, sales, manufacturing, and finance functions. What type of organizational structure does this illustrate? -Geographic -Product -Flat -Functional

Explain to the leaders that the new strategy will require changes in structure, policies, processes, and culture.

An organization previously competed on the basis of innovation. Its employees were rewarded for independent decision making and risk taking. As the market has matured, however, competition has forced leaders to shift to a strategy that increases management control over decisions and relies on processes to resolve the minor but embarrassing quality problems that have always been associated with its products. The leaders look to HR to help support this strategy. What first step should HR suggest? -Contract with professional quality engineers to better understand the causes for the product problems. -Implement new hiring and performance management systems that will focus on more bureaucratic skills and attitudes. -Develop a communication plan that will help all employees align their work with the new strategy. -Explain to the leaders that the new strategy will require changes in structure, policies, processes, and culture.

Team building

An organization receives reports of poor performance that do not appear to be related to gaps in individual employees' qualifications. There are also reports of frequent conflicts in meetings, offices, and even hallways. Which intervention should HR use to identify and better these problems? -Outsourcing -Departmentalization -Team building -Restructuring

HR will have to develop and implement new performance standards.

An organization that began as a small family business has experienced steady growth over the past two decades. As the organization grew, the owners decided to transition the organization from a privately held company to a publicly traded and owned company. Which impact on HR processes will this transition most likely create? -HR will have to meet more strict compliance obligations. -HR will have to develop and implement new performance standards. -HR leadership will need to become more visionary. -Compensation structures for sales professionals will need to change.

Gather information through interviews and observation of the team at work.

At the request of senior management, an HR manager is assigned to solve a problem with a critical product development team. The manager has little information other than the fact that the team has fallen significantly behind schedule and the project leader is inexperienced. What should the HR manager do first? -Gather information through interviews and observation of the team at work. -Implement conflict resolution skills for the entire team immediately. -Arrange for the project leader to be coached in project management skills. -Add a consultant to the team who is expert in group facilitation.

Organizational development

HR acts to develop a team in order to improve customer service, efficiency, and processes. What activity does this illustrate? -Gap analysis -Organizational development -Onboarding -Strategic planning

Development of a roles and responsibilities chart

HR is asked to advise on ways to help a development team become fully functional as quickly as possible. The team is dispersed geographically and faces very short deadlines. What team-building solution would you prioritize? -Cross-cultural communications training -Face-to-face socialization meetings -Training on stress management -Development of a roles and responsibilities chart

Chain of command

HR is charged with remediating customer service delays in an organization where cumbersome and redundant service tickets require multiple approvals by different divisions. Which structural characteristic will the team probably examine? -Decision-making authority -Span of control -Chain of command -Layers of authority

Conduct a thorough review of the organization's strategic plan and goals.

HR is directed to review the company's talent management plan in order to recommend possible improvements. Which is the critical first step HR should take? -Conduct a thorough review of the organization's strategic plan and goals. -Review all job descriptions to determine if they are still relevant to the roles. -Review and make substantive changes to the company's succession plan. -Evaluate the organizational structure to see if changes need to be made to it.

Gain agreement on the initiative's objectives.

HR works with the executive leadership team to redesign the company's operational structure. HR brings on an external consultant to determine next steps. What should be the consultant's initial recommendation to HR? -Determine if there is money in the budget for the initiative. -Gain agreement on the initiative's objectives. -Design a possible solution to the identified problem. -Outline the steps necessary to implement the initiative.

Intervention objectives link outcomes to organizational goals.

How does HR make sure that organizational effectiveness and development (OED) interventions deliver value? -Interventions are completed on time and within budget. -Organizational effectiveness and development processes are continually improved. -Intervention objectives link outcomes to organizational goals. -Efficiency metrics are established at the beginning of the intervention.

Align culture and strategy for maximum effectiveness.

In an effort to sustain change, how can HR ensure a positive relationship between strategy and organizational culture? -Recommend that the organization resist the development of subcultures. -Allow conflict to occur within the organizational culture to prevent stagnation. -Use culture to impact only employee engagement, not strategy creation. -Align culture and strategy for maximum effectiveness.

Responsibility assignment matrix

The HR director is assigned to complete the monthly head count report, which is reviewed by the VP of HR. After approval, the report is submitted to the finance analyst, who shares it with the VP of finance. Which tool should be used to convey responsibility for this essential job function? -Organizational chart -Gantt chart -Responsibility assignment matrix -Position description

Ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly specified, starting at the functional level.

The accounting department was recently restructured. While the department management team is engaged and excited about the new direction, there have been many interpersonal conflicts among staff, causing service delays and poor perceptions of the department. What should HR advise the department director to do next? -Schedule all-staff meetings to align the accounting department with a common purpose and goals. -Ask HR to coach employees to address the interpersonal conflicts. -Ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly specified, starting at the functional level. -Diagram processes, inputs, requirements, and outputs to make sure staff have what they need to perform their assigned tasks.

Developing interpersonal relationships

The human resources director has been assisting a plant manager with developing a high-potential team of employees in their facility by setting goals, priorities, roles, responsibilities, and processes. Which activity remains? -Identifying competency gaps -Creating a succession plan -Developing interpersonal relationships -Choosing performance metrics

Involving managers in determining what changes should be made

Which approach would be most helpful in obtaining commitment from managers when planning major changes in the performance appraisal process? -Conducting isolated actions that best suit each manager's business unit -Evaluating the ongoing organizational effectiveness and development effort -Coaching managers on effectively using the new process -Involving managers in determining what changes should be made

Line of authority within an organization

Which best demonstrates chain of command? -Line of authority within an organization -Number of individuals reporting to one supervisor -Extent to which policies govern the organization -Balance between standardization and localization

This provides multiple perspectives that allow for a deeper understanding of the issue.

Which best identifies the reason why many organizational effectiveness and development (OED) programs begin with data collection from all the parties affected? -This provides information to prepare more accurate activity-based budgets. -This provides multiple perspectives that allow for a deeper understanding of the issue. -This lessens undue influence from organizational leaders. -This identifies more information about best practices that will support the intervention.

Connecting the organization's strategy and the intervention activities

Which is the most effective way for HR professionals to align organizational effectiveness and development (OED) interventions with their organization's goals? -Increasing the budget for training and development activities -Reducing learning time for mastery of critical skills -Involving managers in the development of training activities -Connecting the organization's strategy and the intervention activities

Removing design, structural, or cultural obstacles to success

Which states the purpose of an organizational effectiveness intervention? -Removing design, structural, or cultural obstacles to success -Identifying gaps between job requirements and job performance -Analyzing enterprise-wide operational efficiencies -Determining present and future workforce training needs

Organizational (1)

Which type of OD intervention would best address an assessment that determined a need to increase the performance capability across all levels and departments? -Work process -Technical -Organizational -Interpersonal

Specific numerical ratings on a customer satisfaction survey

Which would be the most effective measure of an intervention designed to improve customer service? -Customer anecdotes related to positive service interactions -Specific numerical ratings on a customer satisfaction survey -Proportion of employees who have completed customer service training -Number of customer complaint calls handled per hour