HR ch:2 Review

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

a. True

15. Forecasting is frequently more of an art than a science, providing inexact approximations rather than absolute results. a. True b. False

a. True

18. Trend analysis refers to the use of statistical techniques to plot a historical trend of a business factor. a. True b. False

a. True

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

a. True

21. A Markov analysis can be used to track the pattern of employee movements through various jobs. a. True b. False

a. True

22. Core values are the essence of corporate cultures and an expression of their personality. a. True b. False

a. True

24. A SWOT analysis helps executives summarize the major facts and forecasts derived from external and internal analyses. a. True b. False

a. True

26. In international joint ventures, the issue of culture is paramount. a. True b. False

a. True

28. FedEx has been very successful in utilizing a differentiation strategy. a. True b. False

a. True

3. Strategic human resources management (SHRM) is a combination of strategic planning and HR planning. a. True b. False

a. True

30. Critical success factors for a low-cost strategy include efficiency, productivity, and minimizing waste. a. True b. False

a. True

32. Organizational structure is the framework in which the activities of organization members are coordinated. a. True b. False

a. True

33. Shared values act as a guiding parameter for strategic planning. a. True b. False

a. True

35. Unionized organizations recognize seniority. a. True b. False

a. True

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

a. True

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

a. True

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

a. True

39. The target company for benchmarking does not need to be a competitor. a. True b. False

a. True

4. The first step in strategic planning of a firm involves establishing a mission, vision, and values for the firm. a. True b. False

a. True

40. The Balanced Scorecard is a tool for mapping a firm's strategy in order to ensure strategic alignment. a. True b. False

a. True

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

a. True

7. Changes in labor supply can place limits on the strategies available to firms. a. True b. False

a. True

8. An internal analysis enables strategic decision makers to assess an organization's workforce—its skills, cultural beliefs, and values. a. True b. False

a. True

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.

a. a staffing table.

83. As companies diversify into new businesses, managers are inevitably faced with a make or _____ decision. a. buy b. lease c. forego d. substitute

a. buy

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.

a. core employees.

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.

a. is an attempt to decrease subjectivity of forecasts.

68. Cooperative strategies pursued by firms include: a. joint ventures. b. trend analysis. c. mergers. d. acquisitions.

a. joint ventures.

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.

a. strategic planning

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

a. the second

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

a. trend analysis

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

b. False

16. Qualitative HR forecasting techniques generally employ sophisticated analytical models. a. True b. False

b. False

17. Trend analysis is a qualitative approach to labor demand forecasting. a. True b. False

b. False

20. Staffing tables provide data on external labor supply sources. a. True b. False

b. False

29. In the long run, firms must approach outsourcing decisions based on cost alone to strengthen their core capabilities. a. True b. False

b. False

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

b. False

34. In unionized firms, layoffs are only based on performance. a. True b. False

b. False

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

b. False

9. Internal analysis focuses on culture and conflicts within an organization. a. True b. False

b. False

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

b. Markov analysis

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

b. Shared values

79. Which of the following is NOT a cell of the Balanced Scorecard model? a. Financial b. Turnover c. Customer d. Process

b. Turnover

74. Measures of turnover costs do NOT include: a. separation costs. b. employee turnover costs. c. replacement costs. d. training program costs.

b. employee turnover costs.

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.

b. environmental scanning.

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.

b. is the basic purpose of the company.

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.

b. is the framework in which activities of employees are coordinated.

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.

b. neglecting supply considerations.

65. Talent inventories can be used to develop _____, which list current jobholders. a. core values b. replacement charts c. trend models d. staffing tables

b. replacement charts

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.

b. soliciting expert opinions.

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.

b. the process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organization.

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.

b. unique skills directly related to company strategy.

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.

b. valuable.

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

c. Balanced Scorecard

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

c. SWOT

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.

c. cultural audit.

51. At the fundamental level, a firm's strategy should focus on creating value for: a. resellers. b. suppliers. c. customers. d. subordinates.

c. customers.

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.

c. include formal and informal procedures that govern the every day activities of a firm.

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.

c. is the strong enduring belief used by the company to make decisions.

72. Layoff decisions are usually based on: a. union membership. b. department ranking. c. seniority. d. favoritism.

c. seniority.

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

c. substitutes

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.

c. succession planning.

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

d. High employee turnover rate

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.

d. act as guiding parameters for strategic planning.

44. Customers, suppliers, and substitutes are part of a _____ environment. a. political b. technological c. demographic d. competitive

d. competitive

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.

d. establishing a mission, vision, and values for an organization.

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.

d. provides a perspective on where the company is headed.

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.

d. rare.

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

d. resource flexibility

19. A vision statement clarifies the long-term direction of a company and its strategic intent. a. True b. False

True

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

True

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

a. Coordination flexibility

10. A cultural audit can be used to examine the attitudes and expectations of employees. a. True b. False

a. True

12. Trend analysis relies on a single factor to predict employment needs. a. True b. False

a. True

6. Organizational core values form the foundation of a firm's decisions. a. True b. False

a. True

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.

b. core capabilities.

57. Which of the following is NOT a component of SWOT analysis? a. Weakness b. Threat c. Strategy d. Opportunity

c. Strategy

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.

c. organizational capability.

50. A competitive environment includes all the following EXCEPT: a. new entrants. b. suppliers. c. rivals. d. subordinates.

d. subordinates.

1. Strategic planning involves a set of procedures for making decisions about an organization's long-term goals and strategies. a. True b. False

a. True

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

a. True

25. Corporate strategy focuses on domain selection. a. True b. False

True

27. Dell has been very successful competing based on a low-cost strategy. a. True b. False

True