Chapter 02: Human Resource Strategy and Planning: Aplia Assignment

What is the primary purpose of strategic HR management?

To make the company more competitive against other companies

Hospital operator LifePoint has been merged with RCCH Health Care Partners. The HR department at RCCH Health Care Partners knows that it will be important to change the culture at LifePoint to match their culture as soon as possible. What actions can the HR leaders take to help this culture change take place quickly and effectively? Check all that apply.

Select leaders who exhibit the behaviors they desire from LifePoint employees Provide rewards to LifePoint employees who exhibit behaviors consistent with the changed culture Define the behaviors they want to see from LifePoint employees Send employees consistent messages about what behaviors are right and what behaviors will be rewarded

The preceding equation calculates ____ , and it shows ____

human capital value added (HCVA) Revenue - (operating expenses [compensation + benefit costs]) / full-time head count calculates human capital value added (HCVA), and it tells you the operating profit per full-time employee. See Section 2-9d: Human Capital Effectiveness Measures.

is the process of comparing a firm's business results to industry standards or best practices.

Benchmarking is the process of comparing a firm's business results to industry standards or best practices. See Section 2-9b: Human Resources and Benchmarking.

In 2009, Caterpillar announced that it was cutting down the amount of time its employees in its Layfayette, Indiana plant could work. The recession had reduced Caterpillar's business enough that it could no longer have its employees working an 8-hour day, but it didn't want to let skilled employees leave the company. What approach did Caterpillar use to deal with their surplus of employees?

Caterpillar used a reduction in work hours to deal with their surplus employees. While this method is not easy on employees, it at least prevents them from losing their jobs entirely during tough economic times. Attrition would involve losing people through voluntary retirement and not replacing them, hiring freezes would mean that the company would stop bringing on new employees, and voluntary separation involves allowing workers to make the decision whether or not they want to leave the company. See Section 2-7a: Managing a Talent Surplus.

At T.J.Maxx, customers are asked to fill out a customer survey every time they make a purchase. Filling out the survey gives them the chance to win a $500 gift card or to get a coupon for discounted T.J.Maxx merchandise. In what part of the balanced scorecard would this information go?

Customer relations

Daniel has a group of 25 qualified applicants that are ready for the company to hire. He is trying to figure out which applicants should be offered work in the United States, and which applicants should be offered work in his company's German offices in Munich. Which part of human resource planning is Daniel focusing on?

Daniel's applicants are qualified, so he already has the right people with the right capabilities. He is not worrying about when to bring people onboard, or the right time. He is concerned about putting people in the right place as he deliberates between U.S. and German placements. See Section 2-3: Human Resource Planning.

____ is the ability of a task to produce a specific desired result or effect that can be measured.

Effectiveness

When Chris Mittelstaedt, the founder and CEO of The FruitGuys, was forced to lay off employees during the recession of 2001, he was making sure that he took steps to "do" the company's strategy—reducing costs enough to stay in business during those difficult times. Chris was:

Executing the company's strategy

An organization that hires mostly college students is experiencing high turnover because the work schedules interfere with the students' class schedules. This organization should utilize ____

Flexible or alternate work schedules can be helpful in jobs that do not follow standard work schedules of 9-to-5 jobs. These flexible schedules can be very attractive to students, parents, or anyone who has to coordinate their work with other scheduled obligations. See Section 2-7c: Managing a Talent Shortage.

In talking with your company's chief accountant, you find out that she is expecting that the company will be able to raise its gross income by 7% next year. This is very exciting news. In what part of the balanced scorecard would this information go?

Gross income is part of the financial measures of the organization. Knowing this will help the company to manage its bottom line effectively. See Section 2-9c: Human Resources and the Balanced Scorecard.

Which of the following companies is going to have to abide by the WARN Act? Check all that apply.

Lion's Choice, a fast food restaurant that has 12 locations, with approximately 15 full-time employees each, in the St. Louis area Band of Kids, a daycare center that has 3 full-time employees

At Starbucks, they measure how often baristas get orders right the first time. They are aiming for 99% or higher accuracy. In what part of the balanced scorecard would this information go?

Measuring how well baristas take and fill orders is part of the internal business processes for Starbucks. If these numbers are good, Starbucks will run a smooth and efficient operation. See Section 2-9c: Human Resources and the Balanced Scorecard.

The preceding equation calculates ____ , and it shows ____

Net profit after taxes - cost of capital / full-time head count calculates human economic value added (HEVA) and it tells you the wealth created per employeee in a company. See Section 2-9d: Human Capital Effectiveness Measures.

A small organization that needs expertise and help to conduct HR functions but cannot afford to hire full-time employees to perform those functions should utilize ____

Outsourcing work can be a good strategy when organizations have a talent shortage or a need for certain knowledge, skills, and abilities but do not necessarily want to hire someone for this work on a permanent basis. See Section 2-7c: Managing a Talent Shortage.

An organization located in an undesirable and unpopulated area has difficulty recruiting and retaining employees who do not want to commute to the organization's location. This organization should utilize ____

Telecommuting is a method that can be used to address talent shortages in those jobs that can be performed off-site by workers. See Section 2-7c: Managing a Talent Shortage.

An HR manager at FruitGuys wants to measure how well employees are doing on these questions, so she measures customer satisfaction, goal attainment, and projects initiated for each employee. The HR manager is going to give her boss information based on:

The HR manager is going to give her boss information based on metrics or numbers reflecting the performance of employees in the company. Core capabilities are those things that distinguish an organization from its competitors, not how they are measured. Similarly, rare resources are elements of the company that other companies would find difficult to replicate, while workforce composition refers to the types of talent in any given organization.

Tomaso's Pizza has award-winning pizza recipes. This is an example of____

The fact that Tomaso's has won awards for its pizzas is a strength. This is an internal factor that brings benefits to the company. See Section 2-1a: Strategy Formulatio

Suppose that Chris Mittelstaedt was going to a jobs audit as the foundation for HR planning in his company. What questions should he ask during that audit? Check all that apply.

What jobs exist now, and how essential is each job? How much should people in each job be paid? What are the reporting relationships of jobs?

Suppose that Chris Mittelstaedt was going to a jobs audit as the foundation for HR planning in his company. What questions should he ask during that audit? Check all that apply.

What references did we get for people who are doing each job currently? What are the reporting relationships of jobs? What jobs exist now, and how essential is each job?

Chris Mittelstaedt, founder and CEO of The FruitGuys, says that when the dot-com bust hit his company in 2001, he had to rethink both the company's finances and his own role within the company. By analyzing the firm's strengths and weaknesses, Chris was conducting:

When Chris looks within his organization to identify strengths and weaknesses, he is performing an internal analysis. Performing an external analysis would be placing more emphasis on examining the opportunities and threats within the competitive environment, while strategy formulation and strategy execution are completed after the SWOT analysis based on internal and external analyses being finished.

India is a popular ____ destination for call-center jobs of U.S. companies because it has well-educated English-speaking workers and relatively low labor costs.

offshoring

ROI stands for ____ , and when it is used in HR, it tells you ____

return on investment the value of investments in human capital

Highbridge Community Life Center was a community hub and resource for the Bronx community that was founded in 1979 by two Catholic nuns. Brother Ed Phalen served as the Executive Director of the center for more than two decades. When he started considering retirement, he wondered what would happen to the organization and its leadership after he left. In order to plan for his eventual departure, Brother Phalen and the board of directors began the process of ____ to identify a replacement for him.

succession planning

If a company is going to use this method of dealing with surplus employees effectively, it must protect the bottom line and the corporate brand, pay attention to survivors, and identify the work that is core to sustaining a profitable business.

Downsizing

Eduardo has been working in a medium-sized bookstore for 15 years, but now things aren't going well. He has been losing more and more clients over the past 2 years, and now he simply has more employees than he can pay. He's considered several ways to reduce the size of his workforce, and he's finally decided to give his employees the option of retiring early. He offers everyone in the company the opportunity to retire early, telling them that he will contribute $5,000 to their 401ks if they take him up on his offer. What approach is Eduardo using to deal with his surplus of employees?

Eduardo is using voluntary separation because he is giving his employees the choice of whether or not to retire early. Workforce downsizing would involve laying employees off, a hiring freeze would mean not hiring any new employees, and attrition would be a reduction in staff because of voluntary turnover and no new hires. See Section 2-7a: Managing a Talent Surplus.

____ is the degree to which operations are done in an economical manner.

Efficiency

Which of the following statements is not true about the laws governing workforce reductions in the United States? Check all that apply.

Employees must not be given anything of benefit if a company requests that they waive the right to sue after a layoff. Under COBRA, displaced workers can retain group medical coverage for 18 months for themselves if they pay the benefits themselves.

The HR team at Shell Oil has decided that the employees who work on oil rigs should get a bonus for every year that the rig operates without an oil spill. Which part of the triple bottom line are they fostering?

Environmental

Suppose that the HR department at The FruitGuys prepared an employee and organizational capabilities inventory for Chris Mittelstaedt. How could he best use this information? Check all that apply.

He could use the information to find out if his workers lack expertise in a specific area. He could use the information to find out where to open his next location.

What does the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) require from employers? Check all that apply.

If severance packages are offered to workers under 40, they must also be offered to workers who are over 40 Employers cannot lay off workers over the age of 40 unless they lay off an equal number of workers under the age of 40. Workers who are over 40 must be granted 45 days in which to consider accepting severance benefits and waiving their right to sue.