Module 5: Workforce Planning

HRZone best defined workforce planning as:

"the process of ensuring an organization has current and future access to the human capital it needs to perform effectively."

You're walking your team through the job analysis process. Which of the following is a step you present?

A draft version of the job description should be routed by the job supervisor for review and comment.

Your team is preparing to conduct a number of job analyses and you want to set the stage. Which of the following points should you emphasize?

A job analysis is the foundation of human resource management.

In Diablo Valley College's workforce development plan, what did the document feature?

A vision statement

You are facilitating a workforce planning kick-off meeting and a member of your staff asks how workforce planning relates to business strategy. Which of the following is the best response?

Business strategy drives workforce planning

Your team is discussing how to determine the organization's demand for labor. Which of the following would you recommend as a first step?

Conduct an evaluation of current resources

What were the guiding principles of the workforce development plan as they related to the Diablo Valley College example?

Criteria for making decisions that support goals.

You are leading a HR team charged with assessing current human resources. One of the steps in the process is:

Develop a profile of your current workforce including numbers and competencies

Which of the following is the first of the primary steps for compiling and analyzing human resource data

Develop a profile of your current workforce to include both staffing and competencies

Conducting a job analysis includes which of the following processes

Developing competencies

What can be done if it's impractical to conduct a job analysis of every role?

Group jobs into categories that have similar characteristics

An organization's organizational charts and position descriptions are examples of what kind of sources of data?

Internal sources

What source of data is an organization's organizational charts and position descriptions?

Internal sources

Which of the following is a true statement?

Job analysis serves as a basis for job description and job specifications.

A method for tracking movement of employees within an organization and an aid for succession planning is called the:

Markov analysis.

You're briefing your team on sources of information for job analysis. Which of the following is the most comprehensive source of information?

O*Net Online

You are responsible for managing your organization's workforce planning project. Which of the following should you emphasize in your final deliverable?

The connection between the workplace development plan goals and the organization's strategic plan.

You're walking your team through the details of the job analysis process. Which of the following is a step you emphasize?

The list of tasks should only include those that are frequent and important.

In order to understand and support short- and long-term organizational goals, with what process(es) should workforce planning be closely aligned?

The organization's strategic and annual business planning

When conducting an assessment of your current human resources, what are you assessing?

Your employees' ability to meet projected future requirements.

The external labor supply is a function of:

a range of economic and qualitative factors, like availability of housing and transportation.

The ultimate outcome of the workforce planning process is:

a workforce development plan

What is the ultimate outcome of the workforce planning process?

a workforce development plan

Looking at online databases, observations and interviews are part of which step of the job analysis process?

collecting data

A key difference between a job description and job specifications is that:

details in a job description are not personal.

When it's impractical to conduct a job analysis of every role, the human resources staff/department can:

determine its connection to organizational strategy, and if there is none, eliminate it.

In OPM's recommended three-step process to developing valid assessment, "designing the assessment strategy" should encompass:

developing one or more assessments to determine a person's ability to successfully perform a job.

Which of the following is NOT one of the purposes of a job analysis?

establish a career trajectory for the position

The job design should address factors such as what, how and how many tasks are done, and:

in what order tasks are done.

Job design addresses what and how tasks are done, how many tasks are done, and what other element?

in what order the tasks are done

Job relevance, job enlargement, and job enrichment are three broad theories related to:

job design

Frederick Herzberg suggested that a job should use the full ability of the employee and provide sufficient challenge. This is the theory of:

job enrichment.

Specialization can increase productivity, but it can also result in boredom and create a sense of alienation. This is the antithesis of the______ theory that supports job design.

job relevance

Where does an HR manager add in minimum requirements for education - in the job analysis, the job specification, or the job description?

job specification

"Do I need a college degree for this position?" wonders an applicant. This information would be housed in which section of the job description?

job specifications

"How much experience do I need to apply for this position?" wonders an applicant. This information would be housed in which section of the job description?

job specifications

In which area would you find the minimum required qualifications for a position—in the job analysis, job specifications, or job description?

job specifications

"Essential functions" are must-have capabilities and should be included in what part of the job description?

job summary

Where would a job code go in the job description?

job title

Workforce planning is generally done ___________,and focuses on a six step, circular process.

on a multi-year horizon

Generalized information about a thousand different standardized jobs throughout the country can be found:

on the O*Net website

The US Office of Personnel Management recommends rating tasks, and those should include:

ratings for frequency and importance.

These are the two key elements of an assessment:

reliability and validity

The purpose of a job analysis is to establish job duties and responsibilities, conditions of the job and:

required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Which of the elements below is considered in job design?

safety and health

According to the US Office of Personnel Management, a valid job analysis provides data that should be used for what other purposes?

selection and performance management

In assessing human resources, one should develop a profile that includes:

staff levels, demographics, and competencies.

When Shereen is conducting a job analysis, her first step will be:

to determine how the job relates to the organization's strategy

What is the intended purpose of job design?

to reduce or overcome job dissatisfaction

An assessment of your current human resources should consider:

your current employees' ability to meet projected future requirements.