Q&A Hero

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

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

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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

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

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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: A disadvantage of overemphasizing seniority is that less competent employees receive the same rewards and security as more competent employees. a. True b. False

Q: Unionized organizations recognize seniority. a. True b. False

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

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

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

Q: 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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Corporate strategy focuses on domain selection. a. True b. False

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

Q: 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: 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

Q: 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

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

Q: 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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: 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

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

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

Q: 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

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

Q: €Labor costs are always the smallest expenditures companies make, particularly in service-intensive firms. a. True b. False

Q: €Older workers are generally undependable and operate like free agents. a. True b. False

Q: The HR policies are generally proposed by the senior executives of an organization to the HR managers, who actually issue them. € a. True b. False

Q: What are the seven competitive challenges facing human resources management departments?

Q: A firm's top _____ manager is in a good position to be the chief ethics officer of the firm. a. HR b. finance c. production d. marketing

Q: Describe the role of a line manager.

Q: What are some of the key competencies needed by HR Managers to become full business partners?

Q: Discuss the strategic challenges that companies face and some of the key employee concerns.

Q: Explain the major activities for which an HR manager is typically responsible.

Q: What are the seven competitive challenges facing human resources management departments?

Q: Today about _____ percent of women aged 16 years and older participate in the work force in the U.S. a. 40 b. 80 c. 30 d. 60

Q: In absolute terms, which country in the world is the most productive? a. Japan b. United States c. Germany d. Sweden

Q: Human capital is _____ and _____ be managed the way organizations manage jobs, products, and technologies. a. tangible; cannot b. tangible; can c. intangible; cannot d. intangible; can

Q: In the context of the competencies required of HR managers, understanding an organization€s customers and economic and financial capabilities is part of _____. a. Personal credibility b. HR mastery c. Business mastery d. Change mastery

Q: Globalization has led to _____. a. a new focus on corporate social responsibility b. older workers behaving more like free agents c. a reduction in the number of offshoring options d. a reduction in the number of nearshoring options

Q: Globalization stirs fierce debate, especially when it comes to _____. a. equal pay for women b. jobs c. proprietary technology d. information exchange

Q: Globalization is of interest to _____ companies. a. service b. consumer product c. only large d. all types of

Q: _____ is a competency of the HR manager earned by developing personal relationships with people both internal and external to the firmdemonstrating the values of the firm, standing up for one's own beliefs, and dealing with all parties equitably. a. Change mastery b. HR mastery c. Business mastery d. Personal credibility