Exam 1: Meeting Present and Emerging Strategic Human Resource Challenges

HR strategies that work for one company in an industry will work just as well for another company in the same industry,since business environments tend to be similar within industries.

Which of the following is LEAST important when determining which HR strategies will positively impact a firm's performance?

A study of fast-growth firms shows that they are more likely to employ managers who are:

Additional Case 1.1 Managers at Caplin Company are having a strategic planning session with the director of HR. They are discussing the fit between the company's overall management philosophy, organizational structure, organizational culture, and the firm's current HR strategies. During the meeting, the management team asks the HR Director for a profile of the current workforce. The HR Director reports that the workforce used to be 85% white, 50% male. Now it is 50% white, 50% minority with twice as many women as men. Supervisors still tend to be white males. The management team discusses how to control costs, improve quality, and create distinctive capabilities. Several ideas are raised, discussed, and tabled; some topics are assigned to an individual for further exploration. Managers comment that some workers arrive at start time, take 30 minutes before initiating any work, and begin to pack up for the day 30 minutes before quitting time. Managers also indicate that employees do not seem concerned about working hard or about building quality products. As the meeting draws to a close, the team briefly discusses the firm's commitment to the surrounding community. As a cost-cutting measure, the firm eliminated its support of an adult literacy program last year. Company facilities were used for conducting reading classes. The management team decides that the firm should reinstate the program and appoints the HR Director to notify the local literacy council. -Refer to Additional Case 1.1.The change in the workforce at Caplin is an example of the environmental challenge of:

Which of the following is a primary challenge of strategic HR planning?

The process of formulating HR strategies and establishing programs or tactics to implement them is called ________.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)offers which of the following?

A corporation that values centralization,long-term career development,and internal grooming of employees has probably adopted a steady state strategy.

A dual-career family is one in which:

Salaried employees are also known as ________ employees.

A(n)________ is the formulation and implementation of strategies by a firm that is relatively autonomous,even if it is part of a larger corporation.

The need for skilled employees in the United States has:

________ is the transferring of responsibility and decision-making authority from a central office to people and locations closer to the situation that demands attention.

Empowerment is best defined as:

If an HR department is reviewing whether to use discipline as a control mechanism or as a proactive way to encourage appropriate behavior,it is considering its strategic choices within the HR function of:

Review the major challenges at the individual level and offer ways HRM can assist organizations in meeting these challenges.

A firm considering the volatility of its product market,the degree of change that its product is experiencing over the passing of time,and the number of competitors with which it is competing is probably examining its HR strategy's fit with:

Mona is interested in buying a new computer.She has heard that Shell processors are on the low end of the cost spectrum and that the company offers an excellent warranty.Mona is focused on the firm's:

A(n)________ is an employee involved directly in producing the company's good(s)or delivering the service(s).

Additional Case 1.2 As the manager of HR of an old, established company, you are leading the management team in a strategic planning session. During the planning session, managers are being forced to think about the future, see the likely changes in the marketplace, and make plans to use company resources to enhance their competitive edge. -Refer to Additional Case 1.4.Which of the following questions is most relevant to the situation at Crowe?