business managment data bank

51. Molly heads a large company that has just experienced a major brain drain.

She immediately increases compensation to new employees and gives each employee

with over 10 year experience an extra 3 days of paid vacation per year. This is an

example of:

a) strategic HR planning.

b) proactive HR strategy.

c) reactive HR strategy.

d) a knee-jerk reaction.

e) downsizing.

52. Managers who often depend on their personal views and experiences to solve

problems and make business decisions run the risk of:

a) alienating employees who want to contribute to the decision-making process.

b) undermining the goals of the company by becoming too independent.

c) taking on more responsibility than is necessary in a given business venture.

d) making assumptions about the business and economic environment that are

untrue, thereby threatening the profitability of the company.

e) threatening the profitability of the company by encouraging centralized decision-

making processes.

53. For the Strategic HR Planning Process to stimulate critical thinking:

a) it needs to create common bonds among the various work units in the organization.

b) it should focus on day-to-day management issues.

c) it cannot include specific operational planning but must remain at the conceptual

level.

d) it should manage work flows at the same time.

e) it must be a continuing, flexible process rather than a rigid procedure.

54. Creating a sense of community and shared values and goals among employees at a firm can often increase:

a) innovation and customer focus within the firm.

b) decentralization within the firm.

c) brain drain.

d) gaps between the current situation and the future goals.

e) the disinterest of line managers.

55. One challenge of Strategic HR Planning is:

a) getting employees to accept empowerment strategies.

b) decreasing job security while lowering labor costs.

c) being appropriately reactive to problems in the firm and external environment.

d) building HR strategies independent of the overall business strategy of the company.

e) developing strategies that offer a firm a sustained competitive advantage.

56. Ima is focusing on recruiting qualified employees for her growing company,

reviewing benefit plans in order to offer competitive compensation packages, and is

generally very involved with a number of urgent HR needs and “fire fighting.” Ima is

facing the strategic HR planning challenge of:

a) reinforcing the overall business strategy with her HR strategies.

b) excessive concentration on day-to-day problems.

c) coping with the external environment.

d) securing management commitment to her HR strategies.

e) none of the above

57. The challenges inherent in Strategic HR Planning include:

a) identifying HR constraints and limitations.

b) creating common bonds.

c) developing HR strategies suited to unique organizational features.

d) explicating company goals.

e) all of the above

58. Town House Publishing is implementing a new HR strategy, and to give it the best chance of succeeding, the HR department should:

a) increase diversity in the environment.

b) ensure managers’ commitment to the strategy.

c) create a back-up strategy to implement in case the initial strategy fails.

d) centralize management in order to communicate more effectively with employees.

e) maximize efforts to control day-to-day problems.

59. The acid test for an HR strategic plan is:

a) management’s commitment to it.

b) whether it makes a practical difference for the company.

c) how people oriented it is.

d) if it provides fast solutions.

e) if it is an emergent strategy rather than an intended strategy.

60. Intended strategies are _______ as opposed to emergent strategies, which are _______.

a) proactive / reactive

b) spontaneous / planned

c) fuzzy / detailed

d) based on company politics / based on company environment

e) necessary in large companies / necessary in smaller companies

61. Emergent strategies generally:

a) evolve and change as needs arise.

b) involve only portions of an organization.

c) are proactive and well developed in advance.

d) encourage strong leadership within a firm.

e) are less beneficial to a small company.

62. Working on his HR strategic plan, Jose is thinking about whether to recommend

specific job descriptions or broad job classes, and detailed or loose work

planning. Jose is considering the HR strategic choice related to:

a) performance appraisals.

b) training and development.

c) staffing.

d) work flows.

e) employee compensation.

63. If a firm is working on its strategic HR choices in the staffing area, it would be

looking at decisions about:

a) imposing a hiring freeze to avoid laying off workers.

b) developing an appraisal system that invites participation by multiple employee

groups.

c) empowering supervisors to make hiring decisions.

d) detailed work planning.

e) deciding whether to hire high wage people or train people internally.

64. When considering HR strategies regarding employee separations, managers must

consider:

a) whether to use layoffs or voluntary inducements to downsize a firm.

b) whether to empower supervisors to make hiring decisions.

c) whether to encourage decentralization or centralization of the firm to better enhance employee relations.

d) whether to compensate long-term employees more than recent hires.

e) whether to create rigid job descriptions in order to keep the responsibilities of

managers and their subordinates from becoming interrelated.

65. When developing performance appraisals, a firm needs to make strategic HR choices

concerning:

a) how data will be used in job descriptions.

b) training and career development for those whose job performance is substandard.

c) the quality of work that an employee must exhibit in order to maintain his or her

employment.

d) which kind of appraisal system (customized or general) will work best for the

organization.

e) how to maintain the privacy of managers and employees while collecting data

regarding their job performance.

66. 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:

a) work flows.

b) performance appraisal.

c) employee rights.

d) employee and/or labor relations.

e) employee separations.

67. Candles, Inc. is currently evaluating the _______ they give their employees, including stock options, benefit packages, and raises based on performance.

a) employee rights

b) compensation

c) worker awards

d) salary

e) kudos

68. Timberlake Corporation is reconsidering recent choices regarding employee and labor

relations, including:

a) the strong “top-down” communication from managers to subordinates.

b) the discipline policy regarding Internet use at work.

c) a policy that tends to protect employees’ interests over those of the employer.

d) the new on-the-job training for incoming employees.

e) compensation of managers versus compensation of lower-level employees.

69. Which of the following is NOT a key strategic HR choice when working with

international management in a business?

a) Establishing a repatriation agreement with each employee going abroad versus

avoiding any commitment to expatriates.

b) Sending expatriates abroad to manage foreign subsidiaries versus hiring local

people to manage them.

c) Establishing travel packages and benefits to those who will be expatriated versus

making other compensation changes.

d) Creating a common company culture to reduce inter-country cultural differences

versus allowing foreign subsidiaries to adapt to local cultures.

e) Establishing company policies that must be followed in all subsidiaries versus

decentralizing policy formulation so that each local office can develop its own.

70. The relative contribution of an HR strategy to an organization’s performance

increases:

a) the less it fits the external environment.

b) to the degree that it increases bottom-line profitability, regardless of the cost to

labor.

c) if the HR strategy is distinct from the firm’s business strategies.

d) the more HR strategies are independent of each other.

e) the more HR strategy fits the uniqueness of the organization.

71. Which of the following is NOT critically important when determining which HR

strategies will positively impact a firm’s performance?

a) organizational capabilities.

b) organizational strategies.

c) organizational characteristics.

d) environment.

e) overall cost leadership strategy.

72. For an HR strategic plan to fit with organizational strategies, it needs to align with:

a) individual employees’ personal goals.

b) its use of technology.

c) work flows used by the organization.

d) the firm’s corporate and business unit strategies.

e) the company’s international management plans.

73. An evolutionary corporation would most likely display which of the following

characteristics?

a) It would be a mixture of several different industrial firms.

b) It would exhibit strong managerial control over employees.

c) It would be very decentralized and flexible.

d) It would emphasize long-term career development among employees.

e) It would emphasize moral commitment.

74. Which of the following HR strategies best fits a firm with an overall cost leadership business strategy?

a) emphasis on innovation and flexibility.

b) external recruitment.

c) performance appraisal as a control device.

d) broad job classifications.

e) all of the above

75. A firm’s differentiation business strategy refers to:

a) employee satisfaction.

b) the defender’s strategy.

c) cost effectiveness of production.

d) the creation of a unique product or service.

e) the emphasis of the focus strategy.