Deck 7: Cost Justifying HRIS Investments

Question 1

Using HR audit metrics to measure the effectiveness of one company's HR programs against other companies is called ______.

A) organizational enhancement
B) baseline functionality
C) benchmarking
D) risk avoidance

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Average employee contribution and employees variance in work outcomes are used for the determination of compensation levels.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

An HRIS can provide the primary infrastructure used to ______.

A) deliver HR programs
B) ensure HR regulatory compliance
C) produce the metrics that are used to evaluate HR programs
D) all of these

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The best approach to justify a new HRIS is to identify first what new software applications are included in the HRIS.

Question 5

In terms of estimating costs and benefits for a new HRIS,the critical time period is ______.

A) the first 6 months to 1 year
B) the first 2 years
C) the first 5 years
D) the first 8 to 10 years

Question 6

A preliminary estimate of the CBA of an HRIS investment should

A) be calculated when the HRIS actual implementation begins
B) be presented to senior management before beginning detailed work on the project
C) be based on the reputation of the HRIS vendor
D) all of these

Question 7

Packaging your CBA for decision makers should be done on a single page.

Question 8

Indirect costs for implementing a new HRIS application in training would include lost productivity during conversion to new system.

Question 9

Indirect benefits are difficult to quantify because

A) their occurrence may be less certain
B) indirect revenue enhancements result from direct benefits
C) their dollar value cannot be determined
D) the HRIS does not contain the necessary data

Question 10

Which of the following guidelines should not be a guideline for a successful HRIS CBA?

A) The objective is improving effectiveness of the HR department.
B) Focus on functionality, not products.
C) Develop the best estimate possible.
D) Know your business.

Question 11

Time saved by the implementation of an HRIS a direct cost reduction.

Question 12

HRIS functionality refers to

A) the ability of the HRIS to function in a cost-effective manner.
B) the number of HR programs that are operational in the HRIS
C) the benefits derived from a CBA analysis
D) how well the HRIS is integrated with other IT applications (e.g., the marketing IS)

Question 13

Investment analyses for an HRIS are based the following information:

A) sources of costs and benefits, cost of obtaining financing, and the time when the organization will incur each cost
B) the time when the organization will incur each cost, the availability of the new HRIS software, and the cost of obtaining financing
C) an estimated dollar value for each cost and benefit, the availability of the new HRIS software, and sources of costs and benefits
D) the time when the organization will incur each cost, sources of costs and benefits, and an estimated dollar value for each cost and benefit

Question 14

An HRIS CBA that includes an extensive analysis of costs matched with a single source of benefits (e.g.,an estimate of direct cost reductions)is a common problem in justifying the purchase of a new HRIS.

Question 15

Direct costs for implementing a new HRIS application in training would include reduced absenteeism.

Question 16

The total cost of an HRIS implementation will be driven by number of employees in the organization.

Question 17

To use an organizational enhancement approach for the justification of new HRIS,one must use ______.

A) benchmarking on HR audit metrics
B) the savings from self-service employee portals as the major savings
C) the savings from decreasing the number of HR employees needed to process the HRM
D) employee information
E) a cost-benefit analysis

Question 18

Basing the justification of a new HRIS system or upgrade on compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)regulations is an example of ______.

A) the integration of the HR and legal departments
B) an organization enhancement justification
C) a risk avoidance justification
D) a compliance justification

Question 19

A CBA is a comparison of the projected costs and benefits associated with an HRIS investment.

Question 20

Internal assessment for estimating indirect benefit magnitude provides the most precise estimates of the baseline costs and current performance of existing processes.

Question 21

An integrated information system is one built on common platforms that permit single instances of data to be used in several applications.

Question 22

What is the difference between cost reduction and organizational enhancement as strategies for HRIS investments?

Question 23

What are some of the guidelines to a successful HRIS CBA?

Question 24

What are the three steps that should be used to construct dollar estimates of indirect benefits?

Question 25

What does the term FTE mean in doing a CBA for a new HRIS?

Question 26

What does average employee contribution (AEC)and individual employee differences (variance)in work outcomes measure in a CBA?

Question 27

Describe the internal assessment method for estimating benefit magnitude.

Question 28

What is the difference between direct and indirect benefits and costs?

Question 29

What are the three approaches for estimating benefit magnitude?

Question 30

What are the two ways HR metrics can used for benchmarking HR activities and programs?

Question 31

What are the three common problems that can occur in an HRIS CBA?