Deck 2: Strategic Training

Question 1

Development of an organizational culture that values creative thinking and analysis is characteristic of a company adopting a(n) _____ strategy.

A) concentration
B) disinvestment
C) internal growth
D) external growth

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is not one of the major business strategies discussed in the text?

A) Internal growth
B) External growth
C) Divestment
D) Product differentiation

Answer 2

D

Question 3

_____ refers to the company's decisions regarding where to find employees, how to select them, and the desired mix of employee skills and statuses.

A) Concentration strategy
B) Staffing strategy
C) External growth strategy
D) Disinvestment strategy

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Companies adopting a _____ strategy need to train employees in job-search skills and to focus on cross-training their remaining employees.

A) concentration
B) disinvestment
C) external growth
D) internal growth

Question 5

Companies that emphasize innovation and creativity are labeled as _____.

A) clubs
B) academies
C) fortresses
D) baseball teams

Question 6

A) Balanced scorecard
B) Vision
C) Mission
D) Code of conduct

Question 7

Which of the following is true with regard to SWOT analysis?

A) In a SWOT analysis, external analysis attempts to identify the company's strengths and weaknesses.
B) A SWOT analysis represents the strategy believed to be the best alternative to achieve the company goals.
C) A SWOT analysis is typically conducted in the strategic training and development initiatives step of the strategic training and development process.
D) A SWOT analysis provides a company the information needed to generate several alternative business strategies and make a strategic choice.

Question 8

The strategic training and development process begins with _____.

A) choosing strategic training and development initiatives
B) identifying the business strategy
C) developing websites for knowledge sharing
D) identifying measures or metrics

Question 9

A(n) _____ strategy focuses on new market and product development, innovation, and joint ventures.

A) disinvestment
B) privatization
C) external growth
D) internal growth

Question 10

The _____ considers four different perspectives: customer, internal, innovation and learning, and financial.

A) SWOT analysis
B) value chain analysis
C) BCG matrix
D) balanced scorecard

Question 11

A SWOT analysis is typically conducted in the _____ step of the strategic training and development process.

A) business strategy formulation and identification
B) strategic training and development initiatives
C) training and development activities
D) measures or metrics identification

Question 12

Which of the following is not one of the four major components of the balanced scorecard?

A) Customers
B) Internal business processes
C) Sustainability
D) Financial

Question 13

Which of the following is true about a learning organization?

A) A learning organization discourages learning at the group and organizational levels.
B) A learning organization restricts employees from experimenting with products and services.
C) In a learning organization, employees learn from failure and from successes.
D) In a learning organization, employees are discouraged from asking questions and admitting mistakes.

Question 14

In _____ financial and other resources are not available for development, so companies tend to rely on hiring talent from the external labor market.

A) clubs
B) fortresses
C) baseball teams
D) academies

Question 15

Business-level outcomes chosen to measure the overall value of training or learning initiatives are referred to as _____.

A) values
B) goals
C) business strategies
D) metrics

Question 16

_____ involves examining a company's operating environment to identify opportunities and threats.

A) Internal analysis
B) Gap analysis
C) External analysis
D) Pareto analysis

Question 17

The final step of the strategic training and development process involves _____.

A) choosing strategic training and development initiatives
B) identifying the business strategy
C) identifying measures or metrics
D) creating concrete training and development activities

Question 18

Which of the following positions is characterized by high value and low uniqueness?

A) Lab technician
B) Scientist
C) Secretarial staff
D) Legal adviser

Question 19

Uniqueness refers to _____.

A) employee potential to improve company effectiveness and efficiency
B) the extent to which training and learning is centralized in an organization
C) the extent to which employees are rare, specialized, and not highly available in the labor market
D) the picture of the future an organization wants to achieve

Question 20

Job-based employees are characterized by _____.

A) high value and high uniqueness
B) high value and low uniqueness
C) low value and low uniqueness
D) low value and high uniqueness

Question 21

Which of the following is true of the business-embedded (BE) learning function?

A) The BE function is customer-focused.
B) A BE training function views trainees as marketers.
C) A BE training function does not guarantee that training will improve performance.
D) Training functions organized by the BE model do not involve line managers.

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of the major "change-related" problems that need to be addressed before the implementation of new training practices?

A) Resistance to change
B) Loss of control
C) Power imbalance
D) Training-business strategy incongruence

Question 23

The CEO of a company is responsible for setting a clear direction for learning.

Question 24

Tacit knowledge developed through experience and shared through interactions between employees is easy to imitate.

Question 25

Emphasis on the creation of intellectual capital and the movement toward high-performance work systems using teams has resulted in employees performing many roles once reserved for management.

Question 26

In highly integrated businesses, training is likely to include rotating employees between jobs in different businesses.

Question 27

For companies in an unstable or recessionary business environment, training programs focus more on correcting skill deficiencies rather than preparing staff for new assignments.

Question 28

Skill-based pay systems base employees' pay on what skills they are using for their current jobs rather than the number of skills they are competent in.

Question 29

Strategic training and development initiatives vary by company depending on a company's industry, goals, resources, and capabilities.

Question 30

Line managers spend less time managing individual performance and developing employees than midlevel managers or executives do.

Question 31

Explicit knowledge is thought to have a stronger impact on helping organizations achieve a competitive advantage than tactic knowledge.

Question 32

Learning organizations emphasize that learning occurs not only at the individual employee level but also at the group and organizational levels.

Question 33

_____ relates to managers' and employees' ability to obtain and distribute valuable resources such as data, information, or money.

A) Power
B) Control
C) Vision
D) Outsourcing

Question 34

Which of the following is not one of the major reasons organizations outsource training?

A) Potential cost savings
B) Desire for greater control
C) Time savings
D) Desire to access best practices

Question 35

Which of the following is true of centralized training?

A) A centralized training function helps drive stronger alignment with business strategy.
B) Training and development programs, resources, and professionals are housed in a number of different locations.
C) A centralized training function hinders the development of a common set of metrics or scorecards.
D) A centralized training function is largely ineffective during times of change.

Question 36

Justin Mason, a product manager working in a manufacturing firm, is highly anxious about change. When the top management of Mason's firm made it mandatory for all product managers to undergo skills training, he told his superior that he would be uncomfortable with the process. He added that he was certain of not being able to cope with the new developments. In this instance, Justin is demonstrating _____.

A) indifference to change
B) uniqueness
C) resistance to change
D) loss of control

Question 37

Internal analysis involves identifying opportunities and threats.

Question 38

The first step in the strategic training and development process is to identify metrics to determine if training will be successful.

Question 39

From a strategic perspective, "diversify the learning portfolio" refers to providing strategic diversity training to enhance a company's competitive advantage.

Question 40

In learning organizations, there is an understanding that failure provides important information.

Question 41

Business process reengineering refers to the outsourcing of any business process, such as HRM, production, or training.

Question 42

Companies that adopt state-of-the-art HRM practices realize higher levels of performance than firms that do not.

Question 43

Describe the human capital requirements for fortresses, baseball teams, clubs, and academies.

Question 44

A centralized training function not only hampers the streamlining of processes but also denies the company a cost advantage in purchasing training from vendors.

Question 45

Companies should generally avoid involving unions in retraining and productivity-improvement efforts.

Question 46

Uniqueness refers to employee potential to improve company effectiveness and efficiency.

Question 47

Define balanced scorecard. What are the four perspectives it considers? Provide examples of metrics used to measure them.

Question 48

Companies pursuing an external growth strategy typically focus on human capital issues to enhance efficiency.

Question 49

Outsourcing allows a company to focus better on its business strategy by saving cost and time.

Question 50

Training for contract employees would focus on sharing expertise and team training.

Question 51

Compared to ten years ago, organizations are less focused now on creating a learning and training brand.

Question 52

Describe five strategies for marketing training to internal customers

Question 53

Explain the business-embedded learning function.

Question 54

Job-based employees are likely to receive less training than knowledge-based employees.

Question 55

How does the strategic value of jobs and their uniqueness influence how training and learning resources are invested?

Question 56

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a centralized training function?