Question 1

Executives at Hartford Clothing, a retail department store chain, want to find out what products their customers buy, when they purchase products, and what days of the week are most popular for shopping. Executives want to discover customer patterns and make predictions about their customers' buying habits. What would be the most effective tool for Hartford?

Accepted Answer

A)Data mining is "the set of activities used to find new, hidden, or unexpected patterns in data." Data mining systems use tools like statistical analysis and intelligent agents to sift through data looking for relationships. Department stores often use data mining to make predictions about their customers' shopping habits.

Question 2

Strategic human resource management means formulating and executing HR systems that produce the employee competencies and behaviors a firm needs to achieve its strategic aims.

Accepted Answer

Strategic human resource management refers to the policies and activities developed in order to produce the employee skills and behaviors needed for a firm to achieve its strategic aims. Management creates a strategic plan that implies certain workforce requirements and policies and practices to produce certain workforce skills.

Question 3

Which of the following refers to an analysis by which an organization measures where it currently stands and determines what it has to accomplish to improve its HR functions?

Accepted Answer

D)An HR audit is an analysis by which an organization measures where it currently stands and determines what it has to accomplish to improve its HR functions.

Question 4

Which of the following is a strategic planning tool that offers an overview of how each department's performance contributes to achieving the company's overall strategic goals?

Accepted Answer

C)The strategy map summarizes how each department's performance contributes to achieving the company's overall strategic goals.

Question 5

Which of the following refers to a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals to the HR management-related chain of activities required for achieving the company's strategic aims and for monitoring results?

Accepted Answer

B)The HR scorecard is a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals to the HR management-related chain of activities required for achieving the company's strategic aims and for monitoring results.

Question 6

Which term refers to software applications used to analyze and draw conclusions from HR data?

Accepted Answer

B)Employers increasingly use workforce analytics (or "talent analytics")software applications to analyze their human resources data and to draw conclusions from it. Data mining techniques are used in talent analytics software applications.

Question 7

In a brief essay, explain how the strategy map, the HR scorecard, and the digital dashboard are used in strategic human resource management.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a brief essay, explain how the...

Question 8

The use of human resource metrics is essential for ________.

Accepted Answer

D)Using concrete, quantifiable evidence that is available from human resource metrics is essential to evidence-based management. Evidence-based management involves the use of data, facts, analytics, scientific rigor, critical evaluation, and critically evaluated research/case studies to support human resource management proposals, decisions, practices, and conclusions.

Question 9

Which of the following is used to manage employee performance and to align all employees with the key objectives a firm needs to achieve its strategic goals?

Accepted Answer

B)HR scorecards are used to manage employee performance and to align all employees with the key objectives a firm needs to achieve its strategic goals. The HR scorecard process enables managers to assign financial and nonfinancial goals, monitor and assess performances, and quickly take corrective action. Benchmarking is used to make comparisons with comparable companies.

Question 10

All of the following are commonly addressed in an HR audit EXCEPT ________.

Accepted Answer

C)Although HR audits vary in scope and focus, most cover such issues as exempt and non-exempt workers, job descriptions, and benefits. Accounting expenses are less likely to be addressed in an HR audit.

Question 11

HR scorecards present managers with desktop graphs and charts of how a firm's HR strategies compare to those of other firms in the same industry.

Accepted Answer

A digital dashboard provides managers with desktop graphs and charts of where a company stands based on the metrics from the HR scorecard process. An HR scorecard is a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals or metrics to the HR management-related chain of activities required for achieving the firm's strategic aims and for monitoring results.

Question 12

An HR manager conducting an HR audit on compensation would most likely search for ________.

Accepted Answer

D)When auditing for compensation compliance, a manager is most likely ensuring that the firm is meeting all state and federal laws regarding overtime and timecards. Job descriptions, health and safety, and benefits would most likely be addressed in other types of HR audits.

Question 13

A ________ presents a manager with desktop graphs and charts that illustrate where the company stands on metrics from the HR scorecard process.

Accepted Answer

D)The digital dashboard is comprised of desktop graphs and charts that illustrate where the company stands on metrics from the HR scorecard process. A digital dashboard on a computer usually displays real-time trends for strategy map activities which enable managers to take corrective action.

Question 14

The specific human resource policies and practices used to support a firm's strategic goals are known as human resource strategies.

Accepted Answer

Human resource strategies are the policies and practices developed in order to produce personnel with the skills, competencies, and behaviors needed to achieve a firm's objectives.

Question 15

The ________ is a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals or metrics to the human resource management-related strategy-map chain of activities required for achieving the company's strategic aims.

Accepted Answer

A)The HR scorecard process is a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals or metrics to the human resource management-related strategy-map chain of activities required for achieving the company's strategic aims.

Question 16

The concise measurement system used by companies to show the quantitative standards the firm uses to measure HR activities, employee behaviors resulting from the activities, and the strategically relevant organizational outcomes of those employee behaviors is called a(n)________.

Accepted Answer

B)Managers use HR scorecards to quantify the relationships between HR activities, resulting employee behaviors, and resulting firm-wide strategic outcomes and performance. HR scorecards quantify the strategy map.

Question 17

Which of the following terms refers to the quantitative measure of a human resource management yardstick such as employee turnover or qualified applicants per position?

Accepted Answer

B)A human resource metric is the quantitative measure of a human resource management yardstick such as employee turnover, qualified applicants per position, or hours of training per employee. Such metrics are used to assess a firm's HR performance and to compare one company's HR performance with another.

Question 18

Which of the following terms refers to the process of comparing and analyzing the practices of one firm with those of a high-performing company?

Accepted Answer

A)Benchmarking refers to comparing and analyzing the practices of high-performing companies to your own in order to understand what they do that makes them better.

Question 19

Which of the following questions would LEAST likely be answered by the use of workforce analytics software?

Accepted Answer

B)Employers increasingly use workforce analytics (or "talent analytics")software applications to analyze their human resources data and discover patterns and to draw conclusions from it. Such software can help identify departmental needs, estimate future workforce requirements, and predict employee turnover. Industry-wide hiring policies are less likely to be addressed.

Question 20

Strategy maps help managers link the company's strategic plan with departmental activities.

Accepted Answer

The strategy map provides an overview of how each department's performance contributes to achieving the company's overall strategic goals. It helps the manager understand the role his or her department plays in helping to execute the company's strategic plan.

Quiz 3: Human Resource Management Strategy and Analysis