Question 1

ISO 9000 certification is an integral component of W. Edwards Deming's quality control process.

Accepted Answer

The ISO 9000 is a family of standards related to quality (ISO 9000, 9001, 9004, and 10011). The ISO 9000 quality standards address what the company does to meet regulatory requirements and the customer's quality requirements while striving to improve customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. The standards represent an international consensus on quality management practices.

Question 2

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sets strict rules for corporate behavior and sets heavy fines and prison terms for noncompliance.

Accepted Answer

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sets strict rules for corporate behavior and sets heavy fines and prison terms for noncompliance: organizations are spending millions of dollars each year to comply with regulations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which imposes criminal penalties for corporate governing and accounting lapses, including retaliation against whistle-blowers reporting violations of Security and Exchange Commission rules.

Question 3

HR functions related to areas such as employee development, performance management, and organizational development are outsourced most frequently.

Accepted Answer

Outsourcing refers to the practice of having another company (a vendor, third party or consultant)provide services. The most commonly outsourced activities include those related to benefits administration (e.g., flexible spending accounts, health plan eligibility status), relocation, and payroll.

Question 4

Evidence-based HR provides managers with data to make decisions, instead of just relying on intuition.

Accepted Answer

Evidence-based HR requires the use of HR or workforce analytics. HR or workforce analytics refers to the practice of using quantitative methods and scientific methods to analyze data from human resource databases, corporate financial statements, employee surveys, and other data sources to make evidence-based human resource decisions and show that HR practices influence the organization's "bottom line" including profits and costs.

Question 5

Companies have historically looked at HRM as a means to contribute to profitability, quality, and other business goals through enhancing and supporting business operations.

Accepted Answer

Only recently have companies looked at HRM as a means to contribute to profitability, quality, and other business goals through enhancing and supporting business operations.

Question 6

Stakeholders of a company are shareholders, the community, customers, employees, and all of the other parties that have an interest in seeing that the company succeeds.

Accepted Answer

Stakeholders refers to shareholders, the community, customers, employees, and all of the other parties that have an interest in seeing that the company succeeds.

Question 7

The amount of time that the HRM function devotes to administrative tasks is decreasing, and its roles as a strategic business partner, change agent, and employee advocate are increasing.

Accepted Answer

The amount of time that the HRM function devotes to administrative tasks is decreasing, and its roles as a strategic business partner, change agent, and employee advocate are increasing.

Question 8

A learning organization places the highest emphasis on completion of formal employment training.

Accepted Answer

A learning organization embraces a culture of lifelong learning, enabling all employees to continually acquire and share knowledge.

Question 9

To be effective, balanced scorecards must be customized by companies to fit different market situations, products, and competitive environments.

Accepted Answer

The balanced scorecard differs from traditional measures of company performance by emphasizing that the critical indicators chosen are based on the company's business strategy and competitive demands. Companies need to customize their balanced scorecards based on different market situations, products, and competitive environments.

Question 10

Corporate cultures within companies that successfully implement TQM typically emphasize individualism, hierarchy, accountability, and profits.

Accepted Answer

There is no universal definition of quality. The major differences in its various definitions relate to whether customer, product, or manufacturing process is emphasized.

Question 11

Because the workforce is predicted to become more uniform in terms of age, ethnicity, and racial background, it is likely that one set of values will characterize all employees.

Accepted Answer

Because the workforce is predicted to become more diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, and racial background, it is unlikely that one set of values will characterize all employees.

Question 12

Cultural diversity can provide a company competitive advantage regarding problem-solving.

Accepted Answer

Managing cultural diversity involves many different activities, including creating an organizational culture that values diversity, ensuring that HRM systems are bias-free, facilitating higher career involvement of women, promoting knowledge and acceptance of cultural differences, ensuring involvement in education both within and outside the company, and dealing with employees' resistance to diversity. Managing cultural diversity can provide a competitive advantage.

Question 13

The human resource department is most likely to collaborate with other company functions on outplacement, labor law compliance, testing, and unemployment compensation.

Accepted Answer

The HR department is most likely to collaborate with other company functions on employment interviewing, performance management and discipline, and efforts to improve quality and productivity.

Question 14

The balanced scorecard should not be used to link the company's human resource management activities to the company's business strategy.

Accepted Answer

The balanced scorecard should be used to (1)link human resource management activities to the company's business strategy and (2)evaluate the extent to which the HRM function is helping the company meet its strategic objectives.

Question 15

The three product lines of HR include administrative services and transactions, business partner services, and strategic partner roles.

Accepted Answer

One way to think about the roles and responsibilities of HR departments is to consider HR as a business within the company with three product lines, namely, administrative services and transactions, business partner services and strategic partner roles.

Question 16

Companies are now more and more interested in using intangible assets and human capital as a way to gain an advantage over competitors.

Accepted Answer

Today more and more companies are interested in using intangible assets and human capital as a way to gain an advantage over competitors. A company's value includes three types of assets that are critical for the company to provide goods and services: financial assets (cash and securities), physical assets (property, plant, equipment), and intangible assets.

Question 17

Advances in technology have allowed HR services to be offered more on a self-service basis than in the past.

Accepted Answer

The availability of the Internet has decreased the HRM role in maintaining records and providing self-service to employees. Self-service refers to giving employees online access to information about HR issues such as training, benefits, compensation, and contracts; enrolling online in programs and services; and completing online attitude surveys.

Question 18

The skills and motivation of a company's internal labor force determine the need for training and development practices and the effectiveness of the company's compensation and reward systems.

Accepted Answer

The skills and motivation of a company's internal labor force are influenced by the composition of the available labor market (the external labor market). The skills and motivation of a company's internal labor force determine the need for training and development practices and the effectiveness of the company's compensation and reward systems.

Question 19

The use of alternative work arrangements which include independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract company workers is shrinking.

Accepted Answer

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that alternative work arrangements make up 11 % of total employment. One of the reasons for the growth of the use of contingent workers is because companies are adding temporary workers as the economy begins to improve but are delaying adding new permanent employees until economic growth is more stable and certain. Also, companies want to avoid going through the painful layoffs that occurred during the recession.

Question 20

The psychological contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what the company will provide to the employee in return for these contributions.

Accepted Answer

The psychological contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what the company will provide to the employee for these contributions. Unlike a sales contract, a psychological contract is not written. Today's psychological contract has shaped expectations of both the company and employees.

Quiz 1: Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage

ISO 9000 certification is an integral component of W. Edwards Deming's quality control process.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sets strict rules for corporate behavior and sets heavy fines and prison terms for noncompliance.

HR functions related to areas such as employee development, performance management, and organizational development are outsourced most frequently.

Evidence-based HR provides managers with data to make decisions, instead of just relying on intuition.

Companies have historically looked at HRM as a means to contribute to profitability, quality, and other business goals through enhancing and supporting business operations.

Stakeholders of a company are shareholders, the community, customers, employees, and all of the other parties that have an interest in seeing that the company succeeds.

The amount of time that the HRM function devotes to administrative tasks is decreasing, and its roles as a strategic business partner, change agent, and employee advocate are increasing.

A learning organization places the highest emphasis on completion of formal employment training.

To be effective, balanced scorecards must be customized by companies to fit different market situations, products, and competitive environments.

Corporate cultures within companies that successfully implement TQM typically emphasize individualism, hierarchy, accountability, and profits.

Because the workforce is predicted to become more uniform in terms of age, ethnicity, and racial background, it is likely that one set of values will characterize all employees.

Cultural diversity can provide a company competitive advantage regarding problem-solving.

The human resource department is most likely to collaborate with other company functions on outplacement, labor law compliance, testing, and unemployment compensation.

The balanced scorecard should not be used to link the company's human resource management activities to the company's business strategy.

The three product lines of HR include administrative services and transactions, business partner services, and strategic partner roles.

Companies are now more and more interested in using intangible assets and human capital as a way to gain an advantage over competitors.

Advances in technology have allowed HR services to be offered more on a self-service basis than in the past.

The skills and motivation of a company's internal labor force determine the need for training and development practices and the effectiveness of the company's compensation and reward systems.

The use of alternative work arrangements which include independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract company workers is shrinking.

The psychological contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what the company will provide to the employee in return for these contributions.