Deck 8: Succession Management

Question 1

Which of the following would NOT be a risk that would be managed by HR professionals when considering succession management?

A) transition risk
B) vacancy risk
C) potential risk
D) readiness risk

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT considered to be one of the most common development methods?

A) special assignments
B) job rotations
C) mentoring
D) active learning

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which organization cited in the textbook has a six-hour replacement strategy if its CEO dies suddenly?

A) Target
B) Walmart
C) Apple
D) McDonalds

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What is the typical time period that succession management focuses on, beyond immediate replacements?

A) one year
B) two years
C) three years
D) ten years

Question 5

Which technique is often used by organizations to test whether high-potential employees have management potential?

A) Give them a special assignment.
B) Give them a greater workload.
C) Give them a training opportunity.
D) Give them a performance review.

Question 6

If an organization wishes to identify high-potential employees, which of the following is a typical approach that might be used?

A) replacement tables
B) replacement charts
C) permanent replacements
D) supply replacements

Question 7

In a succession/replacement chart, potential successors can be coded to indicate their availability. If an employee is coded "RD," what does this represent?

A) retention desired
B) ready with development
C) return to division
D) requires downsizing

Question 8

What are two motivational benefits of job rotation?

A) Opportunity for advancement and training.
B) Job satisfaction and job enlargement.
C) Feeling appreciated and valued.
D) Reduction of boredom and fatigue.

Question 9

According to a McKinsey study, what fraction of HR directors at top-performing companies constantly search for talented executives?

A) one tenth
B) one quarter
C) one third
D) one half

Question 10

According to the CEO of Maritime Life Insurance, what is the best indicator of whether an employee is ready for a top position?

A) education
B) intelligence
C) rotation
D) attitude

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT considered to be a downside of employee rotations?

A) Increased time spent learning new jobs.
B) Cost of errors while learning new jobs.
C) Loss of efficiency while learning new jobs.
D) Increased fatigue while learning new jobs.

Question 12

What negative consequence might result if there is a delay in naming a successor when a key executive, like a CEO, suddenly quits?

A) Decreased operating performance for up to two years.
B) Increased recruitment and selection of middle managers.
C) Decreased opportunities for management development.
D) Increased likelihood that the successor will be a family member.

Question 13

What can HR professionals do to manage the risks associated with succession management?

A) Promote a culture of talent management.
B) Encourage development only for key positions.
C) Identify historic gaps in competencies.
D) Develop successors for all organizational positions.

Question 14

According to the textbook, why do some CEOs develop a talent management culture?

A) To develop talent at the top where it is most needed.
B) To develop talent at all levels of an organization.
C) To develop talent branding more than company branding.
D) To develop talent in-house before competitors do.

Question 15

Which employee characteristic is NOT typically associated with the process of succession management?

A) skilled
B) trained
C) available
D) reliable

Question 16

According to MDS, a medical supply company, why does the company hire talent even when there are no openings available?

A) Recruitment is strategic.
B) The company can pay less.
C) The hiree can work two jobs.
D) Someone is about to be fired.

Question 17

If a board of directors brings in an outsider to lead the company, what message is it sending to the shareholders and employees?

A) That all the internal candidates are not proficient.
B) That the old way of doing things is going to change.
C) That the performance review process is inadequate.
D) That the internal candidates are all new as well.

Question 18

According to the textbook, why did many Canadian dynasties fail?

A) Because their heirs were incapable of managing the business.
B) Because they did not monitor the external environment.
C) Because they expanded too quickly into global markets.
D) Because they were unaware of anticipated mergers and acquisitions.

Question 19

What is one way that replacement planning has evolved into succession management?

A) Improving the data collection.
B) Improving the evaluation system.
C) Improving the HR supply.
D) Improving the stability of jobs.

Question 20

In flat organizations, where promotions are rare, what preferred developmental method is used?

A) job enlargement
B) job enrichment
C) job rotation
D) job sharing

Question 21

According to the textbook, what is the reason given why the majority of companies still use traditional and passive instructional techniques for management development, although they are the least effective?

A) Because these techniques are cheaper than external ones.
B) Because these techniques are fast and easy to use.
C) Because these techniques are controlled by the company.
D) Because these techniques are customized to the company.

Question 22

What is the final step in the succession management process?

A) Identify high-potential employees.
B) Identify the skills and competencies needed.
C) Monitor succession management.
D) Provide developmental opportunities and experiences.

Question 23

Why must high-potential employees be given a reason to stay within an organization?

A) Because they have fragile egos and need positive affirmation.
B) Because jobs are scarce and they need to hang onto them.
C) Because career planning effectively eliminates job searches.
D) Because competition for leadership talent is so intense.

Question 24

Traditional approaches to management development included a senior leadership course and one developmental assignment.

Question 25

According to Peter Drucker, only one quarter of organizations know who would take charge if their CEO resigned today.

Question 26

Replacement planning is the process of finding replacement employees for key managerial positions.

Question 27

What is the first step in the succession management process?

A) Identify high-potential employees.
B) Identify the skills and competencies needed.
C) Align succession management plans with strategy.
D) Provide developmental opportunities and experiences.

Question 28

If a job requires proficiency in Facebook, what is this proficiency called?

A) a competency
B) an attribute
C) a skill
D) an ability

Question 29

One way of orienting a new employee quickly is to place him or her in a new department every few weeks.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a typical lag measure used in succession management?

A) Decreased number of bosses as talent developers.
B) Increased ratio of internal to external hires in key positions.
C) Increased average number of candidates for key positions.
D) Decreased average number of positions with no successors.

Question 31

According to the textbook, what are two emerging career management concepts?

A) organizational identity; inward and political mindset
B) self-directed career responsibility; horizontal career progression
C) role of manager as coach; benefit of focusing on job security
D) loyalty to profession and family; implicit employment contract

Question 32

What two approaches are used to identify the characteristics of successful managers?

A) task-based and knowledge-based
B) job-based and competency-based
C) skill-based and curriculum-based
D) market-based and value-based

Question 33

If a contract is transactional in nature, it will list the responsibilities of each party in the employer-employee relationship.

Question 34

Which of the following is a benefit to the organization from using external coaches?

A) Collaborate with the individual and enhance personal values.
B) Promote greater focus and clarity to enhance goal achievement.
C) Reduce learning time in order to optimize skills and competencies.
D) Change attitudes and skills for long-term sustainability.

Question 35

Counselling and friendship are two benefits derived from mentorship.

Question 36

Job rotation includes both lateral and vertical moves within an organization.

Question 37

In succession management there must be a pipeline for talent for critical roles like the CEO and senior management only.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a competency identified by Catano and his colleagues?

A) knowledge competencies
B) distinctive competencies
C) role competencies
D) core competencies

Question 39

Once high-potential or star employees are discovered, it is important for an organization to communicate to them that they are valued and have leadership potential, while at the same time making commitments to their promised career progression.

Question 40

According to the textbook, about one-half of the HR managers surveyed in 2011 don't consider grooming potential leaders a high priority.

Question 41

What are the five steps in the succession management process?

Question 42

A common use of job rotation is to take a functional generalist, such as an accountant, and rotate this individual through specialist areas like HR and production in preparation for management.

Question 43

The goals of succession management programs are to identify and prepare future leaders and to ensure business growth.

Question 44

Cisco uses the 3E Model for management development, which represents Experience, Exposure and Education.

Question 45

Mentors are almost always more senior people who volunteer within an organization, while coaches are volunteers from outside the organization

Question 46

In Canada, "academy companies" include IBM, Procter and Gamble, Petro-Canada, and TD Canada Trust.

Question 47

Before considering developmental opportunities and experiences to develop managers, two main questions should be asked: "Are leaders born or made?" and "Should leaders be bought or made?"

Question 48

Peter Drucker said that "Most managers are born, not made!"

Question 49

According to the textbook, one reason to recruit externally is that CEOs recruited from the outside delivered annual returns 3.7 percent higher than insiders.

Question 50

What are THREE of the key characteristics that are critical to the perceptions of the effectiveness of succession management?

Question 51

HR should own the talent management process in order to mitigate three types of risk to the organization: vacancy risk, readiness risk, and performance risk.

Question 52

According to the textbook, one benchmarking organization suggests that effective organizations have 1.3 candidates for each key role.

Question 53

According to Frauenheim, the greatest driver of succession management programs is the retirement of critical/executive roles.

Question 54

What is the difference between succession management and replacement planning?

Question 55

There are two approaches to identifying the characteristics of a successful manager: experience-based and competency-based.

Question 56

An acceleration pool is a group of candidates for whom an organization wishes to accelerate development.

Question 57

Why is succession management so important in today's workplace?