Deck 4: HR Planning for Alignment and Change

Question 1

_____________ alignment exists when the HRM system fits with all other elements of the organizational environment-the culture, strategy, technology, and so on.

A) Bi-polar
B) Longitudinal
C) Horizontal
D) Equatorial
E) Vertical

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Of the various organizational units that share responsibility for strategic planning, which unit(s) is (are) most likely to have the responsibility for workforce forecasting?

A) Departments other than HR
B) HR in conjunction with other departments
C) HR alone
D) HR and top management
E) HR and line managers

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The CEO of Black Gold Oil Exploration, Inc., has committed to opening a branch office in Argentina. Staffing the new branch will require experienced geologists, petroleum engineers and administrators from the U.S. operations who are willing to relocate to Argentina for two years, who speak Spanish and who are willing to move in three months. The vice president of HR is shocked by this staffing request, as this is the first he has learned of the Argentine endeavor, and this will be the company's first non-U.S. operation. According to your textbook, this organization has failed to _______________.

A) align business planning and HR planning
B) plan strategically
C) properly implement incremental change
D) implement continuous anticipatory change
E) engage in long-term linear planning

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Research on integration following M&As shows that the HR implications

A) are vitally important in addressing the concerns of external stakeholders
B) are centered on combining job analysis systems
C) should not be treated as an afterthought
D) have a carryover effect on human resource assessment
E) can impede additional human resource planning

Question 5

Managing human resources to support continuous learning includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Staffing
B) Training and development
C) Performance appraisals
D) Rewards
E) Needed employee behaviors

Question 6

Human resource (HR) ________________ state in quantitative or qualitative terms what is to be achieved with regard to the firm's human resources.

A) alternatives
B) forecasts
C) goals
D) objectives
E) projections

Question 7

An organizational assessment of the internal and external environments is often referred to as a(n):

A) external environmental analysis
B) short-term forecast
C) organizational analysis
D) financial audit
E) social audit

Question 8

The last phase in strategic business and HR planning for alignment and change process is ___________.

A) assessing the global and organizational environment
B) reviewing, revising, and refocusing
C) developing plans with measurements and timetables
D) specifying objectives of HR change efforts
E) implementing plans

Question 9

A _________________ organization continually finds new ways to satisfy customers and other stakeholders by skillfully integrating the resources of information, technology, and people to produce and then effectively use new knowledge.

A) radical
B) anticipatory
C) instructive
D) learning
E) dysfunctional

Question 10

_____________ alignment exists when all of the HR policies and practices that comprise the HRM system are consistent with each other and so present a coherent message to employees concerning how they should behave while at work.

A) Bi-polar
B) Longitudinal
C) Horizontal
D) Parallel
E) Vertical

Question 11

Human resource (HR) ___________ are used to assess progress against HR objectives.

A) metrics
B) forecasts
C) goals
D) models
E) projections

Question 12

The strategic plan for an organizational change:

A) is a blueprint for action
B) should include a timetable for implementation and evaluation of the change
C) should be monitored using measurement criteria
D) should consider all the possible alternative ways to proceed with the change
E) is accurately described by all of the above

Question 13

Which of the following would not be a relevant HR metric for a retail appliance store customer service operations?

A) On-time arrival of the installation technician at the customer's address
B) Prior notification of the customer of technician's arrival
C) Number of installations completed by a technician within eight hours
D) Level of customer satisfaction with technician's professionalism while onsite
E) Distance from customer's address to nearest competing retail store

Question 14

When an organization takes action in anticipation of upcoming events or early in the cycle of a new trend, it undergoes _______________ change.

A) radical
B) incremental
C) reactive
D) anticipatory
E) dysfunctional

Question 15

When organizations make major adjustments in the ways they do business, it usually creates the need for ______________ change.

A) radical
B) incremental
C) reactive
D) anticipatory
E) dysfunctional

Question 16

______________ change occurs when an organization is forced to change in response to an unanticipated event in the external or organizational environment.

A) radical
B) incremental
C) reactive
D) anticipatory
E) dysfunctional

Question 17

_____________ refers to the activities associated with scanning and assessing the environment; specifying the objectives to be achieved by HR activities, along with the measures to be used to assess the achievement of those objectives; and developing specific plans for HR policies and practices along with timetables for implementing the plans.

A) human resource replacement
B) job analysis
C) human resource implementation
D) human resource assessment
E) human resource planning

Question 18

Which of the following is a responsibility of employees in HR planning and strategic change?

A) develop a personal capacity for frequent change
B) provide input in the early phases of planning
C) participate in generating and evaluating alternative approaches to change
D) understand the planned changes and their implications
E) all of the above.

Question 19

The type of strategic change that can be planned carefully and implemented gradually is ______________ change.

A) radical anticipatory
B) incremental anticipatory
C) radical reactive
D) incremental reactive
E) dysfunctional

Question 20

Which of the following are important elements of an organization's external environment:

A) Globalization
B) Political landscape
C) Labor markets
D) Legal institutions
E) All of the above

Question 21

The top executives at a paper manufacturing plant have determined that they should restructure their workforce into self-directed teams. When should they start implementing this organizational change?

A) after all the strategic plans have been developed
B) once all resistance to change has been removed
C) as the executives are developing the strategic plan
D) once the strategy has been evaluated
E) after all legal barriers to change have been removed

Question 22

Forecasting human resource supply for specific managerial positions in the organization is referred to as:

A) labor forecasting
B) organizational charting
C) proxy planning
D) executive strategy
E) succession planning

Question 23

Cause-and-effect models:

A) are useful for explaining irrelevant external errors
B) cannot be relied on in stable competitive environments
C) are archaic forms of management tools
D) show links between specific HR practices and organizational performance metrics
E) none of the above

Question 24

The best HR metrics:

A) are accepted by managers as legitimate
B) are relatively easy to use
C) have an obvious connection to the stated business and HR objectives
D) all of the above
E) only a and c are correct

Question 25

The abbreviation "FTEs" stands for:

A) Factory trained employees
B) Former technical engineers
C) Future training estimates
D) Full-time technical employees
E) Full-time equivalent employees

Question 26

State Technical College has more than 900 employees. Every three years, the HR department at State surveys the employees, and some of the same questions are repeated each time. This practice:

A) reduces the costs for preparing the surveys.
B) keeps up the appearance of employee involvement.
C) helps reduce employee suspicion about the purpose of surveys
D) discourages employees from make socially acceptable responses
E) allows the employer to examine how employee views change over time.

Question 27

Of the various organizational units that share responsibility for strategic planning, which unit(s) is (are) most likely to have the responsibility for succession planning?

A) Departments other than HR
B) HR in conjunction with other departments
C) HR alone
D) HR and top management
E) HR and line managers

Question 28

Which of the following statements about forecasting is false?

A) When the environment is more stable, forecasting is less complex than in unstable times.
B) Quantitative (statistical) methods are by far preferable to non-quantitative methods for forecasting.
C) Forecasting involves approximations, not certainties.
D) The accuracy of information available affects the quality of the forecast
E) The longer the time horizon, the more accurate the information used for forecasting.

Question 29

You dropped in on the vice president of HR and saw a large poster tacked on her wall. It showed the key jobs in the organization with the names of the current incumbents in black. In red, it listed the names of current employees who might be used to fill vacancies in each position. As you tried to find your own name on the chart, the HR vice president quickly ushered you out of her office. What you have just seen is a(n) _____.

A) replacement chart
B) talent pool
C) succession roster
D) HR forecasting document
E) Delphi forecast

Question 30

Which of the following statements about the resistance to change is true?

A) If done correctly, organizational change will not be resisted.
B) There are only two barriers to change, fear and misunderstanding.
C) Cynicism can be avoided by implementing change frequently.
D) Fear of change usually stems from concerns about excessively heavy work loads.
E) None of the above statements about the resistance to change is true.

Question 31

When a person is responsible for implementing changes and making sure that the objectives of a change effort are met, that person is _____________.

A) being held accountable
B) being made the matrix boss
C) being enfranchised
D) being involved in strategic planning
E) being co-opted

Question 32

Which of the following is the likely negative consequence of solving a labor surplus by letting people go?

A) morale of existing employees may decrease
B) major changes of business strategy are usually required
C) compensation costs tend to be high
D) productivity will be low
E) changes in technology will be required

Question 33

As a prominent expert in the area of HR information systems, you have been invited to attend a meeting of other HR and business specialists from around the nation. You and your colleagues will take turns presenting your forecasts and assumptions to the others, making revisions as a group until a viable composite forecast emerges. You will be taking part in a(n) _____.

A) skunkworks task force
B) Oracle conference
C) Delphi meeting
D) Einstein encounter
E) creativity workshop

Question 34

Employee morale has been declining at a large pharmaceutical firm, and the HR department wants to assess employee perceptions of the organization's image. Which of the following measures could the HR team use?

A) Leadership
B) Strategic directions
C) Organizational learning
D) Compensation
E) All of the above could be chosen

Question 35

Which of the following statements about scenario planning is TRUE:

A) It involves the construction of multiple alternative views of the future.
B) It relies only judgmental forecasts.
C) It relies only on statistical forecasts.
D) It discourages proactive and anticipatory HR planning
E) It increases the chances that radical reactive changes will be required due to unexpected changes in the internal environment.

Question 36

A(n) __________________ brings together a small number of employees to discuss a specific issue in a conversation guided by a trained facilitator.

A) quality improvement circle (QIC)
B) employee involvement (EI) team
C) focus group
D) op-ed group
E) policy implementation group (PIG)

Question 37

A possible disadvantage of employee blogs is:

A) copyright violation
B) sexual harassment
C) embarrassment to the organization
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 38

An organization can use ____________ to involve employees in a planned organizational change and to get their support of the change process.

A) statistical forecasting
B) focus groups and hotlines
C) observational research
D) replacement planning
E) historical trending

Question 39

A manufacturing company has implemented an across-the-board cost-cutting strategy. The company's goal is to reduce expenses by 10 percent without sacrificing product quality. The decision was made by the company's top management without input from its employees. How are its employees likely to show their resistance to the organizational change?

A) insincere agreement
B) in-your-face defiance
C) sabotage
D) malicious compliance
E) all of the above

Question 40

To ensure that those affected by planned organizational change do support the change, an organization should:

A) let the change happen gradually without any fanfare
B) implement the change quickly and make it understood that those affected have the final say in what happens
C) involve everyone affected by the change early in the change process
D) keep communications at a minimum
E) do nothing because employees understand that change is inevitable

Question 41

Incremental change occurs when an organization is forced to change in response to some event.

Question 42

Once the objectives are clearly specified, HR plans for achieving the objectives can be developed.

Question 43

When Ford Motors stopped manufacturing its own steel and began contracting this work out to another company, it engaged in outsourcing.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT an example of incremental change?

A) A motel switches to a less expensive detergent for washing sheets and towels.
B) A national chain of coffee stores tests customer response to a new coffee drink by introducing it in a limited number of stores.
C) New owners buy an international company and take steps to cut one million dollars from its annual operating expenses over the next six months.
D) A radio station replaces its late-night deejay with a younger deejay to see if they can attract a larger listening audience.
E) All of these are examples of incremental change.

Question 45

List the important elements in the external environment.

Question 46

What is the best way to ensure that employees will accept organizational planned change?

Question 47

What is the first phase in HR planning for strategic change?

Question 48

Which of the following is a reasonable HR metric for a bread bakery to use in evaluating the performance of its bakers?

A) the cost of the ingredients in a single loaf of bread
B) the average number of loaves of bread one baker can produce in a standard eight-hour shift
C) the degree of customer satisfaction with the cleanliness of the bakery
D) the number of types of bread the bakery produces
E) the average number of customers the bakery serves on Saturday mornings

Question 49

Total quality management relies heavily on incremental change strategies.

Question 50

When Toyota, headquartered in Aichi, Japan, built its first car manufacturing plant in the U.S., it was engaging in offshoring.

Question 51

Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of line managers in HR planning, alignment, and change?

A) collaborate in the collection and interpretation of data to help assess progress.
B) systematically scan and assess the environment to establish objectives.
C) learn about effective change processes.
D) develop detailed HR objectives, plans, metrics, and timetables for strategic change.
E) act as a role model for effective learning and change.

Question 52

What is succession planning?

Question 53

One way an employee can support continuous learning in an organization is to:

A) create new knowledge.
B) apply new knowledge.
C) document what is known.
D) learn through experience.
E) all of these behaviors.

Question 54

The one basic reason that explains why people resist organizational planned change is fear.

Question 55

During the last phase of planned organizational change,

A) a human resource information system can be very helpful in collecting and disseminating information
B) create short-term wins
C) pause to reflect on process
D) monitor measures of progress
E) all of the above occur

Question 56

A study by The Conference Board found that customer-driven changes were uncommon in the manufacturing and service sectors.

Question 57

Effective human resource planning considers only long-term change and ignores short-term change.

Question 58

What are the two commonly used types of forecasting techniques?

Question 59

To be successful, planned change should always follow a standardized series of seven steps.

Question 60

Incorporating evaluation of change into the strategic plan for organizational change insures that the process will be self-correcting.

Question 61

How can a human resource information system (HRIS) facilitate an organization's evaluation of the success or failure of its change process?

Question 62

How has the focus of HR planning evolved?

Question 63

Differentiate between radical organizational change and incremental organizational change.

Question 64

What are the implications for HR practices for holding people accountable for achieving the objectives of a change?