Deck 3: Hr Planning for Alignment and Change

Question 1

You are the CEO of a financial services company that depends on the health of the stock market.The stock market takes a downturn and you are forced to initiate changes in your organization to cut costs.Your firm is undergoing _____ change.

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

Answer 1

D

Question 2

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

Answer 2

C

Question 3

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

Answer 3

E

Question 4

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 5

You dropped in on the vice president of HR to invite her for a cup of coffee,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 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 6

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 7

The last phase in the strategic 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 8

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 9

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 10

Which of the following is the likely negative consequence of solving a labor shortage by hiring people without the needed skills and training them?

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 11

The CEO of 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

Question 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

When should a company start implementing an organizational change?

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

Question 16

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 17

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 18

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 19

The term _____ refers to the efforts of firms to identify the human resource applications of the key issues posed by the changing environment,in order to align their human resources with needs resulting from those issues.

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

Question 20

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 21

In outsourcing,work that had been performed inside the company is contracted out to another company.

Question 22

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

Question 23

In offshoring,a company decides to continue to do the work itself but moves the work to another country.

Question 24

List the important elements in the external environment.

Question 25

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

Question 26

What is succession planning?

Question 27

What is the first phase in planning for strategic change?

Question 28

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

Question 29

Differentiate between radical organizational change and incremental organizational change.

Question 30

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

Question 31

Total quality management relies heavily on incremental change strategies.

Question 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

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

Question 36

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

Question 37

What are the two basic types of forecasting techniques?