Chapter 1

Question 1

Human Capital

Answer 1

Economic value of employees’ knowledge, skills, and capabilities.

Question 2

Strategic Planning

Answer 2

Determining companies long-term goal and structuring the plan to achieve it.

Question 3

Six Sigma

Answer 3

Set of principles and practices whose core ideas include understanding customer needs, doing things right the first time, and striving for continuous improvement.

Question 4

Reengineering

Answer 4

Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed.

Question 5

Downsizing

Answer 5

Long-term plan of elimination of jobs. It includes layoffs, early retirement offers, attrition, and outsourcing

Question 6

Change Management

Answer 6

Systematic way of doing broad organizational changes while helping and guiding individual employees adapt to that change.

Question 7

Types of strategic changes

Answer 7

Reactive changes & Proactive changes

Question 8

How can companies compete globally?

Answer 8

Doing partnerships & mergers

Question 9

How is HRM affected by globalization?

Answer 9

1. HR must look at the complex problems.
2. HR must enhance understanding of different cultures, geographies, and work practices.
3. HR personnel are responsible to train international workers inclusively

Question 10

What is CSR?

Answer 10

Decision by business to conduct things in ethical manner and would also benefit the society (Following the laws, initiating charities, not throwing waste)

Question 11

What is sustainability?

Answer 11

A company’s ability to produce goods and/or services without damaging the environment and excessively depleting the resources.
Ex: reducing carbon footprints

Question 12

What is Green Human Resource Management? What are its advantages?

Answer 12

Adopting formal environmental HRM practices and implementing sustainable business practices along the way.

Question 13

What are HRIS?

Answer 13

Human Resource Information Systems: software solutions that combine human resources and information technology functions.

Question 14

Furloughing

Answer 14

Ask companies to take time off with reduced pay and/or no pay or benefits.

Question 15

Outsourcing

Answer 15

Hire outside workers or firms to do the company’s work

Question 16

Offshoring

Answer 16

shifting work to overseas location for lower-labour costs or increased skills.

Question 17

Nearshoring

Answer 17

moving jobs and offices closer to home country (not in home country) –> Like how American companies moved their factories to mexico instead of China.

Question 18

Homeshoring

Answer 18

moving jobs and offices back to the home country.

Question 19

Employee Leasing

Answer 19

Dismissing employees who are then hired by leasing companies and contracting with that company to lease back the employees.

Question 20

Millennials/generation Y

Answer 20

Particularly interested in meaningful work to improve the world around them (like mark zuckerberg)

Question 21

Generation Z

Answer 21

• Might be hesitant to pursue startups due to covid-19 pandemic
• More comfortable to work with technology and digital tools

Question 22

Generation X

Answer 22

• Values job security because they saw their parents affected by downsizing.
• Independent workers would switch companies should the opportunity be provided.

Question 23

How are labour force polarized?

Answer 23

1. Have job security and benefits
2. Does not have job security and benefits (freelancers, part-time workers)

Question 24

How are employees changing their nature towards work?

Answer 24

• Prioritizes work-life balance
• They like to have purpose & build inter-personal relation

Question 25

What are line managers?

Answer 25

Non-HR managers are responsible for overseeing the work of employees.

Question 26

What is Human Resources Management

Answer 26

The process of effectively managing talent to achieve firm’s or organization’s objectives.

Question 27

What is collaborative software?

Answer 27

Software that allows worker to work together and share information with one another electronically (google docs, google drive, etc)

Question 28

Knowledge workers

Answer 28

Workers whose responsibility extends far beyond the physical aspects of work. It includes strategic decision-making, planning, and problem-solving.

Question 29

Advantages of part-time workers

Answer 29

• Reduce payroll costs.
• Flexible to respond to fluctuations or drop in demand
• Part-time workers often are willing to work on evenings and weekends
• part-time employees allow for a bigger workforce.

Question 30

Disadvantages of part-time workers

Answer 30

• Employees lack of commitment
• Employees lack of knowledge and familiarity with the organization as a whole (less time working)
• For client-facing jobs, customers like a more personalized relationship with the workers (the same individual).
• Can affect the company’s culture and employees mental health as a whole, since people are always changing and there’s no real feeling of connection
• Turnover rate will most definitely be higher

Question 31

What is workforce (HR) analytics?

Answer 31

The process of gathering and analyzing
data to improve a firm’s human resources
management