HRM & Strategic Planning

Question 1

Human resources management

Answer 1

The process of managing human talent to achieve an organization’s objectives

Question 2

Human capital

Answer 2

The knowledge, skills, and capabilities of individuals that have economic value to an organization

Question 3

Six sigma

Answer 3

A 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

The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed

Question 5

Downsizing

Answer 5

The planned elimination of jobs

Question 6

Outsourcing

Answer 6

Contracting out work that was formerly done by employees

Question 7

Change management

Answer 7

Change management is a systematic way of bringing about and managing both organizational changes and changes on the individual level

Question 8

Globalization

Answer 8

The trend to opening up foreign markets to international trade and investment

Question 9

Corporate social responsibility

Answer 9

The responsibility of the firm to act in the best interests of the people and communities affected by its activities

Question 10

Collaborative software

Answer 10

Software that allows workers to interface and share information with one another electronically

Question 11

Knowledge workers

Answer 11

Workers whose responsibilities extend beyond the physical execution of work to include planning, decision making, and problem-solving.

Question 12

HRIS

Answer 12

A computerized system that provides current and accurate data for purposes of control and decision making

Question 13

Furloughing

Answer 13

A situation in which an organization asks or requires employees to take time off for either no pay or reduced pay

Question 14

Offshoring

Answer 14

The business practice of sending jobs to other countries

Question 15

Nearshoring

Answer 15

The process of moving jobs closer to one’s home country

Question 16

Employee Leasing

Answer 16

The process of dismissing employees who are then hired by a leasing company (which handles all HR-related activities) and contracting with that company to lease back employees

Question 17

Line managers

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Strategic Planning

Answer 18

Procedures for making decisions about the organization’s long-term goals and strategies; Strong external orientation and focusses on how the organization will position itself relative to its competitors to ensure its long-term survival, create value, and grow.

Question 19

Human resources planning (HRP)

Answer 19

The process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organization

Question 20

Strategic Human resources management (SHRM)

Answer 20

The pattern of human resources deployments and activities that enable an organization to achieve it strategic goals

Question 21

Mission

Answer 21

The basic purpose of the organization as well as the scope of its operations

Question 22

Strategic Vision

Answer 22

A statement about where the company is going and what it can become in the future; it clarifies the long-term direction of the company and its strategic intent

Question 23

Core values

Answer 23

The strong and enduring beliefs and principles that the company uses as a foundation for its decisions

Question 24

Environmental Scanning

Answer 24

The systematic monitoring of the major external forces influencing the organization, including forces in the business environment, the remote environment (external forces like technological, demographic & regulatory), and the competitive environment (e.g the firm’s customers, suppliers & competitors)

Question 25

Core capabilities

Answer 25

Integrated knowledge sets within an organization that distinguish it from its competitors and deliver value to customers

Question 26

Value creation

Answer 26

What the firm adds to a product by virtue of making it; the amount of benefits provided by the product or service once the costs of making it are subtracted

Question 27

Criteria for Sustained Competitive Advantage through People

Answer 27

The resources must be valuable; The resources must be rare; The resources must be difficult to imitate; The resources must be organized

Question 28

Cultural Audits

Answer 28

Audits of the culture and quality of work-life in an organization

Question 29

Values-based hiring

Answer 29

The process of outlining the behaviours that exemplify a firm's corporate culture and then hiring people who are a fit for them

Question 30

Quantitative Forecasting Approaches

Answer 30

Trend Analysis; Modelling, or Multiple Predictive Techniques (aka Regression)

Question 31

Trend Analysis

Answer 31

Whereby a firm's employment requirements are forecasted on the basis of some organizational index

Question 32

Qualitative Forecasting Approaches

Answer 32

Less statistical and rely on human judgment

Question 33

Management forecasts

Answer 33

The opinions (judgments) of supervisors, department managers, experts, or others knowledgeable about the organization's future employment needs

Question 34

Staffing tables

Answer 34

Graphic representation of all organizational jobs, along with the numbers of employees currently occupying those jobs and future employment requirements

Question 35

Markov analysis

Answer 35

A method for tracking the pattern of employee movements through various jobs

Question 36

Quality of fill

Answer 36

A metric designed to assess how well new hires are performing on the job

Question 37

Skill inventories

Answer 37

Files of personnel education, experience, interests, and skills that allow managers to quickly match job openings with employee backgrounds

Question 38

Replacement charts

Answer 38

Listings of current jobholders and people who are potential replacements if an opening occurs

Question 39

Succession planning

Answer 39

The process of identifying, developing, and tracking key individuals for executive positions

Question 40

Human capital readiness

Answer 40

The process of evaluating the availability of critical talent in a company and comparing it to the firm's supply

Question 41

SWOT Analysis

Answer 41

A comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for strategy formulation purposes

Question 42

Attrition

Answer 42

A natural departure of employees from organizations through quits, retirements, and deaths

Question 43

Hiring freeze

Answer 43

A practice whereby new workers are not hired as planned or workers who have left the organization are not replaced

Question 44

Termination

Answer 44

Practice initiated by an employer to separate an employee from the organization permanently

Question 45

Severance Pay

Answer 45

A lump-sum payment given to terminated employees by an employer at the time of an employer-initiated termination

Question 46

Benchmarking

Answer 46

The process of measuring one's own services and practices against the recognized leaders in order to identify areas for improvement

Question 47

Balanced Scorecard

Answer 47

A measurement framework that helps managers translate strategic goals into operational objectives across four Categories: Financial, Customer, Process/Internal, and Learning/People

Question 48

Four Categories of Balanced Scorecard

Answer 48

1. Financial, 2. Customer, 3. Process/Internal, 4. Learning/People

Question 49

Organizational capability

Answer 49

The capacity of an organization to act and change in pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage

Question 50

Six Steps of Strategic Planning

Answer 50

1. Mission, Vision and Values; 2. External Analysis; 3. Internal Analysis; 4. Formulating Strategy; 5. Strategy Implementation; 6. Evaluation and Assessment