Business Acumen

Question 1

Global Value Chain

Answer 1

Multiple organizations producing parts of a good or service across geographical regions. More integrated than a business model that outsources.

Question 2

HR’s role in Value Chains

Answer 2

• quality and availability of “pivotal talent pools,” those employees whose skills are critical to the organization’s strategy
• HR protects value when it manages labor supply to support optimal productivity
• enhances value through its leader and performance development processes
• It can add value when it acquires strategically important new areas of talent

Question 3

Product Life Cycle

Answer 3

• Introduction- develop a value prop
• Growth- creating processes that will increase efficiency without stifling innovation
• Maturity- Profit margins narrow, efficiency becomes more important. Greater formalization/bureaucracy
• Renewal/No growth/Decline

Question 4

Product Life Cycle impact on HR Strategy

Answer 4

Introduction:
- Talent acquisition, define & create culture, control HR risks

Growth:
- Talent acquisition or development, increase in complexity of structures & policies. Support leadership in redefining roles, formalization of job descriptions, change management

Maturity:
- Retain workforce, stabilize leadership through succession planning, policy implementation, communicate & reinforce culture, improving comm channels, ensuring formalization does not negatively impact agility & innovation

Renewal/No growth/Decline:
- Reduction in staff, increased turnover, balancing job responsibilities, change management

Question 5

4 Ways to use the Balanced Scorecard

Answer 5

Translating the Vision
Communicating and Linking
Business Planning
Feedback and Learning

Question 6

Applications of Predictive Analytics in HR

Answer 6

• Identifying objective performance and engagement metrics, used to identify top-performing employees, and culture fit
• Facilitating retention and succession planning, by tracking success indicators and factors that might point to potential flight risks
• Enhancing talent acquisition processes by identifying the best hiring sources and potential future high-performing employees and helping to determine the effectiveness of diversification efforts
• Improving the chances of fraud detection through pattern recognition

Question 7

Budgeting Methods

Answer 7

Incremental/Line item- uses past budget as basis for next budget. Increases/decreases line items by set percentage

Zero-based- objectives and operations are ranked by priority and funds distributed in order. Time intensive but reduces waste

Activity-based- Funding allocated based on strategic significance of activities

Formula-based- units receive a percentage of the budget

Question 8

HR Budget includes

Answer 8

Overhead costs
One-time project costs
Operational costs (Talent Acquisition, Training & Development, Compensation & Benefits, Employee and Labour Relations, Health & Safety, Information Technology, Planning, Philanthropy)

Question 9

Elements of a Business Case

Answer 9

Executive Summary
Recommended Solution
Risks & Opportunities
Estimated costs & timeframe

Question 9

Balance Sheet Equation

Answer 9

Assets= Liabilities + Equity
Equity= Assets-Liabilities
Indicator of Orgs health. picture of the financial position at a particular time

Question 10

Income Statement Equation

Answer 10

Net Income= Revenues-Expenses
(aka P&L)
Compares revenues, expenses, and profits over a specific period of time; usually a quarter or a year

Question 10

Cash Flow Statement

Answer 10

illustrates effect of all organizations activities- activities that consume value and produce value.
- Operations
- Investing
- Financing

Question 11

Nonfinancial Performance Measures

Answer 11

• Market Share
• Social Responsibility
• Efficiency
• Activity ratios, which measure the efficiency with which resources are used to generate profit (examples include number of inventory turns in a period, average age of inventory, average collection and payment period, and asset turnover).
• Employee retention and job satisfaction ratings.
• Employee engagement.
• Market position, which might include the following factors:
  Reputation among investors, consumers, governments, and political groups.
  Level of brand awareness among consumers.
  Recognizable employer brand (useful in recruiting and hiring).
  Reputation for quality, customer relations, and innovation.

Question 12

Sales Pipeline

Answer 12

Identify leads
Gather information
Create proposal
Negotiate
Close Sale
Monitor

Question 13

Business Documents

Answer 13

Business Plan
Strategic Plan
Organizational chart
SOP’s
Grants
Contracts
Business Continuity plans