general business

Question 1

environmental scanning

Answer 1

in environmental scanning, the process of finding and interpreting relevant data to identify opportunities and threats in the field. Three important general business and economic environment metrics are the number of competitors, market share, and customer demographics.

Question 2

market share

Answer 2

An organization’s market share can be found by taking the total sales of the organization over a fixed period and dividing it by the total sales of all organizations in that industry. also helps to identify most powerful competitors

Question 3

pest analysis

Answer 3

This analysis is a macro-environmental analysis that looks at four external factors affecting the organization: Political, Economic, Social, and Technological.
These factors combine to create the organization’s legal and regulatory environment and help to define the rules under which the organization must operate.

Question 4

benchmarking

Answer 4

To benchmark within an industry, an organization finds the top companies in that field, determines their business processes and results, and compares those practices with its own organization: Which practices are producing the best results? How do those practices differ from our organization’s current policies? In this way, the organization can benefit from the success of others by adopting best practices from across the field.

Question 5

labor supply

Answer 5

available pool of workers

Question 6

labor force

Answer 6

The labor force refers to the number of employed and unemployed workers in a given region. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides labor force information. In a sense, labor is a business resource and also falls under the rules of supply and demand.

Question 7

social capital

Answer 7

the community’s relationship with, and attitude toward, the organization.

Question 8

title I ADA

Answer 8

applies to employers with fifteen or more employees and outlines legal protections for qualified employees with disabilities, including their legal right to reasonable accommodation in the workplace as long as it does not place an undue hardship on the
employer

Question 9

mission statement

Answer 9

focuses on the work of the organization on a day-to-day basis and answers the following questions: What do we do now? Why are we doing it? What makes us different from other companies?

Question 10

vision statement

Answer 10

vision statement focuses on the organization’s future goals and answers the following questions: What do we want to accomplish? Where do we aim to be in the future?

Question 11

values

Answer 11

Just as organizations decide on a mission statement and vision statement, they also must develop a core values statement. This tells what the organization stands for and guides standards of expected employee behavior.

Question 12

types of organizational structure

Answer 12

One type is a functional structure, in which positions are grouped according to similar job roles (defined by skill, expertise, or resources) in a hierarchical chain. This type of structure separates distinct job tasks and creates a clear line of job advancement.

A matrix structure combines elements of both functional and divisional structures. A flat structure seeks to eliminate much of the hierarchy and bureaucracy that exists in traditional companies, while a network structure outsources many key tasks to outside organizations.

divisional structure. This often applies to larger companies, and uses a department-based organizational style, where employees who work on similar projects are grouped together. The divisions may be separated by region, product type, or specific customer needs.

Question 13

after reviewing a bill

Answer 13

They can decide to simply ignore, or table, the bill. They can assign it to a subcommittee for further research, after which they (the original committee) will consider the bill again. They can move forward by reporting the bill to the House or Senate floor.

Question 14

after reviewing a bill

Answer 14

They can decide to simply ignore, or table, the bill. They can assign it to a subcommittee for further research, after which they (the original committee) will consider the bill again. They can move forward by reporting the bill to the House or Senate floor.

pocket veto

Question 15

governance

Answer 15

governance refers to how senior executives direct and control an organization.

Question 16

SOX

Answer 16

SOX established new regulations for corporate accounting and created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Some of its other major elements include auditor independence (to prevent conflict of interest) and executive responsibility for corporate financial reports (to increase overall corporate responsibility for accurate accounting).

Question 17

GRM

Answer 17

Governance and compliance are often grouped together with risk management under the term GRM (governance, risk management, compliance). Avoids redundancy in procedures

Question 18

ethical standards

Answer 18

Three ways to do so are establishing a values statement, establishing a code of conduct, and conducting HR audits. Similar to a values statement (as explained above), a code of conduct also guides employee behavior, but with greater detail. The

Question 19

organizational branding

Answer 19

An organization communicates a unified message about its identity through organizational branding. Branding weaves together an organization’s purpose, values, and strengths to give employees and customers a clear image of the organization’s character.

Question 20

business case

Answer 20

is a document that shows the reasoning behind a business change, such as initiating a new project.

Question 21

managing change

Answer 21

classic 1961 text The Planning of Change tackles this question. The book outlines three strategies for managing change: the empirical-rational strategy, the normative-reductive strategy, and the power-coercive strategy. (the power-coercive strategy would be useful for changes with clear legal or financial liabilities, such as when an organization must follow new government regulations).

Question 22

organization’s principal risks

Answer 22

generally workplace health, safety, security, and privacy.

Question 23

cba + sensitivity analysis

Answer 23

CBA usually includes a sensitivity analysis, which determines how much a change in uncertain variables will affect the CBA. This sensitivity analysis takes into account the expected conditions (what will happen if everything proceeds according to the status quo?) as well as worst-case conditions (what will happen if all possible problems arise in this situation?). analysis involves level of risk in situation. can be short term / long term

Question 24

enterprise risk mgmt

Answer 24

method of managing unknowable risks by anticipating potential risks, focusing on those with the greatest likelihood or potential impact, and planning a response strategy for when risks become realities. 4 ways to approach - reduce the effects of the risk, share it, avoid it, or accept it.

Question 25

quantitative methods

Answer 25

based on numbers, statistics, and other measurable data. Many companies prefer quantitative methods because their results seem more tangible and objective

Question 26

qualitative methods

Answer 26

based on observations, interviews and case studies. However, much can be learned from qualitative methods. For example, a quantitative analysis could answer the question, “What is our employee turnover rate?” but only a qualitative study could answer, “Why do employees leave?” or “What motivates employees to stay?” Qualitative methods are needed to give context and relevance to statistical data.

Question 27

quantitative job evaluation methods

Answer 27

Quantitative job evaluation methods use a scaling system and provide a score that indicates how valuable one job is when compared to another job. The two specific examples are the point factor method and the factor comparison method.

factor comparison - ranking of each job by each selected compensable factor and then identifies dollar values for each level of each factor to develop a pay rate for an evaluated job. It is best to use this method when wages are not frequently changed and the organization uses a flat rate of pay for each job. This method can sometimes be used as part of a labor contract.

Question 28

Reliability and Validity of Selection Tests/Tools/Methods

Answer 28

They are said to be reliable if they are free from random errors and are able to predict or measure behavior consistently.

known errors:
An interviewer who asks a candidate irrelevant questions during an interview An employer who allows candidates different amounts of time when completing a test A test that fails to measure an important attribute An interviewer who is biased when evaluating candidates

if something is reliable, it must also be valid

Question 29

validity

Answer 29

Content validity Construct validity Criterion-related validity

Content validity measures how well the tool’s subject matter covers the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a specific job. The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulate that any pre-employment test or tool must be related to the job position for which it is intended.

Construct validity determines if a screening tool effectively tests and measures the characteristic it claims to measure, such as intelligence, and that the characteristic in question is indeed important for successful performance of the job.

Evaluations with demonstrated criterion-related validity can predict how an individual will behave in the workplace based on their test scores. (hard to measure)

Question 30

Predictive validity

Answer 30

Predictive validity is a measure of whether an individual will possess the required skills, knowledge, or behavioral traits in the future.

needs positive coefficient

Question 31

Concurrent validity

Answer 31

Concurrent validity determines if an individual currently possesses the required skills, knowledge, or behavioral traits.

The test is deemed to be valid if the individuals who receive the highest scores also perform best on the job.

Question 32

VUCA

Answer 32

which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

fact, the best way to handle VUCA is to balance planning with flexibility. In areas in which the company lacks knowledge, build on the knowledge that you do have and engage in controlled experimentation to gather new data.

Question 33

corporate restructuring

Answer 33

Corporate restructuring is a broad term to describe a change in a firm’s operations, legal code, or ownership to make it more competitive by increasing productive potential and lowering costs.

(concept of offshoring)