Human resource planning

Question 1

What is strategic management?

Answer 1

The process of identifying and executing the organisation’s strategic plan by matching the company’s capabilities with the demands of the environment

Question 2

What is a SWOT analysis?

Answer 2

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

Question 3

What is a competitive strategy?

Answer 3

A strategy that identifies how to build and strengthen the business’s long-term competitive position in the marketplace

Question 4

What is competitive advantage?

Answer 4

Any factors that allow an organisation to differentiate its product or service from those of its competitors to increase market share.

Question 5

What is strategic human resource management?

Answer 5

Formulating and executing human resource policies and practices that produce the employee competencies and behaviours the company needs. The aim should be to produce the employee skills and behaviours that the company needs to achieve its strategic goals

Question 6

What is an HR scorecard?

Answer 6

Assigning financial and non-financial goals to the human resource management activities required for achieving the company’s strategic aims and monitoring results

Question 7

What is talent management?

Answer 7

The process of planning, recruiting, selecting, developing, managing and compensating employees

Question 8

Which phases does HR planning involve?

Answer 8

1. Situational analysis and environmental scanning (technological, market, economic forecasts, etc)
2. Forecasting demand for human resources (qualitative and quantitative methods)
3. Analysis of supply of human resources
4. Development plans for action

Question 9

What can firms do to reduce layoffs if supply exceeds demand?

Answer 9

Attrition
Demotions
Early retirement
Creation of work

Question 10

What should firms do if demand exceeds supply?

Answer 10

Training or retraining
Promotion from within
Recruitment from outside
Subcontracting
Use of part-timers or temporary workers
Use of overtime

Question 11

What is the flexible workforce approach?

Answer 11

Goal: maximise flexibility and talent

• Flexible hours
• Compressed worksheet
• Telecommuting

Question 12

Who are the contingent workers?

Answer 12

• Temporary employees
• College recruits
• Part-time employees
• Contract workers

Question 13

What is a human resource information system?

Answer 13

An integrated approach to collect, record, store, analyse and retrieve data concerning an organisation’s human resources

Question 14

What are the different types of human resource information systems?

Answer 14

1. Employee information program: sets up a database that provides basic employee information
2. Payroll application program: computes gross pay, taxes, social security and net pay
3. Benefits application program: can automate benefits record-keeping, administer various benefit programs or provide advice about benefits choices
4. Employee time management program: tracks the way each employee uses time on the job
5. Applicant tracking program: can automate some of the labor-intensive activities associated with recruiting job applicants
6. Skills inventory: keeps track of the supply of job skills in the employer’s workforce