Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Strategic human Resources Planning > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

What is strategy

A

The formulation of organizational objectives, scopes, and action plans for gaining advantage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are some positive organizational outcomes?

A

Profitability
Customer satisfaction
Employee performance
Organizational survival

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Typical events that can change strategy

A

Changing market conditions
New technology
Emerging markets
New moves of competitors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is emergent strategy

A

The plan that changes incrementally due to environmental changes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Intended strategy

A

The formulated plan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Realized strategy

A

The implemented plan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Strategy

A

A declaration of intent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Strategic intent

A

A tangible corporate goal; a pov aboutthe competitive positions a company hopes to build over a decade

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Strategic planning

A

The systematic determination of goals and the plans to achieve them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Strategy formulation

A

The entire process of conceptualizing the mission of an organization, identifying the strategy, and developing long range performance goals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Strategy implementation

A

Those activities that employees and managers of an organization undertake to enact the strategic plan, to achieve the performance goals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Objectives

A

The end , the goals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Plans

A

The product of strategy, the means to the end

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Strategic plan

A

A written statement that outlines the future goals of an organization, including long term performance goals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Policies

A

Broad guidelines to action, which establish the parameters or rules

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Discarded strategy

A

Deemed innapropriate due to changing circumstances

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

The relating of the strategic process

A
  1. Intended strategy
  2. Emergent strategy
  3. Discarded strategy
  4. Realized strategy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Corporate strategy

A

Organizational level decisions that focus on long term growth and survival

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Options within corporate strategy:

A

Restructuring
Growth
Stability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What are the restructuring strategy options?

A

Turnaround
Divestiture
Liquidation
Bankruptcy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Turnaround strategy

A

An attempt to increase the viability of an organization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Turnaround methods include:

A

Getting rid of unprofitable products
Imposing layoffs
Making the organization more efficient
Attempting to reposition it with new products

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Divestiture

A

The sale of a division or part of an organization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Liquidation

A

The termination of a business and the sale of its assets

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Bankruptcy

A

A formal procedure in which an appointed trustee in bankruptcy takes possession of a businesss assets and disposed of them in an orderly fashion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

In what ways can growth be achieved?

A

Incrementally
Internationally
Mergers and acquisitions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

How is incremental growth attained?

A

By expanding the client base, increasing products/services, changing the distribution networks, or using technology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

How can international growth be attained?

A

By seeking new customers or markets by expanding internationally

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Acquisition

A

The purchase of one company by another

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Merger

A

Two organizations combine resources and become one

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What is the effect on Hr of acquisitions and mergers?

A

They eliminate the duplication of functions, meld benefits and labour relations practices and create a common culture

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What are stability strategies

A

Maintenance strategies where companies do not wish to see their companies grow and so their strategic HRM practices remain constant.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Stability strategies can be called:

A

Status quo
Do-nothing strategies
Pause and proceed with caution
Harvest strategy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Status quo

A

Do not wish to see their companies grow; content to keep market share; doing what it has been doing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Do-nothing strategy

A

Don’t do anything different; make no change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Pause and proceed with caution

A

Temporary strategy-until environmental conditions are more favourable for growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

Harvest strategy

A

Choose to milk the investment as current profitable situation will not last forever

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Business strategy

A

The action plan for a single line of business to gain competitive advantage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Business vs. Corporate strategy

A

Each business may have its own strategy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

What is a strategic plan

A

Describes the organizations future direction, performance targets, and approaches to achieve the targets.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

What are the steps in the strategic planning process

A
  1. Establish the mission, vision and values
  2. Develop objectives
  3. analyze the external environment
  4. Identify the competitive advantage
  5. Determine the competitive position
  6. Implement the strategy
  7. Evaluate the performance
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Mission statement

A

An articulation of the purpose of the organization and the value it creates for customers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

Vision statement

A

A clear and compelling goal that serves to unite an organizations efforts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

Values

A

The basic beliefs that govern individual and group behaviour in an organization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

What are the purposes of a value statement?

A
  1. Conveys a sense of identity for employees
  2. Generates employee commitment to something greater than themselves
  3. Adds to the stability of the organization as a social system
  4. Serves as a frame of reference for employees to use to make sense of organizational activities and to use as a guide for appropriate behaviour
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

Hard objectives

A

Goals that are an expression in measurable terms of what an organization intends to achieve; include numbers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

Soft objectives

A

Goals that define the targets of social conduct for the organization and may not always be quantifiable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

How to analyze the external environment

A

Managers must be aware of threats and opportunities in the external environment
Should scan and monitor technology, laws and regulations, the economy, sociocultural factors, and changing demographics
Use this info to make reactive and proactive changes to the strategic plan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

Competitive advantage

A

The characteristics of a firm that enable it to earn higher rates of profit than its competitors by utilizing its resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
50
Q

Competitive advantage resources are:

A

Tangible assets
Intangible assets
Capabilities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
51
Q

Tangible assets

A

Organizational assets that have a substance and can be consumed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
52
Q

Intangible assets

A

Organizational assets that are not concrete, such as reputation, goodwill

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
53
Q

Capabilities

A

Collective skills, abilities, and expertise of an organization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
54
Q

Four criteria of sustained competitive advantage

A

Valuable
Rare
Inimitable
Organized

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
55
Q

Valuable

A

Are the resources and capabilities able to help generate value/reduce cost

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
56
Q

Rare

A

Are the resources and capabilities not available to competitors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
57
Q

Inimitable

A

Are the resources and capabilities hard to copy by competitors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
58
Q

Organized

A

Are the resources and capabilities able to be exploited by the firm

59
Q

Core competencies

A

Organizational resources and capabilities that serve as a firms competitive advantage. A competitively important activity that directly contributes to a company’s strategy

60
Q

Dynamic capabilities

A

Organizational capabilities to adapt and renew competencies in accordance with the changing business environment

61
Q

What is SWOT

A

Used to analyze the company’s resource capabilities and deficiencies and its market opportunities and threats in the future

62
Q

What is Swots acronym

A

Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

63
Q

Value proposition

A

A statement of the fundamental benefits of the products or services being offered in the market place

64
Q

Porters five generic competitive strategies:

A
  1. Low cost provider strategy
  2. Broad differentiation strategy
  3. Best cost provider strategy
  4. Focused on market niche strategy based on lower cost
  5. Focused or market niche strategy based on differentiation
65
Q

Strategy implementation

A

Is the process by which the strategy is put into action - sometimes called operational planning; consisting of programs, budgets and procedures

66
Q

Program

A

Outlines the steps or activities necessary to accomplish the goal

67
Q

Procedures

A

Lists the steps required to get the job done

68
Q

Benefits of strategy formulation

A 
Clarity
Coordination
Efficiency
Incentives
Adjustment to change
Career development
69
Q

Errors in strategic planning

A

Relegating the process to official planners and not involving executives and managers
Failing to use the plan as the guide to making decisions and evaluating performance
Failing to align incentives and other HR policies to the achievement of the strategy

70
Q

HRM is an umbrella term that encompasses:

A

Overarching HR philosophies
Formal HR policies
Specific HR practices

71
Q

Strategic HRM

A

Interrelated philosophies, policies, and practices that facilitate the attainment of organizational strategy

72
Q

What is the resource based view

A

Suggests that the management of resources and capabilities will lead to competitive advantage, resulting in superior performance and value creation

73
Q

A firms human resources can create sustained competitive advantage if they meet the four criteria:

A

Valuable-employees are valuable due to superior performance
Difficult for competitors to imitate-training
Rare-in terms of talent
Hard to substitute

74
Q

Typical resources in the resource based view may include?

A

Human resources
Proprietary knowledge
Reputation

75
Q

Typical capabilities in the resource-based view may include:

A

Adaptability
Flexibility
Speed of bringing new products to market

76
Q

Contingency perspective

A

Blends both the human capital and behavioural theories

Refers to the need to modify HR strategies relative to its business and organizational strategies

77
Q

Human capital

A

The collective sum of employees attributes, experience, knowledge, and commitment invested in the organization

78
Q

Three types of resources used in the production of goods and services:

A

Land
Labour(human capital)
Capital

79
Q

Human capital also includes:

A 
Knowledge
Education 
Vocational qualifications
Professional certifications
Work-related experience
Competence of an organizations employees
80
Q

Human capital roi can be calculated by

A

Total revenue-(operating expenses - total compensation costs)/total compensation costs

81
Q

The behavioural theory

A

Suggests that different Hr strategies are required to influence the diverse behaviours of employees

82
Q

What is HRs role within the behavioural theory

A

To reinforce certain behaviours via hr practices such as recruitment, selection, training, compensation, and performance

83
Q

What are the two reasons hr planning is important

A

1) employees help an organization achieve success because they are its strategic resources
2) the planning process itself results in improved goal attainment

84
Q

Risks to strategic HR planning

A

Time and energy in making decisions
Information overload potential
Impossible commitments to employees
Over concern with employee reactions
Potential job losses
Myopia developed from commitment to one strategy
Inability to see and adapt to changes developing in environment

85
Q

What is an apt cliche for organizations and planning

A

An organization that fails to plan, plans to fail

86
Q

What are three ways you can align HR strategy with business strategy

A
  1. Start with organizational strategy and then create HR strategy
  2. Start with HR competencies and then craft corporate strategies based on these competencies
  3. Do a combination of both in a form of reciprocal relationship
87
Q

An example of a corporate strategy leading to an HR strategy

A

Low cost strategy plan will need a low cost labour strategy like McDonald’s

88
Q

What is the idea behind hr competencies leading to business strategies

A

An organization cannot implement a strategy if it does not have the necessary human capital
A skills determine strategy outlook

89
Q

What are some drawbacks of competencies leading to strategy

A

Over reliance on employee capabilities
Not enough environmental analysis
Changing hr practices

90
Q

What is reciprocal interdependency

A

The fact that hr strategy influences business strategy or vice versa but he strategy should be built around the issues facing a business

91
Q

What is concurrent strategy formulation

A

Strategy development is conducted at the same time that HRM issues are considered

92
Q

What are the characteristics of an effective HRM strategy

A

External fit
Internal fit
Focus on results

93
Q

What is external fit

A

Fit hr and organizational strategies

94
Q

What is internal fit

A

Link hr programs to other functional areas

95
Q

What is focus on results

A

Results must be measured and tracked

96
Q

What is the HR program linkage

A

Hr program-> employee human capital and behaviours -> organizational strategy -> organizational outcome

97
Q

What is environmental scanning

A

Systematic monitoring of trends affecting the organization

98
Q

What is the external environment

A

Anything outside organizational boundaries that might influence an organization

99
Q

The analysis of the external environment consists of these stages:

A

Scanning
Monitoring
Forecasting
Assessing

100
Q

What are some sources of info in environmental monitoring?

A

Publications
Professional associations
Conferences/seminars
Professional consultants

101
Q

What is competitive intelligence

A

A formal approach to obtain information about competitors

102
Q

What are two important questions when it comes to competitive intelligence?

A
  1. Is the source reliable

2. What is the likelihood of the information being correct?

103
Q

What are some examples of competitive intelligence acts

A

Study competitors websites for product launches
Have employees ask suppliers about clmpetitors
Hire employees who have worked for competitors

104
Q

What are the challenges in environmental scanning?

A

Inability to accurately oredict the future
Inability To isolate what really is important to hr

Technology telecommuting outsourcing downsizing

105
Q

Isolating critical from insignificant

A

Few trends exist in isolation

For every trend there is a counter trend

106
Q

What are the major environmental factors

A 
Economic climate
Globalization
Political and regulatory context
Issues related to technology
Demographic factors
Social values and norms
107
Q

What is the economic climate

A

Anything to do with the economy that affects HR management. Like unemployment, globalization, interest rates, strength of the Canadian dollar

108
Q

What is globalization and how does it affect hr scanning

A

It is the growth in flows of trade and financial capital across borders
It affects prosperity jobs wages and social legislation

109
Q

What are the political/legislative factors of scanning

A

Provincial and federal governments influence organizations with changes to laws and regulations
Governments can influence job creation with tax incentives and job training opportunities

110
Q

What are technological factors in scanning

A

The process by which inputs from an organizations environment are transformed into outputs
Issues include:online hr functions, infor privacy, identity theft and elearning

111
Q

What are the demographic factors

A 
The study of population statistics including 
Age
Gender
Family status
Education
Economic status
Labour market
112
Q

Labour market as a demographic factor:

A

Most important demographic factor, influencing an organizations ability to implement strategy

Examples: unemployment rate, graduation rates, provincial, global regions

113
Q

What is diversity as a demographic factor

A

Increasing it in the workplace. Minority and majority have lost their meansing. Organizations need to tap into underutilized pools of highly educated minority’s groups

114
Q

What are the generational differences in demographic factors

A

Greatest trend is writing baby boomers huge impact on job vacancies and the whole structure of what will follow

115
Q

What are the social/cultural factors of environmental scanning

A

Includes all the social trends that occur regionally and nationally

116
Q

Right to privacy

A

Laws and regulations in effect, but still questions as to employers moral right to monitor employees activities

117
Q

Work life balance

A

Quality time with families while pursuing a career

Desire to have a better quality of life:elder care, child care, flextime, reduced hours, part time hours, job sharing

118
Q

Contingent workers

A

Aimed at part time, seasonal, temporary and contract workers

Issues include employee commitment, loyalty and productivity

119
Q

What are stakeholders

A

Groups of people who have vested interested in an organizations decisions. Also known as consituent group

120
Q

Stakeholders can consist of what

A 
The board of directors and senior executives
Senior management
Supervisors
Employees
Unions
121
Q

Other stakeholders include

A 
Customers
Suppliers
Governments
Regulatory agencies
The public
NGO's
Anyone who can influence or be affected by managements decision making
122
Q

What is the issues priority matrix

A

Used to determine the important trends that may affect an organization

Managers rate the trends from high to low based on:

  1. The probability of these trends actually occurring
  2. The likely impact of each of these trends on the organization
123
Q

Why is strategic HR planning important to organizations?

A

It attempts to balance between the work that needs to be done and the workforce that performs the tasks

Insufficient work and too many employees leads to inefficiencies and lower productivity

Employees may become bored and unmotivated and engage in counterproductive activities or vice versa and will compromise Ann organization to meet its goals and objectives

124
Q

What are the forecasting activity categories

A

Transaction based forecasting
Event based forecasting
Process based forecasting

125
Q

What is transaction based forecasting

A

Focused on tracking internal change instituted by the organizations managers

126
Q

What is event based forecasting

A

Is concerned with changes in the external environment

127
Q

Process based forecasting

A

Not focused on a specific internal organization even but in the flow or sequencing of several work activities

128
Q

What are the benefits of HR forecasting

A

Reduces costs of hr
Increases organizational flexibility
Ensures a close linkage to the macro business forecasting process
Ensures that organizational requirements take precedence over issues of resource constraint and scarcity

129
Q

What is human resources supply

A

The source of workers to meet demand requirements, obtained either internally or from external agencies

130
Q

What’s I human resources demand

A

The organizations projected requirements for human resources

131
Q

What are the key personnel analyses conducted by HR forecasters

A
  1. Specialist/technical/professional personnel
  2. Employment equity designated group membership
  3. Managerial and executive personnel
  4. Recruits
132
Q

What is a designated group

A

Identifiable grouped deemed to need special attention because they typically receive the most discrimination within organizations

133
Q

In Canada what are the four designated groups

A
  1. People of aboriginal descent
  2. Women
  3. Persons with disabilities
  4. Members of visible minorities
134
Q

Organizational factors affecting hr forecasting

A 
Corporate mission, strategic goals
Operational goals, production budgets
HR policies
Organizational structure, restructuring 
Worker KSAOs, competencies, expectations
HRM's level of development 
Organizational culture, climate, job satisfaction, communications
Job analysis: workforce coverage, current data
135
Q

Environmental factors affecting HR Forecasting

A 
Economic situation
Labour makers and unions
Government laws and regulations
Industry and product life cycles
Technological change
Competitor labour usage
Global market for skilled labour
Demographic changes
136
Q

Hr forecasting time horizons

A

Currents forecast-up to 1 year
Short run forecast- from 1 to 2 years
Medium-run forecast: from 2-5 years
Long run forecast: for 5 or more years

137
Q

Outcomes of forecasts

A

Prediction
Projection
Envelope

138
Q

What is prediction

A

A single numerical estimate of hr requirements associated with a specific time horizon and set of assumptions

139
Q

What is a projection

A

Incorporates several HR estimates based on a variety of assumptions

140
Q

What is the envelope term

A

An analogy in which one can easily visualize the corners of an envelope containing the upper and lower limits or bounds of the various hr projections extending into the future

141
Q

Steps in determining net HR requirements

A

Determine HR demand
Ascertain HR supply (includes internal supply and external supply) and skills inventory-personal database record on each employee
Determine NET HR requirements
Institute HR programs: HR shortage and HR surplus

142
Q

What are the two supply options in ascertaining HR supply

A
  1. Internal supply

2. external supply

143
Q

What is internal supply

A

Current memeber if the organizational workforce who can be retrained, promoted, transferred, to fill anticipated future HR requirements

144
Q

What is external supply

A

Potential employees who are currently undergoing training, working for competitiors, are elements of unions or professional associations, or are in a transitional stage, between jobs or unemployed

Strategic human Resources Planning (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions