CHAPTER 1 REVIEW QUESTIONS

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An issue to think about:

The field of human resources management is at a crossroads. On one road, critics are saying that managers should manage their own employees, and common services like benefits administration should be outsourced to companies specializing in this area. The other route? People advocating the other road say that the management of human resources is too critical to the success of the organization to be left to amateurs. Certified professionals who are experts in change management and attitude restructuring, etc., should be hired to manage this functional speciality. What do you think?

Multiple Choice

Choose the letter of the word or phrase that best completes each statement.

 

  1. The key to a firm's success is based on establishing a set of

a. HR courses.
b. HR procedures on outsourcing.
c. core competencies.
d. behavioral sciences.



 

  1. The following criteria highlight the importance of people and show the closeness of HRM to strategic management, EXCEPT FOR

a. certification.
b. value.
c. rare.
d. difficult to imitate.
e. organized.




 

  1. People are a source of competitive advantage when their skills, knowledge, and abilities are not equally available to the

a. human resources department.
b. organization.
c. company.
d. competition.



 

  1. People are a source of competitive advantage of the company when they improve the

a. decertification of the company.
b. efficiency or effectiveness of their operation.
c. competition budget.
d. insourcing of products.



 

  1. To compete in the 21st century, the focus of HRM will be on the need to

a. develop a production plan.
b. rationalize scientific management principles.
c. utilize the Hawthorne studies.
d. develop a skilled and flexible workforce.



 

  1. When managers talk about "going global," they have to balance a complicated set of issues related to different geographies, cultures, laws, and

a. scientific management principles.
b. business practices.
c. value analysis.
d.domestic certification.



 

  1. One recent survey found that the most frequent uses of information technology for HRM include the following, EXCEPT FOR

a. maintaining competition records.
b. overseeing payroll operations.
c. handling absence and vacation records.
d. administering recruitment and training programs.



 

  1. Due to increased technology, employee responsibilities, job assignments, and work processes require

a. Hawthorne studies.
b. employee certification.
c. management changes.
d. management outsourcing.



 

  1. The idea that organizations "compete through people" highlights the fact that success increasingly depends on an organization's ability to manage

a. human capital.
b. scientific applications.
c. Hawthorne studies.
d. budgets.



 

  1. Managers must begin to develop strategies for ensuring superior knowledge, skills, and experience within their workforce to build

a. organized labour.
b. inflated human resources budgets.
c. certification of outsourcing.
d. human capital in organizations.



 

  1. When TQM initiatives do work, it is usually because managers have made major changes in their

a. philosophies and HR programs.
b. outsourcing tactics.
c. budgetary analysis.
d. competitive instincts.



 

  1. The key to an organization's product and service quality is the way in which they manage their

a. budgets.
b. outsourcing of products.
c. approach toward organized labour.
d. employees.



 

  1. A more comprehensive approach to process redesign is calledr

a. scientific management.
b. the Hawthorne studies.
c. behavioral science.
d. reengineering.



 

  1. A process that increases flexibility and lower overhead costs in areas such as maintenance, security, catering, and payroll is known as

a. scientific management.
b. HR policies.
c. outsourcing.
d. budgets.



 

  1. The attitudes, beliefs, values, and customs of a people are an integral part of their

a. culture.
b. policies.
c. procedures.
d. rules.



 

  1. Laws granting the right to equal employment opportunity, union representation if desired, a safe and healthful work environment, a pension plan, equal pay for men and women performing essentially the same job and privacy in the workplace are examples of

a. corporate culture.
b. philosophies of management.
c. collective bargaining.
d. employee rights.



 

  1. Managing people is every manager's business, and successful organizations combine the expertise of HR specialists with the

a. experience of line managers.
b. employer's rights.
c. Hawthorne studies.
d. organization's human capital.



 

  1. The major activities for which an HR manager is typically responsible include the following, EXCEPT FOR

a. line management.
b. service, advice, and counsel.
c. policy formulation and implementation.
e. employee advocacy.



 

  1. Employers can encounter costly collective bargaining proposals, threats of strike, and charges of unfair labour practices where employees are organized into

a. self-managed teams.
b. labour unions.
c. quality circles.
d. total-quality management units.



 

  1. The role of the HR department in managing people depends on effective supervisors and

a. external environmental forces.
b. global market conditions.
c. line managers.
d. scientific management principles.



 

Applications

  1. American Express has a sophisticated system that allows its customers to contact the company's customer service department free of charge, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week from any part of the world. This is the company's:

a. value system.
b. core competence.
c. corporate ethic.
d. mission.



 

  1. IBM Canada has restructured its organization to enable employees who have contact with customers to be more involved in the decision making process. This change is aimed at improving organizational efficiency. IBM is trying to:

a. achieve a competitive advantage through people.
b. apply scientific principles.
c. engage in top-down decision-making.
d. achieve circular reasoning.



 

  1. When Lou Gerstner became CEO of IBM, the company was losing market share to smaller firms that were more responsive to customers needs. Gerstner instituted organizational wide changes to confront the competition. This is an example of:

a. proactive change.
b. change management procedure.
c. competitive change.
d. reactive change.



 

  1. An Ontario hospital instituted a new patient care system requiring every individual involved in patient care, including patients themselves, to document and assess the service administered in order to improve patient care efficiency and effectiveness. This hospital is engaging in:

a. organizational change.
b. quality of working life.
c. total quality management.
d. productivity enhancements.



 

  1. To survive in very competitive environment, a major telephone company eliminated its benefits department in a cost containment initiative. A consulting firm was hired to administer the company's employee benefits program. This activity is called:

a. outsourcing.
b. contracting.
c. downsizing.
d. rightsizing.



 

True/False

Identify the following statements as True or False.

    True False
  1. Experts now argue that the key to a firm's success is based on establishing a set of core competencies.
  1. From an HRM perspective, globalization is of interest only to large firms.
  1. The globalization process impacts human resources management through the recruitment of expatriate managers.
  1. The introduction of advanced technology into an organization tends to reduce the number of jobs that require little skill and to increase the number of jobs that require considerable skill.
  1. The most central use of technology in HRM is an organization's human resource information system (HRIS).
  1. In managing change through HR applications, people often welcome change because it requires them to modify or abandon ways of working that have been successful or at least familiar to them.
  1. In regard to intellectual capital, Lief Edvinsson states that the value of knowledge management comes from application not storage.
  1. Total-quality management programs have proved to be a panacea for responding to customer needs and improving productivity.
  1. The value of human capital is intangible and cannot be managed the way organizations manage jobs, products, and technologies.
  1. According to a Deloitte & Touche survey, three-fourths of executives said their firms will be able to increase productivity over the next three to five years by focusing more on HR issues.
  1. Firms are undertaking investments in reengineering, total-quality management, intellectual capital, and technology to increase costs and decrease productivity and to maximize efficiency.
  1. In terms of cost containment, labour costs are one of the lowest expenditures of any organization, particularly in service and knowledge-intensive companies.
  1. The value of employee leasing lies in the fact that an organization can essentially maintain its working relationships but shift the administrative costs of health care, retirement, and other benefits to the vendor.
  1. Though most people still enjoy work and want to excel at it, they tend to be focused on finding routine, repetitive work and may pursue multiple careers rather than being satisfied with just "having a job."
  1. One challenge faced by HR managers today is managing the diversity of the workforce, a group composed of minorities such as women, physically challenged and visible minorities.
  1. The most secure and fastest-growing sectors of employment over the past few decades have been in those areas requiring lower levels of education.
  1. Demographic changes are changes in employee background, age, gender, and education levels.
  1. HR managers are exclusively responsible for coordinating programs and policies pertaining to people-related issues.
  1. As top executives expect HR managers to assume a broader role in overall organizational strategy, many of these managers will need to acquire a complementary set of competencies.
  1. Employees and the public at large are demanding that employers demonstrate greater social responsibility in managing their human resources.

 

Matching

Match each term with the proper definition.

Terms

a. core competencies g. knowledge workers
b. downsizing h. managing diversity
c. employee leasing i. outsourcing
d. globalization j. proactive change
e. human capital k. reactive change
f. human resources information system(HRIS) l. reengineering
m. total-quality management (TQM)

Definitions

  1. employees whose responsibilities are expanded to include a richer array of activities such as planning, decision making, and problem solving
  1. when external forces affect an organization's performance and are seldom planned
  1. represents the knowledge, skills, and capabilities of employees
  1. set of principles and practices whose core ideas include understanding customer needs, doing things right the first time, and striving for continuous improvement
  1. hiring someone outside the company to perform tasks that could be done internally
  1. integrated knowledge sets within an organization that distinguish it from its competitors and deliver value to customers
  1. being acutely aware of characteristics common to employees, while also managing these employees as individuals
  1. partnering with firms in other regions of the world and using information technologies to coordinate distant parts of their businesses
  1. change initiated by managers to take advantage of targeted opportunities
  1. the planned elimination of jobs within the organization
  1. procedures, equipment, information, people, and information management to provide purposes of control and decision making
  1. process of dismissing employees, who are then hired by a leasing company (to handle all HR-related activities), and then contracting with that company to lease back the employees
  1. the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed

 

Short Answer

1. List three characteristics of a profession.

2. Differentiate between an objective and a policy.