Human Resource Management Leslie Rue 11e - Test Bank

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TRUE

Human resource planning (HRP) has been shown to positively affect the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations. The long-term success of any organization ultimately depends on having the right people in the right jobs at the right time.

TRUE

Strategic business planning seeks to identify various factors critical to the success of an organization. It also focuses on how the organization can become better positioned and equipped to compete in its industry. To accomplish this, the planning process should provide a clear statement of the organization’s mission.

FALSE

Human resource planning contributes significantly to the strategic management process by providing the means to accomplish the outcomes desired from the planning process. In essence, the human resource demands and needs are derived from the strategic and operating planning and then compared with human resource availability.

FALSE

The first challenge of HRP is to translate an organization’s plans and objectives into a timed schedule of employee requirements. Once the employee requirements have been determined, HRP must devise plans for securing the necessary employees.

FALSE

Because HRP is so closely tied to the organizational planning process, the time frames human resource plans cover should correspond with those covered by the organizational plans. Organizational plans are frequently classified as short-range (zero to two years), intermediate range (two to five years), or long-range (beyond five years).

FALSE

All managers, especially line managers, should view human resource planning as one of their most important job responsibilities. Unfortunately, this is not often the case.

TRUE

Strategy-linked HRP is based on a close working relationship between human resource staff and line managers. Human resource managers serve as consultants to line managers concerning the people-management implications of business objectives and strategies. Line managers, in turn, have a responsibility to respond to the business implications of human resource objectives and strategies.

TRUE

The objective-setting process begins at the top of the organization with a statement of mission, which defines the organization’s current and future business.

TRUE

Long-term objectives and strategies can be used to establish short-term performance objectives. Short-term performance objectives generally have a time schedule and are expressed quantitatively.

FALSE

The cascade approach is not a form of top-down planning, whereby objectives are passed down to lower levels of the organization. The idea is to involve all levels of management in the planning process.

TRUE

Changes in workforce refer not only to the workforce composition but also to its work habits. The impact of changes in technology can vary from insignificant to devastating to extremely positive. For example, consider how cell phone technology has impacted the demand for pay phone booths.

FALSE

Judgmental methods for forecasting human resource needs include managerial estimates, the Delphi technique, and scenario analysis.

FALSE

Scenario analysis involves using workforce environmental scanning data to develop alternative workforce scenarios. Benchmarking involves thoroughly examining internal practices and procedures and measuring them against the ways other successful organizations operate.

FALSE

In regression analysis, past levels of various workload indicators, such as sales, production levels, and value added, are examined for statistical relationships with staffing levels.

TRUE

Changes such as retirements can be forecasted with reasonable accuracy from information in the skills inventory. Other changes, such as transfers and promotions, can be estimated by taking into account such factors as the ages of individuals in specific jobs and the requirements of an organization.

FALSE

A layoff, as opposed to a termination, assumes it is likely that the employee will be recalled at some later date.

TRUE

One problem with many succession plans, especially informal plans and those for large organizations, is the “crowned prince” syndrome. This occurs when management considers for advancement only those who have managed to become visible to senior management.

TRUE

A major advantage of an HRIS is its potential for producing more accurate and more timely information for operating, controlling, and planning purposes than manual or payroll-based systems can produce. An HRIS also gets rid of many of the paper files human resource people and other areas of the organization maintain.

TRUE

An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet products and technologies to provide multimedia applications within organizations. The e-HRM systems are an example of an intranet.

TRUE

Software as a service (SaaS) or “on-demand software” is a relatively new approach to software delivery that involves users accessing standard business applications over the Internet.

Human resource planning (HRP), also referred to as workforce planning or personnel planning, has been defined as the process of “getting the right number of qualified people into the right job at the right time.”

The first challenge of HRP is to translate the organization’s plans and objectives into a timed schedule of employee requirements. Once the employee requirements have been determined, HRP must devise plans for securing the necessary employees.

Strategy-linked HRP is based on a close working relationship between human resource staff and line managers. Human resource managers serve as consultants to line managers concerning the people-management implications of business objectives and strategies. Line managers, in turn, have a responsibility to respond to the business implications of human resource objectives and strategies.

Organizational plans are frequently classified as short-range (zero to two years), intermediate range (two to five years), or long-range (beyond five years).

Managers often think HRP should be handled solely by human resource personnel. But HRP is not strictly a human resource function.

Organizational plans are frequently classified as short-range (zero to two years), intermediate range (two to five years), or long-range (beyond five years). Ideally, an organization prepares a plan for each of these horizons. Bravoz Autos Inc. can plan the short-range net needs for its human resource by determining the numbers and kinds of employees needed.

According to D. Quinn Mills, stage 5 companies treat human resource planning as an important and vital part of their long-term business plan. Naturally, companies at stage 5 are highly enthusiastic about HRP.

According to D. Quinn Mills, companies at stage 2 have a long-term business plan, but tend to be skeptical of HRP. At the same time, such companies do realize to some degree that human resource planning is important.

Organizational objectives, which give the organization and its members direction and purpose, should be stated in terms of expected results. The objective-setting process begins at the top of the organization with a statement of mission, which defines the organization’s current and future business. Long-term objectives and strategies are formulated based on the organization’s mission statement.

Long-term objectives and strategies are formulated based on the organization’s mission statement. These can then be used to establish short-term performance objectives. Short-term performance objectives generally have a time schedule and are expressed quantitatively. Divisional and departmental objectives are then derived from the organization’s short-term performance objectives. Establishing organizational, divisional, and departmental objectives in this manner has been called the cascade approach to objective setting.

The objective-setting process begins at the top of the organization with a statement of mission, which defines the organization’s current and future business.

Long-term objectives and strategies are formulated based on the organization’s mission statement. These can then be used to establish short-term performance objectives. Divisional and departmental objectives are then derived from the organization’s short-term performance objectives.

The cascade approach is not a form of top-down planning, whereby objectives are passed down to lower levels of the organization. The idea is to involve all levels of management in the planning process.

Under the managerial estimates method of forecasting human resource needs, managers estimate future staffing needs based primarily on past experience. These estimates can be made by top-level managers and passed down, by lower-level managers and passed up for further revision, or by some combination of upper- and lower-level managers.

With the Delphi technique, each member of a panel of experts independently estimates future demand, specifying any underlying assumptions. An intermediary then presents each expert’s forecast and assumptions to the others and allows the experts to revise their positions if they desire.

Methods for forecasting human resource needs can be either judgmentally or mathematically based. Judgmental methods include managerial estimates, the Delphi technique, and scenario analysis.

Scenario analysis involves using workforce environmental scanning data to develop alternative workforce scenarios.

Scenario analysis involves using workforce environmental scanning data to develop alternative workforce scenarios. These scenarios are developed in brainstorming sessions with line managers and human resource managers, who forecast what they think their workforce will look like five or more years into the future. Once these forecasts have been crystalized, the managers then work backward to identify key change points.

In time-series analysis, past staffing levels (instead of workload indicators) are used to project future human resource requirements. Past staffing levels are examined to isolate seasonal and cyclical variations, long-term trends, and random movements.

In a particular statistical method used to forecast human resource needs, past personnel data are examined to determine historical relationships among the number of employees in various jobs or job categories. Regression analysis or productivity ratios are then used to project either total or key group human resource requirements, and personnel ratios are used to allocate total requirements to various job categories or to estimate requirements for nonkey groups.

A management inventory often contains brief assessments of the manager’s past performance, strengths, weaknesses, and potential for advancement. In essence, a management inventory is a specialized type of skills inventory just for management.

Reclassification involves demoting an employee, downgrading job responsibilities, or a combination of the two. Usually reclassification is accompanied by a reduction in pay.

Termination results in employees being forced to leave an organization. The process of reducing the total number of employees is referred to as downsizing. There are four basic ways to downsize: (1) layoffs, (2) terminations, (3) early retirement inducements, and (4) voluntary resignation inducements.

Work sharing seeks to limit layoffs and terminations through the proportional reduction of hours among employees (i.e., all employees in a department could be cut back to 35 hours per week instead of 40).

Succession planning identifies a “talent pool” that can be developed in preparation for future responsibilities. Succession planning considers not only past performance but also the future potential of individuals.

One problem with many succession plans, especially informal plans and those for large organizations, is the “crowned prince” syndrome. This occurs when management considers for advancement only those who have managed to become visible to senior management.

A web portal is similar to an intranet except that portals enable other specific groups such as business partners, customers, or vendors to access an organization’s intranet.

A wiki is “a knowledge base developed over time by users with access to create and edit text on the site.” Web 2.0 technologies use web-based communities and hosted services such as social networking sites, blogs, and wikis.

Web 2.0 is the second generation of Internet use with a focus on user content control, online collaboration, and sharing between users. Web 2.0 technologies use web-based communities and hosted services such as social networking sites, blogs, and wikis.

Software as a service (SaaS) or “on-demand software” is a relatively new approach to software delivery that involves users accessing standard business applications over the Internet. With SaaS, software makers provide their products over the Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis, usually for a monthly subscription fee.

Managers often think HRP should be handled solely by human resource personnel. But HRP is not strictly a human resource function. The role of human resource personnel is to assist operating managers in developing their individual plans and integrating those different plans into an overall scheme. The individual managers must, however, provide the basic data on which the plan is built. The process requires a joint effort by the individual managers and human resource personnel. In general, human resource personnel provide the structure, impetus, and assistance. However, individual managers must be actively involved in the process.

All managers, especially line managers, should view human resource planning as one of their most important job responsibilities. Unfortunately, this is not often the case. Far too many managers view HRP as something to do only after everything else has been done. One of the best ways to encourage genuine cooperation between HR managers and line managers is to use strategy-linked HRP. This is based on a close working relationship between HR staff and line managers. HR managers serve as consultants to line managers concerning the people-management implications of business objectives and strategies. Line managers, in turn, have a responsibility to respond to the business implications of HR objectives and strategies. Another important ingredient is the commitment of top management, which should be evident to other managers and employees.

HRP consists of four basic steps:

1. Determining the impact of the organization’s objectives on specific organizational units.
2. Defining the skills, expertise, and total number of employees required to achieve the organizational and departmental objectives.
3. Determining the additional human resource requirements in light of the organization’s current human resources.
4. Developing action plans to meet the anticipated human resource needs.

The cascade approach is not a form of top-down planning, whereby objectives are passed down to lower levels of the organization. The idea is to involve all levels of management in the planning process. Such an approach leads to an upward and downward flow of information during planning. This also ensures that the objectives are communicated and coordinated through all levels of the organization.
When properly used, the cascade approach involves both operating managers and human resource personnel in the overall planning process.

A skills inventory consolidates information about an organization’s human resources. It provides basic information on all employees, including, in its simplest form, a list of the names, certain characteristics, and skills of employees. Because the information from a skills inventory is used as input into promotion and transfer decisions, it should contain information about each employee’s portfolio of skills, not just those relevant to the employee’s current job.
The primary advantage of a skills inventory is that it furnishes a means to quickly and accurately evaluate the skills available within the organization. In addition to helping determine promotion and transfer decisions, this information is often necessary for making other decisions, such as whether to bid on a new contract or introduce a new product. A skills inventory also aids in planning future employee training and management development programs and in recruiting and selecting new employees.

Contingent workers have the advantage of allowing the organization to easily accommodate swings in demand for human resources. Contingent workers often do not have the same benefits as permanent employees, and hence, the cost of employment can be less. Other potential advantages of using contingent employees and, specifically, temporary agencies, are that the agencies often provide both testing and training for employees before they are hired. A final potential advantage of contingent workers is that, because of their varied experiences, they can bring a new perspective to the organization.

Succession planning identifies a “talent pool” that can be developed in preparation for future responsibilities; it considers not only past performance but also the future potential of individuals. Many organizations are engaged in a process closer to replacement planning than true succession planning. The goal of replacement planning is to identify a “backup” to fill a job when it becomes vacant. The focus is on past performance and demonstrating the skills necessary to perform the job in question. In addition to considering the future potential of individuals, succession planning anticipates changing organization needs and prepares the talent pool to meet those future needs. The emphasis of succession planning is on developing people rather than naming replacements.
One problem with many succession plans, especially informal plans and those for large organizations, is the “crowned prince” syndrome. This occurs when management considers for advancement only those who have managed to become visible to senior management. A second problem with succession planning in many organizations is that it is focused on just the senior-most levels in the organizations. Organizations should identify critical positions throughout the organization and develop talent pools for each of these positions. At the same time succession planning is not necessary for all positions; but rather the most important positions, which may not always be the most obvious.

The following areas represent some specific potential applications for an HRIS:

• Clerical applications
• Applicant search expenditures
• Risk management
• Training management
• Training experiences
• Financial planning
• Turnover analysis
• Succession planning
• Flexible-benefits administration
• Compliance with government regulations
• Attendance reporting and analysis
• Accident reporting and prevention
• Strategic planning
• Human resource planning

Web 2.0 is the second generation of Internet use with a focus on user content control, online collaboration, and sharing between users. Web 2.0 technologies use Web-based communities and hosted services such as social networking sites, blogs, and wikis. Web 2.0 technologies foster sharing and collaboration, which lend themselves to numerous human resource (HR) applications. Web 2.0 technologies can be used to perform background checks and to screen job applicants by looking them up on various social networking sites. Internal blogs and social networks can be used to keep different employees, teams and other subgroups in touch. These technologies can also be used in many aspects of formal and informal training. An emerging use for HR of Web 2.0 is on the recruitment front by blogging about the organization as a great place to work.

Cloud computing is a phrase used to describe a variety of competing concepts that involve several computers connected through a real-time communication network such as the Internet. In common usage, cloud computing or in the cloud refers to software platforms and infrastructures that are sold as a service remotely via the Internet. Typically, the seller has servers that host products and services from a remote location, thus allowing end users to log onto the network without installing anything.
The major types of cloud computing services are: (1) software as a service (SaaS), (2) platform as a service (PaaS), and (3) infrastructure as a service (IaaS).