Exam 16: Implementing HR Strategy: High-Performance Work Systems

Ron is a manager at ViviTech. He wants to explain the business needs to his employees who don't have a good sense of the big picture view of the organization's goals. One of the best ways for him to do this is to show them the gap between the organization's current performance and capabilities and where it needs to be in the future.

When ViviTech embraced a high-performance work system, supervisors saw their roles change as there were fewer layers of management and a focus on team-based organization.

One reason ViviTech has adopted a high-performance work system was to develop and harness skills, knowledge, and abilities that are not equally available to all organizations. Which of the following criteria does this describe?

High-performance work systems need to be periodically evaluated in terms of organizational priorities and initiatives.

ViviTech wants to move power downward to empower its employees. This will probably require structural change.

__________ only occurs when all the internal elements of the work system reinforce one another.

One advantage ViviTech experienced when it embraced a high-performance work system was that it was much easier to isolate a single approach to a pay system that works for everyone.

Timely and accurate communications are essential for high-performance work systems to succeed.

To help get unions on board, managers should try to create __________ situations in which all stakeholders, including unions, gain from the implementation of high-performance work systems.

With _____ layers of management and a focus on team-based organization, the role of managers and supervisors is substantially _____ in an environment of high-performance work systems.

Compensation packages are not significant for high-performance work systems (HPWSs) to succeed, as HPWSs generally focus on knowledge development and information sharing.

The gap between today and the future represents a starting point for discussion when communicating business needs to employees.

Which of the following questions would be the least likely to be asked during a process audit?

ViviTech really needs to achieve employee buy-in as it moves to a high-performance work system. Because ViviTech is unionized, a key way to do that is to involve union members after the completion of the design process and implementation plan.

ViviTech is trying to set up a high-performance work system. Management should not redesign workflow around key business processes because, while that results in a focus on employee tasks, it tends to detract from teamwork.

HR Scorecards can be used to diagnose both horizontal fit and vertical fit in a relatively straightforward way.

The new management at ViviTech has convinced the staff that switching to a high-performance work system will allow the employees greater flexibility and the ability to quickly switch to new assignments. Management is stressing the criterion of being organized.

When implementing a high-performance work system, sharing a vision of the future would be part of which step?

Knowledge development goes hand-in-hand with information sharing in high-performance work systems.

Describe how an HR Scorecard can be used by organizations implementing a high-performance work system.