Exam 2: Aligning HR With Strategy

In the text,Sears demonstrates that there is a link between employee behaviour and the company's performance.What two employee attitudes had the greatest significance on employee retention and behaviour toward the company?

Google established a human analytics function to study its human capital.

Almost 70 percent of Canadian organizations indicated they had difficulty recruiting quality candidates.

A resource-based view of HR involves the thinking that different strategies require different behaviours from employees,which in turn are influenced by different HR practices.

What two items does an organization match together in the human capital perspective of HRM?

Swimco Swimco is a beach- and resort-wear retailer based in Calgary,Alberta,with operations in 22 retail stores across Western Canada.In 2014,it launched its web store.It believes that everyone deserves to feel good in a swimsuit.Swimco provides a unique "fit expert" customer service that permits the store to support a customer value-pricing strategy.To achieve this strategy,the product is a unique mix-and-match swimsuit design that gives customers the ability to create a swimsuit that fits perfectly.The company also provides a real-time "live chat" that is staffed with experienced fit consultants so customers always receive quality service. ​ What is the primary reason that Swimco's HRM leadership team aligns their HR policies,practices,and philosophies with their organizational strategy?

Swimco Swimco is a beach- and resort-wear retailer based in Calgary,Alberta,with operations in 22 retail stores across Western Canada.In 2014,it launched its web store.It believes that everyone deserves to feel good in a swimsuit.Swimco provides a unique "fit expert" customer service that permits the store to support a customer value-pricing strategy.To achieve this strategy,the product is a unique mix-and-match swimsuit design that gives customers the ability to create a swimsuit that fits perfectly.The company also provides a real-time "live chat" that is staffed with experienced fit consultants so customers always receive quality service. When planning,Swimco's corporate leadership team reviewed the company's business plans not only to ensure consistency with their HR strategy but also to provide input to their strategy,based on HR strengths and weaknesses.What approach is Swimco using to link its HR processes to their strategy?

Fit is an important consideration when designing HR programs.What is it called when an organization fits its HR strategy to other functional areas?

What employee skills do employers look for if they have a differentiation strategy?

Define "strategic human resources management" and discuss some of the major elements it encompasses.

A clearly written mission statement typically increases turnover.

The advantages of an organization with effective HR practices may come from having better resources,but it also comes from making better use of these resources

Making decisions,such as how to best use human capital,is an example of a transactional activity in HR.

Ten Tree Apparel Ten Tree Apparel is a Regina-based company devoted to producing all its clothing responsibly and locally.It uses only 100 percent organic cotton and unprocessed hemp to create premium-priced contemporary clothing that is unique.Ten Tree Apparel's clothing comes with a distinctive environmental bonus.For every piece of clothing a customer purchases,Ten Tree Apparel plants ten trees.The brand believes in a social enterprise model of business that can inspire a new group of consumers to tackle environmental challenges through reforestation efforts. Why is strategic HR planning important to Ten Tree Apparel?

Traditionally,the HRM program influenced the creation of the corporate strategy.

What kind of strategy is an organization using if it attempts to pay wages slightly below industry norms?

From the human capital perspective,companies should invest in their employees.

In order to retain valuable employees,Google gave all its employees a 20 percent raise in 2010.

Swimco Swimco is a beach- and resort-wear retailer based in Calgary,Alberta,with operations in 22 retail stores across Western Canada.In 2014,it launched its web store.It believes that everyone deserves to feel good in a swimsuit.Swimco provides a unique "fit expert" customer service that permits the store to support a customer value-pricing strategy.To achieve this strategy,the product is a unique mix-and-match swimsuit design that gives customers the ability to create a swimsuit that fits perfectly.The company also provides a real-time "live chat" that is staffed with experienced fit consultants so customers always receive quality service. It is particularly important for Swimco to define and develop the behaviours necessary to achieve their organizational capabilities of innovation and customer care.What theory is Swimco applying to its strategic management?

According to the resources-based view,the less a resource can be imitated,the more it contributes to competitive advantage.