Deck 1: Establishing a Human Resource Strategy

Question 1

When making employment decisions,the employment manager of Canada Electronics,a global firm with operations in seven countries,is likely to face conflicts between organizational,employee,and societal goals.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

XYZ Company,if it employs strategic human resource management (SHRM),would attempt to link its human resource practices with its strategic needs.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Non-recognition of their foreign credentials by employers is a major employment hurdle for many new immigrants to Canada.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The individual subjectivist approach to ethics suggests that there is no absolute right or wrong.

Question 5

If Company XYZ has a commitment strategy,the management's primary focus will be achieving labour efficiencies and controlling labour costs.

Question 6

The appointment of a knowledge-manager within an organization is an example of an organization's attempt to preserve its human capital.

Question 7

Allowing a staffing (or employment)manager to make the final decision on hiring from minority communities is an example of line authority.

Question 8

Productivity is the ratio of an organization's total production to its total workforce.

Question 9

Paternalistic human resource strategy aims for continuity in production.

Question 10

Strategic human resource management is solely concerned with the task of providing an organization with an effective workforce.

Question 11

Tests and interviews employed by Maple Leaf Grocers when selecting its cashiers are examples of selection criteria.

Question 12

Generation Y or "echo boomers" are more trusting of organizations compared to boomers.

Question 13

A strategy is formulated after looking at an organization's strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.

Question 14

Staffing begins with the recruitment of suitable candidates for actual or planned job vacancies.

Question 15

Equifinality refers to the notion that a typical organization has many final goals or stakeholders.

Question 16

Available research indicates that telecommuting results in greater employee stress,which in turn reduces their productivity.

Question 17

An organization's mission statement specifies who the company is and where it is headed.

Question 18

Mathematical skills of a typical Canadian student are higher than his or her counterpart in Asia.

Question 19

In today's world,knowledge of termination procedures is not as critical as the ability to recruit the right candidates.

Question 20

Examples of strategies include decisions to compete in specific product market segments and to diversify,but do not include decisions about closing down operations.

Question 21

Which of the following is/are not key steps in staffing?

A)Human resource planning
B)Performance management
C)Selection
D)Deployment
E)A and D

Question 22

Benefit(s)of an effective staffing system at the individual employee level is/are:

A)clearer performance standards
B)focused career development
C)reduced need for training
D)A and B
E)B and C

Question 23

When the employment manager in Canada Engineering Contractors is given the power to hire people from minority communities to meet an organization's employment equity objectives,this reflects the manager's:

A)Staff authority
B)Line authority
C)Hiring authority
D)Functional authority
E)Delegated authority

Question 24

Organizations such as Scotia Bank,Dofasco,3M,and Walt Disney,known for their strong cultures,primarily use which practices to foster these cultures?

A)Reward
B)Strategic planning
C)Environmental scanning
D)Socialization
E)Quality assessment

Question 25

The ethical philosophy that embraces the position "what is good or bad depends essentially on the culture of the surrounding society" is best termed as which approach?

A)Universalist
B)Culturalist
C)Exceptionist
D)Situational
E)Individual cultural subjectivist

Question 26

Calvin Klein's emphasis on selling fashion apparel illustrates which strategy?

A)Cost leadership
B)Product differentiation
C)Focus
D)Market penetration
E)Diversification

Question 27

Close monitoring of employee behaviours is most likely to occur in an organization that employs which strategy of human resource management?

A)Commitment
B)Compliance
C)Paternalistic
D)Collaborative
E)A and D

Question 28

Which strategy of human resource management relies on highly skilled contract labour to supply the needed specialized skills?

A)Commitment
B)Compliance
C)Paternalistic
D)Collaborative
E)Contingent

Question 29

Which of the following are considered key competencies for employment managers?

A)Business mastery
B)Statistical proficiency
C)Personal credibility
D)A and C
E)All of the above

Question 30

Which of the following statements is/are true?

A)A differentiation strategy requires broad employee skills.
B)A cost leadership strategy requires moderate employee skills.
C)A focus strategy requires predictable,repetitive employee behaviours.
D)A and B statements are true.
E)All of the above statements are true.

Question 31

Which of the following assumptions,is/are incorrect in the context of selection procedures as they relate to minority communities?

A)A weak handshake reflects poor character
B)A job applicant who does not look you in the eye is not trustworthy
C)A woman applicant who does not offer to shake hands with you will not be able to work in a team setting in your organization
D)A and B
E)All of the above

Question 32

Orientation to familiarize the employee to an organization and its culture is best thought of as part of which of the following?

A)Human resource planning
B)Recruitment
C)Deployment
D)Job preview
E)Outplacement

Question 33

Which of the following should precede human resource strategy formulation?

A)Organizational mission analysis
B)Environmental analysis
C)Employee profile analysis
D)A and B
E)All of the above

Question 34

If a toothpaste manufacturer sells whitening toothpaste aimed at the youth market,it is primarily employing which strategy?

A)Differentiation
B)Focus
C)Market penetration
D)Diversification
E)None of the above

Question 35

Focus on employee training and development is likely to be minimal in a firm that employs which strategy of human resource management?

A)Commitment
B)Compliance
C)Paternalistic
D)Collaborative
E)A and D

Question 36

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Boomers (born between 1940 and 1960)shun authority figures.
B)X-ers (born between 1960 and 1980)see abundance around them.
C)X-ers mistrust most business practices.
D)Boomers are less group-oriented.
E)None of the above statements is true.

Question 37

Strategic human resource management attempts to:

A)meet the strategic needs of an organization
B)provide an organization with an effective workforce
C)meet the needs of various constituents
D)A and B
E)all of the above

Question 38

Quantity of production and low absenteeism are best thought of as:

A)predictors
B)criteria
C)job quality indices
D)ISO quality measures
E)none of the above

Question 39

For an auto manufacturer located in Windsor,Ontario,which of the following is/are important environmental trends in the context of forming a human resource strategy?

A)Push for productivity
B)The volatile situation in the Middle East
C)Current focus on fighting terrorism
D)A and B
E)B and C

Question 40

It is estimated that approximately __ % of Canadians aged 16 or over fall in the lowest level of literacy.

A)5
B)7.5
C)10
D)20
E)30