Ch. 3

Front 1

Who develops the strategy?

Back 1

Executive management team led by the CEO, president or other leader of the organization.

Front 2

What is the purpose of a business strategy?

Back 2

To clearly identify the goals to be achieved by the organization, create an implementation plan, and distribute assets and other resources needed for success.

Front 3

How do HR professionals contribute to the business strategy?

Back 3

As subject matter experts (SME) for attracting, retaining, and managing a workforce qualified to implement the strategy and achieve organizational goals.

Front 4

Strategy

Back 4

Defines an organizations goals and methods to be used in achieving those goals - strategic planning and strategic management.

Front 5

What is strategic planning?

Back 5

A systematic way of setting direction for an organization and developing tactics and operation plans to ensure its success.

It's a dynamic process.

Plan must be revisited constantly to make sure it's still viable in the faces of change within the organization and in the marketplace.

Answers 4 questions:
1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. How will we get there?
4. How will we know when we arrive?

Front 6

What happens during the preplan stage of strategic planning?

Back 6

Who will be invited to participate and at what stages in the process; time frame for completing the plan; and a determination of the tools to be used in collecting data for the plan.

Front 7

What are the results of the preplan stage of strategic planning?

Back 7

An agreement about the process to be followed, a list of those who will be involved at various stages in the process and the type of information they will be asked to provide, the timeline for completing the plan, and a list of planning tools to be used in gathering information to be used in the planning process.

Front 8

Strategy - in the preplan

Back 8

Uses the strengths of a business to its competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Front 9

Goal - in the preplan

Back 9

Describes the direction the business will take and what it will achieve.

Goals are set at the corporate and business units of the organization

Front 10

Objective - in the preplan

Back 10

Specific description of the practical steps that will be taken to achieve the business goals.

Objectives are set at the functional level of the organization.

Front 11

Environmental Scan

Back 11

Framework for collecting information to create a successful plan for future growth.

Information gathered is used to forecast future business circumstances so the organization can take advantage of the strengths and opportunities presented by the marketplace while reducing the negative impact of its weaknesses and external threats.

Front 12

When is forecasting process crucial during an environmental scan?

Back 12

When an organization is in the midst of rapid change.

Front 13

What is a SWOT Analysis?

Back 13

- Strengths - internal factors that support the organization's plans. Eg. people, machinery and equipment, technology.
- Weaknsses - internal factors that represent obstacles to the organization. Eg. poor training, old machinery, outdated technology.
- Opportunities - external factors that will aid the organization in the marketplace. Eg. economic upswings, demand for product.
- Threats - external factors that the organization must overcome or turn to an advantage are threats to its ability to achieve success. Eg. strong product competition, low unemployment, economic problems.

Developed during the environmental scan stage.

Front 14

What does an environmental scan identify?

Back 14

General Business Environment - who is hiring, what price points are selling, trends, and the culture.

Industry Practices and Developments - Changes in the industry as well as an evaluation of the competition.

Technological Advances - Streamlining practices, automation and database management.

Economic Environment - economic indicators, product positioning, and new product needs.

Changes in the labor force population - unemployment rate, availability of labor by skill set, and demographic shifts.

Legal and Regulatory Environment - compliance with new regulations

Front 15

What is a vision statement?

Back 15

Inspires the organization and informs customers and shareholders, describing what will carry the organization into the future and what it will accomplish.

Should communicate what the company does, for whom it does it, and what long-range success will look like.

Developed during the Strategy Formulation Stage.

Front 16

What is a Mission Statement?

Back 16

More specific, describes how the organization will achieve the vision.

Describes the company, what it does, where it's going, and how it's different from other organizations.

Developed during the Strategy Formulation Stage.

Generally directed at employees and should tell them where the company is headed in the mid to long term.

Front 17

What are Core Competencies?

Back 17

Parts of the organization that they do best and that set them apart from the competition.

Developed during the Strategy Formulation Stage.

Front 18

What is a Corporate Values Statement?

Back 18

Standards for how the organization will conduct business.

Should be true regardless of changes in product line or business processes.

Usually reflected in the culture.

Developed in the Strategy Formulation Stage.

Front 19

When do you create corporate goals?

Back 19

After the mission and vision statements have been completed.

Needed to describe how the organization will get there in the mid to long term..

Follows the SMART model.

Front 20

What is the SMART model?

Back 20

Specific - Goal should be descriptive enough to guide managers in developing action plans that will accomplish the goal.

Measurable - Goal must include a method for determining when it has been met.

Action-Oriented - Goals must describe the actions that will be taken.

Realistic - Goal must be high enough to challenge the organization but not so high that it's unachievable.

Time-Based - Goal must include a time frame for completion.

Front 21

What happens at the strategy implementation phase?

Back 21

Further defines the corporate goals for implantation at the business unit and functional levels.

Most short range goals developed at this stage.

Front 22

What is a tactical goal?

Back 22

Describes what will be accomplished to achieve the strategy.

Developed during strategy implementation.

Front 23

What is an action plan?

Back 23

Breaks down the tactical goal into steps to be taken by an individual, team or group to accomplish the tactical goal.

Developed during the strategy implementation.

Front 24

At what point do you develop a budget?

Back 24

After the action plans are developed.

Front 25

How do you reinforce values through corporate behavior?

Back 25

Modeling value-based behavior
Communicating successful missions (celebrating success)
Coaching employees using the mission, vision, and values as performance benchmarks.

Front 26

Why is the strategy evaluation stage is important?

Back 26

It tells the planners whether the organization is achieving the desired goals and moving the strategy forward.

Front 27

What are the common components of a human capital management plan?

Back 27

HR statement of strategic direction
Desired goals or results
Objectives
Actions Plans
Communication Plan
Measurement

Front 28

What is strategic management?

Back 28

Ensures that strategies and plans developed to meet changing customer needs are implemented and accomplished.

Includes four basic management functions: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.

Front 29

What is centralized organization?

Back 29

Decision making authority is concentrated at higher levels in the organization.

Front 30

What is a decentralized organization?

Back 30

Decision making authority is delegated to lower levels.

Front 31

What is a line function?

Back 31

Business functions which make decisions about operating needs, such as operations and sales.

Front 32

What is a staff function?

Back 32

Business functions that don't make operating decisions but advise line managers, such as human resources and finance.

Front 33

What is span of control?

Back 33

Refers to the number of employees that one manager can directly supervise.

Front 34

Directing

Back 34

Managers must establish relationships with the employees they supervise to encourage and support them in accomplishing their goals.

Front 35

Controlling

Back 35

Used by managers to ensure that the strategies, tactics and plans developed during the planning process are implemented.

Front 36

What is a strategic relationship?

Back 36

Relationship built between stakeholders and the community.

Two Types: Internal and External

Front 37

What is the first step when selecting a vendor for an organization (Business Process Outsource (BPO) or Professional Employer Organization (PEO)).

Back 37

Clearly define the services required of the provider as well as the organization's services expectations.

Front 38

Corporate Responsibility (CR)

Back 38

Business behavior that is focused on building external strategic relationships.

Front 39

When do you identify CR goals and resulting behaviors used for future decision making?

Back 39

During the strategic planning process

Front 40

Sustainability

Back 40

Behavior that doesn't deplete the resources used to achieve an outcome, includes time, labor, and finances.

Responsibility of all departments.

Front 41

Change Management

Back 41

Reengineering - simplify or eliminate unnecessary processes with the goal of increasing customer satisfaction through improvements in efficiency.

Front 42

Corporate restructuring

Back 42

looks at individual units in the organization to reduce or eliminate redundancy or bureaucratic processes in order to reduce costs and increase production.

Front 43

Workforce Expansion

Back 43

Create their own type of stress; difficult to assimilate into an existing culture and climate; clash of operating styles; can create mistrust and reduce productivity.

Front 44

Workforce Reduction
Reductions in Force (RIF)
Downsizing
Righsizing

Back 44

Used to lower expenses for short-term improvements in net profits in order to meet previously stated earnings targets for stock market analysis

Front 45

Mergers and Acquisitions

Back 45

The combining of two organizations into one; happen for different reasons and in different ways.

Merger occurs when two or more organizations are combined into a single entity with the goal of leveraging the assets of both into a more successful entity.

An acquisition occurs when one organization purchases or trades stock to gain controlling interest in another. Can be hostile; hostile takeovers are usually antagonistic and can negatively impact employee moral.