Chapter 2 Practice Quiz

Front 1

_____ is a process for analyzing a company's competitive situation, developing the company's goals, and devising a plan of action and allocation of resources that will increase the likelihood of achieving those goals.

• Strategic management
• Operations management
• SWOT analysis
• Process mapping
• Personnel management

Back 1

Strategic management

Hint 1

Strategic management is more than a collection of strategic types. It is a process for analyzing a company's competitive situation, developing the company's strategic goals, and devising a plan of action and allocation of resources (human, organizational, and physical) that will increase the likelihood of achieving those goals. This kind of strategic approach should be emphasized in human resource management.

Front 2

Which of the following phases of the strategic management process consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring the presence of skilled employees, and developing reward systems?

• Strategy formulation
• Strategy evaluation
• Strategy implementation
• Strategy preparation
• Strategy analysis

Back 2

Strategy implementation

Hint 2

During strategy implementation, the organization follows through on the chosen strategy. This consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring that the firm has skilled employees in place, and developing reward systems that align employee behavior with the organization's strategic goals.

Front 3

Which of the following is true about the strategic management process?

• A firm's strategic management decision-making process takes place at its lower levels.
• During strategy formulation, the organization follows through on the chosen strategy.
• Strategy formulation and strategy implementation are sequential phases.
• The strategic management process entails a constant cycling of information and decision making.
• Strategy formulation and strategy implementation are two autonomous phases with no dependence on each other.

Back 3

The strategic management process entails a constant cycling of information and decision making.

Hint 3

The strategic management process has two distinct yet interdependent phases: strategy formulation and strategy implementation. This process entails a constant cycling of information and decision making.

Front 4

In which of the following levels of linkages is the HRM department completely removed from any component of the strategic management process?

• Administrative linkage
• One-way linkage
• Two-way linkage
• Integrative linkage
• Executive linkage

Back 4

Administrative linkage

Hint 4

In administrative linkage, the HRM function's attention is focused on day-to-day activities. In this level of integration, the HRM department is completely divorced from any component of the strategic management process in both strategy formulation and strategy implementation. The department simply engages in administrative work unrelated to the company's core business needs.

Front 5

In _____ linkage, a firm's strategic business planning function develops the strategic plan and then informs the HRM function of the plan.

• administrative
• one-way
• two-way
• integrative
• executive

Back 5

one-way

Hint 5

In one-way linkage, the firm's strategic business planning function develops the strategic plan and then informs the HRM function of the plan. Many believe this level of integration constitutes strategic HRM.

Front 6

Which integration level allows for consideration of human resource issues during the strategy formulation process?

• Administrative linkage
• One-way linkage
• Two-way linkage
• Integrative linkage
• Executive linkage

Back 6

Two-way linkage

Hint 6

Two-way linkage allows for consideration of human resource issues during the strategy formulation process. The strategic planning function and the HRM function are interdependent in two-way linkage.

Front 7

Companies with _____ linkage have their HRM functions built right into the strategy formulation and implementation processes.

• administrative
• one-way
• two-way
• integrative
• executive

Back 7

integrative

Hint 7

Integrative linkage is dynamic and multifaceted, based on continuing rather than sequential interaction. Rather than an iterative process of information exchange, companies with integrative linkage have their HRM functions built right into the strategy formulation and implementation processes.

Front 8

A(n) _____ is a statement of an organization's reason for being and specifies the customers served, the needs satisfied, and the technology used.

• goal
• strategic choice
• external analysis
• internal analysis
• mission

Back 8

mission

Hint 8

A mission is a statement of an organization's reason for being; it usually specifies the customers served, the needs satisfied and/or the values received by the customers, and the technology used. A statement of a company's vision and/or values often accompanies the mission statement.

Front 9

Raldo's, a café located in San Francisco, has decided to offer vegan dishes to cater to the growing vegan market. Which of the following strategic factors does the growing vegan market represent?

• Opportunity
• Threat
• Weakness
• Strength
• Competition

Back 9

Opportunity

Hint 9

Examples of opportunities are customer markets that are not being served, technological advances that can aid the company, and labor pools that have not been tapped. In this scenario, the growing vegan market is an opportunity that Raldo's has decided to capitalize on.

Front 10

H&N, a large regional restaurant chain, has decided to move away from the hospitality industry and start producing prepackaged meals for large retail stores. As a consequence, H&N is shutting down all of its restaurants. With this change, H&N's strategic plans, as well as the types of employees it recruits, will change significantly. This overall change in H&N's strategy is an example of _____ alignment.

• matrix
• marginal
• horizontal
• vertical
• diagonal

Back 10

vertical

Hint 10

Vertical alignment means that the HR practices and processes are aimed at addressing the strategic needs of the business.

Front 11

_____ performance assessments in "steady state" (not diversified) companies stem from the fact that those above the first level managers in the hierarchy have extensive knowledge about how the work should be performed.

• Subjective
• Behavioral
• Quantitative
• Objective
• Paired comparison

Back 11

Subjective

Hint 11

Companies that are not diversified tend to have evaluation systems that call for subjective performance assessments of managers. This stems from the fact that those above the first

Front 12

Which of the following functional areas of HRM is concerned with the level of input that employees have in a company's decision making processes?

• Job analysis and design
• Recruitment and selection
• Labor and employee relations
• Performance management
• Training and development

Back 12

Labor and employee relations

Hint 12

In labor and employee relations, companies can choose to treat employees as an asset that requires investment of resources or as an expense to be minimized. They have to make choices about how much employees can and should participate in decision

Front 13

Which of the following is true about role behaviors in the context of the generic strategies proposed by Porter?

• All strategies require the same role behaviors from employees.
• Companies that adopt a cost strategy require employees to have a low concern for quantity.
• Companies that adopt a cost strategy require employees to have a long-term focus.
• Companies that adopt a differentiation strategy require their employees to be highly creative.
• Companies that adopt a differentiation strategy require their employees to have a very high concern for quantity.

Back 13

Companies that adopt a differentiation strategy require their employees to be highly creative.

Hint 13

Companies engaged in a cost strategy require employees to have a high concern for quantity and a short

Front 14

_____ is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel, designed to enhance organizational effectiveness.

• Rightsizing
• Rescindment
• Termination
• Suspension
• Attrition

Back 14

Rightsizing

Hint 14

Downsizing or rightsizing is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel, designed to enhance organizational effectiveness. This strategy is observed among companies facing serious economic difficulties and seeking to pare down their operations.

Front 15

_____ strategies consist of the strategies that evolve from the grassroots of the organization and can be thought of as what organizations actually do.

• Intended
• Emergent
• Deliberate
• Non-directional
• Enhancement

Back 15

Emergent

Hint 15

Emergent strategies consist of the strategies that evolve from the grassroots of the organization and can be thought of as what organizations actually do, as opposed to what they intend to do. Most emergent strategies are identified by those lower in the organizational hierarchy. It is often the rank