SHRM Exam Winter 2021 with Verified Solutions. Rated A

SHRM Exam Winter 2021 with Verified Solutions EPLI ✔✔Employment practices liability insurance Employment practices liability insurance ✔✔Covers legal costs regardless of the outcome. What type of communication helps ...

SHRM Exam Winter 2021 with Verified Solutions EPLI ✔✔Employment practices liability insurance Employment practices liability insurance ✔✔Covers legal costs regardless of the outcome. What type of communication helps ensure an employer's compliance with federal, state, and local law? ✔✔Labor Posters Which best demonstrates an attorney work product? ✔✔Notes from interviews done at the attorney's request What undergoes a systematic and comprehensive evaluation during an HR audit? ✔✔HR policies, practices, procedures, and strategies What is the purpose of an HR compliance checklist? ✔✔To help ensure that the organization fulfills the requirements of HR laws and regulations Disparate treatment ✔✔Discrimination occurs when an applicant or employee is treated differently because of his or her membership in a protected class Disparate impact (or adverse impact) ✔✔results when a policy that appears to be neutral has a discriminatory effect. Civil Rights Act of 1964 ✔✔Piece of U.S. legislation was the nation's first comprehensive federal law making it unlawful to discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ✔✔Brings about equality in hiring, transfers, promotions, compensation, access to training, and other employment-related decisions. Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) ✔✔employment qualifications that employers are allowed to consider while making decisions about hiring and retention of employees. The qualification should relate to an essential job duty and is considered necessary for operation of the particular business. Race can never be a factor Uniformed Guidelines on Employee Section Procedures ✔✔cover all aspects of the selection process, including recruiting, testing, interviewing, and performance appraisals (to the extent that they are used to make employment decisions) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to all employers, excluding the federal government, with at least how many employees? ✔✔15 Which is a key provision of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) of 1990? ✔✔Benefits offered to older workers must be equal to those offered to younger workers. How would an organization best defend against a claim of adverse impact? ✔✔By demonstrating work-related requirements Which U.S. Supreme Court case found the practice of hiring a male with preschool-aged children over a woman with preschool-aged children to be in violation of Title VII? ✔✔Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corporation Which statement is correct under the Americans with Disabilities Act? ✔✔Accommodation is not required if it results in undue hardship for the organization.Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 ✔✔Establishes minimum wages, overtime pay, youth employment, and record-keeping standards affecting full-and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. Also know as Wage and Hour Law ✔✔Fair Labor Standards Act Also know as Wagner-Connery Wages and Hours Act ✔✔Fair Labor Standards Act Not covered under FLSA ✔✔Independent contractor Portal-to-portal Act ✔✔Amended FLSA and defined additional rules for hours worked. Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 ✔✔amendment to FLSA, prohibits unequal pay for equal or "substantially equal" work performed by men and women. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 ✔✔establish uniform minimum standards to ensure that employee retirement plans are set up and maintained in a fair and financially sound manner Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 ✔✔Requires that all publicly held companies establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting to reduce the possibility of corporate fraud. Ledbetter Act ✔✔Statute of limitations resets as the employer issues each allegedly discriminatory paycheck A family-owned business with 100 employees wants to set up a retirement plan. If the organization implements a qualified defined contribution plan, what restrictions does the Employee Retirement Income Security Act impose on the investment of the assets? ✔✔The employer has a fiduciary responsibility to invest the pension fund as any prudent person would.Which employee must be paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? ✔✔Manager who earns $450 per week Which does not count toward the regular rate of pay for overtime calculations? ✔✔Discretionary bonuses An HR director is tasked with the fiduciary duty for the organization's retirement plan. What action best describes this obligation? ✔✔An HR director is tasked with the fiduciary duty for the organization's retirement plan. What action best describes this obligation? A key manager is retiring, and the company wants her to keep working in a part-time capacity. She will work 20 hours a week and continue to perform a portion of her old duties. What Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) classification should the HR manager recommend for the manager? ✔✔Exempt employee Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 ✔✔provides individuals and their dependents who otherwise would lose their coverage due to a COBRA qualifying event with an opportunity to continue receiving health-care coverage under the employer's group health plan at the individual's expense Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)of 1993 ✔✔requires employers to allow employees to take time off for certain caregiving, medical, military, and family needs National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ✔✔provided the first expansion of FMLA leave for employees with family members who are covered members of the military Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 ✔✔enacted to protect the employment, reemployment, and retention rights of persons who voluntarily or involuntarily serve or have served in the uniformed servicesAn employee was denied a cost-of-living increase given to other employees while he served on military duty overseas for two years. Which act has been violated? ✔✔Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) An employee gives birth 10 months after being employed with a company. How much time of FMLA is she allowed to take? ✔✔The individual is not covered under FMLA How does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) amend the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)? ✔✔PPACA requires coverage of an employee's adult children up to age 26. What U.S. employer action does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) require? ✔✔Give plan participants a summary of benefits and coverage prior to an enrollment change. Which is a provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? ✔✔Employees are entitled to return to a similar job with the same pay and status. Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 ✔✔established the first national policy for workplace safety and health. This federal law requires employers to provide safe and healthful working conditions for employees What is a key employer responsibility under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act? ✔✔Display the OSHA poster in a conspicuous place where it can be seen by all employees. Which of the following is true regarding marijuana laws? ✔✔Marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Which is an employee right identified under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act? ✔✔Requesting an OSHA inspectionWhat does OSHA's General Duty Clause mandate? ✔✔mployers must provide a work environment free of recognized hazards to safety. A company that receives federal contracts learns that an employee has recently been convicted of a drug-related offense. The employee has a signed acknowledgment form in their personnel file. Under the Drug-Free Workplace Act, what action must the employer take? ✔✔Impose a sanction on the convicted employee or require satisfactory participation in a rehabilitation program National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 ✔✔passed with the purpose of protecting and encouraging the growth of the union movement. The act established workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively with employers also known as the Wagner Act or the Wagner-Connery Act ✔✔National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) What best describes the population of the employee workforce that is protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)? ✔✔Nonsupervisory During a lawful picket, a supervisor threatened a new union member with termination for refusing to cross the picket line. Which law provides the employee protection from termination? ✔✔NLRA An employee believes his union rights have been violated. Who should the employee contact first to file a charge? ✔✔NLRB How does the Weingarten case apply to an investigatory meeting to obtain information that is the basis for disciplinary action? ✔✔It allows a union representative to be present during the meeting. A employee learns that a coworker earns a higher hourly rate for the same job and asks the supervisor for a pay increase. As a result, the supervisor prohibits employees from discussing theirpay. The supervisor is participating in which unfair labor practice? ✔✔Interfering with employees' engagement in concerted activity Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) ✔✔amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act and provides some relief to employers using third parties to conduct workplace investigations Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 ✔✔prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of national origin or citizenship and, at the same time, establishes penalties for hiring undocumented workers, with certain exceptions Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988 ✔✔requires some employers to give a minimum of 60 calendar days of advance written notice if a plant is to close or if mass layoffs will occur Faltering company ✔✔This exception covers certain situations where an organization has actively sought new capital or business in order to stay open and where giving notice would ruin the opportunity to get the new capital or business. Only applies to plant closings Unforeseeable business circumstances ✔✔This exception applies to closings and layoffs that were sudden and were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would otherwise have been required (such as the sudden and unpredicted loss of a key business client that severely impacts the organization's financial stability) Natural disaster ✔✔This exception applies where a closing or layoff is the direct result of a natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, drought, or storm Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 ✔✔prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and health insuranceThe Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of what? ✔✔National origin or citizenship What does the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) do? ✔✔Enforces penalties for undocumented workers A supervisor overhears an employee talking on the phone about a test for a hereditary form of breast cancer, and the supervisor subsequently denies the colleague a promotion based on this information. Which legislation does this action violate? ✔✔GINA A company extends an offer to a candidate. As a part of the background check process, a credit check is included. Based on the negative report, the hiring manager wants to rescind the offer. How should HR advise the hiring manager? ✔✔Notify the candidate of the negative credit report and give the candidate sufficient time to respond. A federal contractor receives an attorney statement claiming discrimination against an employee working in counterintelligence. The employee complains of unlawful termination for refusal to submit a polygraph test following an incident. What exclusion protects the employer under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)? ✔✔The federal contractor was involved in national security. Which of the following is the best reason to maintain employment records electronically? ✔✔Easier storage and access for records that span many years Which record-keeping practice ensures record retention compliance? ✔✔Conducting annual audits What is the first step in developing an HR documentation policy? ✔✔Researching what laws apply, the records required, and the retention periodWhich reason best describes why an organization may decide to keep records for longer than the mandatory record retention requirements specify? ✔✔Longer statutes of limitations for certain common-law claims Which is a critical component of maintaining electronic employee records as opposed to paperbased records? ✔✔Frequent backups of all data Which of the following is a notable provision of the Department of Labor's electronic guidelines for data storage? ✔✔Records must be convertible into readable paper copy to satisfy obligations under Title I of ERISA. Which reason best describes why an organization may decide to keep records for longer than the mandatory record retention requirements specify? ✔✔Longer statutes of limitations for certain common-law claims Which of the following is the best reason to maintain employment records electronically? ✔✔Easier storage and access for records that span many years Which government body requires organizations to electronically submit illness and injury data? ✔✔T Occupational Safety and Health Administration Which best describes how an organization's focus on diversity is a benefit to its recruitment efforts? ✔✔It enhances the employment brand to attract talent. Which approach is most effective for promoting diversity and inclusion globally? ✔✔Use a wide range of measures of success beyond demographics. What are three key reasons why diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives require full-fledged, organization-wide efforts? ✔✔Priority, complexity, resistanceWhich is the primary aim of an organization's diversity and inclusion efforts? ✔✔To develop diverse perspectives Which statement best describes the relationship between diversity and inclusion? ✔✔Inclusion enables an organization to leverage the strategic value of diversity. McKinsey 7-S Framework ✔✔Strategy, shared values, structure, systems, staff, skills, style of leadership McKinsey: Strategy ✔✔A customer-centric culture is a necessary part of HR's attempt to create value for the organization. The strategy provides a plan for creating this value, and it should incorporate input from members throughout the HR organization McKinsey: Shared values ✔✔HR leaders communicate to function members a commitment to quality performance and customer service. The message must be explicit; it must be communicated through various media and at meaningful times, such as during onboarding and at regular meetings and individual performance meetings. McKinsey: Structure ✔✔HR leaders must take steps to change HR's structure if it slows or prevents HR professionals from delivering quality work to their customers. This can involve empowering HR professionals to make changes to meet customer needs and to correct mistakes quickly. It may involve creating a position or group to continually assess customers' perceptions of HR service. McKinsey: Systems ✔✔Systems support the way people do their jobs. Systems can include a variety of tools, policies, and processesMcKinsey: Staff ✔✔Ability to deliver customer service is a criterion for selecting HR professionals. HR professionals are rewarded and recognized for exceptional acts of customer service. McKinsey: Skills ✔✔HR leaders undertake to assess the competencies among HR staff to deliver quality customer service and to address gaps through training and development (e.g., training in communication, conflict resolution) McKinsey: Style of Leadership ✔✔Leaders must model in all their actions the values they have identified for the HR organization—for example, supporting customer focus even when it may require additional resources. They must be willing to invite HR employees to participate in problem solving and decision making How can HR provide the most value in the strategic planning process? ✔✔By identifying the HR implications of the company's strategy Which activity is considered an HR strategic responsibility? ✔✔Supporting an organization's core business functions How has the role of the HR professional evolved? ✔✔From operational to strategic Which administrative task should an HR manager delegate to an HR assistant? ✔✔Reconciling benefits What is a direct implication of HR's evolving strategic role? ✔✔Required competence to develop talent through career development and succession planning Workforce planning ✔✔the first step in the workforce management process. It involves all the activities needed to ensure that workforce size and competencies meet current and future organizational and individual needsworkforce analysis ✔✔gathers data about the current workforce and forecasts future workforce needs diversity council ✔✔a task force created to define the D&I initiative and guide the process injunction ✔✔An order which legally prevents something - legally binding Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act ✔✔federal law that provides for the payment of compensation, medical care, and vocational rehabilitation services to employees disabled from on the job injuries cultural noise interview bias ✔✔when the candidate tells the interviewer what they think the interviewer wants to hear and the interviewer doesn't pick up on it. An organization has implemented a recruitment and hiring program to increase the diversity of its workforce, but the retention rate for new hires is low. What step would offer the most help in correcting this problem? ✔✔Implementation of employee resource groups How can HR minimize the risk of failure of an organization's diversity initiative? ✔✔integrating diversity into the business culture How should an HR professional make a strong business case for incorporating a diversity and inclusion strategy in an organization? ✔✔By linking it directly to the organization's mission, vision, and business objectives Which best describes the benefit of using an employee resource group (ERG) for an organization looking to expand global market share? ✔✔ERGs provide valuable insights into the needs of the organization's diverse marketsWhich best describes the impact of having senior leaders directly involved in a diversity council? ✔✔Being a catalyst for change that aligns functions and responsibilities and creates greater commitment, efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity Which should be included in manager training for an organization's diversity and inclusion strategic initiative? ✔✔Leading diverse teams effectively and fostering an inclusive work environment Which of the following is considered a criterion for effective employee resource groups (ERGs) as established by DiversityInc.? ✔✔The group has a formal charter. In order to further its diversity and inclusion initiative, an organization wants to help its employee resource groups (ERGs) succeed. Which role should HR take? ✔✔Supporting the establishment of ERG-focused programs Which factor is essential for the success of a diversity and inclusion initiative? ✔✔Executive commitment Turnover ✔✔the act of replacing employees leaving an organization or the attrition or loss of employees Judgmental forecasts ✔✔Use of information from past and present to predict future conditions and staffing needs and to understand opportunities and threats that can affect the staffing plan According to thought leader Henry Mintzberg, ____ should manager and ______ should lead ✔✔leaders;managers Eric thinks that his employees are lazy and require constant direction to complete their work assignments. What type of manager would Eric be described as? ✔✔Theory X managerTheory X managers ✔✔assume that employees are basically lazy and extrinsically motivated. Theory Y manager ✔✔A manager who believes that under the right conditions people not only will work hard but will seek increased responsibility and challenge Natalie has a voicemail from another employer asking for a reference on a former employee. She is hesitant to return the call because she would not be able to give the employee a positive reference and fears this would prompt an accusation of: ✔✔defamation Sam is 42 years old and is just beginning to save for retirement. Under EGTRRA, is he allowed to make catch-up contributions ✔✔No, catch-up contributions are only allowed for employees 50 years or older Which of the following is NOT a type of platform used in social-media recruiting? ✔✔job fair Mackenzie works for a non-profit and wants to use an excerpt from a book about org design in a seminar she will be leading. What allows her to use this excerpt without special permission or causing infringement? ✔✔fair-use doctrine What does HIPPA stand for? ✔✔Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act What type of virtual training is being used when participants have the ability to communicate with others at various locations? ✔✔distance learning Gary waits until the 2nd interview to begin ranking candidates because he uses a comparison scale to rank all candidates against one single candidate. Gary is subjecting these candidates to what type of bias? ✔✔contrastAccording to OWBPA, when a group of employees is involved, employees age 40 or older must be given how many days to decide if they want to waive their rights to make claims under the act? ✔✔45 days ADDIE model ✔✔Five-step instructional design process that governs the development of learning programs. Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and evaluation How long after filing with the Department of Labor are ERISA records required to be maintained? ✔✔6 years The staffing plan turns analysis data and organizational objectives into reality. What type of analysis is most likely to be considered in the development of a global staffing plan? ✔✔Analysis to determine gaps between current and future staffing requirements Which stage in the workforce analysis process considers the business challenges an organization faces when creating a forecast of the organization's future workforce composition? ✔✔Demand analysis A company designs and manufactures sophisticated and unique components for satellites. Its product development process can take a decade. It forecasts steady growth and demand for designers and technicians. What strategy is the company most likely to use to meet its workforce needs? ✔✔Investing in developing and retaining knowledgeable and skilled employees An organization is researching labor costs for similar operations and projections by a government labor agency on the availability of certain types of skilled employees. What stage of the workforce analysis process is the organization completing? ✔✔Gap Which factors provide the best basis for determining future global staffing requirements? ✔✔Corporate and HR strategic plansAn organization is projecting future employee flow based on past transition rates. Which potential outcome is most likely from this approach? ✔✔Change can diminish the accuracy of the flow projection. HR has been approved to expend financial and staffing resources for the upcoming fiscal year on a staffing plan. Who would likely be chosen to participate in the plan development and implementation? ✔✔HR staff member with 17 years' experience who has participated in job analyses for many of the jobs Which is a primary goal during supply analysis? ✔✔To provide a snapshot of an organization's current pool of talent HR professionals must anticipate future talent needs as well as plan for the future employee talent pool. Which key factor typically contributes to an anticipated shortage in the labor pool? ✔✔Workforce skewed toward older employees An elder care service organization is challenged with retention of staff. Recently the service director left the organization with little notice. HR wants to prepare for future unplanned vacancies to avoid any disruption in client services. What is the best way for HR to mitigate this risk? ✔✔Managers can cross-train a subordinate. What approach is most characteristic of succession planning? ✔✔It focuses on long-term global issues. The recent departure of two leaders has delayed implementation of the organization's strategic plan. HR wants to assure that this never happens again and has requested all functional leaders to identify potential successors for their position. The responses identify individuals who are positioned directly below or closest to the job grade within the same function. HR schedules ameeting to discuss the submissions. What should be the key agenda topic of this meeting? ✔✔Broadening the identification of potential successors An organizational crisis is rapidly unfolding as several key employees have been killed in a car accident. How can HR best contribute to rapid recovery of operations? ✔✔HR can fill in or supplement workforce gaps with the best qualified employees. Which is considered a flexible staffing strategy? ✔✔Seasonal contracting What best describes the difference between replacement planning and succession planning? ✔✔Replacement planning focuses on short-term needs; succession planning focuses on long-term needs. Which alternative staffing arrangement meets the needs of an organization that is experiencing turnover in professional service positions due to employees desiring to work fewer hours? ✔✔Job sharing A company decides to lower payroll costs by hiring an organization to assume full responsibility for its IT department. What is this process called? ✔✔Managed services Which technology has the primary mission of sharing information in meaningful ways to augment employee performance? ✔✔Knowledge management systems Which statement best describes a productive knowledge management system? ✔✔Sharing of organizational learning and reducing knowledge loss As the result of a reorganization, an employer is laying off 20% of its sales employees. Which existing practice will help ensure that the company retains the knowledge of the departing employees? ✔✔The sales department maintains a customer database.Staff have been reluctant to share on-the-job experiences with coworkers. HR wants to update all job descriptions to reflect the expectation that this should take place. How can HR assess that this change has been successfully implemented? ✔✔Performance evaluations When is knowledge management most productive? ✔✔When it focuses on sharing organizational learning and reducing knowledge loss Henri Fayol ✔✔defined the functions of management as: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling Coercive Approach ✔✔The leader imposes a vision or solution on the team and demands that the team follow this directive. Authoritative approach ✔✔The leader proposes a bold vision or solution and invites the team to join this challenge. Affiliative approach ✔✔The leader creates strong relationships with and inside the team, encouraging feedback. The team members are motivated by loyalty Democratic approach ✔✔The leader invites followers to collaborate and commits to acting by consensus. Pacesetting approach ✔✔The leader sets a model for high performance standards and challenges followers to meet these expectations. Coaching approach ✔✔The leader focuses on developing team members' skills, believing that success comes from aligning the organization's goals with employees' personal and professional goals.Trait Theory ✔✔Leaders possess certain innate characteristics that followers do not possess (and probably cannot acquire) Behavioral Theories ✔✔Leaders influence group members through certain behaviors. Blake-Mouton Theory ✔✔Relates a leader's concern for people to a concern for production or task. There are 5 types of managers: Team Leaders, Authoritarian Managers, Country Club Managers, Impoverished Managers, and "Middle of the Road" Managers. Country club managers ✔✔low task, high relationship) create a secure atmosphere and trust individuals to accomplish goals, avoiding punitive actions so as not to jeopardize relationships Impoverished managers ✔✔(low task, low relationship) use a "delegate-and-disappear" management style. They detach themselves, often creating power struggles. Authoritarian managers ✔✔(high task, low relationship) expect people to do what they are told without question and tend not to foster collaboration. Middle-of-the-road managers ✔✔(midpoint on both task and relationship) get the work done but are not considered leaders. Team leaders ✔✔(high task, high relationship) lead by positive example, foster a team environment, and encourage individual and team development. Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership ✔✔Leaders adapt their behaviors to meet the evolving needs of team members. Like Blake-Mouton, the behaviors involve tasks and relationships. As team members grow in skill and experience, leaders supply the appropriate behavior Hersey-Blanchard: Telling ✔✔when the employee is not yet motivated or competentHersey-Blanchard: Selling ✔✔when the increasingly competent employee still needs focus and motivation ("why are we doing this") Hersey-Blanchard: Participating ✔✔when competent workers can be included in problem solving and coached on higher skills Hersey-Blanchard: Delegating ✔✔when very competent team members can benefit from greater level of autonomy and self-direction Fiedler's Contingency Theory ✔✔Leaders change the situation to make it more "favorable," more likely to produce good outcomes. Unfavorable situations must be changed to improve group (and leader) effectiveness Path-Goal Theory ✔✔emphasizes the leader's role in coaching and developing followers' competencies. The leader performs the behavior needed to help employees stay on track toward their goals. Directive, supportive, achievement, participative Emergent Theory ✔✔Leaders are not appointed but emerge from the group, which chooses the leader based on interactions. Which best describes how management differs from leadership? ✔✔Management maintains order, while leadership produces and manages change According to the Hersey-Blanchard theory, which is generally the most suitable situational leadership approach for entry-level employees? ✔✔Telling A manager uses his skill with people to smooth over problems and to make his employees feel secure in their positions. According to the Blake-Mouton theory, what leadership style is the manager using? ✔✔Country club managerWhich is a trait of an effective leader? ✔✔Fulfilling promises and commitments A group has formed to organize the annual company picnic. Because one member has experience planning a church fall festival, he volunteers to take the helm. The other employees choose to follow him. Which kind of leadership does this exemplify? ✔✔Emergent planning: Formulation ✔✔during which leaders gather and analyze internal and external information to determine the organization's current position and capabilities, opportunities, and constraints. planning: Development ✔✔strategic goals and tactics that will optimize success given the environment, opportunities, and constraints—the strategic plan planning: Implementation ✔✔tactics—the process of strategic management. This requires clear communication of objectives to teams, coordination and support of their efforts, and control of resources planning: Evaluation ✔✔results, both continually, to make sure that activities maintain strategic focus and are effective, and at designated intervals, to determine the effectiveness of the strategy itself and the need for change or improvement. Which organization is least likely to succeed in its strategic planning and management? ✔✔An organization that shares strategic plans with top management only to preserve its competitive edge How should an HR leader best address the perception of HR as a cost center? ✔✔By ensuring that HR services are aligned to the organizational strategy A small publishing firm believes that it is too small to benefit from strategic planning. Which short-term benefit is the best choice for HR to use in influencing leaders to begin the strategic planning process? ✔✔Allocating resources more effectivelyAn executive team in the midst of refining the organization's strategic plan is currently in the implementation phase. Which activity should occur during this phase? ✔✔Providing clear communication of objectives to teams and coordinating their efforts What indicates that an organization is using strategic planning and management? ✔✔The organization's structure, resources, and policies are aligned to meet agreed-upon goals. A new CEO is selected to lead an organization that has grown over time but has not revisited staffing structure or responded to industry changes. What may be hindering the organizational strategy? ✔✔Strategic drift Strategic drift ✔✔occurs when an organization fails to recognize and respond to changes in its environment that necessitate strategic change. During which stage of strategic planning do managers develop action plans and assign staff members to projects? ✔✔Implementation Which of the following Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) components shows percentages of minorities and women in each job category? ✔✔Placement of incumbents in job groups PESTLE analysis ✔✔Analysis of the external political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors affecting a business What is the primary driver of aligning the HR business unit and functional area strategies to the organizational strategy? ✔✔Creating a line of sight between individual work and organizational results Which is an example of an internal factor that is considered in an environmental scan? ✔✔Employee skillsWhich part of the SWOT analysis identifies the core competencies of a global enterprise? ✔✔Strengths and weaknesses How does the use of benchmarking improve the creation of an organizational strategy? ✔✔It allows for an understanding of best practices. Which sections of the balanced scorecard include two types of measures that directly impact financial results? ✔✔Customer and operations In a growth-share analysis which business would be considered a question mark? ✔✔Business line with steady growth in new market segment How must HR strategy account for political factors? ✔✔By adjusting organizational policies to comply with varying environmental regulations in different locations Which is an example of an external factor that is considered in a SWOT analysis? ✔✔Local legal policies Which of the following is a primary advantage of the balanced scorecard? ✔✔It relates the performance of business functions to the organization's mission. Blue Ocean Strategy ✔✔the unknown market space, untainted by competition. Businesses have competitive advantage because there are no other competitors Cost Leadership ✔✔a strategy that aims to provide a product or service at as low a price as possible to a broad audience differentiation strategy ✔✔The business targets much larger markets and aims to achieve competitive advantage through differentiation across the whole of an industry.focus strategy ✔✔the positioning strategy of using cost leadership or differentiation to produce a specialized product or service for a limited, specially targeted group of customers in a particular geographic region or market segment Greenfield operation ✔✔A company builds a new location from the ground up. This represents a major task and a commitment to completely staff and equip the new location. Brownfield operation ✔✔A company repurposes, through expansion or redevelopment, an abandoned, closed, or underutilized industrial or commercial property. divestiture ✔✔the selective selling off of parts of the organization that are