Test 5
HR Strategy
1. A new CEO is selected to lead an organization that has grown over time but has not
reviewed its staffing structure or responded to industry changes and trends. What may be
hindering the organizational strategy?
a. Strategic drift
b. Strategic stagnation
c. Organizational transition
d. Organizational alignment
2. What stage of the strategic planning process is a SWOT analysis performed?
a. Revision
b. Formulation
c. Development
d. Implementation
3. Which is an example of an internal factor considered in an environmental scan?
a. Competitors
b. Labor market
c. Employee skills
d. Currency fluctuations
4. Which sections of the balanced scorecard include measures that directly impact financial
results?
a. Customer and operations
b. Strategic and tactical
c. Short-term and long-term
d. Activity and results
5. What guidance from HR is useful to an organization that has decided to pursue a
greenfield operation?
a. Best practices for implementing a greenfield operation
b. Demographic characteristics of the new location
c. Recommendations for organizational alliances to pursue
d. Data regarding the skill sets that exist in the new operation
6. Which best describes the relationship between strategic planning process and
environmental scanning?
a. Environmental scanning is done as part of the strategic planning process
b. The environmental scan is performed by one function, and another function
completes strategic planning
c. The environmental scan is completed instead of strategic planning
d. The environmental scan is optional if the organization does strategic planning
7. Which example of an economic factor should be included in an environmental scan?
a. Proposed energy consumption regulations
b. Consumer price index data
c. Geographic population shifts
d. Changes in workplace design and practices
8. Which is an example of a demographic factor examined during an environmental scan?
a. Turnover trends
b. Technology skills
c. Generational differences
d. Occupational shifts
9. In the kaizen methodology, how does one know where to best make improvements?
a. By tracking goals using tangible data and baselines
b. By continuously attempting to reduce waste to zero
c. By observing what is happening at all levels to find where value is added
d. By teaching teams the systems and tools needed to achieve attainable goal
10. Which characteristic is associated with the Six Sigma project management approach?
a. Resources are allocated and carefully monitored.
b. Limited resources are assigned to overlapping tasks.
c. It measures value and uses evidence-based analysis.
d. Several versions of the deliverable may be developed.
11. An executive team in the middle of refining an organization’s strategic plan is in the
implementation phase. Which activity should occur during this phase?
a. Analyze information to determine current position, opportunities, and constraints.
b. Determine the strategy’s effectiveness and identifying the need for change or
improvement.
c. Organize ideas and useful perspectives to inform planning.
d. Provide clear communication of objectives to teams and coordinating their efforts.
12. A three-year-old company has achieved excellent results through perceptive market
timing and aggressive marketing. Which type of strategy is the company following?
a. Efficient cost advantage strategy
b. Strong corporate culture strategy
c. Successful differentiation strategy
d. Effective organizational structure
13. If an organization’s competitive advantage is cost leadership, which practice is most
likely?
a. Designing a detailed market development plan
b. Mass-producing product to meet general market needs
c. Investing profits in research and product development
d. Promoting a customer service mentality to foster customer rapport
14. A project manager must form a cross-departmental team to implement a new program.
Which steps should be taken first to ensure that the project is completed on time and in
scope?
a. Measure performance, communicate roadblocks, reset project schedule, and
request additional support.
b. Select team members, review qualifications, gain corporate support, and evaluate
performance to date.
c. Define tasks, communicate expectations, assign tasks, and monitor progress.
d. Gain stakeholder support, secure project funding, develop use case analysis, and
communicate results.
15. Which is the difference between a strategic alliance and a joint venture?
a. Strategic alliances take longer to create; joint ventures generally happen quickly.
b. Strategic alliances create new economic entities; joint ventures create new
individual entities.
c. Strategic alliances are informal agreements; joint ventures are contractual
agreements.
d. Strategic alliances do not involve equity; joint ventures require that both partners
contribute equity.
16. Which organization is least likely to succeed in its strategic planning and management?
a. An organization that shares strategic plans with top management only to preserve
its competitive edge
b. An organization that develops business and functional strategies after the
organizational strategy is defined to ensure alignment
c. An organization that researches internal and external factors before setting a
strategy
d. An organization that invites input from all divisions, managers, and employees to
ensure buy-in
17. A service organization determines that it has limited international experience and
knowledge, and this is preventing it from delivering services to those in need on a global
basis. What does this exemplify?
a. Weakness
b. Opportunity
c. Environmental factor
d. Social factor
18. What term refers to a company building a new global location from the ground up?
a. Greenfield operation
b. Brownfield operation
c. Turnkey operation
d. Internal expansion
19. Strategic management refers to the actions that leaders take to move their organization
toward strategic goals and create value for stakeholders. Which benefit of strategic
management is likely?
a. Focus on core competencies
b. Decreased use of resources
c. Consistent decision making
d. Systems thinking
20. An organization is looking for ways to reduce costs and increase performance in its
automotive parts manufacturing division and is considering staff reduction as an option.
Which key performance indicators should be compared to determine the impact of staff
reduction?
a. Past production vs. projected future production
b. Product cost vs. revenue generation
c. Division head count vs. total company head count
d. Employee production rate vs. employee turnover rate
21. How can PESTLE analysis data have a greater impact on successful employee
engagement and retention?
a. Foreign governments are not threatened by PESTLE analysis
b. PESTLE analysis makes the best use of HRIS
c. PESTLE data helps in adapting to environmental realities
d. The PESTLE analysis process adheres to local customs
22. During what phase of the strategic planning process does motivating employees to work
toward organizational goals take place?
a. Evaluation
b. Formulation
c. Implementation
d. Development
23. Which indicates that an organization is using strategic planning and management?
a. The core competencies of the organization are reflected in each department
b. The mission, vision, and values have been defined and communicated consistently
c. The organization’s structure, resources, and policies are aligned to meet the
agreed-upon goals
d. A cross-functional team is assembled across the organization to resolve issues that
are in conflict with the strategy
24. During which stage of strategic planning do managers develop action plans and assign
projects?
a. Manipulation
b. Evaluation
c. Implementation
d. Formulation
25. A strategic project meets the defined objectives but is unsuccessful in its impact to the
strategy. Which action in the project planning process has the project manager
overlooked?
a. Collaboration and agreement on how the project purpose supports the overall
strategy
b. Outline of the critical path that specifies the logical flow of tasks in the plan
c. Definition of the essential work needed to certify that deliverables were complete
d. Communication of expectations and objectives to the project stakeholders
26. How does benchmarking improve the creation of an organizational strategy?
a. Eliminates reliance on financial measures
b. Allows for an understanding of best practices
c. Focuses on cost control rather than value creation
d. Not applicable due to cultural variations
27. Which three generic strategies for success are identified in Michael Porter’s model?
a. Cost leadership, differentiation, focus
b. Introduction, maturity, decline
c. Customer intimacy, innovation, control
d. Divisional, functional, matrix
28. An international discount supermarket chain’s competitive strategy is to provide the
lowest-price products by minimizing operational overhead. Which generic competitive
strategy is it using?
a. Differentiation
b. Value chain
c. Cost leadership
d. Focus
29. Which type of information might be discovered during the external portion of an
environmental scan?
a. Profit margins
b. Turnover cost
c. Competitive threats
d. Unethical practices
30. Which is a primary advantage of the balanced scorecard?
a. Relate the performance of business functions to the organization’s mission
b. Separate business strategy from day-to-day activities
c. Focus on financial measurements and hard data results
d. Track progress against goals without raising accountability issues
31. Which task is vital when assessing strategic objectives?
a. Ensuring that there is control of drift in each business unit’s strategy
b. Comparing the outcome of strategic initiatives to outlined metrics
c. Communicating the intent and purpose of the strategic initiatives
d. Obtaining stakeholder feedback to determine strategy success
