33. In succession planning, focusing on fast track managers is a good approach
because:
a. fast trackers are known to have skills associated with future performance
b. fast trackers have passed all of the written and behavioral tests
c. fast trackers are committed to staying with the company who invests in them
d. fast trackers come from the outside so they have fresh ideas
e. none of the above
34. ____________ refers to an awareness of the forces demanding strategic renewal
and change and the options available to the organization in response to those
forces.
a. Knowledge component
b. Skill development
c. Management development
d. Behavioral development
e. none of the above
35. A “making” approach to human resource development implies developing the
needed new set of competencies and behaviors in current employees. It assumes
that employees are both capable of and motivated to acquire and utilize new skills
and engage in new behaviors.
36. “Buying” involves injecting the organization with new employees who possess the
desired set of competencies.
37. In order to develop required human resource competencies, organizational leaders
need to align the selection, training, development, and removal of employees with
the behavioral requirements of the desired change.
38. Training can help convey to employees how their competitive environment is
changing and why their own behaviors need to be altered.
39. Training can, under the right circumstances, help employees gain new behavioral
competencies.
40. The desired goal of the performance feedback process is alignment between the
future needs of the organization and the desires and motivations of employees.
41. The biggest advantages of formal appraisal are validity and accuracy.
42. Approximately 90% of Fortune 500 companies use some form of 360-degree
feedback.
43. On-the-job experience is less useful than behavioral and cognitive training in
developing new skills among executives.
44. When supervisors seek to clone themselves, the effect is damaging for the
employees, not for the organization.
45. When an organization is attempting to implement change, there is an urgent need
to attract employees whose behavior exemplifies the desired future state.
46. The second component of the change effort and training programs is a knowledge
component: an awareness of the forces demanding strategic renewal and change
and the options available to the organization in response to those forces.
47. New behaviors acquired during experiential training will fade out unless the work
environment to which participants return supports new behaviors and participants
understand and accept the fact that outstanding performance will require those
behaviors.
48. Companies cannot manage the careers of executives in order to create a
continuous stream of leaders from inside the organization capable of implementing
change.
49. Workforce reductions and employee layoffs may be effective in improving short-
term performance but will not by themselves produce the human resource
competencies required to support strategic renewal and sustain outstanding
performance.
50. In behaviorally anchored interviews, applicants are asked to demonstrate job
behaviors.
51. Unless removal and replacement decisions are viewed by employees as being fair
in process, valid in content, and appropriate in sequence, the decisions can
undermine commitment to change implementation.
52. Perceptions of fairness can also be impacted by the degree to which an
organization provides employees with due process and appeal mechanisms.
53. What are the advantages and disadvantages of make/buy options for
changing human resources?
54. What are the strengths and weaknesses of behaviorally anchored interviews?
55. What are the sources of fairness in removal and replacement decisions?
What would be some key questions in determining each source?
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 76
a. Validity: Are decisions made according to personal biases and beliefs of
individual supervisors (low fairness) or in alignment with the clear
requirements of outstanding performance (high fairness)?
b. Due Process: Are decisions seen as final and arbitrary (low fairness), or are
employees able to voice their opinions and appeal what they consider to be
invalid conclusions (high fairness)?
c. Timing and sequencing: Are decisions made before an employee is given an
56. Explain the concept of person-task fit.
57. Explain the concept of person-organization fit.
58. Explain the components of a behavioral simulation.
59. Explain the two approaches of “make” and ‘buy” in regards to developing
required competencies.
In developing required competencies, leaders can select a “make” or “buy”
Scenario-Based Questions
You are the new CEO of a major HR firm, offering specialized HR services to
organizations wishing to outsource all or part of their HR functions. In the past, the firm
has been structured into several divisions, including Compensation, Recruitment, Training
and Development, and Legal Services. As part of Step 1, Organization Redesign, you
have successfully piloted cross-functional teams and a new focus on customer service
which you are now rolling out as the new strategic directive for the entire firm. In order to
make sure that the change succeeds, you are now focusing on the newly identified skills
and competencies and you want to make sure that they exist across all groups,
department and functions.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 78
60. Since your priority right now is with people alignment, you need to decide what
comes first. The best approach would be:
a. make sure the right people are in the right places, then train.
b. get rid of all the dead wood and work with what is left.
c. train and develop, then assess, and move to removal and replacement.
d. to make sure that everyone is committed, keep everyone in the same place.
61. One of your first decisions is between a make or buy approach to HRD. You
decide:
a. buying is the quicker option, and besides, the organization needs lots of new
talent.
b. making is the only way to go – after all, the organization relies on
commitment from its long-time employees.
c. you decide on some combination between buying and making.
d. you heard that this whole process has something to do with people getting
62. Training and development is a key component of your strategic change process.
Because your budget is limited, you want to cut one or more of the following
training components. Which one would you cut?
a. skill development training, focusing on teamwork and customer service
b. skill development training, focusing on planning and budgeting
c. knowledge component, dealing with strategic renewal and adaptation
d. training in new behavior support for supervisors and peers
63. In order to enhance the validity and accuracy of appraisal and feedback, you
implement:
a. 360-degree feedback.
b. standardized assessment.
c. behavioral simulations.
d. removal and replacement.
64. As much as you are committed to developing your existing employees, several key
people have left the organization because they did not agree with the changes and
some others had to be let go because of serious performance challenges. The best
way to ensure that the removal part of the process goes well is:
a. handle it as quickly as possible and behind closed doors – that way no one
gets hurt.
b. involve people in the decision, explain the criteria and the reasoning, and
offer due process.
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c. give the decision to the company lawyers – they know best how to deal with
these matters.
d. avoid removal altogether – the strategic change will take care of everything.
65. In planning replacement for these employees, you decide on which of the following
strategies?
a. The company has a tried-and-true system in place for employee selection –
don’t break what has been working well in the past.
b. Each of these jobs has an extensive job description and your supervisors
have been trained in behavioral interviewing and administering some good
tests that match the person to the job.
c. In light of the strategic change process, it is essential that you select people
who can see the new strategy – you try to pick people who can work well in
teams and know the importance of customer service.
d. You select people based on education and experience.