Strategic Human Resource Management questions and answers A+

What is SHRM (Strategic Human Resource Management)? - Correct Answers SHRM improves a workforce's ability to perform better & increases the profitability of an organization What is HRM or HR (Human Resource Management)? - Correct Answers All Management decisions & practices that directly affect or influence the people who work for the organization. -All functions involved in moving people into, through, & out of organizations. How is SHRM different than HRM (Human Resource Management)? - Correct Answers HR is all about making more money! How does SHRM help organizations achieve a competitive advantage? - Correct Answers With sustained competitive advantage but 1 size does not fit all & you have to tailor it to external, vertical, or horizontal fit. Sustained Competitive Advantage - Correct Answers Is staying ahead of competitors for a LONG time. For a sustained competitive advantage they must be: Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Organized Sustained Competitive Advantage: Valuable - Correct Answers Sources of value firms will have (EX. Leadership, Brand, Building, Property, Personnel, Reputation, Product/Service) Sustained Competitive Advantage: Rare - Correct Answers Something that has value AND is rare (EX. Leadership, Brand, Personnel, Reputation) Sustained Competitive Advantage: Inimitable - Correct Answers Unable to be imitated (EX. Brand, Personnel, Reputation) External Fit - Correct Answers Figure out what is happening in the outside world that influences how they will get people, in, through, & out of their business (EX. Aging Labor Force, Increase in Diversity, Offshoring, Increasing need for teamwork, Increasing employee skill deficiencies) Vertical Fit - Correct Answers HR policies are aligned (or fit) with corporate strategies through a process of reciprocal negotiation Vertical Fit: Examples of company strategies - Correct Answers 1. Retrenchment: Go back & focus on core competencies when they have diversified too much (Starbucks) 2. Renewal: Firm decides they aren't doing well so they reinvent themselves (McDonald's) 3. Niche focus: Push forward to be 1st to get product to market, stay on cutting edge (Apple, Amazon) 4. Acquisition: Key to success is buying other firms/products & adding them to yours 5. Differentiation: Way you compete is by offering highest quality product/service @ a premium price & pay employees well (Tesla) 6. Lowest cost: Offer as much of a "bad" product @ a really low cost to sell an enormous volume & don't pay employees well (Walmart) Horizontal Fit - Correct Answers Instead of up & down, go across departments (communication within the organization itself) Revenue centers - Correct Answers Are divisions or departments that generate monetary returns for the organization Productivity center - Correct Answers Is a revenue center that enhances the profitability of the organization through enhancing the productivity of the people within the organization. Cost center - Correct Answers Is a division or department that brings in no revenue or profit for the organization—running this function only costs the organization money. Goal of Strategic HR - Correct Answers To create Strategic & Financial Value: to establish all 3 types of fit- Vertical, Horizontal, & External HR's role in strategic planning - Correct Answers deal with a process of looking at our organization and environment—both today and in the expected future—and determining what we as an organization want to do to meet the requirements of that expected future. We work to predict what this future state will look like and then plan for that eventuality. Who should know about HR practices? - Correct Answers All managers require a mix of technical, human relations, conceptual and design, and business skills in order to successfully carry out their jobs. -HR managers are no different, so all leaders need management skills to improve organizational performance. If corporate strategy is to grow, then how could HR strategy reflect that? - Correct Answers By increasing recruitment efforts, increasing starting salaries, offering better benefits, & identifying underperformers.