Matching Assessment

As you read and processed the material introduced in this unit of the course, you should have begun to connect the concept of human capital management to business strategy, as guided by events happening within and out of the organization's control. You should be making a direct correlation between HR strategy/application and the elements of the internal and external environment. In this assessment, you will be presented with a series of real life hypothetical situations. After reading the situations, use the context of the material you have read in the course (identified and represented within the letter responses as a HR strategy/application) and match them to each situation. Each correct response is worth 12.5 points for a total possible point total of 100. Once you have gone through the answers and documented your response in reflection to the stated answers, add your points together to obtain your final total. Your score will be out of 100, so it should be expressed as a percentage. If you get 85 points, your grade is 85 percent. You must score at least 65 percent to pass. The grading scale is as follows:

A 90 percent+
B 80-89 percent
C 70-79 percent
D 65-69 percent
F <64 percent

1. _____ The Phontan Company is a producer of specialty ink pens in California. It is a small startup with limited human capital. Due to its size, its employees do not believe that it is necessary to employee a human resource professional to assist with daily business activity. The Phontan Company has stated the expense of employing a HR professional cannot be justified with their limited business resources. How would you respond, based on your understanding of human resources as it applies to overall business strategy?

2. _____ As a result of the economic downturn that has happened in our recent history, we are seeing an increase in retired human capital reentering the workplace. Additionally, many who are unemployed as a result of the economic downturn have found the recruitment and selection process to be lengthy and time consuming. Because there is more human capital inventory in the marketplace, employers have more options on who can fill a position and best support their business. What is the best way to describe this situation?

3. _____ Grace Rodriguez is an employee at a chocolate factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has been employed with this factory for over 25 years. In a conversation with Grace about her employment, she recalls how, at one point, she could not take any initiative in defining how her job should be completed and had to execute her duties as described by her employer. Grace is part of a union, and the union has aided in her keeping her job, as she has seniority over many of her fellow factory colleagues. What is the best identification of this situation?

4. _____ Jason Plat is an HR professional who performs all HR functions on a daily basis. In a recent meeting with company executives, he discussed a problem with using external firms and newspaper ads to find top-level employees. Also in this meeting, Jason discussed the importance of having the company control its community image and build brand champions (individuals who are superb company ambassadors). He brought to the attention of the executives some negative information several employees had stated about the company. What's going on here?

5. _____ Connie Poon is an employee for Junjezz Enterprises. She is an Account Executive and typically works 50 to 65 hours a week. Her job requires her to travel a lot, which takes her away from her husband and three children. Connie is growing frustrated with her job and has considered stepping down or finding a new job altogether. Junjezz values Connie and her contributions to their organizational success. How does Connie's issue impact the management of human capital?

6. _____ The Lasexx Corporation is a multi-million dollar retail company that employees over 2,000 individuals. To meet the demands of their business and the needs of their consumers, they constantly provide opportunities for their sales force to remain current  in their knowledge of their products. They host a lot of live meets and broadcast them to their employees in real time. What is the best way to describe this situation from an HR perspective?

7. _____ IronJack International is a US-based manufacturer of car parts. In recent times, IronJack has had to make some major cuts in its human capital to remain competitive and meet the changing needs of the business. After major changes in how they manage their operations and human capital, they have decided that they are unable to maintain their business in its current form and need to close their US-based production. They have chosen to move all manufacturing and production to Haiti. What is the best way to describe this situation from and HR perspective?

8. _____ Bruce Evans is an HR manager for LadyBug. It is Bruce's job to monitor all functions of human resources and ensure the best outcomes for the organization. Ladybug is an organization that produces beer and ale aimed at women consumers. They have production operations across the United States, and they are always located near bodies of water, since water is integral to their business operation. In recent news, BP oil had an oil spill disaster that impacted a foundational resource for LadyBug. This spill had the potential to slow down the production of LadyBug's operation. Bruce made the decision to contract and hire temporary truck drivers to drive water from other nonimpacted sources of water to ensure business continued to go on as usual. What is the best identification of this situation?

NOTE: Listed below is the HR strategy/application of human capital management that correlates to each of the above situations. Having gone through the course contents, you should be able to use the contents to critically think through these situations and respond accordingly. Each strategy/HR application matches to only one of the above situations. Please match each strategy to the applicable
situation.

A. One of the greatest evolvements of HR is the way organizations source employees and track their personal behavior. The onset of social networking (LinkedIn and Twitter) has become a great tool for HR professionals seeking human capital and hoping to discovering insight about their backgrounds-all in an effort to ensure the best fit into the organization.

B. Human Resource Management is in a state of constant evolution. As businesses change to meet the demands of consumers and attempt to remain competitive, they will be faced with issues and trends affecting how they do business and employ human capital.

C. In today's business world, many organizations are creating what is referred to as "made to order relationships." Employers are providing opportunities for employees to work from home, telecommute, and/or work non-traditional hours so they are able to make doctor appointments.

D. Human Resource Management was traditionally implemented in what is understood as a very rigid and structured environment. There are a lot of policies and procedures in place and they must be followed at all times. This type of HR management was referred to as the Industrial and Salaried Model.

E. Small to mid-size companies usually rely on outside services to support their business activities. Every organization that employs human capital should have some form of HR representation.

F. The government of the United States creates laws and legislation to support the fair and equitable treatment of human capital. Part of this legislation requires an employer to pay a variety of taxes in order to do business here in the US. The government continues to create and augment these laws to support trends in the workplace. In response to these changes, we have seen many organizations take advantage of globalization and outsource some or all of their operations to another country.

G. Human Resource Management has the responsibility of connecting the vision and mission of an organization with the challenges of the external environment, which is completely out of their control. It is vital to the success of business operations that an organization is aware of changing laws, natural disasters, and technology in order to make decisions that will meet the changing needs of the business. This is commonly known as understanding the strategic direction of the organization.

H. As the task of managing human capital continues to evolve, many organizations are trying to find new ways to meet the needs of their business and their human capital. One common response is to offer training and development, which provides insight and knowledge on techniques and required expectations. Organizations operating in today's market have the option of utilizing technology to meet these needs. Using tools like podcasts or web-based online learning not only saves money, but provides the company with a unified way of ensuring that all employees are receiving the same information.