HRM 300T Wk 5 – Apply: Week 5 Apply Assignment 

Complete the Week 5 Apply Assignment in myEducator. You have 2 attempts to complete this assignment.

Recent successes at Clearwater Electronics have created additional financial resources for the company. As a result, management has decided to install a new incentive system for the entire organization. Management has asked the director of HR to research and present an incentive system that will best align employee motivation with firm productivity. Which of the following options is most likely to create this alignment and why?

A short-term incentive program would allow employees to work on short-term company goals. Upon achieving the goals, they would receive recognition and a short-term payout.

A casual reward system would allow employees to be recognized for outstanding performance and receive a small token of appreciation from the company.

A long-term incentive program would allow employees to align their work with company goals and focus on payouts that would require longer than one year to achieve.

A profit-sharing plan would allow all employees to align their work with company goals, contribute through increased productivity, and then share in the increased profits.

The HR director at Clearwater Electronics has been asked to advise the board on a proposal to implement a variable compensation plan for top executives in each department. The CFO wants the HR director to explain how the plan will encourage productivity in top management positions. Which statement best explains why a variable compensation plan would help increase performance?

The incentives will encourage a healthy competition among the top executives.

The incentives will recognize employees who focus on well-chosen goals.

The incentives will allow for the interests of management to be aligned with the interests of shareholders.

The incentives will only be paid if the company does well, so the managers will be motivated to meet their goals.

The HR department has conducted a series of employee surveys and discovered that many employees are unhappy with their current benefits packages. After a thorough analysis, HR decides that expanding the benefits that are offered is the best option moving forward. However, in order to increase benefits, the additional costs must be justified to the board of directors. Which of the following is the best justification for the additional costs of offering better employee benefits?

Better employee benefits help employees live healthier lives.

Better employee benefits help employees be satisfied with lower wages.

Better employee benefits help provide employees with peace of mind.

Better employee benefits help attract and retain excellent employees.

After a reported accident on the production line at Clearwater Electronics, an inspection was conducted in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules. The compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) found a problem with the new automated robotic arms that had been installed at the end of the assembly line. The CSHO issued a notice of unsafe working conditions because the safety procedures and policies of the new machines were not communicated, nor readily available, to employees. Which statement best describes why HR professionals should be familiar with safety violations, even if they do not result in OSHA citations?

HR professionals are the ones who submit year-end reports documenting safety incidents.

OSHA representatives who are conducting an inspection often ask HR about the company’s safety regulations and violations.

Unsafe working conditions can result in great costs to the organization, and HR can work to implement safety procedures to avoid this.

HR professionals are the ones who provide the specific training for what happens on the line.

An argument broke out between a manager and one of his employees; HR was asked to investigate. After interviewing both the employee and the manager, the HR director overheard the employee saying, “I wish this were the olden days. I’d take this argument out in the street and solve it without anyone’s help.” Because Clearwater Electronics has a zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence, with prominent signage in a number of visible locations in the plant, the employee was immediately terminated. Why did this incident of workplace violence occur?

The incident happened due to a lack of legal authority to enforce workplace violence policies.

The incident came from the manager imposing an unsolvable problem on the employee.

The incident stemmed from ineffective problem-solving on the part of the employee.

The incident occurred due to ineffective monitoring of the workplace environment by HR.

Clearwater Electronics was recently issued a safety violation that was reported to a newspaper, resulting in an unfavorable article about the company. HR has been tasked by management to review and revise safety procedures for the entire production line. After creating an updated set of safety procedures, the chief operating officer (COO) of Clearwater Electronics is pressuring HR to implement the new safety protocols before testing so the company can issue an updated press release. Why should the safety procedures be thoroughly tested before allowing a press release?

The new procedures may need to be approved by top management to ensure they understand and support it.

The new procedures may be inefficient and create additional harm without thorough testing.

The new procedures may need to be vetted by other departments before the press release.

The new procedures may be appreciated by employees but not easy to implement.

Due to a recent patent expiration, a new industry-wide computer chip design has been released. As a result, the company that develops and produces the chip fastest will have a significant increase in revenue and market share. The HR department at Clearwater Electronics responds quickly to the patent expiration—a feature of the external environment—by hiring more innovative employees who can help with the implementation of the chip. Which of the following statements best describes the necessity for Clearwater Electronics to respond quickly to the external environment?

Organizations that respond quickly to the external environment can often capture the best talent available.

Organizations that respond quickly to the external environment can better comply with government and legal regulations.

Organizations that respond quickly to the external environment are often on the cutting edge of technology and know how to hire the new generation of workers.

Organizations that can respond quickly and efficiently to the external environment often have a competitive edge over their competitors.

To better frame the HR strategic recommendations for the next year, the HR director of Clearwater Electronics did some research on the company’s history. The company was started in 1978 as a small electrical engineering company. However, after a decade of struggling, the company discovered an untapped niche market and began to produce electronic ceramics such as substrates and integrated circuit packages. In 1989, after realizing how profitable these products were, the company reincorporated itself as Clearwater Electronics and became one of the premier leaders in the computer chip industry. Clearwater Electronics has come a long way since its early days of emergent strategy. Today, the company uses a planning strategy to set goals. Why is a planning strategy better for Clearwater’s business today?

A planning strategy analyzes the business and the market to set goals and objectives, with constant attention to the direction the company is heading.

A planning strategy allows a company to set its goals and objectives without the need for change or frequent review.

A planning strategy is better for large businesses, so it would not have worked in Clearwater’s early days.

A planning strategy allows company departments to pursue different goals and objectives to become stronger business partners.

Clearwater Electronics has purchased a mining company that supplies various rare-earth metals such as lanthanum, neodymium, and samarium that are used in the firm’s advanced electronics manufacturing. Why is vertical integration an ideal business growth strategy for Clearwater Electronics?

Vertical integration will allow the company to be more competitive in the computer chip market.

Vertical integration will allow the company to supply materials to competitors at a higher price.

Vertical integration will allow the company to gain control over its value chain.

Vertical integration will allow the company to acquire more companies in the future if this acquisition is successful.

Because most of Clearwater Electronics’ nonexempt employees belong to the union, the HR department at Clearwater Electronics recently hired a labor relations specialist, a new position in the company. Which statement gives the best reason for the company to have union expertise in the HR department?

The company needs the expertise to navigate the many changes in union legislation.

The company needs to be prepared to deal with employee discipline and investigations brought to the company.

The company needs to be better informed about union tactics.

The company needs the expertise to dissuade employees wishing to organize into a union.

The HR director at Clearwater Electronics is responsible for all negotiations with the company’s union. Like other companies in the industry, most of the employee base at Clearwater is unionized. A meeting has been scheduled to negotiate a proposed wage increase for nonexempt employees at Clearwater, and the HR director anticipates the negotiation will be difficult. Why do wage disputes cause conflict?

Conflict arises because people do not understand what the other side is going through.

Conflict arises because increased wages cost the company, and wage decreases cost the employee.

Conflict arises because the employer does not understand what it means to be in the trenches where true value is added to the company.

Conflict arises because the employees do not understand the employer’s need to reduce costs to maintain a profitable company.

The union at Clearwater Electronics reported a major safety issue at the company and worked with the HR director to draft a document to improve the safety of the production line and the workers. Why is a good relationship with the union one of the most important for the HR director to maintain?

The HR director is responsible for ensuring disputes are settled in an amicable fashion.

The HR director ensures people get along in the company, regardless of their union affiliation.

The HR director ensures the company is protected and employees are satisfied with their compensation and working conditions.

The HR director is responsible for ensuring employees receive adequate safety protection.

A central part of Clearwater Electronics’ strategic plan is to design and implement a new warehouse management system (WMS). This new system should improve many of the systems and processes within the organization. As a result, most employees will experience a significant amount of change. Why would the HR director be tasked to manage this change process?

The HR director has the responsibility to align the organization’s employees with its strategic goals and make sure employees understand how the change affects them.

The HR director should be involved in every company project.

The HR director should be the primary contact for design and implementation processes due to the significant amount of training HR professionals receive in HR planning.

The HR director can provide project management guidance to the warehouse crew.

Because of a recent downturn in the economy, the HR director of Clearwater Electronics would like to implement several changes to help the firm navigate anticipated difficulties. The HR director has prepared a needs analysis that explains the major benefits of implementing the changes, how employees will be notified of the changes, and how employees’ concerns about the changes will be addressed. Why is it important for the HR director to be concerned about how employees will accept the changes?

The research done for the needs analysis will allow the HR director to analyze  and help protect the company from possible litigation.

Being proactive about perceived barriers to change will allow the HR director to be prepared to respond to questions and concerns.

Knowing how employees will react will help inform the HR director which employees would be likely candidates for layoffs should the need arise.

Understanding reactions to change will help the HR director show employees that they should be grateful for their employment during an economic downturn.

Clearwater Electronics has a strong organizational culture that is demonstrated by high employee engagement. HR has played a vital role in perpetuating that culture, starting with recruiting applicants who share the company’s beliefs, understand the organizational strategy, and work hard. However, knowing that the only constant is change, the HR department continually monitors employees’ engagement and behaviors. Why is assessing employees’ views of the company important in maintaining a strong company culture?

What employees think is often how the company is perceived from the outside as well.

Assessing what employees talk about helps identify potential problems, which can then be addressed before they get serious.

Knowing what employees’ views are on a continual basis allows the company to identify those who do not fit into the culture.

If employees are positive about what the company stands for, they will be more positive, more productive, and more open to change.