Human Resource Information Systems Basics Applications and Future Directions 3rd Edition by Michael J. Kavanagh -Test Bank A+

Description

1. GANTT, PERT, and CPM charts are techniques used in:
2. identification of modules to computerize

*B. project management (PM)

1. data flow diagramming
2. utility analysis

1. The final stage of the system development process for an HRIS is:
2. implementation

*B. evaluation

1. maintenance
2. distribution

1. Which one of the following reasons has been identified as a barrier to success in the development and implementation of an HRIS?

*A. project team instability

1. a well-done needs analysis
2. use of PERT
3. use of a Gantt chart

1. An effective plan for HRIS implementation should include:
2. project goals and timetables
3. responsibilities and resources
4. monitoring and reporting mechanisms

*D. all of the above

1. The major advantage in using PM approaches and tools during the SDLC for an HRIS is:

*A. a tighter control over the process to ensure successful implementation

1. a graphical picture of the entire project showing all activities
2. top management support is guaranteed
3. communications are always accurate

1. A method for analyzing a project that calculates the starting and ending times for each activity, determines which activities are critical to the completion of a project is called:
2. the SDLC
3. a Gantt chart

*C. CPM

1. PERT

1. A method for analyzing the tasks involved in completing a given project, the time needed to complete each task, and the minimum time needed to complete the total project is called:
2. the SDLC
3. a Gantt chart
4. CPM

*D. PERT

1. The item developed during the first phase of the SDLC that describes the key stakeholders and seeks to ensure that the right questions are asked so that the right problem is solved is the:
2. project team

*B. project concept

1. work packages
2. project proposal

1. The item developed during the first phase of the SDLC that contains objectives and performance targets (e.g., cost, time, scope) for the HRIS project is the:
2. project timetable
3. project concept
4. work packages

*D. project proposal

1. The item created during the SDLC that defines the order in which activities, tasks and jobs are to be performed, and specific check or monitoring points are established is the:

*A. work breakdown structure

1. project concept
2. work packages
3. project proposal

1. It has been estimated that failure of IT projects costs organizations in the United States alone at least ___________ a year.
2. $500 million
3. $750 million

*C. $100 billion

1. $750 billion

1. The five key factors of PM: schedule, budget, open issues, risks, and communication are assessed during the ____________ ___________ phase.
2. project initiation phase
3. project planning phase

*C. project execution phase

1. project close-out phase

1. The term used to describe when decisions are made during the PM process to implement additional functions beyond what was defined in the project scope is called:
2. reengineering
3. process mapping
4. project add-ons

*D. project creep

1. What are the three general factors that affect successful PM?

*A. time, cost, and scope

1. creep, scope and time
2. cost, management, and creep
3. time, management and creep

1. The primary responsibility of the steering committee in the development and implementation of an HRIS using PM technology and tools is the:
2. provision of additional resources as needed during the project

*B. oversight of the project in terms of progress toward meeting strategic goals

1. contacting external vendors to provide checks on the progress of the project
2. all of the above

True/False

1. The sequence of activities in a project plan that results in the least cost for the project is called the critical path.
2. True

*B. False

1. Effective PM for the HRIS depends completely on a positive relationship between the IT and HR departments.

*A. True

1. False

1. The celebration of the completion of an HRIS project is not a part of the four phases of project management.
2. True

*B. False

1. PM brings a critical capability to the HRIS project—namely, evaluation of the project’s performance by monitoring progress against the planned timetable.

*A. True

1. False

1. One important task for the project steering committee is the development of the project charter.

*A. True

1. False

1. The project charter shows connection to organizational goals and strategies.

*A. True

1. False

1. The coordination of the members of the steering committee is usually delegated to the administrative assistant of the project sponsor.
2. True

*B. False

1. Sending an email indicating progress on a Gantt chart is a good way to ensure cooperation from both the steering committee and the project team members.
2. True

*B. False

1. One of the major tasks of the PM team is to identify the need for more resources in the early phases of the project.

*A. True

1. False

1. Project creep can be contained by frequent updates on the project’s progress that includes a definition of the project charter.

*A. True

1. False

1. Complete, accurate, and up-to-date documentation of the system is critical for the implementation of a successful HRIS.

*A. True

1. False

1. Since the project team is mostly comprised of HR and IT professionals as well as line managers, it does not need additional training to complete the project successfully.
2. True

*B. False

1. Premature introduction of a new HRIS or introducing it without appropriate training will lead to failure.

*A. True

1. False

1. User involvement is not a critical factor in the successful implementation of the HRIS.
2. True

*B. False

1. Poor integration between systems after the implementation of an HRIS, e. g., HR, Marketing, Finance, is usually the result of company politics aimed at gaining a larger share of the annual budget.
2. True

*B. False

Short Answer Essay

1. In which phases of the SDLC is documentation important? Why?

*Answer: Documentation is important in every phase of the SDLC since each phase builds on the previous one. However, as emphasized in this chapter, documentation is critical in the implementation and maintenance phases. It is important to remember that during the implementation and maintenance phases that evaluation of the HRIS project is ongoing. Documenting this evaluation is very useful when one has to modify or update the HRIS in the future.

1. What is the information needed to construct a Gantt chart?

*Answer: Three pieces of information are needed to construct a Gantt chart: (1) a list of all activities required to complete the project; (2) The time (duration) that each activity will take to complete; and (3) The dependencies among the activities

1. Regardless of the methodology employed, what are the four general PM process phases in common?

*Answer: The four general phases of all PM methodologies are:

1. initiation phase
2. project planning phase
3. project execution phase
4. project close-out phase

1. During the the management of an HRIS project, what are the four categories of organizational factors that place resource limits and specifications on the project?

*Answer: • Time—start and end dates

• People—identification, specific skills they bring to project, availability, costs
• Tools—equipment, software
• Money—budget

1. What are the three general problems that must be addressed that are critical to the success of any of the PM methodologies?

*Answer: • There are three general problems that are critical to the success of any of these methodologies

1. First is the importance of solving the right problem. All too often, IT developers create HRIS systems that they think end users want.
2. The second issue is to have IT system developers who do not understand the HRM domain and its problems and constraints. It is necessary to have systems developers who are sensitive to HR issues and willing to learn about the constraints in HR functionality.
3. The third issue involves having project managers, from either an IT or an HR department, who must understand the dynamic nature of any HRIS project and how the interrelations among various factors might render decisions ineffective or even counterproductive. For example, studies have shown that assigning more people to an overdue project might actually delay project completion.

1. What are organizational requirements necessary for the success of the HRIS project using PM technology and tools?

*Answer: 1. Identification of steering committee and project charter

1. Configuring the PM team
2. Identification of available resources and constraints
3. Controlling project creep
4. Selection of the implementation team
5. Training and documentation

1. Who should be on the PM team?

*Answer: The PM team should comprise representatives from the functional units affected, most notably the HR and IT departments. There may be other units affected, for example, operations, marketing, or finance, and a judgment must be made whether to include representatives from these functional units or simply supply regular update reports on the project to them. The HR professionals chosen for the team should have significant functional knowledge—for example, manager of employment or compensation—with some technical proficiency, as well as having a positive status within their department and the organization. Likewise, IT professionals could include systems analysts, hardware and software specialists, and HRIS professionals, all of whom should be respected members of the organization.

1. What is change management and is it important for the successful development and implementation of an HRIS?

*Answer: Change management is a structured approach to changing individuals, groups, and organizations to accept new ideas and processes, that is, a new HRIS. Lewin (1951) described change management as involving three phases—unfreezing current attitudes and behaviors, changing to new attitudes and behaviors, and refreezing these new attitudes and behavior. There are other change management approaches in the literature (Kotter, 1996; Luecke, 2003). The important point is that these approaches work and are absolutely critical for the successful implementation and use of the HRIS.

1. What are the goals and activities that occur during the project close-out phase?

*Answer: The project close-out phase involves the implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of the HRIS. This phase includes the following goals and activities:

1. Accepting the project’s products (indicated by user sign off)
2. Completing the post-implementation evaluation report (PIER)
3. Disbursing resources (staff, facilities, and automated systems)
4. Conducting a “lessons learned” session
5. Completing and archiving project records
6. Recognizing outstanding achievement
7. Celebrating project completion

1. How is tighter control attained by using the PM approaches and tools to ensure successful implementation of the HRIS?

*Answer: This tighter control is attained by the following means:

1. Definition of all activites to be accomplished to complete the project
2. Establishment of a specific schedule for activities that includes an estimate of when each activity will start and end
3. Project milestones that are used to monitor specific activities set by this schedule
4. Assignment of resources in terms of equipment, people, and, thus, costs for all activities
5. Computation of the total budget and allocation of the budget needed to accomplish each activity
6. A graphical picture of the entire project showing all activities, their costs, and their milestones

Chapter 7: Human Resource Metrics and Workforce Analytics

Multiple Choice

1. Using HR metrics to measure the effectiveness of one company’s HR programs against other companies is called:
2. organizational enhancement
3. baseline functionality

*C. benchmarking

1. risk avoidance

1. The primary purpose for the use of HR metrics and workforce analytics is to:
2. measure the effectiveness of HR programs

*B. help managers make different and better decisions

1. compare the differences among operational departments, e. g., finance, marketing
2. provide qualitative information about the functioning of the organization.

1. The most important factor that has led to increased emphasis on HR metrics and analytics is:
2. the costs involved in employee transactions
3. the quality revolution in the U. S.

*C. the increased use and implementation of integrated HRIS

1. the growing interest in evidence-based management

1. The metrics that focus on how well the HR department accomplishes its critical processes to support organizational effectiveness are:
2. Strategic realignment
3. Predictive analysis
4. computing infrastructures

*D. administrative process efficiency

1. HR metrics that focus on developing leading indicators of performance from several important perspectives are called:

*A. Dashboards

1. Data Mining
2. Workforce Modeling
3. Operational Experiments

1. “Big Data” refers to:
2. many Dashboards on One topic

*B. Multiple and varied Data Bases combined with various algorithms

1. A program to build more effective Benchmarks within an Organization
2. All of the above

1. Posting HR metrics and analytics analyses reports on internal company Web sites is called:
2. Putting HR Metrics and Analytics Data in Context

*B. Push systems of reporting

1. Bottom line reports
2. Benchmarking

1. The Saratoga Institute/SHRM Human Resources metrics are:
2. the HR metrics most frequently used in organizations
3. the foundation for the HRM benchmarking programs
4. the metrics used to measure or audit HR programs and activities

*D. all of the above

1. The technique used to identify causal mechanism within data and identify patterns of relationships is called:

*A. data mining

1. computing infrastructures
2. operational experiments
3. strategic realignment

1. Metrics are data (numbers) that reflect some detail about given organizational outcomes while analytics are:
2. used to calculate costs and benefits analyses
3. used to predict the future strategy of an organization

*C. strategies for combining metrics and examining changes in metrics

1. efforts to align real-time analysis of organizational and HR processes

1. A common concern among individuals who construct metrics and analytics reports is:
2. they can lead to erroneous managerial actions

*B. whether anyone pays any attention to their reports

1. poor reporting of data elements to form metrics by the HR department
2. that the computer software is capable of handling the magnitude of data

1. An example of a push communications channel is:
2. memos from top management
3. posting metrics and analytics on company websites
4. offering access to searchable information repositories

*D. emails to managers on metrics and analytics

1. One of the useful things to remember about HR metrics and analytics is “Don’t Do Metrics.” This advice means that:
2. organizations without an integrated computing infrastructure should not do metrics
3. not focus on small, narrowly targeted metrics

*C. developing HR metrics should be focused on increased organizational effectiveness

1. both push and pull communications should be used

1. Attempts to understand how an organization’s human capital needs would change as a function of some expected change in the organization’s environment is called:
2. strategic alignment

*B. workforce modeling

1. operational experiments
2. data mining

1. Strategic realignment involves the set of activities most commonly known as:
2. predictive analysis
3. benchmarking
4. Total Quality Management

*D. human resource planning

True/False

1. Administrative process efficiency refers to the capacity to conduct existing HRM processes accurately and on time while minimizing costs.

*A. True

1. False

1. Centralizing HRM processes, e.g., recruiting employees, training employees, directly affects organizational effectiveness.
2. True

*B. False

1. An important test of the appropriateness of outcome metrics is the “why” test.

*A. True

1. False

1. The use of HR metrics and workforce analytics is mostly driven by reduced computing costs.
2. True

*B. False

1. The balanced scorecard approach focuses on what will happen in the organization.
2. True

*B. False

1. An InforGraph and an HR Dashboard have the same purpose

*A. True

1. False

1. Many managers perceive the increased interest in metrics and analytics as simply a mandate to compute and report more metrics.

*A. True

1. False

1. Assessing and reporting HR metrics will result in better organizational performance.
2. True

*B. False

1. No information system generates any return on the investment unless managers change their decision behavior for the better.

*A. True

1. False

1. Trying to identifying what metrics should be reported without considering an organization’s problems and opportunities misses the reasons for the metrics.

*A. True

1. False

1. Dashboards are an enriched component of reporting.

*A. True

1. False

1. “Big Data” is a significant worldwide trend and usually involves large scale and multiple databases on many topics.

*A. True

1. False

1. Common perspective and literature advice indicate that data elements lead to metrics.
2. True

*B. False

1. Organizations must have access to the knowledge in “centers of excellence” to change activities of the HRM function.

*A. True

1. False

1. When undertaking a metrics and analytics effort, the first question is the cost.
2. True

*B. False

1. A common and effective approach in identifying choices for outcome measures is based on personal theories.
2. True

*B. False

Short Answer Essay

1. What is the most important use of HR Metrics and Analytics?

*Answer: The most important use of HR Metrics and Analytics is to provide managers with information that will help them make different and better decisions than they would have without that information, and these decisions will improve organizational effectiveness.

1. What are some of the limitations of early attempts of HR Metrics?

*Answer: Many derived solely from Accounting Systems. Focus on costs – Limited value to strategy. If managers are only provided information about costs, with little or no information about benefits, costs are likely to become the primary driver of managerial decisions. This perpetuates the still common perception of HR as a “cost center. Tended to aggregate data to the level of the organization. As such, they offer limited information that could be used to identify and diagnose within-organization differences. Produced “After the Fact” resulting in slow responses to problems or opportunities. Because they provide data “after-the-fact”, these are described as “feedback” metrics.

1. What metric of HR effectiveness is calculated by “the sum of external costs (recruiting) and internal costs (training new employees) divided by the total number of new employees in a specific time period?”

*Answer: Cost per hire.

1. What are the differences between metrics and analytics?

*Answer: There is a fundamental distinction between HR metrics and workforce analytics. Metrics are data (numbers) that reflect some detail about given outcomes, e.g., success in recruiting new employees. These metrics reflect characteristics of the organization’s HR programs and activities. Analytics refer to strategies for combining data elements into metrics and for examining relationships or changes in metrics.

1. What is the difference between “push” and “pull” methods of communicating HR metrics and analytics?

*Answer: Push communications channels, such as e-mail, actively push information and analyses to the attention of managers. These channels are used for information that is time critical or that the manager is unaware of. Push systems are excellent for getting information to decision makers.

Pull systems are ways of making information available to managers so that they can access any of it at a point in time when it will be most useful for their decision making. An example would be posting HR metrics and analytics analyses and reports on internal company Web sites.

1. What is workforce modeling and what is its use in an organization?

*Answer: Workforce modeling attempts to understand how an organization’s human capital needs would change as a function of some expected change in the organization’s environment. This change may be a shift in the demand for the organization’s product, entry into a new market, divestiture of one of the organization’s business, or a pending acquisition of or merger with another organization.

1. What is the primary determinant of the success of a metrics and analytics project?

*Answer: The success of any metrics and analytics project is not measured by how many people are involved, how many metrics it tracks, or how many people receive reports. It is gauged by the impact that the project’s results have on managerial decisions.

1. Why is it important to put HR metrics and analytics in context?

*Answer: Reporting HR metrics data alone is ineffective in leading to improvement in managerial decision making. Data points representing important organizational outcomes become useful when the decision maker can attach some meaning to them. Often data will need to be placed in context. For example, that an organization’s turnover level for newly hired management trainees is 13 percent is more meaningful when it can be placed in the context of the organization’s previous turnover history for this position. Is turnover rising or falling for this position, and, if so, how quickly? Reporting trend information for metrics is one way to provide the context that gives meaning to the data, thus creating useful information.

1. What is the value of an HR Dashboard?

*Answer: Dashboards are a component of reporting. Dashboards reflect efforts to align real-time analysis of organizational and HR processes as well as an increased capacity to aggregate organizational data. They present a series of related Metrics in an easy to read and understand form. Top executives can immediately see trends by looking at the variety of graphical charts – pie charts, line diagrams, scales and “meters” showing company results against other companies or over time.

1. What is the difference between data mining and predictive analyses?

*Answer: Data mining refers to efforts to identify patterns that exist within data and that may identify unrecognized causal mechanisms that can be used to enhance decision making. To identify these causal mechanism data mining uses correlation and multiple regression methods to identify patterns of relationships in extremely large datasets. An example would be the identification of a correlation between employee job satisfaction and employee turnover.

Predictive analysis involves attempts to develop models of organizational systems than can be used to predict future outcomes and understand the consequences of hypothetical changes in organizations, for example, a change in existing organizational systems or processes. To use the example above, if the organization discovered a correlation between employee job satisfaction and turnover, HR could use this data to suggest modifications to the employees’ work situation or their benefits. with the goal of increasing employee satisfaction.