Succession Management
1. What are the main differences between replacement planning and succession
management?
Succession management is a planned, strategic and long-term process to help organizations
prepare for the future by identifying critical roles, finding and evaluating potential future leaders,
and developing them over time. This would ensure the organization has employees prepared for
future leadership roles when someone resigns, retires or is suddenly unavailable. This would
prevent chaos when someone in a key role leaves. Replacement training is different; it focuses
on creating short-term and emergency backup plans for when someone suddenly or
unexpectedly leaves. For example, if an employee were to leave tomorrow, then who could step
in today? Over time, succession management has evolved by focusing from specific jobs to
focusing on strategic roles, using 360-degree feedback rather than single opinions, preferring
long-term planning over short-term planning and focusing on building talent pools rather than
relying on one backup plan.
2. What should an organization do to identify and develop high-potential
employees?
An organization should identify and develop high-potential employees by looking at an
employee's work experience and actual performance. They can use tools like replacement
charts, temporary replacements, strategic assessments and performance evaluations to help
find high-potential individuals. In order to know how competent these employees are, they
should be offered promotions, job rotations and special assessments to see how well they
perform, and whether they are capable to handling the job tasks or not. Once they are identified,
organizations should develop these individuals by offering formal training, as well as coaching
and mentoring opportunities to help them grow professionally and seek career advice when
needed. Another method is action learning, where they would be given an opportunity to
perform real-world tasks and overcome challenges to help them become comfortable with the
job duties. These developmental strategies would help ensure that these high-potential
employees are being developed for future leadership roles.
3. What measures can be used to evaluate succession management?
To evaluate a succession plan, organizations can use a mix of lead and lag measures. Lead
measures track early signals like engagement scores, how employees perceive developmental
opportunities and participation in training or mentoring programs. Lag measure focuses on the
actual outcome, such as the number of candidates for key roles, internal vs external hire ratios
and the retention rate of top talent. Other indicators of lag measures are the percentage of
positions with replacement plans and positive job evaluations. Additionally, tracking how many
managers act as talent developers also shows how well succession efforts are integrated into
leadership. Using both of these measures would help evaluate succession management by
portraying whether an organization is doing a good job of building future leaders and making
them ready for key transitions.
4. Do you agree that HR plays a more critical role than employees in succession
management?
Yes, HR plays a more critical role because it manages and leads the entire succession process.
They are responsible for identifying critical roles, creating development plans and aligning the
process with the organization's long-term strategy. This would reduce vacancy risks, in which no
one is ready to fill in the positions, readiness risks, which involve candidates lacking the right
skills required for the job and transition risk is when new hires don’t perform well, leading to
organizational downfall. While employees are still involved in identifying their strengths and
participating in development, they rely on HR for structure, tools and support. Therefore, HR is
more important as employees need direction and consistency, making HR’s role more strategic
and essential, and employees follow its footsteps.
5. If York University asked you to design a succession program, what would you
do?
I would first align the succession plan with York’s long-term goals and strategic direction. This
would ensure transparency and a clear understanding of their expectations. Second, I would
analyze external factors and predict which key roles need to be filled in the next 3,5 and 10
years, to conduct long-term planning. Third, I would figure out what core competencies these
key roles entail, such as job-based, role-specific and unique skills to make sure I find candidates
with relevant skills. Fourth, I would evaluate internal talent using performance data, replacement
charts, temporary replacements, and strategic assessments to find the right candidates. Fifth,
once they are identified, I would offer job rotations, promotions, formal training, mentoring and
coaching to develop them professionally and help them become comfortable with job duties.
Lastly, I would monitor their progress using lead and lag measures, such as engagement
scores, readiness levels, internal hire ratios and make adjustments as needed.
Change Management
1. Why is organizational change important? What roles will HR play in
organizational change?
Organizational change is important because companies are operating in dynamic environments
where they constantly grow, shrink and adapt. With today’s fast paced and high uncertainty,
being able to manage change give firms a sustainable competitive advantage. Chage often
responds to societal trends, industry developments or stakeholder demands at the firm level.
HR plays a key role by supporting the change process and aligning HR practices with skills like
training and communication the organizations goals. HR also clarifies and communicates core
values, builds employee skills through training and learning, and helps staff adjust to new
systems or roles. Without HR’s involvement, change would be harder to implement and sustain
effectively.
2. What practical lessons can we learn from the open systems model?
The open systems model show how organizations are constantly interacting with external
environments by receiving inputs and producing outputs. To succeed long term, organizations
must use feedback to assess if they are meeting the goals and to guide improvements. They
need systems to support learning, such as a single loop learning which involves solving a
problem without questioning assumptions and double loop learning which involves questioning
the problem itself. Double loop learning is especially important during change because it
encourages innovation and challenges outdated thinking. Change models should ensure
feedback is valid, learning is supported, and goals are aligned with the organizations purpose.
This helps organizations become more flexible, self aware and adaptive to future changes.
3. What are the four key elements of the planned model of change?
Field theory helps us understand how people’s behaviour is influenced by a balance of driving
and resisting forces. To create change, organizations must increase the drivers and reduce
resistors to shape how people act. Forced Field Analysis builds on the field theory and is used
to visually map those driving and resisting forces. This helps leaders make informed decisions
about where to focus their efforts in making change more likely to succeed. Group dynamics
emphasize that successful change happens at the group level and not just with individuals.
Organizations must work to shift team values, roles and norms, since group tend to resist
change and reinforce old ways. Action Reseach is a cycle of trials, learning and improvement.
This involves diagnosing a problem, acting on a plan, evaluating the outcome, learning from the
result and repeating the process to refine and improve over time.
4. Is the generic model better than Lewin’s three-step model?
Yes the genric model is better in todays complex and fast changing environments than the
Lewin's model because it is broader and flexible, ideal for ongoing and complex change with
planning, feedback and sustainability. Lewins model is simple, linear and better for a small or
one time changes. It involves unfreeze which is preparing for change to happen, change is
when the actual change is implemented and refrezee is stabilizing the change as the new
normal.
● Yes, the generic model works better in today’s complex, fast-changing environments.
● It starts with recognizing the need for change and diagnosing what needs to be
fixed.
● It includes stages like planning, implementation, and sustaining change.
● It also accounts for important factors like culture, stakeholders, and political skills.
● Lewin’s model (unfreeze → move → refreeze) is more basic and doesn’t fully
address long-term changes.
● So, the generic model is more flexible and realistic for today’s organizations.
🧠 Memory Tip: “Generic = full roadmap. Lewin = basic steps.”
5. If York asked you to lead change, what steps would you take (Generic +
Kotter)?
First, I would create a sense of urgency on why the change is needed and ensure the need for
change is recognized across the organization. Next, I would build a guiding coalition, a team of
committed leaders and diagnose what specifically needs to be changed. Then I would create a
clear vision and strategy and communicate the change widely using consistent messaging. I
would empower others by removing obstacles and encouraging involvement, while also
planning for change with consideration of York’s culture, leadership and timeline. Then I would
work to achieve short-term wins and sustain the change by building momentum and reinforcing
successful changes. Throughout, I would use the generic model to implement changes using
social and political awareness and sustained through organizational learning, feedback and
alignment with York’s culture.
● Step 1: I’d start by creating urgency — explain why change is needed now (Kotter 1).
● Step 2: Then I’d form a strong guiding team to lead the effort (Kotter 2).
● Step 3: Next, I’d create a clear vision for what York wants to become (Kotter 3).
● Step 4: I’d communicate the vision to all staff clearly and repeatedly (Kotter 4).
● Step 5: I’d empower people by removing obstacles and encouraging initiative (Kotter
5).
● Step 6: Then, I’d celebrate small wins to keep momentum strong (Kotter 6).
● Step 7: I’d build on success and keep pushing more change (Kotter 7).
● Step 8: Finally, I’d institutionalize the change by embedding it into York’s culture,
structure, and systems (Kotter 8).
🔁 Meanwhile, I’d follow the Generic Model side by side:
● Recognize the need for change and get buy-in.
● Diagnose what’s wrong and what needs to improve.
● Plan and prepare, considering York’s culture, timeline, and leadership.
● Implement change using strong communication, political awareness, and staff
involvement.
● Sustain the change through long-term learning, training, and structure updates.
● This combination makes the change effort strategic, structured, and lasting.
Downsizing, Restructuring, and Outsourcing
1. What are the three types of restructuring and the three types of downsizing?
(Include an example of each.)
Three types of restructuring includes portfolio which involves changing the mix of business units
the company owns. For example, a tech company sells off its mobile phone division to focus on
software. Financial restructuring involves making adjustments to the capital structure, like debt
vs equity. For example, a company issues new shares to pay off its long term debt.
Organizational restructuring involves making changes in internal structure, departments and
management levels. For example, A retailer eliminates the layer of middle management to
reduce costs and speed up decision making. Three types of downsizing includes workforce
reduction, which is short term and involves immediate layoffs, early retirement and terminations.
For example, A manufacturer lays off 300 employees due to declining sales. Work design is
medium term and combines and simplyflies job tasks and responsibilities. For example, two
administrative roles are merged into one position with broader duties. Systemic change is long
term and involves making changes in business processes to reduce costs and increase
efficiency. For example, automating the payroll system to reduce reliance on manual
processing.
2. What are the dark sides of downsizing?
Downsizing leads to negative reactions from investors, especially if its financially driven rather
than strategic. It causes emotional and finacial harm to displaced employees, making them
experience frustration, stress and job insecurity. Survivors often suffer from low morale, anxiety
and reduced loyalty, which leads to lower performance and more job searching behaviours. It
damages organiational culture by causing employees to feel disengaged, isolated and losing
trust on leadership. It also causes serious harm to health, family related stress and emotional
withdrawal from work. Overall, it causes damage to the organizations culture and employees
become less productive and demotivated.
3. What roles does HR play in downsizing?
HR plays a strategic and supportive role in downsizing ensuring they are not just about who to
cut but also ensuring the business is functional and fair towards everyone. They help restructure
in a way that keeps the best talent and maintain productivity. They use tools like skills
inventories and planning charts to guide who stays and who goes. They communicate clearly to
avoid confusion, panic and rumour. Lastly, they evaluate if the process they are conducting in
downsizing is effective or not to ensure the business id not disadvantaged in anyway.
4. Canadian Tire has experienced significant financial losses this year. What
effective downsizing approaches should they use?
Downsizing should benign at the top, all employes from different levels shold be involved in th
downsizing process in some way. Workforce reduction should be selective, ensuring they focus
on long term goals and not just on reducing costs. Special care should be given to supporting
laid off workers and engaging survivors. Canadian tire should focus on eliminating inefficiencies,
not just on staff cutting. They should restructure into smaller, semi autonomous units to boost
performance and speed up decision making. The goal should be proactive improvement and not
just focusing on addressing financial losses.
5. What are the risks and limitations of outsourcing?
The risks and limitations of outsourcing include expected outcome don’t always match reality as
the company might expect a huge profit or increase in sales but this might not always occur.
Customer service may suffer as external employees might not care to provide as satisfactory
performance as internal employees. Employee morale drops as many feel disengaged,
demotivated and fear of being displaced. Security risks increase as sensitive information might
be leaked with having external workers. Over outsourcing can “hollow out” a company, leading
to reduced innovation and internal capability.
6. York University is going to outsource janitorial services. If you are the
outsourcing project manager, what steps will you take?
● First, I’d select potential vendors by preparing a Request for Proposal (RFP) and
inviting bids.
● I’d inform affected staff about the outsourcing decision and timeline.
● Then, I’d create a team to review bids and choose the most suitable vendor.
● During contract negotiations, I’d set clear performance standards and include
penalty clauses.
● I’d establish benchmarks like response time, service quality, and satisfaction ratings.
● After implementation, I’d build a relationship with the vendor, check references, and
monitor performance.
● I’d use regular reports and client satisfaction surveys to ensure service stays on
track.
International expansion, mergers and acquisitions
1. What are the four stages of international expansion and HRM approaches
aligned with each stage? (Include an example of each.)
Domestic strategy (domestic approach): this approach focuses on its home country and
HRM pratices that require little to no change. For example, a canadian retailer operates only
in Canada and follows the canadian standar HR rules. Multidomestic strategy (exportive
approach) focuses on expanding to foreign markets and following foreign HRM practises to
align with the local economic, legal and political conditions. For example, a canadian hotel
chain operates in India, so they align their HRM practices with the Indian labour laws and
Multinational strategy (adaptive approach) involves firms operating internationally,
transferring their home country HRM pratices to the foreign markets without adaptations.
For example, a canadian manufacturer sets up a plant in Brazil but implements the
canadian HR practices in the foreign market. Global strategy (integrative approach) involves
blending both home country and foreign countries HRM to find a balanced mix to support
global goals. For example, a global tech company blends both canadian and japanese HRM
in their Tokyo office and hires qualified candidates regardless of their nationality.
2. What are the key challenges influencing international HRM?
Workforce diversity is a major challenge because ensuring all employees are given fair
treatment and equal opportunities including more women, more old aged people, individuals
with disabilities and people from different backgrounds. Local laws play a big part because the
company has to ensure they follow local labour laws, rules and regulations to prevent getting in
trouble with legislation and also ensure they perform the necessary duties towards their
employees that the law requires expects them to do. Security is really important because some
countries are not as safe, posing threats where the company is responsible for proetcting these
employees.
● Workforce diversity is a major challenge — HR must manage differences in age,
gender, disability, and culture.
● Employment legislation varies between countries and creates complexity for HR
compliance.
● HR managers must understand both Canadian and host-country laws when
expanding internationally.
● Security concerns are increasing globally, so protecting employees abroad is critical.
● Cultural differences affect communication, training, and leadership styles.
● All these factors make international HRM more complex than domestic HRM.
🧠 Memory Tip: “Diversity, Laws, Security, Culture = IHRM Challenges”
3. What are the main differences between merger and acquisition, and between
friendly and hostile takeovers? (Include examples.)
● A merger is when two or more firms join together as equals.
Example: Two Canadian banks merge to create a single larger entity.
● An acquisition is when one firm buys out another, either partially or fully.
Example: A U.S. tech giant purchases a smaller Toronto-based startup.
● A friendly takeover happens with the consent of the acquired company’s
management.
Example: Google Canada agrees to acquire a local AI company with mutual approval.
● A hostile takeover happens against the will of the target company’s leadership.
Example: A corporation buys shares of a company despite management trying to
block it.
🧠 Memory Tip: “Merger = join, Acquisition = buy | Friendly = willing, Hostile = against”
4. What are the main reasons for and possible impacts of mergers?
● Strategic reasons include operating synergy, entering new markets, and gaining
capabilities.
● Financial reasons include tax benefits, cash flow stability, and funding growth.
● Sometimes, mergers happen due to managerial motives — for power or personal
gain.
● But only 23% of mergers recover their costs, and many result in profit drops.
● Mergers impact HR negatively — staff layoffs, low trust, job insecurity, and reduced
engagement.
● Merging cultures is hard and takes years, especially in cross-border mergers, often
causing resistance or turnover.
🧠 Memory Tip: “Strategy, Finance, Ego → Stress, Loss, Culture Clash”
5. If Canada Goose hires you to develop a strategic plan for a plant in China,
what would you focus on in HR?
Recruitment focus in hiring candidates from home country, host country or third party. This
depends on the cost, skill availability and strategic goals.
Training: cross cultural training is essential for employees going abroad. This helps them
become comfortable and adjust to cultural differences, work styles and avoids
misunderstandings.
Post assignment: after completing the assignment in the host country employees should be sent
back home using expatriation. HR must manage reverse culture shock and plan on how utilize
their international experience for career development.
6. If Google Canada acquires an AI company in Toronto, what would you do for
HR planning? (Step-by-step)
● Step 1: Create a contingency plan — assign a merger coordinator and define
communication methods.
● Step 2: Conduct HR due diligence — review employment contracts, compensation,
benefits, WSIB records, and HR policies.
● Step 3: Form a transition team to manage integration and reduce employee stress.
● Step 4: Address compliance issues — ensure collective agreements and legal
obligations are honored.
● Step 5: Communicate changes clearly and frequently to maintain trust and reduce
uncertainty.
● Step 6: Focus on culture blending, identifying cultural differences and planning how
to merge them effectively.
● Step 7: Track employee engagement and retention to measure how well the
transition is going.
🧠 Memory Tip: “Plan → Check → Team → Comply → Communicate → Blend → Track”
1. What are the main differences between cost-benefit analysis and utility
analysis, and between audit and benchmarking? (Include an example of each)
Cost-benefit analysis compares the financial and non-financial costs of an HR program to
the benefits it delivers. For example, evaluating whether the cost of a leadership training
program results in improved employee performance and retention.
Utility analysis focuses more on the value added by different HR methods or tools, such as
whether structured interviews lead to better hiring decisions than unstructured ones.
An HR audit is an internal review that checks whether HR activities are meeting planned
objectives, like reviewing if recruitment timelines and safety standards were followed.
Benchmarking, on the other hand, is external—it compares your HR practices to
top-performing organizations. For instance, comparing your onboarding process with that
of Google to identify improvement areas.
2. Why is it important to evaluate the effectiveness of HRM, and for what
reasons organizations measure HRM effectiveness?
● To determine if HR programs are adding value or just consuming resources
● Because labour costs (40–70%) are a major expense and need to be justified
● To support better strategic planning and decision-making
● To ensure compliance with employment laws and reduce legal risks
● To improve performance by identifying what’s working and what’s not
● To attract investors and stakeholders by showing accountability
● To give HR a strategic role in business leadership and planning
3. What are the main challenges of HR measurement?
No universal best practice – each organization is different, so one method doesn’t work for
all
Hard to prove cause-effect – it’s difficult to link HR activities (like training) directly to
outcomes
Difficult to measure intangible factors – things like engagement, motivation, and culture are
hard to quantify
Lack of proper tools or integrated systems – many HR departments don’t have access to
reliable data platforms
Skill gaps and resistance – HR staff may lack analytical skills or be resistant to measuring
human behaviour
4. What are the key characteristics of successful HR measurement?
Aligned with organizational strategy – metrics must support overall business goals
Actionable – results should lead to decisions or improvements
Trackable over time – allows monitoring of trends and progress
Comparable – results should be useful across departments or against benchmarks
Focused and clear – don’t overwhelm with too many metrics; prioritize what matters
Root-cause focused – helps identify underlying problems, not just surface-level symptoms
Effectively communicated – results should be shared in a simple, understandable way
5. If you are asked to explain HR Analytics in terms of its meaning, ethical
concerns and future to the management team of Google Canada, what would
you say?
Meaning:
● HR Analytics is the use of data and evidence-based tools to make better HR
decisions
● It helps identify patterns, predict outcomes (like turnover), and improve HR strategies
● Supports linking people data to business performance and strategic goals
Ethical Concerns:
● Privacy issues – collecting sensitive employee data may invade personal boundaries
● Bias in data – flawed data can reinforce discrimination
● Surveillance concerns – employees may feel monitored or reduced to numbers
● Lack of transparency – employees may not know how their data is being used
Future of HR Analytics:
● Will become more advanced and widely used across organizations
● Increasing use of AI and machine learning to predict employee behavior
● Helps HR become a strategic partner by using data to drive business value
● Ethical, responsible use of data will be critical to maintain trust
6. If York University wants to evaluate its HRM, follow the 6C Model of HRM
Impact to discuss what measures York University should use.
Compliance – Are HR policies legal and ethical? (e.g., safety, equity)
Client Satisfaction – Are faculty/staff happy with HR services? (surveys)
Culture Management – Are employees engaged and aligned with York values?
Cost Control – Is HR reducing costs like turnover or time-to-hire?
Contribution – Is HR helping York achieve its goals (e.g., staff development)?
Collection & Conversion – Is data being used to predict and improve HR outcomes?