Final Exam of Strategic Human Resource Management

• Time limit: 120 minutes

• Format: closed-book exam

- 3 to 4 short-answer (essay) questions
- Case study: 1 case with 2 or 3 questions

• Restricted Topics for the contents of the exam:

- The theoretical foundations of SHRM: HRM as a source of firm competitive advantages
- The theoretical foundations of SHRM: How SHRM impacts on firm performance
- Anatomy of firm HR system(s)/strategy
- Perspectives on formulating HR system(s): best practices vs. fit and contingency perspectives
Remember that the exam questions will cover the materials in: slides, textbooks (Truss and
B&P), and the assigned readings (YES, the assigned readings too). Hence, pls reviewing all of
them to prepare for the final exam.
• For short-answer questions, pls focus more on the following topics:
- The RBV’s four criteria/attributes of resources [to serve as sources of firm competitive
advantages]: VRIN criteria (we use the VIRN criteria as in Truss).
- Application of the RBV to SHRM by discussing how HR and HRM could be sources of firm
competitive advantages (by bringing human capital advantage, social capital advantage,
human process advantage)
- Outline and evaluate three theories (Ability–motivation–opportunity (AMO) theory, social
exchange theory, and attribution theory) on the HRM-performance link
- Distinguish between the best-fit and best-practice approaches of SHRM. If you were an HR
Director charged with developing an HR strategy for your organization, would you be
considering a best-fit or best-practice approach to designing the HR system, and why?
- High-performance work systems
- Pfeffer’s 13 best practices (Pfeffer, 2005) (page 90-91 of Truss’s textbook)
- What is an HR strategy? Describe the components of an HR system as defined by Schuler
(1992)
- Summary the main characteristics of Lepak and Snell’s four HR architectures (Lepak and
Snell, 1999)? According to your opinion, which HR architecture should be applied for the
lecturers/instructors of Hanoi University? Why?
• Case: the questions in the case might cover the concepts/knowledge/theories in any of the
four restricted topics