Chapter 2
Which statement is true of a psychological contract?
A psychological contract is not formally put into words.
Which scenario exemplifies an individual in the external labor market? Annabelle, an engineering graduate, looking for a job Jason, a contract worker, working for a certain period specified in a written contract Vineet, an employee, securing his financial services certification Jerusha, an employee, going through training Arman, a temporary worker, is being paid by a company for his services
Annabelle, an engineering graduate, looking for a job
The agency that is responsible for tracking changes in the composition of the U.S. labor force and forecasting employment trends is the
Bureau of Labor Statistics
What is necessary for the success of employee empowerment? Employers should provide feedback only when employees resign and are about to leave the organization. The jobs must be designed in such a manner that the managers have complete control over business processes. Pay and other rewards should reflect employees' loyalty to the organization and not their authority. Employees must be properly trained to exert their wider authority and use information resources such as the Internet. Employers should create jobs that minimize the need for the employees to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.
Employees must be properly trained to exert their wider authority and use information resources such as the Internet.
A computer system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute information about employees is cloud computing. True or False
False
A large gap exists between the social system and the technical system in high-performance work systems. True or False.
False
Employees' job security has increased as a result of the new psychological contract. True or False.
False
The current fastest-growing age group of workers are Millennials. True False
False
The members of Generation X are characterized by their comfort with the latest technology, and the need to be noticed, respected, and involved. True or False.
False
The use of employee empowerment has shifted the recruiting focus away from general cognitive and interpersonal skills toward technical skills. True False
False
Total quality management provides guidelines for the organization's sales and manufacturing activities but not human resources. True or False.
False
Traditional management thinking treated human resource management primarily as a means to support a company's strategy. True or False.
False
Under the new type of psychological contract, organizations expect employees to contribute time, effort, skills, abilities, and loyalty in return for job security and opportunities for promotion within the organization. True False
False
Which statement is true about downsizing? Downsizing is associated with positive stock returns. Downsizing results in higher profitability following layoffs. HRM should withhold information regarding downsizing rather than maintain open communication with remaining employees. HRM can provide downsized employees with outplacement services to help them find new jobs. HRM cannot, and should not, inform all employees why downsizing is necessary.
HRM can provide downsized employees with outplacement services to help them find new jobs.
Starbrite, a merchandising company, has employees who work in different cities in different time zones around the country. They work together efficiently with the help of technology, such as videoconferencing, cell phones, and e-mail. Which statement is true about Starbrite?
It encourages virtual teams.
How has the use of employee empowerment affected the recruitment process in the United States.?
It has shifted the focus away from technical skills to general cognitive and interpersonal skills.
Which statement is true of an intranet? It is a system that uses powerful computers to analyze large amounts of data, such as data about employee traits. It is a network that is used by a business to reach out to customers and send them product information. It is a network that uses Internet tools but limits access to authorized users in the organization. It is a system that is used by outside suppliers to update inventories. It is a network universally used by business organizations to transfer data from one geographical location to another.
It is a network that uses Internet tools but limits access to authorized users in the organization.
Which statement best describes offshoring? It is a method of staffing other than the traditional hiring of full-time employees. It refers to moving operations from the country where a company is headquartered to a country where pay rates are lower but the necessary skills are available. It is a complete review of the organization's critical work processes to make them more efficient and able to deliver higher quality products and services. It is the practice of having another company provide services. It refers to acquiring a new company in a distant location or another country in order to acquire a higher market share or growth.
It refers to moving operations from the country where a company is headquartered to a country where pay rates are lower but the necessary skills are available.
Which statement is true of employee empowerment? Employee empowerment prevents holding employees accountable for the products and services they developed. Proper training must be provided only to supervisors so that they can exert their wider authority. Employee empowerment shifts the recruiting focus away from cognitive and interpersonal skills toward general technical skills. Managers should ensure that employees are not linked to resources outside the organization, such as customers. Jobs must be designed to give employees the necessary latitude for making a variety of decisions.
Jobs must be designed to give employees the necessary latitude for making a variety of decisions.
What is true according to the core values of total quality management?
Managers should measure progress with feedback based on data.
Drew is the manager of the accounting division at a manufacturing company. She wants to initiate a teamwork system because she believes it will improve the performance of the division. Which statement provides valid support for Drew's idea?
Teamwork makes work motivating for employees and helps reduce labor costs.
What is one challenge HR might find when attempting to downsize?
The best workers may leave before the organization lays off anyone
Identify the correct statement regarding the composition of the U.S. labor force during the projected 2018-2028 period.
The largest proportion of the labor force is expected to be in the 16- to 25-year age group.
What is true of early retirement programs that are used as a method of downsizing?
They are a humane way to downsize.
Which statement is correct regarding skilled knowledge workers? They are not easily replaced because they own the knowledge that the company requires to produce its products. They do not have considerable autonomy to make decisions. They are not expected to be technically efficient and are only involved in direct interactions with customers. They do not have a lot of job opportunities because employers can simply order these employees to perform tasks. They are most likely to experience a lack of opportunities in a slow economy.
They are not easily replaced because they own the knowledge that the company requires to produce its products.
What is a key advantage of human resource information systems?
They help HR professionals think strategically.
Successful organizations treat all their workers as knowledge workers. True or false.
True
Total quality management is intended to bring about a continuous process of quality improvement. True False
True
When two companies merge, HRM plays an important role that includes preparing employees to resolve conflicts. True or False.
True
A large-scale chemical production company buys a smaller chemical production company to secure a greater share of the industry. This scenario exemplifies
a consolidation.
What is an HR dashboard?
a display of how the company is performing on specific HR metrics
What is the term for two companies joining forces to become one entity?
a merger
The use of independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract company workers, collectively constitutes
alternative work arrangements.
Call-It, a cell phone manufacturer, purchases Electronic Exchange, a company that produces cell phone batteries. This scenario exemplifies
an acquisition.
When two firms in one industry join together as one company in order to hold a greater share of the industry, it is referred to as
an acquisition.
Which technology simulates human thinking?
artificial intelligence
A person who is employed directly by a company for a certain amount of time, specified in a formal agreement between the company and the workers, is referred to as a(n)
contract company worker.
The stakeholders of Bubbles, a soap manufacturer, want the company to lower its costs, so they have tasked the HR department with identifying low-performing employees, whom they will likely lay off. This scenario is an example of
downsizing
Employees realize that many companies are no longer able to provide long-term employment security. Instead, the employees now want
employability.
What is a characteristic of current-day high-performance work systems?
employee empowerment in decision making
Managing cultural diversity involves
encouraging career development for women and minorities.
What is a core value of the total quality management process?
encouraging cooperation with vendors, suppliers, and customers to improve quality
What was one step Congress took during the COVID-19 pandemic to lessen the blow to those impacted?
expanded unemployment eligibility to independent contractors, gig workers, and the self-employed
Employees who take assignments in other countries are called
expatriates.
Organizations that have the best possible fit between their social system and their technical system are referred to as
high-performance work systems.
The external labor market consists of
individuals who are actively seeking employment.
Given the increasing use of computers to do routine tasks, which employee skill is most likely to be actively sought by U.S. employers today?
interpersonal skills
Which term refers to the intentional practice of changing jobs frequently?
job hopping
The new type of psychological contract has resulted in reduced
job security.
The HRM function during downsizing is to terminate the workers who are
less valuable in their performance.
What is the most common reason why U.S. organizations hire employees in foreign countries?
low cost of labor in foreign countries
Green Gardens, a landscaping company, combines with Tree Huggers, a tree trimming company, to form a company called Land Lovers. This scenario illustrates a(n)
merger.
The practice of having another company provide services is known as
outsourcing.
The relationship between an employer and an employee can be thought of in terms of a(n) __________, a description of what an employee expects to contribute in an employment relationship and what the employer will provide the employee in exchange for those contributions.
psychological contract
When an organization undertakes a complete review of its critical work processes to make them more efficient in an effort to deliver higher quality, it is engaging in
reengineering.
Which technology can be used to provide employees access to information about HR issues?
self-service
The growth in e-commerce and the information economy has led to an increase in the demand for employees in
service occupations.
What is a challenge for human resource management during mergers?
sorting out the differences in the two companies' HR systems
Kwame is a marketing manager for a publishing company. In addition to his regular marketing job duties, Kwame works in tandem with his co-workers to schedule work, select new team members, and coordinate printing tasks. This style of work is best described as
teamwork.
The specific ways in which human resource professionals support an organization's strategy vary according to
their level of involvement and the nature of the strategy.
