Chp 6/7

A job description states the minimum qualifications a person needs to perform a job successfully. True False

False A job specification, not a job description, states the minimum qualifications a person needs to perform a job successfully. A job description is a written description of what the job is and the duties it entails.

A strength of a written essay as an employee appraisal device is that it allows the writing skill of the evaluator to be a determining factor in the appraisal of performance. True False

False The writing skill of the evaluator can be a weakness in the process rather than a strength. An especially persuasive evaluator can have more influence in the final decision than he or she merits otherwise, therefore introducing bias into the process.

Although most sexual harassment complaints are filed by women, a significant number of complaints are filed by men. True False

True About 15 percent of all harassment complaints are filed by males.

Which of the following countries' laws pertaining to HRM practices most closely parallel those in the United States? a. Canada b. Mexico c. Australia d. Germany

a. Canada Of the countries listed, Canada's HRM practices are most similar to those in the United States. Canada's HRM laws are less federalized than those in the United States, meaning that individual Canadian provinces may have their own interpretation of basic anti-discrimination laws. Taken together, these factors make Canada the correct response.

What do the written essay, critical incidents, graphic rating scales, and BARS evaluation methods have in common? a. They compare individuals against standards. b. They are multiperson comparisons. c. They compare one employee to his or her peers. d. They rank employees by performance.

a. They compare individuals against standards.

A job specification is ________ a. a list of job qualifications only b. a detailed description of the job c. the description of a job that is used by an employment agency d. usually several pages in length

a. a list of job qualifications only A job specification is limited to listing job qualifications only. A job specification is not a long or detailed description of the job that is used by an employment agency, making all three of these choices incorrect.

Recruitment (Scenario) Keena's company was expanding. After a period of downsizing, the company had decided to increase organizational profitability by gaining market share, which meant a need for more people. As assistant manager of human resources, she was in the process of evaluating what would be the most effective means of gaining new employees who were qualified, were cost efficient, and could help maintain the company's commitment to a diversified workforce. To reach the largest possible audience, Keena should consider ________ as a source of potential candidates. a. advertisements b. employee referrals c. school placement d. private employment agencies

a. advertisements While employee referrals and private agencies can generate strong candidates, and school placement can bring in a large number of candidates, the most prolific recruiting source in terms of numbers of applicants is advertising, making advertisements the correct response and ruling out the other three responses.

A critical incidents employee appraisal method collects ________. a. anecdotes that reveal the character and performance of an employee b. statements from coworkers in support of an employee c. statements from superiors that may or may not support an employee d. data from an employee's computer to evaluate his or her performance

a. anecdotes that reveal the character and performance of an employee Managers collect key behaviors and anecdotes called critical incidents to evaluate employees by the critical incident method. The critical incidents reveal actions that were deemed effective, ineffective, or particularly telling in some other way that affects performance within the organization. Critical incident evaluation does not include statements from either employees or superiors for analysis so these choices are not correct. It also does not include computer data for analysis making "data from an employee's computer" an incorrect response

Which benefit cost do companies see as their biggest worry? a. health care b. retirement plans c. unemployment insurance d. Social Security

a. health care Though unemployment coverage and Social Security are a concern for companies, they present fairly fixed, stable costs that can be accommodated for in the future with competent planning. Retirement plans are a bit more unpredictable, but no costs are skyrocketing like health care costs, which could double over the next seven years if they are not contained.

While ________ can reach the greatest number of applicants for a job, many of those candidates may be unqualified for the job itself. a. an internal search b. advertising c. a temporary help service d. school placement

b. advertising Advertising can produce an enormous volume of applicants. Unfortunately, advertising also tends to attract applicants who are unqualified or highly unsuited for the job advertised. This leaves human resource managers with the tedious task of sifting through all of the applicants, looking for ones that are well-suited. None of the other choices given here produce as many applicants as advertising, so that is the correct response for this question.

Health insurance is an example of which of the following? a. compensation b. employee benefit c. salary d. wages

b. employee benefit Health insurance is one of several "fringes" that together are termed employee benefits, making that the correct response. Other benefits include retirement programs, disability and life insurance, Social Security, and unemployment compensation. Compensation, salary, and wages are all terms for official payments made to employees, so they are all incorrect choices.

The first three activities of the human resource management (HRM) process are about ________. a. recruiting b. planning c. training d. downsizing

b. planning The first three steps of the HRM process are about planning, making that the correct response for this question. Managers first determine needs for workers. Then, depending on the situation, they either recruit or downsize. Training comes after selection and hiring so that is an incorrect response for this question.

A reject error occurs when an applicant ________. a. who is hired performs poorly on the job b. who is not hired would have performed well on the job c. who is hired performs the job at a high level d. who is not hired would have performed poorly on the job

b. who is not hired would have performed well on the job

Which of the following downsizing methods can "happen on its own" if management suspends hiring practices? a. firing b. reduced workweeks c. attrition d. transfers

c. attrition Over time, as employees retire and are not replaced by new hiring, the total number of workers decreases, which effectively downsizes the organization. This form of downsizing, attrition, is said to happen "on its own" because management does not need to issue any termination or job-change orders to reduce the number of workers it employs. The other choices, firing, reduced workweeks, and transfers are all incorrect because they all require management to issue orders to employees, and therefore don't happen "on their own."

During an interview, an applicant for a managerial job is confronted with role players who make the claim that they have been "harassed on the job." The applicant is then asked to deal with the complaints. What kind of selection device is being used? a. performance-simulation test . b. structured interview c. behavioral interview d. high-stress interview

c. behavioral interview The applicant is asked to deal with a difficult situation that involves role playing in a behavioral or situation interview. This is not a performance-simulation test since it is clearly part of an interview, not a test. Requiring the applicant to engage in role playing goes beyond the structured interview, and though the interview is stressful, a high-stress interview is not a recognized term used in the interview process

HR managers can estimate human resource needs by evaluating which of the following? a. employment and unemployment statistics b. the general state of the economy c. demand for the organization's product d. how competitors are performing

c. demand for the organization's product The only accurate way to estimate human resource needs is for managers to measure the demand for their product. Generally, the greater the demand, the more workers the organization will need to keep up with that demand. Employment statistics, the state of the economy, and the activities of rivals may give managers a very crude gauge of their needs, but the actual output of product is a much better measure of future human resource requirements than any of those things, so they are incorrect responses.

The New Hire (Scenario) Frances begins her career working in the human resources department of a major corporation. She is asked to help ensure that the organization is following the federal guidelines for employment. Frances considers filling out a sample budget to be the most valid test for the job because ________. a. it takes a great deal of skill to complete successfully b. it is an actual task that would be required on the job c. it is a good predictor of performance on the job d. it is objective and quantitative

c. it is a good predictor of performance on the job The degree of difficulty, authenticity, or objectivity that a test has are all secondary in importance to the most critical test element: how well it predicts performance on the job. This makes a good predictor the correct response and rules out all three of the other choices.

Interviews are valid predictors of success in the workplace if ________. a. questions are short b. questions are unstructured c. questions are structured d. the interview lasts only a few minutes

c. questions are structured An interview that is carefully structured has been shown to be the best predictor of workplace success. The key to a structured interview is that the interviewer has prepared carefully for the interview and has mapped out questions to ask and strategies to employ. A structured interview does have room for the interviewer to ask unplanned questions and explore unanticipated paths, but only within the structure that was planned ahead of time. With that said, none of the other factors are good predictors of interview success, so they are all incorrect responses.

If an employee rebuffs inappropriate sexual advances from her boss but still receives a promotion ________. a. the boss can't be guilty of sexual harassment b. the employee is not allowed to lodge a complaint c. the boss can still be guilty of sexual harassment d. the employee is not allowed to lodge a complaint if she accepts the promotion

c. the boss can still be guilty of sexual harassment A 1998 Supreme Court case demonstrated that even though the boss did not "punish" the employee for refusing his advances, and in fact he rewarded her, he is still guilty of harassment by virtue of his behavior, not the workplace consequence to the victim. This makes the choice indicating that the boss can still be guilty the correct response and eliminates all other responses.

A disadvantage of a written essay for employee appraisal is that it tends to be biased by ________. a. the prejudice of the evaluator b. friendship between the employee and the evaluator c. the writing skill of the evaluator d. the writing skill of the employee

c. the writing skill of the evaluator Written appraisals of employees tend to get skewed by the writing skill of the evaluator. An especially good writer will tend to have undue influence over the process, while the view of an evaluator who is a poor writer will tend to be discounted. These factors cause the writing skill of the evaluator to be the correct response. Prejudice or friendship could of course influence the appraisal, but they are both factors that could influence any evaluation process, so they are incorrect responses here. Finally, the writing skill of the employee has no effect on the process because the employee is being appraised, not writing an appraisal.

Why do managers often offer counseling to underperforming employees rather than just fire them? a. to give the organization a favorable image b. to avoid discord c. to avoid the cost of replacing the employee d. to avoid unsettling other employees

c. to avoid the cost of replacing the employee Counseling is cost-effective in many cases. To fire an employee, then go through the trouble and effort of recruiting and training his or her replacement is a time-consuming and costly process that managers try to avoid, making "avoiding the cost" the correct response. Though counseling may allow a manager to make the organization seem "nice," giving the organization a favorable image or avoiding upsetting other employees, these are not reasons that responsible managers use to initiate counseling so they are incorrect for this question.

________ in Germany give employees the right to participate in personnel decisions. a. Collective bargaining b. Unionization c. Board representatives d. Work councils

d. Work councils In most of Western Europe work councils by law must be consulted when decisions involving personnel changes are made, including hiring and firing. This makes work councils the correct answer and eliminates the other three responses. Note that work councils are part of a larger practice called representative participation, which empowers workers and gives them a say in how companies are run.

Which of the following is an advantage of using private employment agencies for recruiting? a. low cost b. candidates who are familiar with the organization c. improves employee morale d. careful screening of applicants

d. careful screening of applicants Recruiting through a private employment agency is expensive so low cost is an incorrect response. Private agency recruiting does not boost employee morale and does not typically offer candidates who are familiar with the organization so improving employee morale and candidates familiar with the organization are incorrect responses. What private agencies do offer are candidates who are carefully screened to be well-qualified and well-suited to the job, making "careful screening" the correct response.

A 360-degree feedback process differs from other appraisal methods in that it includes ________. a. a written essay b. feedback from an employee's supervisor c. honest feedback d. feedback from the employee

d. feedback from the employee A 360-degree feedback process allows employees to take an active role in the evaluation process. Not only is the employee evaluated by her superiors, the superiors themselves—and other aspects of the job—are in turn evaluated by the employee. Rather than breed resentment, this approach tends to give employees a sense of empowerment and make the overall evaluation process seem more fair and objective. These factors together make feedback from the employee the correct response. None of the other choices - written essays, supervisor feedback, and (presumably) honest feedback - are unique to 360-degree appraisal, so they can be eliminated as correct responses.

The lengthy process by which a job is examined in detail in order to identify the skills, knowledge and behaviors necessary to perform the job is known as a ________. a. job description b. job specification c. job definition d. job analysis

d. job analysis

To find out more about a job with a title of "assistant media buyer," you would find this to be most helpful. a. job title b. job specification c. job listing d. job description

d. job description A job description that tells you what the job is, how the job is done, and what the job's purpose is would clearly be most helpful here, so job description is the correct response. A job specification would tell you only about the qualifications needed for the job, while a job title or job listing would feature only minimal information about the job.

Nine out of ten organizations in the United States pay their workers on a scale that is based primarily on ________. a. skills b. seniority c. status d. performance

d. performance In the United States, performance is a key factor in 90 percent of all jobs. In general, higher productivity results in higher pay. Skills may confer an employee with the ability to perform at a high level, but by themselves skills do not determine pay. Seniority and status in an organization can influence pay in a minor way, but these effects are small compared to the impact that performance has.