H-R Exam 1 Questions

You are managing two employees. Dave is 57 and Julia is 23. Which of the following statements is Dave most likely to make about Julia, given their respective ages? "Julia has trouble using the computer system we need for this job." "Julia just doesn't seem to care about anything outside of work and the office." "Julia is going to be a great manager. I'd be happy to report to her." "Julia just doesn't work as hard as I do."

"Julia just doesn't work as hard as I do."

By the year 2050, it is projected that ______% of workers will be Hispanic.

30

The talent development division at a consumer products company is in the process of developing an "Embracing Diversity and Leveraging Employee Differences" workshop for all managers and employees. One module in the workshop is devoted to specific personal strategies that managers and individual contributors can put into practice to see, understand, and value diversity. If you were the instructional designer for this workshop, which specific strategies would you include in the program? Conduct a SWOT analysis of your employer. Seek out academic classes on ethnic studies at a local college to become more knowledgeable about cultural differences. Conduct a workforce utilization analysis of your employer. Acquire data through listening, asking questions, and sharing your story.

Acquire data through listening, asking questions, and sharing your story.

The demographic and social changes dimension of an organization's external environment includes _________. Check all that apply. Consumer spending habits Age of labor market participants Worker need for childcare Immigration

Age of labor market participants Worker need for childcare Immigration

The HR managers at a large bank want to take concrete actions to support the mission, vision, and values of the business. Which of the following actions should they take in this situation? Check all that apply. Give workers more flexible work options. Provide incentives for workers who are outstanding performers. Communicate the mission, vision, and values to others frequently both verbally and in writing. Recruit and hire employees whose values are consistent with the organization.

Communicate the mission, vision, and values to others frequently both verbally and in writing. Recruit and hire employees whose values are consistent with the organization.

Senior leaders at a large global conglomerate are interested in determining whether there are subcultures in the company's various units and locations and how well they align with the overall culture of the company at the headquarters in Seattle. Based on this situation, what should management do? Conduct an employee opinion survey. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis. Conduct a culture audit.

Conduct a culture audit.

Wei Ling is a training and development specialist. Which of the following duties is most likely to be part of Wei Ling's job? Interviewing a job applicant. Conducting a seminar for employees to help them understand how to use new technology for their jobs. Advising the CEO on which competitor to merge with. Administering an employee opinion survey about benefits.

Conducting a seminar for employees to help them understand how to use new technology for their jobs.

The production manager at a large food company focuses on running its production facility with a high degree of responsiveness so that the company can react to changes in its environment quickly in terms of retraining and allocating workers based on demand. This is an example of: Resource agility Reconciling demand Coordination agility Reconciling supply

Coordination agility

Toyota Motors has earned a reputation as a superior manufacturer of motor vehicles based on its just-in-time production system. This is an example of an organization's: Core capabilities Mission Social responsibility Vision

Core capabilities

A public relations firm wants to ensure that it does not have any issues with lawsuits over violations of any discrimination laws in the future. Senior management has asked the vice president of HR to formulate an action plan for addressing this situation. Based on this, what should the vice president of HR include in her plan? Create a comprehensive EEO policy. Increase the budget for employee recruiting. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Conduct an availability analysis.

Create a comprehensive EEO policy.

The owner of a famous French restaurant in New York City expressed concern about how his employees behave and wants to get them to embrace certain basic principles for service and quality. What would you recommend that the owner do in this situation? Create a set of core values. Write a mission statement. Write a vision statement. Conduct a SWOT analysis.

Create a set of core values.

A discount retailer was recently sued for racial discrimination. Senior management has asked the vice president of HR to formulate an action plan to prevent this from happening again. Based on this situation, what should the vice president of HR include in her plan? Conduct a SWOT analysis. Create an organizational climate in which the principles of dignity, respect, and acceptance of a diverse workforce are the norm. Increase the budget for employee recruiting. Conduct an availability analysis.

Create an organizational climate in which the principles of dignity, respect, and acceptance of a diverse workforce are the norm.

An HR Consultant was hired by a commercial airline manufacturer to help top management to use workforce analytics to help address strategic HR issues. Which of the following issues could be addressed using workforce analytics? Check all that apply. What were the company's sales last year? Do employees from Ivy League schools perform better? What is the profitability of the firm? Which employees are most likely to quit?

Do employees from Ivy League schools perform better? Which employees are most likely to quit?

As part of the planning for a retrenchment strategy, senior management at a telecommunications firm tells its vice president of human resources that it wants to reduce the headcount of highly paid employees, especially those with more than 20 years of experience with the company. They have asked you to create an early retirement package and use high pressure tactics to get the most experienced and highest paid employees to take it. What should the vice president of HR say in response to this request? What is the budget for the early retirement packages? What about taking a less costly approach to reducing headcount through attrition instead? Doing this may constitute racial discrimination so it is not something we should do. Doing this will likely be a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act so it is not something that we should do.

Doing this will likely be a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act so it is not something that we should do.

A small website development firm needs to maintain extremely lean and flexible operations. It does not have the staff or administrative structure to support a human resources function. It needs a solution in which another third party company can handle all HR activities for employees. Which strategy should the firm use in this situation? Employee leasing Contingent workers Temporary workers Seasonal workers

Employee leasing

Which of the following is an example of something that human resource management professionals do as part of their jobs? Check all that apply. Attracting top-notch people to come to work for their firm. Conducting a financial audit of their company. Writing a monthly newsletter that is sent out to a company's customers. Establish the strategic direction their firm should take.

Establish the strategic direction their firm should take. Attracting top-notch people to come to work for their firm.

A U.S.-based furniture manufacturer competes against foreign competitors by doing its manufacturing operations in North Carolina and running an extremely efficient operation. The CEO of the company has asked the vice president of HR to suggest how HR can support this strategy. In which area can HR help? HR can increase the hourly compensation of workers to motivate them. HR can offer workshops on work-life balance. HR can use HR planning to optimize the size of the workforce for the low cost strategy. HR can offer workshops on safety.

HR can use HR planning to optimize the size of the workforce for the low cost strategy.

In order for an organization to be prepared to change its mission, what does it need to do? Check all that apply. Give workers more flexible options. Hire a consultant to provide benchmarking data on what competitors are doing. Survey employees to identify the core values of the organization. Scan the environment for opportunities and threats.

Hire a consultant to provide benchmarking data on what competitors are doing. Scan the environment for opportunities and threats.

Which of the following questions will an HR manager most likely face in a company with a strategic alliance strategy? How can we develop teamwork across our companies? Should we hire or train and develop our required employees? How can we streamline our combined forces? What training is needed as we diversify beyond our core business?

How can we develop teamwork across our companies?

Which of the following questions will an HR manager most likely face in a company planning a merger or acquisition? What training is needed as we diversify beyond our core business? How can we function effectively in this partnership? How can we combine corporate cultures? How can we streamline our combined forces?

How can we streamline our combined forces?

After the merger of two cable TV companies, the HR Department at the new company had to figure out which employees should be laid off, transferred to other units, or recruited and brought into the organization. The activity that the HR Department was engaged in is called: Strategic planning A culture audit SWOT analysis Human resource planning

Human Resource Planning

A national sporting goods store is hiring fitting room attendants for all of its 200 locations. Each location has separate male and female fitting rooms. If you were the head of HR at this business, what advice would you give to managers when they ask you if they have to hire female attendants for the male fitting rooms or male attendants for the female fitting rooms? The company can only use sex as the basis for hiring people as managers of its stores. In this case, the gender of applicants can be used as a bona fide occupational qualification because gender is an actual qualification for performing the job. The company can only use sex as the basis for hiring workers who perform sales jobs in its stores. The company cannot use gender as a basis for making any hiring decisions regarding attendant jobs in its stores.

In this case, the gender of applicants can be used as a bona fide occupational qualification because gender is an actual qualification for performing the job.

Top management at a software developer wants to foster a culture where workers are highly cohesive and maintain positive relationships with each other. Given this, what type of HR strategies and practices should be implemented? Informal and competitive Formal and competitive Informal and family-oriented Formal and strict

Informal and family-oriented

The talent development division at an insurance company is in the process of developing an "Embracing Diversity and Leveraging Employee Differences" workshop for all managers and employees. One module in the workshop is devoted to specific personal practices or strategies that managers and individual contributors can put into practice to see, understand, and value diversity. If you were the instructional designer for this workshop, which specific strategies would you include in the program? Conduct a SWOT analysis of your employer. Conduct a workforce utilization analysis of your employer. Seek out academic classes on ethnic studies at a local college to become more knowledgeable about cultural differences. Involve people in creating the program who are different from you.

Involve people in creating the program who are different from you.

A management consulting firm wants to establish a close connection between the job performance of its business analysts and their annual pay increases. Unfortunately, the firm does not have a formal performance appraisal form that is used to document performance ratings. It does have a merit pay system, though, that says that managers must give everyone the same sized merit increases in order to be fair to everyone. This would be an example of which type of alignment? Lack of vertical alignment Lack of horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Horizontal alignment

Lack of horizontal alignment

A discount retailer that focuses on selling a wide range of apparel, shoes, and accessories wants its sales staff to be very attentive, friendly, and efficient in serving their customers. Unfortunately, the sales representatives at this store do not receive high customer satisfaction ratings. The company screens applicants for sales associate positions using interviews, but the questions that are asked are very general. Customer service is not considered when evaluating job performance and customer service has no impact on any pay increases. This would be an example of which type of alignment? Lack of horizontal alignment Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Lack of vertical alignment

Lack of vertical alignment

The vice president of HR at an automotive dealership chain was meeting with her HR staff to brainstorm ideas on how they can ensure that they are all working together effectively. What kinds of ideas should the VP of HR offer to her staff to achieve horizontal fit/alignment in this situation? Make sure that training is offered to all new employees who are hired by the company. Update the performance appraisal form so that there is one format for all users. Make sure that all employees receive cost of living adjustments to their pay each year. Make sure that all employees complete sexual harassment training.

Make sure that training is offered to all new employees who are hired by the company.

The ecological dimension of an organization's external environment includes _____. Check all that apply. Natural disasters Environmentally conscious technologies Climate change Supply of labor

Natural disasters Environmentally conscious technologies Climate change

The vice president of HR at a department store chain met with the CEO of the company to discuss its sustainability strategy for store operations. What kinds of ideas should the VP of HR offer to the CEO to achieve vertical fit/alignment in this situation? Increase recruiting of new employees by 20%. Use incentives to motivate workers to perform their jobs well. Increase employee compensation by 10%. Offer training programs to employees on sustainability and how it relates to their jobs.

Offer training programs to employees on sustainability and how it relates to their jobs.

HR leaders at an investment banking firm developed a new performance management process in order to support the professional development of the bank's analysts and to tie rewards closely to job performance. This is an example of human resource leaders assuming which responsibility? Strategic advice and counsel Service Employee advocacy Policy formulation and administration

Policy formulation and administration

A computer hardware manufacturer was recently sued by a group of job applicants who claimed that the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices. The courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the company to develop and implement mandatory training for all managers and employees as part of a resolution to prevent this issue from occurring again in the future. The CEO of the company has called a meeting with senior management to discuss the issue of the mandatory training program. As the head of HR, what would you say about what the anti-discrimination training program should cover in terms of topics and content? Assigned readings on workforce diversity as a business strategy. Procedures for conducting effective performance appraisals. Guest speakers on workplace justice. Procedures for remedying inappropriate behavior.

Procedures for remedying inappropriate behavior.

A real estate company was recently sued by a group of job applicants who claimed that the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices. The courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the company to develop and implement mandatory training for all managers and employees as part of a resolution to prevent this issue from occurring again in the future. The CEO of the company has called a meeting with senior management to discuss the issue of the mandatory training program. As the head of HR, what would you say about what the anti-discrimination training program should cover in terms of topics and content? Procedures for conducting effective performance appraisals. Guest speakers on workplace justice. Prohibitions covered in EEO statutes and executive orders. Assigned readings on workforce diversity as a business strategy.

Prohibitions covered in EEO statutes and executive orders.

The economic dimension of an organization's external environment includes __________. Check all that apply. Water quality and supply Regional economic conditions Global economic conditions Local economic conditions

Regional economic conditions Global economic conditions Local economic conditions

Top management at an Internet retailer wants to analyze their external and internal business environments so that an effective strategic plan can be formulated. In order to do this, management should conduct what kind of analysis? Top-down Cost-benefit Productivity and cost SWOT

SWOT

In order for an organization to be prepared to change its mission, what does it need to do? Check all that apply. Give workers more flexible options. Survey employees to identify the core values of the organization. Scan the environment for opportunities and threats. Hire a consultant to provide benchmarking data on what competitors are doing.

Scan the environment for opportunities and threats. Hire a consultant to provide benchmarking data on what competitors are doing.

The HR department at a consumer electronics manufacturing firm used its HR information system to conduct a workforce utilization analysis for senior executive positions in the company. This analysis revealed that females make up 40% of the company's senior executives and that minorities make up 50% of the company's senior executives. This compares with 20% availability for females and 30% availability for minorities in the relevant external labor market. Based on this data, what action should HR take in this situation? Set goals to reduce utilization of females and minorities in senior executive positions. Set goals to increase female senior executives by 10% and minority senior executives by 10%. Set goals to maintain the current levels of female and minority senior executives.

Set goals to maintain the current levels of female and minority senior executives.

The director of learning and development at a retail department store chain is designing a new workforce diversity training program for all members of the company that is based on the leveraging employee differences model. For the valuing difference element of the model, what key point should be emphasized in the training program? Do not openly address tension among members. That it is important to always be extremely careful about what employees say and do in all interactions where differences with others exist. Conduct a SWOT analysis. That it is important to reward group members for engaging in activities that address and diminish differences.

That it is important to always be extremely careful about what employees say and do in all interactions where differences with others exist.

Managers at a consumer electronics manufacturer showed a preference for hiring males for production jobs as it was felt that men would be more able to work longer hours and weekends than women. Given this, it raised its hiring standards for female applicants so that it was much more difficult to get hired as a woman. If the HR representative at the company was asked about this practice, what should he say? This practice would likely constitute disparate treatment. This practice is acceptable if the women who do get hired are paid more than the men who get hired. This practice is perfectly acceptable. This practice would likely constitute adverse impact.

This practice would likely constitute disparate treatment.

Disney Company made the decision to enter the cruise line business because it believed that Disney was especially capable of creating a superior cruise experience for its guests. This is an example of an organization's: Cultural audit Sustainability Value creation Social responsibility

Value creation

An upscale hotel located in New York City wants to exceed the service expectations of all of its guests. It does this by recruiting hotel staff with a strong service mentality, training them on customer service practices, evaluating their job performance in terms of customer service, and rewarding them for customer service. This would be an example of which type of alignment? Vertical alignment Horizontal alignment Lack of horizontal alignment Lack of vertical alignment

Vertical alignment

The vice president of HR at an online retailer met with the CEO to discuss the company's customer service strategy. Based on this, the HR VP redesigned her training and performance appraisal systems to support the customer service strategy. This is an example of achieving: Vertical fit/alignment Internal consistency Cultural fit Horizontal fit/alignment

Vertical fit/alignment

The senior management team at a financial services firm is working on its strategic plan. One of the first steps in this process is to formulate an organizational mission statement. As the head of HR at the meeting, what is a question that management could ask itself to help facilitate the process for formulating a mission statement? What core values do the people in our organization share? What is the employee turnover rate? What is our average market share for the last three years? What was our sales revenue this last year?

What core values do the people in our organization share?

The owner of a small retail store expressed interest in getting some assistance creating a mission statement for his business. If you were his consultant, which question would you ask to help him to develop an effective mission? What were your total sales for the last year? Who are your biggest competitors? What was your profit for the most recent three years? Where is your market and where are your customers?

Where is your market and where are your customers?

An investment banking firm announced that it would be reducing its workforce by 20% in the next year in order to reduce costs and to adapt to a more competitive business environment. The organization in this situation is using _______ strategy. an inshoring a downsizing an offshoring an outsourcing

a downsizing

Senior management at a major pharmaceutical company needs to enhance the company's emphasis on execution of strategy, especially in its research and development and its sales and marketing units. The action plan that management created to enhance the company's effectiveness with strategy execution placed emphasis on reviewing and recommitting to the vision, mission, and values of the company and a culture of accountability and common performance objectives. Based on the 4A framework of execution capability, the action plan of management emphasizes which element of strategy execution? Agility Ability Architecture Alignment

alignment

Senior management at a department store chain reviewed its strategic plan and discovered that it was missing a set of fundamental principles that clarify its priorities. Senior management at the company needs to formulate _________ in order to resolve the deficiency with its strategic plan.

core values

Management at a fast-food restaurant chain wanted to analyze its business environment in order to support a strategic planning process. Based on this, which of the following factors should be analyzed? Key business processes Organizational design Strategic plan Ecological environment

ecological environment

_______ involves eliminating the jobs of employees who are then managed by another company that "rents" workers back to the original company.

employee leasing

Management at a large audio components manufacturer operates in a very complex and dynamic business environment. What type of activity should management engage in to deal with their current situation effectively? Environmental scan Culture audit Top-down planning Cost benefit

environmental scan

The work-life balance program at a public accounting firm allows workers to adjust their work hours so that they can start work earlier in the morning or start later in the morning and work later in the day. This is an example of which typical element of a work-life balance program? Part-time work Telecommuting Flexible work schedules Job sharing

flexible work schedules

If a hotel and resort chain has 10% managers who are Hispanic from a local labor market that has 20% qualified Hispanics, then the appropriate action for the company to take is to ____________

increase recruiting efforts focused specifically on qualified Hispanic candidates

When competitive rivalry, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the number of new entrants into a business are all high, a business is _________ likely to be successful.

less

Senior management at a computer hardware firm reviewed its strategic plan and discovered that it was missing a formal statement of the fundamental purpose of the organization, what it does, and for whom it does it. Senior management at the company needs to formulate a _______ in order to resolve the deficiency with its strategic plan.

mission

When competitive rivalry, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the number of new entrants into a business are all low, a business is ______ likely to be successful.

more

A food company based in Minneapolis wants to shift most of its production jobs from Thailand to Canada so that it can be more responsive to changing demands in their North American markets. Which strategy should they use? Offshoring Homeshoring Nearshoring Furloughing

nearshoring

The CEO of a computer manufacturer wants to reduce the size of the company's workforce to reduce labor costs. He consults with the Vice President of HR regarding the issue. Which strategy should the VP of HR recommend in this situation? Check all that apply. Total Quality Management Offshoring Downsizing Recruiting

offshoring downsizing

Enron Corporation ultimately failed, in part, because top management at the company maintained the belief that it didn't matter how people were making profits for the company so long as they were making them. This is part of the _______ at Enron. organizational culture perceptions rituals mission

organizational culture

The affirmative action program at a global conglomerate involved showing a preference for hiring and promoting members of unprotected classes who were underrepresented in the company. This resulted in many highly qualified, majority group members (white males) being passed over for job offers and promotions. This situation could put the company at risk of lawsuits based on: disability discrimination. reverse discrimination. sexual harassment. pregnancy discrimination.

reverse discrimination.

The__________ is influenced by all of the other competitive forces.

rivalry among competitors

Senior management at a telecommunications firm reviewed its strategic plan and discovered that it was missing an aspirational statement regarding the long-term desired end for the company. Senior management at the company needs to formulate a __________ vision in order to resolve the deficiency with its strategic plan.

strategic

A fast food restaurant wanted to reduce the amount of waste it produced so that it would not add to the overflow of waste products in landfills. In order to do this, it removed napkin, straw, plasticware, and Styrofoam cup dispensers from its main dining room and only gave them to customers if requested. Based on this situation, the company is showing concern for ________. economic factors legal factors political factors sustainability

sustainability

A hotel chain based in Chicago uses a statement about how it aspires to be the premiere hotel chain among high-end guests in the future. This statement is the organization's: Mission Vision Strategic objective Core value

vision

The human resources department at a not-for-profit organization analyzed data on employee turnover for volunteers to determine the effectiveness of its employee retention strategy. The analytical technique that should be used in this situation is called ______. workforce analytics SWOT analysis cost benefit analysis regression analysis

workforce analytics