HR EXAM 2

Organization analysis looks at training needs in light of the

management's support for training activities.

What is a characteristic of effective training objectives?

measurable performance standards

Kyle had a great résumé and a glowing recommendation from his previous employer. Impressed by his qualifications and expertise, Everest hired him for the position of quality analyst. However, he engaged in blatant sexual harassment directed at Everest after just a couple of weeks on the job. During its investigation of the harassment, Everest learned that Kyle had been fired for sexual harassment at his previous employer. If Kyle's new employer wants to hold his previous employer accountable, it could sue the company for

misrepresentation

An HR manager recruits her cousin as production manager in the company. This move results in resentment among several of the company's employees. By hiring her cousin, the manager has engaged in the practice of hiring relatives, called

nepotism

A __________ interview generally includes open-ended questions about the candidate's strengths, weaknesses, career goals, and work experience, but they do not have great reliability.

nondirective

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) identifies individuals' preferences for source of energy, means of information gathering, way of decision making, and

lifestyle.

The simplest approach to evaluating training is to

use only a posttest.

The stage to prepare for evaluating a training program is

when the program is being developed.

Which statement about apprenticeships is true?

An apprentice can earn an income while learning a trade.

Which company exemplifies the best use of utility for a selection procedure?

An international investment firm spent a hundred thousand dollars with a search firm to hire a renowned economist as its new CEO.

Which statement regarding job performance tests is true?

Applicants feel they are fair.

What is a requirement under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986?

Employers must verify and maintain records on the legal rights of applicants to work in the United States.

Which statement about case studies is true?

Cases encourage trainees by giving them practice in acting on uncertain outcomes after evaluating a situation.

__________ training remains the most widely used method of training in the workplace.

Classroom

The human resource department of a consumer electronics manufacturer wants to set up a learning management system for its global sales force. This way, sales personnel can get training in new models and product lines even while on the road, and managers can ensure their employees are keeping up to date. The HR manager looks into "training systems" and identifies five top results. Which system describes a learning management system?

Crimson: a system that automates the process of administering and delivering training

Charlotte heads the production department at Hoey Inc., a firm that stresses the importance of maintaining regular contact with customers. Charlotte is expecting a labor surplus in the future. A supervisor recommends downsizing as an option to deal with this labor surplus; however, Charlotte rejects this option. Which statement will validate that Charlotte made the right decision?

Downsizing would hurt long-term organizational effectiveness.

Asabi, a purchasing manager, tells Felipe, the human resource manager, that she has selected a candidate to be her purchasing assistant. She shows him a draft of an email message offering the candidate the job at the agreed-on starting wage. She asks Felipe if there is anything else she should mention in the message. Felipe replies that Asabi should add information about

During interviews for a sales position, the interviewer asks each candidate to imagine a situation where a customer e-mails to report that products were damaged during delivery from the company. The interviewer then asks each candidate what they would do to handle this situation. This is an example of a(n) __________ interview.

Jason, a senior editor at his company, asks the editor-in-chief for a sabbatical. Which statement best explains why the company would pay Jason during the sabbatical, if his manager approves it?

During the sabbatical, Jason can develop new skills and refresh his existing ones.

Elton was part of a formal mentoring program and was mentored by Angel. The mentoring sessions were conducted over a period of eight weeks to improve Elton's communication and interpersonal skills in the workplace. The sessions, however, were unsuccessful. Which scenario, if true, would most likely have caused the failure of the mentoring sessions?

Elton's participation was involuntary, and he had little understanding of the details of the program.

The management at a pesticide manufacturing company has observed a decline in quality measures. The managers ask the firm's HR manager to investigate whether training might solve the problem. She conducts needs assessment and recommends a training plan. Which observation will the HR manager most likely find in her person analysis?

Employees of the firm's production department lack clarity in decisions regarding quality standards for manufacturing.

What is a potential problem of job rotation?

Employees typically develop a short-term perspective on problems and solutions.

What is a characteristic of task analysis?

It is usually conducted along with person analysis.

A human resource manager at an electronics firm observes that many employees who are reaching the traditional retirement age are not interested in leaving the organization. Which statement best explains the reason for this trend among older employees?

Jobs are becoming less physically demanding.

A company administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment to its management team and learned that some individuals are drawn toward gathering the facts and details needed for decision making, while others focus more on noticing relationships among the facts. Some of the employees enjoy learning this about themselves, but the HR specialist who administered the assessment cautions them not to use the results to limit their understanding of what they can do. Which statement best explains the need for caution in applying the results of this assessment?

MBTI scores are not necessarily valid and reliable.

__________ exists when employees are able and eager to learn and when their organizations encourage learning.

Readiness for training

An investment bank is in the final stage of its selection process for a business analyst. Morris is one of the candidates for the position. As part of background checks, the bank wants to look at his credit history. Which Act requires them to obtain Morris' consent before using a third party to check his credit history?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

Carl, a newly appointed HR manager, learns that several female managers have complained that the company has a "glass ceiling." Indeed, the top positions are all filled by men, but Carl isn't sure whether the pattern is just a coincidence. He agrees to investigate. Which condition, if it exists, would be evidence of a glass ceiling at this company?

The company has no formal mentoring program to ensure that the female managers have developmental relationships.

The employees at a company acknowledge that their supervisor is excellent at his work, as he has received many accolades during his 40-year career. However, they claim he is a dysfunctional manager. When confronted, the supervisor argues that his work should speak for itself and the employees' opinions of his behavior are irrelevant. Which statement, if true, would support the employees' claim?

The supervisor often discourages employees from challenging tasks, saying that they are incapable of accomplishing them.

A marketing manager regularly interviews candidates for her team. Because she is a people person, and her department is built on teamwork, when she interviews candidates for a job, she tries to get to know the candidates as people. She always begins by saying, "Tell me about yourself," and based on what the candidate says, she lets the conversation unfold for 30 to 60 minutes. How does this approach limit her effectiveness as an interviewer?

The wide latitude of these nondirective interviews can result in low reliability and often poor validity.

Which statement is true about cognitive ability tests?

They are especially valid for jobs requiring adaptability.

What is true of validity?

Validity ensures the fairness of employment practices during selection procedures.

Which term refers to a detailed description of a situation that trainees analyze and discuss and is designed to develop higher-order thinking skills?

a case study

Which statement accurately describes an avatar?

a computer depiction of employees that can be manipulated in an online role-play

The HR department at a company oversees the recruitment and training of employees at the firm. As the firm grows and recruits more employees, overseeing individual training programs has become too much for the HR staff to handle. Which application should the HR department use to help with employee training?

a learning management system

Which work setting is most likely to benefit from team training?

a military brigade

Elvis is hired as a seasonal firefighter by the Washington Department of Forestry. The training used to prepare Elvis for his firefighting job involves an online training module. In this game-like module, Elvis is virtually placed in a real-life scenario such as a wildfire, resort fire, or residential cabin fire, and his goal is to assist in its containment or to extinguish the fire and save as many lives as possible. This form of training is referred to as

a simulation.

Using avatars for training purposes is an element of

a simulation.

Baruch heads a waste management firm. Recently, his firm was under scrutiny from environmental organizations. To counter any possible negative claims by these organizations against his company, Baruch assigned five of his junior managers to develop a training to study the issue and propose plans or initiatives that could make the company appear more environmentally friendly. He also instructed senior managers to mentor their subordinates as they devised and implemented new ideas. Which form of team training was applied by Baruch?

action learning

Job enlargement is defined as

adding challenges or new responsibilities to employees' current jobs.

Hideko is an HR manager at a software company. They want to establish the validity of a test designed for computer technicians using a predictive validation strategy. Accordingly, Hideko must administer the test to

all people applying for computer technician jobs at the company.

Acting as a mentor gives managers

an opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills.

Which of these is a work-study training method that teaches job skills through a combination of on-the-job training and classroom training?

apprenticeship

A firm that specializes in building construction hires Marlin to work in its carpentry division. Since Marlin does not have the required skills to work as a carpenter, he is provided training that helps him pick up carpentry skills on the job. Marlin learns by assisting other master carpenters and journeymen. In addition to the skills Marlin acquires, he is paid by the company. The form of training exemplified in this scenario is called a(n)

apprenticeship.

For what purpose do organizations typically review applicant résumés?

as a basis for deciding which candidates to investigate further

For tests that measure abstract qualities such as intelligence or leadership skills, validity would best be established by __________ validation.

construct

An HR manager hires 50 employees in five months. He used different sources of recruitment to recruit these employees. He wants to know which kind of source delivered the most new hires for the money. To answer that question, the manager should determine the

cost per hire.

If a person who is a reference gives negative information about a job candidate, there is a chance the candidate will claim __________, meaning the person damaged the applicant's reputation by making statements that cannot be proved truthful.

defamation

Tari is a human resource manager at a software company. She receives a call from an HR manager at another software company asking about Misha, a software engineer who used to work at the company and has applied for a job at the caller's company. Tari checks the company's records and sees that a co-worker had accused Misha of racial discrimination, but an investigation did not turn up any evidence to support the charge. Misha left the company two months later, saying she was no longer comfortable there. Tari is concerned about sharing the details of this situation with the caller. If telling the information to the caller leads to the other company not hiring Misha, what potentially unlawful behavior could Misha accuse the company of engaging in?

defamation

Nathan is a successful senior employee at his company. He has five years of experience in the company and is well recognized for his contributions. The vice president of human resources tells Nathan about Therese, an employee hired for her keen intelligence. According to the vice president, Therese is struggling to make an impact because she does not speak up assertively or understand who to talk to when she has questions. The vice president asks Nathan to serve as a mentor to Therese. What would this role involve?

developing Therese through coaching, sponsorship, and challenging assignments

Claire wanted to work for an advertising agency, so she sent her résumé to all the agencies in Chicago, unsolicited. Claire is a(n) __________ applicant.

direct

The most important source of recruits for entry-level professional and managerial vacancies is

employee referrals.

A company hires Bradley as a supervisor in the company. It has an implied understanding that both the employer and the employee have the right to end their relationship at any time they desire. In the context of personnel policies, the relationship between the company and Bradley is based on the

employment-at-will policy.

A(n) __________ is a training method in which participants learn concepts and then apply them by simulating the behaviors involved and analyzing the activity, connecting it with real-life situations.

experiential program

Which of these is a "Big Five" personality trait?

extroversion

The step in the career management process in which employees receive information about their skills and knowledge and where these assets fit into the organization's plans is called

feedback

Anton is training a new group of employees. After each training session, the employees complete various exercises to test their knowledge. After evaluating the results, Anton speaks one-on-one with the employees to help them define their areas of weakness and encourage them to keep fine-tuning their strengths. In this scenario, Anton is providing his employees with

feedback.

A health services firm periodically enrolls some of its employees in a one-month marketing course at a local college. At the end of the course, the employees are able to perform better in the organization. Which method of employee development has the firm used?

formal education

Dixon is the HR manager at a publishing company. He wants to know if a certain test of cognitive ability, used in the advertising industry, can be successfully used in his organization. This scenario suggests that he wants to know if this test is a(n) __________ method.

generalizable

A firm that produces manufacturing equipment for various industries experiences an influx of new sales employees due to a recent expansion. Despite possessing a vast amount of sales experience, most of the new employees perform poorly. This is because the new recruits possess inadequate technical knowledge about the products sold by the company. To address the issue, the HR department decides to implement a training program using the instructional design process. As part of the process, the HR department's first step should be to

identify what the sales representatives will need to learn.

The energy dichotomy of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator indicates

individuals' degree of introversion or extroversion.

Marta is a recruiter with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She is well respected among her peers for her professional standards and understanding of the HR field. However, she has noticed that when she recruits engineers for her company, they sometimes seem unresponsive to her. According to some studies discussed in the text, this is happening because Marta

is perceived as less credible because she is an HR specialist.

A firm that creates games for mobile devices and PCs has an unusual training program for all its new employees. The program lasts for five days and does not involve doing any work. During this period the trainees, in teams of three, visit different departments, gathering information about the company and various department functions. Additionally, they are paired with more experienced employees to discuss their goals at the company and to learn more about the organization's culture and policies. The form of training used for new employees at this company is known as

onboarding.

Sully conducts an interview with Mason for a job as regional sales manager. During the course of the interview, she has Mason take a written test that assesses Mason's integrity by asking him about his attitude toward shoplifting and his own experiences with shoplifting, if any. Which test is Sully conducting?

paper-and-pencil honesty test

A(n) __________ involves moving an employee into a position with greater challenges, more responsibility, and more authority than in the previous job.

promotion

In the context of principles of learning, which term is defined as the difficulty level of written materials?

readability

When using an outside training expert, a complete __________ should indicate funding for the project and the process by which the organization will determine its level of satisfaction.

request for proposal

A senior journalist at a news agency goes on a temporary leave for six months and travels around different parts of South Asia during his leave. He records his travel experiences in a book and shares it with his colleagues upon his return. During his leave, he was also being paid by the organization. This is an example of a(n)

sabbatical.

The management at a manufacturer of microwavable food items prides itself on helping its employees with their career paths. The employees are highly efficient and motivated to define areas of weakness in their job performances and work to eliminate them. The employees take various tests to help them assess their career interests and behavioral tendencies, thus helping them work on becoming successful. Which system for career management is being employed at this company?

self-assessment

Which activity is most appropriate for the first step of the career management process?

self-assessment

What trait is typically found in a conscientious person?

self-controlled

Charry was pretty sure she wanted to work at Hogs Foot Brewery after she read the ad for an open position and researched the company. She concluded she was enough of a fit with the vacant position to warrant submitting an application. This process is termed

self-selection

During interviews for a sales position, the interviewer asks each candidate to imagine a situation where a customer e-mails to report that products were damaged during delivery from the company. The interviewer then asks each candidate what they would do to handle this situation. This is an example of a(n) __________ interview.

situational

At American Auto, managers encourage employees to receive training and praise them when they demonstrate new skills. Employees are excited about how learning helps them succeed at work and take on more responsibility. Which aspect of readiness for training does this example describe?

social support

A software company conducts the DiSC inventory assessment to evaluate its employees. The assessment reveals that there are very few employees who are calm, supportive of others, and work far ahead of any deadlines. Which DiSC category applies to the employees described in the scenario?

steadiness

Which term is defined as an organization's planned effort to help employees acquire job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors?

training

Compared with other forms of diversity training, which approach do trainees tend to respond to most positively?

teaching employees skills for constructively handling communication barriers, conflicts, and misunderstandings that normally arise

In a person analysis, what is a primary variable that can be affected by training?

the employee's ability

Asabi, a purchasing manager, tells Felipe, the human resource manager, that she has selected a candidate to be her purchasing assistant. She shows him a draft of an email message offering the candidate the job at the agreed-on starting wage. She asks Felipe if there is anything else she should mention in the message. Felipe replies that Asabi should add information about

the job responsibilities, work schedule, and starting date.

What is the main objective of diversity training programs that focus on behavior

to change organizational policies and individual conduct that inhibit employees' personal growth and productivity

Evie is preparing for a 5 percent increase in production at her company next year. She needs to determine the current number and categories of production employees and how this is likely to change by the end of the year so she can staff for the increased production needs. To help with this analysis, Evie should use a

transitional matrix.

Most companies use __________ moves as an option for employee development.

upward, downward, and lateral