MIE 330 Test 1
Each year organizations with a minimum of _____ employees must file an EEO-1 report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
100
Which of the following amendments abolished slavery in the United States?
13th Amendment
Individuals who feel they have been discriminated against must file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a similar state agency within _____ days of the incident.
180
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits discrimination against employees over the age of _____.
40
CompX Inc. is an online retailer of electronic products, including laptops and tablets. The company is known for its unique approach to customer support, which is known for going above and beyond in satisfying customer complaints and issues. What kind of a strategy is CompX using?
Differentiation The "differentiation" strategy attempts to create the impression that a company's product or service is different from that of others in the industry. The perceived differentiation can come from creating a brand image, from technology, from offering unique features, or from unique customer service.
Which of the following agencies is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act?
EEOC
_____ refers to the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees' behavior, attitudes, and performance.
Human Resource Managment
Which of the following is true about how the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) responds to a claim of discrimination?
If the EEOC cannot come to an agreement with an offending employer, it can issue a "right to sue" letter to the alleged victim.
Which of the following is true of a balanced scorecard?
It depicts a company from the perspective of internal and external customers. A balanced scorecard gives managers an indication of the performance of a company based on the degree to which stakeholder needs are satisfied; it depicts the company from the perspective of internal and external customers, employees, and shareholders. The balanced scorecard differs from traditional measures of company performance by emphasizing that the critical indicators chosen are based on the company's business strategy and competitive demands.
Which of the following best describes the consent decree that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enters into with an organization that has been found to be discriminating?
It is an agreement between the EEOC and the organization that the organization will cease certain discriminatory practices.
Which of the following is a challenge of downsizing?
It is difficult to boost the morale of employees who remain after downsizing
Which of the following is true about O*NET?
It uses a common language that generalizes job specifications across various occupations.
Which of the following addresses which tasks should be grouped into a particular job?
Job design Companies produce a given product or service (or set of products or services), and the manufacture of these products requires that a number of tasks be performed. These tasks are grouped together to form jobs. Job design addresses what tasks should be grouped into a particular job.
According to emerging changes in the employment relationship, which of the following benefits do employees typically not expect to be provided by employers?
Job security New or emergent business strategies have resulted in changes in the employment relationship. Employees realize that companies cannot provide job security, so they want employability—that is, they want their company to provide training and job experiences to help ensure that employees can find other employment opportunities. In exchange for top performance and working longer hours without job security, employees want companies to provide flexible work schedules, comfortable working conditions, and more autonomy in accomplishing work.
Bloom Corp. is a firm whose employees work in an old facility; they request a government inspection to ensure that they are not exposed to any hazardous materials while working in the facility. Which of the following acts gives them the right to do so?
Occupational Safety and Health Act
_____ provides a cross-sectional overview of the static relationships between individuals and units that create the outputs.
Organization structure
The employee data and information systems function of an HR department focuses on responsibilities such as _____.
Record keeping; HR information systems, workforce analytic's
Which legislation mandates affirmative action in the employment of individuals with disabilities?
Rehabilitation act of 1973
External analysis and internal analysis combined constitute the _____.
SWOT analysis
_____ is a systematic, planned strategic effort by a company to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.
Talent management
_____ is a systematic, planned strategic effort by a company to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.
Talent management Talent management refers to the systematic planned strategic effort by a company to use bundles of human resource management practices including acquiring and assessing employees, learning and development, performance management, and compensation to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.
A high level of pay relative to that of competitors can ensure that _____.
The company attracts high-quality employees
Which of the following is a part of the U.S. government's executive branch?
The president
_____ is a planned effort to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior by employees.
Training A number of skills are instilled in employees through training and development. Training refers to a planned effort to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior by employees.
Saturn Inc., a large manufacturing firm, is a male-dominated organization. Julia, who works for Saturn, interacts predominantly with male employees, who frequently make sexist remarks. This is an example of
a hostile working environment
Which is the level of integration at which the human resource management primarily engages in day-to-day activities unrelated to the company's core business needs?
administrative linkage
A(n) _____ typically charts how a firm will create value for customers and how it will do so profitably.
business model A business model charts how a firm will create value for customers and, more important, how it will do so profitably.
When decision-making authority resides at the top of the organizational chart as opposed to being distributed throughout lower levels, an organization has a _____ decision-making structure.
centralized
During the strategic implementation stage of the strategic management process, an organization
ensures that it has skilled employees in place. During strategy implementation, an organization follows through on a strategy chosen in the strategy formulation stage. This consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring that the firm has skilled employees in place, and developing reward systems that align employee behavior with the organization's strategic goals.
Which of the following directives can be issued by the president?
executive order
When a firm shifts to evidence-based HRM, it should stop using workforce analytics.
false Evidence-based HR requires the use of HR or workforce analytics. HR or workforce analytics refers to the practice of using quantitative methods and scientific methods to analyze data from human resource databases, corporate financial statements, employee surveys, and other data sources to make evidence-based human resource decisions and show that HR practices influence the organization's "bottom line" including profits and costs.
Projections to the demographics of the U.S. workforce predict that the average age of the workforce will decrease.
false Three important changes in the demographics and diversity of the workforce are projected. First, the average age of the workforce will increase. Second, the workforce will become more diverse in terms of gender, race, and generations, and third, immigration will continue to affect the size and diversity of the workforce.
Which of the following is the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that will be required in a given job?
job design
Which of the following includes the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that an individual must have to perform a job?
job specification
Which of the following is an example of a quasi-judicial body?
national labor relations board
The most common source of error in the job analysis process results from job descriptions being _____.
outdated
Among the functions performed by an HR department, feedback and coaching are categorized under the _____ function.
performance management Performance measures, preparation and administration of performance appraisals, feedback and coaching, and discipline are performed as part of the performance management function of an HR department.
Which of the following approaches to job design entails performing time-and-motion studies?
scientific management approach
Giving employees online access to information about HR issues such as training, benefits, and compensation is called _____.
self-service
During _____, the strategic planning groups decide on a strategic direction by defining the company's mission and goals, its external opportunities and threats, and its internal strengths and weaknesses.
strategy formulation
Mission, goals, external analysis, internal analysis, and strategic choices are the five major components of the _____ process.
strategy formulation
Which of the following sources is most appropriate for providing accurate information regarding the importance of job duties?
supervisors
According to the "Job Characteristics Model,"_____ is the extent to which the job has an important impact on the lives of other people.
task significance
Functional structures are more appropriate than divisional structures when
the organization competes on costs.
Which of the following primarily examines an organization's operating environment to identify its strategic opportunities and threats?
External analysis External analysis consists of examining an organization's operating environment to identify its strategic opportunities and threats. An example of an opportunity is a customer market that is not being served. An example of a threat is potential labor shortage.
Which type of strategy attempts to expand a company's resources or to strengthen its market position through acquiring or creating new businesses?
External growth strategy Companies attempting to integrate vertically or horizontally or to diversify are exhibiting an "external growth" strategy, usually through mergers or acquisitions. This strategy attempts to expand a company's resources or to strengthen its market position through acquiring or creating new businesses.
Which of the following is required for teams to be effective?
Individual accountability of behavior should be a critical indicator of performance.
Which of the following is true of one-way linkage?
It precludes the company from considering human resource issues while formulating the strategic plan
Which of the following activities entails specifying those activities and outcomes that will result in the organization successfully implementing the strategy?
Performance management Performance management is used to ensure that employees' activities and outcomes are congruent with an organization's objectives. It entails specifying those activities and outcomes that will result in the organization successfully implementing the strategy.
Which of the following acts sets strict rules for businesses, especially for accounting practices that require more open and consistent disclosure of financial data and CEOs' assurance that the data is completely accurate?
Sarbanes-Oxley Act The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a congressional act passed in response to illegal and unethical behavior by managers and executives. The act sets stricter rules for businesses, especially accounting practices. It requires more open and consistent disclosure of financial data, CEOs' assurance that the data is completely accurate, and provisions that affect the employee-employer relationship.
Which of the following statements is true about the composition of the U.S. labor force in the next decade?
The median age of the labor force will increase to the highest number ever. The median age of the labor force will increase to 42.8 years old, the highest ever. The labor force is expected to increase by 10.5 million in the next decade reaching 164.4 million in 2020.
Which of the following questions should be addressed right after the inputs required for production have been established?
What tasks are required in the production of the output?
Work-flow design is the process of
analyzing the tasks necessary for the production of a product.
According to the "Job Characteristics Model," _____ is the degree to which a job allows an individual to make decisions about the way the work is carried out.
autonomy
Among the functions performed by an HR department, vacation, retirement plans, and profit sharing are categorized under the _____ function.
compensation benefits Wage and salary administration, incentive pay, insurance, vacation, retirement plans, profit sharing, health and wellness, and stock plans are performed as part of the compensation and benefits function of an HR department.
Strategies emphasizing market share or operating costs are considered _____ strategies.
concentration Strategies emphasizing market share or operating costs are considered "concentration" strategies. With this type of strategy, a company attempts to focus on what it does best within its established markets and can be thought of as "sticking to its knitting."
Which of the following arguments states that diversity of perspectives and less emphasis on conformity to norms of the past should improve the level of resourcefulness?
creativity argument
Which of the following was replaced by the Occupational Information Network (O*NET)?
dictionary of occupational titles
Michael and Mohammad graduated from the same pilot training institute and applied for a job as a trainee pilot at a private American airline. Despite both having similar profiles, Michael was hired but Mohammad was not, and the airline continued to look for other potential trainee pilots. In this case, Mohammad was a possible victim of
disparate treatment
Units that are a part of the _____ structure act almost as separate, self-sufficient, semi-autonomous organizations.
divisional
Which of the following is responsible for enforcing the Age Discrimination in Employment Act?
equal employment opportunity commission
Which of the following is concerned with examining the interface between individuals' physiological characteristics and the physical work environment?
ergonomics
Divisional structures are more appropriate than functional structures when
flexible responsiveness is required.
Which of the following statements is true of disparate treatment and disparate impact?
for there to be discrimination under disparate treatment, there has to be intentional discrimination
Which of the following amendments is called the equal protection clause?
fourteenth amendment
When an HR professional is evaluated on how well she embraces inclusion and how effectively she works with diverse populations, she is being evaluated on her competency in _____.
global and cultural effectiveness An HR professional having competency in global and cultural effectiveness is effective at managing human resources both within and across boundaries. Some of the behaviors that a professional with this competency exhibits are embracing inclusion and working effectively with diverse cultures and populations.
Which of the following is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act?
heart disease
Job design interventions emphasizing the motivational approach focus on
increasing the meaningfulness of jobs.
Who among the following is likely to be the best source for the most accurate information about the time spent on various tasks for job analysis?
incumbents
Which of the following includes a list of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities that a job entails?
job description
A company where employees are in a constant state of assimilating knowledge through monitoring the environment, making decisions, and flexibly restructuring the company to compete in that environment is known as a _____ organization.
learning Learning organizations require the company to be in a constant state of learning through monitoring the environment, assimilating information, making decisions, and flexibly restructuring to compete in that environment. Companies that develop such learning capability have a competitive advantage.
Jonathan retired from a large, multinational automobile company last year. He receives health care benefits as well as a pension from the company. At present, Jonathan falls under the category of a _____.
legacy workforce
A company whose employees have high engagement is likely to have _____ compared to a company with low employee engagement.
lower turnover Employee engagement refers to the degree to which employees are fully involved in their work and the strength of their commitment to their job and the company. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to the company they work for give companies competitive advantage including higher productivity, better customer service, and lower turnover.
In a _____ case, the defendant acknowledges that some discrimination may have occurred but argues that the same hiring decision would have been reached even ignoring the discrimination.
mixed-motive
Which of the following approaches to job design has its roots in organizational psychology and management literature?
motivational approach
Executive Order 11246, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, is enforced by the
office of federal contract compliance programs
The training and development function of an HR department includes _____.
orientation The training and development function of an HR department includes orientation, skills training, development programs, and career development.
Which stage in a work-unit activity analysis focuses on the product produced or service provided?
output
The practice of companies having other companies provide services is known as
outsourcing
Sanjay is the manager at a restaurant and offers to promote Linda, a waitress at the same restaurant, in return for sexual favors. This is an example of _____.
quid pro quo harassment
The process by which a firm attempts to identify job applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help the firm achieve its goals is known as _____.
selection Selection refers to the process by which a firm attempts to identify job applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help it achieve its goals. The strategy a firm is pursuing will have a direct impact on the types of employees that it seeks to recruit and select.
Mentoring relationships are an example of _____ capital.
social Corporate culture, management philosophy, management practices, informal networking systems, and coaching/mentoring relationships are examples of social capital.
Goals and timetables in an affirmative action plan
specify the percentage of women and minorities that an employer seeks to have in each job group.
_____ is a process that primarily addresses the competitive challenges an organization faces.
strategic management
Organizations that pursue a _____ strategy pursue the "triple bottom line" of economic, social, and environmental benefits.
sustainable Sustainability refers to a company's ability to meet its needs without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Organizations pursuing a sustainable strategy pursue the "triple bottom line": economic, social, and environmental benefits.
According to the "Job Characteristics Model," _____ is the degree to which a job requires completing a "whole" piece of work from beginning to end.
task identity
Which of the following states that it is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire an individual or otherwise discriminate against this individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin?
title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Which of the following acts states that employers cannot retaliate against employees for either "opposing" a perceived illegal employment practice or "participating in a proceeding" related to an alleged illegal employment practice?
title VII of the civil rights act of 1964
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes criminal penalties for corporate governing and accounting lapses.
true The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sets strict rules for corporate behavior and sets heavy fines and prison terms for noncompliance. It imposes criminal penalties for corporate governing and accounting lapses, including retaliation against whistle-blowers reporting violations of Security and Exchange Commission rules.
When it comes to problem solving, cultural diversity can provide companies with a competitive advantage.
true When it comes to problem solving, the benefit that cultural diversity offers is heterogeneity in decisions and problem-solving groups. This potentially produces better decisions through a wider range of perspectives and more thorough critical analysis of issues.
A _____ compares the race, sex, and ethnic composition of an employer's workforce with that of the available labor supply.
utilization analysis
_____ provides a longitudinal overview of the dynamic relationships by which inputs are converted into outputs.
work-flow design
