Quiz Chapter 2 HRPO2301

Which of the following statements is TRUE of a psychological contract? Multiple Choice • A psychological contract describes spoken expectations that are widely held by employers and employees. • In the new version of the psychological contract, organizations manage the career paths for their employees. • In the traditional version of the psychological contract, organizations expected employees to take more responsibility for their own careers, from seeking training to balancing work and family. • A psychological contract is a display of how the company is performing on specific HR metrics, such as productivity and absenteeism. • A psychological contract is not formally put into words.

A psychological contract is not formally put into words.

Which of the following is necessary for the success of employee empowerment? Multiple Choice • The jobs must be designed in such a manner that the managers have complete control over business processes. • Employees must be properly trained to exert their wider authority and use information resources such as the Internet. • Pay and other rewards should reflect employees' loyalty to the organization and not their authority. • Employers should provide feedback only when employees resign and are about to leave the organization. • 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.

Zino Inc., a marketing firm, has employees who work in different cities in different time zones around the country. They coordinate their work efficiently with the help of technology, such as videoconferencing, mobile phones, and e-mail, for the production of marketing activities. Which of the following statements is true of Zino? Multiple Choice • It has a vertical organizational structure. • It does not hold employees accountable for products and services. • It encourages virtual teams. • It encourages centralized decision-making. • It has self-employed individuals with multiple clients.

It encourages virtual teams.

Rhea is an employee at Diaz Inc. She specializes in interacting with customers and understanding their preferences in order to design user interface products that meet their needs. Which of the following statements is true about Rhea? Multiple Choice • She specializes in outsourcing. • She is a part of the external labor market. • She bases her work on the terms of a psychological contract. • She is an on-call worker. • She is a knowledge worker.

She is a knowledge worker.

Identify the correct statement about flexible work schedules. Multiple Choice • Flexible work schedules prevent work demands from spilling over to employees' personal lives. • Flexible work schedules require companies to be staffed 12 hours a day, five days a week. • Employees in manufacturing environments and service call centers are being asked to work 16-hour days. • The globalization of the world economy and the development of e-commerce have made the notion of a 40-hour workweek obsolete. • Professional employees do not face long hours anymore due to flexible work schedules.

The globalization of the world economy and the development of e-commerce have made the notion of a 40-hour workweek obsolete.

Companies are finding that to survive they must contend in international markets as well as fend off foreign competitors' attempts to gain ground in the United States. Which of the following would help businesses in the United States meet these challenges? Multiple Choice • They must focus on developing domestic markets rather than on developing global markets. • They must hire only from a domestic labor pool. • They must prepare employees for global assignments. • They must eliminate reshoring—reestablishing operations in North America. • They must reduce the workforce with a "grenade" approach—by eliminating an entire group of employees.

They must prepare employees for global assignments.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, manufacturing companies have difficulty finding enough people who can operate their computer-controlled machinery. Which of the following actions is the most reasonable response to that difficulty? Multiple Choice • Hiring unqualified employees and hoping they will catch on eventually. • Relying more on employees' physical strength than technical skills. • Hiring high school students before they learn that manufacturing is not a desirable career. • Paying tuition for employees to attend four-year colleges and universities. • Working with community colleges to set up apprenticeship and training programs.

Working with community colleges to set up apprenticeship and training programs.

Brighton Corporation recently undertook a reengineering strategy to increase the efficiency of its processes. According to your text, will reengineering have any effect on Brighton's HR department? Multiple Choice • No; the HR department will continue to accomplish its goals as it always has. • Yes; the structure of pay and benefits will have to be redesigned. • Yes; employees will require training, but only those in the top managerial positions. • Yes; new employees with the same skill sets as current workers will need to be hired. • No; employee levels will stay the same, with none being hired or laid off.

Yes; the structure of pay and benefits will have to be redesigned. .

Mirth Inc., a cookie manufacturer, combines with Herge Corp., a chocolate manufacturer, to form a company called Hobbes Inc. This scenario illustrates Multiple Choice • consolidation. • a partnership. • an acquisition. • a merger. • a strategic alliance.

a merger.

Cody works at a machine production facility assembling small parts in a specialized division. In addition to his regular job duties, Cody works in tandem with his other coworkers to schedule work, select new team members, and carry out multiple assembly tasks. This style of work is best described as Multiple Choice • centralized. • a virtual team. • teamwork. • agile development. • knowledge work.

a virtual team.

The use of independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract company workers, collectively constitutes Multiple Choice • outsourcing. • alternative work arrangements. • consolidation. • high-performance work systems. • offshoring.

alternative work arrangements.

The HRM function during downsizing is to terminate the workers who Multiple Choice • are performing multiple organizational roles. • are less valuable in their performance. • are a part of the external labor force. • are older than the other employees. • are being paid the highest salaries.

are less valuable in their performance

Which of the following technologies provides insight into commercial trends and patterns and helps organizations improve decisions? Multiple Choice • electronic performance support systems • Internet portals • shared service centers • application service provider • business intelligence

business intelligence

Dave is the project manager at Arc Inc. He encourages his team members to have brainstorming sessions before initiating a project to determine the best method to deliver positive results. He provides his team members with complete authority to execute all production tasks independently. This scenario indicates that Dave promotes Multiple Choice • centralized decision making. • risk aversion. • downsizing. • outsourcing. • employee empowerment.

employee empowerment.

Amy is interested in a career in human resource management. She expected her first job to focus on giving employees access to information and enrollment forms for training, benefits, and other programs. However, she has since learned that HR employees spend less time doing that kind of work. Which of the following trends is behind that change? Multiple Choice • employees can now get such information through self-service • benefits have been cut from most company programs • managers have taken over those HR duties • lack of voluntary participation has led to the elimination of employee training programs • due to privacy laws, human resources cannot obtain any sensitive employee information

employees can now get such information through self-service

According to the core values of total quality management, Multiple Choice • the progress of employees should be measured through self-evaluation. • external customers should not be given any importance while developing any process. • only key personnel should receive training in quality. • errors in a product or service should be prevented before occurrence. • internal customers should be valued more than external customers.

errors in a product or service should be prevented before occurrence.

Abdul, a financial analyst, is not employed directly by any company. He works for several clients based on their requirements. Abdul would be classified as a(n) Multiple Choice • permanent employee. • independent contractor. • part-time employee. • contract company worker. • temporary worker.

independent contractor.

Which of the following is the most common reason why U.S. organizations hire employees in foreign countries? Multiple Choice • lack of technology in the U.S. • lack of demand for their products in the U.S. • poor quality of labor in the U.S. • governmental pressure • low cost of labor in foreign countries

low cost of labor in foreign countries

Palin Inc., an electronics manufacturer, is headquartered in Texas. The firm shifted its operations from Texas to China due to lower labor costs and the availability of required skills in China. This scenario indicates that Palin engaged in the practice of Multiple Choice • downsizing. • reengineering. • offshoring. • benchmarking. • acquiring.

offshoring.

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. Multiple Choice • employee contract • offer letter • psychological contract • legal bond • legal agreement

psychological contract

The management of Holmes Inc. expects its employees to be enthusiastic about their work by seeking training, putting in long hours of work, initiating better work procedures, and maintaining a sound balance between professional life and personal life. In return, the firm's employees expect management to arrange for better incentives, flexible work schedules, and increased authority to execute their tasks. This scenario is an example of a(n) Multiple Choice • employee contract. • offer letter. • legal agreement. • legal bond. • psychological contract.

psychological contract.

As part of a company-wide business strategy, Wright Inc. conducts a comprehensive examination of its critical work techniques to increase their efficiency. The results of the examination are used to create a strategy to provide high-quality goods and services to the firm's customers. Which of the following HRM practices does Wright use? Multiple Choice • outsourcing • reengineering • downsizing • merger • acquisition

reengineering

M&B Textiles Inc., a garment manufacturing company, implements a new technology to improve the speed of its production process. To do this effectively, the company decides to train its employees on how to use this new process. The company also implements new quality checks and efficiency measures, reducing the costs of production while delivering better quality products. This process of making changes to vital company technology to make it more efficient is known as Multiple Choice • outsourcing. • codetermining. • downsizing. • hedging. • reengineering.

reengineering.

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 Multiple Choice • outsourcing. • offshoring. • reengineering. • greenfield venturing. • codetermining.

reengineering.

During downsizing, the HRM function must "surgically" reduce the workforce by cutting only the workers who are less valuable in their performance. According to your text, which of the following is a reason for this being difficult to achieve? Multiple Choice • the definition of "less valuable" is fluid and hard to define • downsizing companies tend to have a strong, interconnected hierarchy • the best workers may leave before the organization lays off anyone • voluntary turnover is encouraged for all levels of employees • decision making has become decentralized, leaving no department with the power to reduce the workforce

the best workers may leave before the organization lays off anyone