SHRM Final Study Questions

The CEO of a small local company has decided that the organization needs to embrace a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite a formal strategy not being in place, the organization has been using the principles of CSR in certain circumstances. The CEO is seeking to create a company known for treating people well, operating in a sustainable manner, and giving to worthy causes. This change will be more noticeable in some departments than in others. Because of this, the CEO would like to start with a word-of-mouth campaign prior to a large company-wide announcement. The CEO wants the HR manager to put together a plan within two to four weeks that creates this low-key way to work toward the CSR culture for the organization. HR and the CEO discuss that it will be a long-term process for change to be fully implemented. The CEO understands this but wants a plan no later than one month from the meeting. What action should the HR manager take to encourage employees to embrace this cultural change?

Provide values-based change management workshops that actively involve employees.

What is the usefulness of a key risk indicator (KRI)?

Provides early warning of organizational risk emergence

Which step is necessary in conducting an effective investigation of employee complaints that may lead to discipline?

Providing protection against retaliation

In the balanced scorecard approach to strategic management, which company action does the customer value?

Providing quality goods and services

An employee's ex-husband waits outside her place of work. When she emerges, he begins yelling. She retreats inside the building. The husband attempts to follow but is prevented by a door that locks automatically behind the employee. An HR staff member observes the incident. What action should the staff member take?

Recommend that those involved debrief the incident.

An organization terminates an employee due to an organizational restructuring in response to lagging sales numbers. What is the maximum length of continuation of COBRA benefits for the terminated employee?

18 months

Although the founder of an organization is very competent, she has alienated nearly everyone in the organization. Colleagues have tried to share their concerns; however, she does not believe there to be an issue. Rather she believes she merely has a direct approach. Which assessment tool is best suited to display how her directness is impacting others?

360-degree assessments

Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988, a plant with over 100 employees must give what minimum number of days of advance written notice of a plant closure?

60 calendar days

Which is an advantage of a best-of-breed (BOB) HRIS solution over an integrated solution?

A BOB solution provides quicker implementation because the system is simpler and affects fewer employees

An organization hosts an application on its website that allows prospective job candidates to interact with current employees. This best describes an example of

A blog

A small division of a company lacks a formal compensation structure for employees. Due to recent recruitment and retention challenges, the division recognizes the need to review newly hired and existing employees' pay rates to ensure market competitiveness and internal equity among staff. For a number of years, the division has lacked human resources support and relied upon the general managers to determine initial pay rates for new hires as well as promotional rates for internal staff based on the amount of hours worked and the employee's attendance record. No pay ranges currently exist, and leaders have the discretion to pay whatever fits within their budget. On occasion, a human resources representative from another division has offered general advice on pay practices to the division's leadership. However, they have their own divisional responsibilities, and therefore there has been very little oversight. The divisional president is considering whether or not to bring in a contract human resources leader to research, design, and implement an appropriate pay structure for all positions. Why should the division president be concerned about having a compensation structure?

A compensation structure can help to reduce turnover by offering competitive salaries to attract new talent while promoting fair pay practices to retain tenured staff.

How will using a revenue-per-employee metric allow HR to demonstrate the impact of turnover on employee engagement?

A decrease in revenue per employee may correlate with lower employee engagement.

Under the FLSA, which employee must be paid overtime?

A nonexempt employee who worked 45 hours in a week

Which best defines the concept of moral hazard?

A person engages in risky behavior knowing that someone else will absorb any losses.

What is a good example of an upside risk?

A team finishes its project two weeks ahead of the schedule.

An HR director is tasked with the fiduciary duty for the organization's retirement plan. What action best describes this obligation?

Acting in the best interest of the employees who participate in the plan

What is a possible outgrowth of a benefit plan needs assessment?

Adding medical coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic care

What does an HR audit measure?

Adequacy of policies, practices, procedures, and strategies to support HR's goals

Which best describes how adult learners differ from younger learners?

Adults refer to past experiences and want opportunities to share them.

An HR team has mined the ERP database for data related to implementation of the performance management system. What step must they complete before proceeding to analysis of the data?

Aggregation

A small company is in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The owner has been hiring talent and compensating employees at high levels but not offering a benefits package. As the organization grows and more employees are hired, the owner is being pressured to implement a benefits package in addition to direct compensation. The owner is not knowledgeable about benefits and has made the decision to hire an HR generalist to handle benefits and other HR functions. The HR generalist's first priority is to make recommendations about a benefits package that will attract and retain top talent while being fiscally responsible. The growth plan for the organization is to grow globally and engage in a global recruitment, selection, and hiring strategy. The HR generalist needs to create a total compensation package that will be relevant in all locations globally. The HR generalist has conducted an employee survey asking questions about the types of benefits employees want. The survey results indicate that employees are seeking ways to balance their work life with their home life. How should the HR generalist handle this feedback?

Align offered benefits with the organizational strategy, culture, and employee desires.

A small company is in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The owner has been hiring talent and compensating employees at high levels but not offering a benefits package. As the organization grows and more employees are hired, the owner is being pressured to implement a benefits package in addition to direct compensation. The owner is not knowledgeable about benefits and has made the decision to hire an HR generalist to handle benefits and other HR functions. The HR generalist's first priority is to make recommendations about a benefits package that will attract and retain top talent while being fiscally responsible. The growth plan for the organization is to grow globally and engage in a global recruitment, selection, and hiring strategy. The HR generalist needs to create a total compensation package that will be relevant in all locations globally. The HR generalist has conducted an employee survey asking questions about the types of benefits employees want. The survey results indicate that employees are seeking ways to balance their work life with their home life. How should the HR generalist handle this feedback?

Align offered benefits with the organizational strategy, culture, and employee desires.

Which best demonstrates the outcome of zero-based budgeting in regard to HR's budget?

All expenditures will need to be justified when building the budget.

A small publishing firm believes that it is too small to benefit from strategic planning. Which short-term benefit is the best choice for HR to use in influencing leaders to begin the strategic planning process?

Allocating resources more effectively

A department manager in a health-care organization contacts HR to discuss a situation involving a schedule change that was initiated for an employee three months ago. The employee has a medical condition that could result in the need for surgery, and he requested the schedule change until a decision can be made by his health-care provider. HR was not involved in the initial request. Other staff members are now becoming upset, and this accommodation is causing an issue in the department. No end date was set initially, and the manager is not certain of the status of the medical condition. The manager does not believe that the employee has a plan and therefore wants to reassign or terminate the employee. HR has been contacted for guidance on how to handle this situation. What U.S. law has the most impact on this situation?

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

What circumstances tend to result in the phenomenon known as "covering"?

An organization promotes diversity but not inclusion.

Gaps between actual and desired performance are best identified in which phase of the ADDIE process?

Analysis

An HR specialist prepares a business case to support an initiative. The case includes descriptions of the project's goals, benefits, method, budget, and timeline. Which information is required to complete the business case?

Analysis of the initiative's possible risks

A clothing retail company with three locations in a popular beach resort area has been in business for over three years. There are two similar retailers in the same beach town competing for the same customers and labor pool. Recently the company has had extensive growth due to a new clothing design. Despite the growth in sales, their turnover is high. Employees do not stay longer than 90 days, as the competition is enticing sales staff away. Turnover is now affecting their customer satisfaction and increasing the workload on the remaining staff. Most of the management staff started as sales floor employees and received little to no management training. One of the key criteria used in promoting staff is their success on the sales floor, leading to complaints of internal selection unfairness. Recent exit interviews suggest low morale, poor leadership, and lack of work/life balance as the top three reasons for leaving the company. Knowing that there are plans to launch two new product lines in the near future, the CEO has asked the HR director to search and find a new supplier to provide new employee orientation for all new sales staff. Twenty companies have submitted requests for proposals, and the CEO wants a short list to be presented in the next two days. What action should the HR director take first to create a robust workforce plan that addresses the expected organizational growth?

Analyze current labor trends along with internal staffing metrics to ensure appropriate staffing levels to meet expected organizational growth.

A manufacturing organization is in the decline phase of its life cycle. The organization's largest customer has notified the CEO that it plans to withdraw its business over the next two years. The CEO and his staff must consider options to replace the lost revenue related to this customer account. The company's employees are nervous and uncertain about their future. Two options are quickly identified to replace the expected loss of revenue. Option 1 is to develop a new product that could be manufactured and delivered in one week while the competition delivers product in six weeks. To compete successfully with this approach, the company would also need to design an order entry system so customers could place orders online. This strategy requires engineering to design the product line. It also requires IT staff to design the software and customer portals, marketing and sales to develop sales literature and pricing models, manufacturing to prepare for production, and HR to develop the workforce plan. Option 2 would be to acquire a struggling competitor and quickly turn that company around. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options.Which would be the best strategic action for the HR manager to use to demonstrate HR'S value in this new product venture?

Analyze the process throughput plan with the production manager, determine the staff levels needed, and conduct a job analysis for each position.

Which best characterizes today's global organization?

Any organization, large or small, whose processes, actions, and decisions are firmly rooted in a carefully conceived global strategy

How does SaaS improve upon ASP capabilities?

Application updates typically cost less

An organization is opening a new factory in the United States. Due to availability issues, the factory will be temporarily unable to comply with an OSHA standard regarding required safety equipment. What should the organization do?

Apply to OSHA for a temporary variance from the standard due to the unavailability of required equipment.

How is a written code of conduct used in today's work environment?

As a decision-making tool to guide employees and their actions

How do today's global organizations primarily view diversity and inclusion?

As a strategic asset to be leveraged

The CEO of a fast-growing start-up company is worried that the company will not have the skilled workforce needed in the future to keep up with the dynamic needs of the business, and he asks the HR manager to anticipate and plan for the workforce gaps. The HR manager has been partnering with educational institutions, other businesses, and the local workforce development office to get more information about anticipated skill gaps and to develop an action plan. These resources have been supportive but are unsure of what skills might be needed and when these gaps will exist. The HR manager must navigate this uncertainty and provide a plan to the CEO. The HR manager has identified the most critical skills that will be needed. Which is the most effective approach to developing the workforce?

Assess current employees on these critical skills to identify gaps that exist.

A call center needs to hire more than 1,000 employees over the next three months to meet its hiring needs for a new health-care contract. The terms of the contract require that all employees have clear background screenings and at least half be multilingual. Currently, 25 managers and 10 employees meet all the requirements. Senior management has offered to actively participate in the hiring process and has made many suggestions, including group interviews, mass training, and virtual hiring and training. The CEO has asked HR to take the lead in putting together a comprehensive project plan within the next week to be presented to the management team. The call center's HR department consists of 10 employees: the HR director, the recruiting manager, the talent development manager, the employee relations manager, the total rewards manager, the payroll director, two recruiters, and two entry-level HR professionals. Which strategy should the HR director use to decrease turnover of the multilingual new-hire population?

Assign the 35 qualified current employees to serve as peer mentors for the new hires.

A manufacturing organization is in the decline phase of its life cycle. The organization's largest customer has notified the CEO that it plans to withdraw its business over the next two years. The CEO and his staff must consider options to replace the lost revenue related to this customer account. The company's employees are nervous and uncertain about their future. Two options are quickly identified to replace the expected loss of revenue. Option 1 is to develop a new product that could be manufactured and delivered in one week while the competition delivers product in six weeks. To compete successfully with this approach, the company would also need to design an order entry system so customers could place orders online. This strategy requires engineering to design the product line. It also requires IT staff to design the software and customer portals, marketing and sales to develop sales literature and pricing models, manufacturing to prepare for production, and HR to develop the workforce plan. Option 2 would be to acquire a struggling competitor and quickly turn that company around. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options. The CEO decides on option 1 to develop a new product. In this scenario, the engineering department would be understaffed. Which action should the HR manager recommend as a first step to assist the engineering manager?

Assist the engineering manager by researching engineering outsourcing firms and other short-term sourcing opportunities.

How often should an organization review the components of its enterprise risk management framework?

At an agreed-upon and regular interval

A small company is in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The owner has been hiring talent and compensating employees at high levels but not offering a benefits package. As the organization grows and more employees are hired, the owner is being pressured to implement a benefits package in addition to direct compensation. The owner is not knowledgeable about benefits and has made the decision to hire an HR generalist to handle benefits and other HR functions. The HR generalist's first priority is to make recommendations about a benefits package that will attract and retain top talent while being fiscally responsible. The growth plan for the organization is to grow globally and engage in a global recruitment, selection, and hiring strategy. The HR generalist needs to create a total compensation package that will be relevant in all locations globally. A new employee is hired who is not married but who has a domestic partner. Currently, the organization's health insurance covers spouses but not domestic partners. The new employee has requested that the partner be covered through the organization's health insurance. How should the HR generalist handle the request?

Audit the current policy for fairness and present a business case to the owner to change the rule.

A manager overhears two team members accusing each other of being rude and endangering getting the necessary work done on time. Rather than step into the middle of this, the manager asks each person separately about the status of the activity. What method of conflict resolution is the manager using?

Avoid

Which critical role does HR need to assume in light of globalization?

Balancing an organization's global strategy with policy localization to reflect national cultures and laws

Which factor can limit the collective bargaining process?

Bargaining precedents

Which best describes the basis of religious law?

Beliefs and conventions

A small division of a company lacks a formal compensation structure for employees. Due to recent recruitment and retention challenges, the division recognizes the need to review newly hired and existing employees' pay rates to ensure market competitiveness and internal equity among staff. For a number of years, the division has lacked human resources support and relied upon the general managers to determine initial pay rates for new hires as well as promotional rates for internal staff based on the amount of hours worked and the employee's attendance record. No pay ranges currently exist, and leaders have the discretion to pay whatever fits within their budget. On occasion, a human resources representative from another division has offered general advice on pay practices to the division's leadership. However, they have their own divisional responsibilities, and therefore there has been very little oversight. The divisional president is considering whether or not to bring in a contract human resources leader to research, design, and implement an appropriate pay structure for all positions. How should the HR leader address the information uncovered in relation to promotional pay practices?

Benchmark multiple data sources and recommend a comprehensive structure for all positions.

Which HR tasks can be effectively outsourced to allow HR to focus on strategic activities?

Benefits and payroll administration

Which is a key provision of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) of 1990?

Benefits offered to older workers must be equal to those offered to younger workers.

An HR data analyst uses internal and external data and translates it into meaningful information to support an operations decision to relocate a distribution center to another state. What term best describes the data analyst's activity?

Business intelligence

During the employee selection process, how can HR identify an employee who is more likely to become engaged in the organization?

By assessing how well the candidate will fit with the organization's culture

How should HR improve an organization's onboarding program to reduce voluntary turnover during the first 90 days of employment?

By conducting in-depth exit interviews to determine the cause of turnover

How would an organization best defend against a claim of adverse impact?

By demonstrating work-related requirements

How can technology advance HR's role in supporting a culture of compliance?

By enabling secure and scalable databases to store employment documents

An employee is faced with an ethical dilemma dealing with a supplier. How should the code of ethics support the employee?

By guiding decision making and behavior

How do the three spheres of sustainability support an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) program?

By offering an all-encompassing view of how an organization should function

How does increased workplace diversity tend to improve creativity and innovation?

By providing mutiple perspectives and problem-solving styles

Leadership has requested HR to design a program to allow employees to telecommute. How will this advance the organization's sustainability?

By reducing organization's carbon footprint

An organization is sending salespeople into a new territory where bribery is common. How can HR support the code of ethics in this environment?

By reviewing current ethical guidelines and creating specific guidelines on bribery if necessary

What is the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability?

CSR encompasses sustainability.

Which would be an accurate statement about the forces that are shaping organizations' corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies?

CSR has increased individuals' rights to privacy.

Which of the following is a notable provision of the Department of Labor's electronic guidelines for data storage?

Records must be convertible into readable paper copy to satisfy obligations under Title I of ERISA.

A vice president (VP) of HR has responsibility for multiple manufacturing sites and is responsible for teams of HR managers and generalists that support each location. All locations operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day. These teams cover all shifts, providing support. Each location is in the process of rolling out updated policies, including enhancements to the company's progressive disciplinary process and an ethics policy that focuses on commitment to mutual respect, ethical decision making, and integrity. One day, after the VP of HR has left her office, she receives a call from a site HR generalist. The generalist tells the VP that when he returned from his dinner break, the HR office appeared to have been ransacked. Books were thrown on the floor, and name tags were torn off doors and thrown into the trash. The generalist also reports that when security checked the cameras, they reached the conclusion that the site HR manager had done the damage and then had left the facility. The VP knows that the site HR manager has a volatile personality and has been counseled about it previously. The VP also has recently discovered that the manager has been drinking routinely after work and wonders if the ransacking of the office occurred when the manager returned to the office after a drinking session. What is the first step the VP should take before proceeding to the factory?

Call security to notify them of her pending arrival and request to meet to review the surveillance coverage.

Title VII prohibits discrimination against employee for exercising rights protected by the statute. Should the US Supreme Court issue a ruling that employer's response to an employee's discrimination claim is unlawful retaliation, this would be an example of:

Case law

A restaurant chain located in multiple regions with thousands of employees makes a policy change in its payment procedures. The new policy requires servers at sit-down restaurants to take table orders from patrons and collect payment before the meal is brought to the table instead of after the food is served and consumed. A few months after implementation, several customers file complaints of unfair treatment, alleging that servers are being selective and not all guests are asked to pay for their meal immediately after the order is placed. An investigation by the VP of HR reveals that indeed not all employees are following the new protocol, resulting in different service experiences. The VP of HR identifies a critical, immediate need for training to mitigate risk related to any future allegations of unfair treatment of guests. The company's president is in agreement with the idea. However, she will support only a limited financial contribution for the training. The VP of HR shares the purpose of the training, the time line, and key deliverables during an HR team meeting. The team expresses concerns about the nonnegotiable, short time frame, the total number of employees to be trained, and the impact on other initiatives in progress. What is the best course of action for the VP of HR to take to ensure high employee engagement during the retraining?

Certify the HR managers to deliver the training.

An organization is projecting future employee flow based on past transition rates. Which potential outcome is most likely from this approach?

Change can diminish the accuracy of the flow projection.

What does an effective pre- and post-test training assessment measure?

Changes in knowledge before and after training

Which best illustrates the principle of sustainability in the workplace?

Changes to a headquarters location are weighed against the effects on stakeholders.

What type of law is based on written codes such as laws, rules, or regulations?

Civil law

What is the best way to implement an organizational policy on the use of social media?

Clarify prohibitions for social media behavior in the handbook or code of conduct.

A manufacturing organization is in the decline phase of its life cycle. The organization's largest customer has notified the CEO that it plans to withdraw its business over the next two years. The CEO and his staff must consider options to replace the lost revenue related to this customer account. The company's employees are nervous and uncertain about their future. Two options are quickly identified to replace the expected loss of revenue. Option 1 is to develop a new product that could be manufactured and delivered in one week while the competition delivers product in six weeks. To compete successfully with this approach, the company would also need to design an order entry system so customers could place orders online. This strategy requires engineering to design the product line. It also requires IT staff to design the software and customer portals, marketing and sales to develop sales literature and pricing models, manufacturing to prepare for production, and HR to develop the workforce plan. Option 2 would be to acquire a struggling competitor and quickly turn that company around. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options.During this time of change and uncertainty for the organization, what should the HR manager do to encourage retention of key employees?

Clearly communicate job expectations and ensure that employees have adequate resources to perform their work.

What document is a formal statement describing a company's principles and the business practices that support those principles?

Code of conduct

The CEO of a manufacturing organization with multiple domestic locations wants to expand the organization's operations to a new country to gain access to new markets. The organization has no experience with manufacturing internationally or dealing with expatriate issues. The CEO decides to acquire a small manufacturing company in another country. The acquired company has grown significantly in recent years and is struggling to deal with its growing pains, with many of the management staff having only a few years of management experience. Cost savings are anticipated from acquisition, as it would allow for restructuring and resizing the workforce. However, employees fear that these changes will cost many of them their jobs, including transitioning domestic jobs to the location in the new country. The VP of HR believes that a fully integrated workforce strategy, including the design of leadership training, is needed. The HR manager in the new location has just resigned. In keeping with an ethnocentric approach, the VP of HR wants the position filled from the corporate office so as to retain as much control and consistency as possible between the home country and the new location. What action should HR take first that would allow for retention of the greatest number of employees?

Collaborating with leaders to develop a customized approach to retention for each key employee

Which obstacles to accomplishing a successful change to a new enterprise management system are unique to a global firm?

Communication difficulties across borders and time zones

A small division of a company lacks a formal compensation structure for employees. Due to recent recruitment and retention challenges, the division recognizes the need to review newly hired and existing employees' pay rates to ensure market competitiveness and internal equity among staff. For a number of years, the division has lacked human resources support and relied upon the general managers to determine initial pay rates for new hires as well as promotional rates for internal staff based on the amount of hours worked and the employee's attendance record. No pay ranges currently exist, and leaders have the discretion to pay whatever fits within their budget. On occasion, a human resources representative from another division has offered general advice on pay practices to the division's leadership. However, they have their own divisional responsibilities, and therefore there has been very little oversight. The divisional president is considering whether or not to bring in a contract human resources leader to research, design, and implement an appropriate pay structure for all positions. What should the human resources leader do to establish new pay ranges?

Compare, contrast, and analyze multiple different benchmark data sources to design a new wage structure that is best for the division.

Which is one of the negative social effects of global technological forces?

Complexity of privacy issues

Which best describes the situation most likely to use a narrow span of control?

Complexity of tasks

What characteristic describes an effective professional network?

Composed of internal and external members at different levels and in different roles

A global company benchmarks against similar companies that have recently faced costly and embarrassing cybersecurity breaches resulting in the loss of customer confidence. In response, the CEO assigns tasks to three departments: the IT department is charged with enhancing data accuracy, security, and privacy; risk management is charged with implementing improved governance, compliance, and enforcement; and HR is charged with strengthening procedures around acquisition of staff, policy creation, the code of ethics, and communication. Internally, the company must protect proprietary information and determine what limits to place on data retention and acquisition. Externally, they must also acquire competitive data and follow the law in all jurisdictions of their operations. Challenges with social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and high levels of employees traveling with their electronic devices create additional burdens. Currently, the company provides devices for all eligible employees. The three departments agree that employees must possess a work ethic, motivation, and integrity. The head of IT believes that there are three sources for recruitment, selection, and staffing: the military, college graduates with degrees in information technology, and professional hackers-skilled computer experts who use their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. IT plans to hire a professional hacker as an independent contractor to conduct ongoing IT vulnerability assessments to improve security, review the possibilities of penetration, and make recommendations to protect the system. Which protective measures should HR recommend?

Conduct a background check and create an independent contractor agreement that sets terms to prohibit any access not specifically authorized.

A global company benchmarks against similar companies that have recently faced costly and embarrassing cybersecurity breaches resulting in the loss of customer confidence. In response, the CEO assigns tasks to three departments: the IT department is charged with enhancing data accuracy, security, and privacy; risk management is charged with implementing improved governance, compliance, and enforcement; and HR is charged with strengthening procedures around acquisition of staff, policy creation, the code of ethics, and communication. Internally, the company must protect proprietary information and determine what limits to place on data retention and acquisition. Externally, they must also acquire competitive data and follow the law in all jurisdictions of their operations. Challenges with social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and high levels of employees traveling with their electronic devices create additional burdens. Currently, the company provides devices for all eligible employees. The three departments agree that employees must possess a work ethic, motivation, and integrity. The head of IT believes that there are three sources for recruitment, selection, and staffing: the military, college graduates with degrees in information technology, and professional hackers-skilled computer experts who use their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. IT plans to hire a professional hacker as an independent contractor to conduct ongoing IT vulnerability assessments to improve security, review the possibilities of penetration, and make recommendations to protect the system. Which protective measures should HR recommend?

Conduct a background check and create an independent contractor agreement that sets terms to prohibit any access not specifically authorized.

A small company is in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The owner has been hiring talent and compensating employees at high levels but not offering a benefits package. As the organization grows and more employees are hired, the owner is being pressured to implement a benefits package in addition to direct compensation. The owner is not knowledgeable about benefits and has made the decision to hire an HR generalist to handle benefits and other HR functions. The HR generalist's first priority is to make recommendations about a benefits package that will attract and retain top talent while being fiscally responsible. The growth plan for the organization is to grow globally and engage in a global recruitment, selection, and hiring strategy. The HR generalist needs to create a total compensation package that will be relevant in all locations globally. The benefits package was implemented 12 months ago, and the HR generalist has been asked by the owner to provide feedback regarding the success of the package. What is the first step in providing this feedback?

Conduct a gap analysis and a utilization review.

A small company is in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The owner has been hiring talent and compensating employees at high levels but not offering a benefits package. As the organization grows and more employees are hired, the owner is being pressured to implement a benefits package in addition to direct compensation. The owner is not knowledgeable about benefits and has made the decision to hire an HR generalist to handle benefits and other HR functions. The HR generalist's first priority is to make recommendations about a benefits package that will attract and retain top talent while being fiscally responsible. The growth plan for the organization is to grow globally and engage in a global recruitment, selection, and hiring strategy. The HR generalist needs to create a total compensation package that will be relevant in all locations globally. The benefits package was implemented 12 months ago, and the HR generalist has been asked by the owner to provide feedback regarding the success of the package. What is the first step in providing this feedback?

Conduct a gap analysis and a utilization review.

A clothing retail company with three locations in a popular beach resort area has been in business for over three years. There are two similar retailers in the same beach town competing for the same customers and labor pool. Recently the company has had extensive growth due to a new clothing design. Despite the growth in sales, their turnover is high. Employees do not stay longer than 90 days, as the competition is enticing sales staff away. Turnover is now affecting their customer satisfaction and increasing the workload on the remaining staff. Most of the management staff started as sales floor employees and received little to no management training. One of the key criteria used in promoting staff is their success on the sales floor, leading to complaints of internal selection unfairness. Recent exit interviews suggest low morale, poor leadership, and lack of work/life balance as the top three reasons for leaving the company. Knowing that there are plans to launch two new product lines in the near future, the CEO has asked the HR director to search and find a new supplier to provide new employee orientation for all new sales staff. Twenty companies have submitted requests for proposals, and the CEO wants a short list to be presented in the next two days. Based on the current turnover and lack of management training, what should the HR director do first as part of a needs analysis?

Conduct a job analysis for all management positions to ensure that job descriptions and specifications are appropriate.

A company's rapid growth is resulting in demand to hire new team members. Recognizing the need to ensure that the right talent is brought into the company, a newly hired HR director implements a more structured hiring process to assess applicants' skills, compensation needs, and culture fit. However, many managers do not support the new hiring process, claiming it slows down the hiring cycle. In addition, the managers believe that the initial salary and bonus recommendations resulting from HR's recently updated compensation structures are not reflective of market demand. The managers claim this situation is causing candidates to decline their offers of employment. How should the HR director address the managers' resistance to using a more structured hiring process?

Conduct a management training session to explain the business needs driving the process changes.

The performance of the head of the IT department has been eroding in the past few years. The employee is no longer capable of meeting the minimum expectations of this role as result of not keeping current in his professional development. Management is struggling to hold the employee accountable while also keeping employee morale positive. There is also a concern that, if placed on a performance improvement plan or a documented coaching program, the employee would respond negatively and retaliate by wreaking havoc on the organization's IT infrastructure. The length of employment has allowed the employee to be protected from accountability in the past. Management has decided that the current situation is no longer tenable, but they also realize the precarious place they have put the organization in by failing to have sufficient safeguards in place to protect company assets. Management approaches the new HR generalist and asks what steps they can take to either create an environment where the IT manager can succeed or effectively manage the IT manager out of the organization. Prior to this discussion, the HR generalist was not aware of either the previous protections afforded to the employee or of the failure of management to hold the employee accountable. The HR generalist is concerned that management has tolerated this behavior for so long and wonders if there are other employees in the organization who have been similarly protected from being held accountable or being disciplined. The HR generalist realizes that two issues need to be addressed. After meeting with several of the managers of the organization and discussing employees, the HR generalist determines that managers are uncomfortable having accountability conversations with employees. Which recommendation should the HR generalist provide to rectify the issue?

Conduct a survey of managers to gauge their level of confidence; then create a time-sensitive training tool to aid in developing their confidence.

A manufacturing organization is in the decline phase of its life cycle. The organization's largest customer has notified the CEO that it plans to withdraw its business over the next two years. The CEO and his staff must consider options to replace the lost revenue related to this customer account. The company's employees are nervous and uncertain about their future. Two options are quickly identified to replace the expected loss of revenue. Option 1 is to develop a new product that could be manufactured and delivered in one week while the competition delivers product in six weeks. To compete successfully with this approach, the company would also need to design an order entry system so customers could place orders online. This strategy requires engineering to design the product line. It also requires IT staff to design the software and customer portals, marketing and sales to develop sales literature and pricing models, manufacturing to prepare for production, and HR to develop the workforce plan. Option 2 would be to acquire a struggling competitor and quickly turn that company around. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options. The CEO has asked the HR manager to assess possible HR issues for both of these options.Six months after deciding to pursue option 1, the CEO also decides to acquire another company. Which is the best first step for the HR manager to take as part of HR's due diligence?

Conduct an HR audit of the new company's HR department for current and potential employment-related issues.

A manufacturer assembles commercial equipment in its host country, using components purchased from small manufacturers in other countries. Pursuing a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, the manufacturer has reviewed its own processes for potential environmental improvements related to energy and waste. HR has been directed to survey employees' workplace impressions, implement engagement practices, and initiate volunteer programs with local community groups. What else is HR in a good position to do to advance the CSR program?

Conduct workplace compliance audits for supply chain partners.

The CEO of a manufacturing organization with multiple domestic locations wants to expand the organization's operations to a new country to gain access to new markets. The organization has no experience with manufacturing internationally or dealing with expatriate issues. The CEO decides to acquire a small manufacturing company in another country. The acquired company has grown significantly in recent years and is struggling to deal with its growing pains, with many of the management staff having only a few years of management experience. Cost savings are anticipated from acquisition, as it would allow for restructuring and resizing the workforce. However, employees fear that these changes will cost many of them their jobs, including transitioning domestic jobs to the location in the new country. The VP of HR believes that a fully integrated workforce strategy, including the design of leadership training, is needed. The HR manager in the new location has just resigned. In keeping with an ethnocentric approach, the VP of HR wants the position filled from the corporate office so as to retain as much control and consistency as possible between the home country and the new location. Which action should HR take first when designing a leadership training and development plan for the newly acquired facility?

Conducting a full gap analysis between current and future leadership needs of the new facility and then designing a plan to meet those needs

Which responsibilities are usually charged to a safety committee?

Conducting area safety inspections and evaluating hazards

Which training method is best used for training employees on an emergency response plan?

Conducting drills and role plays

A business case to move to the cloud for information storage and enhanced web-based software has been approved by the senior leadership team. This will represent a major cultural and process shift for the organization, and, to assist with this, a transition plan has been communicated. The plan allows for a short period of transition, where paper files will continue alongside electronic files as use of the cloud software expands. The new technology also supports the ability for employees to work from home. Due to the nature of the work the company produces, teams are an integral part of the company culture. Leadership has assumed that teams will be able to work in the virtual world as easily as they do in person. The virtual world implementation is planned to begin following the successful implementation of the cloud storage procedures. To move to this future state, employees are told they cannot keep any company files or information on their own devices. In addition, employees are informed that they cannot take company information home in paper format. The organization leaves it to individual supervisors to communicate the change to their direct reports. Six months have passed since the implementation, and some employees continue to do the double work of maintaining both electronic and paper copies of documents and, in some cases, they are maintaining only paper files. The company has noticed a decrease in morale, and deadlines are being missed. What action should HR have taken prior to implementation of the virtual world to support the sustainability of the virtual environment?

Conducting training for team members on how to work in a virtual environment

A recently promoted HR manager is transferred to a remote facility, due to several complaints of inappropriate behavior and favoritism between the plant manager and the former HR manager. The complaints range from allegations of an affair between the two to poor performance and stealing company property. The head office leaders are highly sensitive to creating an ethical culture and have asked that the new HR manager report back on any discovered issues with the plant manager. This makes the HR manager uncomfortable, because she is trying her best to balance developing a relationship with the plant manager with trying to complete the investigation. The new HR manager begins an investigation and learns that the plant manager believes two female employees in the accounting department reported the theft and the affair. When the HR manager speaks with these employees, they share the belief that they are being retaliated against. Although they were rated as above-average performers, they have been given only minimal wage increases. The investigation identified theft of a number of items by the plant manager. The items are not expensive, but their value is not minor. Additionally, it was learned that the plant manager is actively undermining the new HR manager's authority by telling all managers to ignore any HR recommendations. What ethical dilemma does the HR manager encounter when it was learned the plant manager was actively undermining her?

Conflict of Interest

Which best describes the ethical and/or compliance problem raised by a company employee having a separate consulting contract with one of the company's clients?

Conflict of interest

Which is the most effective way for HR professionals to align organizational effectiveness and development (OED) interventions with their organization's goals?

Connecting the organization's strategy and the intervention activities

What is a generally recognized employer right?

Control of intellectual property

What HR task is typically associated with a multidomestic corporation?

Coordinating HR activities between the home and host countries

An international discount supermarket chain's competitive strategy is to provide the lowest-price products by minimizing operational overhead. Which generic competitive strategy is it using?

Cost leadership

A manager uses his skill with people to smooth over problems and to make his employees feel secure in their positions. According to the Blake-Mouton theory, what leadership style is the manager using?

Country club manager

Which growth strategy is commonly used to accelerate the path to globalization?

Creating alliances

What is the term for the proposition the ethical behavior is determined by local culture, laws, and business practices?

Cultural relativism

What are the key components of a business intelligence system?

Data gathering, data warehousing, query and reporting

Which position may require an applicant to take a polygraph test?

Delivery driver for a pharmaceutical firm

Which approach describes the form of data gathering in which experts take turns presenting their assumptions and refining a composite answer but never meet face to face?

Delphi technique

Which types of data should be measured at the preliminary assessment stage of the diversity and inclusion strategic process?

Demographic and attitude data

Diversity may improve a team's innovation and creativity. Which obstacles may a diverse team have to initially overcome?

Demonstrating fragmented, nonproductive, and indecisive behavior

Which protocol should HR use when converting from paper to electronic record storage?

Department of Labor's "Final Rules"

Describe a key paradox of globalization today.

Despite the depth and breadth of globalization, most employees work within a few hundred kilometers of their birthplace.

A clothing retail company with three locations in a popular beach resort area has been in business for over three years. There are two similar retailers in the same beach town competing for the same customers and labor pool. Recently the company has had extensive growth due to a new clothing design. Despite the growth in sales, their turnover is high. Employees do not stay longer than 90 days, as the competition is enticing sales staff away. Turnover is now affecting their customer satisfaction and increasing the workload on the remaining staff. Most of the management staff started as sales floor employees and received little to no management training. One of the key criteria used in promoting staff is their success on the sales floor, leading to complaints of internal selection unfairness. Recent exit interviews suggest low morale, poor leadership, and lack of work/life balance as the top three reasons for leaving the company. Knowing that there are plans to launch two new product lines in the near future, the CEO has asked the HR director to search and find a new supplier to provide new employee orientation for all new sales staff. Twenty companies have submitted requests for proposals, and the CEO wants a short list to be presented in the next two days. What steps should the HR director take to develop a short list of possible training vendors?

Determine, with the CEO, key criteria that should be considered, using this information to narrow the search.

A clothing retail company with three locations in a popular beach resort area has been in business for over three years. There are two similar retailers in the same beach town competing for the same customers and labor pool. Recently the company has had extensive growth due to a new clothing design. Despite the growth in sales, their turnover is high. Employees do not stay longer than 90 days, as the competition is enticing sales staff away. Turnover is now affecting their customer satisfaction and increasing the workload on the remaining staff. Most of the management staff started as sales floor employees and received little to no management training. One of the key criteria used in promoting staff is their success on the sales floor, leading to complaints of internal selection unfairness. Recent exit interviews suggest low morale, poor leadership, and lack of work/life balance as the top three reasons for leaving the company. Knowing that there are plans to launch two new product lines in the near future, the CEO has asked the HR director to search and find a new supplier to provide new employee orientation for all new sales staff. Twenty companies have submitted requests for proposals, and the CEO wants a short list to be presented in the next two days. What steps should the HR director take to develop a short list of possible training vendors?

Determine, with the CEO, key criteria that should be considered, using this information to narrow the search.

A call center needs to hire more than 1,000 employees over the next three months to meet its hiring needs for a new health-care contract. The terms of the contract require that all employees have clear background screenings and at least half be multilingual. Currently, 25 managers and 10 employees meet all the requirements. Senior management has offered to actively participate in the hiring process and has made many suggestions, including group interviews, mass training, and virtual hiring and training. The CEO has asked HR to take the lead in putting together a comprehensive project plan within the next week to be presented to the management team. The call center's HR department consists of 10 employees: the HR director, the recruiting manager, the talent development manager, the employee relations manager, the total rewards manager, the payroll director, two recruiters, and two entry-level HR professionals. Which should be the first step the HR director includes in the project plan to meet hiring needs and contract requirements?

Develop a recruiting strategy to reach as many potential applicants as possible.

A call center needs to hire more than 1,000 employees over the next three months to meet its hiring needs for a new health-care contract. The terms of the contract require that all employees have clear background screenings and at least half be multilingual. Currently, 25 managers and 10 employees meet all the requirements. Senior management has offered to actively participate in the hiring process and has made many suggestions, including group interviews, mass training, and virtual hiring and training. The CEO has asked HR to take the lead in putting together a comprehensive project plan within the next week to be presented to the management team. The call center's HR department consists of 10 employees: the HR director, the recruiting manager, the talent development manager, the employee relations manager, the total rewards manager, the payroll director, two recruiters, and two entry-level HR professionals. Which should be the first step the HR director includes in the project plan to meet hiring needs and contract requirements?

Develop a recruiting strategy to reach as many potential applicants as possible.

A new HR manager begins work for an organization that processes benefit claims for its self-funded clients. Most of its 400 employees are low-level clerical workers, with only a few employees in higher-skilled positions. The HR manager finds on the first day of work that the conditions are far different than those described in the interview. While salary ranges are established, they are outdated and appear to be 35% below current market rates. There is an employee handbook, but it is so incomplete and out-of-date that the HR staff has wisely stopped giving it out to employees. Payroll and insurance are run by an accounting department that views communication with employees as the job of HR. The 80% turnover rate surprises the new HR manager, who had assumed that the interviewer's description of "high" turnover in an office environment meant 30%. Everyone has been trained on a new HRIS, but it sits in a corner uninstalled. The organization's business model is to be a low-cost provider. The organization has streamlined the work to be done with as little training and experience as possible. The organization is located in an industrial park in a low-cost city. While personnel costs are the major portion of its expenses, the hiring strategy seems to be "don't let warm bodies get away." The HR manager's orientation has consisted primarily of introductory interviews with department directors who operate independently and expect HR to only prescreen applicants and take care of employee complaints. Which communication approach should the HR manager apply to address the problem of turnover?

Develop an employment brand that will carry consistent messages from job postings, through the application process and orientation, and continuing through employment.

A company has experienced a high degree of turnover during the past year. Senior leadership is concerned about the amount of turnover and worried that HR is not moving fast enough to fill these positions. The hiring managers say that the applicant pools have been weak lately and they have had trouble finding qualified applicants to hire from within the pools HR provides. HR has relied heavily on recruiting by word of mouth, which in the past has generated applicants that fit the company's culture. The award for referrals that result in hiring has also been popular with employees. What would be the most effective step to avoid unwanted turnover in the future?

Develop and administer an employee satisfaction survey that solicits candid feedback about employee perceptions.

The HR director of a 6,000-employee hospital is meeting with the hospital's CEO about potentially conducting an employee engagement survey. The hospital has never conducted an engagement survey. The hospital's turnover is low, and it pays competitive wages and benefits. It is nonunion except for about 200 employees in its food service department. There is a sense that a baseline assessment of employee work environment perceptions and the employees' commitment to serving patients is needed. While there is anecdotal evidence that employees are relatively satisfied with the work environment and committed to serving patients, employees have complained through the organizational hotline about lack of management support in some areas. Since other hospitals in the market have experienced union organizing activity, there is concern about possible unionization. While the CEO is interested in the survey, there is fear that it will raise employee expectations that the organization cannot meet, increasing employee dissatisfaction. The HR director is planning a follow-up meeting with the administrator and an external consultant. The goal is to share with the CEO best employer practices in conducting engagement surveys, the positive benefits of using surveys to improve morale, and appropriate engagement strategies and practices to support managers in improving performance and productivity. In developing the business case for the CEO in collaboration with the external consultant, which is the best action for the HR director to take?

Develop and present the business case, with the consultant's collaborative input during the development and presentation processes.

Taking cultural difference into consideration occurs at what stage of the OED development process?

Developing an action plan

Which best describes the type of activities aimed at preparing for long-term, future job responsibilities as well as increasing skills for performing the current job?

Developmental

Which best identifies the difference between training and developmental activities?

Developmental activities have a long-term focus; training activities mitigate current skill gaps.

Which does not count toward the regular rate of pay for overtime calculations?

Discretionary bonuses

A mid-sized company has a strict attendance policy stating that any absence of three days or more without contact from the employee is considered job abandonment and the employee is subject to termination. The organization has experienced significant growth over the years, and the increase in the employee population has prompted stricter policies, which some staff view as unnecessarily controlling. One manager's best employee has been absent without contact for four days and calls in. The employee indicates he had some unexpected personal problems involving his teenage child. The employee did not call earlier due to being distraught, occupied with the situation, and also a bit embarrassed. According to the policy, the employee must be terminated, but the manager is reluctant to do so because this is the department's best employee. This is the first violation, and the serious family issues could escalate if the employee is terminated. Senior leadership has recently taken a tough stance on consistently adhering to company policies and practices due to complaints of favoritism. The manager is hesitant to go to HR for fear they will recommend termination. Instead the manager seeks counsel from a member of the senior leadership team who is a relative and who supports the decision to not terminate the employee. When the employee is not terminated, an anonymous complaint is filed via the employee hotline system. It alleges discrimination and favoritism; there is also a comment about too many new policies. The employee is named, and the complainant demands that other employees terminated under the no-call, no-show policy be reinstated. The protocol requires that HR review all discrimination complaints. Which next step should HR take to address the allegations that a member of senior leadership advised against following a company policy?

Discuss the claim directly with the president and provide an overview of the incident, with a recommendation for holding both the manager and the senior leader accountable.

What type of discrimination or harassment occurs if a manager always hires young, attractive woman as a receptionist?

Disparate treatment

What is a key employer responsibility under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act?

Display the OSHA poster in a conspicuous place where it can be seen by all employees.

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. What can HR do to ensure that all employees understand the company's daily meal allowance policy?

Distribute the policy to employees and provide a venue to review it and answer questions.

A clothing retail company with three locations in a popular beach resort area has been in business for over three years. There are two similar retailers in the same beach town competing for the same customers and labor pool. Recently the company has had extensive growth due to a new clothing design. Despite the growth in sales, their turnover is high. Employees do not stay longer than 90 days, as the competition is enticing sales staff away. Turnover is now affecting their customer satisfaction and increasing the workload on the remaining staff. Most of the management staff started as sales floor employees and received little to no management training. One of the key criteria used in promoting staff is their success on the sales floor, leading to complaints of internal selection unfairness. Recent exit interviews suggest low morale, poor leadership, and lack of work/life balance as the top three reasons for leaving the company. Knowing that there are plans to launch two new product lines in the near future, the CEO has asked the HR director to search and find a new supplier to provide new employee orientation for all new sales staff. Twenty companies have submitted requests for proposals, and the CEO wants a short list to be presented in the next two days. An applicant from a local competitor has offered to give the HR director information on the previous employer's salary and benefits upon hire. What action should the HR director take in response to this offer?

Do not hire the candidate, indicating that the company does not participate in unethical behavior.

When should the organization decide whether to create a separate sustainability department and who should spearhead strategic implementation?

During infrastructure creation

Which recruiting source BEST supports an organization's ability to source passive job candidates?

E-recruitment

Which of the following is the best reason to maintain employment records electronically?

Easier storage and access for records that span many years

What two dimensions of global HR make it central to fulfilling the code of conduct's role in the organization?

Educator and stakeholder outreach lead

Which option best defines risk?

Effect of uncertainty on the ability to meet organizational objectives

The hiring manager is concerned with the number of resumes that come in compared to how many candidates are being interviewed. What area would the hiring manager want to discuss with the recruiter?

Effectiveness of recruiting methods

A new HR leader would like to assess the level of employee engagement in the organization. His focus will be on behavioral engagement. Which of the following characteristics should the HR leader look for?

Effort employees put into their jobs

Which risk strategy is being enhanced when a global HR organization establishes enterprise-wide evacuation procedures and communication plans and creates a website that sits outside the company's firewall for easy access in the event of terrorist act?

Emergency response planning

A group has formed to organize the annual company picnic. Because one member has experience planning a church fall festival, he volunteers to take the helm. The other employees choose to follow him. Which kind of leadership does this exemplify?

Emergent

Which is a provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

Employees are entitled to return to a similar job with the same pay and status.

Which activity is prohibited by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)?

Employer domination of unions

What is the term for a program in which employees volunteer in the name of the employer in areas that enhance the employer's reputation?

Employer-sponsored volunteering

What does OSHA's General Duty Clause mandate?

Employers must provide a work environment free of recognized hazards to safety.

Employment contracts are seen as an exception to what employment principle?

Employment at-will

A company's rapid growth is resulting in demand to hire new team members. Recognizing the need to ensure that the right talent is brought into the company, a newly hired HR director implements a more structured hiring process to assess applicants' skills, compensation needs, and culture fit. However, many managers do not support the new hiring process, claiming it slows down the hiring cycle. In addition, the managers believe that the initial salary and bonus recommendations resulting from HR's recently updated compensation structures are not reflective of market demand. The managers claim this situation is causing candidates to decline their offers of employment. Which action should the HR director take to best ensure that the company's compensation structures are competitive?

Engage a third-party consulting firm to do a full analysis of job types and associated compensation structures.

The HR director of a 6,000-employee hospital is meeting with the hospital's CEO about potentially conducting an employee engagement survey. The hospital has never conducted an engagement survey. The hospital's turnover is low, and it pays competitive wages and benefits. It is nonunion except for about 200 employees in its food service department. There is a sense that a baseline assessment of employee work environment perceptions and the employees' commitment to serving patients is needed. While there is anecdotal evidence that employees are relatively satisfied with the work environment and committed to serving patients, employees have complained through the organizational hotline about lack of management support in some areas. Since other hospitals in the market have experienced union organizing activity, there is concern about possible unionization. While the CEO is interested in the survey, there is fear that it will raise employee expectations that the organization cannot meet, increasing employee dissatisfaction. The HR director is planning a follow-up meeting with the administrator and an external consultant. The goal is to share with the CEO best employer practices in conducting engagement surveys, the positive benefits of using surveys to improve morale, and appropriate engagement strategies and practices to support managers in improving performance and productivity. The CEO moves forward with the engagement survey. What is the first step the HR director should take with the food service workers' union?

Engage the union, with hospital's labor counsel, in an exploratory discussion to discuss the possible participation of bargaining unit employees in the survey.

The CEO of a manufacturing organization with multiple domestic locations wants to expand the organization's operations to a new country to gain access to new markets. The organization has no experience with manufacturing internationally or dealing with expatriate issues. The CEO decides to acquire a small manufacturing company in another country. The acquired company has grown significantly in recent years and is struggling to deal with its growing pains, with many of the management staff having only a few years of management experience. Cost savings are anticipated from acquisition, as it would allow for restructuring and resizing the workforce. However, employees fear that these changes will cost many of them their jobs, including transitioning domestic jobs to the location in the new country. The VP of HR believes that a fully integrated workforce strategy, including the design of leadership training, is needed. The HR manager in the new location has just resigned. In keeping with an ethnocentric approach, the VP of HR wants the position filled from the corporate office so as to retain as much control and consistency as possible between the home country and the new location. Which is the best first step for the VP of HR to take to assist in preparing a new workforce strategy?

Engaging a consultant with expertise in local and country laws and customs to help in preparing a workforce strategy

A new HR manager begins work for an organization that processes benefit claims for its self-funded clients. Most of its 400 employees are low-level clerical workers, with only a few employees in higher-skilled positions. The HR manager finds on the first day of work that the conditions are far different than those described in the interview. While salary ranges are established, they are outdated and appear to be 35% below current market rates. There is an employee handbook, but it is so incomplete and out-of-date that the HR staff has wisely stopped giving it out to employees. Payroll and insurance are run by an accounting department that views communication with employees as the job of HR. The 80% turnover rate surprises the new HR manager, who had assumed that the interviewer's description of "high" turnover in an office environment meant 30%. Everyone has been trained on a new HRIS, but it sits in a corner uninstalled. The organization's business model is to be a low-cost provider. The organization has streamlined the work to be done with as little training and experience as possible. The organization is located in an industrial park in a low-cost city. While personnel costs are the major portion of its expenses, the hiring strategy seems to be "don't let warm bodies get away." The HR manager's orientation has consisted primarily of introductory interviews with department directors who operate independently and expect HR to only prescreen applicants and take care of employee complaints. Senior management was accustomed to an HR department that completed transactional processes and was seen as representing employees when discussions of benefits or compensation were held. Which of the following should the new HR manager do to get buy-in for organizational change in the way it manages its employees?

Ensure alignment between the HR strategies and the organizational business strategy.

What is a practical way to develop the credibility of HR staff as data advocates?

Ensure that the results of all HR activities are measured.

For an organization to be considered sustainable, what areas of practice are examined?

Environmental, economic, social

What is the role of HR when it comes to whistleblowing?

Establishing a communication process that allows direct access to upper-level decision makers and protecting whistleblowers from retaliation

A recently promoted HR manager is transferred to a remote facility, due to several complaints of inappropriate behavior and favoritism between the plant manager and the former HR manager. The complaints range from allegations of an affair between the two to poor performance and stealing company property. The head office leaders are highly sensitive to creating an ethical culture and have asked that the new HR manager report back on any discovered issues with the plant manager. This makes the HR manager uncomfortable, because she is trying her best to balance developing a relationship with the plant manager with trying to complete the investigation. The new HR manager begins an investigation and learns that the plant manager believes two female employees in the accounting department reported the theft and the affair. When the HR manager speaks with these employees, they share the belief that they are being retaliated against. Although they were rated as above-average performers, they have been given only minimal wage increases. The investigation identified theft of a number of items by the plant manager. The items are not expensive, but their value is not minor. Additionally, it was learned that the plant manager is actively undermining the new HR manager's authority by telling all managers to ignore any HR recommendations. What step of the framework is the HR manager following when she speaks with the two accounting employees?

Establishing the facts about the situation

A recently promoted HR manager is transferred to a remote facility, due to several complaints of inappropriate behavior and favoritism between the plant manager and the former HR manager. The complaints range from allegations of an affair between the two to poor performance and stealing company property. The head office leaders are highly sensitive to creating an ethical culture and have asked that the new HR manager report back on any discovered issues with the plant manager. This makes the HR manager uncomfortable, because she is trying her best to balance developing a relationship with the plant manager with trying to complete the investigation. The new HR manager begins an investigation and learns that the plant manager believes two female employees in the accounting department reported the theft and the affair. When the HR manager speaks with these employees, they share the belief that they are being retaliated against. Although they were rated as above-average performers, they have been given only minimal wage increases. The investigation identified theft of a number of items by the plant manager. The items are not expensive, but their value is not minor. Additionally, it was learned that the plant manager is actively undermining the new HR manager's authority by telling all managers to ignore any HR recommendations. What step of the framework is the HR manager following when she speaks with the two accounting employees?

Establishing the facts about the situation

Why is ethics an intrinsic part of a corporate social responsibility program?

Ethics dictates behavioral guidelines for an organization.

The president of the United States issues a directive on immigration. This is an example of a legal protection originating from what source?

Executive order

It is estimated that one-third of Fortune 500 CEOs have remained in their positions fewer than three years. Which does this indicate about executive development?

Executives have the knowledge and intellect to succeed but lack the people skills to build teams or maintain productive relationships.

Which factors contribute to the cost of diversity and inclusion initiatives?

Expanded training

An HR manager derives his authority from his extensive background in HRM. What type of power is this manager using?

Expert

The HR director of a 6,000-employee hospital is meeting with the hospital's CEO about potentially conducting an employee engagement survey. The hospital has never conducted an engagement survey. The hospital's turnover is low, and it pays competitive wages and benefits. It is nonunion except for about 200 employees in its food service department. There is a sense that a baseline assessment of employee work environment perceptions and the employees' commitment to serving patients is needed. While there is anecdotal evidence that employees are relatively satisfied with the work environment and committed to serving patients, employees have complained through the organizational hotline about lack of management support in some areas. Since other hospitals in the market have experienced union organizing activity, there is concern about possible unionization. While the CEO is interested in the survey, there is fear that it will raise employee expectations that the organization cannot meet, increasing employee dissatisfaction. The HR director is planning a follow-up meeting with the administrator and an external consultant. The goal is to share with the CEO best employer practices in conducting engagement surveys, the positive benefits of using surveys to improve morale, and appropriate engagement strategies and practices to support managers in improving performance and productivity. What is the best course of action for the HR director in proactively addressing employee concerns with the engagement survey?

Explore employees' interest in participating in stay interviews to give insight to the organization.

What is a good way to signal acknowledgment but not necessarily comprehension or agreement in a face-to-face conversation?

Eye contact

Which communication method is more likely to be effective in high-context cultures?

Face-to-face

Marketing and IT are collaborating on a new system that will allow customer service representatives to access and change customer accounts directly (for example, to create sales credits). Which action should HR take to create value for this effort?

Facilitating process training for all users

Which is the most important factor an HR leader should use when planning pay increases?

Financial implication

HR meets with team leaders to analyze the pros and cons of a suggested change. As a group, they brainstorm on factors that could influence the outcome of the change in both positive and negative ways. The factors are assigned weights in order to quantify the pros and cons and assist the leaders in their decision making. What type of analysis is the group using in this situation?

Force-field analysis

Which is the difference between the formal and informal characteristics of an organization?

Formal characteristics are documented and change less frequently than informal characteristics.

Which statement best describes how organizations have evolved in their definition of diversity?

From a defensive, compliance-based view to that of a strategic asset

Which is a trait of an effective leader?

Fulfilling promises and commitments

In which type of organizational sructure are departments defined by the services they contribute to the organization's overall mission?

Functional

A recently promoted HR manager is transferred to a remote facility, due to several complaints of inappropriate behavior and favoritism between the plant manager and the former HR manager. The complaints range from allegations of an affair between the two to poor performance and stealing company property. The head office leaders are highly sensitive to creating an ethical culture and have asked that the new HR manager report back on any discovered issues with the plant manager. This makes the HR manager uncomfortable, because she is trying her best to balance developing a relationship with the plant manager with trying to complete the investigation. The new HR manager begins an investigation and learns that the plant manager believes two female employees in the accounting department reported the theft and the affair. When the HR manager speaks with these employees, they share the belief that they are being retaliated against. Although they were rated as above-average performers, they have been given only minimal wage increases. The investigation identified theft of a number of items by the plant manager. The items are not expensive, but their value is not minor. Additionally, it was learned that the plant manager is actively undermining the new HR manager's authority by telling all managers to ignore any HR recommendations. What steps should the HR manager take to address the direction by the plant manager to ignore HR's recommendations?

Further investigate the statements to determine the full context of the situation before taking action.

HR has been charged with benchmarking the organization's sustainability performance against that of its global competitors. Which resource will best help HR accomplish this?

GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards

A small company is in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The owner has been hiring talent and compensating employees at high levels but not offering a benefits package. As the organization grows and more employees are hired, the owner is being pressured to implement a benefits package in addition to direct compensation. The owner is not knowledgeable about benefits and has made the decision to hire an HR generalist to handle benefits and other HR functions. The HR generalist's first priority is to make recommendations about a benefits package that will attract and retain top talent while being fiscally responsible. The growth plan for the organization is to grow globally and engage in a global recruitment, selection, and hiring strategy. The HR generalist needs to create a total compensation package that will be relevant in all locations globally. The HR generalist is charged with recommending a benefits package that will attract and retain talent. How should he begin the process?

Gather data through a needs assessment to identify what benefits are needed and match them to the overall organizational strategy.

At the request of senior management, an HR manager is assigned to solve a problem with a critical product development team. The manager has little information other than the fact that the team has fallen significantly behind schedule and the project leader is inexperienced. What should the HR manager do first?

Gather information through interviews and observation of the team at work.

While applying for a job on a computer in a company's employment office, an applicant made a statement to an office staff member that there was a sticky substance on the keyboard. Later that day during an on-site interview, the same applicant complained that a rash emerged on his fingers from the sticky substance. At the end of the day, the applicant was not hired because the background screening process revealed criminal charges two years ago. Instead, the hiring manager selected a different applicant who more closely matched the needs of the position and passed the background screen. Before leaving for the day, the applicant who was not hired filed a grievance with the HR manager claiming he had not been hired because he complained during the interview of an unknown substance causing a rash on his fingers. Upon investigation, the sticky substance was identified from the observation camera to be strawberry jelly from the applicant's sandwich eaten at the desk just prior to completing the application. The hiring manager asks for guidance in the event an applicant challenges the results of the background screening process in the future. What should the HR manager advise the hiring manager to do if such a challenge occurs?

Give the applicant a copy of the results of the background screen and allow time for the applicant to provide a response.

A team leader comes to HR for advice. The team is meeting its first milestone goals, but the team leader is worried about the effect on future productivity of one team member. This person spends more time socializing at meetings than talking about the task at hand. What should the HR professional recommend?

Give the team time to develop its roles and relationships.

A cosmetics company that denounces animal testing as a primary part of its branding was recently reported to be working with suppliers that routinely test on animals. Which aspect of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy is misaligned?

Governance

Which term describes a system of rules and processes put in place to ensure adherence to laws, rules, norms, and social codes of conduct?

Governance

HR has defined key groups of employees who possess certain characteristics and abilities that are closely aligned with the organization's strategy. What effect will this have on the organization's staffing and compensation strategies?

Greater clarity in compensation decisions

A business partner is leading an employee committee tasked with developing a program of employee appreciation events. Two of the committee members are embroiled in what has become personal antagonism. They interrupt each other during meetings and are rude in front of the others. How could the business partner have best avoided this situation?

Ground rules for behavior in meetings should have been established at the first meeting.

What is the primary obstacle that must be avoided during the norming phase of team formation?

Groupthink

As part of the ongoing digital revolution, mobile proliferation around the world is demonstrated by

Growing subscription numbers that are close to exceeding the global population

A new employee is experiencing performance problems. What should HR do as a first step in determining the root cause of the employee's performance challenges?

Guide the supervisor to discuss the performance issues with the employee.

How do HR analytics differ from HR metrics?

HR analytics provide context to data.

What undergoes a systematic and comprehensive evaluation during an HR audit?

HR policies, practices, procedures, and strategies

A mid-sized company has a strict attendance policy stating that any absence of three days or more without contact from the employee is considered job abandonment and the employee is subject to termination. The organization has experienced significant growth over the years, and the increase in the employee population has prompted stricter policies, which some staff view as unnecessarily controlling. One manager's best employee has been absent without contact for four days and calls in. The employee indicates he had some unexpected personal problems involving his teenage child. The employee did not call earlier due to being distraught, occupied with the situation, and also a bit embarrassed. According to the policy, the employee must be terminated, but the manager is reluctant to do so because this is the department's best employee. This is the first violation, and the serious family issues could escalate if the employee is terminated. Senior leadership has recently taken a tough stance on consistently adhering to company policies and practices due to complaints of favoritism. The manager is hesitant to go to HR for fear they will recommend termination. Instead the manager seeks counsel from a member of the senior leadership team who is a relative and who supports the decision to not terminate the employee. When the employee is not terminated, an anonymous complaint is filed via the employee hotline system. It alleges discrimination and favoritism; there is also a comment about too many new policies. The employee is named, and the complainant demands that other employees terminated under the no-call, no-show policy be reinstated. The protocol requires that HR review all discrimination complaints. Which is the first course of action HR should take?

HR should inform the president of the issue and partner with her on the next steps for corrective action.

An analyst predicts a total number of voluntary and involuntary separations over the next year and gives the report a statistical rating of P50. What does this mean?

Half of the forecasts will be above the reported number and half will be below.

HR is interviewing candidates who will have to think on their feet and keep calm in high-pressure, high-stakes, and emotionally charged situations. Which leadership development method is best suited to develop this skill?

Hardship testing

A benefits manager notices that several senior-level employees in her department are disengaged. The manager meets with the employees and discovers that they feel confined to the office and have actually become bored with their jobs. Which activity should best assist with this low-level trait engagement?

Have the employees create and present a new wellness series.

What is an example of HR's involvement during the discovery process of an employment lawsuit?

Helping the employer's legal counsel gather information to prepare initial disclosures

Which feature should HR incorporate into a pre-employment test for a position that requires a high degree of accuracy, with any mistakes by the incumbent being dangerous?

High validity

Which is considered a good practice for handling grievances?

Hold grievance discussions privately with all parties.

The focus of strategic planning is on goals and how they will be achieved. What is the focus of strategic management?

How leaders act in alignment with those goals

HR is asked to evaluate the organization's overall retention. Which would be the best information for HR to assess first?

How the current turnover rate compares to the industry average

Which can best be used in the evaluation of the outcomes of a compliance program?

How willing the participants are to report issues of noncompliance

HR has implemented a change initiative in the operations area to increase productivity. The initiative combined process redesign, changes in reporting structure, training, and incentives. The changes have been in place for six months. What measure would show the effect of the investment in the initiative?

Human capital value added

Which is the most desired outcome of an HR audit?

Identification of underperforming areas of the function

A business case to move to the cloud for information storage and enhanced web-based software has been approved by the senior leadership team. This will represent a major cultural and process shift for the organization, and, to assist with this, a transition plan has been communicated. The plan allows for a short period of transition, where paper files will continue alongside electronic files as use of the cloud software expands. The new technology also supports the ability for employees to work from home. Due to the nature of the work the company produces, teams are an integral part of the company culture. Leadership has assumed that teams will be able to work in the virtual world as easily as they do in person. The virtual world implementation is planned to begin following the successful implementation of the cloud storage procedures. To move to this future state, employees are told they cannot keep any company files or information on their own devices. In addition, employees are informed that they cannot take company information home in paper format. The organization leaves it to individual supervisors to communicate the change to their direct reports. Six months have passed since the implementation, and some employees continue to do the double work of maintaining both electronic and paper copies of documents and, in some cases, they are maintaining only paper files. The company has noticed a decrease in morale, and deadlines are being missed. HR recognizes that issues remain with implementing the new cloud storage procedures. What should HR do to help complete total migration to the cloud-based software?

Identify those employees who are still using paper and set up small group training sessions.

A business case to move to the cloud for information storage and enhanced web-based software has been approved by the senior leadership team. This will represent a major cultural and process shift for the organization, and, to assist with this, a transition plan has been communicated. The plan allows for a short period of transition, where paper files will continue alongside electronic files as use of the cloud software expands. The new technology also supports the ability for employees to work from home. Due to the nature of the work the company produces, teams are an integral part of the company culture. Leadership has assumed that teams will be able to work in the virtual world as easily as they do in person. The virtual world implementation is planned to begin following the successful implementation of the cloud storage procedures. To move to this future state, employees are told they cannot keep any company files or information on their own devices. In addition, employees are informed that they cannot take company information home in paper format. The organization leaves it to individual supervisors to communicate the change to their direct reports. Six months have passed since the implementation, and some employees continue to do the double work of maintaining both electronic and paper copies of documents and, in some cases, they are maintaining only paper files. The company has noticed a decrease in morale, and deadlines are being missed. HR recognizes that issues remain with implementing the new cloud storage procedures. What should HR do to help complete total migration to the cloud-based software?

Identify those employees who are still using paper and set up small group training sessions.

The CEO of a manufacturing organization with multiple domestic locations wants to expand the organization's operations to a new country to gain access to new markets. The organization has no experience with manufacturing internationally or dealing with expatriate issues. The CEO decides to acquire a small manufacturing company in another country. The acquired company has grown significantly in recent years and is struggling to deal with its growing pains, with many of the management staff having only a few years of management experience. Cost savings are anticipated from acquisition, as it would allow for restructuring and resizing the workforce. However, employees fear that these changes will cost many of them their jobs, including transitioning domestic jobs to the location in the new country. The VP of HR believes that a fully integrated workforce strategy, including the design of leadership training, is needed. The HR manager in the new location has just resigned. In keeping with an ethnocentric approach, the VP of HR wants the position filled from the corporate office so as to retain as much control and consistency as possible between the home country and the new location. What action should HR take to improve morale after the implementation of efficiencies occur and the resulting reductions in force take place?

Implementing team building that focuses on communication and redesigning the group structure and process for the remaining employees

What financial document lists the revenues, expenses, and profits of an organization for a designated period of time?

Income statement

Which best identifies the outcome of requiring all employees to be trained in business continuity and disaster recovery plans?

Increased confidence among organization stakeholders

Which action best illustrates HR's strategic role in an organizational change initiative?

Influencing and affecting management's view of organizational change

A mid-sized company has a strict attendance policy stating that any absence of three days or more without contact from the employee is considered job abandonment and the employee is subject to termination. The organization has experienced significant growth over the years, and the increase in the employee population has prompted stricter policies, which some staff view as unnecessarily controlling. One manager's best employee has been absent without contact for four days and calls in. The employee indicates he had some unexpected personal problems involving his teenage child. The employee did not call earlier due to being distraught, occupied with the situation, and also a bit embarrassed. According to the policy, the employee must be terminated, but the manager is reluctant to do so because this is the department's best employee. This is the first violation, and the serious family issues could escalate if the employee is terminated. Senior leadership has recently taken a tough stance on consistently adhering to company policies and practices due to complaints of favoritism. The manager is hesitant to go to HR for fear they will recommend termination. Instead the manager seeks counsel from a member of the senior leadership team who is a relative and who supports the decision to not terminate the employee. When the employee is not terminated, an anonymous complaint is filed via the employee hotline system. It alleges discrimination and favoritism; there is also a comment about too many new policies. The employee is named, and the complainant demands that other employees terminated under the no-call, no-show policy be reinstated. The protocol requires that HR review all discrimination complaints. Which would be the best way for HR to address the anonymous complaint?

Inform the employee and the manager that a complaint has been lodged and that there will be an internal investigation.

A global company benchmarks against similar companies that have recently faced costly and embarrassing cybersecurity breaches resulting in the loss of customer confidence. In response, the CEO assigns tasks to three departments: the IT department is charged with enhancing data accuracy, security, and privacy; risk management is charged with implementing improved governance, compliance, and enforcement; and HR is charged with strengthening procedures around acquisition of staff, policy creation, the code of ethics, and communication. Internally, the company must protect proprietary information and determine what limits to place on data retention and acquisition. Externally, they must also acquire competitive data and follow the law in all jurisdictions of their operations. Challenges with social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and high levels of employees traveling with their electronic devices create additional burdens. Currently, the company provides devices for all eligible employees. The three departments agree that employees must possess a work ethic, motivation, and integrity. The head of IT believes that there are three sources for recruitment, selection, and staffing: the military, college graduates with degrees in information technology, and professional hackers-skilled computer experts who use their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. Where should the HR manager look to find potential employees with skills in cybersecurity?

Recruit former military Internet workers who are attracted by a higher level of pay and flexibility.

Which technology has the biggest impact on benefits administration?

Internet access

The CEO of a fast-growing start-up company is worried that the company will not have the skilled workforce needed in the future to keep up with the dynamic needs of the business, and he asks the HR manager to anticipate and plan for the workforce gaps. The HR manager has been partnering with educational institutions, other businesses, and the local workforce development office to get more information about anticipated skill gaps and to develop an action plan. These resources have been supportive but are unsure of what skills might be needed and when these gaps will exist. The HR manager must navigate this uncertainty and provide a plan to the CEO. The HR manager learns that other businesses in the same industry are sourcing candidates who have a rare, highly technical skill set because it was recently promoted in the press. What step should the HR manager take first after learning this?

Interview managers at the company to obtain their perceptions about the need for this skill set.

The CEO of a fast-growing start-up company is worried that the company will not have the skilled workforce needed in the future to keep up with the dynamic needs of the business, and he asks the HR manager to anticipate and plan for the workforce gaps. The HR manager has been partnering with educational institutions, other businesses, and the local workforce development office to get more information about anticipated skill gaps and to develop an action plan. These resources have been supportive but are unsure of what skills might be needed and when these gaps will exist. The HR manager must navigate this uncertainty and provide a plan to the CEO. The HR manager learns that other businesses in the same industry are sourcing candidates who have a rare, highly technical skill set because it was recently promoted in the press. What step should the HR manager take first after learning this?

Interview managers at the company to obtain their perceptions about the need for this skill set.

An HR professional receives an anonymous tip alleging unethical practices on the part of a top-performing sales professional. The organization takes ethical issues very seriously. Which action should the HR professional take with regard to the allegations?

Investigate and establish any available factual information related to the allegation.

A restaurant chain located in multiple regions with thousands of employees makes a policy change in its payment procedures. The new policy requires servers at sit-down restaurants to take table orders from patrons and collect payment before the meal is brought to the table instead of after the food is served and consumed. A few months after implementation, several customers file complaints of unfair treatment, alleging that servers are being selective and not all guests are asked to pay for their meal immediately after the order is placed. An investigation by the VP of HR reveals that indeed not all employees are following the new protocol, resulting in different service experiences. The VP of HR identifies a critical, immediate need for training to mitigate risk related to any future allegations of unfair treatment of guests. The company's president is in agreement with the idea. However, she will support only a limited financial contribution for the training. The VP of HR shares the purpose of the training, the time line, and key deliverables during an HR team meeting. The team expresses concerns about the nonnegotiable, short time frame, the total number of employees to be trained, and the impact on other initiatives in progress. How should the VP of HR ensure the effectiveness of the training?

Invite HR managers and randomly selected employees to a pilot class and make adjustments based on their feedback.

An organization has witnessed a steady decline in revenue for the past 9 months, and employee morale is low. Department managers are highly competitive with each other and tend to use an authoritarian management style with their teams. As a result, communication across departments is infrequent, employees are distrustful of their managers, and work teams are constantly experiencing delays. Product errors have been increasing as well. The CEO tasks an HR manager with investigating workplace problems and developing solutions. With the CEO's approval, the HR manager begins monthly training workshops with department managers to encourage more cooperation. A department employee submits a complaint to the HR manager stating that a lack of trust prevents the employee from approaching the department manager when problems arise. How should the HR manager respond?

Invite the employee to a meeting to discuss the complaint in greater detail.

What does the term "tripartism" mean in the context of union relations?

Involvement of national governments in the bargaining process

Which approach would be most helpful in obtaining commitment from managers when planning major changes in the performance appraisal process?

Involving managers in determining what changes should be made

How does the Weingarten case apply to an investigatory meeting to obtain information that is the basis for disciplinary action?

It allows a union representative to be present during the meeting.

Why is it important that employees understand how day-to-day activities support the strategic goals of the organization?

It drives employee behavior, as the connection to how they are able to contribute is evident.

Which best describes how an organization's focus on diversity is a benefit to its recruitment efforts?

It enhances the employment brand to attract talent.

Which best describes common law?

It evolves over time through judicial decisions.

What is the implication of an organization using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards to create an enhanced and comprehensive sustainability strategy?

It is easier to evaluate performance and progress against industry and global benchmarks.

Which statement describes the key principle of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

It prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Why is cross-cultural training critical for international assignees and their families?

It reduces the risk of failed assignments.

Which of the following is true about employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)?

It usually covers legal costs regardless of the outcome of the case.

A supervisor wants to improve job satisfaction and motivate employees by giving them more independence in their work and the opportunity to self-review and evaluate. Which is the best tactic to use for this?

Job enrichment

Which alternative staffing arrangement meets the needs of an organization that is experiencing turnover in professional service positions due to employees desiring to work fewer hours?

Job sharing

Degrees, training, and certifications required for a position are considered

Job specifications

After a series of meetings with different departments dealing with downsizing, the HR professional authors a document identifying affected individuals based on departmental recommendations. A longtime friend of the HR professional will be impacted. How should the HR professional handle this situation?

Keep the workforce reduction information confidential.

A large multinational organization is implementing an organization-wide diversity and inclusion initiative. Which practice will help the initiative succeed?

Leave implementation to managers at the local and national levels, so the policy can be adjusted for local laws, norms, and traditions.

Which component of a total rewards system should an organization consider as an indirect benefit to employees?

Life insurance

A global company benchmarks against similar companies that have recently faced costly and embarrassing cybersecurity breaches resulting in the loss of customer confidence. In response, the CEO assigns tasks to three departments: the IT department is charged with enhancing data accuracy, security, and privacy; risk management is charged with implementing improved governance, compliance, and enforcement; and HR is charged with strengthening procedures around acquisition of staff, policy creation, the code of ethics, and communication. Internally, the company must protect proprietary information and determine what limits to place on data retention and acquisition. Externally, they must also acquire competitive data and follow the law in all jurisdictions of their operations. Challenges with social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and high levels of employees traveling with their electronic devices create additional burdens. Currently, the company provides devices for all eligible employees. The three departments agree that employees must possess a work ethic, motivation, and integrity. The head of IT believes that there are three sources for recruitment, selection, and staffing: the military, college graduates with degrees in information technology, and professional hackers-skilled computer experts who use their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. In order to determine the full scope of enterprise risk that exists, which areas should HR review in an IT audit?

Links between business and information strategy and business continuity

When jurisdiction shopping, where is a plaintiff more likely to file a legal suit?

Locale that historically provides the desired results

Which component in an information system enables operations?

Logic tier

Which reason best describes why an organization may decide to keep records for longer than the mandatory record retention requirements specify?

Longer statutes of limitations for certain common-law claims

The HR director of a 6,000-employee hospital is meeting with the hospital's CEO about potentially conducting an employee engagement survey. The hospital has never conducted an engagement survey. The hospital's turnover is low, and it pays competitive wages and benefits. It is nonunion except for about 200 employees in its food service department. There is a sense that a baseline assessment of employee work environment perceptions and the employees' commitment to serving patients is needed. While there is anecdotal evidence that employees are relatively satisfied with the work environment and committed to serving patients, employees have complained through the organizational hotline about lack of management support in some areas. Since other hospitals in the market have experienced union organizing activity, there is concern about possible unionization. While the CEO is interested in the survey, there is fear that it will raise employee expectations that the organization cannot meet, increasing employee dissatisfaction. The HR director is planning a follow-up meeting with the administrator and an external consultant. The goal is to share with the CEO best employer practices in conducting engagement surveys, the positive benefits of using surveys to improve morale, and appropriate engagement strategies and practices to support managers in improving performance and productivity. What risks should the HR director share when recommending an employee engagement survey to the hospital's CEO?

Low senior leadership commitment poses significant risks when there is no credible action plan to address identified employee concerns.

A sales organization's leadership team has just announced a very aggressive five-year sales plan. Which performance management method should HR suggest to support the plan's achievement?

Management by objectives method to measure goals and objectives

Which best describes a diversity council?

Management task force to promote diversity and inclusion in the organization

Which employee must be paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?

Manager who earns $450 per week

Which work relationships are most closely tied to creating and sustaining employee engagement?

Manager-employee relationships

Which best identifies the impact of cognitive barriers on risk management?

Managers perceive risks in an outdated manner.

Which statement accurately describes the status of diversity and inclusion in a global context?

Many countries have laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Which of the following is true regarding marijuana laws?

Marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Which motivation theory appeals to an employee's need for achievement?

McClelland

The performance of the head of the IT department has been eroding in the past few years. The employee is no longer capable of meeting the minimum expectations of this role as result of not keeping current in his professional development. Management is struggling to hold the employee accountable while also keeping employee morale positive. There is also a concern that, if placed on a performance improvement plan or a documented coaching program, the employee would respond negatively and retaliate by wreaking havoc on the organization's IT infrastructure. The length of employment has allowed the employee to be protected from accountability in the past. Management has decided that the current situation is no longer tenable, but they also realize the precarious place they have put the organization in by failing to have sufficient safeguards in place to protect company assets. Management approaches the new HR generalist and asks what steps they can take to either create an environment where the IT manager can succeed or effectively manage the IT manager out of the organization. Prior to this discussion, the HR generalist was not aware of either the previous protections afforded to the employee or of the failure of management to hold the employee accountable. The HR generalist is concerned that management has tolerated this behavior for so long and wonders if there are other employees in the organization who have been similarly protected from being held accountable or being disciplined. The HR generalist realizes that two issues need to be addressed. The HR generalist realizes that there is the potential for other employees to have been shielded from accountability. Which action should the HR generalist take to ensure that all employees are being treated equally?

Meet with managers of the most tenured employees first to ensure that shielding of tenured employees from accountability is not an ongoing practice.

The CEO of a fast-growing start-up company is worried that the company will not have the skilled workforce needed in the future to keep up with the dynamic needs of the business, and he asks the HR manager to anticipate and plan for the workforce gaps. The HR manager has been partnering with educational institutions, other businesses, and the local workforce development office to get more information about anticipated skill gaps and to develop an action plan. These resources have been supportive but are unsure of what skills might be needed and when these gaps will exist. The HR manager must navigate this uncertainty and provide a plan to the CEO. What action should the HR manager take to define the scope of the workforce needs?

Meet with the CEO to discuss the company's goals for the future.

The CEO of a small local company has decided that the organization needs to embrace a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite a formal strategy not being in place, the organization has been using the principles of CSR in certain circumstances. The CEO is seeking to create a company known for treating people well, operating in a sustainable manner, and giving to worthy causes. This change will be more noticeable in some departments than in others. Because of this, the CEO would like to start with a word-of-mouth campaign prior to a large company-wide announcement. The CEO wants the HR manager to put together a plan within two to four weeks that creates this low-key way to work toward the CSR culture for the organization. HR and the CEO discuss that it will be a long-term process for change to be fully implemented. The CEO understands this but wants a plan no later than one month from the meeting. What action should the HR manager take to influence the CEO about the difficulty in meeting the timeline?

Meet with the CEO to review essential portions of the project and the time line challenges.

The CEO of a small local company has decided that the organization needs to embrace a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite a formal strategy not being in place, the organization has been using the principles of CSR in certain circumstances. The CEO is seeking to create a company known for treating people well, operating in a sustainable manner, and giving to worthy causes. This change will be more noticeable in some departments than in others. Because of this, the CEO would like to start with a word-of-mouth campaign prior to a large company-wide announcement. The CEO wants the HR manager to put together a plan within two to four weeks that creates this low-key way to work toward the CSR culture for the organization. HR and the CEO discuss that it will be a long-term process for change to be fully implemented. The CEO understands this but wants a plan no later than one month from the meeting. What action should the HR manager take to influence the CEO about the difficulty in meeting the timeline?

Meet with the CEO to review essential portions of the project and the time line challenges.

A vice president (VP) of HR has responsibility for multiple manufacturing sites and is responsible for teams of HR managers and generalists that support each location. All locations operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day. These teams cover all shifts, providing support. Each location is in the process of rolling out updated policies, including enhancements to the company's progressive disciplinary process and an ethics policy that focuses on commitment to mutual respect, ethical decision making, and integrity. One day, after the VP of HR has left her office, she receives a call from a site HR generalist. The generalist tells the VP that when he returned from his dinner break, the HR office appeared to have been ransacked. Books were thrown on the floor, and name tags were torn off doors and thrown into the trash. The generalist also reports that when security checked the cameras, they reached the conclusion that the site HR manager had done the damage and then had left the facility. The VP knows that the site HR manager has a volatile personality and has been counseled about it previously. The VP also has recently discovered that the manager has been drinking routinely after work and wonders if the ransacking of the office occurred when the manager returned to the office after a drinking session. The following day, members of the HR team separately contact the HR VP with concerns about the incident. Which action should the VP take address the concerns of the HR team?

Meet with the HR team as a group, discussing what happened and listening to concerns they have.

A vice president (VP) of HR has responsibility for multiple manufacturing sites and is responsible for teams of HR managers and generalists that support each location. All locations operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day. These teams cover all shifts, providing support. Each location is in the process of rolling out updated policies, including enhancements to the company's progressive disciplinary process and an ethics policy that focuses on commitment to mutual respect, ethical decision making, and integrity. One day, after the VP of HR has left her office, she receives a call from a site HR generalist. The generalist tells the VP that when he returned from his dinner break, the HR office appeared to have been ransacked. Books were thrown on the floor, and name tags were torn off doors and thrown into the trash. The generalist also reports that when security checked the cameras, they reached the conclusion that the site HR manager had done the damage and then had left the facility. The VP knows that the site HR manager has a volatile personality and has been counseled about it previously. The VP also has recently discovered that the manager has been drinking routinely after work and wonders if the ransacking of the office occurred when the manager returned to the office after a drinking session. The following day, members of the HR team separately contact the HR VP with concerns about the incident. Which action should the VP take address the concerns of the HR team?

Meet with the HR team as a group, discussing what happened and listening to concerns they have.

An organization has struggled to launch a new HR management system with higher integration and more functionality. The new user requirements are very different, and the beta test was problematic. The vendor fixed the problems, but the staff's nervousness about having to learn a new system has combined with the poor beta test experience to create resistance to bringing the final product online. Which actions should the HR manager take now to help to implement this initiative?

Meet with the staff and the vendor to discuss issues.

A manager has come to HR because an employee cannot meet production standards. After further investigation, it is discovered that several other employees cannot meet production standards. Records show that all employees have been properly trained and certified. Which action should HR recommend to resolve the issue?

Meeting with each employee to determine the obstacles to production

Management has requested that HR conduct a focus group to better understand the results of a recent compensation survey. Which is the most important factor HR will want to consider when forming the focus groups?

Members should be a representative sample of the employee population.

Which type of program promotes ongoing career development support, repatriation assistance, and advice for international assignees?

Mentoring

What characteristics distinguish measures and metrics?

Metrics require a base line of two or more measures

The vice president of human resources wants to develop a strong organizational commitment to ethical standards. Which is the best way to communicate this commitment?

Modeling of ethical behavior by leaders, managers, and supervisors

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of what?

National origin or citizenship

What data-gathering method requires a face-to-face meeting?

Nominal group technique

Which best demonstrates an attorney work product?

Notes from interviews done at the attorney's request

A call center needs to hire more than 1,000 employees over the next three months to meet its hiring needs for a new health-care contract. The terms of the contract require that all employees have clear background screenings and at least half be multilingual. Currently, 25 managers and 10 employees meet all the requirements. Senior management has offered to actively participate in the hiring process and has made many suggestions, including group interviews, mass training, and virtual hiring and training. The CEO has asked HR to take the lead in putting together a comprehensive project plan within the next week to be presented to the management team. The call center's HR department consists of 10 employees: the HR director, the recruiting manager, the talent development manager, the employee relations manager, the total rewards manager, the payroll director, two recruiters, and two entry-level HR professionals. Which stakeholders are the most critical for the HR director to include in the initial project planning process?

Recruiting manager, talent development manager, and employee relations manager

The administrative assistant to the vice president of operations confides in the HR manager that the VP has been making inappropriate advances that have been getting progressively more forward and aggressive. This has made the administrative assistant uncomfortable, and now she wants to find a new position in the organization. The administrative assistant and the HR manager are long-time personal friends, and this information is shared with the HR manager outside of the work environment, on personal time. While the HR manager informs the administrative assistant that she should bring a formal complaint, the administrative assistant is very clear that she is sharing this information as a friend. She does not want to file a formal complaint out of fear of retaliation. Instead, she asks the HR manager to help her find a new role so that she can quietly leave her current position without creating trouble for the VP, the organization, or herself. The VP of operations has been identified as one of the top two possibilities to succeed the current CEO. The VP of HR receives a letter from the attorney of a different employee that charges the VP of operations and the organization with unlawful harassment. Which is the best first course of action the HR VP should take?

Notify the CEO and the organization's attorney, asking to meet to determine appropriate next steps.

The administrative assistant to the vice president of operations confides in the HR manager that the VP has been making inappropriate advances that have been getting progressively more forward and aggressive. This has made the administrative assistant uncomfortable, and now she wants to find a new position in the organization. The administrative assistant and the HR manager are long-time personal friends, and this information is shared with the HR manager outside of the work environment, on personal time. While the HR manager informs the administrative assistant that she should bring a formal complaint, the administrative assistant is very clear that she is sharing this information as a friend. She does not want to file a formal complaint out of fear of retaliation. Instead, she asks the HR manager to help her find a new role so that she can quietly leave her current position without creating trouble for the VP, the organization, or herself. What action should the HR manager take in response to hearing about this harassment?

Notify the VP of HR of the allegations so that a formal investigation can begin of these allegations of harassment.

Which change might a corporation make in the way it does business to create a sustainability sweet spot?

Redesigning products so that components are made locally from recycled materials, thereby reducing production costs

Which approach to offsetting a downturn is often used by companies in the decline phase of their life cycle?

Reducing costs

Which action is an ombudsperson empowered to take after hearing both sides of a workplace dispute?

Referring the matter to further alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Which action would be considered an unfair labor practice (ULP)?

Refusing to bargain with a legally recognized union

According to Perlmutter's headquarters orientations, what structural strategy describes a company in which host-country nationals usually staff and manage the local subsidiary?

Regiocentric

Which type of rules or orders that have the force of law are issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?

Regulations

The administrative assistant to the vice president of operations confides in the HR manager that the VP has been making inappropriate advances that have been getting progressively more forward and aggressive. This has made the administrative assistant uncomfortable, and now she wants to find a new position in the organization. The administrative assistant and the HR manager are long-time personal friends, and this information is shared with the HR manager outside of the work environment, on personal time. While the HR manager informs the administrative assistant that she should bring a formal complaint, the administrative assistant is very clear that she is sharing this information as a friend. She does not want to file a formal complaint out of fear of retaliation. Instead, she asks the HR manager to help her find a new role so that she can quietly leave her current position without creating trouble for the VP, the organization, or herself. What action should the HR manager take in response to hearing about this harassment?

Notify the VP of HR of the allegations so that a formal investigation can begin of these allegations of harassment.

What best describes the difference between replacement planning and succession planning?

Replacement planning focuses on short-term needs; succession planning focuses on long-term needs.

A restaurant chain located in multiple regions with thousands of employees makes a policy change in its payment procedures. The new policy requires servers at sit-down restaurants to take table orders from patrons and collect payment before the meal is brought to the table instead of after the food is served and consumed. A few months after implementation, several customers file complaints of unfair treatment, alleging that servers are being selective and not all guests are asked to pay for their meal immediately after the order is placed. An investigation by the VP of HR reveals that indeed not all employees are following the new protocol, resulting in different service experiences. The VP of HR identifies a critical, immediate need for training to mitigate risk related to any future allegations of unfair treatment of guests. The company's president is in agreement with the idea. However, she will support only a limited financial contribution for the training. The VP of HR shares the purpose of the training, the time line, and key deliverables during an HR team meeting. The team expresses concerns about the nonnegotiable, short time frame, the total number of employees to be trained, and the impact on other initiatives in progress. Which metrics should the VP of HR share to demonstrate the impact of the training on company goals?

Number of complaints received

A department manager in a health-care organization contacts HR to discuss a situation involving a schedule change that was initiated for an employee three months ago. The employee has a medical condition that could result in the need for surgery, and he requested the schedule change until a decision can be made by his health-care provider. HR was not involved in the initial request. Other staff members are now becoming upset, and this accommodation is causing an issue in the department. No end date was set initially, and the manager is not certain of the status of the medical condition. The manager does not believe that the employee has a plan and therefore wants to reassign or terminate the employee. HR has been contacted for guidance on how to handle this situation. What is the most effective action the HR director should take to resolve the questions arising around the employee's accommodation?

Obtaining more information about the employee's limitations to determine if the current schedule adjustment is appropriate

Which government body requires organizations to electronically submit illness and injury data?

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

A sales manufacturing company has traditionally used paper versions of its employee engagement survey. With a recent expansion to other states, the company has found the paper survey process to be difficult to manage. Which survey method would be most effective for the company in the future?

Online surveys

Management decides that training supervisors to identify and prevent bullying is not necessary, and they do not fund a program budget. What does this illustrate?

Organization's risk tolerance

Which type of OD intervention would best address an assessment that determined a need to increase the performance capability across all levels and departments?

Organizational

Which is regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?

Overtime pay

How does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) amend the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)?

PPACA requires coverage of an employee's adult children up to age 26.

A company's rapid growth is resulting in demand to hire new team members. Recognizing the need to ensure that the right talent is brought into the company, a newly hired HR director implements a more structured hiring process to assess applicants' skills, compensation needs, and culture fit. However, many managers do not support the new hiring process, claiming it slows down the hiring cycle. In addition, the managers believe that the initial salary and bonus recommendations resulting from HR's recently updated compensation structures are not reflective of market demand. The managers claim this situation is causing candidates to decline their offers of employment. As the business continues to expand in support of the company's strategic direction, how should the HR director address longer-term hiring needs?

Participate in strategic planning sessions to help align HR talent practices with the future business direction.

Which best demonstrates HR's role in managing organizational risk?

Participating in the identification and management of threats and opportunities across the organization

Which culture is more likely to prefer a verbal agreement or handshake to a detailed contract?

Particularist

The CEO of a small local company has decided that the organization needs to embrace a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite a formal strategy not being in place, the organization has been using the principles of CSR in certain circumstances. The CEO is seeking to create a company known for treating people well, operating in a sustainable manner, and giving to worthy causes. This change will be more noticeable in some departments than in others. Because of this, the CEO would like to start with a word-of-mouth campaign prior to a large company-wide announcement. The CEO wants the HR manager to put together a plan within two to four weeks that creates this low-key way to work toward the CSR culture for the organization. HR and the CEO discuss that it will be a long-term process for change to be fully implemented. The CEO understands this but wants a plan no later than one month from the meeting. What action should the HR manager take first to begin creating a culture that embraces CSR?

Partner with the heads of each department of the organization to review their current practices around CSR.

The CEO of a small local company has decided that the organization needs to embrace a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite a formal strategy not being in place, the organization has been using the principles of CSR in certain circumstances. The CEO is seeking to create a company known for treating people well, operating in a sustainable manner, and giving to worthy causes. This change will be more noticeable in some departments than in others. Because of this, the CEO would like to start with a word-of-mouth campaign prior to a large company-wide announcement. The CEO wants the HR manager to put together a plan within two to four weeks that creates this low-key way to work toward the CSR culture for the organization. HR and the CEO discuss that it will be a long-term process for change to be fully implemented. The CEO understands this but wants a plan no later than one month from the meeting. What action should the HR manager take first to begin creating a culture that embraces CSR?

Partner with the heads of each department of the organization to review their current practices around CSR.

Which act requires an organization with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health coverage that meets minimum benefit specifications or pay a $2,000-per-employee penalty?

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Which is a disadvantage of a time-based pay system?

Pay levels may be raised over time regardless of performance.

What are the common processes folded into shared service centers to make business functions more efficient?

Payroll, procurement, accounts payable/receivable, travel expenses, health benefits enrollment, and pension administration

What is the primary distinguishing characteristic of an enterprise risk management framework?

Perception of risk as an integrated organizational issue

Staff have been reluctant to share on-the-job experiences with coworkers. HR wants to update all job descriptions to reflect the expectation that this should take place. How can HR assess that this change has been successfully implemented?

Performance evaluations

Which should be the first step in solving an organization's problems with a sharp increase in back orders of shipments?

Performing a process analysis

What is one role for HR in a merger or acquisition?

Performing due diligence

What compensation and benefits strategy embraces incentive plans that promote the achievement of a local Malaysian subsidiary's objectives over the corporation's global ones?

Polycentric

While applying for a job on a computer in a company's employment office, an applicant made a statement to an office staff member that there was a sticky substance on the keyboard. Later that day during an on-site interview, the same applicant complained that a rash emerged on his fingers from the sticky substance. At the end of the day, the applicant was not hired because the background screening process revealed criminal charges two years ago. Instead, the hiring manager selected a different applicant who more closely matched the needs of the position and passed the background screen. Before leaving for the day, the applicant who was not hired filed a grievance with the HR manager claiming he had not been hired because he complained during the interview of an unknown substance causing a rash on his fingers. Upon investigation, the sticky substance was identified from the observation camera to be strawberry jelly from the applicant's sandwich eaten at the desk just prior to completing the application. After the sticky substance has been identified as jelly from the applicant's sandwich, which action should the HR manager take to prevent a recurrence of this situation?

Post a sign prohibiting all applicants from eating at the workstations.

A company has experienced a high degree of turnover during the past year. Senior leadership is concerned about the amount of turnover and worried that HR is not moving fast enough to fill these positions. The hiring managers say that the applicant pools have been weak lately and they have had trouble finding qualified applicants to hire from within the pools HR provides. HR has relied heavily on recruiting by word of mouth, which in the past has generated applicants that fit the company's culture. The award for referrals that result in hiring has also been popular with employees.

Post job openings on Internet job sites and examine the effect on the applicant pool.

A company has experienced a high degree of turnover during the past year. Senior leadership is concerned about the amount of turnover and worried that HR is not moving fast enough to fill these positions. The hiring managers say that the applicant pools have been weak lately and they have had trouble finding qualified applicants to hire from within the pools HR provides. HR has relied heavily on recruiting by word of mouth, which in the past has generated applicants that fit the company's culture. The award for referrals that result in hiring has also been popular with employees. What would be the best way for HR to bring in more qualified applicants?

Post job openings on Internet job sites and examine the effect on the applicant pool.

An employer is investigating alleged misconduct by an employee who is a union member. What must the employer allow during any investigatory interview of the employee, if requested?

Presence of a union representative in the interview

An HR business partner for a mid-sized company has been asked to investigate root causes of high employee turnover. The CEO thinks that the turnover is the result of HR failing to set clear expectations for managers and has stated that there is a disparity in how managers lead their employees versus what employees think their managers should be doing. The CEO believes that this inconsistency in expectations is the reason for attrition. HR currently conducts annual employee engagement and morale surveys and presents the results to management. However, most of the management team has been with the company for many years and are resistant to change. Past efforts to guide the management team have been unsuccessful due to limited participation. For example, leadership skills training has been held in the past, but most of the management team have declined to attend. The CEO has requested that the HR manager provide a detailed plan to address the turnover by next quarter. Which step should the HR manager take to ensure buy-in from the managers when implementing an initiative to address the turnover?

Present data to managers that shows how the high turnover has affected the company's profit.

If an organization decides to take adverse action against an applicant or an employee based on a credit report, what is the affected individual entitled to do?

Present evidence challenging the information contained in the report.

A potential benefit of formal knowledge storage for a project team is that they can

Preserve "lessons learned"

Which situation that leads to workplace violence can be controlled by an organization?

Pressure for increased productivity

When an organization has a strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientation, which is it likely to see as a primary outcome?

Proactive and ongoing interaction with all stakeholders

What factors does the risk equation use to determine level of risk?

Probability of occurrence and magnitude of impact

Which is the best example of a regulation?

Process by which the Department of Labor clarifies the exempt status of employees

A company has separate divisions for distinct types of products. Each division has its own marketing, sales, manufacturing, and finance functions. What type of organizational structure does this illustrate?

Product

A recently promoted HR manager is transferred to a remote facility, due to several complaints of inappropriate behavior and favoritism between the plant manager and the former HR manager. The complaints range from allegations of an affair between the two to poor performance and stealing company property. The head office leaders are highly sensitive to creating an ethical culture and have asked that the new HR manager report back on any discovered issues with the plant manager. This makes the HR manager uncomfortable, because she is trying her best to balance developing a relationship with the plant manager with trying to complete the investigation. The new HR manager begins an investigation and learns that the plant manager believes two female employees in the accounting department reported the theft and the affair. When the HR manager speaks with these employees, they share the belief that they are being retaliated against. Although they were rated as above-average performers, they have been given only minimal wage increases. The investigation identified theft of a number of items by the plant manager. The items are not expensive, but their value is not minor. Additionally, it was learned that the plant manager is actively undermining the new HR manager's authority by telling all managers to ignore any HR recommendations. What action should the HR manager take in regard to the theft of the items by the plant manager?

Report this offense to head office leaders.

Which is an employee right identified under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act?

Requesting an OSHA inspection

A consulting company knows that its primary advantage lies in the expertise and commitment of its people. Which practice should HR recommend that leaders focus on?

Retention

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. Which action should the HR manager take first to ensure that field supervisors are prepared to handle emergency situations in the field?

Review company emergency protocols and conduct a needs assessment to identify gaps.

A small division of a company lacks a formal compensation structure for employees. Due to recent recruitment and retention challenges, the division recognizes the need to review newly hired and existing employees' pay rates to ensure market competitiveness and internal equity among staff. For a number of years, the division has lacked human resources support and relied upon the general managers to determine initial pay rates for new hires as well as promotional rates for internal staff based on the amount of hours worked and the employee's attendance record. No pay ranges currently exist, and leaders have the discretion to pay whatever fits within their budget. On occasion, a human resources representative from another division has offered general advice on pay practices to the division's leadership. However, they have their own divisional responsibilities, and therefore there has been very little oversight. The divisional president is considering whether or not to bring in a contract human resources leader to research, design, and implement an appropriate pay structure for all positions. How should the HR leader approach analyzing internal equity among the employee population as part of the compensation structure project?

Review employees' rates of pay to determine if they are appropriately positioned within the range.

An organization developed a new code of conduct 18 months ago but recently discovered that employees are still not following its guidelines. What should the organization do to ensure that employees are following the guidelines?

Review key points of the code of conduct and ensure that employees understand it, and incorporate code of conduct training into new employee orientation.

The HR director and the CEO of a mid-sized company each receive an identical letter in the mail. The letter is from an anonymous disgruntled employee, and it accuses a company executive of several negative actions, including bullying, misrepresenting funds, and openly criticizing other executives during conversations with lower-level employees. The letter states that the employee has chosen to remain anonymous because the employee mistrusts the HR department and fears retaliation. Which step should the HR director take first to address the accusations in this letter?

Review the executive's personnel file for information that suggests that a pattern of behavior exists.

A business case to move to the cloud for information storage and enhanced web-based software has been approved by the senior leadership team. This will represent a major cultural and process shift for the organization, and, to assist with this, a transition plan has been communicated. The plan allows for a short period of transition, where paper files will continue alongside electronic files as use of the cloud software expands. The new technology also supports the ability for employees to work from home. Due to the nature of the work the company produces, teams are an integral part of the company culture. Leadership has assumed that teams will be able to work in the virtual world as easily as they do in person. The virtual world implementation is planned to begin following the successful implementation of the cloud storage procedures. To move to this future state, employees are told they cannot keep any company files or information on their own devices. In addition, employees are informed that they cannot take company information home in paper format. The organization leaves it to individual supervisors to communicate the change to their direct reports. Six months have passed since the implementation, and some employees continue to do the double work of maintaining both electronic and paper copies of documents and, in some cases, they are maintaining only paper files. The company has noticed a decrease in morale, and deadlines are being missed. Which is the best recommendation HR should make to ensure legal compliance and network security for employees working from home?

Provide mandatory training for anyone who applies to work from home.

A business case to move to the cloud for information storage and enhanced web-based software has been approved by the senior leadership team. This will represent a major cultural and process shift for the organization, and, to assist with this, a transition plan has been communicated. The plan allows for a short period of transition, where paper files will continue alongside electronic files as use of the cloud software expands.The new technology also supports the ability for employees to work from home. Due to the nature of the work the company produces, teams are an integral part of the company culture. Leadership has assumed that teams will be able to work in the virtual world as easily as they do in person. The virtual world implementation is planned to begin following the successful implementation of the cloud storage procedures. To move to this future state, employees are told they cannot keep any company files or information on their own devices. In addition, employees are informed that they cannot take company information home in paper format. The organization leaves it to individual supervisors to communicate the change to their direct reports. Six months have passed since the implementation, and some employees continue to do the double work of maintaining both electronic and paper copies of documents and, in some cases, they are maintaining only paper files. The company has noticed a decrease in morale, and deadlines are being missed. Which is the best recommendation HR should make to ensure legal compliance and network security for employees working from home?

Provide mandatory training for anyone who applies to work from home.

Which would be the most effective measure of an intervention designed to improve customer service?

Specific numerical ratings on a customer satisfaction survey

Which action best illustrates the use of evidence-based decision making in HR?

Staff performs a regression analysis to identify likely factors for success in candidate profiles.

What action would best support a group creativity session?

Start thinking of responses only after listening to what each person has to say.

A new HR manager begins work for an organization that processes benefit claims for its self-funded clients. Most of its 400 employees are low-level clerical workers, with only a few employees in higher-skilled positions. The HR manager finds on the first day of work that the conditions are far different than those described in the interview. While salary ranges are established, they are outdated and appear to be 35% below current market rates. There is an employee handbook, but it is so incomplete and out-of-date that the HR staff has wisely stopped giving it out to employees. Payroll and insurance are run by an accounting department that views communication with employees as the job of HR. The 80% turnover rate surprises the new HR manager, who had assumed that the interviewer's description of "high" turnover in an office environment meant 30%. Everyone has been trained on a new HRIS, but it sits in a corner uninstalled. The organization's business model is to be a low-cost provider. The organization has streamlined the work to be done with as little training and experience as possible. The organization is located in an industrial park in a low-cost city. While personnel costs are the major portion of its expenses, the hiring strategy seems to be "don't let warm bodies get away." The HR manager's orientation has consisted primarily of introductory interviews with department directors who operate independently and expect HR to only prescreen applicants and take care of employee complaints.

Step back and take in the big picture before deciding how HR activities can be aligned to support the organization's strategy.

What type of long-term incentive allows an executive to purchase shares of a company's stock at a predetermined price?

Stock options

What is a driver of restructiring?

Strategy

An organization hires only experienced, top-performing people who tend to stay with the company for ten years or more. What is this considered in a SWOT analysis?

Strength

An interviewer asks a candidate a series of tough questions in rapid succession and projects a 'show-me' attitude in her words, facial expression, body language, and behavior. This BEST exemplifies a

Stress interview

An employee life cycle describes all of the activities associated with an employee's tenure in the organization. What is the impact of HR's understanding of the employee life cycle on the organization?

Supporting employee performance and engagement

What is the term for the common ground between business and public interest they can generate innovation and business opportunities?

Sustainability sweet spot

How does duty of care translate to an organization's responsibilities?

Taking all steps reasonable to ensure employee health and safety

Which term is best described as traditionally higher-level leadership responsibilities being transferred to leaders at lower levels?

Task migration

A company has experienced a high degree of turnover during the past year. Senior leadership is concerned about the amount of turnover and worried that HR is not moving fast enough to fill these positions. The hiring managers say that the applicant pools have been weak lately and they have had trouble finding qualified applicants to hire from within the pools HR provides. HR has relied heavily on recruiting by word of mouth, which in the past has generated applicants that fit the company's culture. The award for referrals that result in hiring has also been popular with employees. What would be the best way for HR to address the senior leaders' concerns about turnover?

Tell senior management that HR will do an analysis of the current turnover rate across fiscal years to determine if the turnover rate has changed drastically.

While applying for a job on a computer in a company's employment office, an applicant made a statement to an office staff member that there was a sticky substance on the keyboard. Later that day during an on-site interview, the same applicant complained that a rash emerged on his fingers from the sticky substance. At the end of the day, the applicant was not hired because the background screening process revealed criminal charges two years ago. Instead, the hiring manager selected a different applicant who more closely matched the needs of the position and passed the background screen. Before leaving for the day, the applicant who was not hired filed a grievance with the HR manager claiming he had not been hired because he complained during the interview of an unknown substance causing a rash on his fingers. Upon investigation, the sticky substance was identified from the observation camera to be strawberry jelly from the applicant's sandwich eaten at the desk just prior to completing the application. What should the HR manager do first to address the applicant's filed grievance?

Tell the applicant his sandwich left the sticky substance on the keyboard and his complaint did not impact the hiring decision.

Which feedback message will be most useful to the feedback receiver?

That was a good call. Don't forget the last step in customer service though. Follow up with our HR customers to explain the status of an issue.

Which statement about Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) procedures regarding an alleged Title VII violation is correct?

The charging party is given notice of the right to sue in court if no reasonable cause is found.

A global company benchmarks against similar companies that have recently faced costly and embarrassing cybersecurity breaches resulting in the loss of customer confidence. In response, the CEO assigns tasks to three departments: the IT department is charged with enhancing data accuracy, security, and privacy; risk management is charged with implementing improved governance, compliance, and enforcement; and HR is charged with strengthening procedures around acquisition of staff, policy creation, the code of ethics, and communication. Internally, the company must protect proprietary information and determine what limits to place on data retention and acquisition. Externally, they must also acquire competitive data and follow the law in all jurisdictions of their operations. Challenges with social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and high levels of employees traveling with their electronic devices create additional burdens. Currently, the company provides devices for all eligible employees. The three departments agree that employees must possess a work ethic, motivation, and integrity. The head of IT believes that there are three sources for recruitment, selection, and staffing: the military, college graduates with degrees in information technology, and professional hackers-skilled computer experts who use their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. Which technology policies should the HR manager recommend that the company implement?

The company can review all charges and information on a company-provided device.

A mid-sized company has a strict attendance policy stating that any absence of three days or more without contact from the employee is considered job abandonment and the employee is subject to termination. The organization has experienced significant growth over the years, and the increase in the employee population has prompted stricter policies, which some staff view as unnecessarily controlling. One manager's best employee has been absent without contact for four days and calls in. The employee indicates he had some unexpected personal problems involving his teenage child. The employee did not call earlier due to being distraught, occupied with the situation, and also a bit embarrassed. According to the policy, the employee must be terminated, but the manager is reluctant to do so because this is the department's best employee. This is the first violation, and the serious family issues could escalate if the employee is terminated. Senior leadership has recently taken a tough stance on consistently adhering to company policies and practices due to complaints of favoritism. The manager is hesitant to go to HR for fear they will recommend termination. Instead the manager seeks counsel from a member of the senior leadership team who is a relative and who supports the decision to not terminate the employee. When the employee is not terminated, an anonymous complaint is filed via the employee hotline system. It alleges discrimination and favoritism; there is also a comment about too many new policies. The employee is named, and the complainant demands that other employees terminated under the no-call, no-show policy be reinstated. The protocol requires that HR review all discrimination complaints. Which is the appropriate outcome for the attendance policy violation?

The employee should be terminated per the company policy, to reinforce a consistent focus on policies that have been adopted and put in place.

An employee who has been in the department for only a month asks his supervisor for feedback. The supervisor lists three ways in which the employee's performance is inadequate. How is the employee likely to react?

The employee will be discouraged and ask someone else for an assessment of his performance.

A manager instructs a staff member how to perform the task. The staff member nods to indicate agreement. The task is performed incorrectly. How could active listening have helped prevent this?

The manager could have made this a real conversation by asking the staff member an open question.

HR seeks employee volunteers to compare two possible wellness programs. Their responses will be aggregated and analyzed to make a recommendation to senior management. How would you assess this critical analysis?

The sampling approach is flawed.

A technician in a diagnostic lab has filed a complaint with HR accusing a supervisor of selectively enforcing policies. Which action would constitute workplace retaliation?

The supervisor reassigns the technician from bench work to physically difficult duties.

An HR professional is analyzing retention rates across all the functions and divisions in a large organization. There is a high standard deviation (SD) for the dataset. What does this indicate?

There is a considerable spread in the data from high to low rates.

A business providing cloud computing services intends to distribute its server centers in different time zones to protect against risks of local outages and to save cooling energy by moving the bulk of processing to centers operating at night. Which describes the impact to the organization's human capital planning?

There will be an increased need for diversity training.

A new HR staff member wants to win support for her idea for a new employee benefit. The HR director has agreed to meet with her to discuss the idea briefly. How should the HR staff member prepare?

Think about what might be motivating the HR director in his job.

A new HR manager begins work for an organization that processes benefit claims for its self-funded clients. Most of its 400 employees are low-level clerical workers, with only a few employees in higher-skilled positions. The HR manager finds on the first day of work that the conditions are far different than those described in the interview. While salary ranges are established, they are outdated and appear to be 35% below current market rates. There is an employee handbook, but it is so incomplete and out-of-date that the HR staff has wisely stopped giving it out to employees. Payroll and insurance are run by an accounting department that views communication with employees as the job of HR. The 80% turnover rate surprises the new HR manager, who had assumed that the interviewer's description of "high" turnover in an office environment meant 30%. Everyone has been trained on a new HRIS, but it sits in a corner uninstalled. The organization's business model is to be a low-cost provider. The organization has streamlined the work to be done with as little training and experience as possible. The organization is located in an industrial park in a low-cost city. While personnel costs are the major portion of its expenses, the hiring strategy seems to be "don't let warm bodies get away." The HR manager's orientation has consisted primarily of introductory interviews with department directors who operate independently and expect HR to only prescreen applicants and take care of employee complaints. What priority should the HR manager give to the unused HRIS?

This should be a priority after maintaining services to the other departments.

How does hyperconnectivity assist an organization in achieving its strategic goals?

Through the digital interconnection of people and things, any time and any place

Workplace harassment is a violation of which legislation?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Why is it crucial that HR partner with other functions?

To align human capital to organizational needs

How are local cluster developments used in corporate social responsibility?

To create shared value

A small but growing organization is just beginning to build its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. Which objective would be most appropriate for the organization at this stage?

To develop a CSR program that is aligned with the organization's business strategy

An HR business partner is conducting a focus group to examine possible causes for recent low engagement survey scores. What is the business partner's role in this meeting?

To encourage full discussion and participation

What is the role of an HR professional attending a meeting in a work unit that is struggling to implement recent changes?

To engage the group in solving issues that have arisen

What is the primary purpose of a safety self-audit?

To ensure employee compliance with the organization's safety programs

What is the purpose of an HR compliance checklist?

To help ensure that the organization fulfills the requirements of HR laws and regulations

How is Porter's "Five Forces" framework used in developing strategies?

To understand competitive factors that influence the strategy

A call center needs to hire more than 1,000 employees over the next three months to meet its hiring needs for a new health-care contract. The terms of the contract require that all employees have clear background screenings and at least half be multilingual. Currently, 25 managers and 10 employees meet all the requirements. Senior management has offered to actively participate in the hiring process and has made many suggestions, including group interviews, mass training, and virtual hiring and training. The CEO has asked HR to take the lead in putting together a comprehensive project plan within the next week to be presented to the management team. The call center's HR department consists of 10 employees: the HR director, the recruiting manager, the talent development manager, the employee relations manager, the total rewards manager, the payroll director, two recruiters, and two entry-level HR professionals. The HR team decides to implement a structured interview as part of the hiring phase. What should the HR director do to ensure that the interviews provide the same quality and quantity of information on each candidate?

Train a group of HR team members and call center managers to conduct the interviews.

Which action can HR take to assist in creating an ethical organization?

Training leaders in ethical practices

What recommendation should HR suggest once a union acceptance strategy is agreed to by senior leaders?

Training management in collaboration and conflict strategies

How did the discipline of human resource management change industrial relations?

Transition to a more collaborative employer-employee relationship

A HR manager observes that team members are refusing to collaborate with a particular team member. When asked for a reason, they reply that they cannot rely on this individual. She is inconsistent and unpredictable. What has this individual failed to establish with other team members?

Trust

What procedural document outlines the requirements that an employer needs to follow in order to show that it does not discriminate in its hiring process?

Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures

Which must be permitted when conducting an investigative interview of a union employee?

Union representative adding information supporting the employee's case

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. Which action should HR take to ensure that supervisors act appropriately in emergency situations without fear of violating employee privacy?

Use a collaborative approach with leaders to create and communicate a company-wide protocol that outlines steps to take in an emergency situation.

The CEO of a small local company has decided that the organization needs to embrace a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite a formal strategy not being in place, the organization has been using the principles of CSR in certain circumstances. The CEO is seeking to create a company known for treating people well, operating in a sustainable manner, and giving to worthy causes. This change will be more noticeable in some departments than in others. Because of this, the CEO would like to start with a word-of-mouth campaign prior to a large company-wide announcement. The CEO wants the HR manager to put together a plan within two to four weeks that creates this low-key way to work toward the CSR culture for the organization. HR and the CEO discuss that it will be a long-term process for change to be fully implemented. The CEO understands this but wants a plan no later than one month from the meeting. What action should the HR manager recommend to measure the acceptance of the new culture after it's announced and implemented?

Use both process and outcomes evaluations to determine the effectiveness of the program.

How can HR best partner with managers to implement a newly developed performance management tool?

Use input from the managers to create a best practices guide and meet with them individually to offer support or answer questions.

An operations manager wants to hire additional full-time employees. The HR business partner knows that the need for additional resources will probably be only temporary, based on historical data. What would be the best way to persuade the operations manager that using temporary workers would be a better tactic?

Use the data. Show the manager the resource trend charts for the past several years.

What is the best description of an information system portal?

User's point of access to system data and applications

Technological forces have had which critical effect on today's corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices?

Using analytical capabilities has made CSR impacts more demonstrable.

An important characteristic of cloud computing is that software is

Utilized or subscribed as a pay-per-use or pay-as-you-go service

How does the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act amend the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)?

VOW recognizes claims of a hostile work environment on account of an individual's military status generally.

A manufacturing company has secured and signed a significant contract with a large retailer. The contract lists steps that are to be included in the manufacturing process that the company agrees to adhere to. A supervisor and several employees from the manufacturing department have learned that by skipping some of the steps outlined, there is no material change to the product. They begin to skip steps in the process. They do not volunteer this information, but neither do they try to hide it. During an exit interview, an employee discloses this information to the HR manager. The HR manager also learns that only the supervisor and members of the department are actively aware of this change. The employee further states that an agreement was made between the supervisor and the staff to not disclose this information to the division manager, as he has an ownership interest in the retailer. What action should the HR manager take to resolve the potential conflict of interest on the part of the division manager?

Validate the information, and if accurate, advise senior leaders of the division manager's ownership interest.

Which is the most important aspect of a selection test that successfully measures essential job-related skills and abilities?

Validity

Which best describes the mode in a set of data?

Value appearing most often

How have corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies evolved in corporations?

Values and goals have been redefined based on CSR principles.

Which attribute would be considered part of implicit culture?

Views toward power

HR is looking for ways to increase the organization's brand while developing the employees. How can this be achieved?

Volunteering

An organization examines the level of probability for all types of losses to which it may be exposed. What aspect of risk is the organization studying?

Vulnerability

An HR professional is new to his organization and wants to understand better how to gain credibility in the organization. What activity would help the most?

Watching how people react to other team members in team discussions

How does the Weingarten ruling apply to nonunion employees?

Weingarten does not require that nonunion employees be allowed union representation during investigatory interviews.

Under which circumstances should ignoring conflict be used as a conflict management strategy?

When the issue will resolve itself without damaging the team processes and relationships

What is one of the three precepts of global forces?

While the effects of a given globalization force are global, their impact may be uniquely felt by different cultures, industries, and organizations.

An HR professional has just joined an organization and wants to better understand its informal characteristics. What should she pay attention to?

Who people interact with and the nature of their interactions

What type of strike occurs without the knowledge or approval of union leadership?

Wildcat strikes

What document legally authorizes a person to take employment in another country?�

Work permit

A vice president (VP) of HR has responsibility for multiple manufacturing sites and is responsible for teams of HR managers and generalists that support each location. All locations operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day. These teams cover all shifts, providing support. Each location is in the process of rolling out updated policies, including enhancements to the company's progressive disciplinary process and an ethics policy that focuses on commitment to mutual respect, ethical decision making, and integrity. One day, after the VP of HR has left her office, she receives a call from a site HR generalist. The generalist tells the VP that when he returned from his dinner break, the HR office appeared to have been ransacked. Books were thrown on the floor, and name tags were torn off doors and thrown into the trash. The generalist also reports that when security checked the cameras, they reached the conclusion that the site HR manager had done the damage and then had left the facility. The VP knows that the site HR manager has a volatile personality and has been counseled about it previously. The VP also has recently discovered that the manager has been drinking routinely after work and wonders if the ransacking of the office occurred when the manager returned to the office after a drinking session. What steps should the VP of HR take to address the condition of the HR office?

Work with the second shift HR generalist to clean up the damage and destruction of the HR office.

Which best exemplifies a risk mitigation approach?

Workers operating dangerous machinery cannot exceed a set shift length.

Which metric should an organization look to when evaluating an employee engagement strategy that is focused on safety?

Workers' compensation incident rate

HR has been asked to target and identify how the organization's strategic plans can be realized over a three-year scope. This will necessitate examining current organizational competencies against those needed in the future and reconciling the differences. Which process should HR recommend to assist the organization in making these determinations?

Workforce analysis

HR professionals must anticipate future talent needs as well as plan for the future employee talent pool. Which key factor typically contributes to an anticipated shortage in the labor pool?

Workforce skewed toward older employees�

Soon after a new HR manager begins working at a manufacturing plant, an employee stops by the HR manager's office and places $500 on the HR manager's desk. The employee indicates that the HR manager is the winner of the plant's monthly lottery, and since the HR manager is new, the employees who participate decided to not make the HR manager pay to enter the lottery. The HR manager is uncomfortable accepting the money because it might violate the company's anti-gambling policy and asks if the money can be added to the lottery for the following month. Later, the HR manager reviews the corporate policy on gambling and finds that it is not clear. The HR manager consults with the corporate HR director, who tells the HR manager that local laws about gambling are ambiguous and a new policy should be adopted at the plant banning such activities. The HR manager informs the plant manager, who becomes very upset and indicates that the lottery is a long-standing tradition that boosts employee morale. The plant manager advises the HR manager to allow the lottery until the end of the year, given that the existing company policy and local laws are ambiguous. What should the HR manager do to encourage compliance with the new policy?

Write an article in the company newsletter outlining the reasons why the policy is beneficial.

A recently promoted HR manager is transferred to a remote facility, due to several complaints of inappropriate behavior and favoritism between the plant manager and the former HR manager. The complaints range from allegations of an affair between the two to poor performance and stealing company property. The head office leaders are highly sensitive to creating an ethical culture and have asked that the new HR manager report back on any discovered issues with the plant manager. This makes the HR manager uncomfortable, because she is trying her best to balance developing a relationship with the plant manager with trying to complete the investigation. The new HR manager begins an investigation and learns that the plant manager believes two female employees in the accounting department reported the theft and the affair. When the HR manager speaks with these employees, they share the belief that they are being retaliated against. Although they were rated as above-average performers, they have been given only minimal wage increases. The investigation identified theft of a number of items by the plant manager. The items are not expensive, but their value is not minor. Additionally, it was learned that the plant manager is actively undermining the new HR manager's authority by telling all managers to ignore any HR recommendations. The HR manager studies the performance reviews and wage increases for all employees and finds inconsistencies that support the accounting employees' claims of retaliation. Given the HR manager's knowledge of the plant manager's behavior, what is the appropriate next step for the HR manager to take?

Review the process for setting wage increases for the accounting department with the company's controller.

A mining company has had a safety program in place for over ten years. It has been effective in decreasing accidents and injuries. What should HR recommend?

Review the technology used in the program to see if newer, more effective technology is now available.

What is secondary risk?

Risk created by a risk management tactic

What is the appropriate role for an HR manager in an investigatory interview for a dischargeable offense?

Risk manager for the organization

The HR department is instructed to fill a critical management position as quickly as possible. Using multiple agencies will produce more candidates more quickly but will increase the cost by several times. Which critical input should HR seek before deciding how to proceed?

Risk tolerance of the organization

You are conducting a market salary survey to make sure that your team members are being adequately compensated and won't seek employment elsewhere. You are seeking to meet which level of needs in Maslow's hierarchy?

Safety and security

Which tool would be best for analyzing and presenting data about the relationship between years of education and amount of income?

Scatter diagram

An HR strategic planning team wants to see what the effects on payroll will be if management realigns production capacity in different ways. Which analytical tool should HR use?

Scenario analysis

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. The leadership team wants to implement a policy that prohibits sending employees who have medical conditions out of town on business. How should HR handle this request?

Schedule a meeting with the leadership team to address their request and offer other options that are focused on the best interests of the business.

An assembly operation has completely redesigned its work floor and added new machines. What would be the best way for HR to fulfill its duty of care to the operation's employees?

Schedule a walk-through of the redesigned area during a work shift.

An organization has witnessed a steady decline in revenue for the past 9 months, and employee morale is low. Department managers are highly competitive with each other and tend to use an authoritarian management style with their teams. As a result, communication across departments is infrequent, employees are distrustful of their managers, and work teams are constantly experiencing delays. Product errors have been increasing as well. The CEO tasks an HR manager with investigating workplace problems and developing solutions. With the CEO's approval, the HR manager begins monthly training workshops with department managers to encourage more cooperation. The CEO asks the HR manager to determine the root cause of the competitive culture of the organization. How should the HR manager collect this information?

Schedule individual interviews with each department manager.

Refer to the following scenario for questions 1-3. The HR manager believes that department managers do not understand the responsibilities of other departments, which isolates them from each other. What should the HR manager do?

Schedule weekly cross-departmental manager meetings to discuss department functions and challenges.

Why are multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tools particularly useful for teams who are purchasing HR technology?

Scoring can be adjusted to reflect an organization's unique technology needs.

A company attracts more than 200 applicants per vacancy. Which process facilitates sorting to disqualify unqualified individuals?

Screening

Which is considered a flexible staffing strategy?

Seasonal contracting

What is likely to be of the most concern to the chief information officer or IT director?

Security

Which motivational theory emphasizes the importance of autonomy, competency, and purpose?

Self-determination

Under deadline pressure, a global team leader grows angry with workers from one region, resorting to threats and accusations. Realizing that her behavior is counterproductive, she apologizes and sets up a meeting to determine the source of the delays and how she can best help. Which critical ability has she acquired and applied?

Self-regulation component of emotional intelligence

A restaurant chain located in multiple regions with thousands of employees makes a policy change in its payment procedures. The new policy requires servers at sit-down restaurants to take table orders from patrons and collect payment before the meal is brought to the table instead of after the food is served and consumed. A few months after implementation, several customers file complaints of unfair treatment, alleging that servers are being selective and not all guests are asked to pay for their meal immediately after the order is placed. An investigation by the VP of HR reveals that indeed not all employees are following the new protocol, resulting in different service experiences. The VP of HR identifies a critical, immediate need for training to mitigate risk related to any future allegations of unfair treatment of guests. The company's president is in agreement with the idea. However, she will support only a limited financial contribution for the training. The VP of HR shares the purpose of the training, the time line, and key deliverables during an HR team meeting. The team expresses concerns about the nonnegotiable, short time frame, the total number of employees to be trained, and the impact on other initiatives in progress. What step should the VP of HR take to communicate the reason for the training?

Send a video to employees from the president explaining the revised policy and the training.

An organization recently changed its employee benefits package and has decided to measure employee satisfaction in response to this change by administering a survey. To ensure that the survey delivers its promised benefits, which action should the employer take before administering the survey?

Share the purpose of the survey.

A manufacturing company has secured and signed a significant contract with a large retailer. The contract lists steps that are to be included in the manufacturing process that the company agrees to adhere to. A supervisor and several employees from the manufacturing department have learned that by skipping some of the steps outlined, there is no material change to the product. They begin to skip steps in the process. They do not volunteer this information, but neither do they try to hide it. During an exit interview, an employee discloses this information to the HR manager. The HR manager also learns that only the supervisor and members of the department are actively aware of this change. The employee further states that an agreement was made between the supervisor and the staff to not disclose this information to the division manager, as he has an ownership interest in the retailer. How should HR respond to the information received during the exit interview?

Share with the division manager what was learned in the exit interview, and then prepare to speak with the department supervisor about the process.

Specific units develop areas of expertise and then create HR policies in these areas. The specialized units provide services to all units. Which type of model is this?

Shared services

How is a risk control best understood by an organization?

Sharing a risk's occurrence or impact and its likelihood

Which best describes the impact when an organization's values are effectively paired with goal setting?

Shows employees how their individual efforts contribute to the success of the organization's strategy

What leadership theory is characterized by the belief that managers must use different leadership styles depending on the circumstances?

Situational leadership theory