FSOT Job Knowledge Test

After administering a test on computer applications to prospective employees, you consider all test results and decide to interview candidates whose scores were in the 90th percentile or higher. This would be candidates whose scores:

Percentile ranking indicates the percentage of scores that ranking is above. A 90th percentile ranking means that score was higher than 90% of scores. This alone cannot be construed as proficient because it is only a measures of comparison, not a measure of performance standards.

Performance management is one method that can be substituted for:

Performance management can replace traditional employee appraisal systems and focuses on the whole employee picture from new hire to exit interviews

Which branch of the military doesn't report to the Secretary of Defense?

The Coast Guard

Which of the following is the best example of a Pigouvian Tax?

A Pigouvian tax is named after Arthur Pigou, a 20th century British economist. Pigouvian taxes are imposed on goods whose price does not reflect the true total social cost of their consumption. Typical examples include taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, or gambling. Recently there have been discussions about Pigouvian taxes on non-diet sodas and fast food.

Which of the following best measures a company's ability to meet short-term obligations?

A company's ability to meet short-term obligations is best measured by its liquidity. Liquidity measures a company's cash on hand and assets that can be quickly converted to cash at or near full value. Profitable companies with many assets that lack liquidity can usually finance short-term obligations with other loans.

When conducting negotiations, a key component is considering each stage of the interactions. Negotiations should never begin with:

A concession sends the message that you feel you are negotiating from a weak position. Listening and probing are always important to gauge the intentions of the other party. Unrealistic offers give plenty of room for compromise.

Which of the following is true of countries that have high Gini Indices?

A country with a high Gini index concentrates most of the wealth in a small segment of society. The Gini is a measure of wealth inequality. An index of one would represent perfect equality. The most equal countries in existence have Gini indices in the high teens and low twenties; the least equal have indices in the sixties. The US Gini index is in the high 40s.

What is a liquidity trap?

A liquidity trap is when people who have cash won't invest because they expect prices to drop. These beliefs are often self-fulfilling because prices drop when no one is willing to buy. When there is a liquidity trap, injecting cash into the economy has no effect because people still do not want to invest.

The Temperance movement was most concerned with what?

Alcohol

During which president's administration were Medicare and Medicaid started?

Although many programs were introduced under Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, the Medicaid and Medicare programs were started by Lyndon Johnson.

Which of the following is an example of agenda setting?

An editor's choice to put a politically embarrassing story on the front page is an example of agenda setting. Proponents of the agenda-setting theory of media argue that media do not tell people what to think, but rather what to think about. Guiding the conversation in this way is also powerful.

When is an emphasis on corporate culture and intangible rewards more useful than strict rules?

And emphasis on corporate culture and tangible rewards is useful when work is creative and self-directed. In these situations, it is not clear now rules and strict evaluations would be designed in the first place, and poorly developed rules would actually impede productivity.

When communicating face to face, negativity is often apparent when a participant:

Arm crossing suggests a barrier while resting a chin on a hand or crossing legs is seen as contemplation and leaning forward indicates interest.

According to the constitutional principle of checks and balances, what oversight can Congress exercise in respect to the presidential power of appointment?

Article II, Section 2 o the US Constitution grants the president the power of appointment to numerous high-ranking government positions with the approval of the Senate. This includes federal judges, ambassadors, and public ministers and consuls, which has been interpreted to include cabinet secretaries.

When an audience is receiving a message they go through four stages: awareness, comprehension, conviction, and commitment. Which of these stages involves the audience matching their own interests and views with the information being offered?

Awareness is the realization that a message is being offered. Comprehension is understanding the message. Conviction is matching the understanding with our own ideas and views. Commitment is making decisions or forming opinions based on the message.

When communication information, employers will most likely be successful in capturing employee attention by:

Based on surveys and research, it is difficult to substitute for face-to-face communication. Employees are more interested in money than paperwork attached, and this form of communication is more often a nuisance than a benefit. Unattended bulletin boards can become cluttered and out of date. Written publications are not as cost and time effective as emails and are easily overlooked or ignored.

What did the beat generation and rock & roll have in common?

Both movements resisted 1950s conformity. Rock and Roll that sounds tame to modern ears was considered raucous in the 1950s, and the literature left behind by the beats is unmistakably hostile to the middle-class lifestyle.

A company might be in violation of the provisions of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act if their hiring practices include:

Coding resumes or applications by gender, race, national origin, religion, or any other protected category could be construed as supporting discriminatory practices in hiring.

In internet advertising, CPC and CPM are most likely to refer to which of the following?

Cost per click; Cost per one thousand impressions (M is 1,000 in Roman numerals)

Which of the following would not be considered a digit: 0, 1, 9, 99.

Digits are only 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What did Dr. Spock tell women regarding their children?

Dr. Spock told women to be affectionate and trust their own child-raising instincts. His book, Baby and Child Care, told women, "You know more than you think you do." This contradicted years of child-raising advice that had focused on discipline.

Which of the following best describes the process for choosing electors in presidential elections as established by the Constitution?

Each state legislature determines the process for selecting electors from that state and is allowed the number of electors equal to that state's total representatives in Congress.

When considering the exact wording of a speech that you are writing, the most important consideration given should be to:

Effective vocabulary should always be your goal. This means it is not so simple that the meaning is ambiguous such as the word, "great" and not so advanced so as to leave most audience members confused. It is okay to use words that must be explained, including highly technical terms, if they are relevant to the presentation.

In conducting an employee evaluation, which of the following is a "soft" area to which employees are most likely to take personal offense?

Employees tend to respond reasonably to evaluations of black-and-white categories such as sales figures, This is an area that is difficult to dispute. Employees might be disappointed in low numbers or make excuses, but they are not likely to take personal offense to the observations. Softer areas such as communication skills, teamwork, or customer relations are less defined. Employees are more likely to take criticism in these areas personally.

Effective downward communications within an organization or company can include all of the following except:

Except providing regular opportunities for employees to provide supervisors with status updates. This is an example of upward communication from subordinate to supervisor.

You are giving a news brief to the media on your organization's response to a crisis situation that has emerged. One way to avoid miscommunication is to:

Excessive wordiness, use of acronyms that might be confusing, and abstract terms all increase the likelihood of miscommunication. Defining relative terms makes your position and statement clear. For example, instead of saying, "a large group", say, "a group of about 1000".

Which label is commonly used to describe people from from the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s?

Generation X

Considering that some experts believe more than one-half of the emotional meaning of a message comes from non-verbal communication, an important consideration in delivering a speech to an audience is:

Gestures mean different things among different cultures and consideration should be given to the makeup of the audience to avoid offending them. Dressing well no matter the audience or occasion is a sign of respect. A low voice is likely to prevent some audience members from hearing and choice of vocabulary is verbal.

What is the name of Gorbachev's policy of openness in the 1980s?

Glasnost was Gorbachev's policy of openness. Glasnost is Russian for "public" and Gorbachev hoped to create a more open and free state.

If you have been asked to give a presentation to an audience of co-workers, a good strategy to keep the audience engaged is:

Handouts are a good tool to focusing an audience as are relevant visuals such as pictures, charts, and multimedia presentations. Avoiding eye contact, while comforting to a nervous speaker, can disengage the audience.

The Truman Doctrine was initiated to:

Harry Truman believed that governments in danger of calling to communist reign must be prevented. In a speech to Congress to gain aid for Turkey and Greece, he said, "I believe it must be policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures." This policy remained and the Cold War grew.

What does not automatically confer US citizenship?

Having one US citizen as a parent does not automatically confer US citizenship. The parent must have lived in the US for at least fie years for his or her child to qualify for citizenship.

Which of the following did NOT contribute to the spirit of isolationism in the US during the 1930s?

Hitler made little to no secret of his expansionist goals. Americans may not have been completely aware of his entire plan, but they definitely had a general idea.

If an organization's communications department creates a press release, the inverted pyramid style of writing may be preferred since:

In this style the most important points and details are presented first. Additional details follow, in order of lessening importance. This allows readers to get the main idea quickly, but does not require complete reading to understand.

Each of the following nations, once part of Yugoslavia, emerged as an independent country at the end of the Balkan conflict that dominated much of the 1990s, except:

Latvia is a former Soviet state, not independent since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is located in the Baltic Sea, not in the Balkans.

If your organization is conducting research to investigate the role that gender plays in obesity related health problems, out of the possible variables considered, which of the following would be considered independent?

Independent variables are those that are manipulated in research or those variables used to assign subjects to experimental groups. Dependent variables are those that are simply measured or recorded.

Which of the following does not necessarily increase competition between companies?

Industry deregulation does not necessarily increase competition between companies; it depends on the specific regulations being removed. The presence of many competitors and slow industry growth both force companies to steal clients from each other in order to maintain steady growth. While high overhead costs make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market, it also makes it impossible to slow production during slow times, so existing companies must perform or go out of business entirely.

What is a pseudo-event?

It is an event that is put on specifically to gain publicity. Pseudo-events differ from the normal PR events because the organizers attempt to make the event seem natural.

When writing an optimized press release, a communications writer must focus on which of the following to obtain maximum viewing?

It should contain keywords to obtain high rankings on search engines. This type of press release is intended for the online audience. Skillful writers can include keywords that produce high rankings on search engines, optimizing readers reached.

Which African American runner won four gold metals in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany?

Jesse Owens

An organization's lateral communications system is most likely to involve which of the following exchanging messages?

Lateral communication is usually part of an informal system, linking employees at similar levels of responsibility that do not work directly together. Management should recognize the importance of this type of communication as well as the risk it poses to bypassing the chain of command.

What is a database that contains current and past news stories?

Lexis-Nexis is a vast database used for locating numerous types of information including news stories. Google and Alta Vista are search engines and Wikipedia is an online, volunteer edited encyclopedia.

In 1951, this country was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations when it became a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. The country has the largest oil reserves in Africa. What country is this?

Libya was the first country to achieve independence in 1951 through the United Nations and has the largest oil reserves in Africa.

An easy and cost-effective strategy for managers to utilize in order to reduce work-related stress among employees is:

Living in crisis management is very stressful for everyone in the workplace. Open layouts can be noisy and distracting in completing tasks; minimal responsibility can make employees feel insecure in their jobs; excessive competition increases stress.

Bushido, the code of conduct followed by Japanese samurai, most closely parallels which other ethical system?

Medieval chivalry

Which television program holds the distinction of being the longest running news or current event program in the history of TV

Meet the Press has been running since 1947.

Which of the following was NOT a similarity between Gamal Nassar and Kemal Ataturk?

Neither Nasser nor Ataturk had strong relationships with the west. Both leaders are remembered for centralizing power and attempting to create modern nations.

The legislation commonly called No Child Left Behind ties local district performance to which of the following?

No Child Left Behind imposes federal standards on education nationwide. Although the federal government has no constitutional authority over education, they can distribute and withhold funds to compel states and local cooperation.

When conducting a media interview or making a statement to a member of the media, the phrase "not for attribution" generally implies:

Not for attribution implies that the reporter not credit the source directly when using the information supplied.

In the United States, what industry could best be defined as an oligopoly?

Oligopoly is defined as an industry with only a few competitors in which the actions of one impact the others such as with production, pricing, features etc

Which of the following defines the opportunity cost of production?

Opportunity cost might be considered the second best choice for using a resource. By using it in its primary way, the second best opportunity is lost.

When a manager is using personal involvement as a motivational strategy, the biggest risk is with those employees who:

Personal involvement can build a deep commitment to success and high-performance standards by allowing employees a role in developing their own goals. Employees with low self-esteem need managerial support in improving their self-image to create correspondingly high goals. Verbal commitments and public group commitments have typical high success rates.

Who was the first African American who published a book?

Phyllis Wheatly was the first African American to publish a poem book in 1773. Phyllis Wheatley was a slave who gained her freedom after the book's publication.

Which method do polling companies use to estimate public opinion?

Polling companies use sampling to estimate public opinion. If the same that answers the poll accurately reflects the larger population, then the poll will be accurate. Choosing a sample is one of the biggest challenges facing a polling company.

What act caused President Ford's popularity to plummet?

President Ford's decision to pardon President Nixon caused his popularity to plummet. He believed the pardon would allow America to move past Nixon's crimes instead of being dragged down through a lengthy public trial

When the Fed enacts an expansionary monetary policy in order to increase output, a goal is to increase the monetary supply, which is usually accomplished through all of the following Fed actions except:

Printing money is a responsibility reserved to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Except for regulated printing such as replacement, printing additional currency that is not already part of the monetary totals in the economy is strictly limited to legislative acts and oversight.

You are calculating the probability that your department will make its quarterly goals. In statistical calculations, probability is shown as:

Probability is traditionally shown as a number between 0 and 1. For example when tossing a coin, the probability of heads and tails are equal at 0.5. However, it can also be shown as odds against or as a fraction.

Which of the following would not be included in the USA GDP?

Profit from a factory owned by a U.S. citizen that is operated in Brazil would not be included in the US GDP, though it would be included in GNP. GDP measures productivity that happens within a country, regardless of who is responsible for it. GNP measures the productivity of a nation's citizens, regardless of where they are operating.

What is random access memory (RAM)?

Random access memory can access any data point at any time. Compare this with an old 8-track, which always had to start from the beginning and play to the end, or a cassette tape, which could only play the bit of tape currently exposed.

In terms of online security, what is re-identification?

Re-identification is the process of determining a user's actual identity from anonymous information. If the information has value, for marketing agencies, for instance, determining its originator allows the data to be sold.

In Microsoft Excel, what function does SUMIF perform?

SUMIF looks at all the data in designated sells and adds the value of those cells that meet a specific criteria specified in the formula such as positive integers only or values that call in a certain range only.

Senator Joseph McCarthy became a household name with his accusations that:

Senator McCarthy became well known for accusing many innocent American of being communist spies. Support came from the American people due to their great fear of the Chinese Revolution and the successful detonation of an atomic bomb in the USSR.

Since the organization's creation in 1992, what eligible nation has not joined the European Union?

Some of the factors influencing Switzerland's decision not to join to date include incompatibility with the Swiss form of direct democracy that involves numerous public initiatives and referendums, concerns, about maintaining neutrality, and cost.

What best describes the primary responsibilities of the president's chief of staff?

Supervision of White House staff and management of the presidential appointment calendars and presidential access

What role do syndicates play in the news industry?

Syndicates gather and sell the work of journalists, photographers, and others. The same stories written for the Associated Press, Reuters, and others can be read in newspapers around the world.

Which of the following processes is not controlled by the operating system?

The CPU is not responsible for maintaining interoperability; that is the job of software developers. The operating system manages system resources and allows applications to interact with hardware.

What was an outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The Cuban Missile Crisis resulted in the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Both nations realized how close they had come to a nuclear confrontation and decided steps needed to be taken to ease the tension

The discount rate at which the Federal Reserve lends to member banks is called...

The Discount Rate is the rate at which the Federal Reserve lends money to banks. The Federal Funds rate is the rate at which banks lend to each other in the overnight market to meet their reserve requirements. The LIBOR rate is a rate at which banks lend money to each other. The Treasury rate is a rate at which the US Treasury borrows money.

What is the main way the US government controls money supply?

The Federal Reserve System raises and lowers the prime rate to regulate the nation's money supply

The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Authority) was founded in 1957, has a current membership of 140 nations, and states as one of its goals:

The International Atomic Energy Agency was founded to address growing concerns about safety in the nuclear age. It is an independent agency often utilized by the UN in the inspections process.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI) is a tool that can identify a person's basic preferences in a number of areas including communication styles. According to this tool, which type of personality is most likely to make decisions based on logic and reason, avoiding the influence of emotions, values, and attitudes?

The MBTI divides behavioral types into four somewhat opposing pairs. The Thinking-Feeling pair describes personality types that make decision in a detached, logical way or an emotional, values driven way.

In the Pacific War, Bolivia lost and became a land-locked country. Who defeated Bolivia and took away their access to the sea?

The Pacific War was between Chile and the allied forces of both Bolivia and Peru from 1879-2883. When Chile won, they took a significant portion of land from both Peru and Bolivia and ended up making Bolivia a land locked country. Knowing that the name of the war is Pacific and understanding that in today there are only two countries that are between Bolivia and the Pacific ocean, you would have only two options: Chile and Peru.

Which period of time in American History is commonly referred to as the Progressive Era?

The Progressive Era is usually marked from the late 1800s until the beginning of WWI. It was characterized by numerous movements including improving efficiency and honesty in government, equality (although with contradictions), social justice, and social welfare. Significant events include the passage of Prohibition and the 19th Amendment granting women's suffrage.

What potent political movement backed candidates who promised to fight against abortion rights?

The Right to Life Movement

What impact has the Sahara Desert had on the development of Africa?

The Sahara Desert had caused Northern and Sun-Saharan Africa to develop independently. Although the Sahara was not impassable before air travel, the journey was difficult and seldom attempted.

The Scopes trial in Tennessee, which captured national and international media attention in 1925, centered on what controversial issue?

The Scopes or so-called "monkey" trial was an orchestrated attempt to force a court opinion on state statues outlawing the teaching of evolution in public schools. The case garnered extensive media coverage featuring numerous prominent lawyers as well as the ACLU. Although the courts upheld the state law outlawing evolution instruction, that precedent would be overturned in later decisions.

The Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal are both important for what reason?

The Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal are important because they control trade routes in and out of the Mediterranean. The Strait of Gibraltar isn't manmade and is still controlled by the British

Where is the US banking system regulated?

The US Banking system is one of the most regulated banking systems in the world, with regulations within each state and the federal government.

Who were the Weathermen?

The Weathermen were a violent, political student organization in the 1960s and 1970s. They bombed banks, the US capital, the Pentagon, and the US State Department, though they also gave evacuation warnings prior to the bombings.

What is the CNN effect?

The agenda-setting power of televised media. Madeline Albright coined this term specifically in regards to how CNN had affected Foreign policy decisions by influencing the public emotional reaction

What role does the BIOS play?

The basic input/output system (BIOS) loads the operating system. It turns on the computer's hardware and then runs a piece of code called the boot sector, which boots the operating system.

In a presidential election, if none of the candidates receives more than 50% of the Electoral College votes, what happens?

The candidate who receives the most votes in the Electoral College becomes president, only if the candidate receives more than 50% of the votes. If no one receives more than 50% of the votes, the House of Representatives elects the president, with each state having only one vote.

Which strategy should a company employ to combat high turnover in a competitive industry?

The company should implement employee retention programs. High turnover makes it difficult to implement larger strategies because the team is constantly being patched back together. Employee retention programs can include aspects such as health benefits, workplace perks, vested stock options, or retirement plans.

What is the main disadvantage of backward compatibility?

The main disadvantage is that systems that are backward compatible are more complex. This generally makes them less stable and more vulnerable to attack from hackers. Windows strives for backward compatibility, while Apple operating systems do to a lesser degree, and many Linux distributions do not attempt to be backward compatible.

What is the main purpose of the board of directors?

The main purpose of the board of directors is to represent shareholders. Shareholders own the company, and the board must act to protect their interests. As a practical matter, members of the board might also be major shareholders.

What might the market value of a software firm be higher than its book value?

The market value might be higher because the market is pricing based on the firm's intellectual assets. Even if there are no major products being sold, the market might trust that a talented group of software engineers will produce a winning program soon.

What is the median of the following numbers: -5, -2, 8, 12, 14, 14, 18, 21?

The median is 13 (the middle value). Because there are an even number of values, we take the two middle values (12 and 14) and average them, getting 13. The mean (or average) is 10. The mode is 14. The range is 26.

Which factor contributed to the flourishing of the Renaissance in Northern Italy?

The presence of a wealthy elite who supported the arts contributed to the flourishing of the Renaissance in Northern Italy. The de Medici family is particularly known for supporting great artists.

What did the "termination" approach to Native Americans relations with the Federal government argue for?

The termination approach would have ended recognition of Native American tribes as legal entities. Tribes still have limited sovereignty on reservations and are not subject to state law.

A reporter is conducting an interview on the record and recording it on tape. After 15 min, the source requests that the reporter turn the tape off before providing some additional information on a political candidate. After providing this information, the reporter turns the recorder back on. When writing the story, what is most likely to happen:

The reporter can provide quotes on what the source said during the whole interview, regardless of whether the recorder was on or off.

The fifth through eighth amendments to the US constitution protect the individual right to which of the following?

These amendments protect due process rights such as legal representation, speedy jury trial, reasonable bail, and no cruel or unusual punishment

You are the public spokesperson for a large company which has recently experienced a scandal involving a key employee. When contacting radio stations to present the company's position on this situation, keep in mind they are interested in actualities or:

These recorded statements would be from principals in the event. Recorded or live commentary is especially important to a news medium with no visual aspect.

During a conversation, when a friend nods at something you have said, what is this an example of?

This is an example of feedback in person communication. Although the process is largely unconscious, people are constantly giving each other subtle cues about the direction of the conversation.

Which business strategy relies on production that adjusts to meet immediate market demand and reduce the costs associated with idle workers and facilities?

This strategy is called just-in-time production. This strategy relies on highly dependable processes to cut overhead, giving the company a competitive advantage.

Which of the following is a port use for transferring data between a computer and other external devices such as cameras and printers?

USB

In the late 19th century, a new form of entertainment grew out of minstrel shows and became popular with American families by including dancing, singing, juggling, animals, and other acts. What best describes this form of entertainment?

Vaudeville became popular with families in the late 19th century by combining acts from musicians, acrobats, an magicians such as Harry Houdini.

In graphing supply and demand, at what point is market equilibrium achieved?

When supply and demand intersect

In order to convince your audience to support your proposed changes to the organizations structure, any speech to them must be of what type?

While information and entertaining speeches could serve your purpose, they are not required. After leaving a successful persuasive speech, people would want to make change. Impromptu speaking should be avoided as it lacks the key element of planning.

What is a white-hat hacker?

White-hat hackers expose security vulnerabilities so that they can be corrected. These activities are sometimes, though not necessarily, illegal or controversial. Black-hat hackers exploit security vulnerabilities for personal gain.

Why is a CPU's cache important?

Without a cache, the CPU will miss lots of clock cycles. The CPU does calculations; it doesn't store memory. If data is needed to perform a calculation, then the CPU has to wait for it to arrive. Holding data in the cache minimizes the delay. The faster the CPU, the larger the cache needs to be to make full use of it.