HR Management Ch. 5 Quiz

Which of the following terms refers to objective measures that accurately predict future labor demand? A. Performance indicators B. Transitional matrices C. Functional pointers D. Coincident pointers E. Leading indicators

E

Early-retirement programs: A. are not a popular way to reduce labor surplus. B. are very successful because most baby boomers want to retire. C. work well for knowledge based jobs and services. D. cause more human suffering than the other methods of labor reduction. E. encourage lower-performing older workers to leave voluntarily.

E

Executive search firms: A. find new jobs almost exclusively for high-level, unemployed executives. B. help organizations in on-campus recruiting. C. help only entry-level and inexperienced employees to find jobs. D. are agencies administered by the federal government or governmental organizations. E. serve as a buffer, providing confidentiality between the employer and the recruit.

E

Hugh & Co., a manufacturer of widgets, has entered into a contract with a third party to perform a few functions of its supply chain management. Hugh & Co. can be said to be engaged in: A. offshoring. B. consolidation. C. licensing. D. merger. E. outsourcing.

E

An applicant who applies for a vacancy without prompting from the organization is referred to as a(n): A. direct applicant. B. natural applicant. C. internal applicant. D. neutral applicant. E. referred applicant.

A

Companies that use "lead-the-market" pay strategy: A. would pay more than the current market wages for a job. B. have a recruiting disadvantage. C. would recruit lesser number of employees than needed and depend on overtime. D. provide relatively better working conditions to employees compared to competitors. E. usually have low pay, coupled with overtime and flex-time.

A

In the human resource planning process, which of the following is the immediate next step of the forecasting step? A. Goal setting and strategic planning B. Evaluation and feedback C. Program implementation D. Program evaluation E. Performance evaluation

A

A small company that manufactures special-order wood furniture has kept its employees busy on a 40-hours-a-week schedule for the past two years. The company just received the largest contract in its history from a Saudi Arabian company, opening offices in the area. The company does not expect repeat business. In order to complete the contract in the required one month, additional skilled labor is needed at short notice. Which of the following strategies is best suited to avoid this short-term labor shortage? A. Retrained transfers B. Overtime C. Technological innovation D. New external hires E. Turnover reductions

B

The U.S. Army's "Army Strong" campaign, designed to create a generally favorable impression of the Army as a good place to work in, is an example of: A. general advertising. B. image advertising. C. saturation advertising. D. proactive advertising. E. adventure advertising.

B

_____ influence the kinds of job applicants an organization reaches. A. Personnel policies B. Recruitment sources C. Characteristics of the recruiter D. Financial sources E. Operational policies

B

_____ is the practice of hiring relatives. A. Localism B. Nepotism C. Structuralism D. Voluntarism E. Abstractionism

B

A manufacturing company hit by a slump in demand is experiencing a labor surplus. The company expects the market to improve in six months and it does not want to layoff any of its employees. Which of the following strategies is an equitable way to handle this issue that results in spreading the burden more fairly? A. Demotions B. Outsourcing C. Reduced work hours D. Overtime E. Employing temporary workers

C

A phased-retirement program refers to: A. laying off older employees in small batches. B. giving lucrative incentives to a large number of older employees to voluntarily retire. C. reducing the number of hours older employees work as well as the cost of these employees. D. giving older employees a certain time limit to voluntarily retire. E. offering alternative work locations and work responsibilities to older employees.

C

In the context of HR planning, implementation that ties planning and recruiting to the organization's strategy and to its efforts to develop employees becomes a complete program of: A. reengineering. B. total quality management. C. benchmarking. D. talent management. E. workforce utilization.

D

Sharon wants to apply for a job vacancy. She calls the recruiter who had advertised this vacancy to know more about the job. The recruiter gives some background information to Sharon about the positive and negative qualities of the job. Which of the following terms refers to the job information given by the recruiter? A. Vacancy Analysis B. Substantive Job Criticism C. Pragmatic job survey D. Realistic Job Preview E. Role Examination

D

Questions such as "Where did people who were in each job category go?" and "Where did people now in each job category come from?" can be answered with the help of: A. propensity analysis. B. leading indicators. C. trend analysis. D. multiple regression. E. a transitional matrix.

E

Which of the following is an element in the final stage of human resources planning? A. Estimating labor demand B. Estimating labor supply C. Estimating labor surplus/shortage D. Strategic planning E. Evaluating outcomes

E

Which of the following is an employment principle which states that if there is no specific employment contract saying otherwise, the employer or employee may end an employment relationship at any time, regardless of cause? A. Due-process B. Employment flexibility C. Rule of fair treatment D. Psychological contract E. Employment at will

E

Which of the following options for reducing an expected labor surplus has the benefit of being a relatively fast solution, but has the disadvantage of being high in human suffering? A. Hiring Freeze B. Early Retirement C. Retraining D. Work Sharing E. Downsizing

E

Which of the following strategies could be used to avoid a labor shortage? A. Reduced pay B. Work sharing C. Hiring freeze D. Transfers E. Retrained transfers

E

Outsourcing refers to: A. contracting with another organization to perform a broad set of services. B. licensing another organization to perform an organization's business in a different country. C. using a temporary or contract employee to fill a single job vacancy. D. buying the necessary raw materials needed to perform a business from external agencies. E. moving operations away from the home location to bring about cost savings.

A

Temporary employment is popular with employers because: A. it gives them flexibility in operations. B. it allows them to comply with the requirement of affirmative action imposed by the government. C. the quality of work is usually far superior. D. it is most effective for key customer service jobs. E. the temporary workers are more committed to the organization.

A

The first step in the human resource planning process is: A. forecasting. B. goal setting. C. program implementation. D. program evaluation. E. performance evaluation.

A

The most important source of recruits for entry-level professional and managerial vacancies is: A. on-campus interviewing. B. public employment agencies. C. advertisements in newspapers and magazines. D. private employment agencies. E. employee referrals.

A

The process of _____ creates a buffer between planning and the actual selection of new employees. A. recruiting B. HR plan evaluation C. induction D. outsourcing E. training

A

The process of communicating information about a job vacancy on company bulletin boards, in employee publications, on corporate intranets, and anywhere else the organization communicates with employees is referred to as: A. job postings. B. external hiring. C. employment referral. D. a workforce utilization review. E. direct sourcing.

A

To compute _____, find the cost of using a particular recruitment source for a particular type of vacancy. Then divide that cost by the number of people hired to fill that type of vacancy. A. cost per hire B. yield ratio C. return on investment D. total cost of hiring E. hiring conversion rate

A

Which of the following is a reason why many of the downsizing efforts fail? A. Surviving employees could become self-absorbed. B. The company may become less competitive in the industry. C. The overall costs incurred by the company may increase. D. Governmental interference could cause problems. E. Downsizing could result in decreased diversity.

A

Which of the following methods is best suited to diagnose the underutilization of a certain minority group in an organization? A. Workforce Utilization Review B. Trend Analysis C. Transitional Matrix D. Yield Ratio E. Capacity Utilization Analysis

A

Determining the internal labor supply calls for a detailed analysis of: A. how many people are willing to work for the organization. B. how many people are currently in various job categories. C. the financial performance and profitability of the company. D. the future vacancies that will be available in the company. E. the compensation strategies and recruitment methods used by the company.

B

Realistic job previews: A. are proven to "inoculate" employees against the negative features of a job. B. have a weak and inconsistent effect on turnover. C. exaggerate the positive qualities of vacancies and downplay their negative qualities. D. lead to unmet job expectations and high employee turnover. E. are the most effective at helping organizations minimize turnover among new employees.

B

The goals that are set in the human resource planning process should come directly from: A. the mid-level managers. B. the analysis of labor supply and demand. C. the judgments and choices made by the technical experts in the organization. D. the feedback provided by the organization's customers. E. the line workers at the grassroots level.

B

The primary reason organizations engage in downsizing is to: A. attain larger profit margins. B. promote future competitiveness. C. bring in additional skills to the organization. D. thwart unionizing efforts within a given facility. E. strengthen the social networks in the organization.

B

Which of the following aspects of recruitment is most likely to affect the nature of the positions that are vacant? A. Recruitment sources B. Personnel policies C. Recruiter traits D. Recruiter behavior E. Applicant characteristics

B

Which of the following is a fast option that can be used to avoid a labor surplus with only a moderate amount of suffering caused to the employees? A. Pay reductions B. Transfers C. Demotions D. Early retirement E. Retraining

B

Which of the following is a process used to determine whether there are any subgroups whose proportion in a given job category within a company is substantially different from their proportion in the relevant labor market? A. Adverse Treatment Analysis B. Workforce Utilization Review C. Subgroup Reconciliation D. Discrimination Analysis E. Disparity Analysis

B

Which of the following is a strategy of avoiding a labor surplus where the amount of human suffering caused is high? A. Retraining B. Demotions C. Hiring Freeze D. Early Retirement E. Natural Attrition

B

Which of the following is an advantage of statistical forecasting methods? A. They are particularly useful in dynamic environments. B. Under the right conditions, they provide predictions that are much more precise than judgmental methods. C. They are particularly useful in predicting important events that have no historical precedent. D. They are invariably better than the "best guesses" of experts. E. They can be used to reduce dependence on secondary data for making forecasts and predictions.

B

Which of the following is true of temporary workers? A. Temporary employment involves higher costs. B. Using temporary workers frees the employer from many administrative tasks. C. Use of temporary workers is not suitable for small companies because extensive testing of the employees needs to be done before these companies get employees from an agency. D. Most temporary workers need to be trained by the employers every time they join a new organization. E. Temporary employment is not suitable for those employers who need to operate efficiently even when demand for their products changes rapidly

B

Which of the following observations is true of taking the services of independent contractors? A. Core competencies can be effectively outsourced to contractors. B. The company is not supposed to directly supervise the contractors. C. It is a relatively slow process with low revocability. D. The organization can achieve increased quality though the costs are more. E. It provides an organization increased control over the operations.

B

Many problems with downsizing can be reduced by: A. slashing jobs across the board. B. allowing workers to choose a buyout package in exchange for leaving. C. engaging in better human resources planning. D. avoiding unionization in the organization. E. laying off only the older workers in the organization.

C

Most direct applicants to an organization have done some research and concluded there is enough fit between themselves and the vacant position to warrant submitting an application. This process is termed: A. nepotism. B. employee referral. C. self-selection. D. internal recruitment. E. employment at will.

C

Organizational recruitment materials that emphasize due-process policies, rights of appeal, and grievance mechanisms send a message that: A. the organization has many problems. B. employee morale is low in the organization. C. job security is high in the organization. D. the organization has a vertical decision-making structure. E. the organization does not value the employees in the organization.

C

Planners need to combine statistical forecasts of labor supply with expert judgments because: A. it would motivate the experts in the organization. B. subjective judgments are always more reliable than historical data. C. historical data may not always reliably indicate future trends. D. statistical methods fail to account for historical trends. E. statistical forecasts work well only in a dynamic environment.

C

Recruitment is defined as: A. the process of screening a pool of applicants who have applied for a specific position. B. the process of evaluating the performance of an employee. C. the activities carried out to identify and attract potential employees. D. the process of identifying the skills required for successfully performing an organizational role. E. the process of determining the labor supply and labor demand in an organization.

C

Which of the following is most likely to be an advantage of relying on internal recruitment sources? A. They are likely to promote diversity in terms of race and sex. B. They minimize the impact of political considerations in the hiring decision. C. They are generally cheaper and faster than other means. D. They expose the organization to new ideas or new ways of doing business. E. They are well-suited to recruit specialized upper-level positions.

C

Which of the following is true of downsizing? A. Downsizing improves long-term organizational effectiveness. B. The negative effect of downsizing is especially low among firms that engage in high-involvement work practices. C. Downsizing often disrupts the social networks through which people are creative and flexible. D. The negative impact of downsizing is especially low for those organizations that emphasize research and development. E. Downsizing campaigns only eliminate people who are replaceable.

C

Which of the following is true of internal recruitment sources? A. Research indicates that most organizational positions are filled internally. B. Internal recruitment sources expose the organization to new ideas or new ways of doing business. C. Internal recruiting minimizes the possibility of unrealistic employee expectations. D. Employee referrals are the most common source for internal recruitment. E. Internal sources are most appropriate for specialized upper-level positions.

C

Which of the following statements is true regarding referrals? A. Referrals fall under the category of internal source of recruitment. B. The use of referrals tends to increase the likelihood of exposing the organization to fresh viewpoints. C. The use of referrals tends to promote nepotism. D. Referrals cost much more than other formal recruiting efforts. E. Referrals are the least preferred sources of new hires.

C

Temporary employment: A. is costlier compared to most other methods of overcoming labor shortage. B. is not suitable when demand for the employers' products changes rapidly. C. is less flexible compared to the other methods of overcoming labor shortage. D. it is most effective for key customer service jobs. E. is not a popular method of overcoming labor shortage.

D

Which of the following guidelines should companies follow to achieve success with outsourcing agencies? A. Concentrate mainly on the cost-savings, and not on the internal environment at the agency. B. Primarily outsource work that is proprietary in nature. C. Start by outsourcing a significant chunk of work with minimal monitoring. D. Outsource work in areas that will promote growth. E. Do not enter into an outsourcing agreement with a partner located in the same country.

D

Which of the following is a disadvantage of downsizing? A. It cannot be used to reduce the number of managers. B. It would result in reduced future competitiveness. C. It cannot provide an immediate solution to labor surplus. D. It hurts long-term organizational effectiveness. E. It does not have an immediate effect on costs.

D

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using temporary and contract workers? A. Revocability of this method is lesser compared to other methods of avoiding labor shortage. B. These kinds of workers cannot be hired through an agency. C. These methods are a relatively slow solution to labor shortage. D. These workers tend to be relatively less committed to the organization. E. These workers work well in key jobs but not in those jobs that supplement the permanent employees.

D

Which of the following is a strategy to avoid labor shortage where the results can be obtained fast? A. Technological Innovation B. Retrained Transfers C. Turnover Reductions D. Outsourcing E. New External Hires

D

Which of the following is an internal source of recruitment? A. Employee Referrals B. Direct Applicants C. Employment Agencies D. Job Postings E. Personal Interviews

D

Which of the following terms is a chart that lists job categories held in one period and shows the proportion of employees in each of those job categories in a future period? A. Trend Analysis B. Leading Indicator Method C. Propensity Analysis D. Transitional Matrix E. Labor Bureau Statistics

D

Which of the following types of jobs would most likely force an organization to use external recruitment methods? A. Technical positions B. Business analyst positions C. Supervisory positions D. Entry-level positions E. Middle-management positions

D

Why is hiring new employees for every labor shortage not preferable? A. The process will lead to an artificial scarcity in the labor market. B. It would lead to reduced organizational control over the workers and process. C. Selecting new employees attracts too many discrimination law suits. D. If the shortage becomes a surplus, the organization may have to lay off employees. E. The process may result in reduced quality and may affect standardization.

D

_____ are people who apply for a vacancy because someone in the organization prompted them to do so. A. Direct applicants B. Natural applicants C. Neutral applicants D. Referrals E. Internal applicants

D

_____ formally lay out the steps an employee may take to appeal an employer's decision to terminate that employee. A. Leading indicators B. Psychological contracts C. Implicit contracts D. Due-process policies E. Employment-at-will contracts

D