HR Management Final

The Fair Labor Standards Act permits a lower "training wage," which employers may pay to workers under the age of __________ for a period of up to 90 days.

20

The FLSA overtime rate applies to the hours worked beyond __________ in one week.

40

Foster Inc. has a workforce between the ages of 40 and 55. Most of the employees' children are teenagers who are about to enter college or already are in college. Which family-friendly benefit will be the most beneficial to the employees?

529 savings plans

A human resource manager has been reviewing her company's performance management system to see how it can be improved. She concludes that the system uses valid and reliable methods, but she also wants to make sure it is acceptable to supervisors and employees. Which question would help Serena determine acceptability to employees?

Are the performance measures fair?

Some managers at Farmington Heating and Cooling hear that some employees are talking about organizing a union to represent the customer service agents, who are at the core of the company's operations. The managers are concerned and ask Sharon, the HR manager, what they can do to make a union less likely. Which statement would be best for Sharon to include in her advice?

Be responsive to employees' problems and treat them all with respect.

Bjorn, a supervisor, is discussing an employee with Ricarlo, a human resource manager. Bjorn explains that the employee's performance has not met company standards for two years. After assisting her and discussing the problem with her, Bjorn has concluded that the employee can do the work, she just doesn't want to bother. What should Ricarlo advise Bjorn to do?

Bjorn should withhold a raise, and if the employee does not respond, then her employment should be terminated.

Trent, an employer, received a grievance from Sam, an employee who was dismissed recently. Trent rejected Sam's grievance as he believed that a grievance procedure can only be initiated if an employee is still currently working in his organization. Which statement would prove that Trent made a faulty decision?

Both an employee as well as a former employee can launch a grievance.

In 2005, several unions broke away from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) to form an alliance called __________, which is focused on innovative organizing campaigns.

Change to Win

Which statement expresses why companies are moving away from offering defined-benefit plans and toward defined-contribution plans?

Defined-contribution plans shift investment risk from employers to employees.

Starla is training her company's supervisors in how to use the new performance management system. She explains the importance of ensuring that employees know what goals they are expected to achieve. Assuming the company has a well-designed performance management process, what would Starla tell the supervisors they should do next?

Develop employee goals, behavior, and actions to achieve desired outcomes.

The __________ assessment tool is an inventory of behavioral styles based on the work of William Marston, a psychologist who attempted to categorize normal behavior patterns.

DiSC

What is legally required of employee benefits policies?

Disabled employees must have equal health insurance coverage as other employees.

After a company hired a new supervisor for the second shift, productivity fell and the shift did not meet its production targets three weeks in a row. The plant manager asks Sonny, the HR manager, to investigate, and he reports the problem may be job withdrawal. Which kind of job withdrawal is most likely occurring in this situation?

Employees are dissatisfied with the supervisor, so they are not working as hard.

In most organizations, only a small fraction of the employees are executives, yet employees and others often consider executive pay when evaluating the equity of a company's pay structure. Which statement is a reason why executive pay draws this attention?

Employees at all levels are affected by executives' actions.

Penny is teaching a newly promoted supervisor how to use the company's performance management system. The supervisor asks Penny when she is supposed to give employees performance feedback. Which answer would best guide the supervisor?

Employees benefit from feedback that occurs so often they know what will be said in their annual review.

Disabled employees must have equal health insurance coverage as other employees.

Employees can understand the value of benefits through various media.

What is an accurate depiction of how employees view their employee benefits?

Employees can understand the value of benefits through various media.

What is a disadvantage of cafeteria-style plans?

Employees selecting benefits leads to increasing costs.

What is an accurate description of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?

Employers must choose between paying a penalty or offering insurance meeting certain standards.

A compa-ratio less than 1 suggests that an organization is paying more than planned for human resources and may have difficulty keeping costs under control.

F

A planned approach for establishing employees' pay will likely result in rates that are either overly expensive or so low that positions are hard to fill.

F

After the completion of an international assignment, reentry to the expatriate's home country is fairly easy.

F

All employees of an organization are eligible for overtime pay.

F

An employer has recently performed a benchmarking procedure, which is reducing the number of levels in the organizatio

F

Andrew is 14 years old and has been offered an after-school job. Andrew will not be able to accept the job since he is too young to hold a job while in school.

F

Chlorinda travels with her work. She recently took a trip for work in which she worked 40 hours for the week, but had 6 hours of travel time. Chlorinda cannot bill the 6 hours of travel time to overtime.

F

Cultural and legal differences do not affect pay structure.

F

Pay differentials are sets of jobs having similar worth or content, grouped together to establish rates of pay.

F

San Francisco recently passed laws to require a minimum wage based on the cost of living in that region. This practice is illegal, as only the federal government can increase the minimum wage.

F

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Intuitive types (N) tend to focus more on the facts and less on possibilities and relationships among them.

False According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Intuitive types (N) tend to focus less on the facts and more on possibilities and relationships among them.

The goal of training is to prepare for changes in the organization.

False Training traditionally focuses on helping employees improve performance of their current jobs. The goal of training is to prepare for the current job.

In the context of job experience, lateral moves usually include promotion or temporary assignment to another organization.

False Various job assignments can provide for employee development. An organization may enlarge an employee's current job or move the employee to different jobs. Lateral moves include job rotation, transfer, or temporary assignment to another organization.

Front of House is planning to open two restaurants in the south of France. What will guide the restaurant chain's HR department when forecasting for the number of people to hire there?

France is strict about protecting workers' jobs, so the company should hire only as many people as it is very likely to need.

William's company has offered him an opportunity to take a sabbatical. What can he expect to happen?

He will likely receive full pay and benefits.

What is one characteristic of the National Labor Relations Board?

It can order the employer to reinstate workers, with or without back pay.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, what is true about lifestyle dichotomy?

It describes an individual's tendency to be either flexible or structured.

What is a disadvantage of using the results-oriented performance management method?

It has problems with validity.

Identify an advantage of the balance sheet approach to determining the compensation of expatriates.

It helps managers to get the same standard of living as in the home country.

Which statement best describes how a well-designed system of progressive discipline applies the hot-stove rule?

It involves consequences that are immediate and objective.

What is the biggest problem with using ranking as a performance measure?

It raises questions about fairness due to low validity.

Which statement characterizes a progressive discipline system?

It teaches employees what is expected of them.

What is true about personal dispositions?

Job dissatisfaction is higher among employees with low emotional stability

__________ establishes relative pay among different functions and different levels of responsibility.

Job structure

Louise, an employee, started a grievance procedure by discussing her issue with her reporting manager. The manager discussed this with a union steward. The issue was not resolved, and it was concluded that the contract with Louise's employer was violated. Which next step should be taken immediately?

Louise and the union steward should put the issue in writing and submit it to the line manager.

Mattie is about to take a 10-week vacation, and she states her reason for the long leave to her manager. According to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which reason will justify the organization's decision to grant unpaid family leave to Mattie?

Mattie has to look after her child who is seriously ill.

The financial statements of Jenster Inc. include income statements that detail its earnings and expenses. Accounting requirements include setting aside funds that will be needed to pay for retirement benefits. How does that requirement affect the numbers on the Jenster Inc. income statement?

Meeting the requirement lowers the company's reported income.

Which statement is an accurate depiction of unions?

Membership in an industrial union is the result of working for an employer in a particular industry.

__________ refers to when the employer pools personal days, sick days, and vacation days for employees to use as the need or desire arises.

Paid time off

What statement is true about using peers as a source of performance information?

Peers are more favorable toward participating in reviews to be used for employee development.

Identify the correct statement about cross-cultural preparation for an international assignment.

Preparation for departure includes language instruction.

Identify the performance measurement method that requires managers to rank employees in their group from the highest performer to the poorest performer.

Simple ranking

Pauline is a financial assistant and reports to Steve, the head of the finance department. Steve works longer hours than Pauline but receives no overtime compensation. However, Pauline is paid one and a half times her regular pay for working more than 40 hours per week. Under the FLSA, what is the most likely justification for the organization's decision to pay Pauline overtime pay?

Steve is an exempt employee, while Pauline is nonexempt.

A company wants to ensure that its employees' behavior is connected with the goals of the company in order to help achieve its business objectives. Which purpose of performance measurement should be used by this company?

Strategic purpose

Why has the number of work stoppages in the United States plunged since the 1950s?

Strikes and work stoppages are costly to workers and employers.

A successful expatriate manager must have the ability to maintain a positive self-image and feeling of well-being.

T

By defining key jobs, organizations can make the process of creating a pay structure more practical.

T

Discrimination claims often allege that the performance management system discriminated against employees on the basis of their race or sex.

T

In practice, organizations' career management systems vary.

T

In subordinates' evaluations of managers, when feedback forms require that the subordinates identify themselves, the subordinates tend to give the manager higher ratings.

T

One of the instances in which appraisal politics are most likely to occur is when raters are accountable to the employee being rated.

T

Relative to other countries, U.S. organizations exert more centralized control over labor relations in the various countries where they operate.

T

Succession planning forces senior management to regularly and thoughtfully review the company's leadership talent.

T

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act requires employers to make jobs available to any of their employees who leave to fulfill military duties for up to five years.

T

The content of a feedback session and the type of language used can determine the success of the meeting.

T

The more the organization keeps in contact with the expatriate, the more effective and satisfied the person will be upon return.

T

The rater bias that occurs when the bias is in a favorable direction is called the halo error.

T

A CEO is of the opinion that it is fair to pay above the market rate if doing so can help his firm attract and retain top talent. He knows that these employees will make the company more innovative and that they will also contribute significantly to the product quality and productivity. Which statement best supports his view?

The CEO considers his employees as resources, and therefore, considers the higher pay an investment in superior human resources.

A company sets pay rates slightly above the local market rate, and it communicates this to employees. Which statement about job satisfaction supports the company's use of this policy?

The amount of pay an individual receives is extremely important for job satisfaction.

What is a characteristic of employee benefits?

The benefits offered change over a period of time.

A management consulting firm analyzes its own pay structure and finds that the average pay for junior associates is $60,000. The pay range that the firm set for this position is $50,000 to $72,000. Which statement is true about the compa-ratio for this position?

The compa-ratio is $60,000/$61,000, or slightly less than 1.

What is true about the paired-comparison method of measuring employee performance?

The employee with the most points is considered the top-ranked employee.

Plow and Disc Inc., a maker of farm equipment based in Montana, is planning to send a U.S. marketing manager to lead a product launch in a country with a socialist economic system. As the human resource department plans this assignment, what impact of the host country's economic system will it need to address?

The host country will likely tax a larger percentage of the manager's income than the United States would.

Will is an office manager with a college degree, five years of experience, and a track record of being rated excellent at his work. He supervises seven staff members, and his employer pays him $40,000 a year. According to equity theory, which comparison would most likely lead Will to conclude that his rate of pay is unfair?

The office manager in another department supervises four employees and earns $45,000.

Which statement about job transfers is accurate?

They are usually lateral moves.

Jarrett, a human resource professional at an Ohio-based company, is evaluating a candidate for a management position in London. Besides assessing the candidate's interests, personality, and skills, Jarrett gives the candidate assignments that focus on cross-cultural training. What is the purpose of these assignments?

They help the candidate to gain an appreciation of the host country's culture.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, what is true about individuals who are Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging (known as ISTJs)?

They tend to be serious and practical.

Thom's manager has offered to provide him with more specific feedback on his performance, as well as restructuring the job to make it easier for him to execute his duties. What supports the manager's decision to take these steps?

Thom lacks the skills required to perform his job.

A protean career is defined as career in which a person frequently changes based on changes in the person's interests, abilities, and values and in the work environment.

True In the past, workers and employees might have thought of a career as something a person pursues at one company, rising through the ranks. Today, however, the more common model is that of a protean career, one that a person frequently changes based on changes in the person's interests, abilities, and values and in the work environment

Mentoring programs tend to be most successful when they are voluntary and participants understand the details of the program.

True Mentoring programs tend to be most successful when they are voluntary and participants understand the details of the program. Rewarding managers for employee development is also important because it signals that mentoring and other development activities are worthwhile.

Information for assessment may come from the employees, their peers, managers, and customers.

True One way to provide for employee development is assessment—collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their behavior, communication style, or skills. Information for assessment may come from the employees, their peers, managers, and customers.

Coaching is likely to help managers most when it involves identifying areas for improvement and setting goals.

True Research suggests that coaching helps managers improve by identifying areas for improvement and setting goals.

A potential drawback of 360-degree feedback is that it demands a significant amount of time for raters to complete the evaluations.

True There are potential limitations of 360-degree feedback. One such limitation is that this method demands a significant amount of time for raters to complete the evaluations.

A business employs many young workers who like to use their time off to travel to visit family or go on adventures. The human resource manager observes that when holidays do not fall on a Friday or Monday, workers are disappointed that having just one day off prevents them from traveling. What would be the most effective way for the company to add to the value of the holiday schedule?

Use floating holidays to create long weekends of time off.

Charles, a manager at a firm, argues that 360-degree feedback is the best performance measurement as it does not have any flaws. Laney, another manager at the same firm, argues that the method does have some limitations. What, if true, would strengthen Laney's argument?

When 360-degree feedback is conducted, raters are required to spend a lot of time on it.

Zachary and his cousin, Mathew work for two different branches of the same organization. Both have the same level of experience in management. However, Zachary earns more than Mathew. Which explanation would legally justify the organization's decision to pay Zachary more than Mathew?

Zachary works night shifts, unlike Mathew.

The interviewer noticed that Josh felt confident in his ability to adapt to the culture in Taiwan and was excited for the new opportunities the overseas assignment presented to himself and his family. Which of the three kinds of skills for adapting to a new culture did Josh demonstrate?

ability to maintain a positive self-image and feeling of well-being

When Alicia started her overseas assignment in London, her U.S.-based employer provided her with additional money on top of her salary that allowed her to rent a home that was similar to the home she and her family had in Ohio. Which aspect of Alicia's pay package does this extra money represent?

an allowance

An HR manager is investigating why the turnover in his company's accounting department has spiked in the last two years. He learns that the company hired a manager whom the employees describe as impatient, judgmental, and unwilling to listen. The HR manager discusses this information with the manager, who asks to have a chance to become better at his job. Which approach(es) to employee development should the HR manager offer this manager?

assessment, training, and counseling

The new HR manager observes that out of twenty-six executive positions at the company, only two are held by women. She decides to investigate what actions she can take to ensure there is not a glass ceiling at the company. Which action would most likely help meet this objective?

assigning female employees to mentors who will sponsor them for key positions

Geoff has been sent to Paris for an assignment. During his stay there, his compensation package was different from the one that he received in the United States. It took into account the standard of living in Paris and included additional pay for the inconvenience of relocating overseas. This would indicate that the organization that Geoff works for uses the __________ approach.

balance sheet

A retail store dismissed an employee who was caught stealing items from the store's stockroom. In retaliation, the employee is threatening to file a lawsuit claiming race discrimination. Assuming the discipline was based on facts, not bias, how can the store best protect itself from being liable for such claims?

by establishing and following a formal discipline policy, so discipline is fair

What is considered the strongest union security arrangement?

closed shop

The union for school district 87 is in negotiations with the school board on behalf of the district's social workers who seek a provision in their contract that would allow job-sharing. What process does this represent?

collective bargaining

The management of Small Home Builders Inc. allows employees to participate in decision making, maintains transparency of certain business information, and encourages the development of self-managed teams. In this scenario, what is Small Home Builders implementing?

cooperation

__________ refers to the disillusionment and discomfort that occur during the process of adjusting to a new culture.

culture shock

What is the first step in the career management process?

data gathering

One of the ways to publish rules that cover disciplinary problems includes

displaying them on a bulletin board.

A manager is performing employee evaluations. He tends to rate all the employees near the center of the rating scale. As a result, it is difficult to compare employees' scores. Which kind of rating errors has this manager made?

distributional error

One way an employer can judge a grievance procedure is to assess how well the procedure resolves day-to-day contract questions. This is an assessment of the procedure's

effectiveness

An employee is in a meeting with his supervisor and a member from the human resources department to explain why he is leaving the company. In this case, which procedure is the HR department conducting with the employee?

exit interview

A senior employee at an IT firm is permitted to take up a full-time temporary position at another organization that would help him hone his skills. This is an example of a(n)

externship

Which employee benefit provides for employees to set aside a portion of pretax earnings to pay for eligible medical expenses?

flexible spending account

The Swanson Group is an organization that has facilities located in five different countries and treats cultural differences as an advantage. They have different departments headquartered in each country to facilitate efficient and flexible production of their merchandise. This would imply that The Swanson Group is a(n)

global organization.

An engineering manager approaches the vice president of human resources to ask for help with one of the engineers. This employee has management potential but doesn't have much impact because she doesn't speak up confidently in meetings. The HR executive suggests finding a coach for the employee. What might a coach be able to do for the employee, besides give her feedback on her speaking style?

help the employee learn to seek feedback from others

GreenHouse Group initially met product demand from customers in other countries by exporting their products to those countries. Last year, the company decided to set up a facility in London to meet the increased demand in foreign sales. With the opening of the London facility, Greenhouse Group became a(n) __________ organization.

international

The approaches to employee development fall into four broad categories, one of which is

interpersonal relationships.

Development implies learning that

is not necessarily related to the employee's current job.

In the context of employee development, __________ refers to the combination of relationships, problems, demands, tasks, and other features of an employee's jobs.

job experience

Rose works as a teacher in a primary school. Although her pay is low, she finds that her job keeps her happy and feeling personally fulfilled. In this scenario, what is Rose experiencing?

job satisfaction

A construction firm sets pay rates for women slightly below those for men, to account for the greater likelihood that its female employees will need more time off to care for family members. In this scenario, which law is the company likely to be violating?

laws governing equal employment opportunity

What is a cost associated with voluntary turnover?

loss of talented employees

The union organizing process begins when union representatives

make contact with employees and present their message about the union.

The ways employees respond to their impressions about equity can have a great impact on the

organization

Which method is described as a plan for managing the behavior of employees through a formal system of feedback and reinforcement?

organizational behavior modification

Employees' sense of __________ usually would reserve loss of a job for the most serious offenses.

outcome fairness

Kent started his new foreign assignment in Mexico last week. On the first day, he addressed the director of the company by his first name. Later in the day, he was asked to report to human resources where the manager reminded him that he should not address any of his co-workers by their first name but should address them by their title, such as Señor Roberts. Which of Hofstede's dimensions does this scenario reflect?

power distance

Which phase of preparation for an international assignment involves providing information about the employee's community and parent-country workplace?

preparation for the return to the home country

Repatriation is the process of

preparing employees to return home from a foreign assignment.

Performance measurement can focus on managing the objective, measurable results of a job or work group. Which result would best meet this criterion?

productivity

Management goals are to increase the organization's __________ and raise output.

profits

Mentoring involves an experienced, productive senior employee who helps develop a less experienced employee, who is called the

protégé

A chain of car dealerships is using benchmarking to analyze the labor market to see if it needs to adjust pay levels for its sales force. Which category of workers would be the best choice to include in its analysis?

salespeople at other car dealerships

A chain of car dealerships has a service center at each location, each managed by an experienced mechanic. For technicians, it hires high school graduates and trains them to repair cars and deliver great customer service. The more kinds of repairs a technician can perform, the more valuable that employee becomes to the company. Which pay structure would best motivate technicians to become more valuable contributors to the company?

skill-based pay structure

A company requires employees to continually widen and deepen their knowledge. It has a pay structure that sets pay according to the employees' abilities or knowledge and what they are capable of doing. Which pay structure is being exemplified in this scenario?

skill-based pay system

Which act allows employees claiming discrimination to treat each receipt of a paycheck as an instance of discrimination for purposes of determining their eligibility to file a complaint?

the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Terminating an employee may violate an implied agreement if

the action is inconsistent with company policies.

All contribution for a cash balance plan come from

the employer

Decisions about which benefits an organization will include should take into account

the expectations of the organization's current employees.

After a restructuring at a company broadened managers' jobs, some managers began experiencing role conflict and role ambiguity. To prevent dissatisfaction among these valued employees, the company asked the human resource department to help managers develop clearer and more balanced roles. The HR manager decided to use the role analysis technique. With this technique, who will meet to discuss the role of each manager affected by the restructuring?

the managers affected and the people who directly interact with them

When Trisha was assigned to work in the company's Singapore office, she found it difficult to adapt to the philosophy of "don't worry about the future, just take each day as it comes" that the local employees based their work on. Geert Hofstede would say that the employees at the Singapore office demonstrated low

uncertainty avoidance.

Tonya is a human resource executive at a financial planning firm. The executives want to introduce electronic monitoring of the office staff. Tonya needs to prepare for the concerns she expects employees to have and to show them that the performance data gathered will be used ethically. Which use of electronic monitoring would most likely demonstrate this to employees?

using performance data to coach employees so they develop their skills

Job satisfaction refers to a pleasant feeling resulting from the perception that one's job fulfills or allows for the fulfillment of one's important job values. This definition of job satisfaction has three components, summarized as

values, perceptions, and ideas of what is important.

Under what conditions may an employer have a legitimate reason to collect information about employees' use of alcohol or other intoxicants outside the workplace?

when employees hold positions where drug use could cause dangerous accidents

The National Day Laborers Organizing Network is an example of a(n) __________, which is a nonprofit organization that offers training, legal advice, lobbying, and worker advocacy to members.

worker center