Foundations of Human Resource Management

Line managers, HR professionals, and employees all have roles and responsibilities for ensuring fair treatment in the workplace. Which of the following do all three groups have in common?

Be informed about laws and regulations protecting employees' rights

Which of the following statements about the prevention of harassment is true?

Businesses should enforce a zero tolerance for harassment.

How does an organization interact with its society stakeholders?

By obeying local laws and regulations. By being committed to community relations. Through employee volunteerism. By acting socially responsible to protect the environment. By doing all of the above.

Which of the following statements describing how owners and shareholders relate to the organization is true?

Companies with better HR practices have greater increases in market value. An investor's judgment about the value of a company's intangible assets is based on such things as reputation rankings. Most owners and shareholders invest their money in companies for financial reasons. Intangibles such as how employees feel about their employer can be used by shareholders to predict financial performance. All of the statements about how owners and shareholders relate to organization are true.

Which of the following is NOT an acceptable reason to terminate an employee?

Complaining or testifying about violations of equal pay or wage and hour laws

Which of the following statements about how job applicants view recruiting practices is true?

Effective recruiters show interest in job applicants, and in return, applicants show more interest in the job.

Which of the following statements about recruitment activities is true?

Effective recruitment attracts individuals to the organization.

Research shows that a supportive training climate at an organization enhances transfer of training. Which of the following is an indicator of a supportive climate?

Employees encourage each other to practice newly learned skills

Which of the following statements during the election campaign would probably be viewed negatively by the NLRB?

Management says that layoffs will occur if a union is elected.

Which of the following statements describing the stakeholder relationship between employees and their employers is true?

Many employers value a good quality of work life while on the job.

____ is the most popular form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Mediation

Which of the following statements about fairness is true?

Members of the labor force initiate and ultimately create federal and state laws.

Five components are necessary to ensure that you are setting up the proper conditions for effective training. Which of the following is NOT one of the five?

People need to become engaged in learning for learning's own sake

______ stakeholders are those whose concerns the organization must address in order to ensure its own survival.

Primary

What are the primary concerns of customers in their roles as stakeholders?

Quality service and products, innovation, and low cost.

_____ has the major objective of teaching employees about the organization's history, culture, and management practices.

Socialization

Which of the following statements about the relationship between federal and state laws is true?

State laws often anticipate (precede) federal laws.

You perceive that you are being treated unfairly in the workplace. Which of the following actions will help you to resolve the issue in a manner best for you and your organization?

Talk to your supervisor or other appropriate person in the organization about the issue first.

Which of the following statements about employment agencies is true?

The Social Security Act provides that most workers who have been laid off must register with the state employment agency in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

What role do an organization's employees play in training and development?

The effectiveness of training and development requires the support and cooperation of all employees in the system.

Which of the following statements about employee referrals as a job recruitment method is true?

The informal employee referral approach is a very low-cost recruitment method.

Which of the following statements about the composition of negotiating committees is true?

The union does not have to have management approval of its representative on the negotiating committee.

What is the difference between training and development?

Training usually addresses current needs while development addresses future needs

Which of the following statements about why unionization and collective bargaining are important is true?

Unions obtain rights for their members that employees without unions do not legally have.

Questions to be addressed during strategic HR recruitment planning might include all of the following EXCEPT, ______?

What is our plan for downsizing employees?

Which of the following organizations would be most likely to use contingent workers?

a Christmas tree farm

In order to make sure its sexual harassment policy provides effective guidelines for its managers, the company should write a policy that includes

a requirement that those who have been harassed must report it to management.

Federal contractors are required to file affirmative action plans with the Office of Federal Compliance Program (OFCCP). These written plans must contain

a utilization analysis

During a recent day-long training session, Ashley and a group of co-workers were asked to solve several puzzles that required the group to work closely together. As they finished each puzzle, the group's sense of camaraderie increased. The members started the session as acquaintances and ended as friends. From this information, you would know this training session was designed to produce

an affective outcome

Which of the following is not among the current recruitment and retention challenges the U.S. firms must address today and in the future?

an oversupply of high-skilled labor

Even though the instructions for mixing paint colors were quite clear, the supervisor who was training the new hardware store clerk had her watch an actual demonstration of the mixing of a can of Desert Rose and a can of Newport Blue paint. The trainer used _____ to set the stage for learning.

behavior modeling

Employment commitment

can be created by intensive socialization and training

Job postings

can generate ill will if hiring decisions are made before the postings appear. can reduce employee turnover by communicating to employees that they don't have to go elsewhere to find opportunities for advancement. are used to create an open recruitment process. usually provide complete job descriptions. are accurately described by all of the above

Decertification elections

can remove a union from representation.

If a legal right has been violated and has resulted in injury, the defendant may be required to pay _____ monetary damages to the plaintiff.

compensatory and punitive

One major function of the National Labor Relations Board is to

conduct the process in which a union is chosen to represent employees

Affirmative action programs (AAPs)

correct underutilization of qualified members of protected groups in an organization's relevant labor market

Organizations offer their employees training and development programs to improve their skills, safe and healthy work environments, fair and equitable selection and promotion systems, and jobs designed to increase employee self-esteem in order to

create stronger commitment from its employees increase employee satisfaction increase employee empowerment improve employee quality of work life do all of the above.

National unions

develop the general policies and procedures by which local unions operate

The most common type of grievance filed by unions is ____________.

discipline and discharge

Which of the following types of bargaining used in contract negotiation results in a win-lose situation?

distributive

The _____ rule states that because employers are the managers, they have the right to terminate their employees whenever they choose.

employment-at-will

Possible recipients of global leadership training and development include

expatriates inpatriates global managers headquarters staff all of the above

The most difficult company culture to copy would be one that

has evolved over time and actually suits the needs of the company

Grievance procedures

have become nearly universally used in unionized settings. are consistent with managers' beliefs that employees have a right to fair treatment. help lower legal costs associated with resolving employee-employer disputes in court. increase employee loyalty and commitment. are accurately described by all of the above.

All of the people who currently contribute to doing the work of the organization, those who could potentially contribute in the future, and those who have contributed in the recent past are referred to as

human resources

A person needs analysis

identifies gaps between a person's current capabilities and those identified as necessary for a particular job.

During the recent workshop Martin attended, he practiced learning how to talk to his co-workers, how to listen to what they are saying, and how to read their nonverbal communication. This workshop was designed to produce

improved skills

Jessica had applied for a job and now you have to tell her that she will not be hired. As a competent HR professional, you are sending her a letter. In the letter, you have

included a statement about the size and quality of the applicant pool

Which of the following is not a cost of high turnover?

increased litigation

Stakeholders are

individuals or groups that have interests, rights, or ownership in an organization and its activities. can benefit from a company's successes such as a profitable year. harmed by a business's product failures. interdependent with an organization. accurately described by all of the above

Which of the following is a type of on-the-job training?

internships

A mediator

is a neutral third party that helps the union and management negotiators reach a voluntary agreement. must have the trust and respect of both parties if he or she is to have any success. must have sufficient expertise to convince the union and employer he or she will be fair and equitable. has no power to impose a solution, he or she can only facilitate. is accurately described by all of the above.

Compared to external recruitment, internal recruiting

is less costly

Executive orders are

issued by the president of the U.S..

Many organizations help their customers train their workforces because

it meets the special customer needs. it ensures capabilities of specialized products are fully utilized and recognized. it can be a source of extra revenue. it ensures customers get the full benefits of the company's equipment. All of the above are reasons.

A competitive advantage derived from human resources is sustainable for a company when

its employees have some rare and specialized skill not easily copied

The Human Resources Triad contains

line managers, human resource professionals, and employees

The stakeholders of the organization include all but

local government

Causes of voluntary employee turnover include

low pay

Respect for all employees is when employment decisions are made on the basis of ________ rather than _________.

merit, demographic attributes

In designing recruitment activities, the two central issues addressed are

methods used to find applicants and sources to target

Before negotiations with the union, management needs to

prepare statistical displays and supportive data that the company will need during negotiations

In a recent downsizing, Maureen, an average performer, was informed via email not to report to work the following Monday as her job had been terminated. Maureen was aware that the downsizing was to occur and was informed of the process by which layoffs would occur, which she thought was fair. All other performers in her work group who were let go had also been rated "average." Maureen

probably believes she has been denied interactional justice.

Complexity is created by

rapidly evolving competition from around the world. constant innovations in products and services. changing organizational structure and strategies. political and economic dynamics. all of the above statements

A properly executed organizational needs analysis

results in a clear statement of training goals. includes an assessment of the organizational climate. identifies available resources and constraints. begins with an analysis of short and long term strategy. is accurately described by all of the above.

In the eyes of average Americans, the best employers

seek to have a positive impact on society

The most direct and dramatic response to a union-management negotiation deadlock that the union can make is a

strike.

A(n) _________ is a database that contains information about the pool of current employees.

talent inventory

Improving on-time delivery of results to satisfy customers and reinforce or expand informal networks to satisfy employees are common reasons for the expanding use of

teams

Which of the following is a good measure of how well the union-management negotiation process works?

the need for government intervention the duration of contract negotiations the use of mediation and arbitration the outcome of member ratification votes all of the above

Collective bargaining is a complex process in which union members and management negotiators maneuver to win the most advantageous contract. How the issues are settled depends on

the quality of the union-management relationship

What are the responsibilities of line managers in unionization and collective bargaining?

to understand why employees are likely to join a union. to manage employees with respect and equality to support the efforts of HR professionals in developing and implementing policies to support good working conditions to know what can and can't be said to employees regarding unionization during an organizing campaign to do all of the above

Which of the following is an example of a condition that strongly influences an employee's decision to join a union?

union instrumentality

Local unions elect a(n) blank_____, an employee elected by his or her work unit to act as the union representative at the workplace and to respond to company actions against employees that may violate the labor agreement.

union steward

What is the first step in the union certification process?

union-employee contact

Which of the following is an example of a mandatory issue to be discussed during a collective bargaining session?

wage rates

The Privacy Act of 1974

was the first major statute to address the issue of privacy directly.