HRM Midterm 2

__________ exists when employees are able and eager to learn and when their organizations encourage learning. Organization analysis Benchmarking Readiness for training Orientation A learning management system

Readiness for training

A furniture company has seen sales decline in a highly competitive environment. To be able to offer a lower-cost product, management decides to close its factory in North Carolina, laying off 85 full-time workers from the company's 465-person workforce. Under the Workers' Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act, what must the company do? It must request employees' consent before releasing their job records. It is required to seek legal advice to identify any exemptions available. It must explain employment-at-will principles to the employees. It must give the employees 60 days' notice before it can begin the layoffs. It must provide all the employees with exit interviews.

It must give the employees 60 days' notice before it can begin the layoffs

What guideline helps increase the readability of training materials? Add checklists and illustrations to clarify the text Combine two or more paragraphs into one long paragraph. Combine two or more sentences into one long sentence. Substitute written material for video, hands-on learning, or other nonwritten methods. Replace concrete words with abstract words.

Add checklists and illustrations to clarify the text

__________ helps employees select development activities that prepare them to meet their career goals. Career path Career management Job training Job sharing Policy analysis

Career management

Which statement about self-appraisals is true? Self-appraisals are not part of a 360-degree performance appraisal. Self-rating is the most preferred source of performance appraisal information. There are no disagreements between a manager and an employee when self-appraisal is used. Employees have a tendency to inflate their self-assessments. Self-appraisals serve as an ideal basis for administrative decisions.

Employees have a tendency to inflate their self-assessments

The management at a pesticide manufacturing company has observed a decline in quality measures. The managers ask the firm's HR manager to investigate whether training might solve the problem. She conducts needs assessment and recommends a training plan. Which observation will the HR manager most likely find in her person analysis? The firm's budget for training has declined from the year before. Employees of the firm's production department lack clarity in decisions regarding quality standards for manufacturing. The goals of the firm are more focused on the specific needs of a narrow market segment. Machinery and other production equipment in the firm's plant pose a hazard to the employees operating them. Training programs offered by the firm lack specific goals and methods for measuring their success.

Employees of the firm's production department lack clarity in decisions regarding quality standards for manufacturing.

Daveed, an accounting manager, agreed to work with a coach. He chose this option in order to become more of a team player, which would, in turn, lead him to being considered for a larger role in management. After three weeks, however, he complained to the HR manager that the process was time-consuming and he had not seen any positive results. Which response to Daveed's complaint would best reflect how coaching can contribute to employee development? Results should show up after several weeks—so Daveed must not be practicing. A coach generally starts by asking challenging questions, so the coach should be replaced. Getting results can take several months—and the employee has to keep practicing. The coach should meet with Daveed every six months until he improves. The coach should have defined Daveed's goals and motives more specifically.

Getting results can take several months—and the employee has to keep practicing

__________ refers to a process of systematically developing training to meet specified needs. Organization analysis Simulation Recruitment Role-play Instructional design

Instructional design

A company has extensively made use of cloud computing for several functions of its HR department. This technology has helped manage department functions, store necessary data, and also has given employees access to the required databases to resolve customer queries and complaints. Which scenario, if true, would disrupt the services provided by this arrangement? The company's computers do not have capacity for all the software required. The company does not have enough servers to host the system. An updated version of the cloud, including multiple new features, becomes available. Many other companies make use of this device to store and manage data. Internet access in the facility becomes intermittent for three hours every day.

Internet access in the facility becomes intermittent for three hours every day.

What is a valid reason for ethical behavior to be a necessary condition for high performance? It contributes to good long-term relationships with employees, customers, and the public. It encourages people to be highly innovative. It empowers first-line managers and supervisors. It helps an organization maintain the status quo. It fosters competitiveness.

It contributes to good long-term relationships with employees, customers, and the public.

When Jesse was fired, his supervisor told him the reason was that he did not meet performance standards. The supervisor assumed that would prevent Jesse from claiming he had been dismissed unjustly. What is the main flaw in the supervisor's assumption? Lawsuits often challenge an organization's performance management system. People who file lawsuits for unjust dismissal are irrational. The supervisor provided Jesse with inadequate coaching. People who file lawsuits for unjust dismissal are usually lying. People who sue for unjust dismissal usually claim the real reason for the dismissal differs from what the employer said.

People who sue for unjust dismissal usually claim the real reason for the dismissal differs from what the employer said.

A manager believes that he can fire his subordinate at any time he wishes to do so. What statement, if true, would help strengthen the manager's belief? The employee has not received a letter of employment from the company. The manager has not provided the employee with an offer letter. The employee is an underperformer and fails to arrive at work on time. The employee has not submitted her required paperwork as part of her job offer. The employee does not have a specific employment contract with the company.

The employee does not have a specific employment contract with the company.

A company was preparing to roll out a new performance management system. The human resource executive insisted that for the new system to succeed, they must first explain it to employees. She said employees need to perceive the system as fair. Why would this effort make the performance management system more effective? Specific feedback helps meet the goals of supporting strategy and developing employees. Low interrater reliability means the rating will differ depending on who is scoring the employees. The employees who receive feedback must believe that the process of preparing it was not too time consuming. A measurement tool should accurately measure what it was designed to measure. When employees are more confident about performance measures, they are more likely to apply the feedback.

When employees are more confident about performance measures, they are more likely to apply the feedback.

Which work setting is most likely to benefit from team training? a military brigade a stock brokerage firm a research laboratory elementary school teachers a technical support call center

a military brigade

Prime Accounting, an auditing firm, purchases a management information system called Beta Bot. Most of Prime Accounting's employees are unfamiliar with the functional aspects of Beta Bot, and management decides to approach external trainers to train its employees. Mary, the company's training coordinator, is tasked with finding suitable trainers. Mary sends an email with a document outlining the company's training requirements to multiple vendors and asks them to provide suitable trainer profiles and cost quotes. What is the document called that Mary sends out to training vendors? a needs assessment form a request for proposal an organization analysis report articles of incorporation instructional design

a request for proposal

The final step in the career management process is self-assessment. action planning and follow-up. feedback. goal setting. reality check.

action planning and follow-up.

What is the definition of a high-performance work system? an organization in which technology, organizational structure, people, and processes work together seamlessly to give an organization an advantage in the competitive environment a system that is used to collect, record, store, analyze, and retrieve data concerning an organization's human resources an arrangement of machinery and equipment that streamlines the workflow and results in maximum efficiency and cost savings a computer software system that is designed to help managers solve problems by showing how results vary when the manager alters assumptions or data a performance management system that measures customer satisfaction

an organization in which technology, organizational structure, people, and processes work together seamlessly to give an organization an advantage in the competitive environment

An employee was told by senior management that they expected him to exercise more authority and leadership with his work group. Just two days prior to that, his team told him that while they appreciated the initiative he demonstrated, they expected him to be less authoritative and more democratic in the future. The term that best describes what the employee is experiencing is role carve-out. underload. autonomy. distance. conflict.

conflict.

Conducting personal business online during work hours is called cyberslacking. cyberstalking. cybersquatting. cyberdefamation. cyberbullying.

cyberslacking

"Performance management serves as a basis for improving employees' knowledge and skills." This statement corresponds to which purpose of performance management? administrative strategic investigative executive developmental

developmental

Neveen is a technical analyst at Saturna Inc. and has consistently impressed her managers with her ability to perform outstandingly in all projects assigned to her. Her manager, Raul, understands that she is really good at her job, but also believes she might experience burnout because of the repetitive nature of the job. He talks to her about developing other possible skills by working full time for a short period at a different company. In this scenario, which approach to employee development is Raul encouraging? transfer promotion job rotation externship job transfer

externship

A health services firm periodically enrolls some of its employees in a one-month marketing course at a local college. At the end of the course, the employees are able to perform better in the organization. Which method of employee development has the firm used? personality test assessment externship formal education interpersonal relationships

formal education

A female employee finds it difficult to attain a promotion even after working for seven years at the firm. She believes that she is not being promoted because she is a woman. In this scenario, the employee's progress in the organization appears to be restricted by a job reduction. job rotation. glass ceiling. downward move. nickel fence.

glass ceiling.

High-performance work systems result in high product quality. simple, repetitive jobs. centralized decision making. high employee turnover. high production costs.

high product quality.

A firm that produces manufacturing equipment for various industries experiences an influx of new sales employees due to a recent expansion. Despite possessing a vast amount of sales experience, most of the new employees perform poorly. This is because the new recruits possess inadequate technical knowledge about the products sold by the company. To address the issue, the HR department decides to implement a training program using the instructional design process. As part of the process, the HR department's first step should be to identify what the sales representatives will need to learn. identify senior product engineers to train the sales representatives. chart the methods that should be used to train the sales representatives. ensure that sales representatives do not feel undervalued. announce the objectives of the training program.

identify what the sales representatives will need to learn.

In the feedback step of the career management process, the employee is primarily responsible for ensuring that their goals are specific, challenging, and attainable. identifying resources they need, including courses, work experiences, and relationships. identifying their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. identifying the company's resources needed to reach goals. identifying what skills they could realistically develop in light of the opportunities available.

identifying what skills they could realistically develop in light of the opportunities available.

Two managers want to the check the consistency of results for a performance measure that uses ratings by a supervisor. They want to know if different supervisors would rate the same behavior the same way. In the context of criteria for effective performance management, the managers are interested in the measure's accountability. validity. test-retest reliability. interrater reliability. specificity.

interrater reliability.

Rohanna, a supervisor, is meeting with an employee whose performance has deteriorated since the previous year. The employee used to do the same work well, so Rohanna believes the problem is not likely to be related to ability. Which response would be most likely to help in this situation? investigating whether the employee feels she has been treated fairly directing the employee's attention to the significance of the problem enrolling the employee in a training program offering to make coaching available so the employee can learn new skills demoting the employee into a lower paying position

investigating whether the employee feels she has been treated fairly

An employee was suspended for two weeks for drug use. Six months later, the employee was fired from the job because her productivity did not show any improvement even after undergoing treatment for drug use. Which form of discharge did the employee experience? involuntary turnover downsizing early retirement voluntary turnover open-door policy

involuntary turnover

How can managers improve employee satisfaction with the feedback process? using the tell-and-sell approach during the feedback session letting employees voice their opinions and discuss performance goals during the feedback process avoiding decisions about following up on goals as these tend to intimidate the employee focusing on the employee's personality keeping the feedback session short and concentrating on only the positive aspects of performance

letting employees voice their opinions and discuss performance goals during the feedback process

A company gives its employees monetary bonuses at the end of the company's fiscal year based on their contributions to the firm's financial success. This is a method of linking compensation to performance measures. disseminating organizational learning. including employees in organizational planning. rewarding employees for advanced training. increasing employee participation in strategic decision making.

linking compensation to performance measures.

To improve job satisfaction, organizations can add additional layers to job hierarchy. make jobs more complex and meaningful make goals easier to obtain. make jobs simpler to do. eliminate all possible distractions.

make jobs more complex and meaningful

A human resource executive is setting up a mentoring program at her company. Which action will best help the program succeed? defining the mentor's role broadly, to help with personal problems as well as business-related skills giving mentors realistic expectations by explaining that the protégés will benefit, not the mentors making sure the performance management system rewards managers for employee development selecting mentors based on their interpersonal rather than technical skills setting up the mentoring as a mandatory program for both mentors and protégés

making sure the performance management system rewards managers for employee development

Which form of training prepares employees to perform their jobs effectively, learn about the organization, and establish work relationships? bumping conditioning sensitivity training benchmarking orientation

orientation

People's perception of __________ depends on their judgment that the consequences of a decision to employees are just. arbitration procedural justice outcome fairness interactional justice employment at will

outcome fairness

For assessment to support development, an employee must be informed that an appraisal can take place at any time during the year. employed at the organization for at least a year. evaluated discreetly so the employee does not pretend to be a model employee. present on the day the assessment occurs so that results of the feedback will be accurate. provided suggestions to improve his or her weak skills.

provided suggestions to improve his or her weak skills.

Which selection method is used by organizations to identify employees who innovate, share ideas, and take initiative? physical ability structured interview psychological testing ambition research technical proficiency

psychological testing

After an HR manager hears reports that some employees are drinking liquor on the job, she arranges to conduct a random search for evidence. Which action would be the most appropriate way for the manager's company to act fairly regarding employees' privacy in this scenario? sharing search results with all of the employees telling employees the company is accusing them of drinking confining the search to lower-performing employees requesting consent before gathering information excluding the accusers' work areas from the search

requesting consent before gathering information

Which element in a high-performance work system contributes to high performance by encouraging people to strive for objectives that support the organization's overall goals and includes the performance measures by which employees are judged? reward systems information systems task design organizational goals training systems

reward systems

Outplacement counseling programs are long-distance educational programs using instruction via video or audio tapes or computers provided by the company to augment employee skills. services rendered to employees to manage drug or alcohol addiction. services in which professionals try to help dismissed employees manage the transition from one job to another. third-party programs to assist employees with their mental health and chemical dependency needs. university-sponsored executive training programs that require participants to live on campus while completing short, custom-designed courses.

services in which professionals try to help dismissed employees manage the transition from one job to another.

A supervisor wants to compare the performance of the employees. If they do this by listing the employees from best to worst performer, which term describes the method? mixed-standards scale organizational behavior modification graphic rating scale critical-incident method simple ranking

simple ranking

Which step in the performance management process involves giving employees training and ongoing feedback from managers? step 1 Define performance outcomes step 2 Develop employee goals step 3 Provide support step 4 Evaluate performance step 5 Identify improvements needed

step 3 Provide support

Which element of a high-performance work system determines how the details of the organization's necessary activities will be grouped, whether into jobs or team responsibilities? organizational structure performance reward systems information systems task design

task design

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, with a Sensing (S) preference tend to gather the facts and details to prepare for a decision. enjoy surprises. focus on interpersonal relationships tend to rush into decision making. tend to focus less on facts and more on possibilities and relationships among them.

tend to gather the facts and details to prepare for a decision.

As a predictor of job dissatisfaction, the most important element is negative affectivity. relationships with co-workers. the geographical location of the firm. negative self-evaluations. the nature of the task itself.

the nature of the task itself.

What is a business indicator for the success of the compensation system designed by the HR department of an organization? the relationship between pay and performance employee satisfaction with pay competitiveness in the local labor market the ratio of average salary offers to the average salary in the community the fairness of an existing job evaluation system in assigning grades and salaries

the ratio of average salary offers to the average salary in the community

A company recognizes the need for providing on-the-job training to employees whose technical skills are lacking. The company's HR department is tasked with coordinating the entire training process. This function of the HR department at the company is called training administration needs analysis. training simulation. orientation. requirements specification.

training administration

Information such as facts, techniques, and procedures that trainees can recall after training is an example of training outcomes. training credits. transfer of training. training improvements. return on investment on training.

training outcomes

What is a measure of customer satisfaction that indicates the success of the staffing efforts of an HR department? the ratio of minority or women applicants as a representation of the local labor market average years of experience or education of hires per job family the ratio of acceptances to offers made average days taken to fill open requisitions treatment of applicants

treatment of applicants

Under which circumstance is appraisal politics most likely to occur? when top executives forbid distorted ratings when performance appraisal is not directly linked to highly desirable rewards when performance appraisal results are directly linked to developmental programs when senior employees tell newcomers stories about distorted ratings when the goals of rating are compatible with one another

when senior employees tell newcomers stories about distorted ratings